It's been a crazy month since our last update. I've returned to work and the boys and I have tried to hammer out a reasonable routine for the mornings. Holly and Henry are unknown quantities in the morning - sometimes we get to see them, sometimes we don't - so we try to a) get out without help and b) not wake any sleeping mommies or babies.
Henry still sleeps well at night, but is getting a little bit harder to coax to sleep. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how or when he'll knock off...rested or tired, happy or wailing, Henry makes his own terms. During the daytime, though, we have had a major breakthrough after a close friend of ours lent us her swing. This is not just any swing, but a MAGIC swing. Seriously. We plopped Henry in the swing at the party and unlike our old one (instant dislike), Henry chilled in the swing for quite some time. Now, most mornings, he's most happy to hang out in the swing (and sometimes even sleep!!!) for 30-60 minutes, giving Holly a bit of a breather to get some chores done at the start of the day. Henry also likes the mobile we got when Leo was born, but it's nothing like the swing! The other big highlight for Henry is that he is starting to smile. Yay!!
Max is really getting into school. He is really engaged in writing and drawing and is starting to find some motivation to trace letters and colour - two things he was never particularly interested in doing until recently. He loves working in activity books, has really gotten back into puzzles after a short hiatus, and likes taking grown-up board games and turning them into kids' games. Max got his first mini Lego set the other week and that has been a monster hit with the boys. Also, we've been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Finally, Max has been doing some extra-curricular activities as well, such as a marimba workshop this past weekend and his weekly independent swim classes. He's such a good kid at swimming: Leo and I go into the pool at 8:10 and Max sits quietly with a book on the deck until 8:30 when he goes in with his class. I have a feeling Leo won't be so trustworthy at 4.
Leo has turned into one hilarious little dude. While his letter sounds still aren't quite there, he is communicating up a storm and is really starting to use his manners. Leo is really loving his time with Vieda and the morning drop-off blues finally came to an end about 2 weeks ago. Leo is obsessed with wooden peg puzzles these days as well as magnet boards where he can stick picture magnets to make tableaux. He has also gotten into the habit of plunking himself down in front of a bookshelf and then pulling books out, one at a time, and leafing right through them until there's a pile of 20-30 around him on the floor. Sure, he doesn't pick them up, but he sure loves to look at them!
My favourite Leo story from the past month happened at a pumpkin-carving party (the same night Henry found THE SWING). Leo and another 8-year-old girl were in the basement watching Beauty and the Beast. I heard the TV getting a bit loud so I went to check on the volume. Not only was the movie loud, but it was at a fairly scary part. I went to the front of the couch to go sidetrack Leo only to find him snuggled right up to the 8-year-old who was taking great care of him. Leo rode out the scary part in the arms of his love (but not his true love, that's James) and then when it was over, he nonchalantly sagged back into his corner of the couch like she wasn't even there. What a dude!
Here are a few pictures taken over the past month:
