Progress!

I have so many wonderful, positive things to report about Ezra!  He is in a much better place; he has made some nice progress in recent weeks, especially in regards to Maren.  He also loves nursery again, and doesn't have as much anxiety in new situations.

He is an astute observer, and has picked up a number of social cues from us about how to respond to Maren.  These were not taught, just absorbed by our watchful little toddler.  For example:

When he hears Maren cry, he will immediately stop what he is doing, and rush to where she is and reassure her, "It's OK baby, big brother here.  Don't be sad."

When she is struggling to hold her head up during tummy time, Ezra offers kind encouragement, "You can do it, baby!"

When he is near her and she spits up, or blows bubbles and drools, Ezra will quickly grab a blanket or a wipe, dab her chin saying, "You pit [spit] up baby.  Ezra clean it.  All better baby!"

He likes to sit by her now.  He sometimes wants to snuggle with her.  He likes to watch her vocalize.  He brings his books and cars so he can have show-and-tell time with Maren.  He tries to put the pacifier back in her mouth if she loses it.  Often, when he wakes up in the morning or wakes up from an afternoon nap, he wants to see Maren.  He even occasionally shares Bear with Maren (for a brief minute or two).

A few weeks ago I caught an Ezra-Maren spontaneous moment on camera that delighted me.  Ezra was on the couch reading his Friend magazine.  Maren was on the floor on a blanket.  Both were quite content, amusing themselves independently.  Then, of his own accord, Ezra decided to share some magazine stories with Maren.  So, he left the couch and laid down beside her, "reading" almost half the magazine to her.  Precious.

Ezra and I had this conversation earlier this week: 
He did something that I thought was quite clever, so I said to him, "Ezra, you're sharp."
Ezra had a puzzled look on his face, and after a brief pause he said, "Mommy, Ezra not a shark.  Ezra a boy." 
I laughed.  And then he added with a smile, "Ezra a handsome boy."

Here is another, Ezra-is-observant-we-didn't-teach-him-this moment:
Almost every night at dinner, Ezra will ask Daddy, "Daddy, how your day?"
Daddy will respond.  If Daddy doesn't immediately return the question, Ezra will remind him of his polite social manners: "Daddy, now you say 'Ezra, how your day?'"

Funny kid.  We love him! 

Three Months: Observations

• Our little sweetie girl is growing and changing!  She loves the mirror and will coo and babble at her own reflection for a good while.  She craves seeing people, and will often immediately calm at the sight of a happy face.  She is very social, and even when she is quite hungry, wants to talk first, until she remember how hungry she is, and then gets down to business.
• She shows interest in toys, and is especially taken with a brightly, colored butterfly we received from Dallin's co-workers.  She is interested in unique sounds: jingle bells, rattles, squeaky toys, and seems to love to hear Daddy play violin.  
• Earlier this month Maren discovered her arm and fist, and would watch it move in the air above her head.  More recently, she has discovered how to bring her hands together in front of her chest and interlock her little fingers.  She is developing more fine motor control!
• Tummy-time is not a favorite, but she is improving her upper-body strength slowly.  She has a decided preference for her right side, and often topples to the right because she puts all her weight on that side.  So, she is rolling over, accidentally.  

• Maren still hates hats, hair-bows, and headbands.  If you want to make Maren mad, any head ornament will do the trick.
• The baby laughs!  She is ticklish along her jawbone, cheeks, and earlobes.  She always laughs when I pretend to eat her little chubby cheeks.
• She is sleeping through the night now, about five days out of a week.  She usually nods off at 10:30 and sleeps through until 7:30 or so.  However, she will sometimes go twelve hours straight without a nap during the day, which is rather exhausting.  Or, she will nap two or three times, 20 minutes at a time, and want to be talked to and played with all the rest of the time.  Lately, any Maren nap is cause for celebration (like right now!)
• She still has her wavy, crazy adorable hair that seems to have the very slightest reddish tint.  Her eyes are still a beautiful, clear blue, and I think it is the color they will stay.  (At three months, Ezra's eyes were decidedly dark green.)
  
        

Bedtime Magic

Dallin made a little magic at our house last night.

Here's the scene: Cute kids are in pajamas, ready for bedtime.  Maren is snuggled up in blankets, propped up on the couch.  Ezra scurries upstairs to get his blanket so he can snuggle next to baby (yep, that's right, he wanted to snuggle next to baby!)  Daddy pulls out his violin and for at least fifteen minutes, both Ezra and Maren are perfectly mesmerized by the spontaneous musical performance.  No talking, no crying, no wiggling, just listening.  After a while, Ezra broke free of the musical spell and was giving Maren some cute commentary:

"Maren, see Daddy play violin for us?  Nice muse-gick (music).  Yah."

A little later I ran upstairs for the camera and Ezra had this commentary for Maren,

"Maren, see Mommy take picture with camera?  Yah.  Say cheese Maren."

Daddy finished his playing.  We clapped with great gusto.  He took a bow.  An encore was requested, and played.  And then, my docile little troop went upstairs and brushed teeth.

p.s.--I have been trying to play my clarinet more often, and I have never gotten that kind of positive response.  If I remember correctly, the last time I played, Ezra was running around the room in circles, and Maren was crying.  Daddy has the magic touch; his playing certainly won my heart.