When I picked u Billy today at daycare I got to talk to his teachers for awhile. Often they are gone by the time I arrive and he is playing with children of mixed age groups, because he is usually the last to be picked up. They told me a little story about Billy today.
He was playing with a friend in his class that is several months older. The older friend called out, "Billy". Billy turned around and called out the older friend's name. So, he's not just making sounds, he's got names. w00t!
When we got home he was very fussy and just wanted to be held (a clear sign of not feeling well) so I put on some dance music. We danced around the room together with him in my arms. This always settles him. When he was very tiny this was how I would get him to settle on those very fussy days. It still works. After a few songs and some salsa and cha chas he relaxes and puts his head on my shoulder. Often, however, he cries when I stop if I haven't danced long enough with him (according to his preference). When he was ten pounds it was no big deal to dance cha chas around the room for half an hour. Now that he's 25 pounds it's a lot harder to keep up the pace with a toddler in my arms. Beats paying for a gym, right?
Dinner went by without fuss, thanks to a serenade of classic folk songs from the Fridge Farm (Farmer in the Dell, Skip To My Loo, Oh Susanna, etc). He loves those little songs, especially when I sing the lyrics. He bobs his heads, smiles and giggles. It's the good life- good food, good music.
After dinner he wanted to sit and listen to his Elmo Christmas book umpteen times and then moved on to the music from his standing table. He always wants me to sing along, even when I'm not sure of the lyrics or I don't know the song. It's been a VERY long time since I've heard all of these old children's classics- I was a kid when I heard them last!
Just before bed I gave him a sippy with milk while he was still playing. He decided to attempt balancing it on his push cart. He would gently sit it down and slowly release his hands to ensure it would stay. Then he would test how fast he could push and how much he could turn without the sippy falling off. It fell off every time and every time he would put it back on and continue testing the parameters of teetering a sippy on a push cart.
And then it was time for bed. After I got him ready he was playing over by the crib. I turned out the lights, walked over to the rocker and asked, "are you ready for bed". After a moment of silence I suddenly heard the sound of a toddler racing down the dark hall in escape. I'm going to take that as a "no". I had to chase him down and bring him. Then I tried to rock him and give him bottle. He was more interested in climbing over me to get to the floor lamp behind the chair. "Can you give Mommy a hug?" I asked. He continued to climb. "Please?" He arched back and bumped his head to mine and giggled. Yup, that was a Billy hug with trouble in progress.
After he went to bed I bought him some music in iTunes. He needs some new stuff. So I got him the 50 classical pieces apparently everyone should know (I know about half) and some operatic pieces. I'll see how he likes them tomorrow. He loves to always have music playing, so I think this will be a big hit with him.
How did the new music go over?
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