Our Luke at 9 Months

It has been more than 3 months since I've updated the blog... ugh... so much to capture, but we've been really embracing the living and sharing with each other.  I know it's going to be hard to capture all of Luke's growth the past three months in this one post, so I'll focus on who he is now and most recent developments.

First, starting off with pictures from the past 4 or 5 months!

Luke is the most content, easy-going and happy baby I’ve ever seen.  His favorite thing (and has always been) is to watch his two older brothers all day long.  He is constantly entertained watching them run around and make all sorts of noise!  He loves their sweet and silly interactions with him.  He enjoys playing with toys, but again, none of them compare to Gavin and Wyatt!  He has his favorites though; mainly a crinkly elephant, a strange bendy contraption along with a ‘block’ consisting of lots of tubes to chew on. 

Luke absolutely loves music; mainly classical or the xylophone played softly (unlike the way his brothers typically play).  He loves to play the xylophone too these days. 

Luke has been sitting up on his own since about 6 months… but… he WOULD NOT sit long AT ALL until about a month ago!  He’d pitch a fit and stiffen up every time I tried to make him sit to play with toys.  He only wanted to stand or lay on his back/tummy.  He started rocking on all fours right before 7 months.  He still is not ‘crawling around’, but has gone through many phases… rolling around the living room and cracking up, going backwards and round in circles, launching himself forward, etc.  Right now he takes a couple of crawling steps, but then lays down, so technically doesn’t go very far.  It seems to me he is quite content where he is since the entertainment is constantly all around in and changing all the time (GW!).  He also is contorting his body while on his tummy so he’s half on his side and back with his arms all weird… he cracks up at us while looking upside down. 

Luke loves his Mama and Dada too.  He is Mama’s snuggle bug and can’t get enough of laughing at Dada; no one can make him laugh like Dada. 

Luke also has really been enjoying the dogs lately too.

Luke can stand against something on his own, but his actions afterwards are always unpredictable still so I’m right there.  He LOVES his jumparoo too.

Luke is saying “Mama, Dada, Baba (for bottle in the mornings when he thinks he is starving), NighNigh (when he is beyond tired and just wants to go to sleep) and just the other day said Bye…ByeBye!  He only says these words at the appropriate times… never just as babble.  He says all the other baby babbling sounds for the rest of the time… his favorite which is blowing bubbles and what we call ‘his motor boat’!  About a month or two ago Luke woke up in the middle of the night pretty upset.  I went to his room and whispered to him as I picked him up, he immediately stopped crying and said, ‘Mama, Mama, Mama’ in the sweetest, softest voice while burying his head into my chest.  Oh… talk about melt my heart!!!  Other times he’ll be over tired and says over and over again, ‘NighNigh, NighNigh’ as he snuggles in.    

Once Luke’s colic passed after Christmas, he was able to sleep through the night as he so wanted to for a while.  He sleeps from 8 (sometimes 7 or 7:30 depending on naps that day) until 5 when he starts to grumble a little.  He puts himself back to sleep until about 6 or 6:30.  He still takes 2 naps a day (9/9:30 and again about 2), but the morning nap is very flexible because of all we do in the mornings.  He is a great napper and I typically have to wake him up from naps. 

Luke was an excellent eater until the past 3 weeks.  Now it all depends on his mood.  He has become VERY opinionated about his meals.  Some days all he wants is the table food we are eating, other days he only wants the purees I make fore him, other days he prefers the bottle, and some days I don’t think he even knows!  The other day he was having a major fit during meal time; I wasn’t sure if he was opinionated about what I fixed or if he was hurting from teeth… so I experimented.  I put the food down and went and got a fig newton… the minute he saw it he stopped screaming, laughed and banged his tray… yeah… I’d say he is growing up these days! 

The ‘training’ has begun slightly the past couple of months mainly at meal times and teaching him to have ‘self-control’ in the mornings when he thinks he is starving.  Since he isn’t crawling and is so easy going, that’s about it for training him these days!

Luke really likes TV and Baby Einstein.  Sigh.  But… I’ve learned with the boys all the great things that they can watch and learn from too. 

Luke was Baptized in March as well!  What a beautiful and special day for our sweet son!  I’ve made a special Baptism book for the three boys they read and love each day; it is filled with pictures and Scripture from their Baptism!

Luke is such an amazing snuggle bug with me.  He loves to snuggle his head on my chest, knees tucked in and hinny out.  He brings such peace and joy!

Luke has just started to become interested in picking up small pieces of food and trying to put in his mouth.  We’ve been working on mastering this and I’m sure he’ll be enjoying being able to feed himself soon.  He’s just so laid back, he hasn’t really cared to try until now. 

Luke is 19 lbs and 28 inches; in size 12 months clothes.  He seems to go back and forth between being 75% and 40% for height and seems to be pretty consistent about being between 30 and 40% for weight. 

His eyes are light, but seem to be more light brown than anything like his Mama’s; although they might turn hazel too.  But they continue to change so we honestly don’t know!

Luke got his first two bottom teeth about 8 months.  Right now he is cutting his two top teeth and possibly more.  He is such a trooper, but the top teeth have seemed to bother him a little more than the bottom ones.

There is so much more I know I’m leaving out and forgetting, but I hope to capture more often!  We love our sweet Luke so much.  He is such an amazing joy.  Everyone around him is captive by his disposition and happiness and snuggle abilities!  Thank You God for blessing us with our sweet Luke.

  

Turning Two - Growing in Love

My boys are turning two years old tomorrow; that is so hard to believe.  Part of me feels like I was just pregnant with them, then just holding them and soaking them in for the very first time.  I've been thinking of all the prayers I prayed before becoming pregnant.  All the prayers during pregnancy and now every day since their birth.  I thank God for these precious sons He has entrusted to us.  They have enriched our lives beyond words.  They have allowed us to grow in many ways we didn't know we needed to and in others we did.  Our home has become a stronger home and filled with so much love and laughter.  Our home never is quiet or dull.  I have learned to see the world God created in whole new lights!  All of this and more all because of God and the precious sons we love dearly!

There are so many things I capture about them as they grow here on this blog, and honestly more I want to capture about them at this age as they turn two.  But most important of all, I want to capture this time by focusing on their growing hearts and the ways I see God working in their lives.  While growth in knowledge, physical abilities, etc are important, their souls are worth far more.  Watching the transformation and growth of love in their hearts leaves me speechless.

I honestly don't know how to start or where to begin, so I guess I'll start off with the main truths I've been teaching and focusing on with Gavin and Wyatt (and now Luke) since they were born.  1) God made EVERYTHING (which we go into detail...) 2) God made ALL OF US 3) God is LOVE (God loves us, Jesus loves us) 4) We think of Jesus' love for us when we see the cross 5) We need to practice our love for others and ourselves (God helps us with this, we can not do this alone).  That about sums up the basic ideas which of course we stem off of.

All throughout the day we talk about what God has made and 1) Thank Him in all things and for all things 2) Take care of what He has given us.  This allows for us to talk to God all day long; both in formal prayers and common conversation with Him.

Starting from the time they were first born, these teachings started and became so much a part of our daily routine.  With all things, the more we practice the more it becomes natural.  (Now that they are starting to speak more, grasp bigger concepts, etc, I've started to add more and more Scripture to my instruction (and with the age of two comes more independence and testing and thus more discipline and instruction).  This feels very awkward, but I know by the time they understand more, it will be second nature to me.  I pray for the perseverance to continue and the wisdom to instruct them correctly that will raise them to know, love, serve and glorify God.)  Anyways, as the weeks and months go by the fruit is often hard to see at such a young age.  But little by little light shines through!  As they turn two, I am filled with great joy as I watch their hearts begin to transform.  With each little step, I know Christ is working in their hearts!

So if I had to sum up the biggest lesson we talk about every day, ALL DAY, it would be LOVE.  I started to teach 'love' because I realized I had a very hard time teach 'sharing'.  What is sharing after all?  Get a bunch of moms together and each wants her child(ren) to learn sharing.  So each child is told to share, but the 'principles' behind sharing get all jumbled up at this time.  'Share because it is his toy.' 'Share because it is ours and we want them to enjoy it.' 'You have it for a little while and then give so and so a turn.' Etc... What is this teaching children?  I don't know because I'm honestly confused myself!  So... I stopped focusing on 'sharing' and instead started focusing on showing LOVE.

We talk about (not all at one time though!) how God is love and thus God loves us.  We love because He first loved us.  We are called to love others no matter what.  Love is an action not a feeling, thus we choose to love.  Love is the most important practice to learn.

So... this teaching of love is taught in every situation in our home.  When people come over we rejoice and thank God for family and friends and practice our love by making them feel welcome and enjoying our home and 'toys'.  We love our brother and thus we want him to have joy.  When we can not love, we ask God to help us love.  Hurting someone physically or mentally is not love, it 'hurts them' (duh, I know... but they are two...).  We are called to obey our parents (and parents obey God), thus showing them and God love.  We show God we love Him and are thankful by being joyful, not whining, etc.  Etc, Etc...

So, I mention all this to capture a lot of what we've been learning the past two years.  Here is what Gavin and Wyatt's hearts have been up to!

Wyatt is a natural 'lover'.  He delights in taking care of his brother Gavin and now Luke too.  He goes out of his way to get Gavin's water, food, toy, shoes, hats, books, etc.  If Wyatt has something, he wants Gavin to have one too.  While this comes natural to Wyatt, Gavin struggles with this a little more.  It can be (not always) very hard for Gavin to 'share' something with Wyatt.  What ever Wyatt has, Gavin normally wants it.  This past month, Gavin's heart has grown greatly!  He will desire to play with something, then you can see him pause.  He then smiles and gives it to his brother (this is a BIG DEAL on certain toys or food), and runs to me saying, 'share mama, share'!  We then rejoice and talk about how great it is to show love and thank God for helping us show it!  Watching him make the conscious decision to share when it is hard and Wyatt's natural tendency to do so makes me rejoice so greatly!

The first year to year and a half, both boys showed little interest in picking up their toys when Mama told them it was time to help.  These days, Wyatt is an amazing helper and often picks up large tasks without me asking him to!  When cherrios would be spilt on the floor, Gavin used to care less even after I told him it must be picked up (accidents are okay, but we have to pick it up I tell them).  But these days, Gavin shows a much greater effort in picking them up, often on his own!  Both boys LOVE to help me clean, and always have.  They love to vacuum, dust, clean the floors, etc.  I know many children do this, but I find such delight in their cheerful and willing hearts to help Mama.  When they do help me, I make a big deal over their act of love and again we thank God for helping us love.  I know some might think these things minor, but when it comes to the HEARTS of my children, these growths are such huge successes!

Both Gavin and Wyatt are the most amazing snuggle bugs!  They shower us with hugs, kisses and pats all day long.  Gavin loves to pat me on the back and I realized I do this A LOT!  Never noticed it until he started doing it to me!  Wyatt likes to put his hand on your shoulder or pat your leg.  Both boys are amazing huggers.  Gavin now comes up to me from behind and hugs on my neck... melt my heart.  He just hangs there and rests his head on mine!  Wyatt loves to sit on my lap all throughout the day.  He calls it 'lalap' (many words or doubled in some form... dog-gog, la-Luke, car car, etc...).  When it comes to their brother Luke, these boys are AMAZING!  Their only fault is they don't know their size or his.  They love to kiss and hug him or pat him.  They love to talk to him.

Gavin and Wyatt have become wonderful at encouraging one another and Luke.  They cheer and high five each other for almost every potty success (which is all the time all day long!) and other great new things they try.  Every day you can hear them cheering Luke on by saying, 'Roll Luke roll!' and now 'Crawl Luke crawl!'  What a beautiful thing watching your boys build each other up!  One of my biggest prayers about their relationship is that they always do this.  That the only competition is the healthy one and that they celebrate each other for who God made them to be and partake in each other's likes.

Gavin and Wyatt do not like for each other to have booboos.  The whole concept of booboos is fascinating to them actually.  So we spend a lot of our kisses kissing new and old (sometimes very old) booboos (and with them... they get a lot of booboos...)  They will randomly kiss their brothers booboo if they happen to see it.  This is rather interesting sometimes... One might be using the potty and the other will see the booboo on his brothers thigh... yeah... you get the picture.  I pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in my back about a month ago.  Gavin still comes up to me and kisses my booboo even though it has been healed for a long time!  Again, we rejoice in their love and thank God for showing us how to love.

Both boys love to pray at 'formal times' like meals and bed.  They like to repeat certain parts of the prayers these days.  They also love it when we sing our 'good morning songs' that I started when they were newborns.  We say at meals (this will change as they grow, but the repetition is good for them at this age, plus they get in depth prayers all throughout the day) 'Thank You God for our food.  Come Lord Jesus, be our Guest, and let this food to us be blessed.  Amen.'  At bed time we pray, 'Thank You God as this day ends, for our family and our friends.  Taking to sit and pray, thank You God for this great day! Amen' (at that time Gavin is now also adding 'thank you for our food'!)  In the morning we sing, 'Thank you Jesus, thank You Jesus, thank You Jesus for another daaaaayyyyyy!' and 'This is the day, this is the day, this is the day the Lord has made, Let's rejoice!'  Gavin and Wyatt will often start saying their prayers on their own without knowing we are watching before they eat their pretend food they just pretended to cook!  It made me cry the first time I saw Wyatt doing this the other week.  They also will fold their hands and say thank you before eating snacks sometimes.

They love their special Bibles and reading time.  They have their special places for them and know that reading from the Bible is a special book, not like any of their other books.

While all these things are 'outward' actions from Gavin and Wyatt, it is the heart that is really changing. 'Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.' ~Proverbs 4:23~

As wonderful as these growths are, it is their growing love for Jesus that is the most beautiful.  The boys get so excited when they see a new picture of Jesus!  My aunt brought them a new Bible story book and they got so excited when they saw Jesus' picture on the front with little children.  They immediately said, 'Je-Us!' They also love to talk about the cross.  I explain to them we think of Jesus' love for us when we see the cross.  The past couple of weeks, their interest and delight in the connection between the cross and Jesus has grown greatly.  Watching the smile on their faces is amazing.  They are so young and can only comprehend so much.  But I know for sure that God is working in their hearts and doing great things; for the Word never comes back void.

I will write another post about all their birthday celebrations and what other things they are doing and learning these days as the week unfolds.  For now I want to say a special prayer of thanks for our three precious sons.

Dear Lord, thank you beyond words for our precious sons You have entrusted to us.  When I prayed for children all those years ago, I had no idea the precious sons you would bless us with that You already knew and loved beyond our imaginations.  Thank You for allowing me to be their mother.  Thank you for the special way you knit each one in my womb.  Thank you for helping me grow by being their mother.  As always, Lord, please help me to teach them to know You, love You, and serve You, that You may be glorified.  Help me to raise each son into the man You created them to be; encouraging them in their strengths and weaknesses; learning their passions You gave them.  Help me to teach them about this amazing world you created for us; to enjoy it, take care of it but to never become of it.  Please continue to help us learn to love You first and put You in the center of our everyness.  Please help me learn to guild our sons and discipline and instruct them using your Word and truths.  These things and so much more, I pray in Jesus' precious name, Amen.

This Past Month - 23 Months and 5.5 months

The past few weeks have been HUGE stepping stones for all three boys.  They have matured so much it boggles my mind.  Instead of writing separate posts for them, I thought I'd combine everything here in one.  The three of them are interacting so much these days, so many things are starting to become 'Gavin, Wyatt and Luke' and not just 'GW' and 'Luke'.  It is amazing watching this process happen between the three of them.

Gavin and Wyatt are learning to share their toys with Luke these days.  We've been explaining to them that Luke is their brother JUST as they are brothers to each other.  That means the love we show each other goes for Luke to.  They have zero problems sharing Luke's toys with him ;)

The boys took off parroting about 2 weeks ago!  They went from speaking words only to parroting phrases and small 3 word sentences at this point.  Gavin parrots everything!  Wyatt is beyond clear when he says certain words.  I LOVE their precious voices.  Gavin's is very soft and Wyatt's is husky and yet clear.  Wyatt doubles each word; lap lap, doggog, lights lights, book book, car car, shoes shoes, etc.  Gavin uses the T sound for Ps, although he can say P just fine.  I knew the boys were listening to everything we say and do, so I watch my words.  But I didn't realize that I needed to watch my breathing also!  Gavin has found it great fun to mimic my sighing when I get frustrated!  Now when I catch myself sighing, I turn it into a song!  What a great way to make Mama see things in a different light!

Because of their new parroting ability, we've had lots of fun with scripture!  The first thing we've been working on is 'God is love'.  I'll randomly say 'God is' and Wyatt quickly says 'love' in the sweetest voice ever!  They have also been repeating parts of their meal and night time prayers!

They continue to be amazing knowing their letters and numbers.  Gavin is always counting.  He often counts to 10 and then says, 'sixteen, eighteen, eighteen, twenty!'  Too cute!  They are great at recognizing visually the letters, numbers, shapes and colors.

They are all about sorting these days!  Wyatt's favorite thing to do is put a different color or shape in the wrong place and giggle and say, 'nooooo'.  Then quickly puts it in the right place and claps!  They sort mostly colors and shapes right now.  We are working on big vs small.  They love their counting bears too!  We use them for of course counting and color sorting and they love to practice words like, 'under', 'on top of', etc.  They love to say when things are 'here' or 'there'.

Gavin says, 'Ready, set, Go!' all the time!  He says 'Yay' and 'Cool' a lot too!  They both also say 'yee-haw' too!

The boys LOVE to dress up and practice dressing themselves.  They put on their hats, mittens and jackets all day every day.  They put on their pants and shirts, socks and shoes.  And let me tell you, Wyatt LOVES socks and shoes!  Wyatt especially is excellent about putting on his own socks, shoes, hats and mittens.  He is getting really good at putting on his pants and taking off his shirt.

Due to a lot less structure and preplanned daily activities since Christmas travel and all these sicknesses the past 2 months, Wyatt has had difficulty controlling his emotions again.  This and the fact that both boys have gone through a mutual testing phase (it's always together), has created a lot of very difficult moments parenting.  Gaining the wisdom to know what is best for each child and knowing how to handle yourself as the parent in each situation is so hard.  I am confident, we will get back on track soon with a little extra effort.

We've had a lot of whining a lot this month too.  Because of that, I've decided to have a place they can go to 'take time for themselves'.  It's a little storage bench behind our dining table.  They can go in there away from things and take as long as they need to whine or what not.  This is the only place they are allowed to whine.  If they start whining I give them the option to stop or go to the bench to take time for themselves.  Often they will go sit on the bench for a few seconds or minutes and them come back happier.  Sometimes it takes a few trips to get the point I mean it when I say we don't walk around whining.  This has been a great alternative to 'time out' which really doesn't work for them.  Giving them 'time for themselves' there or in their rooms with no set 'time' seems to work well with their personalities.  This by no means has eliminated rough moments!  Yes, we still have lots of times when all three boys have melt downs at the same time.  But, I am thankful for this idea God gave me.

Three days ago, we started to potty train Gavin.  He wasn't showing signs of awareness, but he is so intelligent and my main concern was his emotions.  I never wanted him to compare himself with Wyatt in this area, and I felt it was right around the corner.  So, Thursday evening I shared with Jason my thoughts and decided to start the next morning.  He had several accidents by midday the first day, but about 3 or 4 successes too!  That afternoon went even better.  Day 2 was AMAZING, with only 1 accident in the morning and the rest small dribbles if at all.  He tells us when he has to go 'Teetee' and goes when he says he has to.  We've had 'juice parties' the past few days to get them going  A LOT!  They've had great fun!!  We also prepped the bathrooms so the boys can stand and pee if they want to.  Wyatt thinks this is WONDERFUL and only stands to pee know.  He'll walk in the bathroom, pull down his pants, climb the stool and pee standing up all by himself!  He's pretty good at putting on his underwear again too, but I help most of the time right now.  The boys are so proud of themselves and each other!  They are way into 'action figures' right now, so the past two nights they've gotten little Mickey Mouse characters I picked up at the dollar store to celebrate their big days.  I've skipped the whole 'reward' thing every time they go potty due to age and personality.  They are beyond pleased with our dances and high fives every time they pee or poo!

Luke is growing so much this month!  He's outgrowing so many of his outfits in 1 month and gained over 2.5 lbs!  He's eating so well!  Between 6:30 or 7am he eats about 6-8oz.  Takes a nap about 9 or 9:30 for 45min to 2.5 hours.  He eats solids and milk between 10:30 and 11:30.  Another nap about 2 or 2:30 for about 1.5 to 2 hours.  Drinks about 6-8oz of milk again between 3:30 and 4.  Eats solids and drinks milk between 5 and 6 and drinks 2-6oz of milk before bed.  He's eating and loves carrots, sweet potatoes, avocado, acorn squash, bananas, apples and rice and oatmeal cereal.  We are introducing new things every 2-3 days.  He eats great with a spoon and really is a 'clean' eater.

Luke LOVES burp rags.  If he could play with one thing all day, it'd be a burp cloth!  I kid you not, he wants to hold one or my shirt all day long!  He likes his snuggle bears/pups/monkey too, but they don't hold a candle to burp cloths!

He is trying to hold the bottle and spoon these days when eating.  He is working on putting the pacifier in his month (which he is using a tiny bit more) and has done so successfully a few times.  He will suck on his thumb or knuckles too.

Luke has really matured a lot the past few weeks also.  His interaction with us and his brothers grows weekly.  His reaching for specific toys and showing excitement for certain ones, along with his ability to transfer toys from one hand to the other and turn around to observe, etc.  He still LOVES to observe.  He doesn't talk a whole lot, but prefers to WATCH HIS BROTHERS!  He has the sweetest voice though when he starts chatting and blowing bubbles.  I've noticed a lot of new syllables starting the past couple of weeks when he does talk.  He has the best grin too!  Melts my heart into butter just thinking about it!

He has been starting to intentionally rest his head on my chest/shoulders and snuggle in!  Watching his intentional affection is just precious! He loves watching Mama and Luke in the mirror too; something we've done since he was newborn!  

Luke is all about trying to crawl!  He likes his jumparoo, walker and bumbo seat just fine, (still loves his kicking coaster!!!) but he loves the floor!!!  He likes to be on his back for a while if he's on the activity mat.  Otherwise he quickly rolls over on his tummy, watches his brothers, scoots backwards, in circles and launches himself forward.  he is doing so great at learning to maneuver his body, I love watching him try.  He rarely gets frustrated when he can't get something; only starts to fuss when he gets tired.

Every now and then he'll sit up on his own for 20seconds to a minute if he is busy watching his brothers and doesn't notice what he is doing.  Other than that, he likes to lean in to me a lot still when we are on the floor.  He is getting better and better about holding himself up 'tripod style' though!

Luke is 'sleeping through the night'.  He started to do this a couple of days after we got back from El Paso after our Christmas travels, but then our house hold became sick and the congestion and other sickness just won't' go away.  He is still congested poor little guy.  We keep a humidifier going each night still.  He goes to sleep along with Gavin and Wyatt about 8pm each night; sleep but awake.  He will wake up a few times each night and fuss a little bit, but always puts himself back to sleep within 5 minutes.  Sometimes I'll go upstairs and give him a hug and kiss, but most of the time he will put himself back to sleep without being upset.  As I mentioned above, I get the boys out of bed about 6:30 at which he drinks his bottle.  (The boys would be up sooner if they had their way.)

This past week Gavin and Wyatt have actually been sickness free (minus a runny nose).  This has allowed naps to resume to normal; starting at 2pm and lasting 1.5 to 2.5 hours.  Wyatt has had a rough couple of weeks during the night.  He is waking up with bad dreams I am assuming.  The past two night though he has been able to sleep all night without any interruptions.

I got my triple stroller this week and just love it!  It's so great being able to walk miles ago to different parks, or go to the zoo knowing I have a place for each boy to rest at times (although they do love walking most of the time).  They love the parks and are just amazing on all the jungle gym equipment.

With all the sicknesses, Wyatt lost over 2 lbs in just one week.  That is a lot for this age.  I think he is gaining a lot of back though this past week or so.  I know they are going through another growth spurt. Their feet alone grew in one month.  They went from a size 7 to a 9 in 1 month!  Good thing we can save the shoes for Luke!

Gavin is going through a phase where he wants to be held a lot, and all three boys still love to snuggle!

There are a lot more things I want to capture about this time and write about, but I've run out of time.  Hope to write soon!

My 22 Month Olds!

The past couple of months have been marked with so much growth for Gavin and Wyatt; physically, mentally, socially, and I pray spiritually.

If I have to sum up the past two months for them, I'd say letters, phonics and words are their favorite 'things right now'.  Gavin knows about 90% of all his letters/ single phonics sounds and Wyatt about 50%.  One of their new favorite shows is Word World; where they take the letter sounds and learn how to build words in a very entertaining way.  They are forever pointing out words now and trying to sound them out!  About a month ago, Gavin would sound out the letters in random orders and now they both are working to sound them out from left to right.  We do this all throughout the day and sing the song, 'We built a word, we built it, we built it' as we do 'the dance'!  Gavin sings some of the alphabet song correctly these days.  Wyatt loves our letter of the day and grows in his sound awareness from this greatly!

They are trying to talk more and more.  They are not saying sentences yet, but just this past week have started to say 2-3 word phrases.  They are both parroting a lot more words the past couple of weeks!  Even when they don't use the English word, they communicate great with us.  I can usually figure out what they are saying.  But still sometimes they rattle off 'sentences' that I have zero idea.  they try again and get sad when we can't communicate.  Each week gets better and better though :)

They enjoy counting these days as well.  Everything is counted.  Gavin this past week counted '1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 10' just as clear as could be.

They also are still really enjoying learning their shapes and colors.  Wyatt's favorite color is yellow and Gavin's is blue.  When you ask them what color something is they say their favorite color first!  I then say, 'no, what color is it really' and they then giggle and tell me the color if it is red, yellow, green or blue.  By tell, I mean they say, 'Re' for red and 'yew' for yellow.

They love to sort as well.  They are excellent at what things 'go together' and match and we continue to work on 'big vs small' and color sorting.

They still love books and use each one as a 'seek and find'.  They practice saying the words these days too.  They still love their special Bibles and treat these different than their other books.

Gavin and Wyatt love music! They love to sing and dance, play the drums, xylophone and guitar.  They love music notes and we work on high vs low, etc.  Little Einsteins is still one of their favorite shows.

They still love Mickey Mouse, cars and blocks.  They also have enjoyed the Toy Story movies.

They love to string beads and use the string as a jump rope afterwards ;)

They love to use their drills to screw in the plastic screws.  They also go around fixing everything for us!

They still love to play doctor.

Outdoors is their favorite place!  They have great imaginations.  They love baseball, basketball, swings, slides, dirt/sand, cars, running, wagons, collecting treasures to put in their wagons, etc...  They love to go for walks or play at the park for hours.

The boys are still great sleepers.  They go through phases of sleeping in until 6:30 or 7 and then back to waking up at 5:30... I think it's hard with a baby in the house and in the next room!  They nap for about 1-2.5 hours each day, but when they go down is very flexible depending on what we are doing that day.

They are great eaters expect when they are sick.  Wyatt lost over 2 lbs this past week from being sick.

The boys have become excellent at really jumping with both feet off the air.

They love their baby brother!  They love to teach him, say hi, pat him, kiss him, and now make him laugh!  They are really great with him!

The boys really love the dogs, but the dogs often get annoyed or anxious with their volume!  It is fun to watch them place chase and fetch with Noodles though.  They both call the dogs, 'New-Os'.  They help me feed the dogs most mornings.

They also love to help us take out the trash (Wyatt drags the whole bag from the kitchen/laundry room to the garage!) and throw diapers away.  They help me feed the dogs each morning too and put the dishes away when they are done.

They love to wash their own hands and working on brushing their teeth at the sink like big-boys.

Wyatt is doing excellent with the potty still during the day!! I am so proud of him and he is so happy too.  Rarely does he have a dribble accident anymore, even in public.  I still use diapers at night though for him.  He wakes up dry sometimes and other times he might be only partly wet.  I'm thinking in the next month or so he might be more consistently dry.  I'm wanting to start potty training Gavin again in the next month.  Still praying about when is the right time for him.  He shows interest in wanting to sit on the potty and not want a diaper change, but doesn't actually go when on the seat or tell me when he goes in his diaper.

The boys love time with their friends!  They love to give them hugs and high fives and hold their hands from one activity/room to another as they do with each other.  They love people and are very social.  They practice 'love' and have such great hearts.

Wyatt has such a beautiful giving thoughtful heart.  He takes such great care of Gavin; always making sure Gavin has what he has and then some.  He's always running to get his water ball, snack bowl, an extra hat to wear or toy to play with.  He is always asking about 'Brother' and wants him to be right there with him.

Gavin loves to pat our backs and give hugs.  He is always patting my back at the dinner table and leaning in for a hug.  I've noticed that they have picked up on so many of my habits like this!  I see them tuck in their toys and give them kisses before bed just as Mama and Daddy do to them!

They are still my sweet snuggle bugs.  I treasure the time we snuggle on the couch or floor with them both on my lap as we read or watch a show.  They love kisses and hugs and love to be held still.  They love to be tucked in, 'tuck tuck little duck!' and love our night time prayers together.

We also say our prayers before meals and have our good morning prayer songs each day!  At this age, we have special prayers for bed, morning and meals to make it easier to remember them.  As they grow, we will of course begin to speak more from our hearts.  Each day though continue to teach them we talk to God all throughout the day; praising Him and thanking Him and even asking Him for help!  They love to point out Jesus in books/pictures and sing about God.  'Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty' is still their favorite!!  They loved their first Sunday School in the 2 year olds class!  They get to have puppet shows, art time, songs and such.  I could tell they thought big kid school was pretty great!

Wyatt has grown by leaps and bonds in controlling his emotions the past couple of months!  With lots of prayer, I've been able to help him and learn how to prevent overstimulation.  I will try to write more about this at another date.  But other than being sick, he has not had major melt downs in months!  I'm so proud of him!

The boys are learning their independence these days and testing what they can and can't get away with.  We are all learning how to respect each other and help each other grow!  I'm trying to be consistent but also open my mind to their needs and where they are coming from.  Parenthood is nothing like I thought it was; books and people can't prepare you because each child is different.  My three boys have shown me this for sure!  I'll write more on this subject of them growing up on another post when I have time.

I know I am missing so much, but I have run out of time before dinner.  I'll make another post 'soon' with pics and highlights from Thanksgiving and Christmas (most pictures will be posted later too, I have SO many good ones)!  I continue to thank God for our precious sons.  They are truly gifts from God!  I so enjoy watching them grow into who God made them to be!  

Mr. Luke at 5 Months

I have intended to write updates on my boys for the past couple of months, and have never gotten around to it.  These past two months have been incredibly full; we've been busy with Thanksgiving, Christmas and multiple sicknesses that last at least two weeks each.  With that said, here are some highlights I want to capture about our precious Luke (in very random order!):

Luke continues to be the most laid back and easy going baby I've ever seen.  Unless he wants his food or is putting up a fight during bed time, rarely will you hear him crying.  He loves to observe everyone and everything before showing his opinion.  He'll watch what we are doing for a good while before partaking/interacting.  Once he decides he has observed his surrounds enough or figured out what we are doing, he jumps right in!  For example, he was watching me play tickle monster with the boys right next to him the other day.  He just watched for about a minute as the three of us were giggling and tickling.  Then... he started cracking up and non-stop talking.  He looked at me odd when I started tickling him, and then thought it was the best time!

He gets so excited when we show him one of his certain favorite toys.  He acts shocked and/or startled every time we play peek-a-boo with him.

Luke loves his feet right now.

He's been rolling over from his tummy to back since he was about 2 or 3 weeks old, but over Christmas break he really started trying to roll from back to tummy.  Three days ago he mastered this and now rolls over all the time! The boys have thought it has been great fun to lay next to him and show him how to roll while saying, 'roll, roll, roll!'  Looks like he has major encouragement already!

As I mentioned, we've had at least two sicknesses since my last post; which equals 4 weeks of congestion for Luke with only about 1 healthy week in-between.  This sickness he's had to be on breathing treatments.  (Poor little guy has had 4 colds and hernia surgery in 5 months.  Guess that is what happens when you have 2 older brothers (not the surgery part...).)

We started feeding Luke rice cereal at 4 months.  He did great from the first feeding!  Between the sicknesses and the traveling, I have not been feeding him at consistent times each day, but this will soon change.  As soon as he is feeling 100%, I'm going to start introducing him to table foods.

Luke is about 26 inches (1 month ago) and a little over 14lbs; tall and lean.

Luke loves to kick his legs and thus really enjoys his kicking coster and the jumparoo!  He marches a lot while in the jumparoo.  He just started pushing off and trying to 'stand' while in your lap or the bouncer/rocker this past week or two.

He also scoots backwards and around in circles when on his tummy.  Sometimes he tries so hard to crawl forward he will literally launch himself forward as he tucks his legs under him and kicks super hard; face planting the whole time.  I try to always have something under his face for this reason; trying to avoid him getting a rug burn on his face!

We were going to start sleep training Luke to sleep through the night at 4 months, but he went through a major growth spurt right before our scheduled date.  Then it was just about time to travel to El Paso for Christmas.  So we had to wait until we got back.  Two days after we got back, we started working with him (he had become SO spoiled and waking up about 3xs at night while in EP...).  To my surprise (because he is very vocal about not wanting to sleep at night and expresses his major frustration very well in this area) it only took him 2 nights to sleep through the night!  The 3rd night he slept 8 hours, the 4th night he slept 10 and then 11 hours.  Then... he caught Wyatt and Gavin's sickness and that is were we left off.  He can't sleep well period because he's having such a hard time breathing; poor little man.  Once he feels better, I'm confident he will sleep better.

He's taking 2 major naps a day and a catnap in the evening.  His morning 9/9:30 nap can be as long as 2 or 3 hours many days!  Luke is typically on a pretty good routine, but is also very flexible.  He's fine with sleeping in his bed, the carseat or even arms.  This flexibility is great since he has 2 older brothers.

Luke loves to talk and smile these days.  His grin melts my heart... it seriously makes my heart scream with pure delight when I think about it!  It sounds like he says 'hi' whenever we see him and he gets excited (this is what we always say to him).  I thought I was crazy until the pediatrician said that it sure sounded to her like he was saying hi!  I know he couldn't possibly know what hi means, but it sure is cute!

Luke still loves to snuggle and relaxes when I hold him close and give him kisses.

He is super ticklish around the neck still!  He gives the cutest scrunched up grin and tightens up every time.  It just makes me crack up and melt at the same time.  I can't help but do it every bath!

He doesn't use his pacifier much at all; but only likes to suck a little as I hold him right before naps/bed. I do lay him down sleepy but awake; but this is just a very brief soothing process he has always enjoyed.  He never wants it during awake times though.

He is strengthening while sitting up more and more each week; but is not sitting unsupportive.

Luke sleeps unswaddled at night now because of him rolling over.  As soon as he started trying to at the beginning of this month, we stopped for safety reasons.

Luke was eating about 5 to 6 oz every 4 hours until he was sick; now it's about 3-5oz every 3-4 hours plus cereal 1-3xs a day.

Luke was born with hair, lost it, it grew back, lost that and is just now growing it again!

He loves bath time.  I still use either the pujtub or the bath bouncer in the tub (although sometimes he tries to 'stand'/push up/off in the bouncer so it's really not working all that well some days).

He loves the activity mat and universal snap on 'mobil' as well as many specific toys.

This past week the three boys have started to interact so much!  Because Luke is smiling and laughing at Gavin and Wyatt now, they think it is great fun to play with him!  They give him toys, tell him the difference between 'fa-balls, bakballs, and baseballs', play 'peekboo' and tickle.  They love to say 'hi Luke' where as before they called him Uke.  They love to lay next to him and I still have to explain how to be gentle most days!  The other week I was holding Wyatt and Luke on my lap and Wyatt said 'hi' as he knocked on his forehead... Then Gavin plays peekaboo by placing his entire hand over Luke's face... let's just say they love him and he's getting used to it.

I know there is so much more to capture, but I'll try to do a better job at 6 months and write about it then.  I thank God for our sweet surprise; our precious Luke!!

My Dream Home

I've heard a lot lately about dream homes; we've even been looking at pictures of available homes we might consider moving into in the next couple of years.  But all this random talk has gotten me thinking about what I really consider my dream home to be...

I want my dream home to be a place where people walk through the door and feel a sense of automatic Peace; a retreat from the world outside; a haven so to speak.  The Peace that only comes from Christ.  I want Love to be felt by all who live here and enter.  God's Love and that which He allows to fill us and overflow to those around us.  I want there to be so much Joy and laughter.  The Joy that is experienced in a life with Christ.  I want people to take their shoes off and get comfortable; for it to be clean but lived in.  I want it to be a place where we can share excitement, fears and trials; a place we can be who God created us to be.  I want it to be a place of encouragement and acceptance.  I want it to be known deep in our hearts that God is the center of our lives; in every aspect of it.  I want our family time to be cherished.  Each person who entered should be honored and treated as the child of God they are.  I want friends to be able to stop by and chat; knowing that we always make time for family and friends.  I see a home filled with Thankfulness.  Prayer and praise should be on our lips all throughout the day.  We will learn to choose our words carefully and protect our eyes, ears, minds and hearts.  We will seek forgiveness from God and others when we fall short.  Opinions are expressed and discussed and respected.  Truths are taught and cherished.  Rules are created and upheld and discipline enforced when not respected.  God's Word is everywhere and in our hearts and minds and on our lips.  Good food is always available and prepared.  Hugs and kisses and embraces are common all throughout the day.  Mama and Daddy will keep their relationship as the most important second to God.  Our children know they are cherished and delighted in; loved unconditionally.  They will feel loved and safe.  This will be a place their roots are created so they can take flight when God calls them to lead the life He has called them to.  We will learn to be good stewards with all God has entrusted to us.  We will enjoy God's creation and the life He has given us.

My dream home is our haven on earth; a gift from God until we gather in the home He has prepared for us in heaven.

And when life is hard and we fail or make mistakes, I want each to rest in God's peace and joy because they know that our home is filled with His Grace; and it is this Grace we extend to each other and those who enter.  This Grace is probably the most important aspect of my dream home; it's only through Christ that we can have and extend it.  Nothing has taught me more about Grace than being entrusted with three little precious boys under the age of 2.  God has lavished me with His Grace and I pray He continues to help me learn to extend it to those most dearest to me.  

My dream home is perfect; perfect because it gives us a special place to live out our humanness with each other while lavishing in God's amazing Grace!  I will continue to work at building our dream home for my family and me and all those God has brought and will bring into our lives.  For we do not labor in vain.  The wise woman builds her home; builds it on the Rock and not shifting sands.  My dream home is not just a dream; but a living, and continual, work and gift I can give to my family and God.  

Thank You Lord for building our home and for building Your home inside each of us.  Thank You for creating the family and the home to look, act and feel the way You have.  Thank You for helping us create and live in our dream home with You!