The boys are still really, really into puzzles, and the other day they took it to a new level by figuring out how to do a fair bit of the ABC train puzzle on their own. Sometimes O sang the ABC song to figure out the next letter to find--not an error-proof method quite yet-- and N tended to look more at the box, but it was really amazing to see them trying to figure it out. There's some confusion about the uppercase and lowercase letters sometimes, but they know most of them pretty well, and they're starting to figure out a few of the sounds. Yesterday, O said "M is for Mama, and moose, and mouse!" Interestingly, N knew all of them by the time he turned 2, then forgot many of them due to general disinterest for about 6 months, and now knows most of them again. They both know all their colors really well, and can count a little, but are not very interested in numbers right now. I don't know if they can recognize any of them except 2 and 3. They are able to group by three or four, though - as in, they can give you between 1 and 4 blocks if you ask for an amount of 4 or under.
We went to our favorite train store on Saturday, followed by Chinese food at the restaurant next door.
N was kind of getting pushed around by a little boy of about 4, and he said "excuse me, please". The boy said "you don't say that to kids, just grown-ups!" I later told him quietly that this is not actually the case!
Omie, aren't you proud of how N is learning to view the merchandise with his hands behind his back? This was a cardinal rule when I was growing up, mostly because my mother had a tendency to frequent antiques stores. I distinctly remember informing my mother that I was old enough to be allowed access to my own hands in a store.
The boys were great in the restaurant - here O was playing with his reusable Tho*mas the Train sticker kit. I cannot believe how much mileage we've gotten out of this little kit. It has two picture boards and re-positionable stickers, and the boys play with it in church and whenever we have to wait anywhere for a long time. They have all kinds of conversations about what's going on in the picture.
We ordered enough for 8 people somehow, and I didn't have to cook the following night either. Heaven!
By the way: O tested "equivocal" for peanuts at age one (when both boys were also tested for celiac disease, which I and my mother have), and so we've been holding off on peanuts. The AAP recently changed its recommendations about holding off on potentially allergenic foods, so now that O is well and while J and I were both home in case anything went wrong, we tried peanuts on both boys today. No symptoms of any kind. I'm so relieved about this, because peanuts are a nasty, dangerous allergy, and it can really limit where you can go and what you can do with your kids. So, no celiac, and no peanut allergies, and while N was indifferent, O seemed to love a good old peanut butter sandwich.
