What are they up to, those busy M kids?
At first glance, Boy 1 seems not to have changed much in the past few months. But if you look closer, you see that his interest in all the things that fascinated him before is gradually getting finer and broader. One example: A few months ago he started sounding out words to read. Now surprises us by picking up something he's never seen before and just reads it out of the blue. He doesn't read regularly on his own yet, but making sense of written words is becoming second nature just the same. A few weeks ago Boy 1 picked up a cereal box he'd never seen before, flipped it over, and read the ad for other varieties from that brand on the back. It went something like this: "Mama, it's cinnamon, honey nut, chocolate, and rice. See?" And every time he does something like that, it shocks me!
Likewise, Boy 1's interest in drawing and writing continue. One of his favorite things lately is to ask to make a a book, meaning he wants one of us to staple together a few blank sheets of paper for him. Then he'll sit down and write out a title, then draw pictures on each page while reciting a story. The drawings are quite good. Usually the story is a mishmash of familiar book and movie characters and plots, but every so often he comes up with something completely unique and usually unintentionally funny.
Boy 2's imagination is growing, too, but in a more three-dimensional way. He doesn't have a whole lot of patience yet for drawing (but more on that below); his creativity is more physical. He's constantly reassuring us that it's OK to come into a room or around a corner because "I will zap the monsters and whales and spiders and Klingons for you." And he does just that: grabs any nearby object, wields it like a sword, and jumps or creeps right up on those bad guys! Lobsters are still a really big deal, so Boy 2's stories are full of them, too. And boy, does he tell stories now! Apparently it's been all he could do to get a word in edgewise with Boy 1's constant prattle, and now Boy 2 makes a point of getting us away from Boy 1 and zoom! Off he goes with one story or question after another. He's quite articulate, has a big vocabulary, and usually gets his grammar right. Just hearing him talk, I forget sometimes that he's not even three.
Boy 2 has recently begun to sing, too. He has always liked music and danced since he was barely walking, but over the past few weeks he has also begun singing along, trying to keep pace and matching rhythms. He hasn't quite figured out how to match pitch and carry a tune yet, but I have no doubt that's coming. And while he doesn't do it for more than a few minutes at a time, Boy 2 does now sometimes ask for crayons and paper and spend a little time trying to draw. It's not coming easy, but his interest is sparked. And he's gotten much more controled with coloring, too.
And Girlie, not surprisingly, has taken huge leaps in the past couple months. She's gone from a crawl to a very confident near-run. She has gained about two inches in height (still very much on the small end of the scale, but growing!). She has become more social and recognizes lots more people on sight, even reaching for one or two other than us. She is not at all a picky eater, happy to try just about anything. She has mastered drinking from a sippy cup (though she can't yet lift a heavy, unsteady full one). Meals are interesting. Some days, she's content with just oatmeal, please. But she more than makes up for it with a monstrous appetite on other days. The girl has out-pancaked her big brothers on more than one occasion.
Girlie also has been working on words. Her favorite sound is a sort of vibrating "brrrrr" noise. She uses it often and in many contexts, but she says it much more clearly and with a glint of recognition when she picks up a book or a brush. She knows those things and wants so badly to say the full word! She babbles purposefully now, with inflections that make it sound like she really has real words and meanings in mind. She just hasn't quite found the switch yet. But she's getting close!
Busy, busy little monsters. :)
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