Lucianese

"Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

Right around his second birthday, Louie's language skills started to explode! However, you might not really notice it unless you're around him as much as I am, because most of his words are basically incomprehensible. I think they're adorable, I just hope he's not still talking like this as a teenager. Some of the most common new words and phrases are as follows:

mo! = no!
guk = milk
wups = grapes
eh-wul = cereal
eh-woah! = hello!
eh-go, Mama! = here you go, Mama!
ehhh-bee... = heavy
bupper = diaper
bup = bum/bottom
bop! = stop! (or 'go away!' or 'move!'... usually directed at Max)

Many of these words are used so often, they've started to creep into our daily language. Phrases like, "Do you want water or guk, Louie?" and "Let's go change your bupper!" have become commonplace. Even Max gets in on the fun, preferring to say "Mo!" instead of "No!" and "Bop!" whenever Lucian comes near his stuff.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Max's nickname has evolved from Mackie to Gax. For some reason, that is what Lucian has decided to call him, and it has stuck! He can say "Mama" and "Dada" clear as a bell, but his big brother's name is firmly ingrained as "Gax". And himself, he has dubbed  "Yay-Yay". Close enough, right?

Snip!

So I've clipped the occasional extra-long hair above Lucian's ears before, but today was his very first official haircut! What? Isn't it completely normal that a child wouldn't need his hair cut until after his second birthday? No? Oh, that's right, Lucian has my hair... that wispy, nearly-nonexistent baby fuzz that I had for the first few years of life. My mom used to tape bows on my head when I was a baby so people would quit asking if I was a boy or girl! Yes, tape them. Because there wasn't enough hair there to attach a bow to. 

So Louie is following in my footsteps, but man-oh-man is he darn cute with his newly shorn locks! Don't you think?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Sorry this post has been delayed, as I was knocked down with a bout of the stomach flu the morning after my birthday! However horrible it was, at least it had the decency to stay away until my birthday was officially over. Now that I've regained my health, I'm just praying it doesn't make its way through the rest of the family. We don't have time for this stuff!

Anyways, back to happier times... Monday morning started out perfectly, with Paul letting me sleep in until 9:45! He did an amazing job at keeping the kids down in the living room, which is quite a feat around these parts if Mom is upstairs. At about 9:15, he came in to tell me he had set the boys up with a video and was running to Panera (YUM!) to pick up breakfast. Thus the 9:45 wake up call- the instant the video was over, I suddenly had two crazy boys climbing all over me! Honestly, a perfect way to start the conscious part of my day. Max's greeting of choice on Mom's birthday was, "Good morning! Will you get up and make a birthday cake for myself and you?" He's got his priorities straight, no doubt.

We went downstairs and met Paul coming in with a delicious Panera coffee cake and a dozen gorgeous roses! Happy birthday me! We settled in at the table and waited... and waited... and waited for Paul to come in with the coffee cake. When he came out of the kitchen, I realized what had taken him so long: he had lit twenty-seven candles on that cake!! Max helped me blow them out before the house burned down, and we got all but two on the first try. Go us! Wow, that was a powerful visual aid to demonstrate that yes, I am getting older.

We spent the rest of the morning in our pajamas, lazing around the house. Eventually we got ourselves moving and got ready to go to Burnsville for my birthday dinner, cooked by my very favorite Top Chef, Mom. After we had all successfully stuffed ourselves with lasagna, it was present time! I got two awesome cook books  (One containing 30-minute meals, the other all-vegetarian to expand my Friday options), a CD, and some gorgeous handmade jewelry (can you guess who made it?). On top of it all, Max and I get to go on a Paint-Your-Plate excursion with my mom sometime of my choosing. How fun!

Dessert was served to me by the two cutest kiddos I know, and it was delicious. Salted caramel cheesecake, anyone? Jealous much? Then after a game of 500, we packed up the gifts, kids, and leftovers (not necessarily in that order) and went home. It was exactly the way I wanted to spend my birthday!

I did it!

I thought you might enjoy a quick little video of Lucian's very first sentence! He's definitely not a chatterbox like his brother, but I think he's taking everything in and will repeat it back when it's convenient for him. As you can see, he is pretty proud of himself when he knows he's said something we can comprehend. Behold: "I did it!"

Other new words in Lucian's vocabulary include "apple" (ba-pu), "hot dog" (ot-da), "help" (ep!) "popcorn" (pa-coo), "Macky" (Ka-ka), and "Louie" (Oo-Woo).

Oh, and how could I forget "Hula" (hoo-ah)? ...Yes really. It's in his favorite song, "Dance Like You've Got Ants in your Pants" by Eric Herman. You should check it out, it's under two minutes and very addictive. Lucian says "Bop! Bop! Bop!" every time he comes near the computer, which I discovered is his code for "I want to watch 'Dance Like You've Got Ants in your Pants!'" (If you watch the video you'll understand.

So, communication is slowly coming along! It's fun to hear his little voice, and I can't wait until he and Max start conversing... can you imagine the things I'm going to overhear? Stay tuned...

Heeere Fishy, Fishy...

Max has been a little water baby since the first time we motored him around in the apartment pool in Rapid City. Combine the natural affinity he has for water with the huge blessing that my parents have a pool in their backyard and we have one bona fide fish on our hands!

You wouldn't think that September would be a major month for swimming news, but with the beautiful weather this year we were able to enjoy the pool through Labor Day weekend and beyond. Think we'll hit October this year? ...Okay, that may be pushing it.

So this weekend Max had a swimming breakthrough, and I am so excited to share it with you!  See for yourself:

We have a swimmer on our hands! With no life jacket, and no help from Dad, he is able to keep himself afloat in deep water. And the best part is... he LOVES it! We nearly had to drag him out of the pool for a break. Otherwise he would have just kept swimming until he couldn't move his limbs anymore. I am so proud of my little boy... who is not so little anymore.

Look out, Michael Phelps, here we come!

Celebrating Five Years

"If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden." -Claudia Ghandi

Happy 5th anniversary, my love!

My Little Artist

I'm going to take a moment to brag about my son, because I can.

The coloring page shown below was the inspiration for a work of art that Max just completed. He took a glance at this picture (an illustration of Jesus' analogy of the Vine and the Branches from Brother Francis Online), and decided he wanted to draw it on his own.

This is the first time I've seen Max try to recreate a picture, and I was pretty impressed with the result! It might need some interpretation, but it's all there:


The purple circles are, of course, the grapes. The lines coming from the grapes are the arms, the scribbles are the grape's hands, and the brown line from the arm to the vine stem is the saw. If you look closely, you can even see the big grape's face!

I solemnly swear that I did not alter, tamper with, or aid in the creation of this drawing in any way. I guess I have no clue what's developmentally normal for his age, but I was totally blown away! Up until now, he's drawn nothing but scribbles... and then suddenly this!

Let's all pause for a proud Mommy moment.

Pearly whites

The day has arrived! I no longer have to worry about my little boy gumming his food for the rest of his life. I won't need to get him dentures at the age of three. He has a TOOTH!

Lucian was up from midnight to 3 am, cranky and fussy, refusing to go to sleep. I knew something was up. Lo and behold, when I looked in his mouth this morning, I could see the beginnings of one of his bottom teeth starting to poke through! I clicked a spoon on it- this is no mirage, it's an actual, bona fide, real live tooth.

Steak dinners, corn on the cob, here we come!

Next milestone, that elusive first step...

Three and Up

"Caution: contains small parts. Not for children under three."

How many times have I seen those words? The day used to seem so far off when I wouldn't have to worry about my baby trying to ingest all of the "small parts" in his toys, but suddenly Max is three! He has officially moved into the next developmental age group, according to psychologists, book sellers, toy makers; so many things were off-limits until now, but suddenly he is old enough to handle the Big Kid toys and do all of the Big Kid stuff. (Including paying admission at the Minnesota Zoo. Bummer.)

It's a little bittersweet for me.

Three means he's growing up. Three means that he is old enough to go to school! I can't believe we are at that point already. Our church has a preschool program called "Catechesis of the Good Shepherd", open to kids age 3-6. Next fall, we'll be able to enroll Max and start meeting families in our parish. Hooray! I've heard such good things about this program, and I can't wait for Max to make some friends at our church.

I'm learning firsthand that Age Three was not randomly chosen as a major marker in child development. Even though we're only a month in, I have noticed changes in Max that show me he is really growing up. He's able to carry on a more complex conversation and make his needs known more clearly. But since I know he understands what I'm asking him, I've discovered that he has a terrible case of Selective Hearing. When we're talking about him, the kid's got elephant ears... but when I'm talking to him (more specifically, telling him to do something) suddenly the invisible headphones go on.

Oh Lordy, can't wait til he's a teenager.

On the move!

Oh boy.

Here we go...

This morning, Lucian started scooting! Backwards, mind you, so he hasn't quite figured out how to get where he wants to go. He mainly scoots himself halfway under the couch and then gets mad. But seriously, at this point, it's only a matter of days until he takes off!!

Farewell, sweet days of peace. Soon my children will be running in two different directions! It was inevitable, I know, but man... I can't believe it's already here.

I have been so open about my desire for Lucian to take his sweet time becoming mobile that I've even been accused of nailing his pants to the floor (Jess!), which I promise I've never done... however often I've thought about it.

But regardless of how hard I have hoped and prayed, the day has arrived. We have two mobile children!

Lord have mercy.

Four Years!

Four years have gone by in the blink of an eye. I remember thinking on our wedding day that it was the best day of my life, but I know now that it was just the beginning of a long succession of "best days". Yes, there have been bad days and good days; sharing a life with someone, and bringing new life into the world, is hard. But never have I once wanted to go back. Speaking from my experience- and from the experience of several close friends- there is a profound sense of peace that comes with entering your vocation, whatever that vocation is. There is still the daily question, "Am I doing what God wants me to do?" in the specifics of daily life, but no more do I have to wonder where God is calling me. On my wedding day, I knew the answer with certainty.

I write a lot about my children, but today I am remembering that my calling is first and foremost to serve my husband (and to allow him to serve me). I want to raise up our children to know how much their parents love each other.

Happy anniversary, my Love!

Ready, Set, Jump!

When I was in high school, I really enjoyed the fact that my parents had a pool. Our house tended to be THE hangout spot in nice weather, and it was great having the option to swim right at my fingertips. But not until this summer have I fully appreciated this glorious oasis in my parents' backyard. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I would add that a lack of central air conditioning, a rambunctious two year old, and 90+ degree weather have made this heart grow fonder.


Whenever we want to (and we have wanted to a LOT lately) we pack up and drive to Burnsville for a dip in the pool. It doesn't cost us a penny and we have the place to ourselves- except when my cousins stop by, which makes it even more fun!


Max swims like crazy in his life jacket, but he prefers to splash around in freedom so that he can go underwater. When I was his age, I doubt I was even willing to put my face in the water; this kid dunks himself, eyes wide open, and comes back up laughing! Also, in the last couple of weeks, he has gotten comfortable jumping off the edge of the pool by himself. It scared the daylights out of me a few times, but he can even make it back up to the surface on his own. Now we're working on those first few doggy paddles, and I'm thinking that by the end of the summer he may be able to keep himself afloat!

Lucian, you're next.

Sitter

Almost six months to the day, Lucian started sitting up on his own! Now his favorite thing to do is sit in the living room with pillows propped behind him and watch his big brother play. Max has also taken to sitting right next to Lucian with a pillow of his own (in case he tips over too?) and I love watching the two of them interact- just like brothers should ("No Lucian, I want to play with that! No, Lucian, don't touch that!") but even though he pretends to get annoyed, he doesn't want to move anywhere else!

This new milestone happened at the perfect time, as I've been unable to lift Louie for the past week. Saturday I was able to start carrying him a little bit, but I could plop him down anywhere when I got tired. Plus he seems to be more content when he can see the whole world around him rather than just the ceiling. My convenience, his contentment... sitting babies are great!

And super cute.

But he looks too old now...

Don't grow up too fast, little guy!