We have been worried for awhile about Harry's lack of "talking," and over the past few days, he seems to be trying to form more words. We showed him a sign language video that my friend Sarah had let us borrow, and he liked it, although I think Olivia got more out of it than he did. Then last night, he signed and said, "Da-da," putting his little chubby fingers up to his forehead. Joe and I were so proud. He also tried to say "tree" while we were at the park - only after I'd said it to him about a million times first. He was probably trying to shut me up. It came out as more of a "tr" sound than an actual word, but it was close. I was thinking maybe his speech was delayed, but that's probably overreaching a bit. He babbles, makes consonant sounds, and can say "Ma-ma-ma" and "Bye-bye" just fine. More importantly, I think he understands just about everything we say to him. I think his yelps and screeches are more for himself than anyone else - he loves to hear himself shout. He will get right up to Olivia's face and yell at her and then laugh and smile at his accomplishment. She hates it of course. "Stop it, Harry!" is a common phrase in our house. Olivia will try to get away from him and he'll run after her. laughing and yelling. I guess the sibling stuff has begun. He loves to antagonize her. Unfortunately, some of the antagonizing includes hitting or pulling hair, which we are trying to curb.
But what Harry doesn't say, he makes up for in affection. He really loves his mama. Whenever I come home from being out somewhere, he'll come toddling over to me and bury his head in my legs and hug me. He loves to kiss me too by grabbing my face and giving me sloppy, open-mouthed kisses. He gives Daddy kisses too, but Mommy seems to be his favorite. I wonder how long this love affair will last...I'm trying to soak it up while I can.
Miss Chatterbox
Olivia, on the other hand, talks more and more like a little adult. She cracks us up with her funny and very intelligent commentary on the world. What's particularly endearing is the fact that she is so polite. She says please and thank you for just about everything, including hugs and kisses. If you give her a hug and kiss, she'll say, "Oh, thank you, Mommy," just like she does when I give her breakfast in the morning. She also says "yes" rather than "yeah," as in, "Yes, Mommy," and "Oh, yes." It's so cute, although it sounds like we've been sending her to finishing school rather than preschool. She's very sensitive to other's feelings too. If I can't find Harry's shoes or my car keys, she'll say, "Don't worry, Mommy, we'll find it." If you hurt yourself, she wants to kiss it. And when we tell her to be nice to her little brother, she'll pat his head and say, "Pet him nice," which is something we taught her a long time ago with the cat. She also likes to tell everyone how cute they are, something her dad and I have obviously told her many times. Right now she'll tell me, "You're so cute!" and I'll say, "No, you're so cute!" and pretty soon it's a shouting match about who's cuter. She's hilarious - we look forward to hearing what new things she'll come up with each day.
I do it!
Of course, it's not all fun and laughs - Olivia is also at the stage where she wants to do everything for herself. She doesn't want help when she goes to the potty although sometimes she needs it - she'll scream, "I do it!" as soon as you reach for the toilet paper. She'll fight tooth and nail to get her own clothes on even if it takes half an hour. Whenever she goes too far and ends up in time-out, she'll sit and hang her head. After it's over, we'll talk to her briefly about what she did, and she'll tell us in the sweetest, softest little voice, "I'm so sorry..." She's quite remorseful for a two year old. If we catch her hitting Harry, which seems to be happening more and more lately, we'll tell her to apologize and she says, "I'm so sorry, Harry, I kiss it." On the upside, she can help me by getting diapers for Harry or putting things in the trash or getting her own cup before naptime. She loves to watch Little Einsteins, so we DVR the episodes for her. She loves singing along and going through all the movements - sometimes even following the script of the ones she's seen several times. She tries in vain to teach us how to do the "dances" she learns, but somehow we're never doing it right. She'll say, "No, Daddy, like this!" and demonstrate proper Little Einstein technique for her hopelessly clueless parents.
Family Schedules
It's a fun time right now - busy of course, but having a good schedule helps. I sat down with Joe early this week and hammered out a new family schedule to help organize our busy and constantly changing lives. It's worked well - I feel more in control of what we're doing on a day to day basis and I can remember things we need to do or places we need to be more easily. I've never been much for regimentation - and I'm definitely not a clockwatcher - we're typically late everywhere we go. But there's something to be said for having a schedule, albeit a flexible one, to help keep track of things. I'm not ready to buy a Blackberry or anything, but my little family schedule made in Excel, helps. I guess I should give credit to Supernanny, who always makes schedules for the horribly disorganized families she helps on her show. We don't have it written in bold marker and posted on the wall, but it works just the same.
