Liam: 3 yrs. 5 mo.

Liam has grown up so much over the school year.  I can't believe he graduated this month!!  We were nervous and curious how well he would do at his graduation.   He started out shy like he usually does.  He was sucking on his robe, and wasn't really singing much.  Then after a few minutes, he was the star of the show!  He was right in the front and center and he was singing, and doing the moves with the songs.  What a vast difference from his first program which was for Halloween!  He got separated from the group, and then kept running down the hallway, his teacher kept having to chase him?!  He also did really good with his graduation pictures.  We were kinda nervous about getting them done because lately when we try to get him to smile he does a silly Thomas the train character face.  We were pleasantly surprised at how cute he smiled, and were very relieved!!

 

So many changes over this last month too!!  We got some butterfly larvae, and he has really enjoyed watching the caterpillars grow, and change into butterflies!  We released them at Thanksgiving Point garden, and he chased a few of them down, and we were able to get some really cool pictures of them on the flowers.

 

He has been enjoying his swing set, although it seems he loves to collect Roly Poly's more.  This past month has been pretty rainy, so we haven't had much outside time though.  He loves to do puzzles now, and can do a 24 piece one all by himself.  He wants to dress himself now too, which can be an interesting site at times.  He was sick with a tummy bug a few weeks ago, it was the first time it was coming out both ends.  He was very good about using a bucket, and also using the potty.  We were very glad that we got him potty trained for that one!!  He had a dentist appointment earlier in the month, and he did really well.  He got x-rays of his teeth, and they were able to get all but one set because he kept gagging, oh well.  He thankfully doesn't have any cavities still!!  He also remembered the dead bunny on the drive over, which was 6+ months ago?!  That kid has a great memory when he wants to.  He has been talking in a different language lately.  Usually it happens when he is REALLY tired.  He has been known to talk the whole way home in his own language.  He also will talk in other people's voices.  Mainly in Rowan's voice.  His voice will get high and squeaky, and he will say something like 'I don't want to go to bed'.  or 'I want some food'.  It's pretty funny!  He has also improved on his language, he has started to use the word 'Either'.  And he uses it correctly, like 'I am not feeling good either'.  He also uses the word 'Cute'.  I have been decorating the 2nd floor with decals.  And he will come in and look at them, and say 'Awe Cute'.  He saw me holding a new shirt for myself the other day, and said...'that's cute'.  Or if Rowan is wearing a new shirt he says it too.  He and Rowan absolutely LOVE each other.  Sometimes when she is at my mom's house for the day, and he's at Grandma B's house, he will tell her that he misses Rowan.  They get along pretty well except when it comes to sharing toys : ) 

 

This past weekend, we finally were able to take him to ride on Thomas the Train.  The weather wasn't looking good, but we took a warm coat, and an umbrella just in case.  After about 30 min. of being there the sun came out, and the weather was perfect.  We decided to leave Rowan with Grandma B since it was during her nap time.  Plus we thought it would be fun for Liam to have an outing with Mom and Dad by himself.  He was very excited and had a great time.  After we took a ride, we got a picture in front of Thomas, then we did some of the activities...he did mini golfing for the first time, and we realized that we suck because he's never been before.  He definitely needs some practice with that, but he had fun anyway.  Then we got him a tattoo sticker on his hand.  Then went to the store where he picked out 3 new trains, got both the kids a new T-shirt, and Rowan a hat, and a little Thomas bag to carry everything...They are so spoiled!!  Then we were all ready to head home!

Rowan: 17 Months

Rowan's personality is exploding along with her 'tude' and her vocabulary.  A couple of months ago Mike was getting a little concerned about Rowan because she was pretty quiet in the talking department, but this last month she has picked up soooo many new words. So much so, we have lost count.  I remember doing a list for Liam at 17 mo, and it was 17 words for 17 months....But, Rowan has far surpassed that count!!  And perhaps part of that is this is our 2nd time having a kid, so maybe we just pick up more on it, but really it's been amazing hearing so many new words on a daily basis.  She is also really good at mimicking the words we say.  It's almost like we have a human parrot.

 

She has really started to like her freedom, and wants to do what she wants to do, or she gets pretty mad.  This has made it really difficult to do her 'mom and me' picture this month.  We tried getting a picture on 2 different occasions, with not so much luck.  So this months picture she looks like 'Miss Cranky Pants', which is kinda funny because her 16 month picture she has the biggest smile on her face. 

 

We have noticed that she has a really strong grip, so if we try to take something away from her she puts up a huge stink, and it is also pretty hard to pry it out of her hands.  She also has discovered she can climb onto the couch with a little help from climbing onto a toy or box.  And when she's up on the couch, she does exactly what Liam used to, and hangs over the side, which is dangerous!  She has been eating everything in site lately.  We joke that she is a Betta, and will eat until she pops.  She loves most anything we give her, but she did decide she wasn't too fond of egg whites recently and puts up a fuss when I give that to her, so I stopped.  We can try again another time.  She tried pineapple yesterday for the first time, and she LOVED it.  She will just cram her mouth full as fast as she can sometimes.  It seems she has a hollow leg, just like her mom.  She has started to like to use a fork too, and will insist on having one to eat.

 

She has started to wave with her whole arm lately, it's pretty cute.  She likes to wave to the dogs, and the fish too.  She loves Elmo and Pooh bear.  She has started to sleep with a couple Pooh bears that we gave her.  She snuggles with them, and is really happy to have them when we give them to her.  This morning she was fussing when I dressed her, and I said where is Elmo, let's find Elmo. Then she walked over to her bookshelf, grabbed a book, sat down with it, and flipped through it till she found Elmo, she was quite happy and proud when she found him!  It amazes me how much she understands at this young age.  She also understands what it means when we ask her if she wants a bath...she gets so excited, and walks into the bathroom when the water is ready.  She has decided that she likes outdoors, most of the time. She says 'side' when she wants to go out.  She likes the swing set for the most part. She mostly likes the slide, and says 'Way' or 'Wee' when going down.  She's not too fond of the swings, she mostly cries when we try to swing her, but sometimes if she is in a swinging mood, we will hold her on our lap, and she will say 'Wee' too.  

She had her second haircut a few weeks ago, and she hated it!!  She just does not like anything where she is contained, and messed with.  But, we managed, and her hair is getting so long and curly in the back!

 

She had her first dentist visit last week, and she cried a little, but did pretty good for her first time.  The dentist asked if she sucked her thumb, and then said we really need to try to get her to stop.  So, we are going to be working on that.  She doesn't very often, mostly when she is tired, or going to sleep, but we know it's better to stop it now before it ruins her mouth, and before she's older when it will be even harder to stop.  

 

Below is a list of some of the words she is saying, but like I said I lost count after a while, so I'm sure that there are a lot I missed. 

 

Words

All gone

Abby

Apple

Baby

Ball

Bath

Bear

Bird

Bye

Car

Cookie

Cracker

Dada

Doggy

Elmo

Fish

Food

Flower

Get Down

Hello

Hi

Koko

Kitty

Light

Mama

More

Nana (for banana)

Night Night

No

Pooh (for Pooh bear)

Shoe

Side (for outside)

Thank You

That

Uh Oh

What's That