capturing time

big changes have been afoot this month. m&k have made the transition from cribs to toddler beds. mostly it has been a smooth transition, but there have been some interesting (as my friend d. would say) moments along the way. one day in, after the first nap in the beds, we smelled the rug mural before we even entered k.'s room and immediately had to wage a sanitation war against said mural with a very deep steam clean of the rug. the boys will now be donning onesies until they enter college or are potty trained, whatever happens first. i will make use of duct tape if need be!




















f., as usual, is cracking me up these days. this morning at the bus stop he says, psst, mommy come here and listen. i am going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to laugh. so i reply, ok, tell me. he shares, yesterday i fell in the potty at j.'s house! and really, how could i not laugh? i am still laughing about it.

f. is also starting to read!! i am surprised by his skills. it is so interesting to watch how your child learns. he loves math and asks me to solve equations *all day long* mommy, what is fivethousandthreehundredandone pluses onemillion? mommy, what is one pluses onehundredmillionandforty. mommy, six pluses six is twelve. i dont have the heart to tell him that i hate math. i mean hate it! always have. i have no idea where this interest has been sparked in him and i am pretty sure that i will soon be in over my head with his math equations. as it is i have to stop what i am doing and carry the one more than i would like. he is making good friends in school and the neighborhood and has really adjusted to this move like a total champ. i am eternally grateful for the adaptive nature of children.
















m. is still celebrating language. for every word that k. is not saying, m. is saying 250. he loves to snuggle and cuddle. even though he was not even close to climbing out of his crib, we felt like since we needed to move k., it was only fair to move m. as well, to a big boy bed. he has really taken to it. i think mostly he is enjoying the autonomy of controlling the open vs. shut position of his bedroom door. the first night he delighted for at least 2 hours in the ability to open and close the door. for two hours straight. seriously, two hours. j., f. and i watched madagascar 2 and the entire time m. was opening and closing his bedroom door and giggling at the shear control. he will close the door and get in bed and go to sleep when he is ready. there is no putting him in bed, and for now that is fine. as a thirtysomething i still ignore my body telling me is bedtime. to have it down at 2 is pretty impressive.
















k. is starting to explore the idea of talking a bit more. mostly though, he has just gotten more expressive in his use of "ma" or "da". he conveys soo much with his eyes. i just keeping doing as the therapist recommends and giving him the opportunity to use his words and then pretend that i know what he said. its not unusual to overhear an exchange like this in our house:
k: ma
me: patiently waiting for words to emerge
k: MA
me: patiently waiting for words to emerge
k (eyebrows expressively raised): MAAA
me: you want a book?
k: giggling in delight as he has again conveyed his need monosylabically.

k. continues to give kisses out in copious amounts. he will not get in bed at night without planting a kiss on every living being and some non living beings in our household. i am soaking it up while i can. storing it all up for the days when it will no longer be cool for him, or any of my children, to plant a kiss squarely on my lips. a kiss, of course, that was proceeded by an expressive "MMMMAAA"