In just a few short days (April 19) we will reach the three-month milestone of Ian and Alec's homecoming. What amazing changes have taken place in such a short time, though perhaps we do not always notice them until we stop and really take a look.
Ian: How to describe Ian these days? First of all, physically, he has grown quite tall. The pajamas I bought when he first arrived are easily two or three inches above his ankles now! Because of the height increase you still wouldn't look at him and think he is anywhere close to chubby - but he is healthy, which is what really matters. Ironically, he who once was the child who worried us with his frantic eating habits, is now the one we often have to cajole and or threaten (ie, "Do you want to go night-night??") in order to get him to finish a meal. We can't decide if he has actually gotten picky on us or if it's just that in his opinion he has much better things to do. But boy, can he drink! The child guzzles liquids like nobody's business. And his brother has to watch out because when Ian is done with his cup, he'll come after Alec's if he can get away with it!
Ian is a curious and intelligent kid. He has picked up so many words in both English and Spanish. I'm sure this isn't an exhaustive list, but in English he says: Please, thank you, sorry, hot, water, outside, upstairs, night-night, bye-bye, the names of everyone in the family - and my favorite - "I love you." In Spanish, Ian says: Hola (hi), chao (bye), gracias (thank you) and vamos (let's go.) And in Kreyol he maintains: Chita (sit down), vini (come here), mesi (thank you) - and the always popular - machin (car.) He also carries on conversation with Alec that are unintelligible to me but truly seem to make sense to them. I will probably never know if they are speaking Kreyol or some version of toddler talk that they both comprehend and Mommy does not!
It's interesting to me how the boys fits into their roles in the family. Ian is definitely not the "baby" - he really likes to believe that he is one of the older kids. As such he adores and imitates Owen, Eva and Isabel and enjoys trying to boss Alec (not that Alec stands for much bossing.) Ian loves to play with Owen's Legos, although it must be under constant supervision because he is my one child with a habit for putting things in his mouth. (I even found him chewing the rubber pads off the baby gate one day!) But he also likes to look at books, play with cars and action figures, explore the kitchen cabinets, dig in the dirt, and - much to Daddy's chagrin! - wear a purse around the house.
I mentioned in a previous post that Ian has gotten more physically affectionate and that is still true. Something that always makes me smile is a habit he has of taking my hand and wrapping my arm around his belly "just so" to where he likes it. It warms my heart to think that he's found a favorite comfortable position with Mommy. On the other hand, his snuggling attention span is often short and he can be one of those kids who wants up and down, up and down (often depending on whether his brother is up or down, as Mommy's lap becomes a source of competition on a daily basis!)
"Jesus Loves Me" is one of Ian's favorite songs, and when I sing it to the boys at bedtime or we sing it together as a family, he bellows it out along with us. I love that. Pedro and I joke that Ian is going to be the next Larnelle Harris, especially after one incident when Ian was just outside of our line of vision and singing softly to himself, then suddenly he belted an astonishing vibrato out of nowhere which made the two of us do a double take and burst out laughing. He is a character for sure! :)
Ian: How to describe Ian these days? First of all, physically, he has grown quite tall. The pajamas I bought when he first arrived are easily two or three inches above his ankles now! Because of the height increase you still wouldn't look at him and think he is anywhere close to chubby - but he is healthy, which is what really matters. Ironically, he who once was the child who worried us with his frantic eating habits, is now the one we often have to cajole and or threaten (ie, "Do you want to go night-night??") in order to get him to finish a meal. We can't decide if he has actually gotten picky on us or if it's just that in his opinion he has much better things to do. But boy, can he drink! The child guzzles liquids like nobody's business. And his brother has to watch out because when Ian is done with his cup, he'll come after Alec's if he can get away with it!
Ian is a curious and intelligent kid. He has picked up so many words in both English and Spanish. I'm sure this isn't an exhaustive list, but in English he says: Please, thank you, sorry, hot, water, outside, upstairs, night-night, bye-bye, the names of everyone in the family - and my favorite - "I love you." In Spanish, Ian says: Hola (hi), chao (bye), gracias (thank you) and vamos (let's go.) And in Kreyol he maintains: Chita (sit down), vini (come here), mesi (thank you) - and the always popular - machin (car.) He also carries on conversation with Alec that are unintelligible to me but truly seem to make sense to them. I will probably never know if they are speaking Kreyol or some version of toddler talk that they both comprehend and Mommy does not!
It's interesting to me how the boys fits into their roles in the family. Ian is definitely not the "baby" - he really likes to believe that he is one of the older kids. As such he adores and imitates Owen, Eva and Isabel and enjoys trying to boss Alec (not that Alec stands for much bossing.) Ian loves to play with Owen's Legos, although it must be under constant supervision because he is my one child with a habit for putting things in his mouth. (I even found him chewing the rubber pads off the baby gate one day!) But he also likes to look at books, play with cars and action figures, explore the kitchen cabinets, dig in the dirt, and - much to Daddy's chagrin! - wear a purse around the house.
I mentioned in a previous post that Ian has gotten more physically affectionate and that is still true. Something that always makes me smile is a habit he has of taking my hand and wrapping my arm around his belly "just so" to where he likes it. It warms my heart to think that he's found a favorite comfortable position with Mommy. On the other hand, his snuggling attention span is often short and he can be one of those kids who wants up and down, up and down (often depending on whether his brother is up or down, as Mommy's lap becomes a source of competition on a daily basis!)
"Jesus Loves Me" is one of Ian's favorite songs, and when I sing it to the boys at bedtime or we sing it together as a family, he bellows it out along with us. I love that. Pedro and I joke that Ian is going to be the next Larnelle Harris, especially after one incident when Ian was just outside of our line of vision and singing softly to himself, then suddenly he belted an astonishing vibrato out of nowhere which made the two of us do a double take and burst out laughing. He is a character for sure! :)
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