so some milestones he's accomplished here recently include:
- graduating from the baby classroom to a mixture of baby/toddler classrooms: i was informed friday afternoon that "he just wants to do more!" can't agree more with them - so kaleb will be visiting the toddlers (18-24 months) for play time, but still do meals/snacks and nap time with the babies.
- "permanent" car seats: no longer are the days of toting him from car to restaurant/mall/etc in his carseat. eric's got his carseat permanently in his car, and i've got a convertible one that is rear-facing for now but will convert to forward-facing before we know it. when you weigh 22+ pounds, you can't expect anyone to tote you plus the weight of a carseat resting so (un)comfortably in the crook of their elbow.
- eating more big-people foods, including shredded turkey, grated cheese, cheerios, bananas. that list looks shorter now than i imagined it! i think we've regressed, actually, since having ellie. with her, it was all about getting her to eat what we were. i pureed spaghetti, we mashed EVERYTHING so that she could try it. with kaleb, he's so easy-going that cheerios and puffs satisfy him, so we just don't push him to eat anything else. and clearly by weight/appearance, he's not lacking nutrition! this stage, i will note, is eric's least favorite thus far because of the HUGE mess associated with kids learning to feed themselves. andy (the dog) is a pretty good helper, though, i must say.
- cruising the house on foot - not ready yet to take steps without support, but will cruise anything he can use to balance himself. this afternoon, kaleb found ellie's shopping cart and took off from playroom to living room and returned. he's also learning to balance. once he's got a toy or two to put in his mouth, he tends to let go of stabilizing support and balance rather well while chewing whatever it is in his hands. sometimes he even throws in a squat or two so as not to fall down or lose grip of the toys - pretty impressive!
- sleep is sometimes a feat and sometimes an utter failure...most nights, he's sleeping from about 7.30pm to 6am. some mornings come as early at 4.30 or 5, which we try to talk him into returning to sleep, but most of the time are unsuccessful. sorry, eric, for the loss of sleep. thanks for taking these early mornings for the team! tonight, kaleb put himself to sleep after his bottle at around 7.10...could be a REALLY early morning.
- baby babble continues with "ma ma ma" and "da da da" and "ba ba ba"- mostly. sometimes we'll get some other sounds, but mostly just those 3. and as if there were any doubt that he was boy, in the evenings after dinner, as he plays in the living room, he grunts repetitively. can honestly say ellie never did that one!
- tooth #7 is finally coming in - this will make 4 on the top in addition to 3 on the bottom. slowly but surely he'll have something to eat with!
my sweet boy is the best snuggler - i was so worried in pregnancy that he wouldn't snuggle like ellie, and actually, i think he likes it more than she ever did. she was a mover - always wanted down, away, to move on her own. he will sit for half an hour after naps just waking up in my arms. and at bedtime, he'll eat his bottle and then turn over to lay on my chest, burying his head into my shirt. at this point in time, kaleb's really about being held and giving hugs - he's a good hugger, too! this afternoon he was fussy, so i picked him up and patted his back. he patted mine in return!
kaleb loves bath time - and is so adventurous in the water! ellie was (and still is) pretty timid about getting her hair/face in the water. not so my little man! he lays on his tummy and crawls from one end of the tub to the other, over his sister many nights, to get just the right toy (which these days is a tiny plastic water gun that invokes tears when it's taken away to leave in the bathtub after bathing has concluded for the evening.) he drinks from the cup used to rinse shampoo out of hair, and gets put out when it's used for that purpose and not available for quenching his thirst!
i couldn't imagine 9 months ago how it would work to love two kids so much and so equally, and i still don't have any better answer than, "you just do it," as my mother told me when i asked how she did it with my sister and me. and my heart melts watching my children together. ellie is the only one who can repeatedly make him laugh on command, even when fussy and tired, even when hungry, even when mad - he changes into smiles and giggles for her. she is motherly in her concern for his boogies and his spit up, willing to wipe both away if we're in the car and i can't reach him. she finds his plugs when he's fussy, reloads his tray with cheerios at dinner, and hugs/kisses him goodnight just about every night. at school, she is so proud to show off her brother to her friends when everyone is playing outside. (i'm sure all this will change in a few years, but for now, i love it!)
i am blessed to get to care for these 2 kids, to attempt to join eric in raising them to love Jesus and love others. i am having a blast doing so - and all this said after a rough evening of fussiness and (a few) tears because of no dessert (we had toast and jelly with dinner; i think that's dessert enough) and of many scratches from sharp fingernails (which got clipped before bed). times can be rough, but nothing takes away from the heart God has given me to love these two with a love like none other. and to grow my love for their father as i watch him parent alongside me. God is good to let me love my family!
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