This Blog Has Moved

Due to chages at Blogger, I can no longer publish the blog at ozenne.com. Here's where to find us: http://milestoneminutiae.blogspot.com/ Be sure to update your bookmarks, and see you there! (new posts!!)

Henry isn't walking yet

Henry has such strong legs and has been standing for so long that we thought he'd easily break Luke's record of walking at 11 months. He still has a few weeks so he might make it, but he's not walking yet. He does love standing up, and he pulls up on things that are pretty wobbly at times (like grabbing my pants instead of my legs). He also enjoys standing up on unstable surfaces, like mattresses and the couch. On the mattress, Henry makes a game of standing up, letting go with his hands, holding still for a few seconds, and then plopping down on his bottom. He'll do it over and over, having a great time. Walk, Henry, walk!

Fighting their true nature

(subtitle: Emmett is naturally cautious with his body so learning new physical skills can be a challenge. Luke is wary of people until he knows them pretty well. )

Last week David took Emmett to Brighton for his first ski lesson. Emmett had a great time, telling me exactly how many times he went up the lift (5 times with his class, 3 times with dad). His instructor said he has very good speed control, which is the nice way of saying he's so careful that he never goes fast. I'm sure speed will come with confidence, so we're on the right track.

This week we started ice skating lessons at the Olympic Oval. We had gone skating once before, and it took us more than an hour to go around the oval one time. With all three boys, there's no way I can take them skating until Emmett and Luke are able to skate independently so we decided to get lessons.

Emmett did great today - he's not exactly gliding on ice, but he's not afraid anymore and he's willing to shuffle around. We did a little roller skating in the past week and I think that helped his confidence, and maybe a little with skating skills.

Luke's class focused on learning how to get up off the floor in skates, first on the floor and then on the ice. He pretty much won't look at his teacher (and actively looks away if she talks to him), but he did stay near the class most of the time. During the practice time after the lesson, he practiced getting up off the floor with me, and then he did it once on the ice all by himself! That's no easy feat for a little kid - remember what Bambi looked like on the ice and you'll have some idea of what it's like for Luke.

The short-term goals are for Luke to be willing to talk to his teacher (I'll settle for looking at her to start!), and for Emmett to get comfortable enough skating that a family trip to the oval during the public skating times is possible. Here's hoping!

Extra lives

From playing video games, Luke knows all about earning extra lives. Recently he asked me, "How many lives do we get?" I was confused, but after talking with him a bit it was clear that he was talking about real life. I told him we each get one, and that right now he's little and he's going to live a long long time. The next day he mentioned it again, so this is clearly something that's on his mind not just flashing through.

In other "worrying" news, Luke has been noticing fire extinguishers all over the place when we're out and about. And he's also interested in the fire hydrant that is between our house and the neighbor's. He doesn't seem as worried, though. He mostly seems pleased that he's figured out that fire extinguishers are all around.

Signing for sure

Yesterday while we were out at an indoor playground, Henry signed "milk" to me twice. I returned the sign, asked him if he wanted milk, and told him he'd have to come to me to get it. Both times he came over and nursed a little bit right after.

This afternoon, Henry was crawling around while I cleaned the kitchen. He signed "eat" to me! So I gave him some finger food, and he ate it. When he decided he was done, swiped his arm around his tray sending bits flying off to an eagerly awaiting Jenny! (this is a standard routine around here - thank you Jenny for keeping the floor clean-ish.)

To sum up - Henry seems to sign sing, milk, more, all done, and eat.

Worry

Sometimes I wonder what's going on in Luke's head. A few days ago, he told me (with great emotion in his voice) that if I was cooking and someone was going to try to push me, he would stop them!

He's also been talking a bit about fire - Emmett gets Highlights magazine, and there was a cartoon about a family having a fire drill. So we talked about how rare house fires are, and how we'd get out and call the fire department from a neighbor's house, etc. A couple of days later, he mentioned fires again, and when I asked, said he was worried about it. Emphasizing how rare house fires are, I showed him where the fire extinguishers are in the house. So far he says he doesn't want to have a fire drill, and I wonder if doing that would relieve or intensify his worry. I remember having similar worries as a kid, because we learned at school that every family should have a plan for fires, but we never had fire drills at home. My fears were pretty mild and I didn't think about it often - I hope it's the same for Luke.

Brothers

Today while I washed dishes, all three boys were playing near the kitchen. After a few minutes they had all gone down the hall and it was relatively quiet, so I peeked into my bedroom to see what they were up to. All three boys were playing happily on the twin mattress next to our bed - Luke bouncing (but not too aggressively), and Emmett and Henry crawling around. They were all happy and having a good time, so I crept away. They played like that for a few more minutes before coming back out.

Practice standing

Henry is getting much bolder about letting go of the things he's using to steady himself. Several times a day I'll notice that he's let go of me and standing unassisted, at least for a couple of seconds before he slowly bends his knees and sits down.

He seems to especially like standing on the mattress next to our bed - he'll let go of the bed, bounce his knees once or twice, and then quickly fall / sit right down.

Signing update

For the first time, Henry gave me the "all done" sign without prompting. Usually, when he seems done I'll ask, "Are you all done?" and show him the sign. When he is done, he'll sign it back to me. But finally, when I was still trying to feed him (and he hadn't eaten much so I wasn't thinking he was done!), he signed "all done" to me.

The only other sign he's using reliably is "sing." He loves it when we sing, and he's constantly asking us to.

Emmett carries Henry around

Emmett has gotten big enough (and Henry's gotten sturdy enough) to carry Henry around. Emmett grabs him under the arms and can pick him up easily. Emmett has even figured out how to safely get him off the bed. Henry doesn't seem to mind much, as long as Emmett puts him down again pretty quickly. And sometimes Emmett twirls around which Henry loves. His little legs fly out, and it's pretty cute to watch.

My protector

After dinner tonight we were sitting around the table making Valentines. For no reason I could gather, Luke said, "Mom, if you're ever cooking and someone tries to bump into you, I'll protect you." That alone is pretty strange, but when he said it his voice was full of emotion like he was maybe going to cry. I hugged and thanked him, he didn't cry, and the conversation moved on.