Poor Neko...But Not Really!

The second child. The one with less pictures, less recorded memories, less one-on-one time, but no less loved. And I guess I should also say that there are plenty of pictures of him, a lot, even, but just a little bit backlogged. Don't know why...

So Neko is doing wonderful. We got him his first pair of big boy shoes a couple of weeks back after having spent the summer barefoot. First I tried bringing him to the Stride Rite outlet to get a deal but I went the week before school started/tax free week and it was NUTS in there. I tried a few pairs on him but nothing seemed to fit so we went to the "REAL" shoe store to get measured and to learn that we are not just wide, but Extra Wide. So pretty much his cute little delicious piggies are about as wide as his feet are long! And I love them!

He's a crack-up...likes to "attack" mommy and daddy when we sit or lay on the floor. Loves to dance to music and he'll put the little cd player on himself and start side-stepping in a circle (his best dance move) with his mouth wide-open revealing his drool-laden 5 toothed mouth. So stinkin' cute! Even when he just walks around he's cute. His arms are up in the air and his belly sticks out, leading the way for him to follow! He loves books, but mostly to page through them on his own. He's not much of a sit on the lap and read books kind of kid yet. He's a rapid page turner and book closer when he's on a lap. But he does sit and look through pictures on his own which is nice to see:)
Neko is also requiring a bit more childproofing than was necessary with Keller. Well, maybe. Sometimes it's hard to know because I was definitely less "distracted" when it was just Keller so I could keep one step ahead of him. Neko I tend to be one step behind. Oh, he's ON the table already, IN the bathtub already, OUT the backdoor already, ugh! It's actually a little scary sometimes. And it's always like I'm literally one step too late. *sigh* But he's learning and exploring on his own and already I can sense more independence in him than his older sibling;) Luckily at the same time, he's also a sucker for his mommy:) which I love, too. Nothing in the world beats a snuggle with a drooly little chubby love bug:) I just love when he's snuggly cause I know it won't last forever. *tear* But it's all good!

Neko is working on talking. Mostly it's like this: eh? eh? eh? eh? eh? And sometimes its like this: Bol...bol...bol...bol...(I of course can translate this to "bowl" oh, he wants a bowl of cereal or "ball" of course, he wants to play ball, or "Bo" yes, that's your doggy, or "ahBOL" of course, he wants an APPLE...appol...) But mostly I think it's just a sound he makes and he gets stuff when he makes that sound so he keeps making it! He will occasionally say "moh" (more)---just starting. And clearly says "Baybeeee" whenever he sees a baby. Mama, Dadda, Boh (generalized to all dogs/barks). He points to my nose, mouth, and eyes. And honestly, I don't know what else he'd point to because we haven't played that game enough...but I'm on it now!

He's a trooper though and will be very capable of fending for himself as he grows older seeing, or hearing, I should say, all the practice he gets every morning sharing the room with Keller. Keller wakes every morning between 5:45 and 6:30 to pee and is begged by Mommy and Daddy to keep the light off/go back to bed/don't wake your brother, but within 2 minutes of him going back into the bedroom there are bangs and clunks and giggling children and a crying baby, and bonks and bangs and clunks as Keller dumps books and toys and stuffed animals and laundry into Neko's crib and then climbs in himself. Currently Neko has a nice bite mark on his arm. Poor baby. And yesterday the children were both covered in Neosporin. Another morning it was baby powder and another morning was lotion...ugh! But Trav and I stick with our "7:00" rule in the morning, and if the cries or clunks are particularly worrisome, we obviously intervene, although by then it's generally too late. But alas, such is life when little boys are sharing a room! They do mostly seem to have fun:)

My sweet little baby...getting so big!