Growing boys

I haven't done an update on the boys lately, and they are growing so much that I think it is time! I like keeping semi-regular records of their growing up, and besides, I think the grandparents will like it!

Let's start with Josiah. Oh my, he'll be six months old on Sunday! How did that happen??? Sweet Siah is at the chubby stage - months of good milk and not quite crawling yet makes for a lovely squishy tummy, perfect for blowing raspberries! We play that game when I change his diaper and he giggles and squirms and smiles with his whole body.

I think he's going to start thinning out soon because he is SO close to crawling. He really wants to, and he sort of "swims" with his arms and legs in the attempt to move across the floor. He can also pull his knees up under him, but he hasn't yet figured out how to do anything from there other than push his legs back out from under him. Happily, he has a very sweet temper and doesn't get easily frustrated.



A bit over a week ago we started solid food for him. This is much later than I've started the previous two boys with solids, and it has been interesting to see the difference. Siah has mostly skipped the drooly tongue-thrust stage.



In about three days he went from "what is this in my mouth?"



to "mmm, more, more, give me more".



He can eat about 3-4 tablespoons at a time now. This has actually been very confusing for me, because it changed our nursing schedule so quickly. I'm still adjusting and figuring out how often he still needs to nurse. Overall it has just been strange to switch so quickly from 100% nursing to nursing mostly just at naptimes, with a few extra sessions here and there.

Today I got out the johnny jump up and let Josiah try it out. He liked it!



He's not quite sure how to jump yet, but he likes pushing his toes against the floor, and he likes it when I swing him gently back and forth. Since he has decided that he does not like the baby swing much anymore, I'm hoping that this will provide a good option when I need my hands free. I do wear him in the sling still, but he's getting so BIG (about 18 lbs) that it is harder to do other things while he's in there!

On to our middle child. Thomas is at a fascinating stage right now. He is learning some new words, and becoming more able to make his wishes clear. He loves to mimic his big brother, not only in words/sounds, but also in actions. I wish I could have captured a photo of the time when Jonathan was standing legs spread, shirt off, hands clasped behind his head, and Thomas pulled his shirt off, carefully arranged his own legs and hands in the same position, and grinned.

As much as Thomas loves Jonathan and wants to be like him, it isn't all sunny sweetness! Thomas has figured out exactly how to push Jonathan's buttons, and delights in seeing the reactions he can get! So far I haven't had much luck helping Jonathan learn not to react - that may just be a bit more than he can do at this age. In the meantime, it is an interesting parenting dilemma to know how to respond to a problem between them when I don't seen exactly what happened. It is quite possible that Thomas' tears are a result of Jonathan's reaction to his provocation!

Thomas is very good at playing alone. He loves to read books to himself and has started to get interested in puzzles. His actions (away from his brother) tend to be methodical and measured, taken with great care. He is starting to be quite interested in coloring, and has strong opinions on what colors should be used.



Remember Thomas' new bed? He is doing so well in it! He is a little jealous of his brother's top bunk (climbing ladders is just so cool), and every few days he'll ask me to set up his old pack 'n play, but overall I think he's handled the transition really well. So far he hasn't fallen out, either. :)

Thankfully, Jonathan also hasn't fallen out of bed! Since his is pretty high off the ground, we're very grateful for this fact. I've been impressed at how well he's handled his new big boy status.

Jonathan will be four years old in just a few more days, and to be honest, I've been thinking of him as "four" for the past 4-6 weeks. He reached "pre-schooler" status quite awhile ago! Recently he has discovered rhyming words, and he'll often waltz around the room happily saying rhyming words (and non-words) to himself and anyone who will listen.

He also enjoys singing, although usually when he thinks that I can't hear him. One of my great pleasures is to stand at the door during his quiet times and listen to him sing along with Psalty or Colby, or sing something he is learning at church in children's choir. I don't know much about how children's singing abilities develop, so I don't know if this is normal or not, but I'm enjoying the fact that he can sing remarkably on well (sweetly and on pitch).

Jonathan has recently decided that coloring inside the lines is important, which is interesting because I haven't ever tried to help him do that. He's doing very well, and it is fun to watch him be so meticulously careful.

He has such an fascination with everything! Right now one of this favorite things is the space shuttle. He is interested in everything about them - the rockets, how the gas burns, the clouds of smoke, the parachute that deploys as it lands. This morning he was playing with an airplane, turning it on its tail and making it "blast off" straight up. He noticed that all the seats would be turned sideways if the plane was like that, and promptly lay himself down on his back, stuck his feet in the air, and informed me that he was in the shuttle going up! There is so much going on in his little head.

There you have it - growing boys!