otis and bee

I just love Otis’s school. The teachers are so in tuned with his personality and his needs, and he has grown so much since he started in September. Heck, they even taught him how to pee standing up, which I personally thought could wait at least until his age hit the double digits. But I am most grateful for how well they prepared him for the arrival of Miss Bee. Our head teacher and her partner had a son a few months ago, and he was quickly integrated into the school curriculum. Often I arrived in time to witness the kids learning the difference between gentle touching and mauling. The teachers did a lot of family role playing with Otis, with him taking care of his baby (usually a kangaroo or a frog) and his playing repertoire has been much expanded as a result (although I’ve heard that occasionally while playing “family” with classmates, he prefers to be the family dog).

So I think that this baby experience is so far a little disappointing for Otis. By the time she arrived, he was more than ready to practice all he’d learned, but she’s asleep most of the time. So we’ve started to consult him on various issues. When she wakes up, we ask him if he thinks we should feed her. Does her diaper need to be changed? Would she like the pacifier? And now, I think I’ve found the perfect way to include Otis. Bee has been so sleepy that it’s usually difficult to keep her awake during feedings, and the perfect way to exploit Otis’s, er, talents seems to be for him to be the official waker-upper. He gets to be silly and loud and helpful, a perfect combination for Otis, and for once, I am encouraging it.