Extending our borders

I haven't posted in a while about James'- well development, I guess- not the stats from the Consultatie Bureau where he goes to get weighed and geprikt (prik is what they call the injections- a fitting term I find); but more how he is growing up. He is really turning a corner in his physical capabilities, speech, and level of independence recently.
For a while he was really 'discovering his own borders', as they say. It was amazing to watch him put one foot in front of the other and make his way up the steps or hold a spoon and get most of it in his mouth- it was a stage of curiousity and wonder now that I look back on it. Speaking of looking back- I never thought I would think I'd rather take care of a 6 month old- but now that I am chasing around an almost two year old I realise clearly how freakin easy that was- regardless of the sleepless nights.
James is now more in a stage of 'discovering Dad's borders'. He is still a cute and sweet little guy but there are new things making their way out- temper, whining, intentionally throwing hard objects...
Its all true.
Sometimes it is funny, though I try not to laugh at him, how furious he will get. His new personality manifests itself more though in just plain orneriness (seemingly just for the sake of being ornery). I will get him up from his nap and he will smile and chat - and then refuse to get out of his crib- so I will leave him in there and go do something and he will call out and laugh and then repeat the same process. Weird.
Or he will go absolutely mad trying to wear his klompen (wooden clogs) everywhere; normally a pretty agile walker/runner, these things are challenging and he will not give up on them- he is fine once they are on but they tend to fall off and then he has a real time trying to get back in them. If he even sees them out of the corner of his eye he will immediately sit down and take off his shoes.
We used to have a great time throwing the ball to the dogs at the park- but now the ball is just for him and he will throw it over the fence rather than share with the rest of the class. Its just a different sort of game.
His daycare ladies told me today how he refused the crust on his sandwhich; we laughed about that. They have a similar no-nonsense approach which makes me confident of their capabilities; 'the baker didn't make that for nothing' is the Dutch saying. Or as Dottie says- 'Doesn't your mother pay for the crusts?'
I am sure it is a stage like any other- and I never expected anything less from raising a kid- but I'll be glad when we can begin to communicate better. And I will be very glad when Katharine gets back- it is a slog trying to get it all done on your own, even for a few days. On the upside- since I can eat curried chicken burritos for five days straight (only one night of cooking), I used that extra time to finally finish the baluster on our staircase in the evenings. It still needs sanding and a couple coats of finish but it has made a huge difference in terms of feeling safe going upstairs. Katharine has the camera on her trip but I'll post pictures later this weekend.
Monday is Koninginnedag, Queen's Day, so the whole country is off or on their way to some vacation for the week- all the schools are out; we will probably just barbeque with the neighbors and go into the centrum to check out the crap- you are allowed to set up shop on the street on Queen's Day and sell anything you want which turns all the towns into huge flea markets- always fun to see.