Luke:-is starting to play more by himself lately. I love this new era of self-directed play, as it allows me to do necessary things like change Leah's diaper, answer the phone, and go to the bathroom by myself. Luke favorite toys are his trains, cars, and trucks, and he pushes them around the floor and imaginary roads. The other day, he shrieked, "Mommy, get OFF the train track!" as I was making lunch in the kitchen. Apparently, the grout between each floor tile was a "track", which made taking a step in any direction quite a challenge. I ended up hopping from tile to tile as I gathered food from the refrigerator and pantry, in order to avoid stepping on Luke's tracks. He found this quite amusing, and shows you who runs the show around here.
-would eat "p-jelly" sandwiches for every meal if I let him. It's become our default lunch for him, and out the window goes my attempt to richly vary his daily diet. I make myself feel better about this by using organic peanut butter and natural whole wheat bread. I won't even start on Luke's current lollipop obsession...
- LOVES paint with water books. He's not a real crafty, sit-down-at-the-table-and- draw kind of kid, but somehow is enamored with these hard to find books, and has become quite the little Picasso recently.
Who needs expensive artwork?
-still shows no interest in the potty, although I'm still holding on to my wildly unpopular philosophy that he'll do it quickly and without a fight when HE's ready. However, several factors may cause me to change my mind, including the fact that preschool does begin in September and he has to be potty-trained by then. Also, my child is often mistaken for a 5-year old due to his height, and is starting to look ridiculous with a diaper peeking out over the top of his pants.
-must have his "struction" site set up at all times. I made the HUGE mistake of picking up these toys a few weeks ago and had a distraught toddler on my hands until the construction vehicles were precisely lined up in their correct places again.
-can count well into his twenties (he usually get distracted somewhere around 26 or 27), now knows all of his lowercase letters (uppercase letters are soooo last year for Luke!), and is starting to recognize some sight words. I'll call that "reading" and believe that he's a genius.
-is quite a comedian. He loves nicknames, and has started referring to his sister as "Nutty" or "Nutters", since he heard us calling Leah, "Peanut". He put my shoes on the other day, and was making cheesy faces at the camera, which was very funny. He makes me laugh every day and is my sweet, sweet, boy, who still asks: "Snuggle me, Mama". Like his Daddy, Luke melts my heart with his quick wit, charm, and irresistible dimples.
Outtakes from Luke's "What Not to Wear" audition.
Leah:-coos and "talks" to us, and is such a sweet, responsive baby. She's smiley and happy most of the time, and is content to lie on her back, busily bicycle-pedaling her little legs and waving her arms for long periods of time. She still has her fussy period in the late afternoon/evening, where nothing really works, but at least Daddy comes home during this time and can help.
Never enough kisses...
-LOVES the Baby Bjorn. I can tote her around in the grocery store, have hands free to get things done around the house, etc. It's our fall-back position when she's cranky or needs a change of scenery. We didn't really use the Bjorn much with Luke, except as a occasional utilitarian way to carry him, but we are raving about its magical powers now.
-has slept in her "Rock N' Play" since she was a few weeks old. Our friends lent us this miracle device when I told them about Leah's reflux (if we lie her flat on her back after a feeding, she spits it all back up). She does so much better on an incline, and is sleeping longer at night. She'll sleep for 3-4 hour stretches, and usually goes right back down after a feeding. Leah's already into the large size Swaddle Me blankets (a must so she doesn't startle and wake up!), and we're starting to see the light at the end of the (sleep-deprived) tunnel.
Our little burrito baby.
-has never taken a pacifier and has decided that bottles are for the birds. This is ironic, since the first thought that popped into my head when we found out that we were having a girl was "We need pink pacifiers." (Mark's first thought was, "We need to pay for a wedding.") I spent way too much time during my pregnancy registering for, purchasing, and preparing Leah's new stash of pink "bahs" and even bought a cute pink pacifier pod and wipes to tote in my diaper bag. Sigh... And I can't even process her current bottle boycott, with the idea that I may not be able to be separated from her for more than a couple of hours until sometime in the year 2012 when she is done nursing and I am no longer her primary food source.
-is instantly soothed by white noise. It seems like we always have a bathroom fan or white noise machine going in our house (which is better than always having someone crying). Our new favorite thing is the vent fan above the stove. We blast it on high (and it's so loud that you have to shout to be heard over it), stand with Leah cradled in our arms, and she falls asleep in about 3.2 seconds. The only problem is that you can't take more than 4 steps away from the fan or turn it down to low, or she wakes up again. I'm getting to know my microwave buttons very well, after hours of standing and staring at them closely.
-has bright blue eyes. Since Mark, Luke, and I are all brown-eyed, we are shocked that the recessive gene in our families has appeared in our fair daughter's complexion and eye color. But they're big and round, and a beautiful shade of blue, and it still surprises me to see their light hue when I look at my baby girl.
-is changing and growing faster than I can blink. Her first few months are flying by, and I am trying as much as possible to savor her babyhood and share special alone time with her every day. I could just kiss those chubby cheeks and revel in those rolls forever, and am doing the best I can amidst the craziness of parenting two young children to take it all in and preserve my memories of these special days.
