Luke: January 2011

I think the stage Luke is at (9 months old this past week) is one of the cutest and funnest stages of babyhood.  My Lukie-pie is just so sweet.  He is getting very curious about what Gabe is doing, and he wants to be in on the fun.  He doesn't want to lay down or sit down, he just wants to stand.  He is starting to try to walk (with help).  He is super wiggly!  This kid has a smile that could melt anyone's heart, and I'm afraid he has got us wrapped around his little fingers!

Favorites:
Foods: Cheerios, any fruit (especially applesauce, apricots, peaches, pears, and fresh bananas), sweet potatoes, and carrots, and rice husk crackers.

Toys: Luke likes toys that make sounds, have wheels, or which can be chewed on, or anything that Gabe is playing with.

He LOVES things with buttons, so any remote, cell phone, or toy with buttons is an Luke- magnet.  Bonus points if something exciting happens after pushing a button.

Activities: Peekaboo and Pattycake are very entertaining, as are tickling and cuddling (sometimes).  We took this video of Luke about one week before he turned 7 months old, where he is playing peekaboo all on his own.  We were so surprised when he started doing it, but he loved all the laughs he got, and he continued doing it for quite a while that night.

Luke loves to watch Gabe run around and play, and he is beginning to want to be part of everything Gabe does. 
We recently got out this jumperoo thingy and Luke has got the hang of bouncing in it and he is happy since he always wants to be standing.

People: Luke loves his Mommy and Daddy and Gabe tons, and he recognizes and is delighted to see Grandparents and aunts and uncles.  Luke seems to pick up on and react to "love vibes"- or in other words he can sense when someone likes him, and he will cuddle right up- even if they are a stranger.  This happened in church last week when a grandmotherly lady held him for a moment while I had to lead some music.  He stared at her for a minute, then began smiling and snuggled right up in her lap.

Luke is happy any time Gabe is nearby, and thrives on attention Gabe gives him.  He puts up with quite a lot of poking and prodding from Gabe too...

Stats:

Luke began consistently sitting up by himself for longer periods of time when he turned 7 months old.

• Luke still has 7 teeth (he had all those by the time he was 7 months old), but I believe that is about to change.
• Luke is NOT interested in crawling.
• After we came back from Oregon for Christmas, Luke started pulling himself up to stand so that he could see what was going on up on Gabe's train table (8 months old).  Maybe he will skip crawling all together and go straight to walking?

I frequently walk into a room and find a picture like this- both boys just chilling together, often in unusual positions, and just content and jabbering to each other. 

Gabriel: January 2011

Gabe is quite a character!  He is becoming very inquisitive and opinionated.  In true toddler fashion, he is exerting his independence and testing limits.  It can be quite frustrating at times, but I keep reminding myself that he is doing what all two year olds do, and that it is a normal developmental stage.  He is a bit of a charmer too, so my occasional frustration is tempered by lots of sweetness and delight.  Here is a little bit about Gabe currently.

Favorites:
Colors: anything vibrant, but especially green at the moment.
Foods: Pizza, lasagna, raisins, Chex, ice cream, broccoli, ham, cheese, any Mexican food, any Chinese food.  He will pretty much eat anything we give him, most of the time!

Toys: His train table set that he got for Christmas, his monkey (still), a little airplane on wheels thingy, magnets on the magnet board, dishes & measuring spoons.

Activities: Singing (Twinkle Twinkle, I am a Child of God, Heavenly Father Loves Me, Eensie Weensie Spider, I'm a Little Pile of Tin, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, The Wheels on the Bus, Saw a Little House in the Middle of the Woods, and MANY others), dancing (to any old music, or Just Dance- a Wii game), throwing balls, unwinding spools of thread or balls of yarn, looking at books, making Luke laugh, and climbing up on things, coloring (for short periods of time), and playing with Play- Doh.

Outfit: Blue Jeans (I love hearing him say that) and his brown or yellow long sleeved shirts.  And his Thomas the Tank Engine Jammies and Slippers.

Movies: Thomas the Tank Engine shows, Curious George, The Jungle Book

Cute/ Funny Stuff

Overheard:
A week or two ago: Kissing sound, and "Luke, I love you!  Be right back!" and little feet running down the hallway.
Last night: " 'Tinky, poopy bum.  Diaper change? No! Mommy do it." (At the suggestion that daddy would change it.)
This week: "Luke, play trains with me! Come on!"
After a loud noise upstairs: Screaming, followed by "Mommy! Scary! You hear boom boom? Scary tiger, Mommy!" (I don't know where the scary tiger thing came from, other than maybe from The Jungle Book movie.  He has been really spooked by loud noises lately.)

Common Phrases:
"Yes, sir, mommy" -over and over, every day. (Occasionally it is "Yes, ma'am, but usually everyone is a "Sir" to him.)
"Lukie- pie" -I guess I call Luke that enough that Gabe picked up on it.  He understands that it is just a nickname.  Last week we were joking together about calling grandparents "Grandma Suzie-Pie and Papa Ronnie- Pie".
Gabe occasionally calls BJ or I "honey", "sweetie- pie", "Sweetheart", or "Love" depending on what he hears us say.  Today I dropped something on the floor, and he picked it right up and handed it to me without being asked, and said "Here you go, sweetheart!" (Picture me melting.)
"Hningermails" =fingernails, as in, "Long hiningermails? Cut them?"
"Mommy, want to see show!"  "What show do you want to watch, Gabriel?" "Um...... Thomas The Tank Engine!" (enunciated perfectly, of course, after so much practice...)

Gabe and I had fun playing with homemade "instruments" this week- see this blog post on my other blog.  So later that night, I just happened to see that my mom had posted a video of Anna playing the guitar and singing at her first ever guitar recital (she just started playing a few months ago), Gabe was mesmerized, and he demanded his toy guitar that we made, and proceeded to accompany himself singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  It was funny, and adorable, and reminded me why toddlers are so much fun.  I asked him to do it again a little later for the camera, which he did, but not with as much enthusiasm.  Haha. Oh well!

We have reached the point that getting a good picture of Gabe is kind of hard.  He will smile and cooperate for the first picture, but it often goes downhill from there (although still cute, the pictures that follow become increasingly cheesy- but at least they are happy in this series!)

I love that Gabe loves to be with his brother.  He is starting to be really helpful in keeping Luke happy and entertained.  I have to remind him sometimes that Luke is just a baby and he needs to be gentle and use a quiet voice to not scare him, but mostly they just love being around each other. 

Toddlerhood is a challenge, but a fun one (almost all the time)!

Christmas 2011

This year we spent the night of Christmas Eve at BJ's parents' house.  BJ stayed up until 2 AM putting Gabe's train table together.  It was fun for Gabe (and for us) to wake up Christmas morning and get to open presents with Grandma Sue, Grandpa Ron, and Rhonda (or "Panda" as Gabe still calls her).  We enjoyed breakfast and visiting with Danielle and Kirk's family, and also got to see Taylor and Emily for a while.  We headed home pretty late-ish and still had to finish packing so that we could leave the next morning at the crack of dawn to fly to Oregon.  We got to have a 2nd Christmas with my family after Marissa and Richard also arrived, and it was great!  Anyway, here are some pictures from Christmas 2010.

oops

I don't know why I can't seem to get my act together with the blogging lately.  I think it is a case of letting too much time pass so that the prospect of "catching up" on our family's doings is just overwhelming and I am not motivated to do it.  It could also be that the only time I really have to blog and have "personal time" is during naptime or after the kids have gone to bed for the night, and there are just so many things to do and catch up on that blogging drops down on my priority list.  Whatever the case may be, I have been feeling guilty that I am not recording the things my kids are doing and how they are growing.  So, I am repenting!  I have some photos, videos, stories and things that I have been meaning to post forever, and now I will actually do it.  But not in this post.  I will do a post for Christmas, and each kid, and maybe one for BJ and I.   But probably not all at once.  (!)

Do you hear what I hear?

Gabriel will often run to find me and ask me if I heard a sound that he heard- "You hear train?" "You hear dump/ garbage truck/ car" "You hear a boom boom?"  The boom boom is probably the most common sound he mentions to me.  Usually he is delighted by the sounds he hears, but occasionally we hear a really loud sound from outside or the people upstairs, which scares Gabe, and he will scream or cry, and then ask me if I heard the "boom boom".  After reassuring him that I heard it, and talking about what might have made the sound, his curiosity is appeased and he goes back to what he was doing before.

Indoor Fun

Sometimes you don't need toys to have a good time.

But simple, classic toys can hold my attention for a long time, especially at Grandma and Grandpa's house, in a cozy chair.

Building forts in the front room is exciting, especially if that means that Mom will come in too and play for hours...

... and even more when there are snacks involved...

... add in my favorite monkey, my cars...

... a good story...

... and my little brother, and I am a happy (indoor) camper!

Brotherly Love

This morning as I was getting the boys changed and dressed, I laid Luke down in Gabe's room while it was Gabe's turn to be dressed.  The boys are always aware of each other inasmuch as Luke watches Gabe's every move, and Gabe likes to know where Luke is, what he is doing, and he likes helping him be happy and entertaining him.  Anyway, when Gabe was done, he became absorbed in playing with his toys in his room, and I took Luke out into the front room with me.  A little bit later, I was blow drying my hair, and I heard crying.  I quickly turned off the blowdryer, and found Gabe who was crying in his room.  I asked him what was wrong, and he sobbed "Luke... where Luke?!"  Relieved that he wasn't hurt, I took Gabe by the hand and we went to the front room, where he was able to see for himself that Luke was doing just fine, at which point he went back to playing and all was well.

6 months old (Luke)

Luke turned 6 months old last week, and I thought I should probably document all the most important things about his life so far...

Some Stats:
Height:  26th percentile
Weight:  17th percentile
Head Circumference: 90th percentile
Teeth: 2

Likes:
Tickling- Luke is soooo ticklish.  He gets the biggest grin on his face and just giggles so cutely. 
Peekaboo- Lots of delight whenever we play this game (several times each day).
Watching Gabe play (Luke is intensely interested in whatever Gabe is doing, and is not happy if he can hear Gabe but not see him).
Binky- Luke still sometimes goes to sleep with his binky in his mouth, or just likes to play while he is sucking on it.  I think Gabe was pretty much done with the pacifier by 6 months old, but Luke seems to like it a lot more. 
Diaper changes (truly, this kid never cries during a change, and usually looks very happy to be freeeeeeee)
Rice cereal is starting to finally become a "like". Luke has been a bit slower on the uptake (or intake!) with solid foods, but I think he has caught on and is enjoying eating.  I started him on some carrots this week and he isn't sure what to think about them yet.
Water- filled teething toy that has been frozen.

Dislikes:
Drinking from a bottle (but will sometimes take one after a few minutes of cajoling).
Waking up from naps (super grumpy).
Being in his swing, walker chair or bumbo seat for more than 10 minutes. High pitched squealing and back arching start at that point.
Being on his tummy.  He immediately rolls to his back when we attempt tummy time.  I am pretty sure he can roll to his tummy but he just wont do it.

Luke is sitting up by himself but wobbles over after a little while.  Luke likes the bathtub, loves grabbing things and chewing on them, and being held.  He is in the stage where he wiggles on my lap when I hold him, trying to get his hands on things, but if I put him down, he realizes his mobility limitations and wants me to pick him up again, until he wants to be put down again....

 Luke has the cutest little chubby cheeks that are so nice to kiss!  He grins when we kiss him too, which is just adorable.

Luke is a very social baby.  He hasn't yet become anxious around strangers; he will grin at anyone and be content in their arms if they want to play with him.

Luke loves watching Gabe play, and he is very entertained by everything Gabe does.  Luke is very aware of what Gabe is doing.  I think when he is old enough to crawl he will follow Gabe around as much as he can to try to be part of the action.

We all love Luke dearly, and feel that he is a wonderful part of our family.  I almost can't remember what it was like (or at least I don't want to!) to not have him with us.  It is true about your heart expanding and your capacity to love increasing as your family grows. 

Blogging Delinquency

I have been not so good at blogging lately.  Oops.  I have posts that I have started and not published.  I guess I will try to catch up.  Part of the problem I think is that there isn't a ton of stuff going on that I could write about.  So I guess that leaves me with writing mostly about the boys, which is fine, since they are pretty much the biggest most interesting parts of our lives right now.

Let's see, BJ has been playing tennis quite a bit this summer/ fall with his brother in law Andy and is looking forward to playing racquetball as the weather turns wet and cold.  He has also been playing a little church basketball.  He is enjoying the exercise he gets from doing that- it is hard for us to find the time to be active with little kids and busy schedules, but we try!
I have been working a tiny bit in the cancer screening clinic at the Health Department, and also spending time working on things for my craft blog, which will soon move from its blogspot address to its own, new address.  My favorite projects from the last couple of months would probably be making a regular shirt into a nursing (breastfeeding) shirt, sewing infant scratch mitts, and recycling shoe boxes and magazines to make great wall art.
I have also been going to Zumba classes for the past few months, and I love it!  I can only get away 1-2 times a week to do it, but it is amazing the difference it has made in my energy level.  I feel really good.
Gabe is just too cute.  He says the funniest things.  He often calls BJ "honey" or "buddy".  It cracks me up.  He also occasionally calls us by our first names, which is also funny (for now).  He has a slight lisp that is cute and he has some trouble saying certain short words, like "green", but has no problem pronouncing "dinosaur".  He loves Luke, and Luke obviously loves him.
Sometimes it is hard to nurse Luke because he just wants to watch what Gabe is doing.  He is very entertained by Gabriel's antics.  Luke is a smiley baby.  He takes great naps but is not doing so great at sleeping at night.  We need to figure something out to help him sleep better.  It has been hard because he has been sick for a couple of weeks, so we have a smiley but somewhat grumpy baby.  It is kind of a bummer to not be able to use medicine to help him, but some of the things that have helped us make him more comfortable are the humidifier, "Little Noses" saline drops to thin those nasal secretions, letting him sleep in his padded carseat (it keeps him more upright, which makes breathing easier), and The Nose Frida (a kind of weird but very effective tool for aspirating baby noses).  Luke hates tummy time.  He doesn't cry any more, he just rolls over onto his back as many times as I put him on his stomach.  He is getting stronger.  He can almost sit up without help- well, he can already do it, but not for very long.  It's kinda hard to do when your body is in the 20-30th percentile for height and weight and your head is in the 90th percentile, you know?  Haha.  Luke loves playing peekaboo and snuggling with anyone who will hold him.  His cousin Marissa had him laughing hysterically last night at our family Halloween party (thanks, Danielle and Kirk for putting that together!) just by talking to him in a cutesy voice and pointing out things on his and her costume.  I love how cuddly Luke is right now.  He is also very grabby and wants to put everything in his mouth!  He has been teething like crazy.  He has two bottom teeth which came in a few weeks ago.  He will be 6 months old in a few days. 

We took some pictures of the boys in BJ's parents' photo studio.  BJ did a great job photographing them.  Gabe knows the drill for picture taking.  Luke was tired and on the verge of tears the whole time, but did pretty well too.



Love those boys!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I posted this on my craft blog earlier this month, and it occurred to me that I should post it here too, so here it is, read on if you have a minute:


I have posted about breast cancer before, but as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the information bears repeating, I am reposting.  A part of my life that I don't really share here is that I am a public health nurse, and I work in a women's clinic where I do breast cancer screening and education. Consequently, I have come to feel strongly about early detection/ screening and being aware of your body. I hope you will take a minute to read/ review and maybe make a few changes in your life if necessary.

Breast cancer is a frightening disease. Most women fear that they or someone they love will get it. Our fears may or may not be well- founded, but they are made worse when we hear statistics like:

• Over 40,000 people will die of breast cancer this year; about 400 of them will be men.

• 85% of all diagnoses have no family history.

• 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. (Source: http://www.breastcancerawareness.com/facts.php )

Unfortunately, not all risk factors are things you can prevent, but here are a few things that can help you lower your risk of breast cancer:

• Exercise and make wholesome food choices.  Make an effort to maintain a healthy weight.

• Limit alcohol intake and smoking.

• Be aware of your family history. Talk to your doctor if breast cancer is in your family. This may affect the recommendations your doctor has for you.

• If you are approaching menopause, evaluate with your doctor whether hormone replacement is necessary for you or not. (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/)

In addition, set aside a few minutes each month to do a breast self- exam. Women, if you are at least 20 years old, you should be doing this (as well as getting an exam at the doctor’s office once a year)! I know you may feel uncomfortable, or it may be difficult to remember, but do whatever you have to do to remind yourself! Put a note or sticker somewhere you will see it, or choose to do it on your birthday- date each month. If you are at least 40 years old, you need a mammogram every 1-2 years (every year after age 50). Men, please encourage the women in your lives to do this- it may save their life. When breast cancers are detected early, women have an excellent chance of survival.  If you need a reminder on how to do a self- exam, check out this link that has step- by- step instructions: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/About-Breast-Cancer/What-Is-Breast-Cancer/Breast-Self-Exam.aspx

I like to tell the women I screen that doing a breast self exam isn't really about following a rigid set of instructions or searching for cancer.  Thinking of it that way can cause anxiety that may cause you to avoid even thinking about it.  I recommend being aware of your body- becoming familiar with what is normal for you.  Think of it as a way to have peace of mind.  If you do notice a change, whether it be a lump, a change in color or texture of the skin on your breast, a change in shape or appearance of any part of the breast, or anything out of the ordinary that persists and doesn't resolve, you should have it checked immediately by a health professional.

As women, we so often put all of our energy into taking care of other people that we fail to take care of ourselves.  If you are not making your own health a priority, please consider that you can best care for those you love by keeping yourself healthy and, well, alive.  What I'm saying is that there really isn't any good excuse for not giving your health the attention it deserves.

If money or lack of insurance/ underinsurance is an issue, there are programs that offer free or low cost mammograms to women over 40 each year if you meet certain income requirements. The clinic I work at is one of these programs, and there are programs like this all over the U.S. You can check out the CDC’s website to find out if you qualify.

OK- one more thing. Take a minute to check out this video. It is about a type of rare but highly dangerous form of breast cancer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) in which there may not be a "lump", but rather changes in the outward appearance of the breast.  This can affect women of all ages, so even if you are not 40 years old yet, check it out, okay?

Happy Birthday BJ!

So happy to celebrate this day with you!  You are a wonderful husband and a great dad!

My "helper" Gabriel

Here are some of the things Gabe has done today to be helpful:

Doing dishes.

Entertaining Luke.

Feeding the monkey to keep him happy.

Good thing I have a son who does so much to help me (and make me laugh)!

Gabe stuff :-D

Gabe is at such a fun (and busy) age.  I admit sometimes I feel like pulling out my hair when I just can't seem to keep up with his energy on the days that he just runs from one thing to the next (i.e. this week when he sat on Luke, then poured a cup of water on the couch, dumped a box of cereal out onto the floor trying to get a snack, grabbed at the hot oven when it was open and barely escaped getting burned, climbed up on a kitchen chair to wipe his hands on the painting in the dining room, filled his diaper basket with Legos, balanced on the seat of his tricycle to push buttons on the television, climbed up on top of the entertainment center.... the list could go on and on...).  By and large though, he is very happy and fairly obedient for a 2 year old, and we seem to have gotten past the stage where he said "no" to everything automatically.  He rarely throws a tantrum when he has to stop playing to eat, or have a diaper change, but he sometimes does throw a fit if we try to take away his toy monkey while he eats.  He does on occasion have to go to time out, which is sometimes in the crib, and usually he will start yelling "happy!  happy!" to let us know he is ready to be happy and get out of time out.  He also sometimes says that in the morning after waking up- I think he is a little confused sometimes about why he is in bed.  He is communicating so much better, speaking in short sentences, and trying so hard to enunciate.  He has a very unique way of pronouncing some things:

Grandma is Ma-hmah
Grandpa is Bappa
Gabe is Babe
Marissa- Sassa
Cara- Caca
Collin- Lollin
Flower- Hlah-hlow
Geek- drink
Nannich- sandwich
Ice hmeam- Ice cream
Ded- red
Neen- green
Lue- blue
Puh-po- purple
Eh-hlent- elephant
Key-key- monkey and blankie
Mah-hmoom- vacuum

Gabe says so many other words, and for the most part they sound just like you would expect- normal pronunciation- and he is stringing more and more of them together.  He is learning to pray, and he is starting to anticipate what to say a little bit.  He really enjoys praying.  Gabe also does pretty good at saying please and thank you. I often remind him to say thank you, and one day after I had him pick up some books that he scattered all over the room, he said "Mommy, thank you Gabe!"

Gabe sings a lot.  He loves to sing "Baby Beluga", the alphabet song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)", and a few others that he sings on his own during the day.  He also likes to sing along with us for "I am a Child of God", "Heavenly Father Loves Me", "Little Red Caboose", "How Much is That Doggy in the Window", "Jesus Said Love Everyone", "Jesus Once Was a Little Child", "Jesus Loves Me This I Know", and a bunch of other ones.

Gabe likes to point out colors, body parts, objects in the room, people in pictures, and foods.  He loves dancing.  He likes to try to count, usually saying "One, two, three... six!  EIGHT! Nine, nine, TEN!"  He knows his name and that he is two years old.

Gabe also recognizes the way to go to Grandma and Grandpa T's house.  He gets very excited in the car when we get close, and when we arrive, he is shouting "Ma-mah's house! Bappa's house! Yay!" and he runs into their house saying "Hey!"  He loves to grab his Grandma's hand and pull her out of the kitchen, into the family room, down onto the couch, and look at a doggy snow globe with her, or play with the stuffed dog and bear puppet that he has been fascinated with for about a year.

Gabe is tickled and gets so wound up when Marissa or Cara come over to visit. He is just beside himself with glee, and he runs around, jumps, screams, squeals, laughs hysterically, and generally makes a ton of noise at the attention and tickling he gets from them. 

Gabe loves giving hugs, playing with buttons and anything that is mechanical or technological. He loves being outside, going to nursery (finally!) at church, reading books, Thomas the Tank Engine, visiting with family, and looking at animals and things in nature.  Gabe really loves his monkey.  He carries it around for hours, puts it in the high chair, the baby swing, the bouncer chair etc.

Family Pictures

We took a drive up the canyon yesterday and really enjoyed the changing colors of the leaves- brilliant reds and yellows mixed in with the greens.  Gabe loved being up there.  We took pictures right before we left, so the kids weren't too thrilled at that point, but I think we got a few good ones.  Here are some of my favorites. All photos were taken by BJ's dad, Ron.