A Big Boy Bed!

Since the video post of Luke climbing out of his bed, there were no more attempted escapes, so we decided just to wait it out (although the toddler bed conversion kit did arrive) and see how much more time we could get out of the crib .... until yesterday.

Yesterday morning, Luke made another successful attempt to escape from his crib. He seemed to consistently get out of one corner, which happened to be the corner closest to his dresser. The bureau has a larger, decorative (and sharp!) base, so we knew that if Luke escaped without us around to catch him, he could likely bump his head (or face) on the edge of that decorative base.

Aunt Kate suggested a genius idea called the crib tent, which also happens to be very highly rated in many of the sleep books I have. However, after doing some research on it yesterday, I found that 1) the standard one won't fit Luke's crib, 2) the deluxe one costs $70+, and 3), and probably most importantly, we didn't have one yesterday! Since this would buy us some time, I am keeping it as a potential if the big boy bed turns into a big boy disaster ....

SO, we bit the bullet and converted the crib to a "big boy bed" yesterday.

I did do some reading, so I was "prepared" for what this might entail. Luke "helped" Daddy put on the new rail, and he seemed very pleased with this new bed that he could climb in and out of himself.

Naptime went okay - I cheated and rocked him to sleep and then layed him down. He slept for about an hour (as opposed to the usual 2-3), and came out happily chatting away.

Bedtime was an entirely different story. We started the process at 7:30, Luke did NOT want to sleep in that bed. After much crying, about 20 returns to bed, several failed attempts to rock him to sleep, and one try where Mommy got in bed next to him, he finally passed out around 9:00 as I rubbed his back.

We held our breath all night ....

...AND, he made it until 8:00 this morning! I heard him stir a few times during the night, but he did not get back up, and was happy as a clam this morning when he proudly marched into our room.

He is currently taking his 2nd nap in the big boy bed, and we had no crying at all. So, all in all, a pretty good transition thus far.

I'm not putting that crib front away just yet, though!

Binkies are too accessible now, so Mommy will need to put them up during the day:

Linus seems to think that this bed is just right for him! Luckily, Luke is happy to share:

Finally asleep on night #1:

I almost missed it!

Another month has flown by.

What I love about Luke at 19 months:

1) I love how you are learning how to be Mr. Manners, and saying "peez" and "dan, du" (thank you) ... and how you always still use the sign for please in addition to the word.

2) I love that when I go to get you at daycare, or in any setting with other kids, you are always the "sharer" of the group. Now, I know this won't always be so, which is why I am loving it so much now. When other kids are hitting, screaming, or wrestling over something, you are happy to just give it up and find something else to play with.

3) I love that you haven't had an ear infection this month! (knock on wood)

4) I love how much you love to be sung to. It is the sweetest thing. Before bed we always rock, but if we rock and I sing, you will sit and listen and listen.

5) I love how you are growing up, even if it means more disaster prevention for Daddy and I (i.e. the new lock on the front door)

6) I love that your vocabulary expands every day, and you often repeat things that we say. This month you learned some important names, "Lie" (Linus), "Brook" (Brooklyn), and "MelMo" (Elmo). You often will nonchalantly walk past the sliding glass door and say, "Hi Brook, Hi Lie."

7) I love that you love buses, trucks, cars, planes, and (of course) trains. A "transportation sighting" can stop you right in your tracks as you look, point, shout, and wave bye bye to it.

8) You crack me up when you say "whoa" or "uh oh" or "oooh" ... those words are just too cute coming from you.

9) I love that you absolutely love our story time before bed. Almost like you know how special it is to me. When we walk into your room for bed, you make sure to remind me that you would like a "boo" and then you pick out your favorites (and I always throw a new one in the mix to keep things interesting).

10) I love that you are coming out of your shell at music and gym class, running around, dancing, singing, but always looking back just to make sure that Mommy is still there ... and of course, I am!

"Dance with Elmo"

He may look cute ...

...sitting in the big boy booster seat at the table while out to dinner, BUT...

...most of this meal was NOT a pretty sight (Michael's facial expression is telling in that 2nd picture). Food and utensils flying, whining, banging, wiggling, pushing, crying was the scene in actuality. I believe that toddlerhood has most definitely arrived.

I'll think we'll be investing in a babysitter for dinners out from now on!

The Little Gym

My new favorite place to go is gym class. As Mommy promised last week, here are some pictures from our visit there today. Mommy says that it is much harder to take pictures there than she anticipated ... with me running around and climbing everywhere, she is really busy making sure I don't hurt myself!

The balance beam is my fave:

I'm learning how to swing on the bars:

Lots of space to run free:

Ball time - we practice throwing, rolling, kicking (and I like trying to sit on it!):

I can't wait until next week!

Tubby time

Almost every night I throw a fit about going upstairs to get into the tub. BUT, once I'm there, I remember how much I have always loved my bath. Right now some of my favorite tubby toys are my squirt trains. I love lining them up along the side of the tub and pretending - so fun

Here are a few shots from the other night, as you can see, Mommy was having fun with her fancy camera and focusing on different objects.

We knew the day would come....

...and apparently it's here.

So, after nap today (to which he took his matchbox car - did you see my previous post?), Luke was playing in his bed, driving the car along the sides of the crib and saying, "zoom, zoom." I thought it was really cute, so went to get the video camera. Here's a bit of what I caught ... and then what happened.


Guess we'll be ordering that toddler bed conversion kit NOW!

Welcome to February!

Mommy has given me a break with the camera in the last week or so. She's sad about this ... I could care less. So, this post will be picture-less, but she promises to have some more photos coming your way VERY soon (I'm sure!).

Here's what I've been up to:

- Talking up a storm! I talk everywhere I go. Mommy & Daddy don't always understand me, but I try anyways. Mommy says that she can't believe how quickly my vocabularly is growing and that I have at least 1 new word every day!

-My favorite book right now is most definitely:

We read this book a few times every day. I love pointing out the freight cars, counting the trees, and making the dog sound (woof, woof). I can also show Mommy where the bus, red car, blue car, and purple car are!

-Santa brought me my current favorite toy, the Thomas wooden train set. Mommy & Daddy especially love it because I sometimes even play with it independently so that they can get some stuff done!

-I continue to be a super picky eater ... this seems to drive Mommy & Daddy crazy :)!

-I learned how to open the front door the other day - yep, and Mommy found me out in the driveway in my pajamas (a lock/latch will be going on the door this week!)

-I can almost climb out of my bed ... it won't be long and Mommy is NOT looking forward to this new endeavor!

-I love my matchbox cars that were in my stocking, and sometimes I sleep with them

-I still love playing outside and will suggest that we go out there at any opportunity. I especially love riding in my blue push car.

-I started a class at the Little Gym last week, and I just love it! I had my 2nd class today and I enjoyed running, jumping, walking the balance beam (I like the high one, not the low one for the babies!), and tumbling on the mats. Next week Mommy will take her camera so that she can catch me in action and share it with all of you.

-My ears seem okay for the moment - yay!

-We went shopping for some new shirts last week because all of my onesies were too small! I'm growing like crazy, mostly in height. I'm wearing 24 month shirts and 18 month pants now.

-Not a day goes by where I don't spend at least some time dancing and singing.

That's the update from here. Happy Tuesday!

A wet week

The last week has been pretty wet, cold, and drizzly around here. So, what's a boy to do, you might ask? Here's what I've been up to:

Taking baths with LOTS of bubbles ... I've always loved my bath, but this many bubbles makes them even more fun!

Hanging out with Brooklyn (who I now affectionately refer to as "B")

Wearing Daddy's sunglasses around the house hoping that maybe it will help the sun to come out so that we can resume our daily walks and trips to the park.

Trying out Daddy's slippers ... boy are they hard to walk in!!!

AND ... practicing with my new potty seat! We're just doing an introduction to the potty right now, so we really aren't trying to get rid of diapers. I mostly sit on it (often) and pretend with my clothes on, while repeating "poop, poop." Fun stuff!

Speaking of things I'm saying, I have a TON of new words. Mommy has officially lost track!

History is made

Dear Luke,

You can always say that you watched when ....

Love, Mommy

18 month check up and health update

We visited the pediatrician with Luke today. As many of you know, over the past few months we have been to the Dr. with Luke quite a few times due to his ear infection troubles.

In early November Luke got his first ear infection and was put on amoxycillin. Michael always had tons of trouble with his ears as a kid, but we were hopeful since this was Luke's first bout and Michael's infections started earlier in his life.

Well, by the weekend after Thanksgiving we were back to see the Dr., only to find that both of Luke's ears were infected. He was put on a round of augmentin.

The weekend before Christmas we were back at the pediatrician's. It was determined that his ears "may" have been infected, but the eardrums were covered by wax so the Dr. was not able to see. He was diagnosed with tonsillitis, and we decided just to ride the virus out and hope that the ears didn't become an issue since he had already been on two rounds of antibiotics in a short span of time. We re-visited the Dr. again on Dec. 23rd because Luke's balance seemed so off and just to be sure that we were safe through the holiday, which we were.

Luke made it through the holidays, but we were back at the Dr.'s last Monday with a fever. His ears were washed and looked mildly infected, so he was put back on amoxycillin again. At this point, we are just so frustrated because we want him to be well.

So, today's appointment brought both good and bad news: the bad, his left ear is very infected again. He hasn't shown any recent symptoms, probably because of the amoxicillin. The good news, his right ear looks normal and the rest of his checkup went great. His language development is ahead for his age (a very good thing since the ear troubles can cause hearing loss ... it seems like Luke is still hearing fine, but may miss out on some specific sound frequencies). He weighs 24lbs, 2 oz (25th percentile), and is 33 inches tall (75th percentile).

Where do we go from here? That was obviously our first question to his pediatrician. It is obvious that the infection in his ear is not responding to the amoxycillin that he's on, so she gave us a prescription for augmentin. We will only fill it if he starts exhibiting signs of discomfort or is running a fever. This will give it time to go away if it is just viral. In the meantime, we will be back to visit her in 6 weeks. If his ears don't look good at that check up, we will be visiting an ENT specialist to discuss putting tubes in.

Send Luke your good thoughts for healthy ears!!!

It's that time again...

What I love about Luke at 18 months

There is so very much to love, this month and always. Each month I think that it can't possibly get any better and I wish that he would stop growing, and with each passing month I am amazed at how much fun (in new and different ways) Luke is. So, without further ado ...

1) I love how well you are able to communicate with us now. You certainly know what you want and don't want, and you are so able to tell us. And then, when there are those times when we just aren't getting it, I can see the frustration on your face and in your tears and I know that it won't be long before you are able to communicate that thought to us as well.

2) I love how you dance ALL THE TIME. The best was New Year's Eve in Grammy & Poppy's bathroom in Tahoe. You insisted upon dancing THERE and there only ... and boy did you boogie down!

3) I love that you have been such a trooper through all of the ear infection drama that you have had to deal with in the past 2.5 months. Daddy and I hate that you don't feel well, but you've been so easy on us - you've dealt with it all so bravely.

4) I love how you were so, so happy with each and every one of your Christmas presents. You would have been happy with just that first gift.

5) I love how when we go to the park, you make your way to the very top of the big play structure so that you can go down the big, steep, winding slide. As you climb you say "slie, slie" and then when you finally turn around and come down on your belly, you laugh and squeal. There are often bigger kids around who are scared to go down that big slide, and they just stand by and watch you, the baby of the playground, take it on without any fear.

6) I love how you love to lay in my arms in your dark room and look at the stars from your twilight turtle. You tell me what they are, "sta, sta" and always make sure that we point out the moon.

7) I love how when we get ready to go anywhere together, you run to my closet and remind me to put on my "shoesh, shoesh, shoesh," as if I might forget if you weren't there to help me (although you usually pull out one of Daddy's pairs and hand it to me)

8) I love how you can recall several animal sounds (moo, ruff, ssss), but when I ask you what sound the kitty makes you reply "hi-kitty!"

9) I love how you think so hard about some things that I can almost SEE your brain working. The other day when I went in to get you out of bed after your nap, you wanted to tell me all about something super important. You grabbed your monkey that you keep in your crib and held him while jumping up and down. Then, after you fell down in the crib, you patted your head and shook your finger at me. I totally got it - you were reenacting the story that we read when the monkey jumps on the bed and then falls off and bumps his head ... "mama calls the Dr. and the Dr. said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!' (while shaking his finger).

10) I love that I love you so much every month that I don't want you to grow bigger ... and then when you do, I love you even more. Crazy!!!

Picture time!

Mommy posted a new batch of pictures (although, if you check my blog regularly, you've probably already seen most of them):
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?&collidparam=65208082403.411923528603.1232089613842

Happy 2009!

New Year's Eve 2008

Tahoe times

We spent the week following Christmas at my Grammy & Poppy's beautiful home in Tahoe. We had a wonderful and relaxing week, and a fun-filled New Years. Here are a few of the highlights from my week (I say my week because the highlight for Daddy was certainly skiing, and for Mommy was two sushi dinners at her favorite sushi restaurant ... neither of which we have pictures of ... so these are really just my highlights).

Trying out my new snowsuit:

I wasn't thrilled with the snow at first (probably because I refuse to wear gloves and my hands got really cold):

BUT, once Grammy came out to play with me, I had a great time (Mommy says that she is sorry there are so many pictures, but she was having a really hard time choosing which ones to post because they are all just TOO cute!)

I discovered that I love icicles and will hold them in my hands as long as I can stand it:

More time with Elmo ... and just relaxing:

We took our adorable Brooklyn with us to Tahoe. It was her first experience with snow, and she LOVED it. She and her dog-cousin, Cosmo, became such great friends during their week together - they will really miss each other. Mommy says we need another dog to keep Brooklyn company. Daddy says that Mommy is super crazy!

Here I am laying with Brooklyn and keeping her company (hey, these dog beds are nice!):

What we know for sure is that she is going to be really tired for a while from all of the activity:

Beautiful Tahoe sunset from Grammy & Poppy's backyard.