sen_no_ongaku | 4y6m / 14 months (Reply)

We ventured into the deep snows a couple of times, and Julian had a great time making snow angels, diving into snowbanks, building snowmen, and throwing snowballs. I was afraid we wouldn't have to do the chance to do that this winter. Oops.

Gabe (as below) is way more mobile now, and this has been a source of occasional consternation, as he will get into Julian's toys, take his stuff, and generally be a nuisance (in brother terms, anyhow). When he's particularly annoyed at Gabe, he'll tell us that wishes that Gabe had never been born. I don't think he feels this way all the time, and it's hard to gauge how seriously he means it, but it still sucks.

On days when one or the other of us has both boys all day, J has taken to making to-do lists, and it is VERY important that we stick to them.

He played his first recital, performing a simple four-bar song in music class, and was SO PROUD of himself. He keeps asking when the next recital will be.
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A few weeks ago, Gabe suddenly decided that walking was totally worth it, and made toddling around his primary mode of locomotion – it's like a switch flipped. Which means he can now get into much more trouble. In particular, he's recently gotten tired of the floor, and now wants to climb on top of everything.

Thankfully, he's sleeping longer and more consistently these days, generally waking up in the vicinity of 5:30. There are times when he wakes and spends a few minutes cooing to himself, which is super cute.

He's gotten attached to a couple of snuggly toys, a moose and a bear. When he sees one or the other, he'll shout happily and then give it a big hug. And with both, somehow, it was love at first sight.

Surprisingly, he enjoyed his first conscious encounter with snow, and was eagerly licking it.

He's learned that books are for more than just eating, and will look through them, and bring us favorites every so often.

Likely inspired by his brother, he'll sometimes walk up to the piano, play a few notes, and then clap for himself.

He likes engaging in a kind of ram-hug, toddling up to us at full speed and wrapping his arms around our legs. It's military-grade adorable.