How fast?

There's a Mexican restaurant nearby and on Wednesday nights, they have a magician come do tricks and make balloon animals for kids. Weston has been terrified of this guy since the first time he meet him, when West was 5 months old. Luke, on the other hand, loves him. So last night, we went there for dinner and McMoose took Weston outside so Luke could actually see some magic tricks. The magician asked Luke about his bike and Luke was very excitedly telling him about the pedals. The magician then asked how fast the bike can go, and Luke answered, "It goes really, really, really, really fast downhill...but really, really, really, really slow uphill." Guess we should spend some more time learning to use those pedals!

6 Things I'd Like to Tell Weston

1. You can climb into the crib, but you cannot climb out. You have demonstrated this fact about 146 times over the past week. You climb in, realize you're stuck, and then either freak out or throw yourself headfirst out of the crib and land on your head. This? Is a bad idea. Quit it.

2. I like your kisses, but in general, kisses shouldn't involve teeth. You cannot ask for a kiss and then bite me. This game is only fun for the biter, not the bitee.

3. Luke is bigger than you. Not by much, but by enough that you cannot physically overpower him. So it is not a good idea to wrestle, tackle, or sit on him. He will retaliate. He might not retaliate right away, but he is wily and when you're least expecting it, he will take you down.

4. The cats have claws. Therefore, getting in their faces, grabbing their fur, and making kissy faces at them is not appropriate. They don't get that you're trying to communicate love. They think you're trying to eat them. This is why you have been clawed six times TODAY. Again, quit it.

5. The dog is gross. Do not lick him.

6. Biting a grape in half doesn't turn it into a hat. It just gets grape juice in your hair.

Sweet Raleigh

Yesterday, it was 65 degrees and we were at the park without so much as a sweater on.  This morning found us playing in the snow.  I have great fondness for the weather patterns I'm my city.

Ride On

Luke was starting to get too tall for his balance bike, so last weekend, we went out and got him a big kid bike. This is his first experience with pedals, so it has been very exciting. True to self, his favorite part of the bike is the brakes. I'm hoping this trend continues when he's old enough to drive a car. We've been going to an empty parking lot to practice and it takes us a good 20 minutes to go the 100 feet to the end of the lot. Weston, for his part, has taken a couple of 30-second rides on the balance bike and has come to the conclusion that he likes the feeling of solid ground under his feet, thank you very much. He now wanders around collecting sticks and rocks while wearing his beloved new helmet.

Making Plans

Weston proved that he is capable of understanding far more than he can express and that he can make plans of his own. I was about to take a shower and he came running to close the door because as far as he is concerned, open doors are an abomination.

McMoose: Leave the door open, Weston. I want to be able to talk to Mama.
Weston: out, out, out, out, out. *comes into the bathroom and tugs me out, then proceeds to close the door behind us.*

Brothers

For the first fifteen or so months of Weston's life, I was completely overwhelmed with trying to meet the very different needs of both kids. I felt like I was never taking care of both of them at the same time--they were constantly taking turns vying for and getting my attention. My mental list always went something like this: change Weston, read to Luke, play peek a boo with Weston, get Luke a snack, nurse Weston, do an art project with Luke, put Weston down for a nap, play a game with Luke. And if I managed to stick to the "schedule," I felt that they were both getting enough, but children aren't buses, so following the schedule was a rare occurrence. There were so many times when the baby was crying because I had put him down and Luke was throwing a tantrum because I couldn't read to him THAT SECOND and I wondered what had possessed us to think we could handle two of them. It seemed like having a sibling was doing more harm than good. And then, something happened. Weston became a toddler and wasn't so intensely needy all the time. Luke turned three-and-a-half and gained some semblance of rationality. And finally, they're doing things together. I mean, most of the time, the things they are doing are destructive, messy things: crumbling up styrofoam, pulling out ALL the dress-up clothes, dumping every single toy they own onto the floor, running full-speed and crashing into the walls, that kind of thing. But still, they are doing the same thing at the same time, which is infinitely better than endlessly pulling in opposite directions. A couple of times recently, Luke has told me in a surprised, happy tone that, "Weston isn't a baby anymore! He's three-and-a-half, just like me!"

Reading

Every so often, life gets a little too busy and we spend a couple of days holing up at home to recover. Most of these days involve a tall stack of picture books. A few months ago, I would have read those books, one after the next, while sipping endless cups of warm tea. Today, it meant sitting and listening as Luke read early reader books, one after the next. He read to us about honey bees and sea creatures, about cats and pigs, about Dick and Jane and all their friends. The only time I've ever been involved in teaching reading was in a remedial tutoring program, so the experience of teaching a child to read and having that child beg to read "one more, Mama, just one more," is new to me. As much as I love reading to my kids, I find myself loving it even more when my kid reads to me.