Although I rarely have a chance to sit down and write these days, my absence is a sign of being present - with my boys, in my home, at my work, out with my friends and family. My boys never fail to entertain me, whether it is a dance party in the living room or a simple 'adventure' in the neighbourhood. Here is a quick snapshot of life in the Uchida house. (One day I will add pictures, but today is not that day.)
Nico:
1. Loves his big brother to the moon and back. He is a mini Kai, spending any time they are together either following him around or copying him....for better or worse.
2. Cars, trains and balls: yes, he is a stereotypical boy. He is rarely without one (or in the case of cars and trains, 3 of these) at all times.
3. Buggy: He is endlessly talking about buggies. When he arrives at daycare in the morning, this is without fail his dialogue: "April. Buggy. Marcus. Jakob." When he is dropped off at my classroom at the end of the day, he runs in and immediately points back to the stroller he came in and informs me, "Buggy." When he needs to go outside and he is not up for a walk: "Buggy ride?" And then there is his need to push something around, inside or out - a stroller, the play shopping car, the lawn mower. Yes, he must be on the move.
4. Nico is always running. It is very rare to see him walk. Thank goodness he knows he needs to stop and hold my hand before crossing the road! "Hand. Cross road. Cars."
5. Night night. Oh how we enjoys playing nap time. Although the phase has mostly passed that he actually needs to be lifted into his crib to play night night, he still enjoys pulling out his blanket and pretending on the floor.
6. NO. For the past few months, his 'no response' has become more frequent. Sometimes it is the polite 'no thank you' and sometimes it is a proper short answer to a question we have asked him, but it is also the firm, stubborn, "No, I won't do that and don't even bother thinking otherwise." (Obviously those aren't his words this time, just his whole attitude). Lucky we are for now, however, that his no is a simple, calm, matter of fact response and it rarely comes with physical defiance. That is yet to come I am sure.
7. Independent. Kai was always close at hand and did not like to be separated from a trusted adult for very long, even within the house. Not Nico. From the time he could navigate stairs, he was playing for short times on his own...outside in the backyard, up in his room reading a book or down in the basement playing with his car garage. When Nico runs ahead on the sidewalk, he turns around with a cheeky grin on his face and you just know that he is fine on his own, thank you very much. Hugs and cuddles? Rarely. Sad when we leave the house without him? For a few minutes. He will drum to his own beat that boy.
8. Sharing. For a child who has never gone to group daycare, he is amazing at sharing. Sure, he occasionally wails out a 'MINE!' when Kai takes away a car he was playing with, but so should he. He is fine if you 'trade' him for something else, and if someone is sad, he will often offer them something he thinks will make them feel better. Recently when Kai was upset, he offered him rice (just verbally, not a handful), the car that was in his hand and a blanket. He is very sweet that way.
9. Napping. Yes, he is still napping for a good few hours every day. Thank you, my angel.
10. Talking. Yes, he inherited the talking gene and will soon be fighting Kai for talking time. He is fascinated with learning new words and asks over and over again for names of objects and people. He is also using three or 4 words 'sentences' to get points across. He is one expressive kid.
11. Cheeky/silly...always looking to entertain and happy to do it. He is very easygoing and loves to make us laugh.
12. Dancing and Music. Like most kids, he loves his 'mukic' and ask for it daily. He prefers dance music above all and is rapidly copying his brother's hip hop and break dancing moves and inventing his own. When we walk by a store with music, he has to pause and get a few moves in before we move on. He also has started singing Wheels on the Bus and the Sesame Street song 'sunny days', as well as the Gummi Bear song and a few others from Kai's dance mix that is endlessly playing.
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