The life of Liz Mac: just playing.... and three boys....

Just a quick play this morning with our new camera - Jett was not too cooperative but the other two did ok - particularly Levi. He loves to have his photo taken and was much more patient with my practicing and figuring out all the settings. I had started to jot down some notes about each boy & the stages they're at intending to post it around Mother's Day but never got around to posting it so here goes.

This year I celebrated my 4^th Mothers Day. At the time it seemed that there was a reasonable gap between each baby but now it sounds crazy to say I have had 3 children in that time. Each boy blesses my life in his own way. (And sometimes I need to remember that when I'm being driven insane with a screaming baby, constantly fighting brothers, nail polish on my carpet, computer cords snipped with scissors, eucalyptus rub all over my bed & clothes, and more dishes & washing than I ever want to see).

Levi amazes me daily. He is now getting past that crazy 2-3 year old stage and is surprisingly mature at times, especially when given responsibility. He definitely shows the personality of a first child – he is a real leader and loves to look after his younger brothers (sometimes more than they would like). He protects them (although he does pick on them himself too – Finn in particular – his “right” as the older brother I suppose). He is very intuitive and very caring – he will always stop what he’s doing and comfort anybody who is upset. Although he is extremely chaotic & active and his behaviour is sometimes frustrating because he is so full-on, as he gets older he is starting to calm down and we are seeing more and more that sweet, helpful side. Although we are pretty strict on him, he copes much better with clear, tight boundaries. He can be quite OCD about some things and it can be challenging when for instance we are grocery shopping and he simply can not walk past anything that is on the wrong shelf until he has put it back in its rightful place. He has amazing spatial intelligence in particular and loves challenging puzzles. But his favourite activity at the moment is anything arty/crafty. He can always be calmed down with some activity at the collage table. He loves learning new things and this too calms him – anything that keeps his active mind occupied. He also loves to watch movies. He is scared of the dark, and big dogs but isn’t afraid to give new things a go (most of the time).

Finn is quite different. Although he is now getting into a bit of mischief on his own, previously is was just that he would do whatever Levi did. Now that they are in different groups at daycare, his teachers have commented how different he is now that he is making his own choices and not just following Levi’s chaotic lead. He is currently going through a bit of a testing phase of pushing boundaries, constantly starting arguments and generally testing & learning his place in the world. But he is a very sweet, soft-hearted boy. We are not quite as tough on Finn generally as we are on Levi as he is just such a tender little soul. Although he still has the same strict boundaries, we do not need to be as tough on him when he pushes them – it doesn’t take much to upset Finn greatly and we can’t be too hard on him or he just doesn’t cope. He is such a sweet little fella – always gives us cuddles and loves to sleep. He is generally quite happy to go to bed or have a nap and still naps for 2-3 hours each day. He does tend to pick on Jett (mostly just over-enthusiastic loving though) and he is getting into the habit of antagonising Levi just to provoke a reaction or start an argument. He is also very smart but prefers physical activities. He will happily spend an entire day (except for naps & meals of course) kicking a ball around. He also likes movies but has a much shorter attention span than Levi and prefers having stories read to him. Finn is scared of loud noises (ie trains, thunder, vacuum cleaner etc) and big animals – especially horses or even little dogs that jump up on him.

Jett is a beautiful combination of his two brothers. He is very active and reminds us of Levi as a baby/toddler, but is also extremely cuddly and happy for much of the time. He has perfected walking now and toddles around the place happily, usually talking or singing to himself. Whenever he finds anything that remotely resembles a phone, he puts it under his chin and says “hiya”. He is very much a mumma’s boy at the moment and follows me around wherever I go. Unfortunately this is becoming more and more demanding and he often gets upset if I merely turn my back or walk away from him at all. He has been coming to work with me since he was about 5 weeks old and has just now started at daycare since he turned one. He is settling in well and due to spending several days a week in the office for his whole life, he is very well adjusted and used to different people. In fact he is quite attached to most of the ladies at work and loves spending time there. He seems to love playing with a ball too and will happily toddle around throwing a ball & picking it up for ages. He is quite independent and stubborn and likes to do things his own way. He is quite particular and doesn’t like a lot of different sensations – ie grass, sand, squishy fruit etc. He is learning to blow kisses and is often seen doing his little signature expression – whenever he is surprised, worried, envious, happy – pretty much anything…. He looks up and says “oooh oooh” with his little mouth in a surprised look – its sooo cute and he does it all the time.