The Sickies

I feel like the last two weeks I have done pretty much nothing but this:

Loads and loads of puked on laundry!

Luke woke up early early on December 17 throwing up.  It lasted for 2 days.  The first day really scared me because a couple of times he woke up and acted a little bit delirious.  He told me that a bird was flying in front of his eyes, and he also told me that a bus hurt his wee wee.  But after a few minutes he would talk rationally again, so I assumed it wasn't a reason to rush to the ER.  Anyway,  he seemed better the third day, so he went to school but then he threw up again that night.  Micah caught it after that.  Then I got it on Saturday (22nd.)  Jared got it Sunday, and it stayed with him through Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day.  Everyone was fine for a few days.  And then last night (Sun, 30th) Luke threw up again and today Micah is running a fever.  

So what have we done during our Christmas vacation?  A whole lot of at home fun.  In our jammies.  A few of our favorite activities have been:

1.  Playing dump truck

Here's how to play:  Cut up lots and lots of little pieces of paper and throw them all over the floor.  Then drive the garbage trucks/ dump trucks over to pick up the papers and take them to the dump.

Our dump was right in front of the door to the laundry room.  (side note:  Luke named his garbage truck "Penguin.")

Our papers have been reused over and over again.  I cut up old book order papers a long time ago.  When we are done playing we just put all the pieces in a ziploc baggie and put them away for next time.

2.  Playing with the leap pad.

3.  Listening to youtube songs on the ipad and dancing around the room.  (This is after the Advil has kicked in and the worst of the stomach bug is over)

4.  Sitting in front of the space heater and trying to stay warm.

 

5.  Cuddling with blankies

6.  Reading lots and lots of books.  The current favorites are "Where is Maisy?" for Micah and "Press Here" for Luke.

7.  Watching lots and lots of Thomas the Train.  This is definitely Micah's favorite show right now, although he only wants to watch 2 episodes over and over again.  We're breaking him into a few others now.

8.  Rocking and rocking and rocking some more in our good old glider.  Best investment EVER.

9.  Drawing pictures

10.  Practicing Luke's sight words and doing a little bit of reading and writing.  Luke is getting pretty good!

A few December Adventures

December 1 was our church Christmas party.  It was breakfast with Santa.  I like morning parties a lot because they don't mess up bedtime.  And 9 times out of 10 pancakes taste better than ham.  Luke was excited to talk to Santa and tell him that he wants a candy fan for Christmas.  I expected Micah to cry, but while waiting in line he realized that Santa gave candy, so he went up to talk to Santa very willingly.  Micah liked Santa's beard.

One of the women Jared works with printed off an article from the newspaper listing Christmas activities around town, and she sent it home with Jared.  I marked off several activities and we had fun trying some of them out.

Amarillo Botanical Gardens had a free light display during the first week of December, so on Wednesday (the 5th), we went to check it out.  It was very pretty!  All the trees and other plants were decorated with lights.  There was a choir singing, and there was free apple cider.  The boys had a blast running along the paths.

 We are not starving and destitute, as you might think by this picture.  Luke just REALLY likes his "pants with a hole" and insisted that he wear them.

Micah liked the red lights the best.

It was pretty cold that night (Oh, the wind in Amarillo!) so the greenhouse felt really good after running around outside for awhile.  There was a big waterfall in there that the boys liked and lots more pretty lights.

 (in front of the waterfall)

We wished we could have stayed longer, but it was nearing bedtime and we thought Micah might not be warm enough.  Also, Micah hurt his finger pretty badly earlier that day (he stuck his finger in the vacuum cleaner when it was turned on,) and he had pulled off his band-aid during the trip.  We didn't want the scrape to get dirty and infected, and Micah was starting to get frustrated that we weren't letting him touch everything.  But it was a very fun evening.

Then on Saturday (8th) we went to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum.  I had heard this museum was really fun and had wanted to go see it, so when they had a Christmas food drive on Saturday that allowed can food donations instead of an admission fee, we went to check it out.

There was an entire room of windmills!

And old cars

And little cars

We spent most of our time in the pioneer town at the old water pump.  I think Luke pumped water for about 20 minutes straight.  Well, he actually stepped away several times when another kid looked like he or she wanted a turn to let them try it out.  But the other kids usually pumped once or twice and moved on, and Luke could reclaim his spot.  Which he did.  Micah spent most of the time looking for staircases to climb.  

We went to look at lights one time.  I think the one and only thing I didn't like about Williamsburg was the disturbing lack of Christmas lights.  But here there are lights on many of the houses, and in the nice neighborhoods almost all of the houses are lit up and pretty.  The boys enjoyed that.  Micah would yell things like, "Gosh! Look that!"  He is becoming quite the play-back button, repeating whatever he hears.  He sure is cute!

Luke's Birthday

This year Luke's birthday was very fun to celebrate because he understood about birthdays and was VERY excited for his own.  He knew his birthday was in November and he even knew the day (27), but he would ask everyday how many days until his birthday.  I tried to explain it in weeks, etc., but he didn't understand, so we started marking off days on the calendar.  Every single day Luke would ask to count the days until his birthday.  By the last 10 days Luke could count down by himself in his head.  He would wake up and say, "Only 9 days until my birthday!" and the next morning, even before seeing the calendar, he would say, "Only 8 days until my birthday!" and such.

The thing Luke wanted more than anything else was what he called the Alphardy CD.  It is actually Dr. Jean's "Sing to Learn" CD.  His teacher plays a lot of these songs at school, and Luke really wanted it to play school.  (If you want to hear the song, click on this link:

Alphardy song

He was so convinced that he was getting this CD for his birthday that along with counting the days to his birthday, he would also add that he only had, "[7] more days until the alphardy CD!"

On his birthday morning he woke up bright and early and was rearin' to get to that alphardy CD.  He had a lot of fun opening presents.

The CD!

(from Mima and Papa) 

Listening to his favorite song

He got a robot "like Caleb's" from Mama and D

and a scooter from the Herreras/Duartes.

Cute little story:  As Luke was riding his scooter around the house he asked, "Who gave me this scooter again?"  I told him that Grandma Debbi and Grandpa Terry gave it to him.  He smiled and said, "Because they love me!"  I told him that he was sure right.

Luke was also very excited for his cake.  He had a hard time waiting until D got home!  He liked watching D light the candles, and he got out all the candles in one blow.  

FYI: Gluten free brownies are pretty good.

BIRTHDAY "PARTY" 

On Saturday we finished celebrating Luke's birthday with a trip to the bounce house with Luke H. and his mom and dad.  They jumped for a while and then we took a break for donuts.

  And to open presents.

Luke got a Clifford book and a Curious George book.  He liked those a lot!

And then more jumping!

 Micah running to the slide.

 The play area (Micah spent a lot of time here.)

I think we had a pretty good celebration!

Letter to Luke

Dear Luke,

You are my brown-eyed handsome boy.  I love you so much!  Luke, when you were born you jump-started me on my journey into motherhood.  It has always been my most heart-felt wish to be a mother. I am so blessed to be yours.  No one else in this world could teach me the special and specific lessons that you have taught me.  Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me!

Luke, you are funny and original.  And you can make people see the wonders around you.  I've seen grown people stare at you as they realize that vacuums really ARE cool, air conditioners really ARE interesting, and that bug really IS amazing.  You introduce your friends to new ideas.  You can get an entire room of kids interested in the things you like.  Why?  Because you are a passionate person!  That amount of energy and excitement demands a response, and you sure get one.  I hope you always keep the attribute of passion.  Your intensity for the things you love will drive you to great heights.  I can't even tell you the number of people who have told me they just know that you are going to do great things with your life.  I am sure that they are right.

Luke, for all your quirks and self-made rules you are generally an adaptable person.  You feel at home wherever you are.  You embraced Amarillo and our life here, and I know you will do the same wherever our life takes us.  This is a wonderful gift.

You have a lot of love in you, Luke.  And you love people easily.  I love to watch you with your family-- all of your family.  Even without seeing them often, you have forged a special bond with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins (and an adopted family too!)  I hope you know and always remember how many people love you.  And I hope you feel joy knowing that you make them feel special by loving them so much in return.

You have many gifts, Luke.  One of your greatest gifts is perseverance.  When you want something you go for it ALL THE WAY.  Whether it be a chance to turn on a fan or learning to ride a bike, you won't quit until you figure out how to get it.  

Another of your wonderful gifts is bravery.  You have dealt with some difficult things already in your five years, and a lot of these challenges were frightening for you.  But you have overcome so many of your fears!  I am so proud of you!  You probably don't remember being afraid of some of these things, but these are some of the fears you have conquered: getting wet, walking on sand, going into a public restroom, riding the bus, eating cereal, going to nursery, sleeping with the light off, hearing a police siren, touching a dog, and many more things.  D and I have pushed you so hard in your short little life, and you have met every expectation because YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS.  I am so proud of the things you have learned and the progress that you have made.  You are my special big boy.  You are my favorite five-year-old in the whole wide world.

Love and kisses,

Mama

PS.  Here are a few (wink, wink) pictures to illustrate how you have filled my life with joy!

 Right before we moved to Virginia from Utah

Our new home in Williamsburg

 1st Halloween

1st birthday

 Christmas with Mima and Papa

Spring '09

 Summer '09

In Houston for the summer

 Camping trip, fall '09

 This interest started early and hasn't abated AT ALL.

 2nd birthday

 And this is Luke.  

 Virginia Living Museum spring '10

 Amber's trip to Virginia to help out while Mama was sick

(no pics with Mima?)

Bringing Micah home

 

A little too much of a Mama's boy

1st family pics

3rd birthday

Christmas in Nevada '10

 March '11-- first day of school!

 1st teacher-- Ms. Alicia

 Love this picture!

 Spring '11

Potty training

 Another summer in Houston

(visiting San Antonio with Papa)

 At the boardwalk

 Fall '11

1st day of 2nd year of preschool

Ms. Daisy helping you onto the bus

4th birthday

convincing your friends that the vacuum is the best toy in the room

learning to play hide-and-seek

Easter '12

Lowe's!

 New GREEN glasses

 Speech teacher-- Ms. Nelson

 2nd preschool teacher-- Ms. Sara

Conquering fears (ABA therapy)

 Amber's wedding July '12

New home in Amarillo, TX

 

1st day of third year of preschool

 Pumpkin patch, Amarillo

November countdown

5th birthday

We love you, Luke!