One thing is for certain, last week both boys grew up.
Simon is now enjoying his seventh accident free day in a row (except the one intentional time when he was angry). Sometime in the middle of last week he turned a corner and decided he didn't want to be asked, poked or prodded about using the toilet - he just wants to take care of business himself. So that streak of lightning running through the hall just before the bathroom door slams shut? That would be Simon. Around the same time he started showing an interest in choosing his clothing, bathing himself, helping out around the house, etc. I'm not sure we are ever going to get used to Simon doing things on his own. Ten years from now when we marvel at our teenager wandering off to use the toilet? Humor us. It's been a long, hard trip.
Simon isn't terribly happy about changing classrooms. He nearly cried both times he was picked up last week because his closest school friends, Tessa and Lisa, are only in the afternoon class while he is in the morning. Matthew has made a concerted effort to schedule playtime with Tessa and Lisa at the park twice a week, which we hope will make the transition easier. On the positive side, Simon has many friends in his new class and one friend, Ashwin, even graduated to the next swim level with him in swim school. We bought Simon goggles this weekend. He doesn't like to hold his face under water and, not coincidentally, is the only kid who doesn't wear goggles. Although he protested the purchase, something snapped in his brain after we brought them home and he spent much of Saturday in the backyard wearing nothing BUT the goggles. I've got photos, but they'll stay private.
Adlai is a different person this week. He crawls over to where he wants to be. He spends much of his time chasing after Simon but will come after me if he is hungry or wander into the kitchen while Dad is cooking. He is particularly fond of pulling up to a stand and will crawl from one piece of furniture to another trying out his new skill. He is very graceful in getting up and letting himself back down and slithering like a snake while under a chair taking care not to bonk his head. He's interested in cruising and, we suspect, will be walking while holding on to chairs any day now. Matthew lowered the crib to the lowest level after he started standing while grabbing on to the rails.
He's also become Mr. Personality. He rocks out to music - bouncing himself up and down, kicking his legs, or rocking himself back and forth. He's started the "I'm going to make myself REALLY dizzy by shaking my head back and forth very fast" thing Simon was so fond of back in the day. His favorite things to do for people are to show off his clapping, and to sing while waving the back of his hand over his mouth to make vibrato. He can do all the motions in the book "Pat the Bunny" - sticking his finger in the hole, touching the touchable things, and playing peek-a-boo with Paul. If he doesn't want a food that is coming toward him he grabs a cheerio really quickly and purses his lips so nothing else can be forced in. He's been getting better at the finger foods - cooked carrot pieces, sliced blueberries, smooshed peas, and brown rice - but he still prefers the faster "spoon" method. His second tooth (lower front right) broke through over the weekend after a very long, sleepless night.
Adlai enjoys being in water and splashing and being splashed a lot more these days and he has an unfortunate habit of yelling at the top of his lungs when he sits in a high chair. We've had to remove him from several restaurants lately to spare those around us. Sometimes he yells because he thinks it is funny, other times he yells because he wants to be taken away. In the car he has a quieter version of the yell that he uses to sing along to the music (especially if he sees Simon singing).
Adlai, the miracle baby, can play by himself for an hour or more - crawling over to take a toy out of his toy box and carefully manipulating it to find out exactly what it does before crawling over to get another toy. He seems to have a particular fondness for musical toys, trucks, and balls. He likes to zoom trucks back and forth and to grab and chase balls once they've escaped his grasp.
I really expected Adlai to be a lot more baby lumpish at this point and not so much like a little boy. Matthew reminds me that I was equally fascinated by Simon around eight months which is, not coincidentally, when we decided having a second baby was a good thing to do. This time it is just nice to watch him grow and to know that pretty soon the pump will be retired forever. Holy cow, doesn't that sound nice? We should have a party to celebrate. A dairy party with cheese and ice cream and pudding...
3 months and 3 weeks to go
