N.Lo is such a mockingbird as of late, sometimes our company seems wired with surround sound. And sometimes they know it. After picking up K.Lo from the outsourcer today, we stopped by Target for a few items, and as always, K.Lo wanted to get out of the car immediately, repeating the request incessantly as I gathered my things together. “I want to get out. Out. Out.” And so then N.Lo joined in: “Out. Out. Out.” They began trading off, and when I turned around to give them A Look, they were both smirking! Have they been with this company long enough for this sort of “teamwork?” Hmm.

*****

K.Lo is stuck on the word “super” lately, which she has apparently picked up from Management, who apparently says it a lot! It is “super” cute, however, when she comments with seriousness: “I’m super-hot,” or similar.

*****

N.Lo is quite conversational these days, stringing together words in sentences that are intelligible only to Management, but there nonetheless, along with intonation and apparent understanding. A favorite conversation occurred today while I was buckling him into the company car. I swear it happened:

N.Lo, out of nowhere: Barack Obama.

The Manager: Barack Obama! Do you like him?

N.Lo: Yeah!

The Manager: Well, all right. Is that who you would have voted for?

N.Lo: Yeah.

The Manager: Hmm. I voted for John McCain, what do you think of that?

N.Lo: Dumb.

The Manager: Okay, then! Fair enough. …What about Ron Paul, do you like him?

N.Lo: Yeah.

[I was reaching, I know.]

Watching the coworker relationship unfold is at least as interesting as individual employee development.

• They are starting to wrestle. Full-on, rolling around on the floor, tackling each other wrestling matches. So far it is all giggles and fun, and I think K.Lo is just more shocked, than anything, that N.Lo even tries to take her down. Management will continue to referee these matches to ensure employee safety, as well as observance of respectfulness in the workplace.
• N.Lo mimics his coworker in both words and actions, as well as gibberish. He is an Equal Opportunity Emulator. My favorite scenes involve silly-shouting, which is a big stress reliever for the whole office. Until it gets too loud.
• K.Lo also tolerates N.Lo giving her a little push, literally. Whether on the tricycle, at the top of the slide, or down the driveway on the way to a walk, N.Lo will stand behind K.Lo, place a hand on her back, and attempt to propel her forward. Exerting his will onto the world, as I suppose we all attempt to do…

It is hard to imagine one without the other, at this point in their careers!

Due to illness, the Lo.Co was a bit remiss during the past work work on the blogging front. Here are a few notes to catch us up:

• The CEO and I recently bought new office furniture for our employees, two small foam couches that fold out into sleepers. They’re easily transportable from room to room and the employees enjoy them immensely for playtime, movie watching, and book reading. Our company has been fortunate so far, between gifts and donations, to not have to purchase much for our employees, but every once in awhile we like to treat the company, and feel the couches were a worthy purchase.
• N.Lo continues to talk up a storm, coming out with phrases that he has surely heard from his coworker—all garbled into one long word, but definitely discernable. This past week I swear I heard him say “Where arrre you?” and “I want to do it,” two things K.Lo says constantly. I wasn’t sure who was speaking, at first.
• Productivity on the Night Shift is again difficult with K.Lo, who has renewed her resistance efforts. Mainly, she calls out to Management in the middle of a dead sleep (our dead sleep), requesting assistance with trivial tasks. Maddening. The CEO has stepped up an initiative where K.Lo loses an office supply for every inconsequential request, which we hope will have some positive effect (for us), long term. In the meantime, bah.
• N.Lo has been “reading” books, again following his coworker’s lead. His seat of choice one evening was K.Lo’s princess couch.

• Also, N.Lo has been picking up on so many verbal and non-verbal cues, it’s hard to keep track. Lately, if you say, “Let’s go change your diaper,” he drops what he’s doing, toddles to his room, and pulls out a diaper (usually an overnight, but it’s a good try) and some wipes. Very occasionally, he’ll even lay down, and not kick and scream for the actual change.
• After his nighttime changing, he immediately heads to the bathroom for teeth brushing.
• He listens to the whining of his coworker and aims to appease her where Management will not. For instance, if K.Lo rattles on and on at 8 AM about wanting to eat gummies (fruit snacks—candy, basically), the Manager will deny said request, while N.Lo disappears to the kitchen and pulls out the whole box for her. It is perhaps time to replace the childproof lock on the cabinet, though his heart is in the right place.
• K.Lo loves to use scissors, and it’s a good way to keep her quiet for half an hour or more. At present, she is making necklaces out of thin strips of coupon. They are divine.
• N and K.Lo do make a good team. This morning, I took the employees for a walk in their new double stroller and inevitably at our furthest point out, K.Lo announced she needed to use the employee rest room. The poor employee was quite distressed while the Manager hurried the company home, and N.Lo at one point reached for K.Lo’s hand. K.Lo swatted him away at first, but I suggested that he was trying to make her feel better, so she took his hand again and stopped crying. Until she had an accident. But still, the gesture was very sweet.
• And later, N.Lo rolled around on the kitchen floor, upset about one denied request or another, and K.Lo walked over to smooth his hair and offer a helping hand to get him back on his feet.

Two peas in a pod.

Management trades off on griping at me, particularly around a certain late, pre-dinner hour of the day. They have a well-orchestrated routine for expressing their individual grievances, making it a true team effort. N.Lo begins shouting because he’s starving, and consequently FED UP with the Kitchen Staff. I give him a cracker, silencing him for a few minutes, and K.Lo immediately picks up his sad song. Except I really have no idea what she’s saying, because I do not understand the Language of Whine.

Momentarily distracted by the dining room curtains and the game of Butterfly, K.Lo then hands off the baton to N.Lo, who has just finished his cracker. He doesn’t want more crackers, he wants grapes. Except I have to guess at that, using the intuition and other skills I possess as a Personal Assistant; since he doesn’t yet speak English, there is really no way to know. When he’s settled in with the grapes, K.Lo initiates her nightly demand for pasta, with the highly unreasonable deadline of NOW. Meantime, I’m trying to wrap up several end-of-shift tasks such as kitchen cleanup and dinner prep, with no hope of straightening up the bosses’ workspaces before my coworker gets home.

If I didn’t know better, I would think they were trying to sabotage my work performance at the cost of future raises and reviews. 

 Tyranny exists under these innocent masks.

Happy Hour, Out on the Grounds

Other than the last few seconds (the reason footage was cut short), some good video of K.Lo and her coworker.

K.Lo reads to N.Lo from his training manual, N.Lo reaches for his office supplies.

Originally when posting about K.Lo's first overnight retreat, I noted that "all parties benefitted from the excursion." Mostly, this point is true, but I would also like to note that N.Lo's productivity was a bit off the mark without his coworker and partner-in-crime. N.Lo has shown himself to be a pretty laid-back employee thus far, more of a mild complainer, rather than a full-on, four-alarm emergency wailer when there's a problem. Should the situation escalate, of course, so will his volume, but for the most part, he's a pretty content worker.

What we did not realize, however, is just how much interaction and teamwork is happening between the two employees, until K.Lo took her leave. During her absence, N.Lo spoke up quite a bit more than usual, requesting one-on-one assistance with his projects, the assistance that we are of course happy to provide--but that K.Lo often gives without our intervention. She sings to him, she gives him bottles, she shakes toys for him, she asks him about his day, gives him kisses and hugs, says, "What's the matter?" if he starts to complain. In fact, though K.Lo does quite well with entertaining herself, she has not once lost interest in her the life and adventures of her little coworker. As a manager, I am of course pleased with this working relationship, and hope that it continues to grow so positively.

Attention all employees,

I would like to thank you for your participation and cooperation in cleanup efforts this evening, responding to the Parmesan Cheese Spill that took place while making meatballs. K.Lo, you did well in clarifying, "Uh-oh, you dropped it," and N.Lo, you didn't even stir from your nap while being showered with particles of stinky cheese. Special thanks to the dogs, Bender and Bailey, who handled the floor. Remember that teamwork keeps us strong.

Sincerely,
The Manager

K.Lo really needs to start brushing her teeth every night before bedtime. The Manager really needs to start brushing her teeth every night after dinner to curb excessive night snacking. Interestingly, the Before Bedtime and After Dinner time slots coincide. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That's teamwork.