Picture Post: Easter

Easter 2009


Easter 2010

Favorite Things

Julius' favorite things include Diego, starchy foods, wheeled transportation, and nakedness.  He combined 3 of his 4 loves yesterday when he wheeled his dump truck full of fried potatoes into Sylvia's room to watch Diego.  He was, unfortunately, clothed.

In other news, we have a new Julius.  The old Julius was sweet, shy, calm and compassionate.  The new Julius is sweet, compassionate, and A TOTAL MADMAN.  He can't sit still for an instant, and his speed is really shocking.  He pushes his dump truck, from one end of the house to the other, so quickly that it's not enough to step out of the way.  You have to take notice early and sometimes actually dive to avoid getting your toes broken.  He's super-strong, and can grab a high surface, do a pull-up, and kind of rappel his way up a flat surface (for instance, a counter and cabinets).  

It's marvelous how full of life he is, especially when I think back about his birth.  I'm so blessed that our poor, distressed baby turned into this rambunctious, glowing, vigorous little dynamo.  And you should see his smile!  

language explosion

Julius has been having a language explosion!  I remember the first stretch when Sylvia learned a new word a day, and how amazing that was.  Julius is in a similar state now, and some of his most common phrases are:

• I pie!  (I Spy)
• Outide, my houf (Go outside, to my playhouse)
• Choo, choo!  Beep, beep!  (Playing with cars)
• Poddy! Yeah, I peed!/Yeah, I poop!  

"BYE-BYE!" and "Up!" and "Down!" are also popular.  But my favorite, most characteristic Julius word is "okay."  As in, "I'm okay."  Any time he falls or suffers an emotional injury he'll bury his head in mama's lap and say, "mama, okay, okay."  It was especially sweet when he was sick/upset last week; he'd just hold Heather tight and say, "okay, okay."  

Terrible Twos: Travel Edition

I suppose it's not so much the terrible twos we're dealing with. I think it might be more separation anxiety than anything else. To top it all off, Julius is suffering from a bit of a cold, making his mood all the more sad.
When he feels especially unwell he'll cry and deny how he's feeling. He'll say 'Okay, Mama, okay. Okay.'

Despite all of this he's had quite a fun day at the Zoo. Here's hoping a good night's sleep will make tomorrow's adventure even more enjoyable.

little bro

Julius is such a little brother. His main desire is to be included. Doesn't matter what anyone is doing, or if it's something he'd ever want to do otherwise; if someone's doing something, he wants in. If Sylvia wants to dance, Julius teleports over and we hold hands in a circle. If we're reading, Julius will sit right with us even if it's a book that doesn't usually hold his attention. If I'm eating salsa, he'll beg for a bite even though it burns his mouth... and then he'll ask for another. If Sylvia's watching TV he'll watch too, just to be with her. And also because he loves TV.
And if I'm sitting on the couch he'll climb up and rest his head on me. We have a special sleep bond.
Oh, what a sweetie!

Yeah

I'm addicted to asking Julius questions. Especially ones I know he'll say yes too because when he gets so very excited. I've been trying to document it because I don't think just describing it will do. Unfortunately, whenever I pull out the camera he gets distracted and just stands there saying 'cheeeeese' until I snap a few shots.

Anyway.. it goes a little something like this:
Me: Julius, do you want some juice?
Julius: YEEAAHHHH. YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH *happy dance*

new words

ME: Sylvia, GO TO THE RED ROOM RIGHT NOW! ONE...
JULIUS: twofree!