Jumping Right Back In

• Brett said "Ma-Ma" in what I will argue to my dying day was the proper context this weekend. When Brian mercifully scooped him up at the un-Godly hour of 5 am (Brett's new chosen wake-up time) he launched into a chorus of "Ma-MA? Ma-MA?", clearly looking for the one who usually gets him up at that time. That kid is a genius for sure. He is also creeping forward, reluctantly, while he is ohsoclose to actual crawling. If only his feet wouldn't keep getting tangled up together, there'd be no stopping him.

• Aaron has mistakenly come to the conclusion that not only do "tweets" (birds) live in our backyard, but "quacks" (ducks) and "doo-el-doos" (roosters) do too. He walks into the yard and starts calling for them. Then he plays. But he will sporadically stop playing to call out in hopes one of these feathered friends will magically appear. Aaron has also become the neighborhood greeting committee with his waving and his "hi"s and his blowing kisses for the duration of our nightly family walks.

• While driving home from the library on Friday, Alaina informed me that "there are three different 'to's', Mommy. Did you know that?" I asked her what they were and she told me "t-o, t-o-o, and t-w-o." Man, I love pre-school. Earlier in the week while shopping for birthday gifts for two of her classmates, she was (without prompting) able to recognize all the personalized magnets containing names of her various classmates including Cameron, Ryan, Matthew, Riley, Ethan, and Alyssa. Sadly we could not find the name she was looking for, Max. (You think that would be common enough to be included on the display, but it wasn't.)

• Brady has become the master of dance in our house. He will tap, point, kick, and generally rock-out to any music you give him. He finishes each dance with a generous round of applause for himself. He has also become the "clean-up" champion. When he finishes his drink, he brings his cup to the sink. When he finishes his snack, he brings his bowl (or wrapper) to the sink. When he or Aaron take off their shoes in the house, he puts them away. He races to put away blocks at the end of the day. And just like Pavlov's dog, he'll clean just about anything else if you break out a chorus of "clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere...."
  

• Pre-tubby time on Saturday night, I asked the boys if they wanted to do pee-pee on the potty. It was a random long shot. I didn't even have a potty seat out, I just plopped them on the grown-up seat after removing their diaper. Brady couldn't get off fast enough. But Aaron sat there smiling and looking like he wanted something to happen. I'm not getting my hopes up, but his reaction was better than I had expected. The boys have also mastered eating with utensils just in time for summer BBQs where eating with your fingers is totally appropriate.

• Brett has worked his way up to three meals of solid foods per day. As a result, he is napping on a consistent basis, in almost perfect alignment with A&B's afternoon naps and Alaina's "quiet time". He is also wearing the same sized diaper as his big brothers. And, occasionally, the same sized clothes. He almost always wears a larger sized hat.

• Alaina has been taking swimming lessons every Saturday morning for the past few weeks. She is old enough now that she goes in without a parent - just her, the teacher, and several other students. There are lifeguards assigned to watching the kids "on the wall" while the teacher takes the children out for one-on-one work. This week they were introduced to the elementary backstroke. Harder still, they learned how to SAY "elementary backstroke". They also swam the length of the pool (not the width, but the length) without a bubble. She is amazing to watch because she focuses so intently on what the instructor is saying and doing. She so clearly wants to be a success and she is so serious. But even in the midst of all her concentrating, she will periodically glance over at me with a twinkle in her eye and a little smirk like "you're catching all this great work, right?" Love her.