Behaviorally, Ethan has chilled out quite a bit this month. In an inverse coorelation with his dynamically-improving communication skills, Ethan's intense reactions have mellowed some. Now, don't get my wrong, he is still significantly more dramatic than most children we're around, but it's very nice to see him occasionally adjusting to an unwanted change without attracting the attention of everyone within earshot. He has also entered the "loves-to-help" stage. He quickly complies with any request that allows him to accomplish something, like throwing something away, putting laundry in the laundry basket, taking something to Daddy, putting a toy away, etc.
Also new this month, Ethan has sprouted a generous spirit. The other day, he did the CUTEST thing. We were hanging out with friends, and their little girl was whining for a balloon that had floated up to the ceiling. Her Daddy told her that she couldn't have it because she hadn't asked him nicely. Addison started wailing at her loss, and Ethan came running over. Apparently, he had been listening to the entire exchange from across the room. He looked right up at Addison's Daddy and said, "Al, balloon to me, 'ease?" Al smiled and made a show of giving Ethan the balloon "since he asked so nicely." And then Ethan shocked us all by instantly turning to Addison and handing her the balloon. He had run across the room to ask nicely just so he could give her the balloon and make her stop crying. This incident was the first of several very generous overtures that I have observed since then. He really likes to make other people happy, particularly if they are crying.
Another new thing in Ethan-land is a very strong attachment to two toys. One is a yellow motorcycle, and the other is a monster truck. Both are small enough for him to easily tote all over the house, which he does. We believe in teaching our boys that they don't have exclusive ownership of any toys, but I'm sort of looking the other way as much as possible as Ethan passes through his first toy attachment. Caleb never did get overly attached to any one toy or object, so I wasn't prepared for some of the problems this has caused. The biggest problem is when we can't locate one of these toys. The first thing Ethan wants when he wakes up in the morning (after drinking a cup of milk in Mommy's arms), is to find the motorcycle and the "big truck". A couple of mornings, it has taken me the better part of 15 minutes to complete this task. I've learned to look for them after the kids go to bed to make sure they are easily located in the morning. Another problem is Ethan's intense reaction to anyone else touching one of these precious toys. Caleb quickly learned that doing just that will get an amazingly loud scream out of Ethan, and all Caleb need do is feign ignorance when Mommy asks why Ethan is having a meltdown. "I don't know, Mommy. All I did was play with that motorcycle and he just screamed and screamed." Yeah, Caleb, you had no idea that was going to happen.
On a final note, here is a something I promised a long time ago and has finally made it to the blog: a picture of Ethan and Caleb playing on http://www.starfall.com/ together.
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