I get knocked down

Update on the previous: today was the boys' last day at Reality Bites. Earlier this week, enough red flags began waving at once that I said the hell with it, called their old daycare center, and asked if they could chill there awhile until a spot for Action Hero opens up at another center closer to home. This one comes recommended by Once Former, About to be Current Again Daycare, and is run by a nice director who was kind enough to sit down with me and talk about her center when I arrived at ten minutes before closing accompanied by two rambunctious children who converged on the center's snack cracker basket like a horde of ravening wolves. Future Center won't have a spot open for a while, so once again the boys and I will be spending a lot of time in the car. But at least we'll be spending our time going to, and coming from, somwhere that they will receive proper supervision. But...wait! I've only mentioned a spot for Action Hero! What will Boy Wonder be doing this fall, you ask?

Watch this space.

In the meantime, having recently posted about the awesomely intelligent Boy Wonder, I'd like to dedicate this post to the little guy, Action Hero, who remains a sweet, smiley, mellow toddler despite the recent high-stress daycare experience.

Today, Action Hero is fifteen months old! Developmental check: just as physical as his big brother was at this age. During a recent visit, a friend mentioned that her friend's daughter, just turned one, could now stand on her own. Well, so can Action Hero...on the coffee table. After he climbs up there all by himself. I had to do a little furniture rearranging after I observed him trying to step right up onto an end table from his then-current perch on the toybox. He can also climb onto the futon, couch, and recliner, and then will proceed to dance on all of them. It's no wonder that his first phrase is "Dit dow!" I'm not sure if he's shooting for "Sit down!" or "Get down!" Could be either, as he hears both frequently.

That's his only phrase, but he has a few other words. Oddly enough, four of them (hi, uh-oh, dog, and ball) were Boy Wonder's first words too. Another one, of course, is "no," used vociferously and in context. His most recent, and most important (ahem) word is Mama, said so clearly that in one instance I thought Boy Wonder had called me. I am rather impressed with that last one, as it took Boy Wonder a darned long time to get around to the "M" sounds and words. Of course, he didn't have another small person, running around shouting "Mama! Mom! MOMMY!" every three minutes, to provide an example.

He is very clingy and cuddly at the moment...could be recent daycare stress, or could just be what toddlers do at this age. If he is tired, hungry, angry, lonely, or otherwise in discomfort, nothing will do but the Shining Maternal Presence. If the Shining Maternal Presence leaves the room, or is in the room but not holding him, gently patting his hair while he sucks his thumb and rests his head on her shoulder, the tiny tears flow like a river. When the Shining Maternal Presence must perform domestic duties, such as preparing a meal or washing the dishes, Action Hero must be right there with her, "helping" by noisily rattling pots, pans, Tupperware, and kitchen utenils. (The other day, he grabbed a large Tupperware container and filled it methodically with smaller containers and container lids. If I were writing a parenting memoir, I'd use that as an example of his brilliance: why, my child doesn't need TOYS! He can make a toy out of ANYTHING! Since I blog to an audience of perhaps five, I'll just say that it was darned cute.)

Action Hero likes his older brother, and wants to do everything he does. He is sometimes happy to play with him, and will cheerily subject to being covered by a blanket, given a stuffed animal, and told, "Go to bed, Action Hero! It's sleepytime!" Other times, he will get up, grab the blanket, and run away, oblivious to the cries of, "Mom! Action Hero isn't playing! It's his pretend bedtime and he WON'T GO TO BED!" (Gosh, I wonder where he gets that.) He plays peek-a-boo with great flair, likes stuffed animals, and still has a fondness for plastic toys that beep, talk, and sing. And he just loves, for some reason, the Dora theme song. Boy Wonder recently experienced a resurgence of Dora love, and we had to get some Dora movies from the library. Now I think we should watch Dora movies all the time, because once that song starts, Action Hero begins dancing and clapping, whirling crazily around the living room and laughing like the happiest toddler in the universe.

Dance on, little guy!