Gill eats everything in site. He had tubes put in last Friday, which was amazingly simple and not too invasive. He was given ether gas (no IV) and we were done in an hour. No bleeding, not much apparent discomfort. I couldn't have imagined it, but his appetite improved after surgery. He's not a big drinker (about 12 ounces of formula and breast milk per day) but eats whatever you put in front of him. Especially meat. He is not overly fond of pureed green beans though. But that's about it. We call him "the chunk" and "the lump" (for "sugar lump" from his Grandma Vogt) though he's not that big. He is heavier than Jonas was at that age, though. He's probably about 18 pounds now; Jonas is only 10 pounds heavier but 2 years older. His personality remains so bright, cheerful and pleasant, except when he's mad or wants something.
Gill has begun to climb the stairs and can make it to the very top. This scares me of course. Because of the weird nature of our newel post position, the gate is on the 4th step up, leaving the lower 3 stairs unprotected. Gill will climb these steps then hang on the gate and yell for me. He's rolled down these 3 steps and it scares him. But it doesn't stop him from climbing. We keep sofa cushions at the bottom to cushion him when this happens. In general, the house is in total disarray. So much is in perpetual mess that sofa cushions on the floor don't bother me too much. Well, they do, but it's just easier to leave them there for now.
Snaggle tooth or Four Tooth are also names we have for Gill. He has one upper tooth that seems large, and 3 lower teeth, all in a row. It looks a bit hillbilly to say the least.
Though Jonas sleeps in his room (and has for the past year), he doesn't go down easily. Nightly, we do the "getting Jonas to bed" dance and I'm happy to say that it's getting a smidge bit easier. We start at 8:30, after the bath. He chooses PJs and 3 books. After each book Ed or I will ask, "Now, what are we going to do when we're done with these books?" Like a little soldier, he replies, "Turn off lights, close eyes, go to sleep."
One of my favorite games to play with Jonas is rocket ship. After lights out, we lay flat on our backs, ready to board the rocket ship Enterprise. We choose one or more passengers, strap on seat belts, do the "checks" (I say ignition, Jonas says check, I say fuel, Jonas says check, I say insurance, Jonas says check. No, I'm not very imaginative or authentic, but he doesn't know that yet). Then the countdown (backwards from 10) and then liftoff, which involves shaking the bed. Then silence as we reach space. At that point, we decide where we're going. There are no rules. It can be a planet, or the park. We decide on an activity, or narrate what we see outside the window.
Tonight, Jonas chose to bring Gill along for our space odessey. We flew to Mars where we celebrated his 3rd birthday with a catepillar birthday cake (he remembers this from his party last year), no presents (his request), and playtime at the park.
Because we're exhausted at day's end, we often fall asleep with (or before) Jonas. We wake the next morning feeling befuddled to find ourselves in his room. This happened to Ed the other morning. But what he awoke to made the bunk bed discomfort worthwhile. Jonas opened his eyes, and the first words he uttered that day were "Rock On!"
Lately, he's been playing at being a "Guitar Man." He loves his guitar PJ's and his 3 (yes, three!) play guitars. One looks like a mini version of an acoustic, and the other two are battery operated and highly annoying. I'm not sure where or how he learned the moves, but he straps on those guitars, steps to the beat, strums, works the frets, and wings the whammy bar.
Gill, of course, loves watching all of this. He is in love with his brother, except when he wants what Jonas has. Or when Jonas wants what Gill has. These clashes happen almost all the time that they are in proximity to each other. I'm slowly learning to let them be so they can work it out on their own. When one or the other would yell or cry, I would intervene. (Yes, Gill often makes Jonas cry - mostly with hair pulling) But now I pause and if the crying doesn't exceed about 15 seconds, I let it go. I do feel a bit sorry for Jonas, though, as he spends a lot of time on the bottom step in time out. He has a nasty habit of pushing or head butting Gill, or stealing toys from him.
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