Siblings
Juliet and Jonah are really starting to interact with each other. This comes with its fair share of adorable moments and its fair share of torture. Last night at dinner, we were playing a favorite game of Etsy's, that Matt introduced her to, "I Spy." Jonah was playing along:
I spy... my little eye... OR
I spy... turquoise (turquoise, Jonah, really?)
He doesn't seem to have an actual item picked out, but he seems so pleased to be part of this family game. He beams when it is his turn. I can only imagine the feeling of inclusion, of being able to find his voice in our family. So last night he spied something green and we guessed a few things and Juliet guessed "jungle" and Jonah said, "jungle!" And then Juliet jumped down off her stool and started hopping around, imitating a monkey, and Jonah, without skipping a beat, started waving his arms frantically in the air and kicking his feet. It was hysterical, our little monkeys, making a fun little game of chaos out of our dinnertime.
New traditions
We're playing another game introduced by Matt, called "Christmas lights" that the kids love. It's basically looking for Christmas lights as we drive around and saying "Christmas lights!" when we see them. Juliet will declare to the car, "we're playing Christmas lights now."
Matt and I are also working on getting our Advent Jesse Tree tradition started. I have a book that has Bible stories for the 25 days leading up to Christmas with suggested ornaments. We've made the first 8 ornaments out of clay and have been working through them, though not quite daily. I was pleased to hear that Juliet said the second ornament, the apple with the snake wrapped around it that I made, was "beautiful." (I wasn't home that night to hear it in person.) I felt really good about that.
The other day, Juliet gave me a kiss on my forehead and seemed to say that when I thought of her or missed her I could think of the kiss. It reminded me of when I used to kiss her little palms ages ago and say the same type of thing, that she should save them for when she needed them.
Jonah
Jonah likes having books read to him, often the same ones over and over. He's very vocal about the things he wants. He'll often try to steer us around by pushing our legs towards the next thing he wants us to do. He likes the alphabet and surprised everyone by knowing the refrigerator letters at Gmom's. The other day he was saying something I couldn't recognize, which he kept repeating earnestly, then he started steering me toward the kitchen. And finally I got it - he wanted Vitamin D drops!
He's a great sleeper. You can just lay him down awake when it's time and he'll lay there quietly, blinking his little eyes, and snuggle in to the blanket when you cover him up. He's also really good at entertaining himself in bed too, so sometimes, especially during naps, we'll hear him talking to himself instead of sleeping for a while.
He likes walking himself to bed often instead of being taken there. He will say, "down" or "walk" and then trot over to the pack-n-play himself.
He's got the cutest little voice.
He loves knowing and following the protocol these days. He'll remind us to shut the doors, turn out the lights, wash our hands, and throw something in the trash when it's the next step. I wonder if that is age-related or part of his temperament,
He knows what sounds all the trains make in the Trains Go book.
Juliet
Juliet is becoming a little girl, getting bigger and bigger all the time. I am amazed, when we read her the advent stories, at her listening comprehension, how she can answer the questions about the story pretty accurately.
Matt has been teaching her Bible verses at bedtime and hearing her recite John 3:16 and others is adorable. She is clearly very proud of her abilities and she beams with pride.
She's still "acrobatic" as she tells us and desperately wants to jump on the furniture. She and Jonah made a game yesterday where they took turns standing on the Ottoman and falling on to a pillow on the sofa. It was cute seeing them each take turns. Jonah started it and Juliet said, "yes Jonah, let's do that!"
Juliet loves the song about rain being lemondrops and gumdrops. She still likes the planets, but we talk about them a little less. She loves owls and Ben.
Juliet just woke up and she is hungry! So we're going to go eat. Have a great day.
