Bubs 2 is officially walking. His balance is suspect, but he is choosing to walk, over 
crawl. He's even picking stuff up while working on his balance. It's amazing the see the differences between the two bubs. Bubs 1 waited until he was good and ready and simply got up and started walking around. Let's see, I found a note in Bubs 1's baby journal that says he didn't start walking until January 2010. Bubs 2 is just a few months ahead of him, but he also had more resources to learn from... like his older brother. Bubs 2 would have started even earlier, but he dabbled in his crawl-to-walk transition. He didn't wait until the task was nearly perfected (like his older bro), Bubs 2 took his time. Just about 10 days ago, he was cobbling together a few steps here and a few steps there. He's now putting many more steps together. He still has that old-man shake, but he's determined. This video was taken about one week ago (from the date of this post) and not only was I glad to see Bubs 2's progress, but I was also glad to see Bubs 1's cameo appearance. I saw humor. He is showing more and more humor. This particular humor, the more slap-stick kind with the towel on the head, etc., is still encouraging. I come from a family that loves humor. Perhaps Bubs 1 is carrying the humor torch? Time will tell. One thing is for sure, if he learns how to
wield some witty banter, he'll have the ability to create bridges and cross any social gaps he encounters. His mom and I have been working with him on his interaction skills whenever he's with friends, larger groups especially. We essentially give him positive responses with whatever he says in his interactions. Sometimes his friends look at him as if they notice that he's not acting within a norm. It depends on the situation. We may say, "hey, that's cool bubs!" (so to always encourage his spirit... and confidence). Other times, we'll help him by directing his conversation. Maybe we'll tell him, "Ok bubs, that's interesting. How about you ask (so and so) about..." 
This last example implies that he can get a little self absorbed about things he likes and keep on talking about them... looooong after anybody is still interested. haha. His rigidness comes and goes, but his mom and I are consistent. For example, he'll tell us that the colors white and red make pink. However, we have to be ready for some flack whenever we use standard, social responses (that he'll experience out in the real world), like "smart boy!" or "you're a smarty pants!" He'll get upset with those comments, because he considers himself either a "good boy" or a "big boy." We can't allow him to limit our responses, because then we're simply perpetuating the problem. It's a battle sometimes. This is where his mom and I try to use more humor when breaking his bullheaded-ness. 
One of my first introductions to understanding the power that humor holds was when I entered the 8th grade, at Lounseberry Hollow Middle School. I was only there for a few days, before I moved out of state, but it was there that I realized the social benefits of "being funny." I have only a couple of memories of those few days and one was when I was sitting in a history class and the teacher was taking attendance. Mr Schmoltz. When he came across my name on the roster, he stopped. "Is your brother (brother's name here)?" he asked me, in front of the class. "Yes," I replied. My brother is seven years my elder, so I was impressed that this teacher made that connection. Although, perhaps not for good reason. "Now class," boomed Mr Schmoltz as he turned towards my classmates, "you have to understand my concerns here. His (while pointing his finger over at me) brother used to sit in the back of my classroom and quietly roar "Yaaaaa" whenever one of his classmates answered a question correctly. It was like being in a stadium." My fellow classmates laughed and I sat there feeling like I just had my social status increased among my peers. I'm hoping that Bubs 1 can experience the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment