Graham is at a tipping point, literally. Our little guy is becoming a toddler. He walks all around the house these days. It has taken a few months for him to become comfortable with his walking abilities, and he is there. Before he took to his feet, he started climbing (darn gymkids class!). He is proficient at climbing up on the kitchen table, the couch, Gwen's bathroom stool, Gwen's kitchen stool, and escaping from his seat at the table (I have to make sure I strap him in now). Since his Thanksgiving flu like illness, his appetite has returned with a vengeance (maybe all that walking). And for anyone who is keeping track, his bowels seem to have regulated themselves, so yay for no more constipation. At Thanksgiving he was teething and has since busted out his top left canine tooth- he has all his baby teeth except the other three canines. He also has cut back on nursing. I thought this day would never come. He actually asked for regular milk this week (of course he wants to drink big sister's milk, so I have to give him milk in one of her pink flowery cups). This gives me great hope in the sleep department. We are close to having the magical sleep trifecta: mastering the milestone of walking, having all ones teeth, and eating more than nursing. Since the teething started this summer, most nights he wakes every two hours or so to nurse, but we are back to something a little more reasonable (nursing about 3-4 times a night). Which of course is unreasonable! Which is why we are still co-sleeping. Graham is just exploding into his own. He has his own thoughts and ideas, and is expressing them, not always coherently. Diaper changes, getting into the car seat are often battles. Wearing him in the Ergo for longer than 20-30 minutes he gets antsy (especially at big sister's gymnastics where he wants to get down and play with everyone). He is becoming very social waving and saying
hi to his friends at playdates (and yes he has friends, little people we see on a regular basis that he is excited to see). He also waves
bye bye, and sometimes vocalizes it. He signs
more and says
mo, mo. He says
thank you, and will copy the sign, though he is still working on truly understanding the concept. I am trying to teach him thank you does not mean
give it to me, or
here you go. We are also working on
please, which he signed for the first time this week. He is working on being gentle with his friends. I am trying to teach him that ripping off people's noses is not a sign of endearment. He does the sign for
water, but uses it for any drink. He does the sign for
airplane, and makes airplane noises. He says
apple, but seems confused by the sign. And he says
ball. While I understand a lot of his utterances, I realize it is not super obvious to others what he is saying. But I think it is amazing how much I am able to understand of what he tries to communicate. So at 14 months, our baby is becoming a toddler. But I am guessing he is always going to be my baby boy.
Gwen is just a few months into being three years old, and everyone thinks she is so much older, likely because of her height, but also her maturity. She is so independent and articulate. This makes it especially difficult when she does act her age. I have to remind myself, she is only three years old, and a young three none the less. She is just doing amazing. She loves school and her friends there. She comes home with all kinds of great art work, and has been practicing tracing letters and numbers. She is rocking gymnastics, though has a hard time focusing (I honestly get concerned she has ADHD, but I think she is just in an exciting environment and again, is only 3). She still wakes up most nights to join us, but who could blame her; the whole family is in our room, and she is in her little bed all by herself. She has had some interesting behavior lately, and I think it is related to Graham's milestones- people just go crazy when they see him walking, so she is finding interesting ways to get attention too. And most note worthy, she has entered the stage of Why, Why, Why. Going about town she will ask, "But why?" And I answer. And she follows up, "But why?" And I answer, "And she follows up, "But why?" And I say, "Because." And on a few occasions, "Mommy doesn't feel like talking any more right now." We have been listening to a lot of music; Christmas music since the day after Thanksgiving. I don't mind too much, I enjoy having a sing a long in the car rather than an interrogation. All this dialogue is good though, because she is learning so much about her world. She had a dentist appointment this past week and we were able to talk about it ahead of time. I told her she could sit on my lap again if she wanted to, but once we got there she ran back with the dentist to the exam room and hopped up on the seat by herself, without any encouragement or prompting. She sat back in the dentist's chair and allowed the dentist to put the rest of the sealants on her bottom molars without any fuss, while Graham and I waited in the waiting room. I was blown away. It truly was shocking. She was so excited, and so proud of herself. Another one of her new things is insisting she do things by herself, and more often than not, she can do it!
