my boy

Joshka has a good vocabulary, it's just that is isn't quite the same as everyone else's. He can easily count to ten:"un, do, ee, or, eye, dik, e'en, ade, ine, den." and he can tell his "boo's" from his "een's" (blue and green), but I'm afraid the consonant drop-and-swap is still in full force. Unsurprisingly he has mastered "poo" and "wee" and loves shouting those words! "Yeah", "uh oh!" and "mine" are others that we all recognise and "mummy" and "daddy" of course. Mia is still "bear" and no is still a firm "OH!". It's extremely endearing and my heart aches when he's desperately trying to tell you something with lots of words which come out as a battery of nearly-there sounds...and you just know it's important, or amusing, or insightful...but my poor boy has to make do with our adult takes on what we think he is saying...to which he usually responds to with a much less emphatic "yeah" than the rest of his soliloquy. We do our best and he is adorable.

The other day Ben told me of how they had been to the shops and how Josh had communicated he wanted something to eat ("Iwonsingt'eat"). Ben dutifully peeled a mandarin (Joshy's favourite!) and passed it back to him to have on the way home. Josh wanted nothing to do with it and bawled all the way home until he got another one at home... Ben was confused. I pictured the scene in my head for a minute and then asked, " Did you break it in half before you gave it to him?" Ben's eyebrows went up and he said that of course he had. Therein the mistake. Josh wants it whole. He likes to peel his own mandarin or banana and wants it whole or NOT AT ALL.

Breakfast is another area where we've observed a Joshka-trait. If any of his porridge should fall on the (quite wide) rim of his bowl he becomes distraught and miserable until one of us pushes it back in the bowl or wipes it away. He just won't have it!

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Obsessive compulsive?
Possibly. We'll wait and see.

My boy is a dear little thing who loves his morning snuggle in the big bed with mum and dad and sister... "Yay. YAY. Yay!" he says as he wriggles around trying to wrap both my arms around him and under him, claiming me all to himself ("Mine"). He's affectionate and playful, thoughtful and willing to share. He loves his sister and his dad and his mum. He always asks, "Where's Dad? Where's Mia" if he's first in bed for a snuggle and they're not there, Daddy's at work, I tell him. Mia's still sleeping. "Oh." he says and squirms about a bit more, wrapping his arms around my neck.

Our latest trick is "gentle hands" brought about by him having gentle hands to stroke a baby's head the other day. Now he does gentle hands on my face (or sometimes Ben) which is a real treat for me...but as Ben points out, it's kind of progressed to a (ticklish) gentle finger. It strokes your eyelids, the tip of your nose, a line on your cheeks and ever so gently, a line on your lips...sometimes it even gets to your ear which is unbearably ticklish and results in giggles.

I cherish my time with my little boy.

thankyouey

Looking up at the butterfly mobile above Joshka's bed, I asked Mia, "Do you still look at the butterflies up there?". She said she did..."Do you remember who made those for you?". No..."Ouma made those for you when you were still a baby in London" I told her.

Mia: "Ouma is so thankyouey..."
Me: "She's what?"
Mia: "Thankyouey.She gives us so many presents and love we say thank you...she's so thankyouey !"

Evidently if you say thank you to a person a lot they are a thankyouey person.

Herewith a smile for you.

I think it's a pretty universal theme...little brothers have an awesome collection of embarrassing photographs that can be carefully stored away and brought out at their 21st birthday celebrations. Older sister who is into all things pink and princess and is keen to share and bestow upon her brother the joy of ballet and princesshood - Mia. Willing and eager learner, who feels accepted and praised when he joins in the fun and dance - Joshka. Wicked and delighted mother stalking her twirling children with a camera - me.