I have the impression that Sean is pretty smart. Either that, or he’s a very good sponge. He absorbs almost EVERYTHING that Callum (4 years old) is into at the moment. I guess that’s the advantage of being the second child.

He can recognise and say the phonic name of 22 letters of the alphabet. He can sort shapes and colours. He can almost sing all of Callum’s Kindy songs. And he enjoys playing simple word, guessing and rhyming games (that I play with Callum).

Emotional
I remember noticing that Sean was quite sensitive when he was only 8 weeks old. It’s quite interesting to see how it has developed in his character.

Sean is a very affectionate kid. When his big brother cries, he’ll put his hand on Callum’s shoulder and says, “It’s ok. Don’t cry.”

When I exaggerate my sadness, he’ll walk up to me and give me a big cuddle and say, “Mummy happy now?” He’ll plant me with kisses and cuddles, and say “I love you mummy!”

He has a special bunny and a special rug – and he MUST sleep with BOTH every night. I’ve never pushed the idea of having a comfort object with my kids. I personally find them to be a bother, and believe comfort should come from within. Nonetheless, I work with what I’ve got. Sean used to cry and sob whenever his rug was in the wash. He used to sit outside and stare up at it as it dried on the washing line.

Now I’ve bought a second rug, and cycle them. But I only have one bunny. It’s getting pretty filthy and I’m scared to wash it.

Sean takes a really long time to get over an upsetting experience. For example. He doesn’t like my sister – because she used to babysit him and now he associates “Aunty Christine” with “Mummy’s abandoning me”. He’s afraid of the dark – because once during a shower we had a 5 minute blackout and he completely freaked out.

Language
Sean speaks a LOT. In big, clear, long sentences.

The other day, he was playing with some toy boxes and I heard him yell out,“HEY! What’s this doing here? This Spiderman remote control car book is not belong in my Mr Tato Head box!”He ran up to me with an instruction leaflet that he found in the wrong box. He was furious. It was so cute.

He can re-tell a picture story back to me. He knows the parts of his body. He can count to 10 (but he forgets the 5).

Playtime
Sean is pretty good at getting around. He’s agile, coordinated and has excellent balance. He’s not keen on heights. But other than that, he’s absolutely reckless with his safety and considering the consequences of his actions.

One day we were making dams in the creek. The kids had their gum boots on. Sean began to wade into the water. I watched him and wondered if he would get upset when his socks and pants got wet. But he kept going deeper and deeper until the water was up over his knees and filling his boots! And he still didn’t stop! He had no fear, I tell you.

He’s very interested in babies and caring for his teddies. He makes sure they are fed and tucked in at night. I notice he’ll spend a lot more time with character toys (animals, dolls, action figures) than trucks, cars, tools, balls and blocks.

He can do a large 16 piece puzzle by himself.

Sleeptime
Sean used to be great at bedtime. We used to put him to sleep at 6:30pm. He’d quietly stare up at the ceiling until he fell asleep. Sometimes he’d be awake an hour later. But still staring quietly in the dark.

Now, possibly because of a more developed sense of awareness, Sean gets out of his bed 5-10 times a night before he actually goes to sleep. It’s been a bit of a nightmare. We’ve tried so many different techniques and none seem to be working. We just hope he grows out of it.

Photo taken by my friend, Dorothy

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