Bits and bobs

Jolly is three years old! I cannot believe how quickly he's growing up into such a little boy. He's currently developing a keen interest in puzzles. That and being read to are the current top favorite pastimes, along with into cutting and gluing things in his activity book (note: if your preschooler is particularly keen on academic workbooks, the Japanese ones are unsurprisingly excellent at drilling skills). He's starting to make strides in learning how to do elements of handwriting, but he still doesn't really like drawing or coloring. I get why the label "preschooler" starts being applied at age 3, rather than "toddler" - it's a bit like a switch has been toggled in terms of attention span for sitting still and learning how to do fiddly academic things, rather than exclusively running amok.

Rip is just starting to pull himself up on things, clearly wanting to be promoted to "toddler" status now that Jolly is vacating that position. He's cut his two top front teeth, very stoically, so now he's all set to be a rodent, too. And, most excitingly, he's getting some curls, which I am obviously a big fan of. He continues to be cheerful and enjoy whacking things, but he's recently added clapping to the repertoire, and he may have the sign for "more" worked out. He and Jolly frequently misbehave at the table together by banging and shrieking like little uncouth barbarians, but the way they gleefully cackle at each others antics makes it hard to be terribly upset. I love how much they are interacting and enjoying each other's company these days.

They are a scant 3 lbs apart, with big and little descriptors still reflecting their ages. As Rip is getting more and more dextrous at feeding himself, he's eating increasingly just what everyone else is eating, and it becomes rather apparent that he's eating rather more than his big brother, even without considering the fact that he still gets some nutrition from the whole mammal thing.

So far, they're both blessedly unpicky eaters, but Jolly definitely would prefer to eat fruit, and also FRUIT, and that other fruit over there, and maybe that vegetable also. Rip would prefer to eat cheese.

(Actually, I'm pretty sure that Rip would prefer to eat chocolate, as the most annoying whining sound in the world is the piteous lament that emerges from Rip when everyone else is sharing, say, a chocolate cupcake. However, we're remaining very firm on the subject of not allowing him to eat desserts yet, save for the cheese and fruit course.)

((Except for Jolly's party, when Rip came across a dropped piece of Nigella Lawson's Buttermilk Birthday cake on the lawn, scooted towards it, picked it up and shoved it swiftly into his mouth. He was instantly enraptured, and then profoundly offended when Ephiny swiftly removed the chunk of cake from his clenched fist and his mouth. A stellar parent, I took photos of the whole thing.))

I think we may end up with a Jack Sprat scenario, wherein we offer everyone well-balanced meals with a complex carb, a protein, and a vegetable and a fruit, along with a source of good fats, as we are wont to do, and the only thing they'll both want to eat more of is the fruit. (Did I mention that no one has any trouble meeting their daily fiber goals?) All the calorie dense foods will end up being sucked into the orbit of Rip and the low-calorie-density foods will be snaffled up by Jolly.

The sole exception is that Jolly sometimes likes to eat a chunk of butter. He specifies, "a HUGE chunk of butter", actually. He detests the idea of butter (or any other caloric spread) ON things like bread, but he wants to eat the butter in little cubes all on its own. My grandmother, had she lived to see this day, would surely be very charmed.

I would also like to state that Rip is not actually the most roly-poly baby I have ever laid eyes upon. I think that honor might rest with the baby that I am pump-wetnurse to. Clearly, Scylla and Charybdis are acquitting themselves admirably. I guess that's what happens when you name your bosoms after a rock and a whirlpool.