Leaps and bounds, 9/8/10

Update on the Little People Crew:

Boy 1
The Good: We are constantly impressed with Boy 1's memory. He remembers things almost word-for-word on a first hearing. Boy 1 seems to be developing some musical skills, too. All of a sudden he's better able to carry a tune and has a knack for imitating rhythms. Boy 1's coloring is much more controlled these past couple months. He's picked up a wacky sense of humor, too. He seems to understand a bit more subtlety now. And since Girlie's arrival, he has a new interest in gentle play. Which runs completely contrary to...

The Bad and the Ugly: biting. Oh, what an awful discovery! Boy 1 thinks nothing of chomping down on someone--usually Boy 2--without warning, completely unprovoked--not that provocation would make this okay. (But, on a related note, "time out" is finally having an effect, and those completely unreasonable screaming and throwing fits have gotten less frequent.)

Boy 2
The Good: Boy 2 has become interested in potty training. We're not quite convinced he has the ability to stay in control yet, but he wants to, and he's had a good bit of success, enough to be encouraged. It's a good start!

All of a sudden, Boy 2's speech has exploded again. He's about as much of a motormouth as Boy 1 is now. Between the two of them, there's almost never a quiet moment during the day. Much of it is just "saying words," not actually communicating, but that's fine. He makes himself clear when he has something to tell you. And this kid is TALL really suddenly. Big growth spurt!

The Bad and Ugly: ignoring directions, intentional contrariness, and lots of "No!" It took Boy 2 a while to discover "terrible two" toddler behaviors, though, so we're hopeful he'll grow out of them quickly and make it an even shorter stage. Naive?

Girlie
The Good: This girl is a happy eater. She's the first baby we've not had a doctor demand weekly weight checks for, she gained so much in her first week. She's also a smiley baby. No exaggeration, she was smiling before we even left the hospital! It's not like she spends all waking hours smiling, but her smiles are definitely responsive and not just muscle twitches. And she doesn't cry much. Of course, that's partly because, at less than four weeks old, she also isn't awake much. Which brings us to...

The Bad and the Ugly: backward sleep patterns. It's a struggle to keep Girlie awake long enough during the day that she can sleep through overnight. She has only managed three sleep-throughs yet, and no amount of tickling, diaper and clothes changing, talking, bouncing, noisy atmosphere, cold wet washrags, etc. can convince her to wake up during the day unless and until she's hungry, so we're at a loss how to fix this pattern other than wait it out. Oh well. Comes with the territory, I guess.