Pierce 25.5 Month Update

Pierce has been right along with Blaine in a happy, healthy, fun month. His personality continues to come out and he's also talking more and more. We've noticed that the words he most often repeats and uses are ones Blaine has already simplified into "toddler talk". I've been trying to get him to say excuse me at appropriate times, but he never would. One day I thought to tell him to say "me me" like Blaine does and he did and has been on his own ever since! He even occasionally says "here ya go, Mommy" now. One of my favorite Pierce phrases is "ah-kay, Mommy". That's what I tell them to say when I want to make sure they are listening. The way he says it is just so darn cute! He still has a much softer voice than Blaine (except when yelling at him), but he does really good pitch imitations. BJ will tell him to say "mommy" (his favorite word) in all kinds of different voices and pitches and he's spot on for all of them!

He loves rough housing with Daddy and tells him "mo how" for more "house" after they finish. He's still a tough one! He is still absolutely obsessed with trains and has some kind of rotation for his favorites. Rosie has been the favorite lately. She's a Sodor squirt train the boys found in the basement amidst some of Jack's toys he gave. Pierce quickly adopted her (as he tried to do with most new trains) and has rarely let her out of his sight. He calls her "woh-wie". He's also putting more 2-3 word phrases together, one of his favorites being "mo ____".

Our most favorite train moment with Pierce was the other night when we went in around 10:30 to look at them and get some itch cream out of their room. We shone the light on Pierce and saw that right above his head he had all four trains he'd gone to bed with perfectly lined up- in size order no less! It cracked us up and all I could think is how much that one moment demonstrated so very much about his little personality. Passionate about trains and particular in his ways. He is a boy who knows exactly what he wants, how he wants it, and won't give up until he gets it.

His picky food ways continue to plague me, but I will admit he has gotten better about making compromises. He'll take multiple more bites of something in order to get something else he wants. Progress, I guess. He's really into red grapes right now and calls them "gays". He's gone through a couple growth spurts in the last couple of months where he's eaten more than I've seen in awhile. By appearances, it looks like he's closing the size gap between him and Blaine.

He's also shown more and more compassion lately. He's very sweet with the baby and likes to pat and even hug my tummy. I remind him and Blaine about being gentle to me a lot and sometimes he'll randomly come up, look straight into my eyes, and gently pat my shoulder. I love it! He's been pretty good about sharing and trading toys with Blaine, except for certain beloved trains,.

He's still my mama's boy and I'm ok with that. :)

Blaine 25.5 Month Update

The boys have come alive in a whole new way this past month and hallelujah for that! We've had a blissful month of happy days, overall health, and good moods. What a blessing and difference from the previous six months! I'm still not sure what it was- summer months, development- but I'll take it!

Blaine is chattier than ever and I love listening to him babble. He picks up new words so easily and quickly applies them to his every day vocabulary. Some of my favorites:

"oh yeah"- the best we can figure, he learned this from his Lightning McQueen car. He uses it when he remembers something or is excited about something. I love it!
"home"- says this when we pull in the driveway or, for example, when he doesn't want to be somewhere anymore. (see future post of Black Bob Bay disaster)
"mump"- whenever we go over a bump
"Buh Weil"- just started this one today after hearing me call Pierce, Pierce Weil. Cracks me up!
"noni" or "cooookie"- the request for every meal or snack
"cukay"- cupcake. I may or may not call muffins cupcakes to encourage the eating of something slightly healthier
"na b"- banana bread. A true Holloway, this kid has a breakfast (and all time of day) sweet tooth
"nom"- Thomas
"woh-wie"- Rosie, another Sodor train
"Go Ky-yo"- random remembrance of cheering at Kyle's baseball game a few weeks ago
"bee"- bridge, meaning he wants to walk under our legs

He's also constantly putting words together into 2-3 word phrases. I love seeing his language come together. We call him a smart pickle a lot. (BJ had to change it to pickle after triggering a request for cookies.)

Blaine is still very compassionate and sensitive. Certain things at certain times can seriously hurt his feelings or embarrass him. If this happens, he'll just stand really still with a serious/sad look on his face until you go to him. Then he'll press his face into your shoulder for a long time. Little else can break my heart like this! He has shown a great interest in baby dolls lately at church at Aunt Nancy's. We'll often come back to find him holding one with a bottle or putting it to bed. This gives me great hope for next year with a little sibling! He also likes to help wipe Pierce's bottom sometimes. Such a helper!

He's been a great sleeper lately and has even slept in a few occasions. He's full of energy and still has a smile that lights up his eyes. He still loves trains, but is definitely less obsessive than Pierce. Another evidence of his compassion is his willingness to share with Pierce. Pierce can be a little (or a lot) possessive of his trains, and Blaine almost always gives Pierce whatever he wants with a "here ya go, buh". I hope he's not learning to give up too easily.

I feel so proud of who he's becoming and seeing him be so compassionate and giving makes me feel like we're doing some things right.

First Swim Lessons

At the end of June we took the boys to a parent and me swim class through Olathe Parks and Rec. It was definitely hairy making the schedule work because the lessons were from 6-6:30 M-Th for 2 weeks. I'm really glad we did it though. The purpose was mostly to get the kids acclimated to the water and learn some basics. We blew bubbles, kicked, reach and pulled, jumped off the side and even dunked them on the second week. I still feel like a mean mommy. Songs and toys were mixed in and the boys really loved that. Their favorite was throwing the squirt toy and kicking to get it. Surprisingly Pierce did really well, but Blaine did not enjoy it overall. A few times BJ had to take him out early because he was so cranky. He was a little sick the first week, so I had hoped for a better second week, but no so. The best day was the last one when Nana and Papa came to watch. Both boys came alive and showed what they could do. It was so cute to see them showing off and proud of themselves.

I think my absolute favorite memory was after the last lesson when the instructors passed out certificates of completion. They quickly understood that this was an accomplishment and they were so proud. When it was their turn, we took them up and they each reached out for their certificate with a huge grin on their faces. Pierce ran over to show Nana and Blaine just stared at his very intently with his serious look. BJ offered to read it to him and he said his serious yeah. It was darling to see them so proud!

Turning 2!

The boys celebrated their 2nd birthday under the sea with family and friends. The party turned out really great which was happy because they were pretty sick on their actual birthday. They had both come down with a really nasty throat virus and they could hardly eat anything. It was not at all what I had envisioned. I pictured a morning at Deanna Rose, planning to meet Daddy for lunch at Chick-Fil-A and a cupcake celebration with the four of us that night. None of that happened. But thankfully they were healthy for their party. GG came into town that week and John and the kids were here as well. The boys had a blast playing with their cousins. Each time gets more and more fun as they were more able to hang out with the big kids. They all 6 had a ball playing Little Round People in Nana and Papa's basement.

We had their party the following Saturday. Rachael came over early and helped me put the finishing touches on. I'm always pretty impressed with how festive everything looks by party time. My mom and LaChelle made darling fondant and candy sea creature cupcakes. They were the perfect centerpiece. We had submarine sandwiches, sand dollars (chips) and skinny dip, fruit of the sea, and ocean cups. But the highlight of the party had to be when an actual fire truck showed up in front of our house. Sarah has a friend in the KCFD, but somehow arranged for an Olathe firetruck to come during the party. The timing was perfect right after lunch and the boys (and adults) were thrilled. It was so fun and they let the boys climb up in the seats and ring the outer bell. They talked about it for days after. Such special and fun memories!

They got lots of fun and generous gifts: clothes, trains, cars, Mickey bulldozer, a sand table, mini trampoline, a water table. Everyone was so generous. 

A couple of weeks later we headed south to Altamont to celebrate with Chris and the Gatton family. I'm always touched about how sweet and helpful they are with the boys. We made a last minute switch from the park to Bob and Nola's house and they even had decorations and balloons up. Chris had made pineapple upside down cupcakes and the flooded the boys with gifts that were right up their alley. Only trains, cars, and puzzles and the boys couldn't have been happier! 

They are certainly two blessed little boys!

The Boys' First Mural

I learned an important yesterday: Do not leave crayons out and go upstairs. It's my usual routine. About 9:00 every morning I leave the boys down here with Sesame Street and toys and go upstairs to get ready and get a few things done. Blaine has been really into crayons and coloring lately, so they had been laying on their little table (which Pierce had already colored on). I was upstairs for a bit and had no idea anything mischievous was going on down here. I heard Blaine saying "here ya go, mommy" from the gate and came down to find him offering me a quarter. It was so sweet and cute and then I walked into the living room. I was shocked and somewhat amused, but really not mad. I would say mostly incredulous really. They had used every single color and done quite a number. I knew I should be stern about it, but after telling them that they shouldn't color on the walls I had them stand by it and take their picture saying cheese. I couldn't help it! I figured it was Pierce, but I really can't be certain that Blaine had no involvement. He'll tell you buh did it, but when I ask him if he did too he says yeah. But he says yeah to everything really. They were a hit on Facebook and I got some good advice for getting crayon off. Luckily this morning I went at it with a wet sponge and a lot of elbow grease and it came off. We knew eggshell paint would come in handy. A soapy sponge also worked for the little bit of crayon they got on my white chair too. I don't know why they love that corner behind the chair so much, but it's like the naughty, rebellious corner. Maybe b/c that's where time out is too? In any case, I consider it somewhat of an official initiation into toddlerhood. Welcome!

Myrtle Beach...Did you know it was bike week?

We headed south from the Kleinbergs for an almost 4 hour drive to Myrtle Beach. The time went pretty quickly, despite the fact that neither boy slept. Thank goodness for the iPad! My plan was to hit the grocery store on our way in so we wouldn't have to get out again. We found a Wal-Mart and got what we needed. We both noticed that the demographic wasn't quite what we expected. We were definitely the minority and I had noticed a lot of scantily clad Black women and men in vests. We went on to our condo (Which ended up being another 30 minutes away. Oops.) and headed upstairs with a nice bellhop. On our way upstairs he said, "So I have to ask you..." (at which point I thought he was going to ask if the boys were twins or something) "When you booked your vacation, did you know it was bike week?". I told him that I had seen a thing or two about it, but didn't think much about it. He gave us a knowing smile and that was it. So we get to our condo and the keybox wouldn't open with the code I was given. This should have been my first clue. I got a hold of the manager and we got in only to find it was 80 degrees and rising in there. It was already pretty hot and sticky outside and I had no patience for no AC. I was in touch with Karen again and she called to find an AC guy to come and take a look. Finally, after almost having to switch condos for the night, a man arrived at about 8:00. Pierce had already fallen asleep, bless his heart, but Blaine was in fine form. At some point while the guy was fixing it he asked us if we knew it was bike week. I said, "Yeah, but what does that really mean? Is it a big deal or something?". He just smiled and said, "You'll see". So the AC got fixed and we went to bed, noticing some revving motorcycle engines as we did.

As the week went, we basically learned Bike Week in Myrtle Beach is code for every Black bike gang in the coastal area coming to ride and rev their engines at night. It was definitely a thug-ish, shady crowd, but we minded our own business and didn't have too many encounters, other than the huge group hanging out in the parking lot every time we came in and out. Luckily our condo ended up being a good fit and had wonderful, close access to the beach. We hit the beach the first afternoon and the boys had a great time in the sand with their new sand pails and shovels. The beach was even nicer than we'd expected with white sand and dunes like I'd always wanted to see. The water wasn't too cold, but both boys were pretty timid about getting too close. Swimming pools still intimidate them some, so I wasn't too surprised. :)

The weather ended up being perfect, even after looming threats of 40%+ chances of rain. It only rained hard once for a bit during an evening. It was plenty warm and very humid, so getting in the water felt good. We would carry the boys to the shore and dip their toes in and let the waves splash us. They were still nervous, but let themselves enjoy it for a bit. Pierce loved running around the vast sand and Blaine mostly played with his sand toys. After a day or two he started getting bored though (much like the backyard at home) and had some meltdowns on the beach. I don't think he was still quite himself post illness. Probably one of the boys' favorite beach moments was when we let them wreck a pretty sandcastle someone had built and left. They'd eyed it for awhile and we finally gave in and let them wreck. It was fast, but very fun! It was really neat to see them experience another environment and I love giving them those adventures.

On a cooler morning we killed some time at a local children's museum. Cute museum, cranky kids. We tried one of many "famous" seafood buffets which was, as we had somewhat expected, like a seafood Golden Corral. We hit the boardwalk which was really pretty, but again, cranky kids and a lot of sketchy bikers. The condo also had a nice pool with a little water park attached. It was a little cool with the wind and water, but we got the boys down the slides a few times and they enjoyed it. We also rode the lazy river around with them a couple times. They really did a good job overall, but we discovered that vacationing with nearly 2 year olds was a little more exhausting. I was definitely ready to come home and be back in our normal environment with high chairs! They mostly "ate" (I use that term loosely) on a couch with the TV on. I'm so glad we got to go. It was wonderful to see the Kleinbergs and meet Ellie and let the boys experience the beach.