Something Special

I wish you could see Benny right now. Well, right this minute he is sleeping. I mean right now in his development. He is awake and aware in ways that remind us he is no longer a baby but a toddler-to-be in many ways. He knows his name and he is starting to know "no" too. Well, when we say it he doesn't actually stop what he's doing. Actually he looks at us, smiles and goes back to doing it again. What a little devil. He can stand for pretty long periods without falling and takes a step or two if he feels like it. When we want him to show off his skills is when his legs turn to jelly of course or he goes stiff and just falls forward or (real fun) backwards. He giggles a lot, seemingly at nothing. He plays well as long as there's lots to keep him busy (plastic containers, metal bowls, trucks, and whatever miscellany he can find on Nathan's bedroom floor - sometimes even legos. Eeeck!). Benny enjoys bath time, eating (Cheerios, goldfish crackers and pancakes!), and his big brother. He follows Nathan around as fast as his little crawl allows (which is pretty fast) and wants to do all that his brother does. I often see the two of them hanging over the side of the toy box digging through it. I love that they are just about there - where they can enjoy each others' company. It occurred to me today that soon they will be causing trouble together too, but hopefully the conspiracy years will wait a while longer.

Leo and I were talking about how Nathan was such a good dancer from a very young age. He had quite a beat going whenever music was played at this age. Benny doesn't seem to have the same gene. Funny how these little things are different. I can't wait to see how else they differ or turn out the same. But Benny's thing seems to be peek a boo. He appeared to play it with Leo months ago and he continues to enjoy it now. Playing with my mom's scarf, the two of them played for a while the other day. She would put it on his head and he would pull it off his face. Then he would pick it up and try to put it up to her face as if to say "your turn to hide." It's always so amazing to see these connections being made for the first time indicating understanding and personality. I never get tired of these new discoveries.

And Nathan. He is a trip too of course. He spent a night at Gigi and Grandpa's and his report card was perfect as usual. At home he seems to have trouble sitting on chairs. Yes, he literally falls of his chair or bench daily. Thinking about it sounds pretty funny actually. But it's annoying when we just need the kid to sit still and eat his damn meal. I asked if he did this at Gigi's. No, of course not. They baked cookies and cleaned and decorated a tree. With Nathan, I wondered?! His attention span is the size of a postage stamp with me. But in the presence of someone else, perhaps a special someone else, he does as he's told. He keeps up, behaves and has a lot of fun. He entertains too.They said he knew all about how sap comes from trees to make maple syrup. Nathan has all sorts of facts stored up there in that brain. Turns out her learned that from Curious George and he was able to recall it at just the right time. Amazing!

I'm proud of my boys. They drive me batty but they really are something special.