Brothers

Having two boys is already awesome.  And, believe it or not, Henry never gets mad at Elgin for more than about two seconds.  He's an amazing big brother. I know they'll argue and fight soon enough.

Elgin's one lucky little boy to have such an awesome big brother who loves him without condition.

I look back and see them holding hands in the car at least once a week. They are going to be fun to watch.

Hatching some adventures

I'm not really an adventurous mother.  I do enjoy getting out with the boys, but I typically require backup--Cory.  The boys didn't have school two Fridays ago, and rather than stick around Greenville where I would surely be lulled into housework, I packed up the boys and hit the road to the state fish hatchery.  The road, the place, and the trails are filled with childhood memories for me, and I wanted to share them with my boys. I credit Elgin's birth after a particularly inactive gestation for my willingness to get out with the boys on my own--staying in isn't an option.  Plus, with boys, you don't really have to use a public restroom.

The path to the hatchery

 Making the fish jump (Although, by the time I took a picture, they caught on that no food was flying from H's hand.)

 Picking up rocks, of course

So many brook, brown, and rainbow trout.  These mature fish are just kept for kicks, and H figured out how to jiggle the fish food dispenser so that we could throw out some free food since I didn't think to bring in change.

 Have to keep a close watch on this one!

 Taking the bridge to the trails

 H took this one

 Nice stump for a quick snack

 Taking over the backpack

 Thank you, Elgin.  You made me a little braver.

And, Elgin, you're quite the adventure, yourself!

A few things I want to remember

Elgin gives the best hugs.  When I pick him up at our lunchtime visit, he holds me tight for a really long time and smiles at everyone who will look. His body is clearly saying, "Yeah, I got my Mama."

He started waving a lot about three months ago and loves to wave to everyone and anyone.  He waves every morning as we walk down the school halls.  He waves every afternoon to the front desk staff before we slip into the nursing room. He garners gregarious waves and smiles all around him.

Sometimes, at night especially, when I slip back into shushing to soothe him, he begins to "ssshhhhhhhhh" back to me.

From yellow to purple

I made my usual trip to hang out with and nurse Elgin at school today, and when I walked into the classroom, Ms. Renee said, "Hey.  I have something for you."  I could tell by her face that she was a little worried to give me whatever it was.

Perhaps I have a reputation for being a little sensitive.

Meanwhile, my eyes were darting around for Elgin, who usually scrambles to me like he's on fast forward.  He makes me feel so loved!  He was nowhere to be seen.

I said, "Where's the baby?"

He then crawled out of his favorite corrugate shipping box. 

I turned back to Ms. Renee who was handing me a paper with the news that EW will transition from the yellow to the purple room beginning next week.

What?  Already?  He only just turns one on Friday?

My eyes immediately spilled over, and they eventually had to get me a tissue.  I made them cry a little, too.  Good grief.  I need more time!  I'm sure Elgin's ready to advance, but what about me?  I want a few more weeks.  It feels so cold turkey to me, even though it's a week notice before the transition period.  It still feels sudden and so extreme.  

He's my baby. I like his teachers.  He loves his teachers. He misses them when they're not there. I love our routine in this room. He's so much smaller than the purple room kids. I don't really know those teachers very well. Those purple room kids don't climb on the table when they eat. Will he get knocked over in there? Can I bargain for another week in yellow? 

So many racing thoughts.  All I could manage was, "Can he take his box with him?"

Mama

Elgin is a wild bouncing giggle box right before you lie him down on the changing pad, which he haaaaates. After his bath tonight, he was jumping up and down atop his changing pad while I kept my hands on his waist to keep him from jumping off the high shelf, which this kid would totally love to do.  He was looking at me and had his huge, wide smile while cracking up at himself when he suddenly said, "mamama."

Did I hear it correctly?

A little while later, I passed him in the hall while Daddy was holding our little squirmer.  His eyes tracked me.  He smiled.  He said, "Mama."

Daddy heard it, too.

What a sweet, sweet sound.  Hope to hear it again tomorrow.

Problem solver

Last week, I was playing with Henry and Elgin in Elgin's room where the green glider resides. Elgin was playing with the "race car repair truck," a ride on toy that was given to Henry and never made its way to the outgrown toy area in the attic since H never really stopped playing with it. Elgin was riding it, pushing it mostly backwards, and expertly mounting and dismounting. I was proud of his skills and was recording when my phone's memory reached capacity right when Elgin found himself stuck between the guest bed and the chair. I watched him dismount and push the toy to the chair and start climbing and standing atop the seat but turned to talk to Henry who was asking for my attention. It took about 45 seconds.  I turned my attention back to Elgin, and he was sitting IN the green chair, smugly rocking back and forth.

He's brilliant!

EW's Word Wealth

Oh, I am so far, far behind on blogging!  My baby boy turns one year old on Friday, and I have yet to post about his hilarity, favorites, personality, and compilation of milestones!  Fatigue, a dead Macbook battery, and being generally behind are to blame.  It's time I played catch up.

My baby is pretty laid back in the language area.  Here's a list of words, in order of appearance:

Dada
Daddy
Uh Oh!
Dis (this)
Dat (that)
Wha'dis (What's this?)
Yes?
Toes
Shoe (plain as day while walking up to me and handing over his shoe)
Dau! (dog)
Dop! (stop)
Righ'ere! ((right here!) This one was reported by his teacher who says he was hiding in a corrugate box with the flaps shut.  She saw his foot sticking out and asked, "Wheeeeerrreee's Elgin?"  He opened a flap, stuck out his head, and said, "Righ'ere!")
El'in (Elgin)

We really want him to say "ball."  Why?  Because he's a baller.  You should see him throwing a ball and catching it when rolled back to him.  Plus, I cannot wait until those "b" words start rolling.

And, of course, there's one word I'm still patiently waiting to hear.  No "Mama" yet, but I know it's going to be so sweet to hear from this little perfect boy.