As much as I like to think you enjoy reading about Evan and I, I'm acutely aware that it is our wonderful children that are the highlight of these blogs. I wanted to take some time and post about what each of them are up to these days. Despite life's hectic pace, we are so enjoying every minute we are together as a family and can't wait to see what life has in store for us the remainder of this year!
Jane:
Well, where do I really start. Jane still remains our smiling, sweet, independent, first-born...with a little twist. Turning 2 has brought about glimpses of those ever-feared Terrible Twos, but in her most genuine form, Jane continues to show us how big of a heart she has!
Here are a few things rolling around in Jane's world these days:
- Jane started speech therapy in March, and what an amazing blessing this has been for all of us. She has rapidly improved on the number of words she says, and the clarity of what she is trying to say is remarkable! Being with Jane during her speech therapy sessions is truly the highlight of my week. I love watching her interact with our therapist and literally try to make her mouth say/form the words. NOW, that being said, this newfound freedom with words has also brought about a bit of a rebellious side. The word "NO" has somehow found it's way to the top of the vocabulary list and she is testing our patience with every defiant moment. Her most favorite phrase these days? "No, Mommy, I do it." She also attended the Summer Speech program at Columbia Elementary school 2 days a week during June and she enjoyed that as well, namely the Dixie cup of treats at the end of each day. She is finished with her speech therapy and remarkable that just 3 1/2 months ago she had 5 words in her vocabulary, and now is probably well over 200!
- Her independent nature is taking on a whole new meaning. With her potty training nearly complete, her speech rapidly improving, and the world's strongest will, Jane wakes up every day set to conquer the world. She insists on doing everything herself. She has to take off her pj's, she has to get dressed, she has to get into her seat, she has to buckle herself into her carseat....the list goes on and on. If at any moment, one of us forgets and accidentally performs some act for her that she clearly would like to do herself, she repeats the entire sequence again, in essence so that she can start it all over and do it herself. Of the fits that we have seen her throw in the last 4 months, 98% of them started with someone accidentally doing something SHE wanted to do herself and she can't recover. She runs around shouting, "I", "I", "I do it!". It's exhausting, but yet, someone once reminded me that having a strong-willed child isn't a bad thing. (Right, mom?)
- Jane continues to love books of all kind. Her new favorites are the Little Critter books and the Berenstain Bears. Her favorite number is 5 (and one of the only ones she can say), so every time we ask her if she wants to read a book, she holds out her hand and says "5". She still loves puzzles and stickers (meticulously placing stickers in their correct location, and insists on doing specific puzzles alone), but her love of books and the park are quickly taking over. The nice weather we've been having has fostered an absolute obsession for going to the park and being outside. She loves bubbles and running around in our driveway.
- Jane has mastered the art of pedaling, and even does it in the air when not even on a bike/tricycle. She loves "cruising" in our cul-de-sac and every neighbor loves watching her obsessively pedal. We've held off just yet on a real 2-wheeler for her, but we did get a bike trailer for Evan's bike and we have enjoyed riding our bikes to the nearby park a couple of nights a week. The kids absolutely love it.
- Jane's favorites: Teddy (still), Dora, "Tookies", swimming, slides at the park, reading books before bed, "2 songs, 5 songs" before bed, yogurt with graham cracker crumbles, and in general anything new and exciting life has to offer!
It is hard for us to believe that Luke is almost 18 months old - he has grown so quickly and it feels like time is moving faster these days. Luke is one solid boy, weighing as much as Jane and just about 2 inches shorter than her. He has meaty little hands and feet, and has the lightest, prettiest eyes you'll ever see, with the world's longest eyelashes to boot. He remains on the more reserved and shy side, clinging to one of us in a new setting or new crowd. Here are some of the things Luke has been up to these days:
- Luke LOVES to eat, and will destroy his plate of food in less than 5 minutes - no exaggeration. Not surprising still as he's always been this way, but there is no messing around when it comes to eating. If it were nutritionally (is that a word?) and humanly possible, Luke would prefer to eat only bananas. He loves bananas and would eat one at every meal if we let him (we don't). He loves blackberries and strawberries too, and is just now really trying out his hand at feeding himself. He prefers the hand-shoveling method over utensils, which I don't mind as much as Evan. I think I can visibly see the anxiety overtake Evan when I let Luke eat with his fingers....
- He is talking so much, just really brought on in the last 2 weeks - he can say momma, da-da, mower (he loves watching Evan mow the lawn), DOR (Dora), up, all done, Pa-Pa, Bob (Great-Grandpa Bob) and more each day! (Dreadfully, including "i do it".)
- Luke has just started to love reading books, especially the little Dr. Suess board books. He walks to the shelf and pulls off 3-4 and goes and sits by himself for at least 20 minutes and flips through the pages. His new favorite subject (and word) is DOG and he is obsessed. I fear a canine may be in our future soon....
- His favorite thing to play with is still balls of any kind - golf balls (he loves to see how many he can pick up), mini basketballs, squishy balls, rubber balls....you get the point. He even thinks the buoys in the lake are balls, which are primarily the only things that keep him entertained during boat rides.
- Up until about 3 weeks ago, he only had FOUR teeth! Poor kid is working with a mouthful of swollen gums, and 2 more teeth finally popped through, 1 on top and 1 on bottom. No molars yet, I'm sure that will be a real picnic!
- Despite the fact that he loves to snuggle and be held, Luke is ALL BOY and has absolutely no fear - something that terrifies me. He will throw himself face-first into the water in the bath or pool, take a step off of a relatively high stair, pick up huge/heavy objects and try to carry them around, plummet off our bed, etc. We predict he will have the first broken bone of the family...
- Luke's favorites: his white blankie, his milk cup, reading books, slides at the park, dumping water into and out of the pool for hours, riding on his scooter in the driveway, watching cars/trucks go by, running away from Jane, and being snuggled.
