Well I’m sitting at the airport, trying not to get sucked in by all the Maryland Crab paraphernalia, missing my kids already. They napped all the way to the airport, and no matter how you explain it, it’s hard to tell if they really understand. Just a couple of hours before we left I was seriously toying with the idea of taking Patrick with me. He’s still young enough to be a lap child, after all. But that would just make things more difficult than they need to be, and the last thing he needs is to have his routine disrupted.
Getting from the car to the gate literally took about 5 minutes since I checked in online, don’t have any bags to check and there was no line in security. Seriously, zero people in line. The TSA guy had to wait for me to get my ID out because I just walked right up to him. So, no kids, no typical airport hassles…I anticipate having a lot of free time.
Usually that free time would be eaten up with talking to Matt until he got home and I took off, then talking to him again from landing to destination number one. But like an idiot, I left my phone charger on the table and my phone battery is barely half full, so it’s off until it’s time to tell everyone I landed safely. That’s a very important call.
I brought Atlas Shrugged, which I’ve been wanting to read for about ten years now (it’s an intimidatingly thick book – and yes I’m aware I just made up that adverb). And I thought I could get some serious blogging done – yay! Since I can’t get online though, I’m avoiding doing any ‘professional’ blogging for now. I thought I’d write an update to the family blog instead. Because that’s what’s on my mind right now.
So here’s an update on my lovely babies.
Let’s start with Karol. She’s pretty much full-grown now. She has a shoe addiction that’s starting to rub off on Patrick. She’s obsessed with organization, which I hope will rub off on Patrick. I stopped trying to gauge where her verbal skills are, because they are so off the charts it’s impossible. I’ve known five year olds with less grammar and diction. The really great thing is to hear her correct herself, as in, “Mommy, I bringed my…I brought my banana!” I mean seriously? Irregular verbs? Like I said, I’m pretty sure the ‘books’ declare your kid as A-OK by the time they’re doing that. So we’ve moved on to watching Patrick.
Patrick, I must admit, I was worried about in the very beginning. Maybe because all the books say that communication and language skills are harder for boys to build in babyhood because of the way their brains form differently from girls. Maybe it’s because he didn’t coo and gurgle and make as many baby sounds in the first few months. And unfortunately being the second kid, I always fear we’re not talking to him enough, reading to him enough, and that sort of thing.
But recently Matt and I have been looking back and comparing his skills to where Karol’s were at this age (I know, I know, exactly what you’re NOT supposed to do!). Apparently my kids are genetically programmed to be fascinated with dogs starting around age 1 because that’s what Karol did, and that’s precisely what Patrick is doing. He is getting interested in books, but only really wants to sit still for books about dogs. He really gets into them, and then makes us read the same book over and over and over! Right now he’s stuck on Harry the Dirty Dog, Where’s Spot, and I’ll Teach My Dog A Lot of Words. I plan to take the kids to the library soon to expand the selection.
Patrick is picking up ‘baby signs’ left and right, as well. He’s been able to do ‘eat,’ ‘milk,’ ‘all done,’ and ‘more’ for quite a while, but recently he’s picked up ‘bath,’ ‘book,’ and ‘socks’ – and of course ‘dog!’ We haven’t put a lot of energy into teaching them to him, but in my experience with both Karol and Patrick, it you wait until they show an interest in those things, they learn very fast. We simply use the signs when appropriate, and then try to reinforce with the videos.
Patrick’s motor skills, too, are growing by leaps and bounds. I don’t take for granted that there’s anything he can’t do anymore. He can climb the furniture, open doors, ‘swim’ in the bathtub, and kick a ball. All pretty astounding at the tender age of 13 months, if I do say so myself.
Then there’s baby X. We still don’t know if he’s a boy or a girl, but I’m calling him a boy for now, that’s just my guess. He’s pretty laid back right now, and doesn’t say much. According to BabyCenter.com he’s about the size of an avocado.
Well, at the beginning of this post I was at the airport in Baltimore. Now I’m in Indiana. So that’s it for now.
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