Wow. I really don't want to turn this blog into a "woe is me" saga, but holy cow, every time I think we have a handle on things, the kids grow and change and start doing things we are totally not prepared for.
For example: Ezra has now figured out that stepstools and his little kid-size chairs are his friends. He can haul them wherever he wants in the house to open up a whole new dimension to his world - anything higher than 3 feet. So we'll be busy doing something and see him out of the corner of our eyes purposefully dragging his little blue Ikea chair across the apartment to get to stuff on the kitchen counter. Stuff like sharp knives, scissors, lighters, you know, perfect preschool-age toys like that.
PLUS, he has now turned our world completely upsidedown by learning how to climb out of his crib. So now he refuses to nap. Even though he needs to. Desperately. (Thankfully - and believe me, we know this is temporary - he hasn't been climbing out at bedtime yet.) So that hour-and-a-half-long break that I (Ash) need on the days I'm home with him has evaporated. And the rest of the day often involves multiple bouts of uncontrollable crying. (Mostly on his part, but I can't say I'm not often on the verge).
I guess what I'm starting to really come to grips with is that he's an autonomous person. We can't force him to do every last thing we want him to. Not that I want some pliant blob of a child. But it's hard giving up old habits and routines with him and venturing into the unknown world of no naps and him having access to a whole lot of stuff we never worried about before.
Still, he's astounding us all the time with things he's learning to say and the kinds of conversations he can carry on. Yesterday, when I picked him up at his nanny Najiba's house, a relative of Najiba's had just dropped by her house. He chatted with Ezra about Ezra's plans to become an astronaut when he grows up. (Don't tell him NASA is ending the space shuttle
program.) Then on the way out of Najiba's house, Ezra said, "He's nice. I told him I want to be an astronaut. I'm going to tell Daddy when he gets home and he's going to think that's hilarious." Or he uses words that just sound so bizarre coming out of a two-year-old's voice - for example, looking at a picture book, "Oh, I didn't realize that was a pig."And Oliver - wow, what a difference a few weeks make. He now rolls over and over in a corkscrew maneuver and can cover some serious ground. AND he's starting to pull himself forward and use his knees in the very beginning stages of a crawl. Seeing him learn how to use his body so well makes him seem way more grown-up and, well, human. He's also watching the world very carefully and pays a lot of attention when we point things out to him. He loves to watch our cat, Zoe, and gets a big grin on his face every time we say, "See the cat? The cat says, 'meow'". And his favorite person to watch, bar none, is Ezra. Check out the video I'm posting (and forgive the shaky quality - something got weird in the editing.)
He's also started solids, but not with a great deal of enthusiasm so far, as you can tell from the pic.The sleep battle is ongoing. We actually are temporarily throwing in the towel on the "sleep training" because it didn't seem to be having any effect after a week and a half and was causing heartache to everyone within earshot. (Sorry, Dad, especially.) The alternative isn't great because he wakes up every couple of hours and needs to nurse to be able to fall back asleep, but one of these years he'll get the hang of sleeping through the night. I presume.
Both sets of grandparents visited and showered the boys with love and presents. We can't wait till they come back again (and Grandma, that's not just because of your chocolate chip cookies, but if you bring more, let's just say, we won't be sad).Oh, and I almost forgot to write about one sublimely sweet thing that I never want to forget - lately right before we say goodnight to Ezra in his crib, he kisses us on the mouth, nose, eyelids, forehead, hair and ears. I can't think of anything sweeter in the whole world.
Love and smooches,
Ash, Gabe, Ezra, Oliver and Zoe (who says, "meow!")
