TOUGH LOVE

These two monkeys really do love each other.

Liv loves giving him all kinds of attention - hugs, sloppy/wet kisses... she hands him toys and shakes them above his head to see if he will grab for them, she gives loving but ever so rough pats on the top of his head, while saying "you are a good boy! Good boy!" You get the idea, it's that all-up-in-your-face kind of attention.

And I have to say, Nathan has been nothing short of tolerant of it. Taking it all in without crying; not even a whimper. That is until recently.

Unfortunately my Miss Liv is not so lucky anymore, as Nathan has learned how to grab at things, and hold on to said things for dear life. Things like toys, nuks, bottles, and hair. Yep, hair.

If you have not experienced the little grip of a baby's hand pulling your hair, then consider yourself lucky. 'Cause it hurts. Bad.

After having 5 kids, I still can't understand how such a small person could wrap their little fingers around a clump of hair and pull with such force. It's not only the strength in which they pull that amazes me -- the inability to get them to loosen their little grip and actually let go is even more amazing.

Liv seems to have tolerated this whole hair pulling thing quite well so far. She has cried on a few occasions, when I have managed to loosen Nathan's grip enough only to find he had pulled out a clump of hair in the process. But she gets over it quickly by scolding him "No, No NATHAN! NO PULL HAIR!!" And then goes right back to getting all up in his face, which results in him once again grabbing for her golden locks and pulling with all his might. I honestly think it may just be his way of saying, "I can't talk yet, but I finally learned how to use these hands of mine and I am going to put them to good use by letting you know when to back the heck off!"

I get what he's "saying", just not sure Miss Liv does quite yet. She will learn.