Those of you who know Jack are aware that he is nothing short of loquacious. There is a running commentary about everything going on in clear, concise, grammatically correct paragraphs. The kid literally has a bigger vocabulary than I do. What kills me is his use of adverbs, prepositions and exclamations. His new favorites are actually, otherwise, and apparently. Apparently (see?) I use those words quite a bit. This unfortunately leads to bargaining and other reasoned discussions. The other night Billy told Jack it was time for bed. In a very calm voice, Jack replied "I could go to bed now. Otherwise, I could stay down here and play trains for a little while longer." Or, "Jack stop jumping on the sofa." "Actually mommy I wasn't jumping, I was just practicing my marching steps."
We're all very vocal with our affection in this house. I am not one of those people that thinks it unmanly to teach boys that hugs, kisses and love are free flowing. Jack has always been an unbelievably affectionate, snuggly child. Every couple of hours, he will just run up and throw his arms around me and say "I just wanted to give you a hug mommy!" and then run off again. The funny thing is that he is so used to saying "I love you too" that now he says it proactively. So out of nowhere, he'll turn to me and say "I love you too." This immediately reminds you that you have not said "I love you" in the last 5 minutes and produces a feeling of guilt that your child beat you to the punch. It's particularly bad in public places where people give you a look as if to say, poor child has to ask for his parents' love. It's hysterical.
Will is growing like a weed. He's over 18 pounds and 28 inches tall (I can't find the sheet from the pediatrician - insert joke about neglecting about second children here - so I am guessing on the number), making him in the 50th and 80th percentiles for weight and height, respectively. This might be due to the fact that he eats like a freaking horse. Or a goat - he doesn't confine himself to edible items.
He has also developed so much of a personality. He is in that fabulous phase where he thinks everything we do is absolutely hysterical. At no point in your life is your self-esteem higher than when you have very young children. You're the funniest, the prettiest, the best person in the world. Not to be outdone by Jack in the affection department, Will enjoys planting open mouthed sloppy kisses on us. It's gross but so sweet.
He is cruising all over the place, leading to new dilemmas for Jack regarding where he can safely place his toys and food (food especially). I have to say that I have been entirely impressed with Jack's approach. He hunts around for another suitable toy, hands it to Will and takes back his original toy. True, there are occasional breakdowns in the system, usually attributable to lack of sleep, when Jack will lie down on top of his toy/pile of Cheerios/book - which by the way usually means that he is lying down on top of the table - and shouts "NOOOOOO WILL!" until I intervene. Despite a few bumps in the road, they are becoming the best of friends.
Finally, Will's buddy, Charlie's little sister and our goddaughter Caroline turned 1. I have known Caroline's momma for over 20 years now. We both got pregnant with our first kids at the same time which is a true bonding experience - everything is so new, so exciting and also so terrifying but going through it with someone else makes the whole thing tolerable. Our boys obviously became best buddies which is another source of great joy. Our second children haven't had the time or opportunity to bond that Charlie and Jack did, simply because of the demands of our first borns. But I have no doubt they will be friends for life.
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