Pushing the limits

This post is about Tyler. But it's not about him pushing the limits. It's about me pushing the limits with him.

We were at a playground a block from our new place here in Princeton. Tyler was sitting in a baby swing and wanted me to push him. I kept pushing him higher and higher, and he was loving it. He asked for more, and I'd push as him as high as I could dare, but nothing fazed him.

Then I had another fun idea. I spun him in a circle, winding up the chain, and then let him spin as it untangled. Still, nothing. No shrieks of horror or even signs of panic. So I tried to spin him more, but it still wouldn't go very fast. Then I realized the secret. If I lifted him as I spun him then not only could I twist a lot further, but now the chain twists up in a way that builds up a lot of potential energy.

When I let him go this time his head was flinging back and he quickly burst out, "I'm too busy! I'm too busy!" I couldn't stop laughing at that.

Tyler speaks

 

It's suiting that Tyler would attempt to type over me while I'm trying to write an entry about him. He's sitting on my lap right now. We were just going through a counting book with him, and he's pretty good at it. Lydia is already asleep. It's rare that Tyler can flip through a book however he wants, so he's enjoying the occasion. He's pretty good at counting with us. Then he asked to count houses, so we turned to a page that has three houses and let him try counting himself: "House, three, nine." Then on to counting five snowmen: "Three, eight, nine, eight, fourteen." After that everything on the page was "fourteen." But really, eleven is his favorite.

He recently reached the point of being able to put his puzzles together very proficiently. For both Lydia and him, that came very suddenly. Just a week or two ago he had a lot of trouble.

In the car, on the way home from church, Tyler learned how to spray water on himself. We have a water spray-bottle that we use to flatten his hair. He kept spraying himself in the face and saying, "Wawa, fun!"

Bus ride

Here is our cutest little boy riding a bus. We rode a bus a week ago and once again yesterday. Boy, did Tyler love the ride! While we were waiting at the graduate community center to go to the Easter Egg Hunt, Lydia and Paul would wonder around the building. First, Tyler would run after them, then turn around and say "buff" with a worried expression. I could see that he was afraid to miss the bus. When we got on, he sat so still and just looked out the window the whole time. That in itself is a shocker, because Tyler, well, he just does not like to sit still.

On our way back, once again, at the bus stop, we had to wait in line to get in. Upon seeing the bus pull up, Tyler was pushing past everyone to make sure he got on. When I held him back, he was so eager to find his seat that he started turning to a horizontal position while I was holding him. I figured that it was his only way of getting closer to the door. As we waited, the longer it took for us to move up the line, the harder his hand was squeezing my skin into a pinch. Once he was on a "buff", he was the happiest kid ever. My point---Tyler loves busses... and cars... and trains... He is a boy through and through!

Tyler's Birthday

 

Tyler is one years old! How did the time fly by so quickly? He's almost a big kid, but to us he's still our sweet little baby!

The celebration took place while we were in Detroit visiting Matthew, Summer and the kids. Tyler liked his cake. He used his hand to get a sample after which he just did a face plant. Watching him we realized that the use of hands or utensils while eating is highly overrated.

Also, we had to literally make Tyler open all his presents. He was not into wripping the wrapping, he just wanted to play with his new toys. For a birthday activity, we hung up a bunch of baloons from the garage ceiling and let the kids run through them, spraying them with silly string. They loved it. Then we went to Chucky Cheese's and that was a ton of fun also. Of course, and sadly, Tyler would not remember this celebration, but we will never forget it.

Tyler

Tyler walks very fast now. His transition was gradual. He was letting go of our hands and taking a few steps for about a week before he finally ventured around the room on his own. Two years ago when Grandma Galina visited, Lydia started all-out walking on her own the very day she left (July 4, 2006). For Tyler it was within about a week. What mean children. Grandma comes thousand of miles to visit, and they torment her by making her slouch her back to walk them around everywhere. So Tyler was up and walking during the week that the family was with Grandma and Grandpa in Oregon. I'll set the date as Friday the 13th, June, 2008. A late birthday present for me, and exactly one month behind Lydia's walking expeditions (by age).

Tyler is both smiley and cute, and whiny and resolute. People love to watch his bit smile and laughter, especially when they smile at him or tickle him. It's also hard to distract him when there is something he wants, and he doesn't calm down easily when he's upset. Holding him doesn't calm him down either, unless that's what he was complaining for.

I think Tyler will turn out to be more methodical and calculated than Lydia---maybe not so energetic but even more stubborn.

Tyler's escapes

Tyler loves being mobile and escapes from us all the time. Favorite places are the stairs and our back patio. If the gate is not up and we are not paying close attention, Tyler usually makes it to the top of the first flight of stares before we catch him. He starts giggling when he sees us coming for him.

Also, once our little guy hears the sliding door open, he makes a beeline for it. When he manages to crawl out, Tyler looks for a piece of chalk. And that's how we usually find him-- leaning on Lydia's easel, lips colored by the chalk he's gnawing on.

They are all unique

Yes, it is true. They are all unique... kids that is. Our children are similar in many way, but we find ourselves looking at each other and saying "Lydia wasn't like this". For example, Lydia was so excited to try her first food that she laughed when we finally gave it to her. It took Tyler a week or so to get interested in eating, though he would dive for the food we were eating. He also does not like everything. That first became apparent when he would refuse to open his mouth when I would offer him apple sauce. Now he does this funny maneuver. He does not open his mouth for the first spoonful of offered food. Tyler sort of licks it first, which helps him decide whether he will open up for the second and consequent bites. And he opens wide if the food is to his liking. However, if he does not like it he will keep dodging it. When we are being too persistent he will gather his fingers in fists as he squeals and shakes from frustration. By that point, you'd better offer him something different or else....

Tyler gets so excited when he is being tickled. He giggles so hard. At times he opens his mouth so wide to laugh we call it a hippo mouth. He is also more interested in books, stories and songs then Lydia ever was. He loves turning the pages with me.

Lydia never cared for crawling, so she walked early. Though Tyler really likes to walk with our hands and has been doing that for almost 2 months, he is very good at crawling. He is getting soooo fast. It's fun to hear him crawl. Sometimes before we see him in a doorway, we hear a very fast sequence of little stomps.

Just as much as he likes crawling, he likes eating every small crumb or rock in site. Those two things kind of go together for Tyler. He will be holding onto our hands, walking, when he will see something that interests him. That's when he will let go, sit down, crawl and put that something in his mouth. It has gotten to a point where I can not turn away from him for a second when he is crawling around at the playground outside. If I do, looking back at him I usually see him chewing. It usually turns out to be sand, twigs, leaves, rocks or an array of other things we commonly call garbage. At home, our carpet shows every grain of sand and crumb that has been dropped. Tyler gets on his fours and starts what I call "vacuuming". What a kid! That's when Paul and I look at each other and say "Lydia never did that".

Tyler's new tricks

Our little guy is getting so big. He figured out how to sit up in the last couple of days. He has been pulling himself up for a while, but now he's very efficient at it. Every time I look around, I see him standing and holding onto something new.

Tyler loves to crawl after me as I moves around the house. As he follows me he always repeats "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma". What can I say, Tyler is definitely a mamma's boy and I love it. Today he had so much fun watching what Lydia was doing. His sister climbed under the table and was singing songs. Tyler found her highly amusing--he squealed and laughed as he watched her. Partially, I think he just discovered that he can follow her and be entertained. I am all for that. Have fun, kids! Lydia was not exactly thrilled about him grabbing unto her to pull himself up. But she does pay more attention to her brother now, even if it's pulling him backwards by his legs so he can't get to her favorite toy.

I found Tyler on the stairs today, on the third step. The first attempt to master the staircase was a couple of days ago. Then he only made it up one step. Apparently, he's feeling more confident about his abilities now, and I need to pull out our gate from the storage unit.

Surprisingly, both of our kids have similar temperaments. Tyler very much resembles active and curious little miss Lydia when she was his age. He also loves attention just as much. He will pretty much smile and try to communicate with anyone who's interested. But he's a bit shy, too. Sometimes he wants to go to someone he sees, but then when he turns around and sees me, he decides to come back to me. Then, when someone captures his attention once more, he will dive to get to them, only to discover that now he left his mommy's arms and then, once again, he wants to come back. What a funny kid! He also does not like to be left alone, of course, therefore he does not go down to sleep as easily as Lydia did. Unless he has been knocked out by nursing, he will keep complaining until we do it right (with a bit of holding and singing) and then he's good to go.

It so fun to see kids want to do things their own way. They are so alike (physically as well as in character) and yet, there are totally unique and completely themselves. Watching them express themselves makes me smile. And how I love having a squeezable munchable baby in the house, even if he keep me up at night.

Tyler's on the move

I am sitting here, at the computer, trying to keep up with my incoming emails. I decided to interrupt my activities so I can write a note about Tyler. Just a minute ago, I caught him scooting around the floor, trying to get to some toys. He made attempts at it before, but today he is truely succeeding. Give him a week or two, and I think he will start crawling. What a determined little boy! He is not 7 months yet, but he loves to be on the move. If he's not scooting, he's rolling; if he is not rolling, he's trying to reach for something. Tyler has picked up how much fun it is to walk holding on to our fingers. He makes quite a dent in the distance as he moves his feet. All in all, he is such a joy!