November

Benjamin is growing up so fast!! At two months now, he is more alert and awake than either of his siblings at that age, his precious little cheeks are plumping up, and he is wearing 3-6 month clothes all ready. Just as when he was a fetus, he is quite active, and very strong--I would be more upset about getting pummeled by his tiny fists and kicked by his flailing legs if I weren't so proud. And he works hard to lift that big ol' head up.

Developmentally, he is doing very well. He can hold his head up for several long seconds; he grins and giggles whenever Michael or I play with him; and he babbles and coos at anyone that will listen. Lately he has been trying to focus his eyes better on things that are in his line of sight. The only downside for the little fella is that the formula he is on upsets his tummy horribly. For the most part, he is still a very happy baby, but occasionally he gets fussy and cranky. I can't fault him for that; I am not a happy camper when my tummy hurts either.

We had an appointment with Tammy (the LPC from ECI--lot of acronyms!!) the other day and she is very encouraged with Gabriel's progress. He is starting to acknowledge Emerald and trying to engage her and us in what he is doing. Granted, he is not always the most graceful about it--it is not uncommon to see him perched on Benjamin's lap in the baby swing, or (as in the picture above) squatting on Emerald as she lays on the floor; but when he realizes that he may have done the wrong thing, he is quick to try and make amends. Several times, I have caught him when he thought I wasn't looking stroking Benji's hair or offering his baby brother a pacifier.

Most people would see Gabriel and assume that he does not want to play with other children/people. I admit, I can see where they get that impression--he won't sit still to hear books read, he abandons toys if another kid shows too much interest in it, he runs from interaction and never initiates play himself. But those that know him better see that he just doesn't know what he is supposed to do to get them to play with him. I mean, it's not like he can verbally extend an invitation, and most cannot interpret his invented signs.

So right now, that is one of our biggest goals--teaching him how to approach a peer and share a game with them as well as how to leave the interaction politely when he is done. Thus far, we have gotten him to greet visitors at the door; if he knows them, he will occasionally offer a hug or touch their hand as a form of acknowledgement. When it is time for them to leave, he will walk with them to the door, blow them kisses, and see them off.

As the days get cooler, it is harder for me to orchestrate time outside. Ben Reilly is a cold-natured baby, so he has a much harder time keeping warm. That's part of the reason he is scarcely happy unless someone is holding him; you can see his little lips trembling and his tiny hands and feet are freezing.

At any rate, we have found ourselves inside more often than not in the last few weeks, and anyone that knows Gabriel knows that he needs a great deal of sensory stimulation; being cooped up so long drives him stir-crazy. I have had to get a little creative to burn out that excess in Gabe.

I noticed that Gabriel was a big fan of jumping off the crafts table, but I worried that he would hurt himself. So I used cushions and blankets to make a soft landing, and we took turns tumbling and leaping off onto the pallet. Besides that, we also have races and play tag, wrestle on the couch, and tumble and roll in our own invented version of gymnastics.

Finally, crafts!! The more time-consuming, the better because it keeps the children's minds off their cabin fever. We made that gingerbread house up there, which took most of the morning. I also have a lot of activities to prepare Emerald for school; construction paper for a variety of simple projects; and a couple of board games that hold their interest.

Something we have all enjoyed--over the years, I have collected the many mementos that I just couldn't bear to part with: things they did at school, bracelets from the hospital when they were born...anything that reminds me of this time, when they were my babies. Recently, we have taken all those things out and preserved them in scrapbooks. Emerald cannot believe the little girl in those pictures is her; she, in fact, has invented a story about the baby "Hannah" that we have so many photographs of. Gabriel particularly enjoys seeing how his hand compares to the prints he made when he was younger, and to add stickers to the finished pages.

That is what we are doing to keep our spirits up as the temperature drops!

--Andie--