Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Swimming in Lake Washingmachine!
What'd he say?
"Look, there's the Space Noodle!"
"We threw the ball into Lake Washingmachine."
"Remember when we went to the pharma-seed?"
"Ah!! Do you think it's going to fit down the hole?!" (about his poop in the toilet)
"Look at those boobies!" (pointing to two buoys)
"Daddy had a new office, because his old office is broken".
The Deuce: Version 3.5
D: "I'm three and a half," they proudly tell anyone who asks. I think they may have been announcing this since they turned 3, but as of this past week it is official. And just as I've done every few months for the last 3.5 years, I find myself looking back, amazed at how fast they are growing up.
The past 6 months have brought dozens of new character traits in each of them. They are definitely growing into their own unique individual personalities that seem to complement each other almost as much as they clash.
For instance, O's most outstanding trait at the moment is that he is very thoughtful. F's most outstanding trait at the moment is that he is very impulsive. In a given "play" situation, O might think about all the ways the game might be played, and try to instruct F how they can play together. F, on the other hand, jumps right in with little regard if O is along for the ride or not. Of course, there are bruised feelings, and too often bruised bodies.
But on the other hand a similar situation might look like this: F jumps right into a game of pirates and bears, "Arr"-ing and "rawr"-ing all over the basement. O joins in on the fun, making sure that the pirate bear is properly caged in the laundry basket before he is instructed to walk the plank off the bed. F absolutely loves O's embellishments.
These particular traits have given us a glimpse at where their athletic abilities might also lie. With F's ability to think on his feet he has much more confidence and is able to take risks, where O might over think something and then maybe not perform as well. On the other hand, O is very good at following instruction, where F would rather do it his way. This isn’t to say, that one is better at sports that the other; I’d say they are pretty much neck and neck at this point. They are actually both so interested in so many activities, I’m sure they will both excel at most everything they set out to accomplish. (Of course, I’m their mom, so I am bias!) At 3.5 their current interests are: soccer, skiing, riding their balance bikes through the skate parks, swimming and gymnastics.
While I write these observations, so that I might capture a moment in their ever-changing youth, I have to note that we are very careful not to label the boys or compare them to each other as being better or worse at anything. The greatest thing about watching two boys grow up together, who are the same age, is that you get to watch each of them excel at different things at different times.
At 3.5, this is who they are now.
One last thing 3.5 has brought us is humor. These kids are hilarious. They are constantly cracking jokes and using ridiculous voices to get each other to laugh. They pick up on our sense of humor and can now play right along with the comedy. One of O’s favorite phrases is, “OH, I’m just kidding!”