Growing Boys

It seems as though every-passing day we discover the many ways T and WY are growing and maturing. So, to highlight...

William is quite the comic. We always thought Thompson was funny, but with William in the picture, we think Thompson is more witty while William is down-right funny!  His communication skills continue to improve and it is becoming the norm to find him signing and speaking simultaneously.  But when he doesn't get his way, boy can he throw a tantrum! They are a sight to observe...he sits down, throws himself on the floor and then squirms around a bit.  Thankfully, they are short-lived.  To say William loves the outdoors would be an understatement.  He fusses most times we have to transition indoors.  He enjoys playing in the dirt, helping me garden, and being anywhere Thompson is.  This past week marked his first walk around the "loop" in our neighborhood.  While it took 45 minutes, he walked every step of the way.   William has also developed a keen interest in Thompson's bike and scooter.  And believe it or not, understands how they work, even though he can't manipulate them exactly.  I found him yesterday pushing T's bike around in the garage and wearing his helmet.  When it comes to listening, very few sounds go unnoticed...especially buses, airplanes, birds and dogs.  And finally, on a similar note, William has amazed us with his recognition of musical instruments.  It started with listening to some musicians on YouTube and now, whenever he hears the sound of a guitar, we find him pretending he's strumming a guitar.  Another musical child, perhaps?

As for Thompson, he is most proud he has finally said "good-bye" to the nightly pull-ups.  Once he could go 5 consecutive nights keeping his pull-up dry, then he could wear underwear at night.  I think we are on night 20...yeah!  He's been most excited about the surprise set of Star Wars underwear he received on day 10 as a reward for making the transition.  We just have to remind him to tell people about the underwear and not show them off!  Thompson is beginning to read, which is awesome!  He is also starting to demonstrate an interest in a variety of sports as we find him practicing softball, soccer, golf and basketball.  Of course, he still enjoys Star Wars and Legos.  Interestingly, he is eager to learn the signs taught on William's sign language DVDs.  Thompson still experiences "happy-sad" moments and surprised me this afternoon when he had one at the conclusion of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.  To summarize, he was moved at the father-son relationship between Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) and his son Luke Skywalker.  Vader kills the Emperor to protect Luke and then asks Luke to remove his mask so he can see Luke with his own eyes, which means Vader will die.  Luke has to let his father go and as the movie concludes, Luke sees the spirits of Anakin Skywalker (his father as the good Jedi he was before becoming a Sith Lord), Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda.  It provided a great teachable moment to talk about how much Thompson loves his daddy and visa versa.