Summer of Waiting

Big milestone for Noah: Yesterday, I had him walk to Chris and Julie’s all by himself to return the pack n’ play in the wagon. I called Julie to arrange the whole thing of course and she knew when he was walking out the door, but still a big deal. He left with a handful of peanut M&Ms and a whole load of adrenaline. He was so proud of himself upon his return. He’s been walking across the street to Nancy and Js for months now, and has been riding his bike around the block (not crossing streets) for a few months too, but this was a new level of independence to be sure.

I’ve been pushing him to answer the phone more and make a few phone calls too. Today he did such a great job of calling Aidan’s house and asking for a playdate. He talked with Rich (who happened to be his Tball coach) and clearly explained why he was calling and left a good message with his phone number and everything. He was very loathe to do it, and again, felt really impressed with himself when finished.

Avi continues to be hilarious. Not necessarily easy, but there’s never a dull moment. Yesterday morning he was half-naked on our bedroom floor after using the toilet. I wasn’t really paying attention to him until I heard him start to whine and get upset because his “penis won’t go back down.” I had to get underwear on him to get him to stop playing with it long enough to help him out. He calmed down only temporarily and started to have the old conversation comparing his body to mommy’s and daddy’s bodies and discussing who has penises and why nipples look different and whatnot. Then he began to get very upset again, this time declaring that he didn’t want a penis because he wanted to be like mommy. There’s a twist on the whole Freudian thing! I think however it was because the darn thing was taking awhile to relax and he thought it might be more trouble than it was worth.

Less than 30 minutes later, he was eating a waffle, and blowing my mind with his brilliance as he discovered letters in his waffle. He first noticed that the grid lines on his waffle bite that I had cut up, made and H. It took me a little while to interpret what he was saying as he can’t make the “ch” sound which you need to say “H.” But he finally got his idea across to me. Then he discovered an “A” where the curve of the waffle grid brought the upper part of an “H” together, making it look more like a crooked “A.” Then a “B.” He was excited to be finding all the letters. For each one, I asked him if he wanted me to clean them up a bit by cutting off the excess parts of the waffle bit. I did and he was pleased. Then he found “R.” I did the same thing, without asking that time. He went into hysterics. He didn’t want me to cut it. It was too late. I apologized. Profusely. Again and again, but it didn’t make any difference. He was beside himself with frustration. That temper tantrum lasted at least 15 minutes. It’s a roller coaster around here.

Last week, Avi was playing in his room and I noticed that Lily was asleep on his bed. When I went in later he was trying to tell me something about Lily sleeping. I didn’t think anything much of it as I had seen her asleep on the bed. “Yes, Avi, I know she was sleeping on your bed.” But he persisted and so I listened more closely. Something about closet? It dawned on me to check the closet and sure enough there she was shut in the closet asleep. Who knows how long she might have been trapped in there if I hadn’t figured out what he was trying to tell me.

#3 (Is it Ezra?)

I think that’s your name little one. But I don’t want to be official about it yet. Anyhow, you are moving more and more inside me. Of course, I’ve been feeling you move since 13 weeks or so, but I kept saying how calm you were compared to Avi. That may still be the case, but as I write this, you are doing some major calisthenics and making my tummy feel as tight as ever. Today in step aerobics class I had to leave FOUR times to pee. We have 11 weeks to go, but I’d be fine if you want to come a couple of weeks early. I look forward to knowing you. Will you be as strong-willed as your brothers or will you give me a break?