How Little E became big EyeDot

Little E isn't so little any longer. This may not come as as surprise to the regular reader given how he's been looking more and more toddler-like for the last couple of months, but it still surprises me to see him walking around and seeking out trouble. The little E was so small when we brought him home. And after a bout of RSV, he was only more fragile-- little with a large wracking cough.

But those days are no longer, the little E is now a big guy. With big plans too, I might add. In fact, he walks almost all the time now and he is quite proficient. He also likes to make his desires known: 'EyeDot!' He cries if someone else is given food/drink/a toy of interest. We have taken 'EyeDot' to be what E calls himself, that is, his version of his name. And it's great to see him advocating for himself in such a vocal manner. It's much more effective than banging one's head on the floor (ahem, B)....

It all comes out in the wash

Attempting to do laundry around these parts is challenging. H insists on helping. And he is a good worker. He carries clothes to the washer and with great ceremony, heaves them up and in. However, if you run out of dirty clothes, you'll find H scavenging the dresser drawers in search of something to wash. On the other end, the babies have the dryer covered. They are obsessed with taking things out. In fact, they successfully leave a calling card of chaos where ever they've been. Bookshelves, cupboards, toy boxes-- no item left unturned. And if you try to put the laundry in the dryer, they are busy worker bees cackling with glee as they toss out items faster than you can put them in. Nothing unites brothers faster than a shared goal of mayhem.

Da-dee?

Dad is away at a conference in lovely California this week. But as far as H is concerned, Dad is spending the week riding around in an airplane either that or he's camping out in the airport. H is missing him terribly regardless of where he is. H frequently inquires (sometimes politely and other times at large decibels) 'Go Airport pease!' or if this is met with a gentle response of 'Dad will be home soon' he increases to 'Go airport Da-dee Henny NOW!' translates to 'I am not fooling around here woman! I want to go get Dad from the airport this instant.' Hmm. This is usually met with a raised eyebrow on my part, but a complete understanding of how much H misses his dad.

This morning, H told me 'We loue Da-dee' As there wasn't much context to go with (he had just finished demanding tea for breakfast) so I was confused. But then I got it, he was saying, 'We love Daddy' and yes, truer words were never uttered (or muttered) by the boy. We do love you Daddy, and we expect to pick you up from the airport (as soon as you get off that crazy airplane ride you've been on for the past 5 days) very soon.

On the topic of toys

The boys were recipients of many wonderful gifts this Christmas. And they have been making full use of them. When we first opened this gift, E could wait to get it out of the box so that he could climb in. After climbing all over and body slamming it into a crumpled heap (E likes to show boxes who's boss), the box was sent to the recycling bin with the satisfaction it had gone above and beyond the call of duty.

But we have been getting lots of mileage out of the gifts. H loves to 'play trucks' and he regularly refers to the trucks given by people such as 'Mimi's truck'. And of course, there are trucks that remind him of ones he loved in Minnesota (mostly the construction trucks) which he refers to as 'Lala's trucks'. 'Play trucks!!' H demands of us on a regular basis. 'Lala's truck' he commands me. I guess this means I'm supposed to push the truck around making truck noises. What fun. However, I wish H would take a clue from B, who delights in pushing the dump truck all around the room, squealing 'Whheee' behind it the whole time. Very cute.

Litigation

H has been doing exceedingly well in the 'politeness' department. He is the king of 'Please' and ends almost every request with a 'pease'. Such as 'peel more orange H pease'. This translates to I'd like to peel another clementine please (as the 32 that I've already peeled today haven't been enough). Anyhow, while H balances the need to make sure his family doesn't develop scurvy (he really is insistent that we all eat multiple clementines peeled personally by him), he is making forays into other realms of polite society.

For example: H toots regularly. With so much clementine derived fiber, I guess this isn't a surprise. In an attempt to not snicker uproariously every time this happens (Dad finds the mighty wind, mighty amusing), we have tried to teach H to say 'Excuse me' after he toots. The only problem... his version of 'excuse me' comes out as 'Sue Me!' every time he says it. Needlesstosay, that elicits peals (of laughter) every time.

Small Successes

We had a great Christmas break. I'm sorry I didn't do much posting as there were certainly many things to share; now that school is back in session, I end up spending more time on the computer and inevitably more time posting. So I'll try to catch up on all the happenings.
We did have a few goals lined up for the break including:

having H's speech assessed
we did have his speech assessed and while he is a little delayed, it was not enough for them to recommend speech therapy- we weren't very surprised at this given that H's speech has been gaining momentum for a couple of months now.

switching the babies over from formula to milk
this one turned out to be really easy we simply ran out of formula and moved onto milk... a few sore bottoms later that transition was easy success

stopping bottles and using cups (at all times)
accomplished- see picture above

getting B to sleep through the night
hahaha. one always has to set high goals for themselves right... this one is still eluding us.

Following in his footsteps

Little E has started idolizing H. In fact, H and E have similiar interests: both like riding bikes and swinging. And speaking of the E, we have steps. Multiple steps-- so many that I'd declare he is walking. Interestingly enough, both babies have been progressing at almost the same pace. E is a bit ahead of B but they both started taking independent steps on the same day and have been steadily gaining speed ever since. Also the babies started walking at the exact same age as H. Weird.