In September, I had a few notes here that I wanted to write into a post. I ran short of time, so I changed the date in the title and added a few more notes but got interrupted. October came and went and I still had no time. An awful lot was happening with the kids, though, so I added a few more notes, changed the date again, and crossed my fingers for November. Well, it is December now, and I can see I will never get this posted if I don't find some corners to cut. So, full narrative you will not get. A few details will have to suffice.
Boy 1:
- an expanding palate...finally! Lately, Boy 1 willingly eats cold-cut turkey and ham, eggs, chicken ("wif a bone on it"--that is, don't cut it up for me!), and apple peels.
- "PAH-KAN!" A made-up word that Boy 1 shouts at us when he's angry. We call it baby cursing. If you ever witness it, you can't possibly mistake it for anything else. Creative but not cute at all.
- helping with Boy 2 and Girlie. It's not a sure thing all the time, but very often By 1 will retrieve something from another room, reach a higher object, etc. for his siblings if we ask him to.
- drawing. Of course and still!
- making faces. Boy 1 is the world's worst actor, and it's hilarious. If you tell him, "Make a goofy face," he does. Then if you tell him, "Make an angry face," the goofy one comes out again. "Make a sad face" results in a third goofy. I'm not sure whether he's honestly not aware they're all the same face, or whether he does it on purpose to get a laugh, but one way or another, it cracks us up.
- working with his hands. We've spent a few days playing with craft dough, and Boy 1 had a ball.
- sassing or arguing. Not sure whether I find this or the baby cursing more disturbing, but the good news is, while he still has more than his fair share of inexplicable anger and stubbornness, Boy 1 is generally a much more pleasant kid to be around than he was six months ago.
- being friendly. Boy 1 is very much an inside-himself kid, but he's finally learning to--sometimes, anyway--greet people, respond when he's spoken to, or return a hug.
- a few things I wish Boy 1 would learn once and for all: eating with a fork, brushing teeth willingly, letting us cut his nails without the kind of shrieking and cries of "Oh, don't hurt me!!" that bring concerned neighbors to the doorstep.
Boy 2:
- improving speech: There's almost never a time we can't understand Boy 2's words now, and his grammar is pretty good, too. I think this is why people are so often shocked when they hear his age. He looks younger with that round baby face, but he speaks like a much older kid.
- singing and dancing: He's not shy. "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and anything from "The Wiggles" are great favorites.
- reading. Boy 2 has a few favorites now that he'd drop just about anything to sit and have read aloud. He's getting better at turning individual pages, too, instead of flipping a handful at a time. Between that and the memorizing/reciting, he's turning read-alouds into an interactive thing now.
- recognizing when he's tired: Running around at nap time is far less frequent now. Boy 2 loves his naps again like he did as a baby.
- sitting in a regular chair...sort of: We don't dare do this for meals yet, but Boy 2 can handle a small snack without being confined in the high chair now.
- being a brute. As he has from Day 1, Boy 2 does everything like a clumsy dinosaur. He's happy and enthusiastic and strong, and he jumps into everything with both feet and no hesitation. The result is a lot of broken, twisted, crumpled, or otherwise damaged toys and household items and a constant refrain of "Be gentle!" from us.
- pilfering from the kitchen and closets. This one is a real problem. We use baby-proof devices as much as possible, but he can outsmart those. And he's strong. He literally lifts closet doors off their tracks if he can't get them open in the traditional way. And he's sneaky. You might think he's not paying attention, but if Mama or Dada dares to sneak out of the room (bathroom breaks are practically impossible!), he has his hands in something he shouldn't within two or three seconds.
- as always, being the happy, joking, laughing one even when everyone else is crying. His latest cute gag is to approach Boy 1 when Boy 1 is "having a moment" and hug him, saying, "It's okay."
These brothers have reached a couple milestones together, too. For one thing, the boys have actual conversations with each other now. Before their talk tended to be rather one-way, or they would just repeat random phrases, lines from books or songs, etc. to each other. Now they actually answer each other's questions and exchange infomation. Also, when they're in the bathtub, they both attempt to wash their own hair instead of one of us doing it for them. (I will be glad when this is true of toothbrushing also. Gee, have I mentioned that before?) They have also simultaneously become tattle-tales. Boy 2 will wait until he's sure one of us will hear, then says "Why you doin' dat, Boy 1?" or "No, don' [fill in the blank with Boy 1's current transgression], Boy 1." Boy 1 likes to put on a little drama with his report. He'll give one of us great big, faux-innocent eyes and say, "What's Brother doin'?"
Girlie:
- smiling. Girlie's the happiest baby we've ever known! Mornings always start with smiles, and unless she's hungry or needs a diaper, the smiles turn on the moment someone looks at her. Even when she's by herself in the crib right before falling asleep, she makes happy squeals and giggles.
- gazing at faces. Followed immediately by a big smile when she gets caught.
- "talking." Give her a smile and an introductory "Ooh," and Girlie will happily imitate and exchange sounds with you for long, long stretches.
- working or staring at hands. It won't be long now before until she's using them. [OK, this one's WAY old. Adding another now...]
- using her hands. Girlie reaches for, grasps, and holds stuffed animals, hair, clothing--anything within her reach. And if it's only slightly out of range, she'll maneuver herself until she can reach it.
- rolling. Well, sort of. She rolled over once for the first time last week, but I'm not sure she was really aware she had done it herself. However, even when she doesn't accomplish a roll, she's quite mobile. Girlie can rotate a full 360 within just a few minutes when laid on either her back or her front, and she's constantly arching and straightening her back, arms, and legs in that funny "baby swim" motion.
- sleeping through overnight, and being more wakeful during the day.
- growing. Girlie put on more than two inches in length between her 1-month and 2-month check-ups! Now that it's almost time for the 4-month check, I'm curious about her weight. She has the chubbiest thighs and upper arms.
And we've reached the point where all three kids are content to sit still and read a book with Mama and Dada. Good times!
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