Brrrr.
May 28th, 2007 by amylherzog
Summer has arrived on the Monterey Peninsula, which is really too bad, because “summer” here apparently means “cold and foggy”. We’ve had to use the heat more this weekend than any other time since moving here, and today I wore a thick sweater. Jacob seems impervious to cold.
Jon and I have spent most of the week trying to catch up on work, and it finally feels like we’re (almost) on top of things. Today, while Jon did some consulting work, Jacob and I played in the front yard. It was fun, and he let me take some pictures of him actually playing, which was nice. (Often, he just wants to play with the camera himself–it sure was a lot easier to get great pictures of him when he wasn’t so dexterous. :)
All of the books on childhood development told me that months 18-24 were marked by rapid brain development, which excited me in the abstract. But as it turns out, I was really unprepared for the reality. Dont’ get me wrong–it’s very exciting! But I’m continually awe-struck by Jacob and what he can do, in the true sense of that word: both wonderful and somewhat frightening.
The kid just started talking two months ago, for crying out loud! These days, he continually uses two- and three-word sentences; he knows all of his colors, all of his letters (!!), and can recognize and say about half of the digits. He can actually count to and understand amounts up to three. He picks up several new words each week–it’s like living with a parrot, sometimes. He plays pretend, he makes up silly games, he sometimes wants to “read books to himself”, puzzling out the letters and babbling about the pictures without help. He runs, jumps, bounces along to songs, does the little hand motions to a few songs, turns somersaults, and “helps” me do yoga. He has a sense of humor, and is starting to realize what makes things funny to other people. He can recognize hunger and thirst and, rarely, when he needs to go to the bathroom.
One of the things I have most enjoyed about being a parent is that I’ve gotten a chance to ease into things. When babies arrive, they can do so very little that you get a grace period to figure out what you need to do before the next thing comes along. I’m starting to feel like things are moving a little too quickly now, though. I don’t always get a chance to process and fully savor one miracle before 5 more come tumbling out behind it. Sometimes I just want to grab Jacob into a great big hug, hold him tightly, and drink in this surprising, glorious little person.
But that would just make me miss out on the sidewalk chalk.