23/52

"Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Sebastian | Has a mind of his own and quite a streak of stubborness, and it's usually bent on throwing rocks in the river, climbing everything in or around his path, riding his bike, eating candy, wearing a particular item of clothing (currently one of his two sleeveless shirts), and saying things in German incorrectly even after Cody tries to correct him. He says something like, "I say it how I say it!" When he's not busy being stubborn about something, he is incredibly sweet and will tell you he loves you approximately 1,000 x each day for no apparent reason whatsoever. Sometimes I wonder if he's so stubborn because I say no a lot and he feels like he has to be super persuasive or insistant to do something he wants to do. A goal I've recently set for myself is to say yes more often. Sometimes I feel so bombarded with requests that my gut reaction is to simply say no no no. I'm trying to pause more before I answer and assess weather it's a big deal or not for him to do something. Baby steps for me in this area...

Bruno | He is officially on two wheels! He's been out here and there on the balance bike with Cody over the last month, but I consider Sunday his inaugural ride. At the start he was struggling and more walking with the bike between his legs, but by the time we returned home, he was balancing and picking up speed. He took it to the park today and really did an excellent job. If he falls, he picks himself back up and keeps going. If he hits a rough patch, he slows down and steadies himself again. We're kind of amazed at how quickly he's progressed and just have to keep reminding ourselves that we have to stick close to him because he doesn't know how to use the hand break yet. This was definitely a big "baby to boy" transition for him, and it's so fun watching him cruising with his brother—a therapeutic leap of independence for him, I think.