The sweetest thing happened today that gave me one of the proudest mommy moments yet. We try to pray with the boys as much as we can. We pray every morning as a family before BJ leaves for work and then before meals and again at bedtime. Most of the time the boys are pretty squirmy and don't seem to be paying much attention, but about a month or so ago Blaine (and sometimes Pierce) started mimicking "Amen" afterwards. So cute! And even more recently Blaine has cupped his hands together in the prayer pose. But today we were at my mom's for their lunch and I had given them their cheese and bean tacos a couple minutes prior while my mom and I were sitting there visiting. All of a sudden Blaine clasped his hands together, held them up to his face, and said "Amen". We almost died. I had forgotten to pray, but he remembered. It still warms my heart thinking about. It is sinking in! I feel so proud that such an important habit we want to instill is maybe sinking in.
Father, I pray that they would be boys and men who know the power of prayer and see the importance and value of it in their daily lives. Help us to set a consistent and positive example always. Amen!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sweet Brothers
I feel like in the last week or so the boys have really started interacting more. The other day we were at my mom's and Blaine was feeling kind of cranky. I was sitting on the floor with him and Pierce was right next to me. Blaine had been fussing and the next thing I knew he leaned over and hugged Pierce (not in a particularly nice way) and took him down to the floor. They kind of rolled over still hugging and Mom and I just sat there and cracked up. It was the first time they had done anything like that! Even though it wasn't a loving moment it was still so cute. I know there are many more wrestling matches like that ahead of us.
The cutest thing has happened in the past few days though. The other day we were playing in their room and Blaine had found Pierce's lovey bear (still nameless). He picked it up and then I watched him carry it over to Pierce and hand it to him. Sweetest.thing.ever. Since then it's happened several more times and now we purposely hand it to Blaine to give to him. He knows exactly what to do. It's so sweet!
And then tonight we watched another new interaction. We were finishing up dinner and the boys were sitting within reaching distance of each other. I'm not sure how it started, but Pierce would grab Blaine's sleeve, tug a little, and then let go. Then Blaine would reach his arm back out and they'd do it all over again.
The cutest thing has happened in the past few days though. The other day we were playing in their room and Blaine had found Pierce's lovey bear (still nameless). He picked it up and then I watched him carry it over to Pierce and hand it to him. Sweetest.thing.ever. Since then it's happened several more times and now we purposely hand it to Blaine to give to him. He knows exactly what to do. It's so sweet!
And then tonight we watched another new interaction. We were finishing up dinner and the boys were sitting within reaching distance of each other. I'm not sure how it started, but Pierce would grab Blaine's sleeve, tug a little, and then let go. Then Blaine would reach his arm back out and they'd do it all over again.
Mischief
We've had some toddler mischief incidents in the past couple of weeks. These things happen so quickly, but usually occur when I've left the room for a couple of minutes or turned my back. It only takes less than a minute apparently.
1. A couple of weeks ago I was getting breakfast ready and I handed Blaine a box of Chex to hold and distract him for a bit. Dumb move. A minute later I hear the sound of a pile hitting the floor. He had dumped almost the entire box on the floor by the kitchen windows. He was sitting on the sill eating a few and Pierce had also crawled over for a snack. I know I'm a true mom now because my first reaction was the grab the camera. It made for a cute picture!
2. We had been playing in the basement one morning and I had run upstairs for a few minutes to pull their lunch together. When I left Blaine had been playing with Diego's food container, but he had been the other day and it stayed completely sealed. After a bit though, I heard elated giggles coming from downstairs and I knew it probably wasn't good. Sure enough, they had gotten the lid off and had poured what was left (thankfully not much) all over the tile and were proceeding to put piece by piece back in. (After they had already each put a piece in their mouths. Gross.) The funny part is that they were having more fun putting the little pieces back in than the actual dumping part I think. Diego had a free buffet for the morning.
3. Just today we had all gone upstairs this morning to get dressed. I often let them run free in the hallway and their room and sometimes the laundry room while I pull their clothes together and dress them. Today I decided to attempt to fold a clean load of their laundry while they played. They had both been in the laundry room (they love playing with the washer door and taking the detergent lid on and off the container) when I heard the door close. This always makes me nervous. So I got right up and opened it only to find Blaine standing next to the dryer. I did a quick scan of the small room and confirmed that I couldn't find Pierce. And right then I looked through the dryer door and saw him sitting happily inside of it! I was horrified and tickled at the same time. He fit perfectly and was just sitting Indian style looking as happy as can be. I guess no claustrophobia for that baby.
More to come, I'm sure...
1. A couple of weeks ago I was getting breakfast ready and I handed Blaine a box of Chex to hold and distract him for a bit. Dumb move. A minute later I hear the sound of a pile hitting the floor. He had dumped almost the entire box on the floor by the kitchen windows. He was sitting on the sill eating a few and Pierce had also crawled over for a snack. I know I'm a true mom now because my first reaction was the grab the camera. It made for a cute picture!
2. We had been playing in the basement one morning and I had run upstairs for a few minutes to pull their lunch together. When I left Blaine had been playing with Diego's food container, but he had been the other day and it stayed completely sealed. After a bit though, I heard elated giggles coming from downstairs and I knew it probably wasn't good. Sure enough, they had gotten the lid off and had poured what was left (thankfully not much) all over the tile and were proceeding to put piece by piece back in. (After they had already each put a piece in their mouths. Gross.) The funny part is that they were having more fun putting the little pieces back in than the actual dumping part I think. Diego had a free buffet for the morning.
3. Just today we had all gone upstairs this morning to get dressed. I often let them run free in the hallway and their room and sometimes the laundry room while I pull their clothes together and dress them. Today I decided to attempt to fold a clean load of their laundry while they played. They had both been in the laundry room (they love playing with the washer door and taking the detergent lid on and off the container) when I heard the door close. This always makes me nervous. So I got right up and opened it only to find Blaine standing next to the dryer. I did a quick scan of the small room and confirmed that I couldn't find Pierce. And right then I looked through the dryer door and saw him sitting happily inside of it! I was horrified and tickled at the same time. He fit perfectly and was just sitting Indian style looking as happy as can be. I guess no claustrophobia for that baby.
More to come, I'm sure...
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
16 Month Update
Blaine's Words
Di- cat/any other animal
Bee- animals/lights (oddly)
Gaga- cracker
Dada
Nana- Banana/Nana K
Pierce's Words
Uh-oh
Dada
Gaga- cracker
Nana- banana
Wassat?- What's that? (while pointing)
Mmmmmm- Car sound
Both boys are becoming more and more vocal these days. They are getting better at repeating words we tell them to say and understanding the connections. It makes them seem even more like little people.
Pierce finally cut both top teeth and looks older just as I suspected. Blaine has been working on molars and has cut 3 so far. I think Pierce has cut one, which was surprising since he only has four in the front. Pierce has had a few crankier days lately and I think this is a big reason. Blaine seems to take it in stride though most days.
We are officially down to one nap a day which usually happens between 12 and 12:30. Blaine was less ready for only one and still falls asleep on the way home from errands sometimes, bless his heart. Most days they sleep about 2 hours, but sometimes more if I'm lucky. I've enjoyed our new schedule because it's allowed for more open time to do things and they usually go right down once it's time.
They have started getting attached to BJ a little more these days, especially Blaine. They are very aware when he leaves for work in the morning and Blaine will often walk him to the gate and say something very seriously with a furrowed brow. It's like he's trying to understand why he's leaving again. It's so cute and breaks BJ's heart all at the same time. Pierce consistently says "dada" if we're talking about him or once he sees him. I'm afraid we are nearing the shift where I'm not the only who's hung the moon and the stars in their little worlds.
Meal times continue to be fairly chaotic, mostly because Pierce is still so picky. He is so unopen to trying anything and if he does he makes a disgusted face before the neural connection between his taste buds and brain have even had time to connect. He is keeping me humble as a mom in this area. We think he may have eaten a green bean or two the other night when we weren't looking though. We've continued not to pander to his wants, but offer him his meal as is. He'll usually eat the fruit portion, but oftentimes that's it. I just hold on to Dr. Hartman's wisdom that he won't let himself starve. It's really not the starving I worry about, but the nutrition. I hope it turns around one of these days. On the other hand, Blaine is a meal champ. He will still try and likes just about everything. He's also gotten really good at using his silverware. He can eat entire meals stabbing things with his fork (He learned with his egg strips.) and we're working on liquids with a spoon. I think it will change my life when one or both can completely feed themselves!
Blaine is practically running now and seems more toddler and less baby-like by the day. Pierce can walk, but just chooses not to still. He can take multiple steps between us when we bait or make him, but then goes right back to crawling. At least we know he can, but I'm just concerned about when he'll decide he's ready. That baby has a stubborn streak in him that scares me sometimes! They've also gotten pretty good at mastering stairs. We worked on going down feet first on their bellies and they really latched on to it. It's so cute to seem them diligently get down on their stomachs (sometimes a good 2 feet from the stairs) and scoot themselves back and down. We still have all gates up and probably will for sometime because I like them contained so I know where they are. Plus we're not quite that good at going down yet.
Di- cat/any other animal
Bee- animals/lights (oddly)
Gaga- cracker
Dada
Nana- Banana/Nana K
Pierce's Words
Uh-oh
Dada
Gaga- cracker
Nana- banana
Wassat?- What's that? (while pointing)
Mmmmmm- Car sound
Both boys are becoming more and more vocal these days. They are getting better at repeating words we tell them to say and understanding the connections. It makes them seem even more like little people.
Pierce finally cut both top teeth and looks older just as I suspected. Blaine has been working on molars and has cut 3 so far. I think Pierce has cut one, which was surprising since he only has four in the front. Pierce has had a few crankier days lately and I think this is a big reason. Blaine seems to take it in stride though most days.
We are officially down to one nap a day which usually happens between 12 and 12:30. Blaine was less ready for only one and still falls asleep on the way home from errands sometimes, bless his heart. Most days they sleep about 2 hours, but sometimes more if I'm lucky. I've enjoyed our new schedule because it's allowed for more open time to do things and they usually go right down once it's time.
They have started getting attached to BJ a little more these days, especially Blaine. They are very aware when he leaves for work in the morning and Blaine will often walk him to the gate and say something very seriously with a furrowed brow. It's like he's trying to understand why he's leaving again. It's so cute and breaks BJ's heart all at the same time. Pierce consistently says "dada" if we're talking about him or once he sees him. I'm afraid we are nearing the shift where I'm not the only who's hung the moon and the stars in their little worlds.
Meal times continue to be fairly chaotic, mostly because Pierce is still so picky. He is so unopen to trying anything and if he does he makes a disgusted face before the neural connection between his taste buds and brain have even had time to connect. He is keeping me humble as a mom in this area. We think he may have eaten a green bean or two the other night when we weren't looking though. We've continued not to pander to his wants, but offer him his meal as is. He'll usually eat the fruit portion, but oftentimes that's it. I just hold on to Dr. Hartman's wisdom that he won't let himself starve. It's really not the starving I worry about, but the nutrition. I hope it turns around one of these days. On the other hand, Blaine is a meal champ. He will still try and likes just about everything. He's also gotten really good at using his silverware. He can eat entire meals stabbing things with his fork (He learned with his egg strips.) and we're working on liquids with a spoon. I think it will change my life when one or both can completely feed themselves!
Blaine is practically running now and seems more toddler and less baby-like by the day. Pierce can walk, but just chooses not to still. He can take multiple steps between us when we bait or make him, but then goes right back to crawling. At least we know he can, but I'm just concerned about when he'll decide he's ready. That baby has a stubborn streak in him that scares me sometimes! They've also gotten pretty good at mastering stairs. We worked on going down feet first on their bellies and they really latched on to it. It's so cute to seem them diligently get down on their stomachs (sometimes a good 2 feet from the stairs) and scoot themselves back and down. We still have all gates up and probably will for sometime because I like them contained so I know where they are. Plus we're not quite that good at going down yet.
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