H-A-M

It is pretty common for Dave to hear me say, "Do you know what he did today?" about L and "Do you know what he said today?' about J! L is full of tricks, some to get our attention and others that get our attention because he looks so stinkin' cute doing them! One thing that always makes us laugh is when he will put something in his mouth like his sock or toy rings and let it hang out of his mouth while he is playing. I guess he is biting them--I really am not sure, yet! He loves to pull hair or grab anything within his reach, so watch out!!! The new thing that he does to strangers, usually women and for some reason--young, pretty women, is bat his eyes when they talk to him. A few ladies have commented that he is flirting with them. It is hilarious! Other times, he will act like he is giving a kiss or maybe he is trying to eat the person's face, who knows with this guy! He did that to my mom yesterday! The other night, he saw J's teacher and immediately wanted to go to her, eat her fingers, and was so excited just to have her talking to him! Did I mention that he LOVES his mommy??? Oh yes, he is a mommy's boy, but he DOES get excited to see Daddy, too!

Soccer with the Family

Yesterday, we had such a fun day! My parents came to see us and brought our two nephews and my sister. We didn't tell Jackson until Sunday morning, because we knew he would continue to ask about them! So, we told him on Sunday morning that after church they would be coming to see us.

When he saw them for the first time yesterday, J was soooo excited! I took pictures of them playing soccer with J. Aunt Steph gave him a soccer goal and ball for Christmas. He had never played soccer other than kicking the ball at school. He loved it, but it was mostly because they were playing with him! He LOVES to play with his cousins, David and John, and they are good about playing with him even though he is much younger!

The Mirror

Luke has discovered he loves the same toy mirror that Jackson loved as a baby! It may sound sorta silly, but this sweet toy is special--Aunt Jen gave it to Jackson. She saw it and thought he would like it for Christmas. He did love it, and now his little brother does, too!


J-7 mos.
L-7 mos.

Oh My, He's a Wild Man!

For 7 mos., Luke has been swaddled to go to sleep. We are at the point where we HAVE to stop this habit! He doesn't love BEING swaddled, but once he is swaddled, he LOVES it! He sleeps so well and what parent really wants to give up their sleep?!?! He also has to sleep in his bouncer, because he can turn over in the swaddling blanket in the crib. One of my friends said they swaddled for 8 mos., but L is NOW climbing out of his bouncer in the blanket. He is forcing us to stop swaddling him!

Last night, he slept from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m. without being swaddled, BUT he was exhausted from only one nap. He will only nap about 1.5 hrs. w/o being swaddled...work in progress! Here he is working his magic...

Giggles and Whines

I have one little guy who is all smiles and another one who does not feel well! The only good thing about a sick child is they give Mommy LOTS of snuggle time. I think I had both boys well for a whole three days! L even got shots this week but didn't skip a beat. I thought we were on a well streak! My little J usually bounces back quickly so here's hoping.

A Little Rejoicing

This morning Luke woke up babbling b's and m's! It is amazing how such a simple sound can bring two parents so much joy! Dave and I have been praying that our baby boy would follow a typical path of development. We were watching and waiting for Luke's coos to turn into babbles with consonant sounds! We have loved the sweet coos, the "eh" response when we say "hey", the razzes, and even the shouts to get our attention. True music to our ears was this morning when we heard "mamamamama" coming from his crib and later "bababababa". Even more special was that within the last few days we were talking about the fact that L needed to start making some consonant sounds even though the pediatrician assured us that the fact that he is making sounds at all is great. With that being said, if we have another child with apraxia, we won't be devastated but what parent doesn't want all of their children to develop typically??? There are many families who only have one child with the disorder, but there are plenty of families who have more than one. The cause is somewhat unknown, but there is a genetic component in some kids. On this day, we are rejoicing in the simple sounds Luke gave us!



Both of these boys are accomplishing so much! Yesterday, J and I were up in the bonus room which I have somewhat converted into a little OT room/gym for Jackson. Basically, it has an easel, tunnel, table & chairs, rice bin, trampoline, etc. The root of apraxia is motor planning--motor planning speech movements, motor planning ideas, motor planning whole body movements, and so on. One way you address it is through obstacle courses. You set it up, and the child has to motor plan as he navigates through it. I have done these with Jackson at home using the tunnel, rings, bean bags, pillows, whatever I can find. Yesterday, while I was folding clothes, I watched him out the corner of my eye set up a very simple obstacle course that we have done together. This is HUGE for him, because he had to remember the sequence, a difficulty for many kids with a motor planning problem! After he set it up, I gave him one prompt to navigate through it. He carried it out! Whoa! So proud of him! The OT told me this would happen for him after a few times of me directing it, and I saw the beginning of it today.

Playtime

We had such a great, LONG weekend together as a family of four! Today was probably the most relaxing...for me, at least! :) Dave worked on putting the boys' swing set together, and J "helped" him. I looked out there at one point and Dave was working hard all while J was busy playing ball & doing army crawls down the hill in our backyard. I guess a little guy can only help for so long! L happily entertained himself with some of his new toys. I got to just watch him play a little. He is starting to really explore his toys and will go after ones out of his reach if he really likes it. The guy knows what he wants! Here he is today checking out his new piggy bank.



He is such a mess by the end of the day!!!

The EARS

Take a look back at J at 6 mos., the same age as L when he took his first Disney trip...

Making Luke's Ears



Making Jackson's ears-2008




Now
Then

Disney Fun

The day after Christmas we left for DISNEY! This was Jackson's 4th visit there and Luke's first, of course! We had been telling J about going to Disney World, and the night before we left we reminded him about our trip. The next morning I asked him where we were going before he even had a chance to remind us. The first thing out of his mouth before thinking--Mickey World...Disney World! So funny! Some of J's favorite characters are: Buzz and Woody, Mickey, Donald and the rest of the gang. He was so excited about going to their house!! Another exciting part of this trip was that J was tall enough to ride most rides, and he was willing to try every one. We would laugh because on some of the rides that were not necessarily just for kids we could tell that he was a little uneasy. There were even some that scared him a little, because stuff came right out at him. Mommy forgot that a friend warned her about this! He was a champ, though. Still, he would get off every single time like he wasn't scared at all. He would say, "Fun, yea, whoo". We would ask him if he wanted to go again, and he would tell us no-no! I guess he had to pretend he was super tough! We are pretty sure his favorite rides were Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear, though! Here's a look at our week...

J's first ride on test track...loved it! Cold morning in Disney!!














Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground



Eating in Mexico



Watching the train and listening to Mickey greet and welcome us to the Magic Kingdom



Early Opening at Magic Kingdom


Pirates of the Carribean







Character Breakfast

Donald still remains his FAVORITE!





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Guess who went down the BIG water slide by HIMSELF?!?! He started out on his bottom but was on his tummy by the time he got to the bottom. So brave!




Nothing like the love of little boys...especially at Disney World