The Wanderers

Our new house has a split floor plan, and the master bedroom is located on the opposite side of the house from the kids' bedrooms. We only have one baby monitor. When we finally get the crib assembled and the boys moved into their room, it will go there. So, in order to hear R, we have been letting her sleep with her door open.

This has actually gone pretty smoothly, but I am still adjusting to having a little person running around the house in the morning without me getting her out of bed. She often surprises me in the kitchen or bathroom when I am getting ready for work. Last Sunday morning I woke up to find her at the side of my bed. We were practically nose-to-nose as she exclaimed, "Good morning, Mommy!" It's a good thing I'm a morning person!

This week she learned a new skill which will further enhance her ability to roam our house at will. She learned to use door knobs to open doors. From a developmental standpoint, this is great. She has mastered pushing and pulling while turning her wrist (and reaching way over her head, since she still is a little munchkin). From a practical standpoint, it kinda stinks. No more closing her door and knowing that she will play safely in her room. No more closing the door of other rooms knowing she will stay out.

I had forgotten about her new skill Saturday morning. The chaos of the past month caught up with me, and when the boys went down for their morning naps, I laid down too. Not too much later, I heard the bedroom door open. I figured it was Jeff sneaking in to get something out of the bathroom, and I ignored it. A couple minutes later, I felt the bed jiggle. I looked down and realized R had brought in a step stool, and she was climbing on the bed with all her stuffed animals and blankets. She wanted to have a sleepover! (And her "sleepovers," much like the real things, involve everything but sleep.) So I tried to quietly get her out of the room. She protested. Loudly. Which, of course, woke up L. The sound of L crying woke up M. And then we were all back up...

R was not the only one mastering new skills over the weekend. Yesterday, after days of trying, M mastered rolling from his back on to his belly. He's been going the other way for weeks. Adding in this new trick means, if he sets his mind to it, he can roll all over the place. How exciting...and scary. Another one can take over the house! Thankfully for now, he mostly prefers to pivot in a circle like a boat with one oar. We're hoping this keeps up at least long enough for us to get unpacked.

M has also decided that he should talk too, like his brother and sister. So he spent ALL weekend talking. It was constant chattering. But unlike L who has a cute baby sound to his chatter, M sounds like a dying whale. Seriously! It is the strangest noise. But he is happy and communicating.

M is also getting close to being able to sit unsupported. He really wants to sit up. The boys' little plastic bathtub has a seat where they recline. Two weeks ago M started grabbing the side of the tub and pulling himself up to a seated position whenever in the bathtub. Given his rolls of fat, this makes bathing him a bit of a challenge, but it's so wonderful to see him trying so hard to master a new skill.

As seems to always be the case, when one boy's development is out of control, the other slows down a bit. Not much to report on the L front other than two teeth that are thisclose to popping through. This week he started talking in his sleep. (I didn't know babies could do that!) After weeks (months?) of sleeping in his swing, he's also back to sleeping in his bed for at least part of the night. And his new development is kicking in the bath tub. He kicks the whole time he is there. I still haven't figured out whether it is intentional or it is him struggling for balance, but it seems to make him smile. And given all the tears we've had lately over ouchie teeth, we will gladly support anything that makes him smile!