Mama Bear is Born

Tuesday I had planned to take the kids back to the MOST but then remembered that it is closed Monday and Tuesday. Since it was cold and rainy and we'd be trapped indoors again all day I loaded the kids up in the car and headed back out to Great Northern Mall toddler play area.

I guess in the back of my mind I knew this day would come. I hadn't anticipated that it would arrive in this type of setting, or so early, though probably I should have. Mama (Bryn)Bear has emerged.

There were about four moms and one dad at the play area, with about 10 kids running around. While Theo and Beckett were running around I noticed one kid, a little ginger about 4 years old, hanging out at the top of the slide, curled up in a fetal position. It looked like he was trying to hide from his dad, or try to see how long it would take for his dad to notice that he was not visible from where his dad was sitting. (Unrelated tangent: dad did NOT notice that his son was missing because he was flirting it up with a mom on the other side of the play area.) I tried to model good communication by asking the little boy to move over ("Excuse me! Would you please move over so we can get by?") but he ignored me and made himself larger so there was no way for the boys to move around him. I asked again, to no avail. I started feeling angry as the kid obviously did what he could to obstruct the babies' path and openly disobey me. The next time I told him to move over, then physically moved him to one side of the slide by sliding him across the surface. He spread out again. By this time I was pretty mad. Theo just watched, looking at me and looking at the boy. I finally picked up the kid and stood him up by the side of the slide. That's when his dad finally came over to do something, and scolded the kid. He continued to be obnoxious by hanging out at the bottom of the slide so my boys couldn't go down without hitting him, and then he would make it difficult for them to stand up and move away. I was really impressed that both Theo and Beckett were watchful of him and patient as they tried to figure out what was going on. Later the boy pushed both boys and, while I stayed nearby wanting to go in and kick this kid in the face, Theo looked at him very puzzled, for a while, and then sighed and walked away. I was very impressed with my little guys and their walking away from a jerk. Not crying or asking for my help, just walking away. And for showing me the patience not to kick the kid in the head.

Around the house

We've spent a lot of time in the house lately since it's been so cold out. I haven't even wanted to take the boys grocery shopping because of all the time they'd have to spend outside just getting to and from the car. So the boys have had lots of opportunities to examine the books in the bookshelf and try out all kinds of acrobatics with their toys and other household items.

Theo got himself wedged in the pasta pot. I only had time to take one blurry pic before I had to help him out.

This Immanuel Kant CAN'T write for crap!

Standing on the vroom. The new biggest challenge. Beck is SO proud of himself.

Mo and Jim next door have a great little playhouse in their yard. It's become a favorite stop on the way home from our regular walk around the block, along with their sandbox.

Theo figuring out how to get himself into the laundry hamper as gracelessly as possible.

Theo somehow figured out how to get himself into the grocery cart without standing on anything to help. Beck then realized the moment was ripe for pushing his brother around.

Beck and Theo boning up on their father advice books.

Trip to the MOST

This morning we took our first expedition to the MOST, the Syracuse science museum. I didn't know what to expect because I haven't been there in years (and then only for an IMAX) but it is a great place for toddlers. And it's only 10 minutes away in downtown Syracuse. Even better: admission is free with our Ithaca Sciencenter membership, and we parked right out front for $1.25. It has an awesome climbing structure that goes at least three stories high, with an air gun that shoots squishy balls, multiple slides, climbing nets, and lots of other cool stuff. It was hard to get good pictures because the boys were rarely standing still and I didn't have great light. It was great to go on a weekday because my guess is that it's pretty busy on weekends and I'd be worried the boys would get stomped by bigger kids (though it's for kids under 4). My guess is we'll make it there at least once a week for the rest of the winter!

Eating us out of house and home

I thought we'd have until the boys were teenagers until we experienced what people have been warning us about since the boys were born: that we would be eaten out of house and home. When Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Stu bought us a new fridge and put the old fridge downstairs, I said, we won't need THAT for a while.

Fast forward one month: now we do. Last night we got our regular order of two calzones from Pizza Pizzaz down the street. I got to eat about half of mine because Theo and Beck ate so much. They would have eaten more but Mama wouldn't share more than half. Last weekend the boys ate tilapia, roasted potatoes and broccoli along with us, then ate two and a half bananas and five clementines between them. What the heck?!? They regularly eat normal adult-sized bowls of cereal with about a cup of milk each. We're now buying as much whole milk as skim milk (what the adults drink)--more than a gallon a week. Today at lunch I made a box of Zatarain's black beans and rice (supposed to be 4 adult servings of rice and beans) and I had to eat a snack after I put the boys down because they ate so darn much!

First game of catch

They could have chose something less dangerous to throw at each other, but it's the thought that counts.

Theo taking off his shirt

We have possibly been watching too many live Usher shows with Theo. Taking off his shirt has become a major hobby.



For reference, a video of live Usher show:

20 Months: Developmental Update

Speech
Beckett is busting out with new words all the time. Theo tends to wait until he's totally mastered a word, then says it to me for the first time. Example: the first time he said "num-nums" it was the most perfectly articulated word I'd heard. Theo also says Mama, Dada, Gaga (Grandpa or Grandma), mail, mailman, milk, bear, bang, boom, more, milk, dog, cat, and a myriad of animal sounds. Beck says boom, bang, star, go, car, excavator, bear, accident, milk, more, num-nums, buh-bye, Mama, Dada, Gaga, cup, cat, lawn mower, sock, ant, apple, and probably some others I'm forgetting. It seems like they are in the midst of  a vocab explosion and it sometimes takes me aback when they bust out with a new word I've never heard.

Motor Skills
Theo continues to be more of a physical risktaker, and Beckett continues to be a little clutzy. He still falls over from a standing or walking position at least once a day. (Hence the learning of the terms "boom" and "bang.") They have just started using their Ybikes a little more all the time, though I actually have them hidden for the next week or two as part of my toy rotation. Beck especially is very interested in rolling trucks, cars, and construction equipment on any surface while saying "vroom." Theo likes to figure out how things work, and likes to push buttons, so he is often found sitting in one place pressing every button on the phone or a remote, or examining the wires in the back of the TV and assorted accoutrements.

Sleep
After a wretched weekend while Daddy Lovebo was in Philadelphia for his Temple program, this week the boys have much improved their sleeping. Since they seem to be more lively in the evening now, and like to run around and play for a while before bed, I have been putting them to bed closer to 8pm now. Every other night they seem to sleep from 8-6, straight through with no wakeups. Sometimes they still wake up closer to 4 or 5, nurse and then go back to sleep. On the mornings they sleep straight til 6am, they will often go back to sleep after nursing, which gives us another half hour or hour of sleep (or a head start on the morning if we're both going to work). This is much more reasonable and though we still don't know why they do what they do when they do it, I feel good about letting them find their own rhythm and knowing when it was time to sleep more consecutive hours of sleep. They are also pretty consistently napping 2-3 or sometimes 4 hours in the afternoon. When I'm with them I put them down around 1:15  and they sleep til at least 3:30 and often closer to 4 or 4:30, sometimes 5pm. When my parents and Mindy are here, I think they are usually put down earlier, closer to 12 or 12:30, and they sleep for two or three hours. They are still a little crankier in the late afternoon/early evening than they are in the morning--more fighting over toys, more whining--but overall they are in really good spirits most of the time.