George in the Jungle

Enjoy the show.  It is nothing spectacular but you do get a glimpse of how these three cousins interact.  I've been watching my nephew George 2-3 days a week while my sister Tess and her husband are at work.  Tess is a preschool teacher so I started in September of 2013 and will get a break over the summer which will work well with the arrival of #3.  It's been interesting to see how the boys reacted to George's presence.  George Angelo was born on July 22nd 2013.  Yes it was the same day that Prince George made his debut as well, but Tess and Adam announced their baby's name first :-) !  Consequently that puts George at about the 10 month mark.  He is a strapping young lad.  I think he was a few ounces lighter than Augustine;s birthweight when he was born but he's not far behind Augustine now in terms of height and weight as you can see in the movie below.  George has been in the 97th to 100th percentile for his height all along.  He's a very active and strong little boy.  He is crafty.  What he can't get to by strategy he makes up for in brute force.

This morning when George arrived Luke and Augustine were still sleeping but George felt inclined to rouse them with an enchanting melody on the keys of the red piano.  These photos are from either February or March but George still entertains us on a regular basis.  His other favorite pastimes include opening the drawers of the end tables, retrieving and hiding toys under the couch, buzzing his lips and tracking down even the smallest piece of paper to hear it crinkle.  George tells us how it's all supposed to be with his long, emphatic chains of DA-DA-DA, NA-NA-NA, or MA-MA-MA while employing his pointer finger to add explanation and effect.  He produced a perfectly timed wave as his mom exited this morning and joins in cheers of joy with happy applause.  He's been enjoying a variety of solid food for the last 4 months or so despite the absence of teeth.  He progressed quickly from the sitting to crawling phase and was pulling himself up into standing position a week or two after he was crawling.  I'm sure that unassisted bipedal motion will be coming soon and I'm sure plenty of wily antics between him and his cousins will ensue.

One day I was feeling adventurous and took all the boys over to my grandparents in Rootstown.  My Aunt Margaret was in town with her son Marcos who was born in November.  These were the four youngest additions to the Francis clan until my cousin Jessica had her son Jaxson in March.

Sorry/ These pictures are surely out of order. At least I finally published the post after having it in my drafts since November.  I think this is the picture that I have of George at his youngest.

Below is my attempt to capture the afternoon stroll configuration for the fall when George was less active on his own- Schafer boys in the stroller and Geor\ge secured in the Moby. Nowadays George and Augustine get the double stroller and Luke tags along beside or helps me push while number three is "strapped in" by the comforting support of my belly band.  I get a lot of "You've got your hands full" comments as we traverse the neighborhood and particularly when we visit the library.  The fresh air and exercise does us all good and I figure it gives me practice for the days to come.

Augustine exhibited a little jealousy early on when I started watching George.  If I was holding George or feeding him his bottle, Augustine would get upset and want me to pick him up.  Of course if Luke noticed me with each of the little guys on opposite hips he would say, "Pick me up to mom!".  I managed the feat once or twice but it's totally out of the question these days with #3's occupancy.  For the most part, Luke was  oblivious to George at first and I had to make sure George was set up in a safe area out of the way of Luke's usual traffic pattern as he practiced his race car skills.  More recently though Luke will talk with George, play peek-a-boo, and sing him songs.  It's been fun to watch as the boys interact more playing follow the leader, exchanging hugs, playing ball, zooming cars, or climbing on the sack.

The photos above and below were taken November 26th 2013 putting Augustine at just over a year old, George at 4 months and Luke at two and a half.

Watch out world!  Who knows what kind of trouble these three are likely to get in to?!?!- and then we'll throw another little person into the mix!  Will these three dashing gentlemen be looking out for a little girl? Or will the fourth boy join the ranks?