Eavesdropping

During Luke's speech therapy sessions I sit in the observation room and watch and listen to what goes on. Today Luke and his therapist, Ms. Nelson, were doing a sorting activity. Luke would pick a card from a pile and then have to put it in the proper category: something we eat, something we wear, or an animal. I was so glad I was eavesdropping on their conversation because this is what I heard.

Ms. Nelson: Luke what's on your card?

Luke: It's a doggie. (Pause) What's the doggie doin'?

Ms. Nelson: What is the doggie doing?

Luke: It's sitting down. (Pause). Does the doggie have a bum?

Ms. Nelson: What?

Luke: Does the doggie have a bum on it's back?

Ms. Nelson: (very confused) I don't know. What?

Luke: Does the doggie poop on the grass?

Ms. Nelson: Um...Probably. Luke, do you have a dog at your house?

Luke: Yes!

(Side note: We do not have a dog)

Ms. Nelson: What's your dog's name?

Luke: Doc

Ms. Nelson: Your dog's name is Doc?

Luke: Annabelle

Ms. Nelson: Your dog's name is Annabelle?

Luke: Yes!

Apparently Luke takes serious ownership of other people's pets. Hope that's okay with you, Mikey. And you, Grandma Debbi.

A Better Comparison?

It's hard to get a really good comparison because I couldn't find any pictures of both boys wearing the same clothes, doing the same thing, and making the same expression. But tell me this: which picture is of which boy?

Okay, okay. That wasn't hard at all. Maybe they don't look alike after all...

(But they do!)

Look Alikes???

When Micah was really little I didn't think he and Luke looked very much alike. But the older they get the more similar they look. People tell me all the time that Micah looks just like his brother. I don't agree with the just. But I would say definitely related.

Luke at 9 months

Micah at 11 months

What do you think?

Why Children are Bad for Your Self-Image

This morning Luke swatted at my bicep and asked, "Is Mama's body shaking like a ceiling fan?"

I told him to stop whacking my arm.

He switched to trying to pull up my shirt so that he could see "Mama's big fat tummy!"

Awesome!

The Green Underwear

This morning I told Luke to go to the bathroom and get his white big boy underwear. He came back with his green underwear.

I said to myself, "I thought those were dirty. Huh," and put them on Luke.

A little while later I found half the clothes hamper emptied onto the bathroom floor.

So they were dirty.

Oh well. I'm going to let him wear them anyway.

You bit my finger!

So most of you have probably seen this video:

Well, today the boys were playing over by the stereo, and all of a sudden Luke screamed and started to cry. I ran over, and he was holding his finger. He didn't hit Micah or anything, but he was very upset. He told me that Micah bit his finger. I told him not to put his finger in Micah's mouth. I know by experience that is a bad idea! I hate it when that kid gets a forbidden object in his mouth. Getting it out is dangerous!

Writing

Luke has been learning how to write the letters in his name. He mastered the L several months ago. "Straight down. Straight over." He learned how to do the U in Texas maybe? It's been a few months now. "Down. And up." But this week he learned how to do the K and the E. Those ones took a long time because he just couldn't figure out where to place his pen. I finally added some dots and now he can do it. For the K he says, "Do the line. Make a dot. Put the pen on the dot. Go up. Put the pen on the dot. Go down." And for the E he says, "Line. Dot. Dot. Dot. And out. And out. And out." He talks himself through the letters every time. It's pretty darn cute.

making an E

Good job, Luke!

Ah, Luke!

This morning it was pretty cold in our house, and Luke was running around in a pull-up. I told him to bring me some pants so that he wouldn't be cold. He came back with a pair of jean shorts.

The past week at school Luke has been learning about himself. I guess that as part of the unit they've been talking a lot about bodies because Luke keeps pointing things out and asking questions such as, "Does Ms. Gina have a neck?" I guess all that body talk has him thinking about all the parts of his body because he has also asked, "Does Baby Micah have a bum?" and "Does Mama have a pee pee like Luke?" We've dealt with awkward questions before what with breast feeding and all and have had several conversations about how we do not talk about certain body parts or touch certain body parts. But with all the new questions this week, Luke is once again walking around and repeatedly coaching himself, "We don't talk about it. We don't talk about it," as well as, "We don't touch other people's bums." I really hope he doesn't say these things at school, but he probably does.

For the past little while Luke has been sleeping in our room on an air mattress because we have been "sleep training" Micah. The strange thing is that Micah started sleeping through the night without crying right as we geared ourselves for letting him fuss it out. So what had been waking him up if it wasn't hunger or fear? Well, we have discovered that Luke talks in his sleep. At least one of his dreams seemed to involve getting in trouble. He yelled out very clearly, "I need to be a good listener!" which he often tells me to try to get out of time out. He also had what seemed to be (for him) a very scary nightmare in which he cried and moaned, "The cup fell down! The cup fell down!" He also cuddles his blanket and croons, "Bookie! Bookie!"

We moved Luke back to his bed last night after several weeks of sleeping in our room. Micah cried and cried and wouldn't go to sleep because he could see someone else in the room, so we had bring Luke out to living room until Micah fell asleep (which then happened really quickly). Micah slept through until around 4:30 and then woke up crying-- the habit of night waking resurrected during his sickness. So I went in to nurse him. About 1 hour later Luke woke up crying, and that woke up Micah. So I'm not sure if Luke will be moving back to our room or not.

Bribery works wonders with Luke. But the things he accepts for bribery are so bizarre. We could get him to do most anything in Texas by promising to let him drive Mima's car, Papa's "junky green car" or Amber's car. That works pretty well here too most of the time. But his newest interest is the speed bumps in our apartment complex. He will try pretty much any new food if he can go outside and walk across a speed bump after he gets it down.

What a crazy boy!

Lucky Seven

Little Micah just cut his seventh tooth. Now he has 4 on top and 3 on bottom.

I suppose this is just one more sign that he is growing up. I can't believe he'll be a year old on the 29th!!! How did time go so fast?

Smiley Face

Luke drew this smiley face at Miss Keegan's while Micah and I were at the doctor on Monday. I think it is so cute!!!

1 out of 10

Today was not a great day. I'd give it a 1.

Micah was running a temperature (104.2) and only wanted to nurse. All day long. Actually that's been going on for 2 days, but yesterday Jared was here to help. So today was especially bad because we're out of underwear, Luke is out of socks, and I had to get all the laundry done, etc. with a baby clinging to my front. Awesome! In all the excitement of one-handed laundry I spilled bleach all over Luke's favorite underwear-- Green-- and the only pair he willingly wears. They are now yellow.

We couldn't get in to see the doctor until 2:15 pm. Micah has a bad sinus infection. I waited at Wal-greens for an hour with a screaming and SUPER hot baby who still just wanted to nurse, but was denied while we were sitting in Wal-greens. I finally gave up, just bought some Advil to tide him over and came home. Luckily Luke had school and then got to play at Caleb's house most of the day because he does not do well when ignored. In the little time I did have with him today he kept pulling my hair clip out of my hair, climbing on my head, climbing on my back, climbing on my shoulders, climbing on the table, climbing on the windowsill, and escaping from time out. (The only thing that saved him was that amid all that climbing he did give me many hugs and kisses. I actually kind of loved that part.)

Thank goodness for the Taylors! Not only did Keegan watch Luke for me for almost 3 hours during the doctor appointment and pointless Wal-greens trip, but Patrick came and stayed with Luke (who was in bed. Yes!) so I could go back to Wal-greens to try again. I got back and gave Micah his first dose of antibiotic, thinking to myself that "This is a HUGE dose!" Halfway through the syringe I realized that the instructions were for 4 milliliters and NOT 4 teaspoons. So then I had to call poison control.

And now that Micah is asleep I get to fold all that laundry because that is something you just can't do one handed.

First days of school

Luke started school on Tuesday. He had been asking for weeks and weeks to ride the bus and go to school. We went to Meet the Teacher last week, so Luke understood that he was going to a new class with Ms. Sara and Ms. Gina. He had also been warned that he might have a new bus driver.

Luke was so excited to go outside and wait for the bus. It was a long wait because we weren't sure what time the bus would arrive. Last year the bus would come around 7:45 am. It didn't come unitl 8:15! With all that time to just sit and wait, Luke started getting creative. He decided he wanted to wait on the car.

I had to run inside for baby wipes because both Luke and Micah had black palms and knees. Apparently I REALLY need to wash the car.

Right as I got them all cleaned up, the bus arrived. Luke was a pro! He grabbed onto Ms. Daisy's hand (glad I warned him there might be a new driver!) and climbed right up.

It's been so fun talking with Luke about his day at school. He can tell me so much more about what he does! After the first day he told me that he went in a tunnel. He also said that he did shapes and "did the blow dryer." I told him that I didn't think there was a blow dryer at school and that he was being silly.

Yesterday, when Luke came home, he mentioned the blow dryer again. And I realized that both times he talked about the blow dryer I had just finished praising him for using the potty at school, so I thought he must be talking about a hand dryer in the bathroom. I asked him if he used the blow dryer to dry his hands and Luke said yes. But then I opened up his take-home folder and found this picture from the first day:

Oops! Sorry, Luke, for not understanding! There really is a blow dryer at school.

I think Luke is going to have a good year.

There is nothing like...

finally getting back into my pre-pregnancy clothes

only to have a stranger at the bus stop

ask me if I'm pregnant.

First Talk

Luke gave his first talk in primary on Sunday. The topic was "the scriptures teach that the gospel will be preached in all the world." That's a pretty intense topic for a 3 year old, but Luke did a great job. He was very excited to talk in the microphone! This was his talk:

"All the people who live on the earth are Heavenly Father's children. Heavenly Father loves all of his children. He wants everyone to know about Jesus Christ. The scriptures teach that the gospel will be preached in all the world. D&C section 90, verse 11 says that, "every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language." Missionaries teach people in their own language all over the world. Some day many of us will learn a new language so that we can teach other people about Jesus Christ. I am happy that the gospel will be preached in all the world."

Luke did a great job!

Masterpiece

Welcome to my boys' room!

the sign on their door--

I painted this 2 years ago when we were in Texas after Jared's first year.

View when you open the door

I tried to take pictures in a circular fashion. This would be when you enter the room and turn to the left a little. Then the pictures move to the right and circle the room until they reach the door again. I also did close ups of some of the details in the room.

above Luke's bed

My mom sewed that map for me, and she followed my instructions perfectly! I bought a clearance curtain rod at Wal-mart and spray-painted it red. And voila!

I painstaking measured this fabric so that each piece would match up. It took forever! I had everything measured and cut out before Micah was born but never did the sewing. Jared's mom sewed them for me when she and Dad came to help after Micah's birth. They turned out just as I imagined. They are reversible-- here's the cowboy side.

and the denim side

My mom painted the cowboy picture. She copied the cowboys from the fabric on their quilts (FREEHAND!) and then transfered it onto the wood and painted it. I made the Lil' Cowboy sign by hot gluing rope onto painted wood. These things were also created 2 years ago.

Jennifer got this horse basket for me. It's actually an Easter basket but I use it to hold the desitin. The red baskets are for diapers and wipes.

The rocking horse was a loan for the pictures, but it looks so cute in the room that maybe eventually....

I love how it all came together! And just under 3 years!

Boy Braggin'

My boys play great together! Luke LOVES to play with Micah and often asks Micah to come play. Sometimes when I'm snuggling Micah, Luke will tell me, "Micah wants to play with Luke in Luke's room." When I say that I think Micah just wants to cuddle for a minute Luke will insist, "NO! Micah wants to play with Luke!" Micah is interested in Luke's stereos too, so that is their one conflict. Micah also likes Luke's Bookie (baby blanket) but usually Luke is willing to share that-- at least for a minute. They are an awesome team!

Luke is just doing awesome! This week I am especially proud that he is being a brave eater. He has had a new food every single day! He ate a bite of carrot, applesauce, some hot dog, smoothie (Costco smoothies are dairy free!), and (though not really new) 1/2 a chicken breast in one sitting! The amount of chicken was VERY new. He even asked for more!

Yesterday was meet the teacher at Luke's school. He is excited to ride the bus again and play with friends at school. I think his new teachers, Ms. Sara and Ms. Gina, will be very good with him. They were pre-warned by Ms. Alicia about his CD player obsession and didn't act like it would be a big deal at all. While we were there we also got to see Ms. Alicia and Ms. Kerry as well as Ms. Kathleen, the speech teacher. They were impressed by the difference they saw in Luke. As Ms. Kathleen asked Luke questions I could see her eyes get bigger! He wasn't answering any questions at the end of school last year, and right then he was telling them all kinds of things! It was a pretty funny conversation--

Teacher: Luke, where did you go this summer?

Luke: Luke went to Mima's house.

Teacher: What did you do there?

Luke: Luke pulled the string.

Teacher: What string?

Luke: The string on the ceiling fan!

Luke has also made HUGE progress with sensory processing. I guess the progress in eating goes in that category because he made so much progress with textures. But he is doing well with textures on other parts of his body. He will now walk barefoot on grass and sand. He will even LAY DOWN on the beach. He asks to go in the shower too which is amazing because he used to freak out if water splashed on his head. He is no longer afraid of the vacuum cleaner or garbage disposal. And finally Luke is doing better at staying with the group. We went to the beach on Wed. with some friends, and Luke (for the most part) stayed close to me and interacted with peers the entire time. That had to do more with the fact that they came to play with Luke than that Luke went to them, but still! They laughed together, and I was so happy to see it.

Potty training is still a bit of a struggle. If you look at the picture of Luke and Caleb you will see a big, wet rock to the right of Caleb. Luke peed on it and then stripped down naked.

Micah was not quite as big of a beach bum as Luke is becoming. Mostly because I tried to keep him from ingesting too much sand. But he still had a pretty good time too.

Micah is also doing great. He is a fast crawler now, and he is pulling up on everything! He can let go now when he is standing and keep his balance. That new talent allows him to get into all kinds of trouble. He can get into the markers on Luke's easel, the tissue on the side table, the toilet paper, the toilet water, etc. He can also pull things down on his head. Micah will meet with his physical therapist on Wed. morning and will probably be exited from the program.

He is being a super eater too! He eats a lot of "big people" food, but his favorites are oatmeal, toast with jam, bananas, and pulled pork. When I made the pork I found out that Micah is a fan of meat! I made the pork in the crock pot, and that made it perfect for him because it was very tender. Micah being a good eater is a great blessing for our family because it helps motivate Luke to try new things when he sees Micah do it.

Micah has had some big adjustments the past few weeks. I'm trying to move in the direction of weaning him. The biggest change so far is that I've stopped nursing him to sleep. I feed him 1/2 hour earlier than normal and then lay him down when he's still awake. He cries for a little bit, but then he goes to sleep on his own. He's also had a few nights when he had to tough it out and cry for a bit in the middle of the night. I think at 11 months he can make it at least 9 hours! Luckily he doesn't seem to hold it against me. He's always happy to see me in the morning. What a great, forgiving, and tough little guy!

I love my boys!!!

Little Cowboys

We finally took the cowboy pictures for the boys' room. None of the pictures with both the boys turned out well-- we could not get them to look at the same time! But I LOVED so many of the individual shots. I probably should have narrowed them down a bit more, but I didn't. So here they are!