October 2008

Lots of pictures from this month so far....I try to take pictures of everything that happens so that someday, when I write in their baby books, I'll remember what happened and when - it's my way of note-taking!

Caleb is just makes me smile!

I got a mirror to hang up where they could see in it easily, because Caleb and Levi don't know who they are - when Levi looks in the mirror, he says it's Caleb. When Caleb looks in the mirror, he says it's Levi. It makes sense, really! Even one day Caleb was wearing his hat that he knows is his and watched me in the mirror put it on and off his head and he still said it's Levi! But now that they can see themselves more often, they are figuring it out. Before, they only saw their brother, or himself alone in a mirror, hardly ever did they see the two of them together. Maybe now they're realizing there are two of them.

They all like to wear these on their heads. I'm sure someday Caleb will love that he's wearing pink :)

Ian went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch with his class, and had a great time! I went along, not that he even cared I was there. He's really so very different than he was a few months ago! School has really changed him. He was just going with all the kids and so happy to be there. They went through a little corn maze, picked pumpkins, and went through a straw bale maze. And, the biggest thing, he got on the bus! He hesitated at the door, but then got right on and sat in the front with two friends. I sat in the back, and couldn't even see him the whole time, but he did great! And so.....

....he now rides the bus to and from school! For a few days after the field trip we didn't have time to get him to the bus (he has to go about 50 minutes before school starts, after having eaten lunch, whereas if I drive him we leave 10 minutes before school starts) and he actually cried when he couldn't ride it (rather than crying at the bus stop at the thought of getting on the bus)! When he did ride for the first time he jumped up and down when it came around the corner. Now, he wants to ride every day, which is quite convenient for me! All it took was one time and he loves it! I figured that would be the case, and I'm glad they had a field trip to give that chance.

SNOW! This was the afternoon of October 10, only 4 days after spending the afternoon at the pumpkin patch wearing a t-shirt, practically getting sunburned. It snowed for about an hour, and took a while into the next morning before it all melted.

They love the new desk! And no, I didn't put Caleb in the drawer - he got in himself! But couldn't get out :)

Can I just say toddlers are so funny!?! Caleb laid looking at this book for quite a few minutes. I guess he's getting strong stomach muscles!

Their favorite activity - riding (or climbing, or wrestling) Daddy!

We went to the pumpkin patch again, with some friends. Ian didn't want another pumpkin since he got one already, but helped find these little ones. Caleb and Levi loved them, wouldn't let them go for anything! They carried them all around while tripping all over the vines on the ground.

Levi likes the pumpkins at home, too! They needed a ride on the bus :)

I wonder if they're identical? I took these pictures just seconds apart of how they were sleeping. Often Levi sleeps on his back and Caleb on his tummy, but there are times when they are in the exact same position - and often with their heads back like that; doesn't look too comfortable to me, but they seem to like it!

Levi

I dedicated a post to Ian and Caleb, so now it's Levi's turn. He's such a sweet little guy. He can really get into what he's playing, he gets really mad when I make him stop to eat. He likes trains and cars and buses and his backpack and most of all lately, the missionary "little people" type toys we have. He has them ride in the bus, take naps, drive cars, you name it.

I think he looks like a spaceman in this one! He's wearing the hood to Ian's coat.

Levi loves to play with Caleb and Ian, he loves to be silly with them, but he also likes to just play by himself, like with the cars and trains.

Exactly 2 years from the day Levi was discharged from the NICU he returned to the hospital to do a swallow study - they sat him in this chair and brought the x-ray machine to the left side of his head, and gave him pudding and milk that had barium in it, and did a video x-ray (it has more technical terms, of course) to see on the screen how he swallowed (that's not his profile on the screen, that was the last person's). And from that, it was determined that he needs his tonsils out! John thinks I'm a little crazy to be happy about this, but I am! The little guy can't eat. He can only eat pureed food. He's interested in trying new foods, and will suck on or even bite pieces off foods....but he spits them right back out. He'll even bite through a whole apple slice and spit out each bite, and then ask for more. But he can't chew and can't get any solid food down without gagging. So, I think that getting rid of his tonsils will be a huge help, and that then the therapy he's getting (plus more he'll get afterward) will be able to help him learn to eat. The recovery might not be so fun, though!

I laughed when I went in to find Levi one day, he had got down the wipes because Eeyore needed his diaper changed :) He's really observant, and things need to be done the right way, things need to be in their right places (except the toys that are all over the house, of course :) ), drawers and cupboards need to be shut, even if I'm trying to use something in them.....

This is Levi when his therapist was here - he was playing in cornmeal. As you can tell from the video below, he doesn't like things on him; but he actually did pretty well with this cornmeal - he had it all over him! He was so distracted by this blue-haired guy, I suppose, that he forgot to mind the cornmeal touching him.

So here's a video of Levi - part of his therapy is sensory-oriented. Some kids have problems with things touching them, all over their bodies, making it hard for them to want to have different textures and foods in their mouths. So, part of what she does is use things such as suckers, that stimulate his mouth, but also she does sensory activities, like playing in the cornmeal from the picture above. She also brings beans and I also have some for him to play in; with Caleb around it's easy to tell the differences between them. Caleb will get in and get covered, Levi tries not to touch it, as you can see. Next there's him singing while playing the piano, and finally my favorite - he always asks, "What are you doing, Mommy?" and I answer with what I'm doing and ask him what he's doing - and I love his answer - "oh, pretty good".

End of September

It's almost the middle of October, but time to add some more pictures from September. Not too much more happened besides what I already wrote, but there are a few random pictures....




Ian still hasn't ridden the bus to school, but we've walked a few times. It takes about 20 minutes, which is a pretty good walk for a little boy. But he's wanted to do it several times.

One day when I was in the other room, Ian was playing with Caleb and Levi and he asked if they wanted to color, which of course they said yes. So he got out paper, tape and scissors (to cut the tape) to tape their papers to the table. He got them crayons and was so sweet about it!

Levi (in hat) and Caleb enjoying a little dinner and phone conversation (with the TV remote) at Grandpa's house.

Ian's train - seconds before it rolled off it's round block wheels.

And a video - the first part is Caleb (on right) singing "Are You Sleeping" and Levi joins - kind of like a round, kind of :) The tattoo-looking things on their arms, by the way, are stamps they get from gymnastics. The second part of the video is Ian drumming - I have no idea where he ever saw anyone drumming, but he's pretty good! The last part is Caleb leading Levi in "Ring Around the Rosies" - in a very roundabout way :) I said I'd never have kids running around in diapers, but I suppose this is proof that that isn't true.

Ian and Caleb

Ian....... because of his newest achievement (if you can call it that?)

He lost his first tooth last week! Both his bottom teeth have been loose for months, but he won't wiggle them. Then one day he bit into a bagel and knocked it pretty loose. So after that I got him to let me wiggle it until one day it wiggled right out! John told him what we did with our teeth when we were little (no mention of the actual words "tooth fairy") - he put his under his pillow and got a quarter from it, I put mine in a glass of water on the kitchen table and there was a dime in the morning. So Ian decided he wanted to put it in a glass of water, and maybe it would turn into a dime. All evening he kept watching and saying he thought maybe it was almost turned into a dime. He was excited in the morning to find the tooth gone and a dime in it's place. I think he still believes it actually turned into a money :) He's been excited to show everyone!

......and Caleb, because he cracks me up! He's such a funny boy. He's such a toddler - he sings and plays and dresses up however he wants and thinks the world is his (Levi doesn't really appreciate that, since he's also a possessive toddler....). But I love to watch Caleb, and see how happy he is. He sings as he plays in his sweet high-pitched voice. So, some pictures of his silliness from this month.

So do you think they're related? Within a few days of each other both Ian and Caleb tripped outside, missing for the most part their knees and elbows and both landing on the same part of their face! You can't see Ian's as much, we were on the way to school when he fell and so he went into class with his mouth bleeding inside and a very fat lip. The swelling went down some by the time I took this picture and it wasn't as scraped on the outside as Caleb's.

September 2008, part 1

It seems like a lot of things have already happened this month, and I've taken lots of pictures, so it's time for an update....



This month so far has been about canning! I've canned lots of peaches, pears, and tomatoes. I have all my little helpers, too......

pear inspectors.....





...a pear peeler - the first one he's ever tried!...

...and quality control.

It really is so helpful to have two toddlers helping whilst cutting up pears :) Actually, they were only there for a minute, the rest of the time I made them stay out of the kitchen since canning involves mostly sharp and hot objects.




And then there were haircuts. I cut Ian and John's outside and then was going to take Caleb and Levi in to the sink to do theirs, when Levi climbed on the chair and said it was his turn. He let me put the apron on (first time ever) and let me do it without crying at all! The easiest haircut he's ever had!

Caleb wasn't as excited about it, but let me do it anyway, with minimal tears.



Matching boys.

Ian has homework to do each week, a list of things for the week. He LOVES to do it! It's like a reward, I can get him to clean up or other unfavorable tasks if the reward after is doing his homework! He loves school, the first thing he talks about is recess :) Next he likes whatever extra class he had, like PE or music or library. They're learning phonics called "zoophonics" so there's an animal and action with each letter - someday when he learns them all I'll have to video it.

What else so far this month....I had jury duty that I was on standby one day and didn't have to go and that finished me for the rest of the week - I was very glad to not have to go!

Levi and Caleb are going to a gymnastics class for their physical therapy, once a week. I don't have any pictures because there's no time! I think it wears me out more than them to keep them both focused on what they're supposed to be doing, and doing half the work for them. But they are improving. Caleb can walk on the balance beam with minimal, if any, help. Levi is getting some good stomach muscles - he's good at the bars, hanging and then lifting his legs up to touch the bar. And he can do a v-sit, which is, as you can imagine, making your legs and upper body into a "V". Looks easy, but is actually hard!

Levi is getting occupational therapy to help with his eating; he goes to a feeding group once a week where they play and then have foods, to get the kids (usually 4-8 there each week) to try new foods and new textures. He's also getting therapy at home, of course he usually doesn't want to do it. She gave him a sucker (and Caleb too, of course) and Caleb was sucking it and enjoying it, while every time she asked Levi if he could lick it or put it in his mouth he'd do something like hold it up and say, "it's a balloon in the sky!" When I'm trying to feed him he'll often say, "no, I'm singing." Or, "no, I'm talking." Food just doesn't hold his interest, obviously. But he and Caleb do get lots of yummy high calorie foods to try and get them to gain some weight. Good for all three boys, not so good for the rest of us :)