Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The Boys

I have been remiss in posting about funny conversations and developments of the kids lately, and now that I have managed to kick Lola out of the house and have a few spare minutes of peace sitting at the dining table, I thought I'd fire away a little character sketch of the boys.

They are one day away from being 5 months now - how the time has flown!  I look back on my maternity leave and it's just a blur.  It truly feels as if time has expanded and contracted simultaneously to allow lots of things to happen but also not much of anything to happen at once.

They both drool a lot nowadays, and I am pretty sure they are teething.  They get very angry and frustrated if, as they are sucking on various things, they cannot get it into their mouths fast enough.  Al tends to like Sophie the giraffe, Skiphop toys, and plastic rings, while Teo's favorite is the softer crinkly bits (like the fabric ears of the koala, the squeaky wings of the Skiphop orange bird, or the crinkly panda pad).  They both love musical toys with lights, such as the Vtech square, walker, or Baby Einstein guitar and handheld musical player.

Earlier this month, they both discovered that they could use their feet to stand (with a lot of assistance of course) and love to push down on their legs as a result.  They do not seem as flexible as their sister, but with a little coaxing they can also grab onto their toes or feet.  They both love lying down on our laps, staring at our facial expressions, as we sing and make funny faces and "exercise" their arms and legs.  They have both started drinking water this month, sometimes from a bottle but increasingly from a spoon, in anticipation of starting solids next month.

Mr. Charming Squeaky Wheel

Al is a gregarious little man - always laughing and cooing and giggling, trying to entice you to pick him up or play with him.  He is very loud and vocal - sometimes you can hear his shrieks and shouts from one end of the apartment to the other.  I swear his steady, wide eyed gaze is often communicating, "Love me, love me, I am so cute!"

Al is also usually also the first to fuss to be picked up, and generally does not tolerate sitting in the bouncer or lying on his playmat or in his crib well.  Very early on, he was the one who, despite appearing perfectly content, would start crying and complaining if he saw his brother being picked up first.  His complaints are very clear, voiced in a tone that is almost as if he were speaking: "What about me? Why are you picking him up first? Don't leave me behind!"  He has also affectionately been dubbed the lazy one, as he hates any kind of exercise.  The complaining and wailing he does when forced to work out is, well, actually kind of familiar, because it reminds me of me when forced to do the same!

Mr. Chill Until He Blows His Stack

On the other hand, Teo is usually the picture of contentment and chill.  He can entertain himself for a long period of time, and usually wears an expression on his face of slight disbelief when Al is acting up, as if saying, "What's his deal?"  But Teo is also more active and energetic, usually willing to exercise for longer and try harder at various activities.  I say "usually" because Teo has a crazy hot temper when riled.  When he is really hungry or uncomfortable, it's as if he is a little kettle that has reached his boiling point and has no shut off valve.  He can scream and cry until he is nearly black in the face, and at the point of gasping and choking for air.  It's scary. This past weekend, Michael whisked Teo out of the warm and welcoming arms of Jovie after he had just woken up, and tried to play with him.  I've not seen Teo scream and cry so loud in a long time!  It was shocking.

I joke that Teo is also a bit more discerning with who holds him.  Like Al, he is also very good at making all kinds of gurgling and cooing sounds to entice you to pick him up and cuddle him, but he won't just smile at anyone.  Teo is also at the point now where he has a sense of stranger danger - the other day he also cried when someone he didn't recognize tried to hold him.  I try to hold Teo a little more when possible, because he is disproportionately in the bouncer or in his crib or on his playmat for longer than Al - simply by virtue of the fact that he is so patient and calm, and not as melodramatic as his brother!

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Massive Catch-up Post - All the Pictures from the Month of May


I have a lot of pictures to post!  The kids have been adorable and amazing lately.  There is so much to capture about their every day development, but so much is happening that I find it nearly impossible to keep up.  That's why this is going to be a massive post (very unhelpfully not sorted in chronological order, because I don't know why my computer and blogger is so bad at organizing my pictures) of just some of the things we have been up to in the 20 days of this month!

In early May, we took a family trip down to the race course on a sunny, hot Sunday.  I know that sounds like nothing but in this day and age of social distancing plus a toddler and two babies, it might as well be a military exercise.  We went in two separate groups, ambling down the hill with a stroller, a carrier, umbrellas, face masks, a soccer ball, a pop up tent, two mats...

We happened to be there just as the sprinklers came on and Lola was fascinated by how much speed and force propelled the water.  She and Michael got wet by accident as they walked by the field - but it was not an unwelcome dousing, as the day was very hot!  We kicked the soccer ball around a bit, the boys stared up at the leaves of the palm trees and the blue skies in wonder, Lola insisted on pushing the stroller, and it was genuinely one of the nicest and most pleasurable afternoons we all had together in a while.



 

Flush from the success of that weekend outing, the next weekend we tried to go to Sun Yat Sen park.  It was a bit of a disaster.  It was hot, we had a lot of people and even more things, Lola threw a temper tantrum nearly every step of the way, and the park was so, so crowded.  We were THAT group of people that tried to get a little bit of shade from the trees when setting up our picnic blanket and  managed to scare away not just one but two groups of people.  But we still managed to blow some bubbles and get the boys out on a beautiful day, so I guess it's best to focus on the smallest of victories.
 
We started going to the American club again and have been several times, including taking just my parents for an adult al fresco dinner at the town club.  To my continuing regret and guilt we still haven't managed to get the boys out there.  I really hope to remedy that soon.  Lola has really taken to swimming, so much so that I am going to sign her up for their tadpoles swimming classes.


Lola continues to enjoy playing around the house.  Schools look to be opening up again soon but it's a slow process and we don't have a set schedule yet.  I did manage to take her out to Toys R Us a few times (and popo bought her a few dolls) and she has also started going to Baumhaus and Maggie and Rose again.
 
 
 
 Al and Teo are doing great.
They are getting stronger and stronger every day.  Their personalities are emerging clearer and clearer, although it's pretty amazing to me now that I reflect and think that they were already showcasing their temperament while in the womb.  Al was always so active, pummeling and roiling and kicking around, while Teo was so chill and laid back that I often worried about his fetal movement.  I love hearing their squeals and chirps in the apartment during the day.  Sometimes they get very loud and very vocal!
They love the Fisher Price playmat - what a great buy!  Here is Al and then Teo exploring with their feet.  They love being able to kick at the keyboard and also at all the toys dangling down, which helps to build up their stomach muscles.


 

Lola took a spin in her brother's bed.  She got a huge kick out of it until she realized the terrible thing about cribs - they are very constraining!
Meanwhile the brothers had a good cry about being shoved into one crib together.  I got a huge kick out of these faces - poor Teo, he was so mad that Al was trying to take his toy.  And Al started crying because, well, probably because Teo was screaming his head off! 
 Here, some quieter moments.
 




 
 
 Finally, just this week, we took Lola to North Point to visit the friend's apartment that my parents have had the good fortune to be staying in during this time.  Lola had a blast and came back declaring that she wanted to learn how to play golf (apropos of nothing except finding a golf ball there that she liked to toss around)!