Souvenirs

What did the boys pick out from the gift shop at the Truman Presidential Library?

I'm glad you asked.

Lex picked out a little replica of the replica of the Liberty Bell that we saw.  (Yeah, I know, what is he going to buy when we visit the real Liberty Bell in Philadelphia?)  It's a working bell, and he said that he was going to use it to train Tik.  Then he changed his mind, and said that he was going to put it by his bed, so he could ring it and I would know that he wanted his breakfast in bed.  Then he changed his mind again, and he put it with our little village of souvenir buildings. Which is fine by me.  That whole breakfast-in-bed-at-the-ring-of-a-bell thing was a little sketchy, in my opinion.

Connor picked out a coloring book.  Which is amazing!  I am finally getting him to color!  I *heart* coloring, and my children, well, they have always been reluctant color-ers.  Which has been breaking my Crayola-loving heart.  But that seems to be changing!

This coloring book is awesome, because Connor loves the presidents, and he has been fascinated by their pets since we saw an exhibit about presidential pets when we were at the George W. Bush library last December.  For the record, some of the presidents have had some strange animals at the while house.

I also think that he picked it out because he is currently working on two of these types of coloring books already.

We are learning all about the Greek Gods and Heroes and myths this summer while we are learning Greek.  We are also reading the Percy Jackson series of books.  He usually picks a God, and I read to him the page about the God in this book, and then he colors the picture that goes with it while I am reading a chapter out of Percy Jackson.

Sidebar:  Connor and Lex demand that the third Percy Jackson book be made into a movie already!

The other coloring book that we are already working on is this one about pirates.  We did a unit study on pirates this summer, because summer=pirates, and also because we read the Magic Tree House Book #4:  Pirates Past Noon.

I really like the Magic Tree House books because there are two books on each topic.  One is the fictional story, and the other is a nonfiction companion that covers the related topic.  Book one was about dinosaurs, book two was about medieval knights and castles, and book three was about Ancient Egypt and the mummies.  We did an entire unit study for each one of these topics this past school year.  We are currently getting ready to read the fifth books in the series, Night of the Ninjas (the fiction book) and the Ninjas and Samurai Fact Tracker (nonfiction companion).

What Connor didn't know when he picked out another Dover Coloring Book at the gift shop was that I have already bought a few more for this coming school year.

One is going to be used for our United States geography and history lessons:

And this slimmer volume is going to go with it:

And, finally, it is high time that the boys learn the sign language alphabet.  It drives me crazy when I am trying to finger spell a word to one of them as a secret message and they don't get it.  I have been trying to get Kevin and the boys to learn it for years now, but it's time that they actually do.  And this book has a few signs for each letter as well.

Because secret messages are cool.  And they can come in handy when you need them.

15 Month Well-Check: Lex Edition

Today we went to the doctor for Lex's 15 month well-baby visit.

Okay, let's back up for a second. First we had to leave the house, and that was an event all of its own.

I was all ready to leave the house to go to the doctor and arrive just a little bit early. It was 9:25 am. I had my coat on. Connor had his coat on. I picked Lex up to put his coat on and discovered that he had a stink in his diaper.

So I took Lex upstairs and changed him. While I was putting his coat on, Connor announced that he had to go poop. Just like that, by the way. So, he took off his coat and went to the bathroom.

Then, for some reason (such as I have ticked off the demi-god of timely arrivals), Connor got his pants and shirt and underpants all wet. So, I had to fetch him some clean clothes and get him changed and then put his shoes and coat back on.

Finally, I could buckle the boys into the car and start it up. It was now 9:55, and we had to be all the way across town in 15 minutes. In the snow. Not going to happen.

So, we arrived to the doctor's office five minutes late (not bad at all in my book, considering what we had been through), and I get us all checked in. Just as the nurse calls Lex's name for his appointment, I notice a stink. From his diaper. Again.

We weighed him and measured his height then, with him stinking it up all the while. And just FYI, those little examination rooms don't air out quickly. I changed his diaper while we were waiting for the doctor, and wouldn't ya know it, but as soon as the doctor walked in, Connor announced that he had to go potty. Again.

What did I do to deserve this? I had the nurse walk Connor to the potty. The doctor asked me if he could go in there by himself, and I answered that he could. He can do it at home (this morning excepted, of course). After a few minutes, the nurse came to get me, though, because Connor was all wet. Again.

Lex did most of his 15 month check-up all by himself, as I had to go to the bathroom and fetch Connor and change his clothes. Again.

But, the good news is that Lex looks healthy. He is ahead of his class (so to speak) with his gross motor skills. He is walking, running and can climb both up and down the stairs (as well as on top of various household objects). The doctor said that she wanted him to be talking more by his 18 month check up. I think that as long as he keeps expanding his vocabularly, he should definitely be talking more by then.

As it is now, he oftentimes spouts out entire sentences that he expects me to understand, and I can only pick up a word or two. So I know that he wants to communicate with me. He just needs a little practice. He's also picking up the sign language like crazy. (Newest favorite sign? Please. Which to him means, "I want it really badly.")

Vital Statistics:

Height: 33.5 inches
Weight: 26 lbs 4 oz

I have no idea what percentile those figures fall in, because unfortunately, I had to go to get Connor in the potty at that moment, and forgot to ask.

Lex is 15 Months Old!

Today is a milestone day for Lex. He is 15 months old today!

Here are some of his newest milestone accomplishments:

Tonight when I was rocking him to sleep, he started to pretend snore. Funny, but you can't fool me!

He points at Daddy in the photos around the house, and says, "Dada." I think he misses him while he is at work.

He picks up my cell phone, holds it up to his ear, and says, "Hello. Hello!" Then he usually asks me to call, "Dada." See above statement about missing Daddy during the day.

He loves to brush his teeth. He loves to turn off the light switches. He loves hats.

Oh, your beach hat doesn't quite go with your polar bear fleece outfit?
Just put a fleece hat on top of it!

He can also say a bunch of words now, like dog, remote, go, hello, no, dada, mama, and Connor.

He's really catching onto the signs, as well. His newest one is hat. He is also getting good at the one for music. He loves to dance; whenever he hears a good song you'll find him bopping along. Or spinning in circles until he falls down laughing.

Weaning the Baby/Toddler

Lex really isn't a baby anymore. He's already a year old, and the kid runs and jumps around the house just like Connor. Okay, almost just like Connor.

To be honest, he is more of a toddler. Except for one tiny little thing.

He is still nursing.

Connor quit nursing of his own choosing when he was 11 months old. He was done. I wasn't, and that was a struggle for me. But, Connor was happy, so in the end, I was as well.

I was especially happy after I decided to be done with it, too, as I kept on trying to nurse and pumped for about another month after Connor was finished. Once every little bottle we had was full in the freezer, I got out my white flag and declared what Connor had declared weeks before. He was weaned.

Of course, this time is different. Lex is happy to nurse still. He doesn't want milk often, just before bed (around 7:00 PM) and again in the morning (sometime between 3:00 and 5:00 AM - don't worry, he goes back to sleep again until around 9:00). Every once in a while, he'll ask for milk just before or after his afternoon nap. In those cases, though, it's more of a demand. He signs for milk and then starts pawing at my shirt. He practically flashed my goods to everyone in a restaurant last week when he was overtired and trying to get my shirt off.

I had been considering weaning him before he was 18 months old, just because that seems like a good age. I know I don't want to fight with him about it during the holidays, so I am definitely planning on waiting until after that.

But part of me just wants to let him quit on his own terms and timing. Except I don't want to be nursing him at his second birthday party.

And then Connor, Kevin and I all came down with the flu last weekend. It was brutal. But Lex didn't get it. Neither did my in laws or my dad, who all had gotten the flu shot. Nana and Uncle Kris, who did not get the flu shot, also caught it. To summarize, if you didn't get the shot, you got sick. Except Lex. He stayed healthy and happy, and I credit that to the antibodies from my milk. It was like his own flu shot, but without the anitfreeze or whatever else they put in those things.

So now, I'm completely conflicted again. And still nursing the tyke. And considering getting a flu shot. (I know I'm definitely going to get one next October!)

Lex is 9 Months Old!

Well, Lex and I have now known each other for 18 months, 9 with him inside, and 9 with him on the outside. (No, I'm not going to be super technical on the dates here. Just a general statement.)

Anyways, it's been a good time. We like each other. And we are happy.


See that smile? No one can deny that he is a happy baby. And just looking at his smile makes me happy. Happiness is contagious.


Lex is also becoming very loud and expressive. He has understood the concept behind our sign language for quite some time now, and he has understood our signs. But he has been a little lacking in dexterity, so most of his signs all looked the same for a long time. However, that is changing! He can point now, and clearly sign for milk, more, cookie, diaper change and play. He's also doing that super cute thing babies do where they lift up their arms when they want picked up.


His fourth tooth came in, so now he leaves nice even bite marks when he bites me. He only seems to bite me, usually on the arm or shoulder when he is hungry and I am taking too long to feed him. Although, he has bitten Connor once when they were playing, and Daddy's toe one time, when they were playing. It seems that he thinks biting is appropriate during rough-housing.


His new favorite things are cell phones, remotes and laptops. Oh, he cries so pitifully when he can't have them. He just wants all the cool fun toys that Mommy and Daddy play with.


He's also really doing well with his gross motor skills. He can pull himself up from sitting to standing, and he is cruising along our furniture quite well. He also does well walking when he can hold your hand. He has let go a few times and just stood there, but he hasn't taken those first steps yet.

He is actually closer to walking than crawling - but he does get around on the floor. He rolls and pulls himself across the floor like a wiggle worm. He puts both arms out in front of him, and then just tugs his body behind. It's actually more effective than it sounds, and he is very quick!

Finally, our at home measurements:

Height: 28.5 in
Weight: 21 lbs 13 oz

Which is pretty much the same as last month.

Just in time for Fathers' Day

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is official. Lex's first word is "Dada." Score one point for Kevin!

Bonus points if you can guess where we were when I shot this video!

Eight Months

Lex is eight months old. Eight is my favorite number. Woot!

This is going to be a good month.

He has three teeth now. He woke up with the top front right tooth on Monday morning earlier this week. I think that the top front left tooth is going to be coming in soon. Any day now. I am happy that he is such an easy teether. He really doesn't complain that much when he is getting a new tooth.

All of the sudden, Lex is all about the baby sign language. He picked up on the sign for "milk" a while ago, and then he started flapping his right wrist around whenever he wanted something (mostly to be picked up and fed or held). Then he got better at his hand movements, and now he can sign for "cookie," "cereal" and "more." He's also clapping and waving. I'm super excited. It's great to be able to communicate with him.


Here are the results of our at-home, super-scientific measurements for this month:

Weight: 21 lbs 10 oz (exactly one pound more than last month)

Height: 28.5 inches

If I am remembering correctly, we'll be going back to see the doctor for a well baby visit in about a month, so we should get some doctor-approved measurements again then.

I'm Glad we Taught Connor Sign Language

When we were in the car driving up to the Cleveland area on Wednesday, Connor did something really impressive from the back seat and made me comment to Kevin, "I'm so glad that we taught Connor sign language."

I can't remember exactly what it was that he said, but he had put together some words and signs in a new way, and I remember thinking how complex it was. (Darn me for forgetting what it was already!)

Anyway, I've long believed that babies who learn to sign learn to speak more quickly and have a larger vocabulary. I read an article this morning that said that this even applies to toddlers who gesture and point more. You can read the article for yourself here.

Connor is a Sign Language Whiz Kid

Connor is so good at sign language.

Sometimes I will show him a sign, but not really commit it to memory. He is so good at learning the signs that he will commit it to memory and use it later (sometimes much, much later), and then I will have to try to figure out what he is talking about. Since he doesn't always mimic the signs exactly, this is sometimes difficult. But, I usually figure it out, even if it takes an hour or more for it to come to me.

The fact of the matter is that Connor would learn so much more sign language if I knew more. I've been trying to increase my sign language vocabulary, and he's picking it right up. I gave his favorite daycare teacher, Nancy, a 10 minute tutorial in some of his new signs yesterday, and we will probably do it again this afternoon.

Here are some of the signs that we use most often (and I'm sure that I will probably forget to list some):

milk
drink
eat
more
banana
water
cheerios
all done
car
keys
on
off
piano
play
bird
airplane
dance
baby
music
up
down
diaper
change
bath
moose
socks
shoes
hat
hot
blow on it
thank you
you're welcome
please
bye-bye
come with me
back up
stop
yes
no
medicine
pain/hurt
sleep
microwave
ball
dance
fall down
jump
spoon
fork
fish

Connor also makes signs up sometimes. He has made up a sign for coloring - he waves his fist around as if he had a crayon in it and was coloring on paper.

My personal favorite sign that he uses right now is baby, because he says "baby" out loud while making the sign and it is the cutest thing ever.

My mother in law confessed to me this weekend that she had been afraid that Connor wouldn't start talking because of all the sign language that he knows. This hasn't been the case at all. When he makes the sign for spoon, he always tries to say "spoon." It sounds like "poon."

My favorite word that he knows (but we haven't ever learned the sign for) is "cheese." He loves cheese! He kept asking the waitress for more cheese last night at Olive Garden, and it was so much fun. He ate a ton of it!

Baby Shoes

Shoes for my little boy: Size 4, blue and with velcro

Connor knows the sign for socks, and he makes it very well. I just bought all new socks with grippers on the bottoms, because he was sliding all over the place.

He knows the sign for shoes, but he makes it exactly the same way he signs for "more." Fortunately, he always says "shh" when he wants shoes, so it isn't as confusing as it could be.

Milk!

Connor has caught onto his first sign: Milk! He has done it a few times, and the most recent time it was definitely intentional. He got so excited when he realized that I knew what he wanted, and he got it.

Next step: Getting his daycare teachers on board.

I found a great Sign Language website

www.aslpro.com

I'm really learning a ton of signs that I think we can use with Connor. I'm anxiously waiting for him to reproduce that first sign!

Baby Sign Language

The time has come to teach Connor sign language. He's starting to show signs of wanting to communicate, and he's beginning to get frustrated when he doesn't get his point across.

I've been using a few signs for the past few months, especially at mealtime. But, I think we are going to step it up a notch.

I think that Connor will really catch on if Kevin does the signs, too. Which is why I'm going to go watch the baby sign language DVD that Aunt Kathy loaned to us, and I'm going to make him watch it with me.