Month 10, Week 3

Up until this point, the boys have only been able to be reactionary to the world around them.  If I put them in a toy they don't like, they'll cry.  If I feed them something they don't want, they'll let me know.  This week, though, they've started to cry because they want something, and it doesn't even have to be in their visual range.  Alex has started complaining during meals because he wants a drink of water.  I'll get up, get a glass, and fill it from the fridge.  You'd think I was about to hand him the best thing ever.  He'll wiggle in his seat and squeal with glee, then grab the cup and just about drown trying to drink it.

The downside of this new found decision making is they can get pretty serious about what they want.  We had our first major meltdown in Wal-Mart, all because Alex wanted my phone.  He screamed at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face.  I think if he was able to reach the floor, he would have thrown himself down on it and done some kicking.  Nothing I did seemed to matter.  He wanted the phone.

Out of options (besides just letting him scream the rest of the trip), I gave it to him.  Almost immediately Zach reached for it.  This caused a whole new round of preemptive screaming.  Just in case Zach did manage to get the phone, Alex would already have the complaining well underway.  Alex also was holding the phone away from Zach, another new development.  Normally they just try to play with whatever item they have and then react once their brother takes it away.  In the end I just had to take the phone away.  Eventually Alex stopped screaming, when he saw people looking at him.

They seem to be taking different tracks in their motor development.  Zach is leaning more towards crawling.  He spends a lot of time on his belly after diving for a just-out-of-reach toy.  He's also started sleeping on his tummy at night.   He still can't crawl, but he does scoot around backwards and has managed to get one knee under him at different times.

Alex, on the other hand, is fully focused on standing and eventually walking.  He started cruising this week, doing a side-step around some activity tables we have.  If he hits a brother roadblock, he'll try to shove Zach out of the way so he can complete his journey.  So far he only seems to go counter clockwise around things, but will also take a few steps towards me or Jim if we're nearby.  He's also discovered he can lean into the activity table, causing it to slide towards Zach.  Zach will start yelling to alert me that he needs saved, but sometimes I can't get their fast enough and he'll get pushed over.

Zach has a bunch of teeth coming in - top front two and bottom left.  Despite this, he slept for about 8hrs straight two nights this week.  It's only happened while he was sleeping on his tummy.  Alex, who seems to be in a dental holding pattern, continues to wake up every 1-2hrs for either milk or holding.

The boys' wagon came in on Monday and we've used it everyday except one (due to rain).  They love it and will happily sit in it for walks around the neighborhood.  They sit facing each other and are just barely in reach of heir brother to do some scratching and biting, so I have to keep an eye on them.  Alex and Zach know their names and they know what "No" and "Stop" mean.  Whomever I address will immediately halt their assault and look up at me innocently.

As far as talking goes, I would consider their first word to be "Daddy".  They'll yell it whenever they seem Jim, although they sometimes use it for me as well.  I've also heard Alex whispering "Cat" at Frodo as he walks by.  By far their favorite thing to say is "Da da da" and they'll use it pretty much non-stop throughout the day, whether Jim's here or not.  If it seems like they're asking about him, I'll say "Daddy's at work but he loves you very much."