More kiddo updates

Wish I had time for charming, witty blog posts, but get real! Every minute I spend blogging is one less minute of sleep I get before J has me up in a few hours so here are today's tidbits:

Bug and Zoey are officially friends. I was confident this day would come and I'm thrilled for both of them. Being smaller than everyone else in the household Zoey is understandably skittish. She wisely avoided Bug like the plague for at least the first 2 years of her life, but today I caught them in the sweetest interactions twice. Zoey was in the coveted spot on the right back couch cushion and Bug was kneeling on the seat cushion in front of her teaching her how to give a high five. And she was being so kind and gentle that Zoey was actually at ease. Then later I let Jack and Zoey out back and gave Bug permission to follow. I watched as Zoey lay on the concrete patio to enjoy the beautiful sunny day and then rolled onto her back as Bug approached so that Bug could rub her tummy. Hurray for both of them! For J's sake Bug needs someone else to nurture and Zoey needs more attention than she's been getting since J arrived. Bug is getting better at hiding Zoey's toy and Zoey actually listens when Bug tells her to go find it. And as Bug's throwing skills are improving I foresee much fun for both of them with Bug being able to play fetch with her.

We have our challenging days with Bug where she decides to make a play for head of the household, but there is a sweetness and spark in her that outweigh the challenges. She is eager to help, has made great strides in sharing and seems to be less shy. She is SO good with J. There is no sweeter music than listening to the two of them giggle together. Today I caught her dragging him by his feet on his back down the hall toward her room. I paused to evaluate the situation and thankfully heard him laugh before I got onto her.

J has mastered his army crawl and now sometimes does a hybrid of that and traditional crawling--sorting of morphing between the two. He is focused and efficient in getting to whatever has captured his attention, or equally often attempting to follow me as I move about the house. He is also very adept at crusing. He seems to have less fear (self-preservation?) than Bug had at that age. Each day he attempts something more daring than the day before. During our home Bible study group Sunday night he began letting go of the furniture and either taking a step (or more often simply falling forward) toward me as I sat next to him on the floor. I've gotten him to take two unsteady steps a couple of times by standing him as far in front of me as I can reach and letting go (only to catch him a second later).

J is showing frustration now when things are taken away or when he has reached the limit of his abilities (e.g. he gets to the end of the furniture but I am still 6 feet away and he has no means of reaching me. (He hasn't yet connected that he could drop to the ground and crawl to me.)

J LOVES his daddy! He gets excited when he sees him and seems to be saying Da-da in connection with Hubby (and also mama with me--usually a tearful maaaaa-maaaaa in the wee hours of the night). They had some great father-son bonding when I took Bug out for lunch this past week. Hubby was home on vacation and he put J in his walker in the garage while he cleaned and organized. J was overjoyed to (1) be outside, (2) have a new place with lots of new stuff to explore, and of course (3) get to watch and interact with Daddy. Hubby took Bug on a "date" while on vacation too. It is a joy to watch his relationship with each kid grow and deepen. They will both be blessed because of his faithfulness and his selfless investment of time and energy.