Things I Don't Want to Forget

1. The Lion's first word was "Uh-oh." Said as he dropped Cheerios on the floor and looked over at me to get my reaction.

2. The Lion crawled up the stairs for the first time last week. I caught him halfway up before I got out of the bathroom.

3. The Lion got a big fat lip and bled everywhere from falling off a folded-up futon on the floor. Only about 6 inches, but when you land face first with your one top tooth digging into your lip...well, at least he recovered quickly.

4. Slim's potty training is going spectacularly...awful. Most days there is at least one "discussion" involving me screaming, "Sit on the potty!" and him saying, "No sit on potty NOW!"

5. Slim always says the words, "NOW!" and "NEVER!" very emphatically, but not usually together. He does say them A LOT.

6. The Lion wants me to hold him almost exclusively right now, and never fails to lose it when passed to anyone else. He regains composure so quickly when I take him back that he looks like a different child.

7. If it is possible, Mia has become even more tolerant of the kids. She will even hold still for hugs, and lets them crawl up and hold her feet.

8. The Lion crawls WAY faster than Slim ever did, and he crawls "correctly" as opposed to Slim sticking one foot down and the other knee down in his half walk/crawl. The Lion can really move when he wants to. He looks like a little tank.

9. Both of them love chicken nuggets and yogurt. The Lion wants whatever Slim is eating.

10. The Lion wants everything that Slim has, usually when he has it. The noise level in the house has amped up -- didn't think that was possible -- as they sit in their room together and shout at each other over the GeoTrax trains.

11. On the good side, they also play together now. Usually Slim has the train and is pushing it, and The Lion has some of Slim's cars and is sticking them on the tracks too. It works -- for about 10 minutes, and then it's back to the screaming.

12. I've tried to minimize my screaming, and have taken some time-outs for bad language. Thus Slim is down to only one goddamnit a day. This is an accomplishment, and I'm proud that modeling good behavior works.

13. The Lion sometimes bangs his head on the floor or into his brother when he gets frustrated. I'm trying not to let that worry me. He shows no other signs of autistic behavior, but of course, I am a hypochondriac on behalf of my kids.

14. Speaking of non-autistic behavior, The Lion points a lot. Yesterday with the Cap'n, the Cap'n asked Slim where the moon was, and both boys pointed at it.

15. Slim knows the smallest planet (Pluto, shh, don't tell him about the whole "not a real planet" thing), the red planet (Mars), the biggest planet (Jupiter) and his favorite, the one with rings (Saturn). I might add that we make a trip to the Air and Space Museum probably once a week.

16. My children watch too much TV, though, and for that I feel like a horrible mother.

17. There are lots of things that make me feel like a horrible mother. Including my recent job search, and my recurrent fantasies of commuting (gee, I have an exciting life).

18. I asked Slim if he would miss me if I was gone, and he said he would. And that makes me the worst mother of all.

I'm probably not going to be blogging for a little while. I'm not really knitting, or doing much else. I'm hoping to get my groove back, and when I do, I'll be back around.

Thanks...