Growing Up

I’m long overdue for an update. These boys are growing up right before my very eyes. And I have to say, it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever imagined. Every stage gets more interesting as they get older. It’s been really interesting lately as their personalities have changed quite a bit.

For a while, JD was the more reserved, cautious one. He would not dive right into anything, especially if it involved other kids or people. He would stand back and observe and get acclimated slowly. Not any more. He’s right in there and curious as curious gets. His shyness has gone away for the most part and he’s enjoying exploring. He’s a very silly kid – and laughs at almost everything. He’s learned to share when prompted but still doesn’t hesitate to bully his brother around. He still is short on patience but is learning to be more patient as he gets older.

Cole on the other hand, who used to be fearless, has become very clingy and cautious. In new situations, it takes him a little while to warm up. He used to be the smily, flirty one with anyone who came around. Now he checks things out before he dives in. Once he gets his bearings and knows everything is safe, he’s back to his old chatty, silly self. He too is a happy little guy until his brother takes his toys. Then he becomes very frustrated and impatient. He tries his best to hold his ground with JD – but when he gets knocked over or his toy stolen, he gets pretty mad. So mad that he’s started biting to get JD to release whatever he has. I have found a few full mouth bite marks on JD’s arms lately so we’re really watching him closely. I just keep hoping that JD won’t catch on to the biting thing and start doing it too. So far so good.

Cole has started walking behind things this week – on his own. He’s finally putting one foot in front of the other and is pretty proud of himself too! He can crawl faster than I’ve ever seen a kid crawl; we’re just hoping he catches on to walking soon here so he’s on 2 feet rather than 4. Their favorite thing to do is crawl up on the couches when all of the cushions are off. They get hours of laughter and fun out of this – although it’s not my ideal climbing place, until the weather breaks, we’re stuck inside to do our climbing practice. Obviously I’m starting a bad habit that will be hard to break down the road.

They enjoyed lots of wagon rides this week since the weather was a bit warmer than normal. Every time a car went by, they both were waving frantically. Anytime they see a man walk by, they think it’s “Da-da”. They love the outdoors and are always pointing to the outside whenever they can. It will be great once spring comes and we can be outside so much more. We’ve got to get Cole walking soon so that he can keep up out in the yard! JD is loving his basketball hoop and has learned to put the ball in the basket repeatedly – especially when he has an audience. They have a great fondness for books, as most kids their age do. They spend lots of time reading books now – their favorite thing is their bedtime story (or 5); which usually consists of one of two books, several times over. Good Night Moon is a favorite, as is the Charlie Monkey book from their Auntie De. Both of which need to be replaced soon as they are very well loved and falling apart at the seams (literally). They started a weekly music class last week which seemed to be a hit. Jessica (nanny) and the Grandmoms are taking them to class each week.

They are starting speech therapy next week, twice per month. Both of them are understanding most commands now but still aren’t saying any words. They are babbling all of the time and saying a few double syllable things like da-da, ba-ba, no-no, etc. We just got confirmation this week that Cole’s ears are still full of fluid so we’ll be getting ear tubes for him next month. Hopefully this will improve his hearing tremendously and it will allow his speech to take off. I feel badly that he’s still hearing like he’s under water; the only way to get the fluid out is to do the tube surgery so we’re going to do that in mid March.

Every day seems to bring a new adventure. I feel so blessed to have two babies to watch grow up at the same time. They are such different little people and seeing their similarities and differences on a daily basis is fascinating. They interact so well together most of the time – but yet they are still very different in their wants, needs and interests. It warms my heart to see them grow into loving little people. They give great hugs and heart warming smiles. What more could a Mom ask for?