Something’s coming, something good

Even though Curly’s language skills are a little delayed, in the past week we’ve heard/seen some things that have surprised us in a very good way. He is starting to use commands, which are usually 2-3 words. “Mommy, shoes off!” “Dog, eat!” “Mommy lay-ow” ( lay down). We had a lot of fun on the couch last night when he was continually telling me to lay down by pressing on my shoulder, and then telling me ‘Up!’ so I’d spring back up and he’d have a chuckle. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

If you ask him “What color is this?” he always says “Lello!” but when you ask him for the red, green or blue block, he will bring you the correct color. His imaginative play is starting to evolve. When he’s building blocks, he now builds with purpose, showing us that he’s made a “Copter!”, “Choo choo!” or “Boat!” Guess we have to teach him that he can build more than just vehicles.

He realizes when he’s done something wrong, and when he’s hurt one of us by accident. If we say “ouch!” in response to something he’s done, he’ll look bashful and point out the “boo boo.” He may even say “Sowwy” although it doesn’t sound like he means it yet.

85% of the time, he’ll tell us he’s pooped after the fact. Unfortunately, sometimes he says he’s pooped when he hasn’t (which he probably confuses with another bodily function in the same area). Potty-training boot camp at daycare is going as well as we thought. He pees in the potty about half the time. We haven’t had any further luck at home and we’re not pushing it.

Next week we’re going to be at the beach, sharing a house with Love+Love=Marriage. Very excited about it, especially now that Curly and HP are of an excellent age to interact and play!

Off! Off!

We’ve been singing the same lullaby to Curly for about a year.  Last night when we started to sing, he exclaimed “Off! Off!” and thrashed about in Strawberry’s arms.  We stopped singing and asked him what he wanted “off”.  And after a few suggestions, we identified the fact that he wanted a different song!  Well, there’s that toddler insisting on getting his way thing.  We were happy to comply and continued switching things up for tonight’s song.  As a bonus, he’s so fascinated by the new songs that he cuddles while we sing, whereas before we’d have a squirmy boy trying madly to wiggle away.  I wonder how long it will take for us to run out of showtune ballads?

One…two…two…two

Admittedly I got a little burnt out on the unchallenge. I think I can handle some bullets about Curly though.

• Everything is ‘mine’ these days, and he is acutely aware of what is his. We were at a sand pit recently and I had brought a bag of sand toys for him. All the kids were basically sharing all the toys, but whenever he caught sight of another child with one of his toys, he would get upset and say ‘Miiiine!” at which point I had to explain for the zillionth time, “Yes, that is your toy, but you have lots of toys and are being a very good boy sharing them with your friends.” Couldn’t help but laugh the other morning when he was eating breakfast, pointed at something across the room, and a crumb of waffle fell from his hand on to the floor. I called our dog to come over and eat it and as she did, he was all “Miiiine!”
• Curly. Loves. Climbing. I would say that’s his favorite thing to do. And also why he is covered in bruises.
• He likes to point out when there are “Two!” of something, but currently can’t get further than that.
• He is still a fantastic eater. I would say he regularly eats as much as we do at dinner and yet he must burn off all those calories because he’s only in the mid 40th percentile on weight.
• There will be a 2-week potty-training boot camp at the end of this month at Curly’s daycare. Good luck, people, good luck. Half the time he still doesn’t want to tell us he’s pooped because it means he has to stop what he’s doing to get changed. Also, the whole peeing in the mini-potty thing we did a few months ago? Totally lost its novelty.
• Curly has gotten more affectionate lately…in his own way. We cannot stand in the kitchen making a sandwich or pouring a drink without him grabbing our legs and using our lower halves as a jungle gym. He also gives hugs often, although he never just sits and cuddles unless watching tv (double-edged sword there…)
• He’s full of surprises. We brought him swimming with us at a friend’s pool recently and he burst into tears when we put him in his float, only to start laughing a couple minutes later (with the tears still running down his cheeks mind you). Not long after that, we decided to take him to a river to wade in, worrying he might be scared. Oh no, he wanted to stay in there forever and cried when we made him get out. Another day, we brought him to a playground that has a carousel and he was absolutely obsessed with watching it go round and round. When we took him for a ride, we expected him not to want to get off, but as soon as it stopped, he was clearly DONE. Sometimes the kid would much rather just watch.

Back in Black

Thanks to An Offering of Love, every month we have a photo project to take part in, each with a different color theme.
June is: BLACK