three sweet kids

Yesterday we watched "Frozen," including the credits. At the end, they list "production babies." I thought one name was way crazy, and exclaimed about it. Kiddo quietly added, "And one was named Wednesday. But let's not tell the people who made the movie, and let's not make fun of the baby."

We also fed the sister missionaries. At one point, when Babs thought the attention had been on someone else long enough, announced, "So Girls," and waited until she had the missionaries attention, "well, I've finally got my own scriptures."

Earlier, I was shopping with Babs and the Boy, holding him on my hip, facing out, so I could focus on what I was buying. It turns out that he was smiling at everyone, with that perfect gummy grin that comes with this age. I could tell because everyone that walked by commented on it, or suddenly laughed in that i've-just-been-loved-by-a-baby sort of way.

baby wisdom

Yesterday as Babs was trying to play with the Boy, she said "Babies do's what they want to do." I agreed with her. It's true, we can't make him do much of anything, and he certainly doesn't respond when we say "no" or "don't do that" or even "come here." I believe Babs was a little wistful in her comment, wishing she didn't have to comply either.

But as I thought about it later that day, I realized that there is plenty he doesn't get to do, even when he wants. He can't move much of anywhere unless I move him. He can only protest when things don't go his way, not actively change them. He is still figuring out how to even move his body.

So they do what they want, but only within their abilities. Now if I could only explain that to her.

we're braver when we're together

Yesterday, Kiddo and Babs chose to watch a potentially scary My Little Pony episode (especially if you're my children). They sat next to each other on the couch, sharing my husband's Kindle.

"Let's not be scared," Kiddo suggested.

She amended her idea, "But let's cuddle close together in case we are."

When I walked by a while later, they were huddled next to each other with Babs' arm around Kiddo's shoulder.

***

They still don't like our basement. They rarely go down by themselves, and never just to hang out there. If one of them needs to go down there, she enlists the other to be her safety. They only play there if someone else is there. But I love what Kiddo says each time they boldly venture down the stairs, "We're braver when we're together!"

(But truthfully, they're getting better. Perhaps by next year they'll be able to handle it on their own, who knows?)

how to move if you can't crawl or walk

The boy can make some serious distance at this point. Any day now I expect him to crawl into the kitchen after me. (But I'd like this to be after my visit to my grandparents, not before. But two weeks may be asking too much.) He's still not crawling though. He pivots. He rolls from one side to another (but not consecutively so he's goes places, just as a thing to do). He pulls with his hands, and he pushes with his hands. Occasionally he lurches, which makes him look like an inchworm.

When he pushes, it sends him backwards. But he realizes that it sends him backwards, and he just uses it as another method of locomotion. He sees what he wants, turns himself so he's facing away, looks over his shoulder and pushes. I love that he watches his backwards movement facing the way he wants to go.

This also means that when he backs himself so that a chair leg or piano bench leg is between his legs, he can no longer move, because he can't back up any further, or roll. It's awesome to watch this development.

some thoughts about Babs

When she was very little (as in, someone still needed to carry her) Babs was a very serious child - at least out in public. She would stare at people as if she needed to learn everything there was to know about them. And she still is much more aware of relationships than my other two.

Yesterday, I registered her for what I call in my head "official preschool." They asked four or five social/emotional development questions, all of which could have had the same answer: it's complicated. Yes, she throws tantrums. No, I've never known of one to happen in response to an adult who is not her parent (or serving in a parental role). She is suspicious of other children, except when she really likes them. Are you an adult? She will either ignore your efforts at interaction while willing you to disappear, or she will talk to you for hours. It is not clear what moves an adult from outer to inner circle, or anyone for that matter. My daughter will never be easy to pin down (figuratively or literally). 

Some funny moments:
A few days ago she announced that she had waited long enough, and she wanted her "childs right now!" I can't help but think you should at least be able to wipe your own bottom before you take on other peoples.

There are many words we ask her not to say, like swear words (luckily she only knows one so far), shut up, hate, and ugly. Mostly we don't like these words because we can only handle "I HATE this dinner!" so many times. But she hears them in her TV shows (intense ones like My Little Pony) and her music (that Sandra Boynton), so then we discuss them. Today her baby doll was saying about the things she hated. (This is not the first time Babs has used her dolls as scapegoats to see what she can get away with in terms of inappropriate language.) I tried vainly to explain the difference when it's okay and not, and this was Babs' summary, "Baby's mom doesn't letter her use the word hate either, so she says it differently. She says it in Spanish."

We checked out the book "Suki's Kimono" from the library. It's a sweet book about a girl going to school for the first time, and wearing her kimono because it makes her feel special and remember her grandmother, even though all the other kids suggest she should wear other clothes. Finally, she is accepted for who she is. This is Babs' take away:"My favorite characters are her sisters." "Why?" "Because their clothes are so awesome!"

(Babs and her tape. She loves it, and will use as much as I let her, then just a little more.)

surprise!

Kiddo and Babs like to hide (in the same four places), wait for someone to come by, and jump out and yell "Surprise!" It is never a surprise because they are always there, and they are usually visible. This has been going on for a very long time. At first I indulged them, now I acknowledge them, but not always in a supportive way. (I once replied to their hiding behind the door in the entry way with "you know what would be a surprise? If you actually put on your shoes like I asked you to.") I keep waiting for this phase to be over, but that may never happen.

Despite the joy of surprising others, they hate to be surprised, so there is now a rule that you can only surprise mom or dad, not each other.

They used to hide between their beds, in plain view where I could see them as I walked in the door. "Hey Kiddo" I would casually say. One day she sincerely asked, "How do you know I'm there?" My first response was, how could I not know you're there? but I didn't say that because she seemed truly perplexed. I paused to think about it and then realized, I'm over a foot taller than both of them. I called her over to her doorway, and lifted her up so she was looking from my perspective. "Now do you know how I know you're there?" And she understood. When she came into the room, she couldn't see between the beds, so it seemed like a good hiding place to her. (I then showed her that if she laid on her side next to Babs' bed I actually couldn't see her, so she's there pretty often.)


The ironic part of the never ending game of surprise is that when the house is dark, and we think they are all asleep, Kiddo is the master of silent movement. She silently pads from her bed to wherever we are, and if we're lucky, we see her before she stands still waiting to be noticed in the shadowy corner. Both my husband and I have been seriously startled by these events more than once, enough to scare her by our responses (man-ly yelps and all).

babbles

The boy makes two consistent sounds: "dadadadadadada" and "mamamamamamama"

But perhaps I could call them proto-words, because they have meanings.

"dadadadadadada" means "this is a fun sound, I like life, I am content right now, I like this"

"mamamamamamama" means "life is miserable! why won't someone fix it? ahhhh!" It should be noted that this boy is not a whiner. He has to be really sad to let us know. (Unless of course it's nap time.)