Kingsley

Caution:
The following was written over the course of a few days and is quite long. I mainly wrote it for me in lieu of a baby book entry and so I don't forget these little things about Kingsley.

And, then there's Kingsley. Hi baby (this is how we greet one another). I love you baby. I love you more each day. I don't know how that's possible, but it is. You are so fun right now and so amazing. I am in awe of how much you have learned and accomplished in the past six months and all while competing for attention with your baby brother. You are the light of my life, despite the tantrums and the "no's" (which are really not all that often), and the screaming.

I love how we start each day with you naming your "guys" in your crib, or you clarifying who is a boy, girl and who is a baby. Lately, we start the day with what color things are and what you want for breakfast (Papa gets to do this since he's been getting you up lately). You usually want toast or eggs, but will occasionally ask for a burrito. I love how you lick all the jelly off your toast and then ask for more toast despite there being a whole, intact slice of bread on your plate. You get to pick out your shirt for the day too and usually ask for orange shirt, red Elmo shirt, helicopter shirt, cement mixer truck shirt or tiger shirt.

I love how you love your brother. You try to make him laugh, especially when he is crying. You give him toys, especially when you take one away from him (that you don't want him to have) or when he is crying. I love how you caution him by saying "No cords Charlie" or "Too close Charlie" when he is playing with cords or standing too close to the television. I love how you get upset unless you have planted the perfect kiss on the right spot of his head at bedtime (usually needing to take Charlie's head with both hands). I love how you make each other giggle in the car. I'm not sure I love how you roll onto your brother like a dog rolling on top of a dead fish at the beach---but its still somewhat entertaining and gets a good laugh out of Charlie. I love how you pat his head and say "Baby, Baby Charlie". I am kind of sad that your pronunciation of Charlie is now Charlie---instead of Char-gee---which is how you pronounced his name from the get-go until only a few weeks ago. You are a great big brother and Charlie adores you.

I love that coloring and going to the park are the two most important events of our day---unless we have run out of bananas. When we do not have a banana in the house, we must go to the store to get more bananas and you say "Charlie car seat, Kingsley (pronounced 'Kinsey') car seat, Mama drive".

I love that after we visited the petting zoo a few weeks ago that anytime we left the house you asked if we were going to the zoo. When I replied no and explained that the animals were only in town for a little while you would respond, "Bye-bye goat, bye-bye sheep", etc. So matter-of-factly---so content to have seen the animals, wishing you could see them again, but since its not possible-- moving so quickly and effortlessly onto life's next adventure. How envious I am of that ability.

I love how literal you are right now. For example, when you got your face painted at the Steele Winery Harvest Festival the other weekend, I instructed you to hold your face still. So, you took your chin in your hand and tried to keep that face as still as possible (see photo).

I love how slapstick is your favorite comedy. The dunk tank at the elementary school's harvest festival was a huge hit. I don't think I have ever heard you laugh so much. You love when people fall (should I be worried?). You love older kids, the more animated, the more rough-housing, the better.

I love how your day is not complete without story time. I love reading books with you and amazed that you will sit down on your own, flip through a book and "read it", giving each page your 2-5 word synopsis based on how we have read that book in the past.

I'm sure there is so much more I could write about. But, I wanted to jot down some of the fleeting, wonderful things going on in your world right now. I don't ever want to forget.