So different

Kian is so different from Angie. I try to mark those special things in my mind, but of course, I like to share them with people too.

Angie needs more people interaction than Kian. Always has. Both my kids were cuddlers, but Kian reaches a saturation point and he is done.

From a very early age, Kian would indicate he was tired, he could lay down and go to sleep very quickly. That has changed somewhat as he has gotten older. He fights sleep because he does not want to miss any fun. But still, when he finally accepts that he needs to sleep, he rolls over and he is done with human contact.

Angie had to be cajoled to sleep. There were stories, songs, dancing, poems, recitations. If juggling would have worked we would have tried that too. Eventually, she would go to sleep.

Kian woke up extremely crabby from his nap yesterday. Chas and Angie were at karate and Kian was unsatisfied with the state of the world. I offered him the usual comforts: food, milk, story, hug, Blues Clues, Diego, (last and most desperately) Dora? All met with howls.

Do you want to go for a walk?

A tearful "Uh-huh."

Can you put on your shoes?

"NO!"

More hysteria.

So I grab the neglected sling, his sandals, keys, my cell phone and the boy and race out the door. He seemed soothed by the forced closeness of the sling, but every time I tried to talk to him, he fussed. I forced myself not to speak for a portion of the walk (normally I point out things and chatter; I especially do this with Angie when I'm trying to pull her out of a mood--almost always works for her). Kian just looked around and enjoyed on his own. I flashed back to swinging in silence with my Mom and Grandpa Dailey.

Sometimes it it good to just be and be silent and still be together. Kian is a child who needs that quiet space. We all do to different degrees.

I hope I can remember to respect their differences as they get older.

Well trained.

The kids and I were home alone a few nights ago. Chas was running a quick errand.

Suddenly, Angie gasped, "Oh no. that thing you don't like!"

What?

"A spider!" she cried anxiously.

Are you sure it is alive?

"Yes!" More anxiety. "Its leg is moving."

I saw the wiggling leg. My mind raced for a solution.

With more determination, she said, "Don't worry Mommy. I'll get it for you."

Then my seven-year-old ran to the kitchen, got a stool, climbed on said stool, retrieved a paper towel, returned to the living room, squished above mentioned spider in the paper towel, and threw it away.

I'm really proud of her.

She's my hero.

So that's what he's talking about...

At his two year check-up, Chas and I were slightly concerned about Kian's language development. Kian said very few words and preferred to point. At the same age, Angie had a big vocabulary and was not afraid to use it. We know every child is different, but we had some slight concerns. When asked, if he spoke in sentences yet, we said know. Then we realized, "I wan" = I want. Noun verb. Maybe Mom and Dad should check their own language development.


Now, just a few months later, there is an explosion of words as Kian puts names to everything he can. Sometimes he just shakes his head after we say, "Can you say..." but he tries more and more often to say the word.

At this stage, he just says the beginning sounds rather than the full words:

Mooh = moon
Bah = barn ( I expect him to be a farmer because he is undeniably excited by the sight of a barn)
Ba-ba = bottle
Bla = Please (with the right intonation)
Mmmm-hmmm = Thank you (with the right intonation)
Mmm-mmmm = You're welcome (with the right intonation)
Houws = house (because for the past two months or so, the family excursions involve looking and looking and looking at lots of different houses)

He has mom and dad or sometimes Mama and Dada down perfectly. All little girls everywhere are "Ahngie" because he adores his big sister so very much.

He is solid on "out" "up" and "go!" Recently "MINE" said with a big smile is popular although sometimes that is a question too. He often says, "Me?" as in "who, Me?"Last night he ran back and forth between Chas and me saying, "Hi Mom!" Hi Dad!" That game gave him the giggles.

Owiv = Olive (a favorite food) One night he asked for Owiv while in the bathtub and he and Angie had the best time giggling as he and mommy went round and round thusly: "Owiv!" "No Kian, you can't have an olive in the bathtub!!!!" "Owiv!" "No Kian, you can't have an olive in the bathtub!!" and so on.

He also says "No!' like you are the silliest person he has ever seen.

Kian loves animals. He also loves things that go,but I would say that in his little heart, animals have a slight edge (although he loves to point at everything: cars, trucks, boats [vaguely confusing when they are not in the water], clouds, the moon, squirrels, barns--it is life with a toddler).

He usually refers to animals by the sounds they make:

Baa-baa = sheep
A moo = cow
Neigh-neigh = horse.

He does say duck and dog when talking about those animals.

A few weeks ago we were at Grandma Pat's house, he started saying "ccooww." It was amazing to watch his face as he concentrated on shaping every sound of that normally three letter word in his small mouth. He was so pleased to do it and took pleasure and pride in saying a new word.

So fun to watch.

Priorities

I will be sad when Angie is no longer enthralled with balloons after a birthday party. It will be a sad day when she doesn't find them fun anymore.

She just came in the office to tell me that when we get a new house, we need to have shorter walls so that if a balloon escapes, we'll be ale to retrieve it. In Angie style, it was a long and detailed explanation.

She was bouncing the pink balloon from yesterday's party, but I know she is thinking about the Mylar balloon from the party two weeks ago that has been stuck on her ceiling for six days.

Language art

Just a few quick things because I'm tired and I don't want to forget them ever:

* When Angie says, "I'm going to tell Mia what she wants for her birthday tomorrow," what she really means is that she is going to ask the other child. She keeps using tell instead of ask. I'm not sure what secret hint that is to her personality, but I think there is a clue in there somewhere.

* Angie is running around exclaiming "Crikey" with some frequency. This has been going on for a few months now (easily since the beginning of February; perhaps as early as January). I am fairly certain that she hasn't been to Australia recently, but I have no idea from what source this phrase has sprung or what attracts her to it.

* Kian says something that sounds like "Nay" when he really means yes. I think it derives from "Hooray."

* When he means no he says "no," except when no means "I don't really understand what you are asking but I feel I must respond anyway."

* Kian occasionally babbles, puts his finger to the side of his mouth and says, "Hmmmmmm." Then he holds out his hand in a near universal gesture of noncomprehension and says, "Aaaaaaaah?" I interpret this as "I've pondered the situation, and have failed to resolve the problem/find an answer to the conundrum presented/understand the general situation. What's your take on the whole thing?" It will bei nteresting when he starts using complete sentences.

Wisdom in the Face of Illness

Basic Propriety:
"Kian, you can't play dress-up with the Frow-up bucket!" (It was clean I promise.)

Bargaining:
"How about if I go to school tomorrow and take my Frow-up bucket with me, just in case I need it?"

It's all good, good, good

Kian has been playing with the Mega Blocks lately. He takes a lot of pleasure in building with them and will point to the out of reach container and emphatically say, "Ooooh! Ooooh! Oooooh!" when he wants to play.

Last night, as he put single blocks side by side on a base I had made, he said, "Good, good, good." every time he added a block. He was very pleased with his creations and spent some time rearranging the blocks.

He has also developed a fascination with the refrigerator. Whenever it is opened, he tries to grab a marinade and walk around with it. We have managed to convince him, most times, to put it on the shelf. Then he will close the refrigerator door for us.

Such a good boy.

That's quite a lot for a six year old

Angie loves Karate and we have signed her up for a year (best option available for us).

As part of a rewards program, the classes have monthly themes and weekly lessons which are supposed to encourage positive behavior (yes that is paraphrasing the "report card"). It's things like self-improvement (patience and responsibility) or self-awareness (safety and instinct). When child demonstrates the attributes of the week or month, we initial her report card and she gets a star for a patch.

Angie loves to read everything so she asked to read her report card. We talked about the system and how if she does the things on the list, she'll get a star.

I hear her reading aloud some of the items calmly. Then, with a bit of alarm in her voice, I hear her say, "I have to save the environment????"