Here are my two favorite little things:
Cruise:
-I took the boys with me last month to a baby shower that was an open house sit-down lunch. I got Cruise his food, handed the plate to him, and watched him as he found himself a seat at a table full of women. As he got himself situated, he looked up, waved and said, "HI!" in his usual loud voice. The women all started to laugh which of course prompted Cruise to do his great big fake laugh. It was the cutest.
-Cruise was playing with his little people house and people one day while I was working on the computer. I heard Cruise talking and then saying, "Bye Cruise! Bye Grandma!" and then a great big smooch sound.
-Cruise now will call out, "MOM! WHERE ARE YOU?!" when he can't find me. I love it.
-Cruise went from screaming and covering his ears when I sang to wanting me to sing him to sleep. The first night he did this last month, I almost cried. As a little baby, I couldn't ever sing to him to calm him because it always had the opposite effect. Now he'll lay in bed while I sing his favorite songs and he drifts quietly off to sleep with a great big smile on his face.
-Along with the singing, Cruise LOVES to sing along in primary and in the car.
-Cruise's favorite new phrase is, "What's that?"
-When Cruise is having a fit because he is wanting something and just keeps W H I N I N G, all I have to say now is, "Use all your words please," and then he'll calm down and say, "I-want-____-please!" Usually it's candy.
-Cruise has become quite a friendly little guy. He waves and says, 'hi' to random people at the store, as we pass cars, and even at the mailman: "Hi mailman!" "Bye mailman!" When we leave some place, he always says, "Bye ____!" On Sunday as we got of the car to go into the chapel, Cruise waved and said, "Good bye car!"
-CRUISE WILL HOLD MY HAND NOW!!! I will tell him, "Hold Mama's hand" and up he reaches to hold my hand.
Such joy in the smallest of things. They're so big to me.
Jett:
-Jett has an unhealthy attachment to our portable DVD player. I'm still confused about the whole thing. He actually wakes up every now and then in the middle of the night and instead of wanting a bottle, goes on a mad search of our room looking for the DVD player. It's a serious problem.
-Just like Cruise, Jett refers to the movie 'Wallace and Gromit' as 'cheese'. Jett is obsessed with this movie and walks around with the movie jacket in hand saying, "cheese, cheese, cheese".
-Jett watches Cruise so much. He looks to him to know how to play and what to do with certain toys that he's unfamiliar with. It's so adorable. He wants to play with Cruise so much and really loves his big brother. He tries to do everything Cruise does. The other night, Dave was laying on the living room floor after a long day of knocking doors when Cruise climbed the couch and jumped on him. Jett thought that was hilarious, so he climbed on the little trampoline on the opposite side of the room and "jumped" off onto Dave. He couldn't really jump, so he stepped off and then fell to the floor and then climbed on Dave. The boys kept doing this over and over and couldn't stop giggling.
-Jett's receptive language constantly baffles me. He understands so much and I'm just not used to that. I can hand him something and say, "Give this to Daddy" and he'll follow my instructions instantly. No clarification or other prompt needed. I almost have a heart attack on a daily basis.
-Jett has quite the personality. He knows what he wants and is incredibly decisive. He is stubborn and does not forget. Redirecting him is a day long process.
-Jett is so mischievous and likes to get a rise out of Cruise. He knows just how to do it too. He will go over to Cruise, take a toy he is playing with, and then look at him waiting for the reaction. Once Cruise predictably throws a fit, Jett hands him the toy back, smiles, and claps for himself (because I've been trying to give him positive reinforcement lately, but he's caught on a little too much). He will repeat the whole scene over and over again. I think he just gets bored and likes being in control of Cruise's reactions.
Something I've observed in just the past couple of weeks is how Jett just gets Cruise. He is incredibly observant and almost understands him. Today I was in the kitchen making the boys some dinner. Cruise had been laying on the floor having a meltdown for about a half hour. I couldn't get him to tell me what he wanted, so I went into ignore mode. Jett waddled into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. When he saw Cruise upset on the floor, Jett found a toy and handed it to his brother who took it and threw it at his PECS board. Jett picked it up again and handed it back to him, which ended up with Cruise throwing it again. I praised Jett and led Cruise to his room to calm down. Cruise's fits used to scare Jett, but Jett has come to be so patient and understanding, and now they don't bother him.
These two boys are amazing and I am so glad I get to be their Mama. They teach me so much and despite the headaches I endure throughout the day, they surprise me and find joy in being with each other, which in turn gives me a joy that only a parent can understand.
