Mud

So much to report! I really shouldn't let a whole month go by without posting. It happens nearly every day: Must write on the blog, I say to myself. And then I think about the twenty other things I'd like to do with my free half an hour, and yoga or housekeeping wins out. But the milestones are stacking up, and I really have to write now, or I will fall hopelessly behind! As you can see from the photo, Layla has two teeth! And she EATS! I finally remembered to buy rice cereal when grocery shopping, so just a couple weeks shy of her six-month birthday, she got her first taste of mush. To be honest, I was kind of holding out. It seems like such a major milestone, and since she is most likely my last child (never say never), I find myself really attached to her babyhood. Every phase of a child's development is wondrous, but six months is especially delicious. Everything delights her. All you have to do is glance her way and she'll flash you the biggest, most heart-melting, two-toothy grin. She is so easy to please and really seems to feel that crying is a waste of energy--energy that could be used to propel herself across the carpet inchworm style. Her mission in life is to get to Mazin's Playmobile firetruck before he notices and swoops in. (So far, she has come within two inches.) I know we are poised to enter the phase where she grabs his toys and he snatches them away, and nobody is happy--not Mazin, not Layla, and not mommy. I'm wondering how we'll handle that. The small pieces will definitely have to be stored safely aside, but Mazin already understands that from his time with babies at Gerri's house. I'll have to find a way to incorporate her in his play. It will be a challenge. I watch him burst forth with these beautiful, spontaneous displays of affection for his sister and I think, I don't want this to end! I don't want him to start seeing her as a nuisance. This morning he walked over to her and gave her a big hug and a kiss and said he loved her, just the way John and I do. I almost made an approving remark, but then I thought better of it. I don't need to reward him for something that comes naturally. I just need to create the conditions under which he will continue to feel affectionate toward her--at least some of the time. I know there will be conflict, but I want them to be quick to forgive and move on.

Mazin is moving through his own milestones, of course. Lately he has taken to carting his stuffed kitty around with him everywhere he goes. I didn't think he was going to be attached to an object, but he seems to be a late bloomer with this particular behavior. I sometimes wonder if we have failed him in some way--if maybe that's what precipitated the new habit, but then I tell myself not to be ridiculous. The world is, indeed, a scary place much of the time. I have developed my own rituals of comfort, orientation, and reassurance, including but not limited to: drinking coffee in the morning, always using the same brand of yummy shampoo, wearing comfortable shoes, dressing mostly in yoga clothes, and talking to people I already know in social situations, rather than introducing myself to strangers. I don't blame him for wanting to take kitty along for a little moral support wherever we go. We do a lot of different things with different people, in different places. It must be overwhelming sometimes. Kids his age also seem to develop habits and routines very quickly, and to switch them out on a whim. At about the same time kitty became all the rage, he stopped asking to watch "Busytown." Since summer is now upon us, there are many more interesting options, like going to the pond to catch salamanders and fish or making mud puddles in the garden. This past weekend he played in the dirt for the better part of an hour, while I put in some starts. He was supposed to be watering them for me, but that quickly gave way to the much more interesting work of disrobing and smearing a layer of mud over his entire body. How liberating it would be to play that way. Watching him, I realized that mud really is a fascinating medium. Just add water to dirt, and suddenly you have something sticky with many other curious physical properties. I'll have to get in there and get muddy with him.