Skip to main content

Best. Baby. Ever.


Zoe is so proud and happy that she can talk now. At least enough that she can tell us what she wants - up, down, water, apple, cookie, etc. So we have traded the why-can't-you-understand-me tantrums for the why-aren't-you-obeying-me tantrums. She is so totally transparent that I find her hilarious.

* * *

Our family filled my mom's house over Christmas, and so there were cell phones resting on just about every surface. Every time she found one, she picked it up and held it to her ear and started "talking" on it. For that matter, she also "talked" on TV remotes, a wooden ostrich, and a powder compact. She likes to comb and brush her hair and mine, which she does with normal combs, a small paintbrush, wooden spoons, and that same powder compact. Little bits of wrapping paper were co-opted into use as wipes - she walked through the house wiping all the faces and knees she could reach. I love that she's trying to make sense of her world by using items just like we do.

* * *

So I'm making reeds in my studio, and Zoe is playing with her toys and minding her own business. Things get pretty quiet and I call for her - and she pops her head back into my room and says "Ah-Po". I see that she is carrying a toilet plunger. Briefly, I consider taking it away from her, but decide that that is far too much work and trauma for an item that's not inherently harmful.

What do you have there, Sweetie?

Ah-Po.

Is it an apple?

No.

Do you see an apple?

No.

Hmm.

She proceeds to carry it around for quite a while, repeating the same word, which I am not even close to understanding until she comes up and pats my oboe on its stand and says "Ah-Po". AHA! Big girls have oboes, and play with them! I can't think of any item we own that looks more like an oboe than a toilet plunger, honestly. What an inventive baby!


* photo credit Nathan Barber
Labels:

Comments

  1. pattyDecember 30, 2010 at 8:14 PM

    Hah! I read that second paragraph and thought it was your MOTHER who was picking up every cell phone, remote, etc., and talking on them. Too me a minute!

    I loved it when my kiddos could start to really communicate with us. It's SO much fun! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. JennetDecember 30, 2010 at 8:30 PM

    Hah! I guess that was a little unclear, until you remember that my mom is in fact a grown-up and not 17 months old. Then the story works.

    Man, we're having fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 15, 2011 at 12:55 AM

    All I have to say is that your child is amazing hehehe!! XD

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Knife Sharpening

I've gotten a lot of questions on this topic, and the most recent querent prompted me to make a video to demonstrate.  You can find that  HERE . Knife sharpening seems to strike terror into many hearts.  And it's little wonder.  Many famous oboists have gone on record as saying that a sharp knife is the most important aspect of reed making. People have entire systems of stones and strops and rods set up to sharpen their knives. And it is important, of course it is - but I don't believe that you need your knife to be razor-like, or objectively the sharpest blade of any in your home.  The reed knife has one job - scraping cane off in precision ways - and it has to be sharp enough for that, and sharpened optimally for that purpose.  More than that is overly fussy for my taste. This is not to say that I allow my knife to be dull.  A dull knife forces you to put too much pressure on the reed and can cause cracking. Obviously it can lead to terribly inc...
7 comments
Read more

The Blog has MOVED

 Have you been waiting ... and waiting ... and WAITING for a new Prone Oboe post?  Don't wait here anymore!  The blog has moved to https://jennetingle.com/prone-oboe/  and will not be updated here on Blogger anymore.  Please come and check me out there!  I love you all - stay safe out there!  Jennet
Post a Comment
Read more

How Do You WISH You Could Describe Your Reeds?

In Reed Club last Monday, we took a moment before we started scraping to set some intentions.  We each said one word - an adjective to describe what we WANTED our reeds to be.  An aspirational adjective. Efficient was a word that came up, and Consistent . Dark and Mysterious . Mellow . Predictable .  Trustworthy .  Honest .  BIGGER . Reed affirmations actually felt helpful - both in the moment and in the results we found as we worked.  I don't know why that surprises me - I set intentions at the beginning of the year, at the beginning of the month, at the beginning of a run, in the morning before I work.  I love a good affirmation.  I love WORDS.  But I'd sort of forgotten about the possibility of applying one to the mundane work of reed-making.   You don't have to know exactly how to GET to that result.  But having clarity in your mind about what that result is?  Helps you to stop going down unhelpful rabbit holes...
2 comments
Read more