This month Skyler learned to crawl and North learned how to pee and poop in the potty. Sky learned to yell and North discovered that he was 2. Sky now carries a magnet in his pocket that draws him irresistibly toward any surface in which he can pull himself up onto. North discovered a new activity of riding a little car down our driveway at breakneck speed. Life has been wonderfully busy.
With Sky learning how to crawl, he has officially shed his newborn babyhood. He is now an independent person who crawls into rooms to investigate toys and objects. Sometimes I will find him in the bathroom hanging on to the edge of the tub, banging onto the side as if to say "When do we take a bath"? He and North bathe together now with large splashes created by both boys frequently soaking whomever is lucky to be perched outside of the bathtub.
When we are all moving around upstairs, Sky will crawl into the playroom to touch and move toys as he discovers how he can explore play ideas. He feels the wooden blocks with his mouth. He knocks over the towers that I build for him and he shakes rattles and other musical tools as we play.
However, with this new found independence in Sky, I must remember to use my patience more often. He doesn't like to lie still for diaper or clothing changes. I have to use a doll or make funny faces to hold his attention as I race through the necessary changing. Earlier in the month, Sky wouldn't eat much pureed solid foods, yet I could tell that he was feeling frustrated when we were eating during mealtime and he wasn't. So I started offering him large chunks of banana or pear and now he is feeding himself throughout most of our meals. It is messy, but the concentration and happiness that I see on his face is worth it.
The 6 month well-baby check up went well although two issues came up. Sky had an surprise ear infection that needed treatment. And then when it came to the shot time, it was explained to Reed and I that the nurse had given him the wrong combination dose during the previous visit. So while I was annoyed, there wasn't anything to be changed at the time and Sky got his whooping cough vac. In the future, as the nurse has the shots on the tray, I will re-state, "so this is the so and so?" I don't like my kids getting unnecessary extra chemicals.
Cuddling with Skyler continues to be my favorite time with him. He snuggles in the sling easily when he gets tired or overstimulated. I have found more ways to get my daily tasks done with a child in a sling then I was able to when North was a baby. Things really are easier with the second child.
North has always been very vocal with his ideas and now I am seeing a further expansion of that development. He talks out rudimentary storylines as he plays in addition to showing the beginnings of imaginative, independent play. Yea! Finally!!
He usually gets jelly bean rewards when he pees and poops, but the other day he peed right after brushing teeth as we were getting ready for bed. I didn't want to go downstairs for the candy and then brush teeth again so I made a bargain with him. If he waited through the big sleep time without fuss, then he could have two jelly beans when we went downstairs in the morning. The next morning as the four of us cuddled in the bed there was no mention of the jelly beans but the minute his feet hit the bottom step he was reminding us of the promise. What an elephant that kid is.
The 2's have been pretty kind to us lately. If I keep North in check with his whining and praise him for using his happy, strong voice we seem to avoid some of the power struggles that can ruin a day. North is getting squirrelly when we are at grocery stores and at other errands, I can tell he is no longer content with just looking around, he now needs to be more involved. Telling him what we are doing or purchasing seems to help. I wonder how much longer until I can give him a calculator? I would love if he would take over as the budget manager.....
I would like to finish the final phase of potty training with North soon. He hasn't had an accident for over a month as well as sleeping in underwear during night time and naptimes. But I am still reminding him to go potty as well as helping him with his pants. So I have offered him extra beans for the self-motivated potty-ing, so far it has been working.
On the sleep front, because Sky was waking up and crawling (off the bed three times!) I was forced to make him nap in a crib during the day. I nurse and rock him to sleep then roll him onto his belly as he sleeps. No fussing, no crying. Nighttime is even better as I get him out of the crib when he wakes and bring him into our big bed. I love to curl my body around him, smelling his sweet scent. He is a very peaceful sleeper and a joy to share a bed with. Normally he sleeps closest to me, but lately he has been moving over by Reed and patting his face before snuggling up to sleep next to his Daddy.
North sleeps well in his own bed most nights, but in the wee hours of the morning Reed will bring him into the big bed. As the day lightens, North will tickle Sky as they play together. Reed and I pretend to sleep, but honestly, I can't imagine being anywhere else.