Whew...

Dearest Jack:

I have an urgent request for you. I would like to ask that, in the event you once again decide to scare your Deal Ol' Mom witless, you certainly do so, but with methods far less dramatic than running crazy fever all weekend. I promise that I will be (or act) just as terrified and confused if you, say, jump out from behind the closet door. Or dump a bucket of ice water on my head. Or eat your vegetables at dinner.

Seriously, dear boy, there are non-self-destructive ways to get after your Mother. Please choose from a staggering variety of those, next time.

I should just have Maya carry a tape recorder around. How many gems I *don't* hear?

This morning also, opening the bathroom door where I'm finishing my shower: "Mama, you're so clean and shiny!"

Maya, frustrated this morning, while trying unsuccessfully to pump out baby lotion onto Dad's hair: "Mama, it doesn't work! It needs new batteries."

Jack, having just crossed his nine-months mark (go Jack!), decides that our instructions from the pediatrician to get him a physical therapist to help him learn to sit are for the birds, and sits freely on his own the day after. He can't quite sit up from his usual belly-flop position, but he sat for almost half an hour today once I sat him up, can balance on his own which he couldn't do just a few days back.

Picking up Maya from daycare, I ask if she needs to use a potty. She says yes, shuffles over to their miniature potty, pulls her pants down, lifts up the toilet lid, and stands over it. Completely and totally like a boy, about to pee down her legs any minute. "No!" I say emphatically. "Baby, we don't pee that way, you need to sit down." Maya grows defiant, insisting that this is how she'll pee from now on because she's a free individual. Or something similar. Takes me and Shelby (one of the teachers) to talk her off her stand-to-pee high horse, and she's upset.

Some day I intend to address the proper reasons. Some day.

Double

Maya's newest gem (when referring to a pair of something): "two tof them," with an extra 't' for good measure.

She's still the best.

Leaps and bounds (and boundaries)

My little gent is all over the place (literally, as well) with things he can do, things that are quickly changing. He's graduated to the toddler insert bath (the fun inflatable one that fits inside our guest bathtub) and is learning to appreciate it. He still produces some grumbles on being first submerged and made sit in it, but a toy - any toy, the more chewable, the better - quickly resolves the grumpiness. Plus, I discovered he's a big fan of me 'swimming' him: holding him under his head and tiny butt and floating him on his back, back and forth.

He's also on his hands and knees since earlier in the week... I'm starting to think he'll fully crawl before he fully sits up. Which is fine. The frequency of his up-at-'em kind of rolling back and forth, while up on hands and knees, seems to be doubling daily. Strong, growing, sweet boy. He does his mama's heart a LOT of good.

Maya's been battling small but pesky cold, which left her nose red and very roughed up, which is not pretty, nor is it comfortable for her. So the episodes of her acting out and misbehaving are up as well. I suppose she's also picking up on some of the adult tension, and I'm regretting in any way affecting her. She's a sensitive flower child, I don't want any permanent emotional scarring...

Watching Jack perform an agile (and speedy) army-crawl across the floor of his room, I thought today that he's growing, and fast, and that there's a part of me that misses my tiny baby boy. Of course, a much larger part of me is psyched about his development and health and progress, but still - while infanthood is much tougher, it's such a special, sweet time.

He's a definite boy. He favors loud noises (particularly the ones he produces himself, usually by banging various objects together, or on the floor, or on his table); he giggles at fake sneezes; he attempts to get to electric cords and stick his hands under the rocking chair. Yay... Sigh. I can see "Ma, see how far I can pee!" and spitting contests in the near future...

He's getting bigger and stronger very fast. Still not sitting fully independently, but doesn't seem that it's far off. The Crawl has been very entertaining - he's really a pro at it now. A couple of flip-flops back to front to back, and a toe push-off, and hands to knees coordination, and he's already across the room. Big Jack...