Jump!

Anika has been working on jumping, and about a week ago I noticed that she was actually getting some air between her feet and the floor. Now instead of just running everywhere, she likes to jump and hop around. She is also attempting to dance, which is ridiculously cute. Armando is, in reality, a phenomenal dancer, so lately he's been giving her lessons. She can really concentrate when she wants to (gasp!) and it is at once hilarious and impressive to watch her attempt to copy her dad's moves.

She's also experiencing what my mom called the "language explosion." Each day she adds a handful of words to her repertoire, and it's getting difficult to remember them all. Her current favorites are "candy" (sidenote: I am dreading Halloween and the inevitable sugar highs) and "sleeping" (to point out when Reni or characters in her books are sleeping; not, of course, because she is sleepy or wants to sleep. That is still an anathema). She also has adopted the rather disgusting habit of putting some food in her mouth, spitting it out, giving it to me, and saying "all done!" even if it is her first bite. Getting this kid to eat is quite the challenge. Except, of course, if we're talking about candy.

In other news, Dora has infiltrated our casa. When Reni was born, mom and I picked up a pair of Dora pajamas for Anika, thinking not much of it except that they were soft and comfortable-looking. Then a few weeks later, Ani started running (not quite hopping at this point) around the house going, Doo-ah, Doo-ah! I had no idea what she was talking about, until one day the pj's and the Doo-ah coincided and I realized that, sadly, Swiper and Backpack and Boots and the rest were about to become household names. We now watch approximately 1/10th of each Dora episode at least three times a day. And the immediate impact of this is that I have the "I'm the map!" or "She's a super-cool exploradora" jingling in my head at 3:30 a.m. Thanks, Nickelodeon. Thanks a lot.

In Reni's world, we are currently outgrowing our 6-month outfits and are about a week or two away from giggling. He has these huge smiles and just loves to interact and coo and chat with anyone who will give him an audience. The jury's still out on how he will be as he gets older, but right now he is so chill that it is almost ridiculous. I can set him down almost anywhere, and 9 times out of ten he doesn't cry, or complain, or make me feel bad for not giving him as much attention as he would get if he were the only child around. He basically sleeps through the night, and takes nice long naps during the day, and eats like a champ. The only thing that makes me a bit sad, besides the rate at which is is growing up, is that he isn't much of a snuggler. He sleeps better and is more comfortable when he's all by himself. Kind of the complete opposite of Anika (who has, mercifully, slept in her own bed through the night for the past two nights now). Sometimes Reni looks exactly like Armando, and other times I see a lot of my dad and Grandpa Ron. He has been holding his head up since practically day one, and it's fun to see him focus on the world around him. He also loves practicing standing up -- it's amazing how much weight he can put on his (substantially roly-poly) legs.