Friday Five: R is for...

:: Rapid learning: I am always amazed at how quickly toddlers pick up things. Lil J has been fixing his own Duplo creations, doing lots of play cooking, and learning lots of new words. This week, he decided he would take care of his stuffed toys. He started washing them in the play sink ("puppy poopoo alot, wash bum bum"), running to the toilet to "dry" them on our towels ("puppy clean now!"), then cooking for them on the stove ("monkey, hot soup! J blow!") and feeding them. He would then bring them to his bed and pat them to sleep, while singing the alphabet song to them. It also means he picks up all sorts of things from his brother, who tries to get him to do naughty things like throw his toys about!

He loves stacking up the flowers and tells me "dog is driving!"
Even if they topple, he will declare "J fix!" and stack them up again. 

He likes to dress up, like his brother.
Once his hat is on, he declares "Go market! Buy fish!" and heads to the door!

:: Reluctant learner: Junior J is still very particular about what activities he would like to do at home. Books we read have to be about dinosaurs or animals. He doesn't want to try to form letters. Neither does he want to learn how to read. He's been down with a cold, and has been even more unwilling than usual to go outdoors, and has been pretty whiny and cranky. However, this boy has one thing he simply loves and will not say no to. Painting. Give him a brush and some paints and he will happily busy himself for the next 30 minutes or so. Which is why we've been doing more painting these days:

:: Recycling: And speaking of painting, we've been trying to do more crafts with recycled materials. We just bought a new sofa, and kept one of the big boxes... which Junior J declares he wants to transform into another natural history museum. I'm rather glad since this project would probably keep him busy for a week's worth of afternoons! (He has dropped his nap, so keeping this boy busy while I put Lil J down for his nap has been quite the challenge.)

:: Reorganizing: Meanwhile, when time permits, we've been unpacking the last of our boxes. And trying our best to declutter. One major project I'm trying to tackle would be to organize all the learning materials and art stuff that we have, so that everything is easily available when we need it. Its been really slow-going (who has the time to pack on top of the usual child-minding and chores and cooking?), but at least our home is slowly looking more presentable.

:: Reflux: It seems that age makes the process of pregnancy tougher, and this 3rd pregnancy has been the toughest thus far. I've been having rather bad heartburn on and off (something I got sometimes when expecting Lil J), and the sciatica and Braxton Hicks contractions have been most uncomfortable. We're only at week 24 though, so we have some way to go, so I'm just taking it one day at a time!

How was your week?


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