Stroller Ride

Hannah received a toy stroller for Christmas. Since she's started walking, I thought she might enjoy pushing it around. Well, that is not the case. Instead, she enjoys being put in it and Luke loves pushing her around along with her beloved "baby" (that would be any stuffed animal or doll she's carrying at the time). One rule - Luke must go slow because -- yes, I know this is not the safest thing to do in our home.

Just a Couple of Pics

Thought you might enjoy a couple of updated pictures of our little ones. Luke was playing so nicely with his trucks this afternoon on our bed. He even decided his drink needed to ride in the truck while I took the picture. When he has his trucks out, this is often the way he plays with them - circled around him in a line.

Luke's big dump truck came with a Tonka hat. So, that has become a fun toy recently. They have a good time putting it on - usually over their eyes, especially Hannah's. It doesn't stay over on either of their heads for long, though.

Less is More

We've recently upgraded some of our home "gadgets" mostly in the form of a new dvd player because our other one broke (yes, Chris later fixed it - yeah for him!) and the replacement of our stereo with an iPod. Anyway, to run all of this electronic stuff, Chris got us one remote that supposedly does everything. OK, I have to admit that it is pretty neat, but we could do the same with the three individual ones - if we could find the one we needed. I am babbling a bit because none of that is really the thought that got this post started. Instead, I was just setting it up for what the remote says when you "activate" it: "Welcome to your remote" What?! Need I say more as to what I think of that?!

Math and Science Toddler Style

We have recently been working with Luke to count to five. The first number he knew was two since that's how old he is. He quickly picked up one and even does a pretty good five. So, this is how he counts: one, two, (pause while Mommy or Daddy say three and four), five. Or he counts to five like this: one, two, one, two, five. I'm pretty sure he can do three and four because I have heard him say those, but they are very rare. Well, this morning he wanted a treat (peanut m&m). I told him he could have one. He picked out two, but only got one down before he dropped the other one and Daddy enjoyed it. Later, Chris asked him how many one was? Luke's answer was two. However, he knows what one means because later he asked for one treat and only picked one out. We still have a ways to go in the counting area, but he'll figure it out when he's ready.

OK, now for science. Luke has never really liked anything hot or even remotely warm at times. We even cool his food down before giving it to him and he often tells us it is hot without even trying it first. This morning I washed something in the dishwasher and pulled it out before the cycle was completely finished. I told Luke that it was hot. Chris then came over and had Luke touch it (it wasn't going to burn him) and told him it was hot hoping it would give him a better idea as to what hot really meant. Later, I let him have a bit of my ice water and he spilled just a bit on himself. I asked him if it was hot or cold. He told me hot. OK, we definitely need to work on the definitions of hot and cold a bit more.

Cheersport and My Opinion

There are a few things in this world that I'm rather opinionated about. One is girls' fashion. You may ask what is bringing this all up since Hannah has just passed the 13 month mark. Well, this weekend when we visited Atlanta, they were having the Cheersport Nationals. Needless to say there were quite a few young ladies from all parts of the US in downtown Atlanta. That is not a bad thing and I am supportive of organized athletics. However, the way these girls were dressed was horrible. Many of them had their middles showing (I don't remember seeing one outfit where this was not the case), sporting heavy, heavy make-up and the biggest bows they could make for their heads. I don't have a problem with the bows, but the first two things were so sad to see. I saw these outfits on little kids probably as young as my nieces (6-7 years old) all the way to probably early high school age. I was appalled by their appearance not to mention that their parents would let them out looking like that parading them around the US.

Anyway, I know cheerleaders are usually the role models for little girls, but I certainly hope Hannah doesn't take up this interest. Given my abilities, that should not be a problem. We would certainly not let her dress this way. We will have enough problems just finding age appropriate attire for her to wear everyday. Thankfully, she's still in baby fashions now and we won't have to worry about that for at least a few more years.

Imagine It!

Imagine It! is the name of the Atlanta Children's Museum. We decided to get out of town for a day and head to the big city. Now, we are from Indianapolis which has a nationally recognized children's museum. So, I didn't have that high of expectations, but it wasn't exactly what I thought it might be like. However, it was perfect for Luke. First, it wasn't really that big. It was basically one entire floor of a building. Second, I would say it was more of an activity/play area rather than a museum. They had programs for them, but they also had areas for them just to play and learn. It was recommended for kids eight and under. I'm not sure Luke could fully enjoy all of the activities, but the ones he did like were perfect for him. Most of the areas were just a little old for Hannah, but she still had fun nonetheless.

Luke's favorite area by far was a place where they had balls taking different routes and you could help it along the way. At the end, there was a crane that could move the balls from a high point & then rotate it to put it back in the beginning bin. Luke could have been the crane operator all day. He LOVED it! He also really enjoyed a converted bread truck. Of course, it had a steering wheel that he kept going to. His other favorite part was a water area that had magnetic fish and his pole was magnetic. So, he loved this kind of fishing.

Hannah also had a good time of putting all the stray balls back in their proper bin. She also found a shopping cart that was just her size that she had fun pushing around just like Mommy.

It was a beautiful day to visit and we had a really good time!

Sleeping Beauties

I love to see my babies sleeping. However, they make me chuckle a bit in their baby quirkiness. Luke is really into books right now. We let him take a book to bed with him. Most of the time he gets it laid down before falling asleep. However, this day it appears that he fell asleep mid page. Hannah's sleeping aid is definitely a habit and she is probably a bit dependent on her little, blue elephant. She loves this little elephant and always holds it this way. Why you may ask? Well, she sucks on the tag and I guess this gives her the best angle. She still loves her green frog, but she is definitely partial to her baby elephant.

Recent Observation

I don't know if my recent observation is true, but it seems to be at least in our home. Hannah is very interested in clothes. She isn't necessarily interested (yet!) in what she is wearing, but more in how it goes on. Here are some examples of how she has occupied several minutes (or longer) of her time recently:

• She loves trying to put her shoes on. Now that I've put her in a bigger size, maybe she'll actually be successful in this endeavor.
• She's been seen trying to put on her pants. She's got the "up" motion down, but can't get her legs in.
• She'll pull out her hair bow only to have it in her hand and place it back up by her head.
  
• She's also quite helpful when getting her dressed (kind of - she's a bit squirmy when it comes to her hair) She'll give me one foot and then the other when it comes to her socks and pants.

Now, the only reason that I mention all of this is because Luke is not one bit interested. I think he can put his shoes on (because he's done it when he really wants them on & I'm doing something else), but he chooses not to. He makes sure that we don't forget any part of his clothing, but isn't really interested in how it goes on. He's only recently been somewhat helpful when he gets dressed in the morning.

So, my observation is this - girls are more interested in dressing themselves and clothes than boys are. I was even watching a TLC show where a mom commented that she didn't have to teach her girls how to dress themselves, but she did the boys. I'm not worried, though, they'll both completely figure it out one day & won't even want my help or advice.

Kodak Moments

I got these sunglasses for Hannah this week and they make me laugh when I see her wear them. You also might notice that she has one of her shoes in her hand. She LOVES shoes as well. However, she doesn't keep them on like Luke does. Instead, she will spend quite some time just playing with them, looking at them and the most entertaining is trying to get them back on her feet. She'll grab her foot with one hand and have the shoe in the other trying to put it on. It's quite funny if you could see her. She is definitely persistent about it, though.


Luke is my little cleaner. I just found this cleaning set (on clearance of course). I put it in with my cleaning supplies. When I was in there the other day doing something else, he found it and has played with it pretty much nonstop since then. It has a little caddy to put everything in, but he'd rather carry it around this way. Shortly after he got it out, he came up missing for awhile and he was quite. Anyway, he was in his bathroom "cleaning" it. Needless to say, there was water in quite a few places including himself. He just crunched a cracker on the floor and cleaned it up with the broom and dust pan. I could have this type of behavior last a life time! We'll see if that happens.

Some "Signs" of Our Times

When we went for our last ultrasound visit, we had to go see a different doctor in a different office. On our way to the office, we passed two OB/GYN physicians who had this sign hanging on their door. A friend of ours commented, "aren't they kind of in the wrong business?" Thankfully, none of my doctors have this policy. Yes, it is easier if I can find someone to watch them, but that is not something I can always do. Anyway, this just rubs me the wrong way.

On a lighter note, we passed a local buffet restaurant a couple of weeks ago with this sign out front that said, "good southern cookin' makes you good lookin'" Yes, I'm sure it does!

Church

I know I wrote about Luke wanting to go to church in my last entry, but later today he did something to demonstrate how much he wanted to go.

Late this morning, he was talking about wanting to go to church. I kept telling him that we weren't going today, but we would go tomorrow. (I have Bible study tomorrow morning) Later, I went into our room and on our bed were Chris's church shoes, a pair of khaki pants and a nice shirt although he usually just wears it when it's really cold. I thought it just slightly odd so I asked Chris, who was home for lunch, why he had laid out those clothes. He gave me a blank look and then we put it together at the same time. When Luke had talked about church, he had then gone in our closet and got out Chris's church clothes. We thought it was a bit funny and I have to say the outfit actually went together. Unfortunately, it's pretty iffy that Luke will get to go to church tomorrow. He's got a pretty good cold and we can't pass that on to other little ones.

Heartwarming Moments

I need to make sure I get some things down here in writing before I forget what they are. Luke and Hannah are really coming into their personalities and it makes for some memorable moments for me. So, I love it when . . .

• Luke tries and sometimes succeeds at taking care of Hannah - getting her breakfast, getting her milk, fetching her "baby" (honestly, these are moments - we also have some not so nice moments. They are siblings!)
• Hannah says "bebe" that's about her only other word besides "uh-oh", but both are as plain as day
• Luke wants to go to church. He says it is fun and when questioned as to what is fun about it, he says "truck". OK, he does go to Sunday School and have a lesson, but I think he does enjoy playing with the trucks there.
  
• Luke wants to go back to church in the middle of the week.
• Hannah puts her hands together when we pray. They don't stay together, but neither do Luke's. I guess you have to begin somewhere.
• Hannah walks around the house and is so proud of her walking progress
• Hannah imitating some of the things I do around the house
  
• Luke kisses Chris good-bye and then runs back to him and says "hug" giving him a good-bye hug as well
• Luke running to Chris when he comes home
• Hannah waving to Chris when he comes home and loving it when her Daddy picks her up and gives her love
• Hannah climbing on my lap and voluntarily giving a hug and laughing at my kisses

It's not always this nice, but we are blessed and these are some of the most recent moments that make it all worth it!

My Two Cents About the Super Bowl

I am thrilled this morning that the Giants beat the Patriots last night. Yes, I would have preferred the Colts being there, but by the time the Super Bowl got around to being played, I didn't care who beat the Patriots. Much of that dislike was mostly came from the cheating allegations from earlier in the season and rumors in the media that Brady didn't seem to be a man of character. Plus, it didn't hurt that the other Manning was playing. I enjoyed seeing Peyton celebrating with and for his brother this morning on replays. So, this is the first and probably the last time you'll hear me say this, "Way to go Giants!"

It's a . . .

We had our ultrasound yesterday for us to catch our first blessed glimpse of our new addition. OK, and for the doctor's to do all their measurements and tests. Despite all of that I always get a bit nervous and excited. It's a wonder that you can see everything that is so truly amazing. In the picture above, you're looking at a profile of the face/head. Hopefully, you can make out the top of his head & then on the "top" side of the round shape are the eyes, nose and mouth. Due to an uncooperative baby initially, we thought we might be adding another baby girl, but in the end there was cooperation and we are indeed having another baby boy. We're excited and look forward to meeting him in June.