Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Big Boy

It feels like just overnight Ambrose has gone from being in that sort of in between baby/toddler stage, to being an outright small child. He just understands so much, says so much, and does so much now!

Our baby gate broke a few weeks ago, and we spent a weekend doing things near the stairs so we could monitor as Ambrose went up and down a million times on his own, excited in his new freedom and carefully figuring out how to traverse the stairs without a helping hand. Up had never been an issue, but he always tended to just throw himself down and after a few falls it was obvious that he needed someone holding his hand when he walked down. At this point he's figured it out and just goes up and down whenever he wants, running up to grab a favorite book and then back down to bring it to someone and ask them to read.

Oh, and books! My Lord the books! This boy is obsessed, and I love it!

Today we were at a bookstore, hanging off to the side while P listened to storytime. Ambrose found an animal book nearly as tall as he is, and carried it over to me. Then he ran and grabbed a stool and dragged it over beside another stool.

"Dit!" he called out as he sat down.

I walked over, looking at him sitting in the middle of his stool and wondered if he wanted me to sit beside him or on the other stool.

"Where should mama sit?" I asked.

He jumped right up, whammed his hands down on the other stool, and called out "dit!"

Then he plopped himself down and waited patiently for me to read.

We looked at the pictures as he repeated everything I said, answered questions, and made animal noises. What a doll!

P was a lot older before he reached this stage of caring about books, and I have to say I'm loving having two book worms. I can drive an hour to get somewhere no problem so long as they each have a book to look at. They'll even exchange them, or A will ask P "what dat?" and P will help him figure it out. At home I'll listen to them playing, then go check on them when it's silent. I frequently find them sitting in a pile of books beside each other, each enraptured by the pages before them, one reading new words, the other trying to make sense of new pictures.

People used to tell me that children really started to play with a younger sibling around age 2 or so and I have to agree! P has always been affectionate toward Ambrose, and A has responded happily to P since about age 4 months. They've been "playing" together since then, but their playing has taken on a whole new meaning lately. They can communicate so easily, they can play pretend games together, sing songs together, look at books together, and switch their food no problem. They're much more on the same wavelength. I'm almost a little worried about how lonely A might be once P starts school! Though I'm pretty sure absence will make the heart grow fonder :)

So I guess my whole talking about how astoundingly big A is has become me just blabbing about how big both my kids are. And they really are! P, coming in around 4 feet tall now, is huge and he's reading and he's got the most wonderful thoughts and concepts. He also says the cutest things! Just yesterday he told me that when he grows up he's planning to marry a woman and make a sperm for her, so they can have a baby :) Haha! I guess he's got the basics down then.

It feels like Kindy is fast coming. We have this week to just hang out and do whatever, then next week P will be in Summer Camp every morning, then we'll have a week visiting family up in Maine, then another week and a half to hang out. Then Kindergarten.

So fast!

I'm excited for my P right now. Hopefully I'll be able to keep that up! My first baby going off to school without me... Something I'm still not quite prepared for, especially after planning to homeschool for so many years! Fingers crossed he does well in Kindy, and A does well in preschool, and I do well actually having some free time on my hands. To, you know, do laundry and vacuum and stuff :)

No comments: