Houston

The boys and I came to Houston to be with my parents so that we can see Jared on the weekends. While I am great at bringing my camera places, I'm terrible at taking it out of the cases and actually shooting a few pictures. So sadly I have very few pictures of our visit here. But here are a few:

Luke liked watching Casey from the very beginning but wanted to stay on his side of the gate. After our first week here, Michael and Cara came to Houston for my dad's retirement lunch/party and brought their Weenie dog, Doc. Luke warmed up to Doc, though strange as it may be he was willing to kiss the dog and rub the dog with his face a lot sooner than he would try touching and petting Doc. But after Doc went home Luke became a lot more confident with Casey. He follows her around getting just close enough for Casey's tail to hit his tummy. He thinks it is so funny! He also likes to feed (and overfeed) Casey.

Luke loves all the radios at Mimas house and the many, many ceiling fans and light switches. And he has really warmed up to water. Mima, Amber, me and the boys went to the splash pad, and Luke even put his head in the water. Truthfully, he had a hat on when he put his head in the water, but it was still a big step! And afterwards he put his back and legs into the water. So the next day we took him to the swimming pool. He threw a fit about it and said he didn't want to go, but as soon as we got there he jumped right in, swam around, floated, put his ear in the water, crawled like an alligator, and has been asking to go back. So we have been a few times now.

Luke has had so much fun playing with Mima. She has so, so many great games for him! That is the benefit of having a mother who majored in Child Development and taught preschool for years and years. Luke has done matching games and other games that work great with his occupational therapy. One of his favorite games is "Silly Bubbles." My mom put just a little bit of dish soap into some water and gave Luke a straw. He had so much fun!

Luke also loves playing the piano with Mima.

Luke loves, LOVES it when he gets to see Dada. The first time Jared came down Luke had to show him his pee pee in the potty every time he went, and he climbed on Jared and begged to be thrown around. After Jared left for San Antonio, Luke kept saying, "Luke go to San Antonio!" I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures with Jared! And this past weekend we did go up to San Antonio and spent lots of time with Dada, but dum-dum Mama didn't take any pictures with Dada once again! This weekend I'll take a ton!

Micah loves having lots and lots of attention. He would probably prefer not to have so many coaches and amateur therapists around, but with all the extra intervention he has made some big steps in his development. He is starting more solid foods. He loves Cheerios! And he is drinking out of juice boxes, so he is becoming a pro with straws. He never would take a bottle and wasn't coordinated with a sippy cup, so this is the route we have gone. He also started army crawling (to get those Cheerios!) and can get into a sitting position on his own.

Micah is also so excited when we get to see Dada. He will grin, grab at glasses, and giggle. (Nice alliteration there!)

And I am the happiest of all to see Jared! Six weeks apart was way too long, and these weekdays in between our visits are too long as well.