Al and Teo are Two

This is a blog post I last drafted on December 29... I'm posting it because I'd spent a lot of time on it but just never got to finish it!  Unfortunately it's just an ode to Al, so I will spend my next post catching up on Teo!

********************************

 Parts (all?) of my last blog post bordered on manic and run on sentences and truthfully I feel somewhat the same today.  Two more days of 2021 and it's another year over, another year older.  I'm not sure how much we've really progressed or improved this year.  For us in Hong Kong who have not left the city in over two years it feels more so than ever like we are in a bubble, stuck, in stasis.  But for the kids, the change is clear.  Al and Teo are two (official yesterday!) and Lola is 4 (light) years ahead as usual.  

The kids have come so far this year, height, weight, growth, development, everything.  I remember the boys' first birthday so clearly and can picture so much of it in my mind.  It's hard to believe that we are a full year away from that already.  This time last year, their hair had still barely grown in after my dad took razors to them, they were not yet walking, they were barely talking, they didn't really respond to their names, and they were just big blobby adorable drooling messes.  And to contrast that with when they were born, two whole years ago!  Just before the world knew Covid. Wow.  A different world, literally.

Now they are walking, running, jumping and hopping active boys with huge grins, smirks, loud cackles, very good sleep schedules, very marked food preferences (all Michael's taste buds, I despair), lots of vocabulary words (too many consisting of "No" and "Don't touch" and "Don't want" for my taste, to be honest) and a whole lot of love (and occasional hate) for each other.

Al is the strongest thing, and he has a very insouciant, nonchalant manner about him when it comes to physical obstacles that I find incredibly adorable. He just climbs whatever is in his way, hurls himself down whatever slide is in front of him, and pulls and pushes and is generally not affected by any physical challenges in front of him.  We went to a birthday party where there was a huge blow up shark with a big slide and without a second thought he scaled it right next to a bunch of five year olds and scooted down steadily with a big grin.  The same goes for his escapades at the American Club, or generally any playground or treat.  He is so curious and adventurous and I love how observant he is.  Sandwiched between his dramatic sister and his much more cautious brother, I'm just generally incredibly tickled by how matter-of-fact and fearless he is. Plus, those cheeks.  His whole body is sturdy and solid in that adorable way only little toddler boys have and it is the sweetest and most fleeting thing.

Don't underestimate Al though, he gets this crazy look in his eye where he just has to go after someone - a whole "Oh I will cut you!" LOOK that is like a hot flash of vindictive fire that comes across his face when he thinks you've wronged him.  Even if you bump him by accident - no slight is too small for Al.  He will scratch you, grab you, and make sure you know not to mess with him again.  The funny thing is, if you don't touch him and you just leave him alone, he is the most independent kid ever and can and will play by himself completely contentedly without any interruption for a very long time.  We're working on that vindictive streak...

Al loves chips, mac and cheese, spicy things, (he loves spice!! He ate a super spicy chili pepper flaked, chopped garlic slice of pepperoni pizza the other day and instead of crying, just made a funny face, stuck out his tongue, looked a bit perplexed and then demanded "spicy!") bread and grapes.  I think grapes and strawberries are the only fruits he will eat.  And vegetables are completely persona non grata, unless you count potatoes.  Of all my kids, Al most enjoys using a fork and spoon and doesn't want to get his hands dirty.  Of course sometimes there are tricky foods that he cannot get on the fork or spoon and then I get the greatest kick out of him using one hand to balance or place his food onto the spoon, and then bringing the spoon to his mouth.  There is something so sweet and earnest in that move that gets me every time.  Overall, Al is very good at eating by himself and actually gets mad if you try to feed him. However, it does lead to an interesting dilemma when he is so hungry that he cannot get the food into his mouth fast enough and he gets so upset that he throws his utensils and his food and howls...

Al still tends to be the quieter of the boys though.  He is much less talkative, much more contemplative and observant.

I'm less bothered by their underbites now as it doesn't seem to hamper their speech or development or eating, and I know there's nothing that can really be done from a structural perspective until they are older.  They run a little bit weird, Teo especially, but it doesn't stop him from being incredibly active and determined.