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December 25, 2006

cookies for santa


cookies for santa, originally uploaded by jannacybill.

Posted by janna at 10:01 PM | Comments (1)

Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas, originally uploaded by jannacybill.

Posted by janna at 09:17 PM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2006

I wish I could take a picture right now

I was upstairs, tidying up for my Mom's arrival tomorrow (yeah, MOM!).
Earlier, Eli had fallen asleep while nursing, much earlier than usual. Since he's taken to SCREAMING once we hit the last step going up to his room (how does he know this? is it a unique squeak?), I chose to have him sleep down here for a bit in our cozy basement. I thought for sure he would have woken up by now, but he's been out for almost three hours. And oh, did I mention why I want to take a picture right now?

...Eli's sleeping...

...on the dog bed. (the just CLEANED dog bed, no worries)

He has rolled and shifted a bit since I placed him. In fact, he's on his belly now, with his hand resting on the top of the Lego box lid (how comfy). And now that I see this perfect slumber, I am half (or three-fourths) convinced to buy a big dog bed for him to sleep in IN HIS ROOM.

I don't blame the child for waking up in the middle of the night. The crib feels sparse and cold compared to our bed, or even my arms. But the dog bed... its just-soft-enough cush craddles him, he can move around, and he can only roll off the bed rather than fall. My friend Missy had a bed on the floor for her son around nine months (am I making that up?), maybe because he was a climber, I can't recall. But that example influenced our decision to put Gus' bed and frame on the floor rather than buy a big safety wall.
Didn't stop him from rolling out a few times (those thumps always scare the heck out of us), but better to be falling inches rather than feet.

Posted by janna at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2006

first tooth


first tooth, originally uploaded by jannacybill.

For Grandpa


Posted by janna at 07:52 AM | Comments (1)

December 13, 2006

three three three

I have three levels of BOY in my house, according to Gus: 'baby' -- 'big boy' -- 'Papa'

It would seem that these levels are progressions, from one to another... perhaps something to strive for, but that's not always the case. See, Gus is pretty certain he is at the pinnacle of his little life. His self-proclaimed 'big boy' status affords him certain benefits, maybe even certain rights.

For one, Eli should think twice before touching any toys, as he'll soon be schooled by Gus about the dangers of said toy ('It's VERY dangerous,' he's taken to saying). John, who could physically be considered the biggest boy of the bunch, is often schooled by Gus about how he should not sing, not talk, not 'make' Gus do anything. Even I am excluded and diminished, because I am, as Gus explained to me yesterday, a girl. "Girls can't play with Lightning McQueen (his beloved car character from the Cars movie)," he said as I was driving home yesterday. "Why not?" I naturally asked, only to be answered back with the biggest BECAUSE YOU'RE A GIRL answer. I asked, "Who told you that?" and he said, "Me." I felt like I was in seventh grade again, with my dear friend Joseph egging me on with statements regarding the 'place' of women. Then Gus tried to lighten the blow of his news to me by saying, "Mama, someday you'll GROW GROW GROW and then you'll be a big boy just like me! THEN you can watch Lightning McQueen."
I love Gustav's matter-of-factness these days.

I swear, ever since three hit last week, the boy's brain has kicked up juice in the language area. Gus takes known songs and now changes the lyrics to make them funny. He woke up the other day from a nap, screaming and looking under his pillow for a crab. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was looking for the crab, then he paused for a minute and said, "That was pretend." He went on to explain about his dream with the crab. He makes up stories and loves to play pretend with dinosaurs and cars.

Even though he is wrestling more and more with Eli (and Eli is starting to get to the size where he can fight back a bit), the empathy Gustav feels for Eli could fill buckets. Gus often asks, "What's wrong with Eli?" when he cries, is quick to give gentle, soothing touches to Eli's head, often holds Eli's hand in the car, and has been heard on occasion to say things like, "It's okay, Eli, I'm here." It's heartmelting stuff, folks.

Gus is hard at work on the potty training front, but often I feel it's really a training of US, since it does change many aspects of our daily routine. He can identify most of the letters of the alphabet, and is even starting to see the connection between upper and lower case letters. What's next? reading??

Posted by janna at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2006

three!


three!, originally uploaded by jannacybill.

So much to say about Gus being three... more to come tonight.

Posted by janna at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)