Ellis and Anders Update
I haven't done an update on the kids' accomplishments in a while and much has happened. We will start with the baby. Anders goes crazy in the water, as you will see in this video. It gets worse when Ellis is in the tub with him. The child splashed and flails about. In this video, you will see that he falls forward (face too close to water), bounces about (he could fall over), grabs the faucet (could bump his head!), and this is a calm version of him. Also, get a load of his laugh, which is a squeaky inward breath. It reminds me of my little brother's when he was a baby.
Anders is quite mobile. He can traverse the house and get into life-threatening trouble within 30 seconds. He has the incredible talent for finding the single most dangerous thing available between the floor surfaces up to 3 feet in height. The all time favorite activity for this child is grabbing things off of whatever and throwing them. If it is on a table, it would be better dropped or knocked onto the floor. We call him "The Destructor" or "Anders, the Menace." His crawl is a weird zombie crawl. He uses one foot and drags the other leg, which is held perpendicular to his body. It seems terribly inefficient, but the child can move -- so who can argue? It seems that he does not like to be on his knees. I just hope this pushes him to walk faster because the kid is massive and too heavy to crawl.
Anders remains a very happy and smiley kid, but there are two developments. 1) He has a temper, and his mood turns on a dime when he doesn't get what he wants. Another nickname I use is "Mr. Furious," from "Mystery Men." He'll throw his head back (sometimes knocking it on the floor) when I try to change his diaper because he never wants me to change his diaper.
2) Anders always wants his mama. Always. All the freaking time. It is much more extreme that this stage with Ellis. What is interesting is Ellis always wanted me; but when this stage hit, it was a modest up-tick. Anders, on the other hand, only showed a preference for me when he was hungry. Otherwise, he was happy to hang with anyone. But when this stage hit a few days ago, he went way way mommy wild. The good side is Anders, who has never been very cuddly, has gotten quite cuddly -- at least with me. He lays his head on my chest, hugs my neck, and gives slobbery kisses. This last part, he has been doing since he was about 4 or 5 months old. Sometimes his lovey and destructive sides combine and he does something like pinches you with a death grip. Most of this is saved for me when he is nursing. He bites too, accidentally, which doesn't make it much better. And he also likes to pull my hair, his own hair, put his hand in my mouth, and hold on to something behind him. Not sure what that last part is about.
Anders thinks is sister is the coolest thing around. She loves getting that reaction and taking care of him. But she is a little over-zealous in her protection. No matter what he touches, Ellis says no because he will get hurt. If he touches her things, she says no because he will hurt it. On the other hand, if he gets upset, no one can calm him like Ellis. In fact, she gets very upset when he cries and really wants to fix it immediately.
Anders is solidly into solid foods. He prefers to feed himself, but he is struggles to manage any foods that doesn't melt in his mostly mouth. He's done okay with bread or crackers, dried bananas and strawberry, peeled grapes, and strawberries. In the mushed variety, he will eat most fruits and veggies. And he loves oatmeal. But there aren't many proteins he will go for. I'm going to try blended beans or edamame next. Another quirk of Anders' is he gets very worked up when he is hungry, to the point that he will refuse food. The trick to getting him to eat is to give him something to play with, like a spatula or small toy.
Ellis has become a lot more willful. She hates not getting her way and pouts or sulks with impunity. When my good friend Cassandra watched her, she got super upset. Cassie is used to her son yelling and kicking. But Ellis shot her a murderous look and walked silently upstairs, where she sulked until I got home. On the other hand, she is very cuddly and incredibly sweet.
Ellis has started bringing her lunch to school, favoring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a juice box, baby carrots, and banana chips. Often an apple for a snack is requested as well. Nuts and peanut butter are huge with her, as is tomato soup. Speaking of school, her teachers have her sounding out words and trying to read. She does an awfully good job. She also spells her name (which she still writes Ellis4 followed by a heart) as well as mom, dad, and, the, Anders.
Her favorite phrase these days is, "Mom, I can do it!" After putting her new scooter in the trunk, she emphasized how strong she is, saying "See, I told you I can do it. I am strong!" Ellis also loves to help us cook. Mike calls her his sous chef, which she loves. She uses a step ladder to help reach ingredients, stir, etc. The other day, she was helping me and burned her finger. I didn't notice and she kept it to herself until it hurt to much. The thing blistered so it hurt a ton. Finally she says in a very sad voice, "Mommy, I hurt my finger." I got her some ice and asked how she hurt her finger. She answered, "I don't want to tell you." Poor thing thought I'd be angry or disappointed. I told her stories about how I burnt myself and it taught me to be careful. She pronounced later that she would "be very careful from now on and will never burn myself again."
Anders remains a very happy and smiley kid, but there are two developments. 1) He has a temper, and his mood turns on a dime when he doesn't get what he wants. Another nickname I use is "Mr. Furious," from "Mystery Men." He'll throw his head back (sometimes knocking it on the floor) when I try to change his diaper because he never wants me to change his diaper.
2) Anders always wants his mama. Always. All the freaking time. It is much more extreme that this stage with Ellis. What is interesting is Ellis always wanted me; but when this stage hit, it was a modest up-tick. Anders, on the other hand, only showed a preference for me when he was hungry. Otherwise, he was happy to hang with anyone. But when this stage hit a few days ago, he went way way mommy wild. The good side is Anders, who has never been very cuddly, has gotten quite cuddly -- at least with me. He lays his head on my chest, hugs my neck, and gives slobbery kisses. This last part, he has been doing since he was about 4 or 5 months old. Sometimes his lovey and destructive sides combine and he does something like pinches you with a death grip. Most of this is saved for me when he is nursing. He bites too, accidentally, which doesn't make it much better. And he also likes to pull my hair, his own hair, put his hand in my mouth, and hold on to something behind him. Not sure what that last part is about.
Her favorite phrase these days is, "Mom, I can do it!" After putting her new scooter in the trunk, she emphasized how strong she is, saying "See, I told you I can do it. I am strong!" Ellis also loves to help us cook. Mike calls her his sous chef, which she loves. She uses a step ladder to help reach ingredients, stir, etc. The other day, she was helping me and burned her finger. I didn't notice and she kept it to herself until it hurt to much. The thing blistered so it hurt a ton. Finally she says in a very sad voice, "Mommy, I hurt my finger." I got her some ice and asked how she hurt her finger. She answered, "I don't want to tell you." Poor thing thought I'd be angry or disappointed. I told her stories about how I burnt myself and it taught me to be careful. She pronounced later that she would "be very careful from now on and will never burn myself again."
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