Trevor and Owen are spending a lot of time playing together. They tumble around and roughhouse. For most part they both have fun, it seems I have the hardest time because I have to be really careful watching them and interfering only when needed.
Owen-towen is now crawling pretty quickly and can move around when holding on to something (even a moving something). He can stand for longer and longer before he carefully sits down. Chris saw him crouch to pick something up and then stand up without holding on to anything.
I took Owen out for his first bikeride on the mamachari and he was laughing his head off. Trev tried out some bikes with training wheels at the Canadian Tire and he was able to ride quite well. How soon do you think until we get him a bike of his own? He has been tricking out his tricycle, it has a bell and front and back light. Trevor calls it his motorcycle.
We have been swimming in the pool with Owen quite a bit, when Trevor is asleep because he is not too interested in the pool. We took Trev for his first skate of the season. He had to remember how to skate, but I think he is ready to learn new skills.
Trev is still talking in Croatian a lot, here is an example of a sentence (he was taking out Lego figurine from a firetruck) “Isto tako take the krov out and izvadi him.” We’re filming him talk because it is too difficult to capture his stories on paper.
Last Wednesday was Trev’s first day of preschool. He was a little bit anxious and upset that he doesn’t get to spend his days with me, but he does like the daycare centre and it is actually a little bit difficult to get him to leave when we come pick him up.
Apart form using the antenna as an antenna, he is also using is as a ramp to enter into a room. He is still constructing engines out of anything and everything. He made Owen’s stroller into a vehicle by putting a book bag as a motor and mixing truck’s drum as the exhaust. He is very concerned about his little brother. He forbid him to use his pecr.
“It is very very dangerous, you go poke your eye out!”
Chris thought Owen how to give zerberts and now he is unstoppable zerberter. He is still super smiley and chatty. He can now stand for half a moment without holding on to anything.
Owen is particularly fond of beer bottles and shoes.
Trevor took it upon himself to clean the house. He did it despite the fact that there weren’t any fishes in his cleaning bucket.
Trevor has made up a new song which goes along like this “Apple falls from the tree and bird poops…” and then some mumbling and repetition and so on. He is in a propeller phase where he must look at the propeller of every boat we pass. He is speaking more Croatian words though he is not interested in grammar. He wants me to jump into “mora” (sea) and when he is in the shower says “not my hair, only tjela (body)”. He is starting to say “Dobar dan” (good day) now and then and his firetruck “gasi vatru” (puts out the fire) and when sun goes down there is “samo mjesec” (only moon) in the sky.
Trevor is more comfortable with the “mora” now though he thinks other people should jump first. He now has a lot of friends on the beach, though most of them are at least 20 years older than him. Yesterday, a new girl was standing with some of his friends and he got her to put on his shoes and go play in the sandbox with him very smoothly. As always, he is cautious around kids his own age.
Owen-towen is growing like a weed too. He now has top teeth. Ironically, they are the I-teeth so now he looks like a little baby vampire. He has mastered crawling though he still does not do it too much. He is still the most distracted baby while feeding, but now he can actually get back to the boob after he rolls away from it. He has also figured out to go to the fuller boob once the one he has been draining is empty.
Big Malac spent the morning yesterday combing through the firestation. Can you imagine greater joy?
On return, he made some improvements to his own fire truck by adding a string as a hose. Previously, he got to sit in a really old tractor providing he does not get it dirty.
He still goes on light house maintenance runs daily and takes some time examine the boats. He likes to count the “bambams” hanging off the sides of the boats. He loves to look at the fish around the boats but still has to work out how to “pec” them.
At the beach, he only goes in the “little water” where he fills up his little buckets to play with them in the gravel or sand. He seems to be more confident about the water, particularly since we’ve equipped him with butterfly floaties.
Mali Malac is thisclose to his degree in crawling. He is now eating baby cookies and drinks water from cup or spoon. He can eat mushed fruit without getting too dirty. He even tolerates cereal. He is a fussy milk drinker during the day but at night when he is too tired to be excited and distracted by every possible noise and shadow he can drink with the best of them. He is starting to make sounds that mimic what we said. I swear I heard him say “pojel” (ate).
The first week in Cres was a bit rough on Trev. He had a bit of a stomach virus, then he refused to sleep for two days followed by two days where he mostly slept. In between was a lot of frustration and just general bewilderment. Once he got enough sleep he got back to being our focused exacting little wonder guy. He loves lighthouses and carries a little key (taken from either bathroom or bedroom door) every time we go to the beach so he can go into the lighthouse.
Trevor’s pretend play is getting more intelligible to us. He now speaks in complete sentences while playing so I can actually follow. For example, this evening he made a carwash under the table after I told him to keep the trucks on the floor because they are dirty and should not be on the kitchen table. He had a little button he pressed and started making water sounds while the truck parked underneath was getting washed.
Apart from trucks, Trev has found folding chairs to be great toys. He is making cars and tents out of them. Likewise, his auntie found him some old wooden connecting blocks that he loves to play with. He still gets really frustrated when something does not work the way he wants to, but I think he is starting to improve. He is better able to explain to us what he wants to do and what is happening instead.
Trev is still very weary of going into the sea. The other day he walked in with his auntie, put his head next to the surface and blew some bubbles. Then he waked out and pretty much stayed out for the rest of the day.
Owen is a delight to all. When we put him in the jolly jumper on the front door, a lot of people walking through the street stopped to coo at him. He figured that out and after a while he would only jump when he saw someone coming. He is working so hard trying to walk, it is hilarious. He is very difficult to nurse as he is so distracted he can’t get more than a few sips before latching off. He has been like this since he was a tiny baby, but now that he can roll and move around, it is getting nearly impossible to nurse him. No matter, I nurse him calmly at night and in the morning so the few distracted attempts during the day are not too bad. He loves to eat fruit so we are introducing solids with no fuss. So far he loves apples, peaches and pears.
Trev’s new thing is to walk through Cres reading the house numbers. He does not always get them right, but we have fun. We are trying to encourage him to walk around by himself where we can see him, but he is not always keen on that and insists we always come with him. He likes the boats and the beach. He is still interested in fire trucks, but finds the firefighters a bit intimidating.
Owen is doing his best to walk, but still has a while to go. He is now pretty comfortable standing while holding on to something.
