The Monkey Update

So how are the monkeys these days? Well, let's see:

Rudy continues to charm, disarm and infuriate as only a 3.5 year old can. (I think. Haven't seen 4.5 yet.) Over the last few months, he has acquired the attention span and interest to sit through a feature length film, learned to count backwards from 10, put on and take off his own clothes (though it's often still a battle), learned how to put on his own coat, how to move a computer mouse, and how to brush his teeth like he means to keep them. Most of the time he remembers to push his chair in at the table and sometimes even remembers to clear his place without being asked. He helped me weed the front garden today and is desperate to plant tomatoes RIGHT THIS MINUTE, which is his new favorite thing to say. Which we could do without.

He loves his sister, it's clear, though his love often ends up squashing her. Mornings he greets her with a cheery "Hello, goofball!" and at night when they are both wound up before bed, he chases her around the downstairs, every now and then pausing to dance on the rug in the living room with her.

They are starting to play together. It's amazing.

He is also all of a sudden very possessive of his things, which means she sniffs that right out and wants whatever it is he has. Much screaming ensues, or, in Josephine's case, much high-pitched keening that breaks adults' brains.

Josephine continues to set our nerves on edge as she attempts to scale all surfaces in the house. She is, as always, a blur--running, dancing, balancing, jumping with two feet in the air like a frog, chasing the cats, rolling down the backyard hill log-style in imitation of her log-like brother, climbing onto my shoulders, Paul's back, the coffee table (which we have removed from temptation for a while)...she almost never sits still. She has moved into Rudy's booster seat at the table, where she insists on feeding herself, and does so rather well with a spoon or a fork. She loves broccoli. She eats bowls of it. She prefers cups with no lids and, like her brother, has no use for potatoes. She is going through some kind of growth spurt right now because she eats constantly. She eats much more than Rudy, who is really a tropical plant that takes its nutrition from the air. Her toothbrush is one of her favorite things. Sometimes she sleeps with it. She likes to sing when we do, smiles most of the day, and can say the following words somewhat clearly: please, thank you, ball, hi, tree, Rudy, kitty...I'm sure Paul would add others to the list. She can sign for: please, light, more, frog, and dog. She can nod yes and no. She understands much, much more than she can express and I can tell that this frustrates her immensely. We do a lot of guessing: This? Is this what you want? No? How about this, then? I wonder if she will have the traditional language burst around 18 months. I am looking forward to it, but I will also miss her weird little alien language. She has just learned how to give kisses. The real ones, complete with pucker and smacking sound. Delightful.

Both kids have been helping with cleaning around the house. They both help us empty the dishwasher, and both have helped sweep the floors, feed the cats, wipe the walls of their own sticky prints, and helped to clear the table. We are grooming a small workforce!

Both kids are also indescribably stuck to me. Much carrying on happens whenever I leave the house. I left for work the other day, having literally peeled them from each leg, screaming, thinking, "Well, at least I know they love me." Whew.

There are other things I'm missing, I'm sure, but here it is for now. The Monkey Update.