When things were a little too quiet...

...this is what I found

Before I forget

A quick little update on Mia's vocabulary before I forget to add these words to her ever-growing list:

"Thank you" (used often and appropriately!)

"Here you go"

"Roo" is definitely Luke

"Day" (for my mom, usually used in "hi day")

"Hello" (in addition to hi)

"milk"

some form of "brother"

"book"

"read"

Her absolute favorite books right now, which we read very, very regularly (often several times in a row):

This one is great because it is really interactive, I read as Mia places the baby animals into their beds

A Luke update

Wow, I feel so behind on updating the blog. I haven't been taking the same volume of pictures that I usually do, and I often gauge the necessity of updating the blog on the number of old photos I have sitting on the camera. So, this post and the subsequent one about Mia will be short on pictures, but full of descriptions of who they are and what they are like right now.

It is so hard for me to believe that in a few short months Luke will be 4. FOUR? Really? That sounds so old for me to have a 4 year old child. Unreal how quickly the time has passed. The reality is that the next year will be full of decisions in terms of where he will go to elementary school. Kindergarten ... it just doesn't seem possible, yet it is. In the meantime, Luke is finishing up his 2nd year at Mandala. He did so well this year in their morning preschool class. He has made some new friends (Christopher, Heather, and Noah are his "favorites"). His teacher, Miss Tabatha, has told us on several occasions that Luke has really started to develop his social skills, is coming out of his shell, and is initiating play with other children. This is all so good and I am so happy to hear that not only is he progressing academically, but also socially.

Academically Luke is very bright. He loves to count (he can count to 100, and also by 100s to 1,000, and by 2s), understands the difference between upper and lowercase letters, is able to match letter sounds to all of the letters, is beginning recognize sight words, his drawings are getting more detailed all the time (he now always adds a body, nose, eyes, ears, hair, arms, legs when he draws a person), he is constantly asking us what time it is (and really, questions are coming at us constantly pretty much all day), shapes, colors, seasons, and days of the week he seems to have mastered .... it's all pretty incredible really. I mean, when I think about how much and how quickly he is learning I am blown away. His vocabulary surprises me daily ... it's like I'm all of a sudden speaking with an adult. One of my favorites from just today was when I asked him if he would like to take off his jacket and he replied (full of expression), "I would love to, thanks." His articulation still lags slightly (I think), but his teachers are no longer concerned as they can usually understand what he is saying. I may still initiate another screening in the fall, just to be sure that he's on track.

He continues to be a very sweet boy. He is full of snuggles, hugs, and "I love yous." He told me as I was tucking him in bed the other night, "Mommy, thank you for being my best girl." I just about melted. Of course, along with his sweetness comes some brutal honesty ... he doesn't hold back from telling us when we smell :). He also has proclaimed that he will one day marry Mia and live here in our house forever (ha!).

Luke still doesn't eat much variety. He is very much a creature of habit and is not a huge fan of changing things up. He's happy to have the same meal each and every day for breakfast (banana milk and waffles). He has incorporated some new fruits and veggie (yes, that's singular ... as in carrots) into his diet. Despite all this, the kid has grown like a weed in recent months! I could not believe that the jeans he was swimming in in the fall I had to put away because they were too short. When it got warm here (for about a week), we had to go out and get some new summer outfits for him - size 4/4T. He can still wear his 3T shorts from last summer and a few pairs of 3T pants that happen to be long enough (they actually fit him better at the waist than the 4s, but the length just isn't enough in most cases). Shirts are most definitely now 4T. His feet are still size 10, but I know how that goes (they seem to grow a ton in a short amount of time, then his height catches up ... so I'm sure that they will be growing again very soon!). He seems HUGE to me lately ... such a boy, no longer a baby :(

Favorites right now include: Handy Manny (all of a sudden he loves to "fix" everything .... it's driving us a bit nuts to be honest), Cars, Toy Story (Buzz Lightyear), and Chuggington. He really enjoys playing soccer and going to swimming lessons (where he recently moved up a level, graduating from being a Sea Horse and moving up to the Octopus level!), and he often asks us to play baseball with him in the backyard. Oh, and he could still swing for hours and hours. Favorite books lately have been anything Dr. Seuss. He loves to read before bed at night and good behavior can often be encouraged just by threatening to take a book away at bedtime (that sounds horrible to discipline by taking away reading time, but I promise, he still gets read to a LOT).

Speaking of behavior, this year has brought several rough patches, but I think that is normal for 3 year olds. For the most part, he has been just testing the boundaries, and in recent weeks he seems to really want to be be good and make us happy, which is a good thing and has made life with Luke very easy (for the time being!). Sharing with his sister has also been a source of difficulty, but we continue to work on it. I can understand and relate to his frustrations with her since she is not yet capable of playing in the same way that he does. I know it will come in time.

Naps are officially gone with the rare exception on a day when he "accidently" falls asleep (usually in the car). He rests in his room most days, but also tends to do quite well through the afternoon with no rest. Bedtime has been moved up to, pretty strictly, between 7:00 and 7:30. He's ready by then, and so are we! He sleeps for about 12 hours every night. We still diaper at night, but never any other time.

He's doing great wearing his glasses. The transition really couldn't have been any smoother. He must feel pretty comfortable in them because he pretty much doesn't touch them all day. For this we are so grateful!

I could go on and on describing our sweet boy. He's such a joy and a delight, and we are incredibly lucky to have been given the gift of raising him. Loving, sweet, smart, cute, energetic, and full of personalitgy ... how could we ask for more? He makes loving him so very easy.

Reading

Too cute...

Luke actually knows the words to this book pretty well, so "reading" it to Mia was no problem. Goes to show how many times we've read it!

I'm pretty sure that there is an almost identical picture to this of my brother and I - I'll have to get it from my mom and I'll post it here, just for fun. So check back

The perfect book

Over the summer I was browsing Barnes and Noble for some fireman/firetruck books for Luke when I came across this one on the bargain shelf (LOVE that shelf!).
So, for all of the obvious reasons (we wanted to introduce Luke to the idea of being a big brother, the baby in the story was gender-neutral and we didn't then know the sex of the baby, etc.), this was a great book. So, I was sold on it before I even really opened it to read it ... but once I did I was certain that Luke had to have it ... the big brother's name in the story is Luke!

Almost as if on cue just a few weeks before his new sister arrives, Luke has decided that this book, which he previously had little interest in, is his absolute favorite. We read it several times a day and the pages are suddenly starting to look worn ... and, in my opinion, there is nothing better than a book that is well worn and loved!

On the Night You Were Born

On the Night You Were Born
by Nancy Tillman

Luke and I often read this book - he loves to see the bears dancing, and I just adore the wording. It made me think of it today because, well ... tomorrow is his 2nd birthday AND because, as Luke pointed out this morning, the moon stayed up!

On the night you were born,
the moon smiled with such wonder
that the stars peeked in to see you
and the night wind whispered,
"Life will never be the same."

Because there had never been anyone like you...
ever in the world.

So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain
that they whispered the sound of your wonderful name.

It sailed through the farmland
high on the breeze...

Over the ocean...

And through the trees....

Until everyone heard it
and everyone knew
of the one and only ever you.

Not once had there been such eyes,
such a nose,
such silly, wiggly, wonderful toes.

When the polar bears heard,
they danced until dawn.

From faraway places,
the geese flew home.

The moon stayed up until
morning next day.

And none of the ladybugs flew away.

So whenever you doubt just how special you are
and you wonder who loves you, how much and how far,
listen for geese honking high in the sky.
(They're singing a song to remember you by.)

Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo.
(It's because they've been dancing all night for you!)

Or drift off to sleep to the sound of the wind.
(Listen closely...it's whispering your name again!)

If the moon stays up until morning one day,
or a ladybug lands and decides to stay,
or a little bird sits at your window a while,
it's because they're all hoping to see you smile...

For never before in story or rhyme
(not even once upon a time)
has the world ever known a you, my friend,
and it never will, not ever again...

Heaven blew every trumpet
and played every horn
on the wonderful, marvelous
night you were born.

Happy 2nd Birthday, my sweet boy! July 16th IS such a wonderful, marvelous day because it marks the day that we first met you ... and, "Life will never be the same."

Luke's book selection for this month ...

...is, without any doubt...


The Little Engine that Could


A little long when all you want to do is get your toddler to bed, but a classic nonetheless.



A few new books might be coming someone's way tomorrow :)!

Doing some late night reading....

...to prepare for my new role.


The picture is a bit blurry, but you can see the title. The funny thing is, we hadn't even read that book together yet - he just randomly picked it out. In fact, most nights when I go in to check on Luke he has a number of books in his bed. I guess the few books that we read together everynight before I tuck him in just haven't been cutting it!

Trains, planes, and firetrucks ... oh my!

Luke LOVES trains, this we know. Lately, he has expanded his transportation love to include planes, buses, and trucks ... namely, firetrucks. He LOVES them and is often stopping mid-play to listen for one in the area (unfortunately for him, fortunately for us, we don't often get firetrucks around our house).

We went to the library last week and picked up some books. These are Luke's current favorites.

I am so tired of reading these 4 that I'm returning them early and hoping to find some different ones. If anyone has any fireman/firetruck, plane, or train book suggestions, PLEASE send them my way!

2 months until he's 2!

Today Luke is 22 months old. I simply cannot believe that my little baby is almost 2 years old. Where has the time gone?

Luke, every month you are cuter, more fun, and more full of life than the previous. And, each month we seem to fall more and more in love with you. Here are just some of the things that I love about you right now:

1) I LOVE your conversation. Since the tubes were put in your ears, your vocabulary has exploded. You are now talking in 3 and 4 word sentences, and some of the stuff that comes out of you amazes us.

2) I love how you now refer to yourself at "Ruke." You spend a lot of time telling me what "Ruke" should be doing ... "Ruke swing," "Ruke drive," "Ruke choc-choc milk," "Ruke Daddy gui-tar" (Luke & Daddy play guitar together), "Ruke, Ma play choo-choo" (Luke and Mom play with trains), "Ruke shaow" (Luke take a shower).

3) I love that you can repeat just about anything and everything. Last week I was asking Daddy why it was so important that he got his hair cut that day. He said it was because he wanted to look hot for me. You heard this and instantly looked at me and said so matter of factly, "To look hot for you!" We definitely need to watch what we say from now on!

4) I love that you are getting very good at going to sleep in your big boy bed. You can now really understand when Mommy asks you to stay in bed, and you try SO hard most of the time to resist the ultimate temptation of getting up and playing in your room.

5) I love that you see things that I don't even notice. For instance, when we drive anywhere in the car, you look out the window and notice the sky, trees, airplanes, trucks, cars, train tracks, etc.

6) I love that you are able to describe things now. Instead of just saying that you see a truck, you tell us that it is a "white truck," or a "red car." So smart!

7) I love that you have some incredible sense of direction that most certainly did NOT come from me! If we say that we are going to Grammy and Poppy's and we take a different route, you make sure to let us know that we are going the WRONG way! You also know exactly where the light rail train tracks are, and if we approach that street, you start talking about the train before we even get there. It amazes me that you know where you are!

8) I love your hand motions that go with songs. You love to do "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "The Wheels on the Bus," and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

9) I love that you love when Mommy sings to you. Sometimes, if you are upset about going to sleep you will cry, then settle in my arms and in your most sad voice ask Mommy to "siiiing peez." Just to make it better, you sing along with me, but usually only making sure to hit the high notes along the way. Listening to you sing while we rock is one of the best parts of my day.

10) I love what a little musician you are. I know that I've said it before, but I'll say it again - you are destined for great things musically! You love to sing, dance, clap, drum, bop, watch concerts on TV, and sometimes just listen. This month the guitar was your highlight ... and I love to watch you hold it (the "right" way without even being shown how) and strum and dance away. Daddy is going to make you a strap so that you can move around with it more easily :)

11) I love that you seem to love books and reading together more and more all the time. You can even remember and repeat lines from books as a way of telling me which one I should pull off the bookshelf.

12) I love how you come into our room on weekend mornings very quietly. Sometimes you just sit on the floor next to the bed and watch us sleep. And then, out of nowhere (and usually quite loud) you either announce that you have "poo-poo" so that we will get up and change you, or you start singing your version of the Elmo song "La la LA ELMO!"

13) I love how you "swim" on your tummy in the bathtub!