Nicie's new words

Snack - I call the veggie straws that the kids like snacks and Nicie
started saying snacks. Mind you that when I say he is "saying" the
words is an overstatement. He is making the general sounds associated
with the word but no one other than me could possibly figure out what
he is saying.
Jac - I told him that his brother's name is Jac and he said it.
Cheese - He tried for that one also!

Sent from my iPhone

Nic's first words

So before Nicie starts using a lot more words I thought I should write
down what his first set of words was.

Wa Wa - water or any fluid
Da Da - Daddy or Mommy
Num Num - food

Dow - Down - as in I want to get down from your arms or out of my seat

All used all of the time and repeated until provided!

Sent from my iPhone

Words from Nicie!

Nicie is starting to make more word sounds! Still no Mama! Everything is Dadadadada! He tried to say "snack" today which is what I call the Veggie Straws that they like! He has also tried to say a few other words but I can't remember what they were! It is hard being the second! Mommy has no space in her brain! I will do better Nicie!

SpeakEasy Recording: Jac - Merry Christmas

Check out this cool recording I made using SpeakEasy!



Recording Location

Merry Christmas

"Hold the money"

Jac used the word "the" for the first time when he told me to "hold the money"!

Jac loves to carry money and he calls coins coins and dollars dollars! He wants money for the bus and for the train and sometimes for candy!

I was very excited yesterday when he told me "hold the money", normally it would be "hold money"! Go Jac! That is the first time he has ever used "the"!

"What's that?"

Last week Jac started asking, "What's that?" - All the time! He asks what everything is! This past weekend we took a road trip to San Francisco and the "What's that" questions were very helpful in keeping him busy in the car when he was awake as he could ask what all of the cars and trucks and bridges etc. were! It was great! I am sure the "What's that?" questions will get tiring quickly but right now I love it! His whole word has opened up with that question! His language has taken off to such an extent that he can really understand the answer to a lot of his questions now - and I feel like I can see the neurons in his brain connecting!

Along with the "what's that" came, "No, no, no, no" - and "Too big", and "Wrong side". When he doesn't want to wear something now he tells us it is "too big". When he doesn't want to sit in his car seat he says it is "too big" or that he is in the "wrong side" of the car! When he doesn't like something he says "no, no" over and over again.

Photo shoot

We did a photo shoot with Jennifer O - the daughter of my Mom's friend (the shoot was Dec. 6). It was a lot of fun and she is a great photographer and got some great shots of the boys. I decided that this year we would just focus on taking photos of the boys and if Joseph and I were in the mix that was fine but it was too much to try to do the whole family like we did last year!

I have put up some of the best pictures up on flickr!

29 months (back dated - written 12/23/09)

Jac turned 29 months - 13 days ago and I have not written his 29 month blog post! Bad Momma! Jacie - when you read this when you are older please forgive me - I am trying to keep up but you and brother are a bit of a challenge and Mommy really only writes blog posts at 3 am and when we have been sick for 2 weeks (or longer!) I am not up at 3 am to write very often! So! Here we go!

Walking, talking, jumping!, running!

The jumping is a new one! Jac is just starting to jump! Mostly on the bed, or on or off of it, but occasionally at the park!

Running - faster and faster! Nic is trying to run also just from watching Jac run all of the time.

Social - laughing and smiling and making friends when we are out. Jac is now doing double handed waving when we ask him to say hi or bye! He will walk up to people to say hi. He has always done this but for a while he did it a little less and it seems with his new language he is getting more social again.

He is very sweetly worried about his brother. He makes sure that Nic is coming with us, if he strays he will go and get him. Tonight (12/23) he wanted to go into a little children's store in One Colorado to play with the train (we have been in many times). As soon as he realized where we were he started telling Nicie to turn (and signalling him with his hand) and saying "play train". Nicie kept on walking! and Jac kept on telling him to turn! I had to go and get Nic and bring him in before Jac would go in to play with the train.

When we are at the doctor's office if he doesn't want something done to him (which is all the time) he asks that it be done to everyone else first. Usually he requests that it be done to Nicie first, and then Momma and Dadda if he is there. He is not a big fan of anything at the doctor's office, including being weighed or measured. The doctors assure me this gets better around three. Here's hoping!

"Candy Nathan"

While we were playing after lunch I was changing Jac's diaper. While I was changing him he started talking about candy. After he mentioned candy he said "Nathan." He remembered that two and a half weeks ago we went to Nathan's birthday party where he got a lot of candy! Amazing!

My son

I was putting away the boys' toys so that they could run the balls over with their fire engines! (Don't ask!) and while I was doing it I had to put away their trains. I put all of the trains (that go in two different boxes) in one box. Jac went into the box and got out the trains that didn't belong in the box and moved them into the other box!

"Two boys"

I frequently use the phrase "two boys" when I am doing something with the boys. I commonly say it when I am carrying both of them, like "I am carrying two boys." Jac picked this up and started saying "two boys" also. Now, when I am carrying both of them or doing something else with both of them he tells me "two boys." It is absolutely adorable!

14 months and growing up fast!

Nicie is 14 months old today! Another month! Time is flying and my boys are growing up so quickly! I just printed some pictures from when we brought Nic home from the hospital and I truly cannot really even understand that he was that small 14 months ago!

Nic is walking and talking and climbing and holding my hand and running and smiling and waving and making friends and hitting and pushing and playing and throwing!

Walking - it is amazing how well he can walk already - he can walk backwards down a ramp and take small steps up and down while holding my hand (which he just started doing!)

Talking - Nicie is making more and more sounds. He is saying "Dadda" all the time - for everything - I haven't gotten a Momma yet! Steps, down! He loves to say down, as in, "put me down" so I can wander around and get into things!

Climbing - Nic likes to climb on and off things and he is pretty good at doing it. The other night we were out in Little Tokyo and he was climbing up and down large stone blocks in a plaza. He loves to climb on play equipment at the playground.

Holding my hand - I just wrote about that the other day! I love it - when he holds that little hand up so I can help him up or down a step!

Running - he is nearly running - he looks like he is going to fall of the time he is leaned so far forward when he is walking/running - he looks like he is skiing downhill! Somehow he doesn't fall and manages to move quickly enough I really have to work to keep up!

Smiling and waving and making friends - Nicie is very social! He loves to wave at people! Everywhere we go he waves - he waves while I carry him, while he is walking around. He waves at people and expects them to notice him - if they don't notice him at first he will keep on looking at them and waving and wait for them to notice him! His wave is the cutest twisting of the wrist and pointing of the thumb. I call it his royal wave and people love it!

Hitting and pushing - Nis still really likes to hit and push (mostly hit) and he can and does turn anything into a weapon. A phone, a toy, a spoon, anything! Just in the last day we seem to have finally gotten the idea of gentle through to him. I can now say gentle touches to him and he will touch me gently (this works when he has been hitting me) or I can ask him to do gentle touches with his brother and he will switch from hitting him to giving him a hug!

Playing and throwing - Man can Nicie throw! He can aim right at you and hit you with a ball - he can throw straight - big balls, small balls, anything! He loves to walk and clim and carry toys around and knock anything you are making down, and push toy cars around, and drive the toy fire engine (like brother) and get into anything brother is playing with!

My little boy is growing up - pretty soon I am not going to have any babies! Just toddlers!

"Steps" and hand

Nic is doing so many amazing things! It is so fun to watch his physical and verbal abilities develop! He has started asking for my hand when he wants to step up or down stairs. He knows that he can up or down them by crawling and he will do that if I am not right there or he just wants to go quickly, but if I am there, and he wants to walk he holds his arm up and waits for me to take his hand so I can help him go up and down.

He is also now saying "Step" when he goes up and down the steps!

He is also walking backwards, everywhere! I think he is just showing off sometimes!

MaDaddaMommaDadda

Jac has taken to mashing Momma and Dadda up into one big word! Very cute! It becomes MaDaddaMommaDaMaDa!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving! We celebrated at my parents' house with my in-laws, my Aunt Jennifer and some other friends and family! It was very nice! We had a nice meal - feeding the boys in their seats at the kitchen counter - while everyone else ate at the dining room table and outside! Amazing! It was 82 degrees today! For a little while the boys played outside with their water table! Couldn't have done that in Boulder! We do miss our Boulder family though - a lot!

My Mom's friend's Dad (got that ;) celebrated Thanksgiving with us. He brought his great big lens attached to a very nice Canon Digital SLR (Joseph and I were both green with envy) and he took some great pictures of the boys!

Num Num Num

Nic has taken to saying "Num Num Num" whenever he is going to get some food!

I wish I could get videos of all of these things - it is so hard though! As soon as Nic sees a camera he takes it - and then throws it - sometimes at me! This morning I gave him the camera to play with and he threw it hit me in the ankle!

Round and Round

We sing "Wheels on the Bus" all of the time. Jac likes to do the hand motions for some of the verses - particularly for the wheels on the bus go round and round. Nic now understands round and round and does the hand motions the same way Jac does!

Pee Pee in the Potty (the younger one!)

This morning Jac was talking about using the potty and getting on and off so we put Nicie on the potty - and lo and behold - pee pee in the potty! Go Nicie! Trying to be like your older brother!

28 months old

Our little Jacie is 28 months old! Only two months from being two and a half! I can hardly believe it!

Jac is talking up a storm! He is now consistently using two words together and sometimes three word concepts! I am continually amazed at what he understands and says! Sometimes I can hardly contain my amazement and I am constantly saying to Daddy, "Did you hear what Jac just said!"

He has been going through a little clingie period the last few days. It seems like he got a bit intimidated while we were playing at Amy's Playground and at the park by our house. When other kids were playing where he was playing he wanted my help to try to move them or just came back to me and sat with me. This is really different than two weeks ago! I am just being supportive and going with him when he wants me to and not making a deal of it. I hope that he will become his independent self again soon! It is so much more fun for him!

I am starting to think about preschool for him. Which I can also hardly understand! My little boy going to school - without me! OMG! Well - I better get used to it!

I am currently looking at Kids Klub in Pasadena, Pacific Oaks in Pasadena, and the Child Educational Center in La Canada. One of our friends has recommended all of these places. We shall see! They all have waiting lists I am sure! I should have started this when Jac was born probably! I am looking for part-time a couple of days a week to begin with.

I am wondering how splitting the boys up is going to be. Jac, along with being more clingy to me he is more clingy to Nic and more concerned than ever about him. Perhaps because Nic is walking now and even more independent! He tells me "doing" when he is worried that I need to pay attention to what Nic is doing - like walking too far away! When he wakes up if Nic is not right there he finds him immediately and he keeps an eye on him when we are out. Such a good big brother! I wonder how he is going to feel about going to school without him! Are we really ready for this? Both of us! I have a feeling that Nic would revel in one-on-one attention from Mommy which he has only ever had in a very limited amounts.

On his way to 2.5!

Walking is so much fun!

Nic has been walking for less than three weeks and he is already walking down ramps! Man! He loves to walk - everywhere! We took the train tonight and he insisted upon walking most of the way there and got really mad when I picked him up! So much fun!

Poo poo in the potty!

Another banner day in the Chiu household! We had a poo poo in the potty by our oldest! It has been about two and a half weeks since Jac first went pee pee in the potty. Since then he has peed in the potty once! We ask him if he wants to use it and sometimes he asks (usually when he is trying every delay tactic he can think of to avoid going to sleep!) but he doesn't actually do anything when he is on there and most of the time when we ask if he wants to use the potty he says, "NO!"

So tonight, while we were all trying to go to sleep, he asked to use the potty. I had previously told him that it was too late to use the potty, but Daddy decided to let him do it. Well, that was good! He did a poop and a pee in the potty! We praised him to high heaven and he got to flush it down the toilet!

Let's see where this goes now! Maybe two more weeks! I kid because really I am in no hurry to get him to use the potty - he will get there when he is good and ready, like everything else!

"Hand"

Jac likes us to hold his hands when he does certain things and he decided the other night that he should hold brothers' hand with interesting results!

Happy 13 month Birthday Mr. Nicie

DSC_8996, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

Oh man! Time flies when your kids are growing up!

Nic is now 13 months old! Hard to believe! I don't have babies any more! He is turning into a real little boy! Tons of babbling! and hitting!

Man does he love to hit! He whacks me in the face all the time. He hits brother and Daddy. Perhaps he is just frustrated by being the only one that can't use words to communicate what he wants!

He loves to nurse - at night. He doesn't nurse during the day all that much anymore. He loves to walk! All around! It is amazing how fast it seems normal to see him walking rather than crawling! He still crawls when it makes sense but that doesn't happy very often!

He is really starting to babble - all kids of different sounds! I remember when Jac started babbling - and I love it! He is starting to get his tongue hitting his teeth when he makes sounds and you get this lisp like sound which I just love!

He has to be walked to sleep a lot of nights. He doesn't cry as much in the car now. A lot of times he falls asleep and he can even be awake now and happily "talk!" I love it when he and Jac are both talking away - Jac with actual words and Nicie babbling! It puts a smile in my heart!

He wants everything that Jac has. If Jac is playing with something Nic comes over and takes it. A lot of the time Jac will just play with something different but sometimes it turns into a real wrestling match until Nic takes it and whacks Jac in the face with it. Jac does not generally stricke back, although sometimes I think Nic would learn not to hit a little more quickly if Jac did whack him back more often! Ooops - probably not something I should mention ;) That could get even uglier!

He is quite adventurous! He goes down slides all by himself. He walks up steps he can find a handle for. He touches his head to you when he is being sweet.

He doesn't like bread, usually he will spit it out. He has started to insist upon feeding himself. If you give him a fork with food speared on it he can get it into his mouth.

He grabs everything he can reach, especially off of my desk.

He likes to walk in the hallway, and he almost thinks he can run!

He is turning into a little boy rather than a baby! So fast!

Happy Halloween!

We had a very nice Halloween trick-or-treating in Old Town with both sets of grandparents! We couldn't have done that in Boulder! And the weather was gorgeous! Maybe 70 degrees! Shirts and short sleeves! We went around to different stores in Old Town that were organized to give out treats. The boys had no idea why they were asking for and getting candy but Jac was into eating it! Especially the chocolate! A boy after my and his Grandfather's heart!

They were dressed as made men - mafioso! They looked really cute! We tried to spike their hair up but it didn't last for long! I have been talking about spiking Jac's hair up since last Halloween! I wanted to make it a cool color but I couldn't find the spray to do it with so I just used gel to make it stand up! Maybe next year!

After trick or treating we went to Buca di Beppo for dinner. Nicie loved! the tomatoes!

Kids playing at Amy's Place in South Pasadena

We have found a new place to play! It is an indoor play gym in South Pasadena called Amy's Place. It is quite large and has a ton of different things to play with. It feels like a really! well stocked pre-school with parents and nannies taking care of the kids rather than teachers.

The kids had a great time!

Jac was working on his path planning with all of the cars and carts to push around!


Nic was working on his walking and getting on and off of things!

Stringing words together

Jac has started to string words together!
"want that", "other one", "owie that"

It has felt like he should have been doing this a while ago but here it is! There is no going back now! As if there ever was! I can feel the discussions starting! He already treats us to a discussion in the car, on the train, walking around about what he is seeing and we are doing as we go along! Amazing! To have him communicate feels truly amazing! I know I am going to forget this wonder at his communication but I am going to try to hold on to it as long as I can!

Right now it is really exciting when he tells us to "hold" his bottle, or says "other one" or "this" to tell us which YouTube video he wants to watch on the TiVo! Or "fix" to fix the tracks on his train! He is clearly communicating what he wants and needs (at least some of the time!) and it is amazing! He is definitely not my baby anymore!

The leg

IMG_2516, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

I love how Nic's suit is hiked up on his leg. Too cute!

One week later

I can hardly believe that Nic has only been walking for one week! He is walking all around the apartment - making turns - and following the magical left arm wherever it leads him! He can get up anywhere he wants to and go. He is hardly crawling at all now, except when he really wants something. He doesn't get anywhere quickly but he gets there! He has also walked backwards three times now! Joseph saw it once, I saw it once, and we saw it together tonight. When he walked backward for me, he looked me straight in the eye and then took two steps backward, very deliberately! Amazing! We have been looking for walking things to praise Jac for as we praise Nicie for walking, so Jac has been getting a lot of praise for sideways and backward walking, and crouch walking - so we are wondering if Nic caught on to that and decided to try it!

We are also pretty sure that Nic has started to use a few words. "Wa Wa" - water - used at the fountain. "Da Da" - Joseph. "Ne Ne" - breast milk. "Up" - I want to be picked up or I am standing up.

So many developments!

I don't have babies any more!

The boys were having a lot of fun in the lobby tonight walking, talking and eating "Out Out" - frozen yogurt!

Our little walker!

Nic has become such a walker so quickly! It hardly seems possible that it is Thursday and he has only been really walking since Monday! He can go where he wants to go, make turns, avoid obstacles, walk on objects and keep on walking, carry things while walking! Amazing!

The part I find the most amazing is how I can have a child that doesn't walk one day and walks the next and have both of those things seem completely normal when they are happening. The brain is an amazing thing!





Nic is so proud and happy to be walking. He gets this look of pure joy on his face as he makes his way across the floor. He can make it all the way across my parents' living room and kitchen in one foul swoop! After 3 days!

He had a great time this evening playing a give and take the toy and put it on your head game with Grandma.

Pee Pee in the Potty

Jac went pee pee in the potty for the first time today! We just brought a potty from Grandma's house home two days ago. He has been telling us sometimes when he pees or poops so we had a feeling he was starting to be ready to try a potty.

Today before his bath he asked to go on the potty so we put him there. He thought about it but didn't go. Then he asked to get in the bath so we put him in there. Then he repeatedly said something and he pointed to the potty so we put him on the potty. And he peed!

Wow! That was fast!

Tonight he peed once with Daddy and once with me in his potty! I guess he's ready!

Fun in the mud!

Today at the park the boys went into the sand pit for the first time. Jac had noticed a little girl playing in it the other day but I wouldn't let him play in it because it was too cold. It was nice and warm today though and in they went!



At first Jac was not sure he wanted to play in the sand and the water, but he really wanted to play with the water! Once he got used to the sand on his feet he was totally into it and was splashing around and making a real mess! Nic was also totally into it, doing some walking, and crawling through the mud and just generally slopping around in the sand! Fun was had by all!

They were so filthy we took their suits and diapers off and carried them home and straight into the bath!

Sleeping stuff!

IMG_2382.JPG, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

Why can't he always sleep like this!

Daddy's shoulders!

IMG_2378.JPG, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

Nic seems to like to ride on Daddy's shoulders!

Walking stuff

I think Nic officially became a walker today! He walked about 20 steps in one go! He did it all while Bonnie was here! I was working at my desk and I heard Bonnie exclaim, "walking stuff!" and I turned around and he had walked all the way across the play area to come and get the blocks she had pulled out!

We then gave him some more challenges to go and get the camera across the room (pretty much the same way we motivated Jac!) and he did a bunch of 10 step runs and then fall downs!

Push Push

Jac loves to push anything - especially the Stokke stroller, and especially when his brother is in it! He is actually quite good at pushing it and can turn it and navigate fairly well. He can make it from our apartment to the elevator without hitting anything! People absolutely stop in their tracks when they see him pushing it!

"Foot"

Yesterday in the car, on the way to Cerritos, Jac was having a long chat, and Nic was eating snacks and not crying!

During his chat Jac brought up the word foot. I was talking to him about it and what do I see but Nic grabbing his foot!! He was so excited! I waited a little bit and then said, "Nicie, foot" and he grabbed his foot again! Oh man! He understands!

Together

Jac and Nic do everything together! Well - they sort of have to! but they always want to be together anyway! - at least they always want to do what the other is doing!



Coloring at Kids Space - Nic has started to be able to scribble with crayons!



Pretend driving in Korea Town

Cyproheptadine

Dr. H prescribed Jac Cyproheptadine. It is an antihistamine that has the side effect of increasing appetite. For the first week he is supposed to take it just before dinner and then we slowly build up to twice a a day and increase the dosage.

Oh man does it increase appetite! It would be really bad if you were on a diet! It definitely increases his appetite after he takes it, and the effect seems to last - it seems like his appetite is improved, even the next day!

It has been pretty exciting to see him asking for food at times when he never would have asked for food before! Grow Jac grow!

Bonnie, our new Mother's Helper, taught Jac the word appetite, and so Jac calls it "tite" if you ask him if he has an "appetite."

Running

Jac has started running in the last two weeks. He is getting pretty fast now and swinging his arms when he does it! When he gets going really fast he forgets to pick up his feet enough and trips - which really surprises him since he hardly trips when he is walking anymore!

He really likes to run, and he tells you "running" when he is running - or when he wants to run! Super cute!

He has discovered that he can run at the park after he gets off the slide to go back around and do it again. The discovery that he can do all of this by himself, and do the slide again and again is new and very exciting for him! Watching him do the slide on his tummy (feet first and head first!) is very exciting, as he is blossoming in terms of his independence!

Wa Wa

Nic and Jac were sitting in their high chairs in the kitchen this evening. Jac asked for "Wa Wa", which is his word for water. Nic repeated the request and said "Wa Wa". It has been hard to identify Nic's first word as I have heard him say Momma and Dadda but they have never seemed to be related to any one thing - but tonight it was quite clear to me that he was repeating the "Wa Wa" request. This might be his first word!

Socks

Jac has Thomas the Train socks that go all the way up to his knees. Joseph says he looks "cute but dorky" when we put them on him with his shortalls. I say more cute than dorky!

Mommy

Jac has always called me Momma but in the last week or so he has started calling me Mommy. It is so sweet! It melts my heart when he says Mommy! I still only calls Joseph Dadda - not Daddy yet! I will try to get a video of it but I never know when he is going to say it!

Update: 10/19/09 I got the video!

Go NIc go!

Nic took a bunch more steps last night! Ama, Akon, Ima, Auntie Charmy and Uncle Wayne were here to visit last night. Akon keot on encouraging Nic to take steps by holding him away from him and giving him his cell phone to hold. It worked! Nic took 4 or 5 steps a bunch of times! He even took two steps towards me! He also was able to turn around while standing to go between the DVD player and the couch!

He is really starting to get it I think! Two little boys running! Oh man!

It is really fun to see him learning and the look of joy on his face! I think he is having even more trouble sleeping with all of these developmental changes. Daddy pointed out to me last night that Jac had a lot of trouble going to sleep when he was learning to walk.

Happy 27 month birthday

Watching trains with Daddy - while Daddy tries to nap!



Reading a train newspaper in the car!

Our little Jacie is 27 months! Another month, another astonished moment for Momma - or Mommy as Jac calls me sometimes!

Out little boy is growing up so fast! He is now obsessed - I think that is the only word - with watching train videos on YouTube. He watches on our TiVo and on my iPhone! He likes any video that has a train in it, model or real, Rokenbok, and the shapes video - which he refers to as shapes!



He is walking and talking up a storm - he is starting to try to jump - and he likes to take steps up and down small steps with no hands. He loves to push the stroller, and his push push. He likes to ride around on his fire engine. He loves to dance. He likes to give kisses and hugs. He likes to help clean his brother. He likes to wash his hands.

He now knows how to clean himself when he is in the bathtub. If you ask him to wash his head he will put water on it and scrub!

He can push the correct buttons in the elevator. If you ask him to push "3" for our floor he will do it, and "P1" for parking or "1" to go out to the street. When we get off the elevator he knows which direction to go to go "home."

Cooking Nic

Making himself comfortable

The other night, we took the boys by train to Top's for dinner, and then a quick shopping trip at the 99 Cent Only store... As the evening progressed, Jac's jeans and his diaper started to slide down some, and I kept pulling them back up. I guess the waist band must have loosened over time, because by the time we were walking the aisles at the store, I had to keep pulling his pants back up every few minutes.



Then, in the middle of the aisle between the school supplies and household hardware, Jac decided he had enough with the pants. To our surprise, and to that of the other 99-cent shoppers, he yelled his frustraton, yanked his diaper and pants all the way down to his ankles, flopped down on to the linoleum, and then wildly kicked his legs around in an attempt to free them.


I scooped him up and, in the midst of chuckles from the other shoppers, re-did his diapers, and put his pants back on.

Nic's first birthday party

We had a nice birthday party for Nicie at my parents' house today. It was great to see friends and hang out by the pool. It was a gorgeous day! Low-80s and clear - the view from my parents' backyard was beautiful!

Nic and Jac had a great time eating Nic's Costoco birthday cake! Oh man, did they have fun! Cake all over everything and all over them! Jac even took a knife with icing on it and applied it to Nic's head! He then got a napkin and "cleaned" him!

Head first!

We have been spending a lot of time at Kidspace and at the park near our house (almost out the front door!). At Kidspace there is a very small slide and Jac has discovered that he can safely slide down that feet first, on his tummy feet first - and on his tummy head first! Very exciting! This from a little boy that didn't slide by himself at all two weeks ago! Now he loves sliding!

Today we went to Kidspace in the morning where he played on the slide and then to the park in the afternoon. At the park Jac went right up to the top of the big slide and slid down head first on his tummy! I was shocked! The first time he did it he didn't slide off the end of the slide - so he turned around and asked for help to walk back up to the top. I helped him and then he got right back on his tummy and slid down again! - head first! This time he went a little faster and went partially off the end of the slide - and had to hold himself up with his arms. I helped him back up and he slid down again! A few times he nearly face planted - or sort of did - but fairly gently. I was so proud of him because he kept on going up and down - even when he got dirtier and dirtier! Go Jac!

It is so nice to have Kidspace so close - we decided to buy a membership - and it is already paying off. The membership is $160 a year and it is $30 otherwise each time we visit! I think we have already paid for the membership! They really encourage membership with that kind of pricing! The play area is so much like Kangaroo Kingdom that we went to in Boulder - great for the boys for motor development and socialization!

Happy 1st birthday Mr. Nicie

Our little Mr. Nicie is one year old! I can hardly believe that a year has passed since he was born! What a year!

It is so wonderful to be back in LA close to most of our family. We had a birthday dinner for Nicie at Cheesecake Factory in Old Town with all of our LA family! It was so wonderful to get in the elevator in our building with all of them - both sets of grandparents (alive and married!), and Joseph's siblings! Wow! So many people that really love our kids! It is going to be so wonderful to have them all so close by as the boys get older! They already know their family though! That is quite clear from the way they are able to be passed around from family member to family member without complaint! This is a good portion of the reason why we moved back and it is wonderful to see!



Nic and I went to Kidspace in Pasadena today. He had a great time. He is getting so mobile and his motor and path planning and getting pretty good. He decided that he would stand up and climb the stairs and then climb back up the slide. He is not walking but he is getting so close! He takes a step every once in a while but three is the most we have seen together and that was about a week ago. His ability to plan where he wants to go and get there is improving really quickly though!



He is also babbling up a storm! He has been saying "DaDaDaDaDa" for a while now and sometimes "DaDa" but yesterday I got "MaMa!" They are not words to him yet - sort of - but they are not attached to anything! But his other sounds and increasing all of the time also! I will try to get a recording of him but when I try he takes my recording device away!

He is my sweet little teething boy! He is about to get his fourth upper tooth (he has had the other three for more than a month!) He has not been sleeping very well - I will get him down to sleep and then he will wake up again an hour or so later - wide awake!

We are trying to get the boys on something approximating a schedule - up at 8:30 am and asleep by 9:30 or 10 pm! It is sort of going - we have been at it for about a week - so hopefully in a couple weeks they will have settled into it and we can all get some more sleep! Nic has been up so late! Jac has been going to sleep at somewhat reasonable times but missing his daytime nap. Nic has been napping during the day but then staying up too late! Tonight they were both asleep by 10 pm - after an exciting birthday dinner and visit from family to our apartment.

Happy Birthday Mr. Nicie!

Poop!

Jac has been telling us when he is going to poop! A minute or so before he goes he tells us! Very exciting! We are in no hurry to potty train but this is a definitely a step in the right direction! I am sure Jac is going to kill me for writing about this someday but it is an important developmental milestone!

Teeth!

Jac now asks to brush his teeth. We have been very slow to brush his teeth because we didn't want to cause any oral issues by forcing it on him - but he decided he wanted to do it on his own after watching us!

He now asks - forcefully - to brush his teeth! He likes to run the water and spit and brush his teeth with his Nuk brush (he didn't like the little kids brush much but the Nuk works). He is very serious about it. We need to find him a better stool now so that he can reach the sink himself.

He can also soap himself if you give him the soap and tell him where to soap! He can also dry himself (sort of) and wipe his own hands! Most of this is because Daddy asks him to do it! I still think he is my little baby and forget to ask him to do these things! Fortunately Daddy realizes that he can do these things and asks him and teaches him to do them!

Baby monitor tidbits

Back when we first brought Jac home, we tried several baby monitors and ultimately picked the Graco iMonitor Vibe: the cheaper analog monitors were too noisy for our taste.

Then, with Nic, we decided to set up a second set of monitors. We bought the iMonitor Vibe 2 (two-receiver pack), bringing our total to two "child" (sender) units, and three "parent" (receiver) units. We put one sender in the boys' room, and the other sender in the master bedroom. That way, we could listen to the boys sleeping in either room.

Overall, we have been happy with the iMonitor Vibe for the past two years, and even have taken them with us when we travel.

Like many of the newer multi-unit cordless phone systems, a receiver is 'paired' to a sender so that multiple systems can coexist in the same neighborhood. This is great, because it pretty much eliminates interference, especially in multiple-dwelling structures (read: apartment complexes).

At one point, we lost a receiver, and ended up with a sender without a paired receiver, and the second sender with two paired receivers. Fortunately, you can erase and re-establish the pairing on a receiver: 1) turn the receiver off, 2) turn on the receiver with the volume-down button held down, 3) after two seconds and a beep, release the volume-down button, 4) hold the volume-down button again, 5) after two seconds and a beep, turn the receiver off, 6) turn the receiver on against to set up a new pairing. While you're doing this, you must turn on only the intended sender to be paired to, and turn the other sender off.

BTW, the manual for the monitor can be found at http://www.gracobaby.com/. (It actually took me like a week to find the online manual when I first looked!)

When we moved into our Pasadena apartment, we decided on one bedroom for us and the boys and use the second bedroom as an office/study/storage area. We wanted a receiver in the living room, and the other in the office. No problem -- just re-do the pairing on one of the receivers, and good to go, right?

Alas, I ran into signal interference problems -- I was able to erase the pairing, but couldn't re-establish the pairing in our apartment. I think there must be several of these systems in active use around us, so the receiver couldn't pick the correct sender to pair with. I finally had to take our sender and two receivers out of our apartment to complete the pairing. Away from the other senders, the receivers paired up right away, and everything is now working fine. No intereference. Hurrah!

Cute, big stuff

I have all kids of names for Nic. "Cute stuff", "Big stuff", "Biggie stuff". He is so cute! Here are some great pics of him from Sam's Club (diapers and formula, oh my!).

Fun at the park

The boys have been having a great time at the park! It is great to have a park within 3 minutes walking! Tonight I took them down with no purse, no nothing!

Jac has now discovered that he can walk back up the slide, after sliding down on his tummy! I am not sure he has the mass in his rear-end to stay seated and slide down that way! Nic has no fear though and will slide down sitting up all by himself!

Free standing!

Nic is free standing more and more! He stands up and get this excited look on his face and starts waving his arms around! He gets so excited! He does it in the middle of the floor and also by standing up on something and then letting go!

Today we were playing down in the lobby with the "fire engine" (which Jac can say - at least so I know what he is saying!) and the boys were having so much fun! The lobby has quite a bit of space, and it is air conditioned (it is 99 today). They both had their own fire engines (I bought a second one yesterday!) and they were pushing, pulling riding them around! Jac can now ride his forward and backward and fast! Nic can push it and ride it backwards! Jac can also turn his by picking it up while he is sitting on it! Jac was also running around the lobby and telling me he was "racing!" We played until Ama and Akon came and then we came back upstairs to have some food that Ama had cooked. And then, amazingly, all three of us took a nap, while Ama and Akon packed up and left!

Another button fiend

Nic has become a button fiend just like his brother! When we are in the elevator now he insists on pushing the buttons. When we get to a crosswalk he reaches out and grunts "Uh, uh" to press the crosswalk buttons. He pushes the buttons in the car when he and Jac are "driving".

Nic: Words?

I think Nic is saying some words - or at least repeating the sounds - especially things he hears Jac saying.

I am also positive he said "under" which Jac was saying over and over again this morning when he was playing in the tent. He also says "Mama", "Dada", "NeNe". I am not sure he knows they are words per se but he makes those sounds.

What a face!

Happy Anniversary - 4 years!

Today was our fourth anniversary! Hard to believe! Sometimes it seems like we have been together forever! We had a really great dinner at the Green Street Tavern. It was so yummy! It is just down the block from our apartment! That kind of food could turn me into a foodie yet! That would make Joseph happy! (The picture is deep-fried cookie dough!)

We somehow managed to get both boys asleep by 4:45 pm so we could make a 5 pm reservation! Amazing! We had a great dinner and then some more! shopping at the Container Store. We are slowly getting the apartment into working order. Joseph's office is still the dumping ground for all of the stuff that we don't know where to put yet but even that is getting better. It feels good to have our own place to live again!

Sliding alone for the first time - both boys!

Jac has always been a bit nervous about the slide. He has done slides, feet first, sitting up with my help but he has never tried it in any other position.

Today he learned how to slide down a slide on his stomach, feet first, all by himself! He did it a bunch of times! The most remarkable thing though was not really the sliding but the climbing back up the slide. I took Jac's shoes off and he decided that he would monkey climb (all fours, hands and feet) back up the slide so he could slide down again! So much fun!

Nic also got in on the sliding! He has no fear! He slid down on his tummy, on his side, feet first sitting up! Anyway! I helped him for everything except feet first on his tummy but he didn't care - he just slid down! At the bottom of the slide he could also get himself down off the slide and crawl over to the slide (and then sit there and eat the wood chips!).

Nic: First steps

Nic took his first steps tonight! We were all over at my parents' house to watch the men's final of the US Open. I was trying hard to concentrate on the play and let Joseph watch the boys - none too sucessfully I night add!

Joseph had brought the trampoline out into the living room in front of the TV. Nic and Jac were playing on the trampoline and getting on and off of it. Nic was using the trampoline to stand up and cruise on. I was sitting on the couch about a foot away from the trampoline.

He used the trampoline to stand up, then let go of it, and took three steps towards me and fell into my arms! Go Nic go! First steps!

Oh man! Here we go!

Jac is 26 months old

The days are just flying by! My boys are growing up so quickly!

Jac is now saying so many things! He is running - and walking backwards!

Jac now says "Ding" if he wants me to play his dancing music. He asked for one of his toys, a cow shaped thing that has 6 buttons that play different music or animal sounds, by asking for "animals". Amazing!

He asks to "watch" when we are cooking - so that he can be in our arms or his seat and watch us cook - he really likes to watch Daddy cook in particular!

He is really starting to run now - he is really picking his feet up off the ground - every day (literally) he gets a little bit faster. Grandma was commenting tonight on how cute his run is, and washing that he could stay this age forever because it is so cute!

He discovered the other night that he can walk backwards - he was pretty excited about it and practiced it a bunch of times. Today he decided to practice it again by backing up into a building while we were on our way to the park.

Jac's language skills are taking off like wildfire (an interesting analogy given the fires we had here in the last few weeks!).

I have a game on my iPhone called "Adam's Game." The game shows three pictures on the screen and says "Touch the XXX", with XXX being one of the pictures on the screen. The pictures are not the greatest a lot of the time, like the picture of a hen is a picture of a hen figurine - and not the greatest picture at that! Jac can identify the and touch the picture that they ask for 9 times out of 10 - really well!

It is so fun to watch him be able to identify his world and allow us to understand what he is looking at and thinking about.

Jac is really starting to look more like a small boy, then a toddler. The looks and sounds that he makes clearly identify him as getting older even his body is still small.

He is still hitting us and his brother some. We are working to help him learn to express his frustration in different ways but at this point he still hits - and bites sometimes! We are all learning!

He gives kisses and hugs, helps me give Daddy massages, picks up trash, cleans his brother with wipes, cleans the house with wipes, follows simple instructions (bring me the toy, throw this in the trash, get your shoes), climbs on everything, talks about everything, loves to read books, sleeps in his bed next to ours, walks to the park, asks to hold hands - with both Mommy and Daddy, drinks Boba, loves ice cream, loves soup and snacks, and is a sweet, loving, engaging little boy!

Dancing

Jac has been dancing - a lot! The other day we were watching a TV show about little kids that were taking dancing lessons and performing in dance competitions. While we were watching the show Jac came over and stood in front of the television and started dancing - arms and all! He has been dancing for a while but this was definitely the most demonstrative I have seen - and now whenever he hears some music or I ask him to dance he does it. I love the arms in particular!



Nic does a little bit of body wiggle for his dancing - very cute! He also sorts of rocks on his booty if he is sitting down - I will have to get a better video of that!

Getting down!

Nic has figured out how to get down off of things! He is no longer trapped if we put him on the bed or the couch!

I have been showing him how to get down off of the bed on the floor since we moved into our new place two weeks ago. Just in the last few days he has figured out how to do it. The real surprise was when I left him on the couch last night and he turned around, and slid down and stood up on the floor!

The last few days he has been standing - a lot! He has realized that he can balance pretty well and is now standing on all sorts of different surfaces. He loves to stand up on the bed and then fall forward. In our new apartment we have put a Queen size mattress and a crib size mattress on the floor shoved against two walls so there is plenty of space for all of us to sleep - and in the boys' case - play!

Nic has now realized that he can easily get down to the floor by crawling over to the crib mattress - which is shorter, and then turning around and sliding down to the floor from there - like using steps!

He has also taken - just today - to crawling backwards - it looks like moonwalking as he slides along. He didn't crawl backward much when he was learning to crawl so this is is pretty interesting!

Nic is 11 months old

Hello all! As a sign of how hard it is to move, let alone move with two little ones, I am writing this post at 6:42 am on Sept. 7 - 6 days after Nic turned 11 months! Bad, bad! Nic, I am sorry!

Nic is changing! And fast!

He is crawling! Fast! He is making all sorts of different sounds!

He is really cute! He makes a great "turtle face" that just melts my heart!

He loves to play with his brother! They laugh and laugh!

He can stand up in his high chair!

He loves to nurse, and wander his hands all over me while he does it! I don't like it!

He has four teeth and he uses them to full effect to eat whatever he wants to.'

He likes Mac and Cheese. He doesn't like chinese-style cheesecake. He doesn't like most eggs that I make but he likes Ama's Chow Mushi (sp?). He likes apple sauce. He likes curry from Hurry Curry. He will try any food. If he doesn't want it he puts his hand in his mouth and takes it back out and then wipes it on himself or you. He likes to drink and then blow it back out and make a mess!

He likes to eat phones and remotes. He holds phones up to his ear like he is talking on them!

He will take any phone you try to use.

He is free standing more frequently.

He takes the camera when you make a movie of him.

He laughs if his brother hits him (if it is not too! hard) which makes my job of trying to get Jac not to him a little harder! He taps himself in the head after Jac hits him in the head. Strange!

He comes at you with his tongue out - especially when he is hungry! It looks like he is trying to nurse your face! He does this to me, Daddy and Grandma!

He says, "Dada" and "Nene" but I don't think they are words, just sounds at this point.

He has an ear infection. He got an awful cough from the smoke from the fires and that turned into an ear infection. It looks like he has his Daddy's lungs.

Nic has four teeth!

Nic now has four teeth! We thought he just had the lower two as that is all we had seen. A couple of days ago when one of the babysitters in Boulder was playing with him she had him laying on her legs and she saw the other teeth!

I felt like I was looking at a dog's teeth when I pulled his lip up a little bit so I could see them and sure enough, two upper teeth, well out, so he has probably had them for a bit!

Nic has learned - sort of - how to drink from a straw

Nic learned today how to drink from a straw - sort of. If we hold the straw with our fingers over the end and offer him it with a drink he will suck on the straw to get the drink! Prior to this I could give him a drink from a draw but only if I just let the liquid drain from the straw - but now he will apply suction to the straw while I am holding the drink in from the other side! Go Nic! The drink possibilities are starting to open up!

Two words combined and No!

Oh man! Jac is improving his language by leaps and bounds! Today he started saying "Oh No" and "All right", two things that I say pretty frequently! Two words combined together! A big developmental milestone!

Ama and I were letting him drive the car (while parked of course) and he kept on saying "All right" over and over again!

Also, all day - "No!" no matter what you asked him! You could have asked him "Do you want to drive the car for real?" and he would have said "No!" Oh man! Cute - and happy about it - but "No!" This is really the first time he has started really saying "No" to everything - I guess I should be glad since he is 25 months old!

Jac and Nic in the box

The boys were "helping" us move things around in the garage!