It's been awhile since I've done one of these. When I only had Eli I think I was doing a little progress update of him every month. Unfortunately with two I don't get the luxury of being able to document every moment of the second born, but lately I've noticed a change in the sibling dynamics.
Kai
He's almost one and he's crawling non stop. He has a cute baby crawl where his bum wiggles back and forth; and he crawls faster when he's excited. This may not seem like a big deal for some but when since our first born never really crawled, seeing Kai wiggle around the home is a lovely sight. When he's been held for too long he starts worming in your arms and leaning towards the ground indicating he wants to be put down so he can explore.
He dribbles so much. You know where he is cause he leave a trail of saliva everywhere. He needs a bib on to avoid getting his tops drenched in his dribble. He's also biting everything, like my shoulder, the couch, his toys, my leg ... he thinks it funny. Maybe he does it to get a reaction because he smiles when I scream after he's inflicted me with one of his bites.
He smiles. Finally we can get a (wet) smile from him ... it took awhile to get here. Previously we'd try various things to make him smile or laugh and he'd just look back at you, sometimes even turn away. And because he's reacting and smiling it feels like he's more alert and awake now than before.
He likes to dance. He hears music and he start shaking his little tooshie like he's twerking it. Again seeing him respond to music and sound, seems like he's more alert.
He's got a big appetite. I feed him three meals, two snacks and probably four bottles of milk a day. He's actually more inclined to eating food than he is to drinking milk. I'd be the same if I had to drink the milk he was drinking.
His hair has grown. The bald patch he had developed after he was born has slowly been replenished with new brown curly locks. Curls get the girls and its definitely a feature people notice about him now. Where he got those locks from .... his mama I was born with curly hair too.
He says "na-na"; "dah-dah" and growls a lot.
He has a bit of "separation anxiety". He wants to be with me all the time and sooks a little when I leave him. I can palm him to people and he's more than happy to be held by strangers but when he's over the new face he looks for me. He's also gets a bit sookie when his kuya leaves him too. He follows Eli everywhere around the house and when Kai wakes up from a nap I can tell from his face he's listening out for his kuya. When he finally hears him he whips his body across to where the sound came from. Or when Eli enters the room he smiles, does a little squeal and dance that his kuya is there. I can tell he simply adores his big brother.
Eli
Eli is slowly noticing Kai a little more. Maybe because Kai is more mobile and can grab things. Eli is always on the defence snatching everything off Kai's hands and stating that it is "Mine!"
Fighting with him right now is like punching your own head. I get mad, he gets mad, I try and calm him down, he doesn't want to calm down, I ignore his behaviour, he's gets more mad that I'm ignoring him. I get annoyed, he repeats the whole process but elevates the crying or tantrum to another level.
He tries to push the boundaries as far as he can. He no longer responds to initial threats and usually continues to do whatever it was we told him to stop doing, repeating it over and over again seeing how far he can get away with it.
He's my little helper. I can count on him to grab me a nappy for Kai, grab the wipes in the other room, throw rubbish in the bin, place his dirty clothes in the laundry basket ... he'll be washing the dishes in no time. Sometimes he wants to help when I don't want him to -because I know it'll take twice as long to do, or because it'll affect my OCD way of doing the task. Like when he wants to help with grabbing the clothes off the line, putting the shopping away or cleaning the floors.
He's a great kid. Just recently I've had three separate people tell me how great they think Eli is. He's got one funny and magnetic persona and maybe his defiant behaviour is part and what makes him so great. Being told my son is pretty awesome reminds me to appreciate my kids and remember these harder seasons are only a short window of time.
He comes up with some of the funniest comments and statements sometimes. I'm surprised to hear what he says half the time. He's a natural comedian ... like his mum ... ha!
As the days turns into weeks, then months, and then next thing you know it they've turned another year ... I am once again reminded to be grateful that I am at home able to watch my children grow. There are some days I can't wait until they are grown men and move out, but most of the time I wish they could stay this little, this innocent, this loving for a little longer.
