some generally cute stuff from the boys

My camera is too slow to really capture these new actions on film, although I will keep trying. However, I don't want this phase to go by without recording this in some way, so words will have to suffice for now.

The boys are entering into the Months of the Mimic (which means I may end up having to wash my own mouth out w/ soap soon), in both words and actions. Other than the requisite 'Dada' and "Mama", neither of which is entirely tied to the person (although Dada is typically used when happy and Mama when sad), the first 'real' words to come from either of the boys was William's attempt at Uh Oh.

And I tell you, he uses it correctly and often. He says it when he throws toys out of the play area, throws his bottle on the ground, steals Michael's bottle/toy, and very carefully pitches his blanket over the side of his crib. But according to William, there is no "O" in Uh Oh. It sounds more like Uh oehhhh (where the oe is really one of those funny sound-letters) or Uh uuhhhh with the dot dot over the 2nd two U's.

Their newest action mimic is to "Oh My". Michael either squeezes his cheeks or covers his eyes. William covers his ears or his head. Sometimes Michael will do the action un-prompted, but more often than not, in perfect context (like when William smears food all over his face).

William's also clapping - he claps when we say clap, when we say Yay, when we say "good job Michael/William" or when we clap. He also claps for himself when he's decided he did a good job. Michael's learning to clap too, but he is a little more judicious. We've only seen him thrilled enough to break out the applause twice so far.

Now if I could only get them to mimic laundry folding...

My little monkeys

Several years ago, I was in a Mission Valley parking lot on a Saturday afternoon when I got a call from my brother, Chris. I'm fairly certain Chris had been watching football at Wills that day. Chris said "Tina, I think you should have a kid. And I will call your kid monkey. Then I can tell people 'I'm a monkey's uncle'."

So we had kids. And to support Chris, we decorated their rooms with monkeys. They have monkey toys, and for the first 6 months, nearly all their onesies had monkeys on them. Well, the evolution is complete. As of this week, I am certain they have evolved into monkeys!

Gone are the days where I was wishing that Michael would be just a little more engaged in playtime, maybe at least trying to crawl or pull himself up on my lap. Gone are the days when I would think "won't it be cute when the boys start really playing together." Oh no, now I wish "Couldn't they just sit quietly and read books." For yes, my children are now monkeys.

Last week, they DID start playing together. Michael crawled (yes crawled! on his hands and knees...not army style!) over to the fireplace, pulled down the basket of bibs that sort of 'hides' the allure of the fireplace, and I swear turned and winked at William. William promptly ran (yes ran!) over, climbed right up and started banging on the fireplace wall.

I am fairly certain that this is the conversation that Michael then had inside his head over the course of the week:

"Hmmm...that looked fun. I really want to do that. I mean REALLY. I have never REALLY wanted to do anything, but I REALLY want to do that. How can I? I mean, I don't even REALLY know how to crawl except a little bit. And I can't REALLY even stand up, unless I try hard. But Wow, I REALLY want to get up there. And bang. Oh, and there's glass that looks like a mirror. Oh fun. Oh I need to do that. How?" And then some crying ensues and Michael gets taken up for a nap.

Next Day: "Ok, I can't climb up there, but I think I can climb in other places. Like mommy's leg. And maybe on the toybox. And a little bit on my little chair but not really. Oh well, I will just suck my thumb instead."

And for about a week, these conversations rotate in Michael's head until one day...

"Ok, today when Mommy comes and gets me from my nap, I'm going to be standing up. I'll try and I'll try." And he did. In fact, he and William were both standing in their cribs on the near ends, reaching across the gap, holding hands and giggling when I walked in.

And when it got to playtime, he very decisively crawled (on all fours) over to the fireplace (where William had already removed the basket of bibs), and just climbed up. Like there was no struggle at all. And then proceeded to bang on the doors, gaze at himself in the mirror and 'invite' William up to join him.

Now I wish I could tell you that was the end of that story, but something this exciting and 'off limits' doesn't get boring too quickly. Neither does climbing on the couch and throwing toys into the kitchen (William) or diving off the furniture and fireplace (both). Or climbing into the back of the dump truck (William).

So Uncle Chris, you got your wish. You really are a Monkeys' Uncle.

Mommy dating

There are online dating services out there for nearly everyone - eHarmony, Match, J-Date, Craigslist even. There are not really sites out there though for 'friend dating'. Want to meet other gals to add to your social circle? Well, walking up to a girl at a bar and saying "hey want to be my friend" could really backfire on you...not that there's anything wrong with that. Want to add other moms to your mommy circle? Well, there are some solutions here - hospital or community sponsored mom's groups, gym and music classes, the park etc. But the mommy dating phenomenon is kinda strange.

We've been going to Gymboree Music for a couple months now. The boys love it. And they love the other kids - Wyatt, Samantha, David, Emily, Trevor. And the moms are really friendly - one got out my carpet squares for me the other day as I walked in with my arms full of boys. One commented on how much more wiggly Michael is getting (bonus points for remembering which kid was the 'low motivation' one, and knowing which kid was which - arms full, I missed nametags). One just laughed when William walked up and started squeezing her son's cheeks. And I know all sorts of things about their kids - first teeth, first steps, troubles with new foods, napping challenges, you name it.

But to this day, I have no idea any of the moms' names. In fact, this week, we followed one of the moms almost all the way to our house (I promise that it wasn't as creepy as that sounds). She waved at one stop sign and I said to the boys "Boys, wave to David's Mommy." So now I'm thinking "Hmm... David must live rather near us. It could be fun to get together with them at the park or Panera or something". But would it be weird for me to say to "David's mommy", after 2 months of music class, "Hi, David's mommy. I am Tina. Do you want to have lunch with me?"

The thing is - I have my friends. So I assume that other mommys do too. But just because I have my 'out with the girls' friends, doesn't mean that I can't make some mommy friends. I suppose the fact that these other moms are at Gymboree by themselves, not with a group of friends, could mean that they're also looking for some mommy friends. But then I think - I have mommy friends too. We just don't go to Gymboree together because our kids are just slightly different ages. But we also don't get together for lunch or park dates every week because we live all over the county from each other.

So...maybe next week at Gymboree I will say "Hi I am Tina". I may have to work up to asking another mommy out on a 'date', but maybe I'll get there.

Bathroom Humor Take #2

Same kid, new story. This is one I'm hanging onto in order to have ammo for embarassing my son in front of future girlfriends, football buddies, whatever.

This past Saturday, Uncle Kevin and I took the boys out for a fun afternoon of dining and shopping, returning in time for afternoon naps. The day started out a bit chilly, so the boys had donned cargo pants, long sleeved t-shirts and hoodies. But by the time we returned home, it was a bit warmer, so the hoodies were no longer needed. And for nap time, after clean diapers were being sported, neither were the pants. Or so we thought...

Fast forward a few hours to wake-up time. Nana and Grandpa had arrived and were happy to take over wake-up duty while I was getting dinner ready. I started to think that the wake up was taking a little longer than usual, but hey - they may have been a bit out of practice trying to re-diaper a squiggly wiggly kid. Then I heard some rumblings and maybe a little giggling as the crew returned downstairs. As they came to the bottom of the stairs, Nana said "We'll let Mike tell you the story." So here it is (paraphrased) -

Upon entering the bedroom, they were greeted by a smiling William, standing up, perhaps jumping up and down, in his crib. Pantsless (oh wait, you know that part already). Diaperless.

Said soiled (the messy kind) diaper had been strewn from the crib and had landed on the carpet (ick side up, I presume by the fact that my carpet is not stained). However, crib sheet and blanket were not so lucky. Additionally, it appears that William took joy in being as free as a bird, and wanted the world to know he is truly a boy. So he used this opportunity to (presumably while standing) pee all over his crib bumper. Awesome.

Two lessons learned from this mess:
1. whenever your kid is going to let loose, you better hope that Nana and Grandpa are the ones to catch it. (they stripped off all the offensive linens and got them washed before I even had to step foot in the scene of the crime. my only regret is that I don't have pictures to use for future bribery)
2. never let Uncle Kevin put the diaper on the kid right before a nap.

Potty training with this kid will either be easy as pie or the roughest experience of my life. Thankfully, so far Michael has not developed any potty obsessions...but I'm sure that's just a matter of time.

Bathroom humor

For this post, I must paint you a little picture - William is almost one. He's been standing for a few months now. In our family room, along the fireplace, we have a toy basket and a jumperoo. But it's possible to get between them and pull up along the fireplace. On the hearth, we have two baskets - one full of diapers and wipes, one full of bibs. (aside - one of William's favorite activities is to pull the bibs out one by one until they are all over the family room floor).

Lately, we've noticed that once or twice a day, William will crawl over to the fireplace, climb up and just stand quietly for a minute or two before crawling back into the middle of the room to play. Each time he returns to the middle of the room, he has a full stinky diaper. I have heard of kids doing this when potty training, but I guess I didn't realize it'd happen this fast.

Well, yesterday, while playing with Nonnie Connie and Nanny Nicole, William went over to his "potty" to do his thing. When he was finished, rather than just returning to play, he dug into one of the baskets and "walked" over to Nicole with a clean diaper to hand her. What a brilliant child!

some random things at 11 months

There are times when I wish we were on one of those TV reality shows like Jon and Kate + Eight - not for the intrusiveness of having our lives (and my messy house) paraded around America. But...at least then I'd be able to chronicle all the fantastic things that happen around here. Well, while I'm waiting for us to be discovered, here are a few random ramblings of little snippets of our life:

Monday morning, William was still sleeping (for about 60 more seconds), so Michael on the changing table, had my undivided attention. He greeted me with a huge smile and a high-pitched "mama!" I was thrilled to think that he finally has put name to face, so I responded "Did you just say 'mama'?!" with a big smile in encouragement. He winked (I swear it) and said "Dadadada".

As I've frequently written or commented, William seems to be my more independent child, the explorer. To this point, the only time he's welcomed a snuggle has been following a stumble (or back when I had him swaddled so tightly he couldn't escape). This past week, I do believe he has developed a little bit of jealousy when he sees Michael tuck in for his daily snuggle with mom. A few times now, during our afternoon playtime, he has crawled over to me, climbed up on my lap and just put his arms around my neck. Before you start thinking he's grown 'soft', rest assured - these new snuggles only last long enough for him to pull my hair, or knock me in the eye with whatever block, ring or ball is firmly gripped in his hand.

The circus just isn't the same as I remember. Although to be honest, what I more remember about the circus has to do with the structure of the Brown County Arena hosting the circus. Today, a small group from the circus did a free demonstration at the Boys & Girls club down the street. It was free, and we were facing a 3 hour awake stretch before bedtime, so I was anxious for an outing. however, it was lame. Well maybe not to the 8 kids that got to hold the 200lb albino monster snake, but... I must remember this when the boys are older and want to go to the full-blown, overpriced circus. We will go to the zoo instead.

And finally, a glimpse at my children for once not behaving perfectly. This morning, we were on an extended outting following physical therapy. We stopped at a bookstore to hopefully browse the childrens book section to find gifts for upcoming births and birthdays. Upon arrival in the kids section, both of the boys instantly launched into the loudest melt-down I've experienced in public. Michael was able to calm himself once he relocated his thumb. William was working so hard to get out of his infant seat, that I finally unhooked him and slung him onto my hip. that worked for a little while until he started feeling a bit warm...and I realized he had peed all down the side of my shirt (well, leaked). The thing that was not awesome is that I hadn't found the gifts yet, and I really needed them today. So we hustled into the bathroom, did a quick change (emerging pantless - William, not me) and I quickly found what I needed. I will give HUGE thanks to Jeff (or maybe John?) the store employee who noticed me struggling to the front of the store with the huge stroller and the pile of books - with the boys' fussy state, there was no way I was piling the books into their seats with them. He carried the books up to the front and then entertained the boys with silly faces and sounds until I was done checking out.

good people still do exist - I just hope they get to keep their jobs...I need them out there to carry the books, open the doors, smile when I can't get a smile out of the boys, etc....

Trading...the early years

I spent this morning in a time warp. A really big one. In case there is any question about how early (really early) trading happened, thanks to my sons, I now know.

Picture this - two cavemen are wandering out in a field (too dark in their cave for you to really see this picture). One caveman, we'll call him William, is carrying a branch. The other caveman, we'll call him Michael, is carrying a stone. As an observer, it's obvious to you that William is only carrying the branch because someone probably put it in his hand. He's enjoying it, but he's not overly committed to it. Michael, on the other hand, loves his stone. He's tossing it back and forth between his hands. He tries taking a bite out of it to see if it tastes good. He throws it along the ground and then lumbers after it. However, you also notice that the stone seems a bit too heavy for Michael to hold it securely.

About halfway through the field, the two cavemen bump into one another. William sees Michael's stone and grunts. Since you, the reader, may not be fluent in caveman-ese, allow me to translate. "Oh wow, oh wow. A stone. I want to play with a stone." So William drops his branch on the ground and takes the stone away from Michael (who didn't have a good grip on it in the first place, therefore it's not really stealing). Michael looks at William and grunts "oh bummer, I was really enjoying that stone. However, I am a bit too lazy to fight you for it, so I'm just going to take your branch." So you see, a trade has been made.

Now lest you think I am really letting my sons play with stones and branches, do not worry - not in the house. This morning's trades were between a toy mirror and a stacking ring. And the back and forth went on for an hour. I am also happy to tell you that Michael initiated a few of the trades. He is getting sneaky - he notices when William's attention is waning and grip loosening and then he makes his move. What I will also tell you is that in our toy box, we have ten stacking rings. I don't know what made this one so special. Perhaps the bright yellowness of it.

And finally, in case anyone in the outside world ever reads this, or for any other mommies who want some good toddler insight, I didn't create this idea of the cavemen myself. I am currently reading Happiest Toddler on the Block and this is Dr. Karp's concept. (Although in my reading he hasn't applied it to toy trades quite yet. Maybe he'll pick that up in his next book and give me some recongition. Or a few $$s.) And it's totally true. Next time you're around a toddler, pretend he's a caveman...you'll find you've entered into the same timewarp.