JANUARY
The holidays are past and a new year lies ahead. I look
forward to watching Brandon as he makes the transition from
toddler into a charming little boy. With my cameras
close by, I hope to occasionally capture Brandon and Sophia
in memorable moments.
BRANDON'S THIRD BIRTHDAY - JANUARY 4
Sophia weighed a pound more than Brandon when she was born,
9 pounds, 7 ounces, as opposed to Brandon's 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
After two months, the difference has disappeared and their
weights and lengths are just about the same. These are pictures
of them taken in the same clothes on the same blanket at the same
age. Only their faces are different, and not remarkably so.
Brandon at Two Months
Sophia at Two Months
FEBRUARY
Time passes so quickly. Sophia's now three months old
and Brandon has graduated to big boy's underwear. Sophia
continues to voice her disgruntlement at slow service when
she's hungry; Brandon's learned the magic of asking "please?"
If one 'please' doesn't work, he'll string together several,
each one more pleading and loud than the one before.
Brandon continues to oversee Sophia's care and instructs adult
caretakers to feed her if she's crying or, if she's just eaten,
burp her or give her the pacifier. Brandon has also been
known to demand that we take her to another room if her noisy
fussiness interferes with his own quiet time. It appears
they're developing a relationship as well. There have been
some instances where Brandon's attention and voice can silence her
crying when parental efforts fail.
MARCH
April is just around the corner. Brandon enjoys
listening to music and likes to perform as well. He'll
often hold an imaginary microphone as he dances and sings,
mostly for his own entertainment, although we may watch as
long as we remain silent. He also finds instruments
interesting. Recently he cleared out the cupboard where
I store cooking utensils and carried the dutch oven and lid
to the family room. The din of banging on the Lincoln
Logs container and kettle lid while seated on the pot led him
to request earmuffs. I found a pair, but he complained
that he wanted blue, not red, and insisted that we go
to the store to buy some. We didn't, and I was threatened
with a spanking.
Sophia now turns from her belly to her back, often during
the night. Thus, to the need for Dawn to rise during the
wee hours to feed Sophia has now been added the necessity to
respond to the sound of Sophia wailing to be returned to her
stomach.
Brett lives to race. It's his passion. And
sometimes it's his nemesis. My custom has been to visit
him in Orlando in March, shortly after the spring racing season
begins, so I can be a spectator at local events. This
year when I arrived he was already off the bike and recuperating
from a nasty wreck. The picture below was taken 10 days
after the accident. As soon as he can turn the pedals
again, he'll be astride "Apollo," the new bike built for him
by his team's sponsor, Olympus.
 |
| Brett, 10 days post-wreck |
|
 |
| Can sit in the saddle, can't pedal |
|
APRIL
| Brandon still can't be bothered to stop
playing to have his picture taken. See- ing the
camera, he turns away saying, "Not now, Grand- ma, later."
This day I got lucky. The weather was warm enough to take
a walk out- doors. I promised we'd go out if I could
take a picture (or two or three). |
|
| Brandon asked if he could feed Sophia.
Why say no? When I finish the task, she has cereal from
hairline to chin, ear to ear and slathered on both hands.
Brandon could do no worse. In fact, he did better than I
do. She opened her mouth wide, didn't blow bubbles with
the overflow and allowed him to wipe her face periodically.
Sibling symbiosis. |
JUNE
The sound you just heard was time flying by. May has come
and gone. Brandon and Sophia
are maneuvering to establish their hierarchy. Whatever
Sophia's playing with, Brandon wants whether it's his toy or
hers. As long as she can get an item from her hand into
her mouth, Sophia's not fussy about the object, although Brandon's
brightly colored toy cars are a favorite.
It's been interesting to compare the developmental differences
of the two. Brandon held his bottle from the time he was
six months old; at nearly eight months, Sophia expects you to do
it while she twiddles her hair. Brandon walked at eleven
months and then learned to crawl; Sophia turns fluidly from belly to
back, and just as easily flips back again. She's been
sitting alone since mid-May and has now taken some cautionary hand/knees
moves. She's just learning to pull up, but doesn't realize
that letting go means falling down.
Sophia found her voice and uses it when she's
frustrated, hungry or just unhappy with her current situation.
While the pitch hasn't broken glass yet, her use of it gets immediate
attention. We've begun using sign language as we did with
Brandon: "eat," "more," "bottle." Hopefully she gains some
control of her hands quickly and will sign her demands rather than
scream.
Last weekend the family went down to Matt's folks to celebrate
Father's Day. When it was time to return home, Brandon
announced he was staying. Daily reports from Nana and
Pappap's indicate the child is having the time of his life, as
are Matt's mom and dad. Dawn and Matt have called to check
on Brandon, and Dawn said when she asked to talk to him, he
responded (via Nana) that he was busy and would talk to her
later.
As I recall the story, evidently Nana cajoled Brandon into
talking by offering a reward: talk to Mommy, get a cookie.
He took the phone, explained to Dawn that he wanted her to stop
talking and be quiet for just a minute while he put the phone
down. In the quiet, Dawn heard Nana ask Brandon where he
was going. "To get my cookie," he replied. He
returned shortly, cookie in hand, to resume the conversation.
Copyright ©2003 Kitty Park
