Thursday, May 29, 2008
Great weekend!
The weather was SOOO beautiful all weekend, which was refreshing! We went to the park on Sunday afternoon where Samuel made some new friends and Zakkai practiced walking. Monday we went to a BBQ with some of Ben's classmates and their families. It was really nice to meet the people he's been talking about for the past 2 years (they are all 2nd years so Ben's the big man on campus to them!) It was really fun and the boys had a great time. Samuel made another new friend named Abigail and they had a blast running around giggling:)
Tuesday we had some friends from Indiana come stay overnight with us. Tom and Eileen are moving to China to teach at an international school and were passing through on their way to visit family for the next 7 weeks before heading off to China! They were SO great with the boys. It took Samuel a little while to warm up but once he did, he was attached like glue to Mr Tom! They got him to eat every bite of his dinner, kept the boys occupied while I was cooking...I was ready to hire him as a nanny!! It was really wonderful to spend time with our friends, who are such a great blessing to us.
PS. Tom, we found the green tractors today...in the laundry basket! Samuel has started this new and very annoying thing of climbing out of his bed! Would you believe it took him almost 8 months to try it??!! He climbed out the first morning after sleeping in his "big boy bed" and we told him he couldn't get out until we came to get him and that was that! Now all of the sudden since last week he keeps climbing out and does several things. One he goes behind the rocking chair which is by Z's crib and wakes him up (GRRR!) or plays with him or goes and sits behind the door. I'll come in and Samuel will be in bed and I'll find toys in Zakkai's crib and think "How did that get there?" We've tried a few things but it's not working! If you have any suggestions, I'd love them!!
Samuel is funny when he talks sometimes because he tries to use very grown up words and they don't always come out quite right or he'll use them in every sentence. For instance, the other day we were building train tracks and he was jabbering on and on about something and kept saying "especktally," in every single sentence! At first, I couldn't figure out what he was saying and then realized that he was trying to say "especially" but was combining it with "exactly!" Ha! "And then the train goes here and especktally this one goes here..." it was hard not to laugh!
Zakkai is starting to throw tantrums. Did I mention that yet?! The toddler show of independence has begun...He'll get frustrated that something hasn't gone his way or a toy was taken and drop down, crawl about 2 feet and spread out on his tummy on the ground. Then he'll get up and look at me with a crocodile tear like, "Did you see that, mommy? Can't you see I'm upset?!!" Such a hard life!! Especially when your older brother won't let you rip apart his puzzle or steal his animal crackers or mommy won't let you call friends on her phone! Sigh..
We're doing good and have had a pretty good week, other than the fact that Ben has come down with a cold and feels pretty crappy. That's not too good when you have exams to study for! Other than the cold, he has been feeling better and looks great. He's dropped a lot of weight and is working out a lot. I'll have to post a picture of my new buff skinny husband:) We've both been trying to exercise a lot and eat lots of veggies:) Now if we could just get Samuel to like vegetables....
Friday, May 23, 2008
Big News!!!
Tonight Samuel was really wound up before bed, probably because he has had two fantastic days in a row for numerous reason! He was talking a mile a minute in a really high pitched voice. We finally got him in bed and were trying to get him to whisper since Z was asleep already. This is how my conversation with him went:
Samuel in a stage whisper: "Mommy, will you take a nap wif me? You want to take a nap wif me! (shake my head no and tell him I have to leave) You do, mommy! Have sweet dreams, mommy. And daddy too. And Zakkai too. And be careful and be safe in the bed, mommy. And tell daddy too. And Zakkai too. And Jesus loves me. And the tractor plows the field. And the fire truck...(then in a loud voice) WHAT DOES THE FIRE TRUCK DO, MOMMY?!"
Ah, such a silly boy!! He ended my night with a smile:) I hope you're smiling, too!! Good night!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Summer
On Tuesday at the last minute I decided to bring a lunch for the boys to eat at the park. Samuel was following me around the kitchen, wondering what I was packing and then he said, "Mommy, should we pack a lunch and head out?" I thought that was so funny because I don't know where he heard it! (unless I said it and don't remember!) Then later in the day we were playing on the floor and he leaned over and took my face in his hands and said, "Are you beautiful, mommy?" This boy knows how to be sweet and cute!
Zakkai is picking up more words and signs everyday! He really is exploding in growth....in more ways than one! Yesterday he woke up with a big swollen red area on his chest. I took him to the dr.'s and she said it was probably a bug bite and prescribed benedryl and warm compresses. It seems much better today. Anyways, they weighed him and he is 24lbs 12oz! That's a good 1 1/2lbs bigger than 2 months ago! This kid can eat!! He's about ready to pass Samuel by. He's our little tank:) He loves to wave "byebye" to people (especially at the nurse yesterday), Loves loves loves to go outside. All day he points out the window and says, "Sye? Sye?" He loves to poke my eye and said "eye?" And lately he has been really into his blankie. When he thinks he needs comfort, he crawls over to his crib and reaches through the slats and tries to pull his blankie through. I find blankets all over the house!
Ben has started his new diet for his health; 5 days now of no sugar, yeast, fruit, bread, etc. He's losing weight but not feeling better yet. Because he has been so sick it will probably take awhile for his body to adjust and start feeling better. He's got a lot of determination to stick to this strict diet! He has consumed a large amount of vegetables in the past 5 days. I don't think we've ever had so many in our house! Hopefully in the next couple of weeks he'll notice a big difference.
I am thinking more and more about Ben's trip this summer and the effect it will have on the boys and I. It's coming up quickly and I'm realizing how long the days will be and how tiring it will be. I really wish we had family nearby!! We should be coming to Columbus for a couple of weeks to help break up the time. And if anyone wants to come visit us, we would LOVE it!! For now though, we're just trying to finish up year 3 in school and making fun family plans for the month of June. There's lots to do here!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Zakkai is talking and learning more everyday! He says "bypye" (diaper), "yie" (light; rhymes with tie), "dee" (teeth) "baa" (bath)....he does the "milk" sign all the time now. He does it for any drink though! Oh well! He loves to point out lights all over. And this afternoon took 5 more steps! He has to do it on his own time. He could be walking all over if he wanted to; he walks down the hallway holding on to the wall, all over the house holding out hands....but isn't ready to be independent yet!
We watched the Kentucky Derby tonight and it was sad because Samuel was watching with us and picked Eight Belles as his favorite horse (guess he liked the name). Just in case you didn't know, Eight Belles fell after the race and had to be put down. Not a good ending to the race! Thankfully, Samuel wasn't paying attention and we didn't have to say anything. We didn't say anything to him about the giraffe that died at our zoo recently either. What do you say to a young child about an animal getting hurt and dying? What a hard thing to explain! For now all animals live forever and are happy and waiting to entertain Samuel!
Ben and I had a daytime date today! We went out with our housegroup to eat at a pizza place while our friend babysat the boys! It was so fun to get out, while it was still light out! We are exploring new parts to the city lately, which has been cool. We had pizza that was pretty good and then all grouped over to Coldstone Creamery. Yum! It was nice to end the outing with chocolate ice cream and heath bar pieces....until I found the hair in it.....It might be awhile before I go back there!