San Diego

In case you are wondering where I have been...I've moved in with my mom for a little bit. My internet access is limited mostly by the fact that I have been chasing two kiddos around a house that is not child proof. It's been draining, but fun.

I've had lots of story worthy moments, but no time to document them, so here's a quick overview:

Jack has taken his first step (7 months) and almost has his first tooth. I can see it, but it hasn't broken the skin. He says "Hi" and waves, he says Mamamama when I leave the room, he says dada when Lucas is here, and he calls his Uncle Nick "Nana".

Dean is working on his molars and talks nonstop. He narrates his every move and says all kinds of funny stuff that I can't remember right now. He loves the beach, enjoys story hour at the library, and was recently on TV with a baseball player from the San Diego Padres.

Lucas is working in Canada for 15 days on and 6 days off. We miss him and can't wait for the Canada job to end.

For My own Purposes

When I took Jack to the doctor last Friday I found out that he is of course tall for his age and doing well with the eating. I was shocked to find that he had a double ear infection. OUCH! I am totally posting this here so that I can go back through my logs later on and count when the doctors start asking me how many ear infections he's had. With Dean I always stared at them and started trying to count. I had lost count after the 5th I think, then I'd get confused. With Jack, I hope I can always tell them 2. Cause that's how many he's had.

Say a Little Prayer...or a GREAT BIG one

Please, please pray for baby Zoey (almost a month old) and her family (my good friends). She got a fever yesterday and is being sent by helicopter to another better equipped hospital as I type. So far, the doctors have found some trouble with her kidneys.

Slow Down Jackety!

Ok, so I posted about Jack's new sitting up and a few days later he added a few stunts. He was already doing the army crawl, though it was backwards. Now he crawls and can pull himself into a standing up position. Kiddo's only 6 months old. If he's standing, doesn't that mean walking's just around the corner? I hope it's a long 4 monthsish corner.

Dean and I are still potty training. Now we're on hard core. Today we were sitting on the potty when he pulled this cardboard roll onto his lap and the toilet lid to lean against his back. "I'm Dora!" he declared, "see my packpack? Dis my eyegass" Great kid! Now pee already so we can go "explore" the livingroom or back yard OR SOMETHING, I thought to myself. Also, because I'm into trying tricks for better sleeping and now potty training (mostly to entertain myself), I tossed a Cherrio into the and told him to pee on it. He did. Then he looked at me with a haunted and horrified expression and exclaimed, "Those are for eating, Mop!" Oh dear. Bad Mop, bad!

And then these two pictures. The top one is Dean at about 4 1/2 or 5 months, the bottom is Jack at 6 months.

Great Posture (5 months)

Jack has learned to sit up all by himself during the past few weeks. He's also been waking up at various points of the night to "practice". His super excited expression when he succeeds makes the all nighters worth it. Isn't he a cutie? 

He has a thing or two to teach his Mop about great posture.

Precious Sleep

Any of you who have read my blog during the past 2 years know that my eldest son has difficulty with sleep (falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking peacefully from sleep). For the past 3 weeks or so, I have been able to help him fall asleep without any hourly screaming sessions. No I have not been sitting with him or driving him around until he finally drifts off. We've just found a system the two of us.

Now nap time has been a different story. My guess is that this is in part because I only do the naptime bit with him on weekends. All other days he takes naps at daycare. Today Dean had a particularly difficult time. When he all was finally quiet, I sent Lucas in to cover Dean with some blankets. Here's how he found him...in corner of the closet. A little bit funny, and a little bit sad. Ok, mostly funny. I had to leave the room quickly so that I didn't wake him up with my laughter.

Also, here's the new addition for my momma's garden. She has a stepping stone for every grandchild, or will when I finally mail this one. The wet section in the middle is his footprint. Hard to tell in the photo

A Birthday Cake

Ok, so one more funny story with Dean's speech and Lucas' lack of understanding.

Lucas has never been able to REALLY understand what Dean is saying which leaves me translating a lot. I know that I've got a mother's ear for kid speak and so it's easier for me to figure out what it is that Dean is trying to communicate.

Last weekend we had another married couple over for Lucas' birthday. Seresh is from India and Preetha is from Sri Lanka, so they both have heavy accents, call things by different names, and can sometimes be difficult to understand. 

It was after we'd eaten dinner and Lucas was pulling his cake out to cut. No I don't usually make him prepare his own cake for his birthday, but I had already started my current crutch bearing state. The conversation went something like this.

Dean: Dad! I want some cake.

Wow, I thought, That was very clear! He even got all of the sounds in each word.

Lucas: What?

Me: You couldn't understand him or you just need him to repeat it because you didn't catch it?

Lucas: (waves arms wildly for emphasis) Who can understand THAT?! I mean really!

Seresh: (in thick Indian accent) Lucas, I think he said he wants some cake.

HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, I died of laughter. Preetha did too.

A special note: When Lucas went to go get his cake from our favorite bakery, they only had a pink one left. He forgot to get candles though, so Lucas, Dean, and Seresh made a run to the store. They came back with the pink breast cancer balloon for Dean. Seresh thought it went well with the cake.