Nicie helping to fix Katie's tire!

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Jac

Jacie has such a gorgeous smile. His smile is getting more and more expressive. When he smiles at me now I can "feel!" it!

Happy 18 month birthday Nicie

(Note: This post is more than a week and a half late! With the sickness we have had and Nicie not sleeping well my late night blogging has been curtailed! It is now 6 am!)

Our little Nicnie is 18 months old! 1.5 years! OMG! My boys are growing up so fast!

Nicie's language development is really making quick progress now. He now says "thanks" and "thank you." It is the cutest thing when Jac and Nic are saying, "thanks," back and forth to each other as they are trading a bottle back and forth while in their car seats!

Nic's first real two words phrases started in San Diego a few weeks ago. I think the first one was "buy it" while we were in the Borders book store in San Diego! Oh man! He followed that with a lot of other two word "it" phrases - including "have it." Oh man! This week he added, "thank you!" I am not sure if he realized that the "it" phrases were two separate words but I am more confident that he knows that "thank you" is two separate words, because he uses "thanks" and "thank you" at different time. He says "thanks" so nicely it is really sweet!

He is also calling Grandma, "Nama," which is just too sweet for words. He says "Nama" all of the time! He doesn't have "Grandfather," down just yet but I am sure that will come soon.

He loves dogs! He gets so excited when he sees one in person or on TV. We have been giving him a nightly nebulizer treatment for the last several weeks (more about that later) and we have been showing him "puppy" videos on YouTube on the TV while we do it, and they are remarkably good at distracting him so he will at least sort of sit still and leave the mask on.

Nicie has been diagnosed with Reactive Airway Disease (RAD) by Dr. P, his pediatrician. Basically, this means that when he gets an upper respiratory infection he tends to get bronchialitis, or inflammation in his bronchia, which means that he wheezes when he breathes. This may or may not mean that he will have asthma when he is older, but for the time being it means that when he gets wheezy we need to give him a bronchodilator in a nebulizer several times a day. Fun! Oh man! He was so mad the first few times we did it. He screamed and yelled. I did not believe the doctor and nurse when they said he we would get used it! He did! He actually climbs up on my lap and lets me do it now! The puppy videos help! We have to do it for five minutes at a time which he still doesn't like but the first minute or two are now pretty painless.

He is moving with a lot of confidence now. He is going up and down stairs more easily, especially down stairs. He can up a few stairs without hands and he can go down a few without hands also. He is running everywhere - and yelling "run", while he does it!

A few things in his behavior have gotten worse though. He really likes to throw, which is great, except that he throws all sorts of things, and he throws them when he is upset. Just as an example, tonight he had a metal sippy cup and he asked me to put more drink in it. I put some water in it and he got upset, he wanted to take the top off of it, but I wouldn't (because he spills open cups all over everything). When I wouldn't do it he cried and fussed and then threw the sippy cup at the bed. A lot of times he will throw the offending object at me, or someone else. Bad. He also likes to throw his food, especially when he is done eating or doesn't like something. I think we are about to have to go to a zero-tolerance policy on the throwing because more gentle approaches have not worked and it is getting dangerous as he is strong and a good thrower.

The cute thing about the throwing or other undesirable behaviors directed at me or Daddy is that after he does something that hurts you, he gives you a kiss. Augh!

He also very sweetly kisses and hugs Jac when Jac gets hurt (through Jac's own doing). Tonight, Jac hit his head hard on the couch, and I took him into the bed to soothe him. Nic followed, and gave him hugs and kisses to help!

He CAN be a true love bug. He gives great hugs! Wrap around the neck and hold on tight hugs!

He loves to nurse! He calls it "Boo Boo Eh"! He doesn't nurse nearly as much as he used to, but for naps and sleep he always nurses (through the night) and when he first wakes up.

He laughs, a lot! He has a very infectious laugh, and when he gets going we all go with him.

He has a really expressive face. You can tell what he is thinking (sort of!) from his face, it is all there.

He loves to run head long into things. He runs across the entire bedroom and "bangs" into the window on the other side. We tell him not to do it but he does it anyway! He also loves to get a running start and run smack into my legs! Fortunately I can tell when he is lining up to run and brace for it!

Meds and a proud Momma

We started Jac's HGH shots a week ago (3/26/10). We are calling it a "little poke." The first night we did it it was a big surprise to him as we had not talked about it previously.

(I bought a play medical kit - that has been really great in role playing medical stuff, something we had not done before. Jac's language has progressed to the point that we can discuss things that have happened in the past and things that are going to happen in the future and he can comprehend and remember both the past and the future through language! (I find the development of this sort of language truly amazing and it has been a joy to watch it develop).)

He cried a lot and tried to get away and was very upset for 10 minutes or so after. We are doing the shots after bath and before bed, in the crazy/lull period before the boys fall asleep. The next night we didn't do a bath because we had gotten home very late. Nic and I were already in bed and Joseph tried to give Jac his bath. He cried and cried, "later, later"

We decided not to do his injection that night.
Since then we have only missed one night. Jac went to sleep pretty early, after a long day. We decided that we did not want to give him the injection while he was asleep. I didn't want to violate his trust by doing the injection while he was asleep.
After a few nights of doing the "little poke" I started having Jac participate in preparing the EasyPod and giving the injection. The EasyPod is a really well designed, easy to use device. One of the nice things about it is that you really never see the needle. You turn it on, put the capped needle into the EasyPod, it takes the needle out of the cap and hides it, you place it on the skin, and push the big green button, it gives the injection, you put the cap back on, it puts the used needle into that cap, and you are done! In the demo video they have online a six year old boy is giving himself the injection, with his Mom watching! Jac knows how to press all of the buttons now, with my help. He even gives himself the injection! After we are done he goes and throws the used needle in the "special trash," the sharps container under the bathroom sink.
I will not say that this is easy, but the anxiety level for all of us has gone way down. Before we started doing it I was dreading it for the months after I knew we were going to start, and when we finally started. Now, it has become part of the nightly routine. I tell him, it is time for medicine. And he says, "Squeeze Nicie's medicine (for NIcie's nebulizer)" He helps me prepare Nicie's medicine and turn the nebulizer on, and off, and wash out the nebulizer mask when we are done. Then I get his EasyPod out. It is kept in the refrigerator. He asks to "put the medicine in." We only have to reload the medicine every 21 days right now, which he is always disappointed about. I get an alcohol pad out and clean his skin where are going to give the injection. He doesn;t like this much, and it almost upsets him more than the actual injection. He turns the machine on, I put the needle in, he presses the OK button, then I put it on his skin, which he tries to get away from but once it is there and the green light on the EasyPod comes on, he presses the green button! The injection takes five seconds, and we encourage him to count or watch puppies or marbles of whatever YouTube video we have selected that evening. After the injection is done we say "All done!" and he presses the button to take the needle out. He takes the needle to the special trash and throws it away, and then we go on with what we are doing!

Some nights are easier than others. Tonight he hardly complained. Some nights he still gets pretty upset, but for the most part the upset is gone right after we are done, and we are able to just move on to other things with only a minor upset and disruption. Amazing! Kids are amazing and resilient and I never would have believed this was possible until I watched the transformation from fear to acceptance to routine to go Jac!

I haven't noticed any increase in his appetite. Maybe a small one but he has been sick which always dampens his appetite. We had to take him off the Benecalorie for a week or so because he was throwing up at night.

It feels like he is taller but I am guessing this is just me. We go back after three months on the GH for a weigh-in and height check. We have to do blood work every six months unless we don't see a response to the GH after three months. It feels like he is getting taller and stretching out - staying just as slim but taller. I feel like when I am carrying him he is hitting a different spot at my shoulder, like he can see into my face better when I am carrying him on my hip.

The GH is supposed to improve his bodies' ability to process nutrients from food, so even if he keeps on eating the same amount he should gain weight and grow.

We shall see!

"Nicnie"

Nicie calls himself "Nicnie" now, with an "n" in the middle of his name. It is so cute we like to repeat it and call him "Nicnie" also! I am sure we should be saying his name properly, which we do most of the time, but sometimes I just can't help but add a little "n"!

"Bowul"

Nicie now calls a bottle a "bowul", at least that is how I would spell his pronunciation. He does a little hand motion indicating he wants a bottle and says "bowul," it is really cute! He doesn't use a bottle much but he is starting to take them a little more frequently. He and Jac now both drink some form of yogurt drink from their bottles.

"Mommy"

Nicie has always called me "Momma" and Joseph "Dadda" - at least after
he stopped calling everyone "Dadda.". This weekend he started calling
me Mommy - it is so sweet the way he say it.

Sent from my iPhone

"So many blankets around here"

Some new favorites

"Almost getting it" - He was putting coins in a bank and was getting it to work.

"So many blankets around here" - There were a lot of blankets on the bed and Jac was making this observation.

"I'm putting money down there" - Jac was putting money down into a box under our TV.

Jac is 32 months old!

If you would like to read previous birthday posts you can read them all here!

It feels like Jac is pointed at turning three and the proverbial train has left the station!

Jac is either fourteen months or two, depending on when you ask him!

Jac is all words, and deliberate actions!

Some of my new favorite phrases.

"Don't yell" or "Don't yell Momma" or "Don't yell xxxx" - This is said to Nicie when he is yelling. If he is just making Mothra noises then Jac will tell him, "Don't yell," but if he is repeatedly yelling a particular word Jac will tell him not to yell that!

If Nic is crying Jac will say, "Nicie's crying, Nicie's sad."

"Not yet" - This is one of Jac's favorite new phrases, and it used in response to all sorts of different questions. "Do you want to go to the park?", "Jac, would you like to have a diaper change?", "Would you like to have some food?", "Would you like to take a bath?", "It's time to go to sleep!"

"How about Jacie?" - This is on report from Katie. This morning I was over at a client's house fixing their wireless internet. The boys opted to stay in the car with Katie while I went in (more on that phenomenon later in the post). They were eating some chocolate pudding and Jac, when it was his turn, would say, "How about Jacie?", to indicate that it was his turn for some pudding!

"Never been there" - Tonight Jac was watching a YouTube video of Japanese trains. I don't think he knows they are Japan, and for sure doesn't know what Japan is! While he was watching the video he said, "Never been there," acknowledging that he knew that he had never seen this type of train!

"Daddy's working, type, type, type" - We have been working on separation stuff and Jac has gotten very used to the idea that Daddy goes to work and we see him later. Today, while we were out Jac told me, "Daddy's working, type, type, type," while imitating typing!

Independence

Jac is finding a new sense of independence. He is more willing to venture a little further away when we are at Jumpin Jammin (our new favorite place - we have been there 5 or 6 times in 2 weeks) or Amy's Playground. He will take off running for whatever it is he wants to do - and while we are there he transitions from play area to play area all by himself, and quickly!

He is also becoming quite the little climbing monkey. The climbing areas at Jumpin Jammin are meant for small kids to big adults, so some of them can be quite a challenge for smaller children. Jac is learning to trust his climbing abilities and will boost himself up some pretty big things!

Teaching Nicie

He is sharing words, names, things with Nicie. He tells him what things are called and sometimes seems to be explaining things to Nicie.

Demanding

"I want that", "I want this" - These have become some of his favorite phrases! Fortunately, he can be reasoned with and held off and redirected - for the most part!

Staying in the car

I have had a bunch of appointments in the last two weeks, mostly with my chiropractor and dentist (the old body is falling apart ;) When we have been to these appointments I have given the boys (Jac) the option of staying in the car with Katie or coming in with me. They have stayed in the car, every time! Twice, they came out of the car, after a while, wanting me, but they have spent more than an hour playing in the car with Katie several times! This is also a great testament to Katie's ability to keep them entertained! She knows them very well now! They get so excited in the morning when they know she is coming.

I am not done with this post but I need to sleep and I want to share it! I will finish it up tomorrow night!

Boys!

"We go together"

Tonight we were all in the car at Costco. Jac was upset about the
gentlemen from the Costco tire department who was looking at our tires
and was crying. We needed some supplies from Costco but I didn't want
to drag Jac inside if he didn't want to go. I asked him if he wanted
to stay in the car with Mommy or Daddy and Nicie while one of us went
inside. His response. "We go together."

Sent from my iPhone

"Jac, are you okay?"

Jac has been having more gagging episodes lately. It seems like it is happening maybe once or twice a day now and for quite a while it seemed like it was happening maybe once a week. I think his reflux is back. A few nights he threw up while eating, which also hasn't happened in a long time, except when he had a cold a while back.

When I hear him gag I am not always in the room, sometimes he is with Nicie or with Katie. As soon as I hear I call out to him, "Jac, are you okay?" and the answer is always, "Wes."

The other night when he threw up we talked about his throwing up, and he knows what it means and how to say it.

Today, when I heard him gag and asked him if he was okay I added another question.

"Did you throw up?" "Wes, a little bit."
"Did you swallow it?" "Wes"

My heart sank when he said that, but at the same time I was so glad that he could tell me that.

I am going to start him on Prevacid again tomorrow, and see if the gagging is reduced and when it does happen if he tells me that he threw up.

I think he has been gagging and throwing up his whole life and doesn't know that that is not normal. That makes me sad.

Pee Pee in the Potty, Again!

Last night, Jac and Nic both peed in the potty, for the first time in a long time. Jac asked to use the potty, and I brought it out for him, and he sat on it but didn't pee. Then Nic sat on the potty, then Jac, then Nic - and he peed - a lot! We dumped it in the toilet and Nicie flushed (with Jac's help!) Then Jac sat on the potty, and we did some counting, and after a little bit he peed, and just kept on peeing! Go Jacie! He was very excited to pour it in the toilet, and poured it all over me and the floor in the process! I can't say as that dampened his excitement at all, or mine!

Jac has not peed in the potty since then, nor wanted to get on it when offered! But he was pretty excited about seeing his pee come out! Fits and starts!

I am in no hurry for Jac to potty train. All things in good time!

Jac teaching Nicie

Jac has started teaching NIcie words! Last night they were playing with their laptop (we have out in their play area an old laptop that we don't use anymore). Nic was pointing and saying, "that," which is his way of asking what something is called. In response to each, "that," Jac was pointing to the same thing and telling Nic what is was called. For example, Nic pointed to the screen and Jac said, "screen," Nic pointed to the keyboard and Jac said, "keyboard."

In the car today they were doing the same thing but with objects in the car!

This to me is an amazing moment of seeing my little boy teach my other little boy! Watch out world, here come the Chiu boys!

Great pics of Jac and Nic

These pictures that I took at Travel Town of Jac and Nic really exemplify their personalities and I really love them!

More fun Jac phrases

"Go get another car, I'll be right back"

"Thank you Nicie"

"Wet over there, let me check it out"

We are officially at full sentences with some missing connecting words, but he is able to communicate complete ideas. I can't explain how honored I feel to watch this happen, on a daily basis, in front of my eyes and ears.

"Get Annie and Clarabel off the train tracks"

Nicie's full word list as of 3.4.10

Nicie is 17 months old! I have put together his complete spoken word list. I have no idea how many words he understands, but a lot!

"Jac, how old are you?"

We have been teaching Jac how to respond to the question of how old he is. He has a pretty good grasp of the numbers one and two when applied to objects but age is a lot more abstract!

Mommy to Jac, "How old are you?"
Jac, "14 months"

He has heard me respond to questions about how old the boys are and if they are twins so many times and my standard response is, "No, they are not twins, they are 14 months apart."

If you push him a little more he will usually respond that he is "two," and Nic is "one" but I wouldn't call it a reliable answer!

Travel Town

We had a nice time at Travel Town today. The boys walked all around and looked at the trains and just generally enjoyed the nice weather. They enjoyed looking at the trains, particularly Jac. They ran around some, played with rocks, and Jac talked a lot!

Jac has a VERY! small belly

We have been giving Jac Benecalorie for over a month now. I can't tell if he has gained weight but he has a very small belly. Katie and I noticed it and Daddy noticied it tonight. I think it is a good thing, if it means he has a little, tiny bit of fat on him! We will be seeing his endo shortly and I will ask him about it.

"Bye bye Mommy, I'll see you later"

"Bye bye Mommy, I'll see you later" - This phrase was uttered by Jac as he left the apartment with Katie to walk down the hall to take the trash.
"Bless you, Nicie" - From Jac to Nic when Nic sneezed. (I have not taught him this, just said it myself)
"Thanks" - Spoken frequently by Jac to me, Katie, Nic and Daddy when we give him something - I did not teach him to say this, just modeled it.
"I can't do it" - Jac says this when he either can't or doesn't want to do something and wants you to do it for him.
"Not yet" - This is used when Jac doesn't want to do something, to hold you off for a while. Like if you ask him if he needs a fresh diaper, he will say "Not yet" or if he wants to put on a suit, or go out, or eat something, or take a bath!
"Oh my" or "Oh my gosh" - Uttered by Jac when he is watching or seeing something interesting. He said this a lot during the recent Winter Olympics, usually when watching someone go fast. BTW, he particularly liked the ski jumping, speed skating, and bobsledding.
"Wearing necklace" - When Mommy is wearing a necklace.
"I want soup back" - When we were out to dinner at Hurry Curry and Joseph moved the soup away from Jac (because he was playing with it), Jac very emphatically managed to get this sentence out. You could tell it took some work but he got the whole thing out!

Nicie is 17 months old!

Our little Nicie is 17 months old! Oh man! Time is really flying! It feels like we are flying towards two and three!

So what is our little Nicie doing these days!

More words!

Nicie is saying more and more words! I have been trying to write them down so I have a complete list but I am failing! Here are a few new ones since 2/9/10 ( my last words entry for Nic)

"Boo Boo eh" - This is what he calls breast feeding. He started saying "Boo Boo Eh," and so that is what we call it now! His plaintive cries of "Boo Boo Eh" can be heard when he is hungry or tired.
"Watch it" - This was a new one just tonight! We were watching their favorite Tomica video when Jac left to play with the new Shinkanzen train. I paused the video since Jac wasn't watching it. Nic grabbed the remote and walked over and said, "Watch it."
"Jac" or "Jacie" - Nic has learned Jac's name - although sometimes he calls himself Jac!
"Nic" or "Nicie" - He knows his own name now and will point at himself and say, "Nicie."
"Dadda" - He knows Dadda's name and calls him it consistently.
"Momma" - He now calls me by name consistently - although he does still call me "Dadda," sometimes!
"Katie" - He knows Katie's name.
"No, No, No" - Nicie has been saying No for quite a while, but he really likes to say his Nos as "No, No, No."
"More" - He has known the word more for a while, but he is quite clear in his more now, usually when he wants more food.
"Up" or "Carry" - Pick me up and carry me!
"Draw" - Nic likes to draw with pens, and he asks for them by saying, "Draw."

I am going to have to try a word list tomorrow and see if I can come up with the rest of the list!

He loves to throw - still! He can throw with both hands, really well. He will pick up a ball in each hand, and throw them equally well, at the same time. Although I still think he is left handed I think he may be quite ambidextrous. His new throw is with a balloon. We have discovered the joy of balloons and Nicie really likes to see them fly up over his head and float back down. He grabs it in both hands, does a few practice motions, and then chucks it, underhanded, over his head! He looks like he is trying to throw a basket underhanded.

He can now ride his fire engine toy without help. He can sit down and push it quite well!

Running - he is a faster and more proficient runner now. He can really get moving, with his belly out! He takes really cute little steps! See the running post!

Climbing - Nic is quite a proficient climber now. He can climb up most things that he can reach. Tonight he climbed up my chair right behind Jac, and they both stood on it and played with the lights!

Mischievous - Nic can be really mischievous. He will look you straight in the eye and say, "No," with his little finger held in front of his nose, and then do whatever he just acknowledged he was not supposed to do.

The "No" with the finger in front of the nose is an interesting thing, and I have not managed to get a video of it yet! When Nic is acknowledgeing my "No," he holds his finger up in front of his nose, and says, "No." At first I couldn't figure out why he did that, but then Daddy pointed out to me that sometimes when I am saying, "No," I hold my hand up and point, to show I am serious! So he is imitating me! It is really cute and hard not to laugh at sometimes!

Nic nurses for naps, for comfort and for sleeping at night. He wants, "Boo Boo Eh," if he is upset or hurt or tired.

He likes to eat, and his new trick is to stuff his cheeks until he can't get any more food in his mouth, and then sometimes he chews and swallows! This is a new thing, and we are rolling with it, although it is really hard not to bust up laughing when his cheeks look like they are going to explode.

Yelling - This is a new one. When Jac is upset and crying Nic's new thing is to start yelling, although it is more like screeching, and we call it his "Mothra" yell. Jac really doesn't like it when Nic does this, but Nic seems to take great pleasure in it. We are working on getting him not to do this.

Laughing - He and Jac crack each other up, several times a day, and just laugh and laugh. They feed off one another.

Playing by himself - Nic has made a very dramatic change in his ability play by himself in the last week. All of a sudden he can stick with a task, ignoring what Jac is doing, and play! It is amazing. I knew things had changed one night this weekend. Joseph was tired and had gone to sleep and the boys and I were still up. I wanted to watch Olympics, and I was tired, so I plopped down in front of the TV and started up the TiVo. After about 5 or 10 minutes I realized I was still watching the Olympics and that I had not gotten up to mediate a dispute yet. The boys were in their play area in the living room, each playing with their own thing, on the train layout that Joseph had made earlier in the day. This went on for two hours or so! They came over to me, and I went over to them, we interacted, but I did not mediate any major disputes in that entire time! It was truly amazing and hopefully a sign of things to come!

The video is of Nic playing with a night light and putting the batteries in and out. We use these night lights as we are going to sleep and every couple of weeks we have to replace the batteries. The boys really enjoy doing this! Usually as we are working on it they get involved in the process. This night, Jac was helping to screw and unscrew the battery cover, and Nic was taking the batteries in and out. He sat and played like this for at least 10 minutes!

Nic blowing the window at Krispy Kreme

Nic blowing the window at Krispy Kreme, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

Nicie thought it was really funny!

"I'm sorry"

When Daddy is giving the boys a bath we always come to the hard part where they have to have their hair and face washed. I suspect that there is not a child in the world that "likes" having their hair and face washed, no matter how gentle the method.

When Daddy starts washing his hair Jac starts saying, "I'm sorry," because that is what we say as we are doing it. He keeps on saying, "I'm sorry," almost crying it, until you stop or finish!

Happy Little Train People

Ama sent Jac and Nic trains from Japan! Excitement!

Jac is growing up! Previously, if we turned a train on he got very upset and we had to turn it off immediately! Tonight, Joseph asked him if he could turn the train on, and he accepted it, and man did he accept it!

As I write this he has spent the last hour playing with the trains, running them all over the play area, all by himself! Joseph is napping on the couch, and Nic is amusing himself with balls and money!

"Dab, dab, swipe"

Daddy has taught the boys to "Dab, dab, swipe," their faces after they eat to clean them. It is really cute and injenious. They love to do it! Jac has been doing it for a while and he says, "Dab, dab, swipe," when he does it. Nic just recently started to do it and he now says, "Dab." Super cute!

It does rain in LA

This past Saturday we had a major rainstorm that lasted most of the day. The grandparents are in London in miserable weather visiting their new grandson so I thought they might like to know that it does rain in LA!

"Nicie says"

Mommy to Jacie, "What does Nicie say?"

Jacie to Mommy, "Nicie say "No No No!""

Mommy to Jacie, "What does Daddy say?"

Jacie to Mommy, "Daddy say, ummm, Daddy says, "Daddy!"

Huntington Gardens with Auntie Charmy

So - our second trip to the Gardens this past weekend was with Auntie Charmy, Daddy's sister. We went to see the "Color Explosion" exhibit which was great! We had a nice time walking around the gardens and Jac insisted that we go see the fish in the Japanese Gardens!

Fore more pictures from Flickr click here.

"Dab, dab, swipe"

Daddy has taught the boys to "Dab, Dad, Swipe" to clean their faces and mouths. It is super cute and Jac will say, "Dab, Dab, Swipe," and Nicie can say, "Dab."

Jac is pretty good at it now, he can get his face pretty clean after he eats, at least sometimes! Nicie is still more of a rookie at it but he gives it a college try if you ask him to!

Nicie running

Nicie has a really cute run! Belly out, small steps, and pretty quick! I love his run and so does my Mom - who requested a video if it - so here you go! And yes, I have already emailed you a version for your iPhone!

Huntington Gardens fun with the Bramlets

We had a great time at Huntington Gardens on Saturday (yes we went to Huntington Gardens twice this weekend) with the Bramlets. They have two kids, Odessa who is almost exactly one year older than Jac and Dyson who is 9.5 months. They are a great family and Odessa is great fun! Jac had a great time running around with Odessa and chasing her! He learned her name pretty quickly and was frequently chasing her calling, "Dessa!" Too cute for words!

For more pictures click here to see them on Flickr.

Cool guy!

On Sunday we went to Huntington Gardens with Auntie Charmy. It was alternately sunny and bright and dark and cloudy - we couldn't figure out if we were hot or cold!

We had a very nice time visiting the "The Color Explosion" exhibit in the Huntington Library. It was very cool!

When we came out of the exhibit the boys tried on my sunglasses - and Nicie even posed for a picture!

Jac dancing to the "Tomica Dance" video

Jac and Nic love this Tomica video on YouTube.



They watch it all of the time, Jac requests it at least once a day! He likes to dance to it, and sometimes he even dances to it when it is not playing! I love watching him dance! Nic dances also but he was alseep when I took this video!

I wish I could be this comfortable

Nic sleeping, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

Kids have a way of being so comfortable, it is quite enviable! I am not sure I am ever this comfortable!

Jac talking!

Jac talks up a storm now. He is forming short sentences and putting together ideas from the past and the future. He can talk about things that happened a week ago and what is going to happen tomorrow (the past is easier than the future though!).

When we were visiting Grandma and Grandfather we asked him to say a bunch of things so Grandma could get a recording of him saying, "I love you Grandma," and "I love you Grandfather." The rest was gravy!

Books in the bedroom

IMG_3406, originally uploaded by Taj and Joseph Chiu.

We have a shelf in the bedroom with the boys' books on them. These are the books that have "stuck" in there, the ones we read the most often. We have three more shelves of books in the living room!

Nic - Self identification and Naming

Nicie knows who he is! A few days he recognized himself in the mirror, pointed at himself and said, "Nicie." Yesterday he pointed to Jac and said, "Jacie," and then pointed at himself and said, "Nicie." Today he turned my iPhone on, pointed at the picture of himself that is my background, and said, "Nicie." Whoa!

He has been naming all of us more, and he now very clearly calls all of us by name, "Daddy," "Mommy," and "Jacie." Now that he is calling us by name he has a different way that he says, "Daddy," than he used to say, "Dada." It sounds pretty different, I will try to get a recording of it.

He is really getting a hang of repeating words that we tell him, and is starting to mimic words much more closely. When he wants to know what something is called, he points at it and says, "that, that, that," over and over, until you tell him what it is called. Sometimes it can be very hard to figure out which thing he is pointing at, and since I don't want to tell him a duck is a cow things can get a little confusing sometimes!

You've gotta love the hair!

Jac spilled yogurt drink last night when he was sleeping and it got in his hair. You've gotta love yogurt drink as hair gel! I loved his hair so much I didn't even clean his head before we went out!

He was really this small

Sometimes I can't understand how small Jac was anymore. He has come so far, and we have come so far as a family. Lexi and Chris and Cooper, welcome to this journey. I am glad your beginning was not as rough as ours, but I hope your journey is as beautiful.

Sweet brothers

Yesterday morning I asked NIcie to go wake Jac up. Jac was pretty solidly asleep and not interested in waking up. There was a bottle from the night sitting on the floor next to Jac. Nic went up to Jac very quietly, picked up the bottle and laid it next to Jac's face, looked at Jac for a few seconds, and then came back to me.

It was the sweetest thing! They are so sweet to one another it is the most wonderful thing!

Jac is 31 months old

Jac is 31 months old! He is now headed toward three! Whoa!

He is turning into such a big boy! His language has absolutely taken off! He is truly narrating the world, and shaping it, using his language. Here are some of my current favorites!

"Very dangerous" - He says this when we are in a parking lot or near cars!
"Very careful" - He says this to Nic to tell him to be careful in a parking lot!
"That was" *pause* "fun" - Jac has learned the phrase, "That was" and he uses it a lot now. He usually has a pause between "that was" and the whatever he is talking about although tonight he linked "That was fun" all together! It is so cute though because he says, "that was" and then there is a pause and then "fun", or "phone" or whatever "that was!"
"Mommy, Daddy, Katie" or "Mommy, Daddy, Nicie" or "Daddy, Nicie" or "Mommy, Jacie" - Tonight he was linking all of our names together in different ways.
BTW, Katie is our new Mother's Helper. She is great and the kids have really taken to her.
You can now ask Jac if he had a fun day and he will tell you, "Wes." You can also ask him what he did during the day and he will sometimes tell you about something, and if prompted with a particular thing will tell you more about it.

Jac's language has reached a point where it is getting harder to write these posts. He has so many words and phrases! I can now ask him yes, no questions and get pretty good answers. I can ask him to pick between two things and he can do it. I can ask him if he wants to stay home or go out and he can answer!

I think Jac's enunciation is quite good. Katie has only been with us for about a month and she can already understand almost everything he says. Sometimes she has difficulty if it is new word that he is mispronouncing but usually she can get it. His speech is supposed to be evaluated pretty soon by a therapist from the Lanterman Regional Center so it will be interesting to see what they say.

I used to have a lot more feedback about Jac's progress relative to "normal" when we were getting Part C services in Colorado. Since he didn't qualify for services under the "budget-cut" changes to the policies here in CA he hasn't had any OT, PT or Speech therapy. I don't think he really needs it but it was nice to now how he was "doing."

Jac is still a little guy but it feels like he has gotten a bit taller. He is still very skinny but he feels so strong. When I carry him I can tell how strong he is as he pushes back against my arm to lean away from me. He can now climb over the side of the couch with nothing to stand on to get a boost from. He is running like crazy and has gotten a lot faster. He still falls occasionally but his ability to get a little off balance and then regain his balance has gotten way better.

It feels like his eating has generally gotten better. He eats so many different things and his volume feels like it is at least holding steady - good days and bad days, although Nic has those also. I don't feel as stressed about his eating as I used to. Now, I just feed him. I make all sorts of different things and see what they eat. We go to McD's sometimes, we go out to other things, we eat at home, we have snacks, we have M&Ms (we all love them), we eat! And we just eat!

Sleeping - Jac knows now when he wants to go to sleep. He wants to sleep in the bed usually, although sometimes he wants to stay on the couch! He has pretty much stopped taking a nap. He usually has a quiet period about the same time as Nic takes a nap, where he relaxes on the couch and watches YouTube but doesn't sleep. When he wants to go to bed he says, "Bed, Yogurt drink, under."

(Update - 2/12/10 - More phrases)
"Too much" - Jac says that something is too much when he doesn't like it. So if you are taking him in to something that he doesn't want to do, or into a place he doesn't want to go he will cry out that it is "too much."
"What are you doing?" - I wrote a blog post about this one before. This is another of Jac's phrases he uses when you are doing something that he doesn't want! It is generally yelled!
"Very dangerous" - Genrally Jac uses this to talk about cars in the street but today when we were riding on the bus and I leaned in to him a little too much and took up a lot of his space he said, "Momma, very dangerous," to tell me to move back!
"Buy it" or "Buy this" or "Buy it nnn" or "Buy more nnn" - Jac knows what he wants! He tells us to "Buy it" all of the time! He will be looking at something that we have bought for him and say, "Buy it" and we will say, "We did buy it, we bought it." This never seems to satisfy him! He understands if you tell him you are going to buy something when you go out!

Nicie's new words

Nicie has some new words!

Trash - which he calls Wa Wa (same word but different meaning for water!)
Wall - because he bumps into the wall a lot!

I know there are more but at 2 am they won't come to me! I wil work on this list more tomorrow!

(Update 2/11/10 - 1:33 am)
Okay - I figured out what more of the words are! Yeah!

Seat - Meaning his high chair
Apple - He really likes to chew on apples, although not necessarily swallow them. This is also true for grapes and tangerines. I think it is because he is teething but I can't blame everything on that ;)
Dog - He loves dogs and gets really excited when he sees them.
Woof - He knows the sound the dog makes.
Abby - Our friends dog - he has met her a couple of times.
Kick - He likes to kick his legs, at people and at things! At least he tells you when he is kicking you!

(Update 2/12/10 - 3:42 am)
More words! These are not new I have just had to write them down!)

Eyes - He knows what eyes are he points to mine and his own and Jac's and says "eyes"
Dump - He loves to dump out the bins of toys
Bottle - This comes out "Bo Bo" but it means bottle. We have been giving Nic a bottle for a couple of weeks now. We started it because it felt like I wasn't always able to give him enough milk. He is still breastfeeding well and he feeds for naps and for comfort throughout the day and then he nurses to sleep and then throughout the night. He does like to have bottles although he doesn't generally drink that much from them.
Cup - A sippy cuy. He likes to drink water and juice from sippy cups.

"Remember"

Jac has been having a little biting problem. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it happens really quickly, before I realize that something is really going on.

A few days, the boys were playing, and it got contentious over a toy, and Nic tried to take it, and Jac bit him. It was a pretty hard bite that left teeth marks on Nic's arm, and the bitten area swole up a bit. Nic was very upset and cried for a bit, and as I worked to calm him down, I talked to Jac about what was going on, and why Nic was crying.

After NIc had calmed down, I saw that the bitten area had gotten swollen. We talked about that, and decided that Nic needed a bandaid, like Mommy had on her finger. The discussion about the swollen arm and the bandaid went on for a while.

This was several days ago and we have discussed it a few times since then, all initiated by Jac.

Tonight he said "swollen," which was a new word for him that came out of the discussion of Nicie's arm. His enunciation of swollen is a little unclear and I am not always able to immediately recognize it. Tonight, he said "swollen," and I didn't understand him. He said, "remember, swollen arm." Amazing!

He is such a little sponge! It is so fun to watch!

"I love you Momma"

Jac can say just about anything now it seems!

On Sunday, Grandma asked Jac to say "I love you." He said it but not very clearly.

We have been practicing saying different phrases, like, "Good morning Dadda," and "Bye, Bye Katie." Jac now has a great sense of praciticing saying things for the future and that they are not actually applicable right now.

So tonight I asked him to say, "I love you Dadda," and he did! And then he said, "I love you Momma!" I also asked him to say, "I love you Grandma," and "I love you Grandfather," the next time we see them. He said both!

When Jac said, "I love you Daddy," it flashed me right back to the NICU. I remember sitting for hours with him in Kangaroo care, and watching him laying on Daddy in Kangaroo care. The feelings that I had back then, to protect him, to help him grow up, to hear those words, were so strong, that as soon as I heard him say, "I love you Daddy," it took me right back there. I would sit, and think, "I love you little one, grow, and be well, we love you." It was a powerful flash back that brought tears to my eyes! My little boy is growing up!

"Momma"

Nic has started calling me Momma - sort of! Over the last few days he has finally! started saying Momma - but not all of the time - and it still doesn't really feel like it is directed at me! But I will take it! Except when he is crying about his diaper change and crying, "Momma, momma" - I think I preferred it when that was "Dadda!"

Welcome Cooper James Marsh

Congratulations to Chris and Alexis on the birth of their son, Cooper James Marsh, who joined us this morning at 10:02 am London time! We were all soundly asleep (or not so soundly asleep!) here in Pasadena when the news arrived!

We have received a few pictures but we are looking forward to many more!

Benecalorie and hGH

We have started adding a calorie supplement to Jac's night time bottle. It is a supplement called Benecalorie. It is a medical food and it has 330 calories in 1.5 oz - which is 7 cal per ml! Amazing! It is an oil supplement and it is hard to get it to mix with his milk, but I try! We started last week and I can't tell if it is helping him gain any weight yet.

We have decided that we are going to start Jac on hGH, which is Human Growth Hormone. There are lots of reasons that we need to do this for Jac all of which I don't want to explain right now, suffice it to say we have decided that it is best for him, and until he is old enough to decide he doesn't want it, we are going to give it to him. It is a daly injection, like an insulin shot, same kind of tiny, thin needle. We are waiting on the hGH until we get all of the approvals from the insurance company - hopefully we will get that in the next month.

Left handed

Nicie is most definitely left-handed. If you offer him something to hold he usually takes it with his left hand - and he loves to throw with his left arm. He has got some ambidextrousness going on also though - the other day he took two balls, one in each hand, over his head, and threw them, and hit me with both of them! Fortunately they were soft! He uses forks and spoons with his left hand and holds teething rings with his left hand.

Bam Bam

When Nicie is wearing a sleeveless suit he likes to stick one of his arms through the neck hole. I usually manage to keep him from doing it but this morning he did it and so ended up wearing a nice off-the-shoulder look.

Daddy said he looked like "Bam Bam" from Flintstones and I would have to agree! With his propensity for throwing, running and hitting it seems an apt nickname at times!

Twins?

We are constantly asked if the boys are twins. This is not at all surprising given that they are a similar size and unless you pay attention it is not obvious that Jac is light years ahead of Nic developmentally (14 months ahead!) I always answer, "No, they are 14 months apart." I get a lot of quizzical looks and head scratching and then people usually take a closer look and reevaluate and see that they are not twins.

The funny thing about this is that up until yesterday I was always just a little bit offended by the question. It seemed so obvious to me that they are not twins, and my Jacie is so much "older." Yesterday as I was watching them play together, and really enjoy one another (they have done this for a while but it really struck me yesterday), I realized that as soon as Nicie starts really talking (2-3 word sentences - like Jac is doing now) it is really going to be like having twins, in a really cool way!

My mind started wandering to what things are going to be like when the boys are 3 and 4 and are at more developmentally similar stages than they are right now. Oh man! It is going to be wild and fun! I better be on my toes with both of them watching me!

My boys!

Directed play

The boys have been playing "together" for a while now, more often than not it is more about having the same toy at the same time!

They like to chase one another, and that develops naturally at certain times of the day. Today, Jac decided that he wanted Nic to chase him. He went over, got Nic, asked him to hold hands, and then started puling him and saying, "chase."

Wow! I could see the future opening in front of my eyes as the boys start developing their own games, and making rules for those games, and getting the other one to play with them!

I remember doing all of that so clearly with my sister! The thing I remember most clearly are our Snoopies! We loved them! They were our friends and we created entire worlds for them to live in and stories that they lived out. They got to do all of the things that we wanted to do but didn't get to for one reason or another.

I can fully understand now why my parents' memories of us playing that way are so special. I can't wait! Yes I can! I love this time, but that is going to be just amazing!

"Trade"

Jac now understands the idea of trading. He has done it before but
today's example was perfect. Nicie had a phone that Jac wanted. We
offered and found Jac a different phone. He took the new phone up to
Nicie and said "trade," which Nicie did!

Sent from my iPhone

Nic is 16 months old!

My little boys are growing up so fast!

Words!
Dadda
Momma (if he really wants to - but not directed at me)
Top
Cap
Brother
Jac
No - Usually No No No
Boobie (which he calls Boo Boo)
Wa Wa (water)
Bump - when he bumps his head or something else (learned this week)
Eyes - he knows where they are and likes to point to them
Vroom - like the sound of a car
Button - comes out Bung
Batteries - comes out Bay
Out
Up
Down (Up and Down are usually used reversed - Jac still does this also!)

Lots of laughing! Really cute giggles. Mischievous ones and sweet ones!

Running - or chasing and racing as Jac calls them.

Throwing - everything! Balls, and anything else he can get his hands on. He has great accuracy and distance and he loves to do it!

Climbing - he follows Jac's lead on this one and climbs up on my desk chair and onto the couch using anything Jac can find to make them taller.

Sleeping - some! He usually gets up later than Jac and stays up later than Jac. He can last a lot longer than Jac can. He takes a nap every day though and Jac doesn't always (he hasn't taken one all week).

Eating - a lot! It feels like he has hit a growth spurt! He is eating more and getting more insistent about having the food that he wants. He doesn't take food back out his mouth as much anymore - he used to take in all kinds of food but push most of them out - he doesn't do that as much anymore - which is nice because it was really messy. He loves tomatoes (as does Jac). Tonight he had a second helping of tomato sauce (after bath D'oh!) and all he ate was tomato sauce and then some more cut up tomatoes. I though the tomato sauce was too "peppery" for them but both boys loved it!

Teething - lots! It seems like he is upset about his teeth every night. He has eight teeth now - but I can see some more coming in!

Baths - he continues to like them - especially running around naked after them!

Dancing - He loves to do a little dance where he stomps his feet really fast and spins around - so cute!

Steps - Nic went down two steps with no hands and no help yesterday. He was so proud of himself. He can sometimes get up small steps with no hands but these were pretty good size (almost full-size) steps that he did! Proud Momma!

Whining - a lot! He doesn't have enough words to tell us what he wants to we end up with a little whining. On a bad day it really pushes my buttons.

Leading - Just this week he started pointing to where he wants me to go or taking my hand and leading me there. He likes me to stay with him when he is playing, so if I leave he comes and gets me and points back to his play area or takes me there by hand so I will stay with him. Or is he wants some food he will lead me to the kitchen!

Hitting - much better. He still hits some but it is not as much of a constant battle to protect ourselves and Jac. He and Jac don't have quite as much controversy over toys and sharing as they used to.

Kisses and hugs - He is a very good hugger and kisser. He likes to hug and kiss with us and also hug his stuffed animals, especially Snoopy and Pooh Bear.

Diapers - Not a fan! Would love to run around all day without one. He could do without suits also! If he could just run around naked all day he would be very happy! Maybe we should move to Hawaii!



Jac and Nic playing in a fountain in South Pasadena.



Nic doing a headstand in the lobby



Jac and Nic at the Denver airport - 5 months ago! (September 2009) Hard to believe this was just five months ago! Nicie was still crawling (He was 11 months here - and he started walking at 12 1/2.

Happy Sixteen Months Nicie!

"What are you doing?"

Tonight I went out to a movie, "Sherlock Holmes," which was good by the way! Before when I have left to go out without the boys, and left them with Daddy, I have slipped out without saying goodbye. The cowards way out. I didn't want to upset the boys by saying goodbye to them. Tonight I decided that I need to face going out without them to have "Mommy Time" head on.

Two minutes before I left I told them that I was going. Jac understood and immediately climbed into my arms and asked to carried so that he could come with me. He was panicked that I was going to go without him. It felt awful. I told him that Mommy was going to go watch a movie and have some "Mommy Time" so I could come back a happier Mommy. For some reason this did not persuade him that my going was a good thing ;)

I told him that he could watch a movie while I was gone and turned on "Bolt" from Netflix on the TiVo. He has never seen a movie like this and I thought it might engage him after I left. As I told him again that I was going and that I would be back he clung to me, wrapped his arms around my neck, and his legs around my waist and cried, "What are you doing?" I asked him to stay with Daddy and watch his movie and took him off me and handed him to Daddy and grabbed my stuff and rushed out the door and out of earshot. It felt so awful but I felt that once I told him I was going I needed to do it.

"What are you doing?" rang through my head throughout the entire movie. Augh! When I got home all three of my boys were in bed, but not asleep. Jac was very happy to see me. He didn't seem upset at that point but Daddy told me he cried hard for 25 minutes after I left and periodically the entire time I was gone.

I don't know how long it is going to take me to build up the wherewithal to go out again!

Boon "flo" faucet protector

The Boon flo faucet protector is a great product. We had one in Colorado
and used it from when Jac was a few months old. We tried a Munchkin
faucet protector that we bought at Target but it was lousy. The Boon
one allows you to turn the shower bypass on and off while it is on,
the Munchkin one does not. The Munchkin one is also much larger and
less "fashion-forward."

Jac and Nic's blog.Written by Mom and Dad: Nic chasing Jac around Grandma's bedroom

Jac and Nic's blog.<br>Written by Mom and Dad: Nic chasing Jac around Grandma's bedroom - posted July 23, 2009 - so just a little bit after Jac turned two.

As I was sorting through email at 5:44 am this morning (sick with a cold, can't sleep!) I found an email Charmy had sent me about this post. So cute! The funny thing is this looks very familiar - they do the exact same things now, almost every night, but now they are both running! I call the last part of the evening before they go to sleep "WWF" time because they wrestle - all over us on the bed. They go under the covers and wrestle, run around the couch and back into the bedroom, climb on top of us and each other. The only real problem with WWF is that they tend to "bump head" as Jac calls it, all the time. Their heads are so heavy and they use them to run into things so they are constantly bumping head, accidentally and on purpose. When Nic bumps head he taps his head with his hand, and he has just started tapping the actual part of his head or body he has bumped rather than always tapping on his head. Funny!

Boys in boxes

The boys decided they wanted to get in the Container Store boxes, while on the chairs! It was Nic's idea first but Jac quickly followed suit! Nicie did a little reading while in his box and Jac drove a train around his! Cute!

"This is Nicie's"

When Jac wants something that Nic has he will tell you that what he has is Nicie's. By this he means that what Nic has is his and Nic should take what he has. He tells us this when it is not true, when Nic has what he was given, but what Jac wants! Lying! He is thinking!

Perfect toy for Jac!

Today I bought Jac this toy:

at Tom's Toys in Montrose.

He loves it! He had so much fun taking it apart with the drill and then putting it back together again. It says it is for 3+ and I would have to agree that to really understand the toy and play with it without some adult intervention you need a 3+ but Jac still had a great time with it, with a little bit of help!

Evernote

Evernote, originally uploaded by CallingAllGeeks.

Evernote is my new second brain! Check it out! http://www.evernote.com

Here are some comments I posted on the Evernote blog - http://blog.evernote.com/

I love Evernote! I already have 817 notes and I only have been using it for three months. I use it to keep track of all of my bills, recipes for my kids, medical bills, receipts (scanned from JotNot on the iPhone). I scan everything with my Fujitsu ScanSnap S300m on my MacBook Pro. I am super excited about the iPad and I was imagining how I was going to use it I imagined a beautiful implementation of Evernote!

A few requests:

1. Like the previous comment - some sort of inking for the iPad would be awesome!

2. Make it easier to use/scroll/specify with auto completion tags on the iPhone/iPad.

3. I would love to have the ability to read a PDF in evernote on the iPad and at the same time takes notess, two panes UI. I can’t wait to order my iPad (copied from a previous poster! - He already said it!)

4. On the Mac app, please make it possible to scan directly from the ScanSnap - perhaps folder monitoring like on the Windows version. Right now I scan into Adobe Reader and then drag onto the dock icon of Evernote - but I forget to close the Adobe Reader version of the scan sometimes which leaves me not sure if I have processed something into Evernote yet.

5. Allow a way to tag a note when it is emailed in. I use the email feature all of the time (from my Mac and mostly from my iPhone) but then I have to go back and find those notes and tag them after the fact.

6. I love reading books on Kindle for iPhone. Currently to take notes on what I am reading I take screen shots of the page and then import them into Evernote. This is slow and cumberson. Any improvement in this sort of screen shot to Evernote process would be great!

7. Voice recognition for audio notes would be great!

Nic and the trash

Nic now takes things to the trash - even without being asked! He takes wipes and tissues to the trash in the bathroom - which is behind a door - which he opens and closes all on his own - he will also take dirty diapers to the trash! When he comes back from doing it he has a huge smile and he claps for himself!

"Train tracks"

Before Jac went to sleep tonight he was playing with his train tracks. This is a set that Joseph purchased in downtown LA that has a train and a car that can run on the tracks on their own. Jac does not like vehicles to move on their own, so neither the car or the train have batteries in them. He does love to put the track together, and have us put the track together. The set comes with an extensive set of directions, which Jac has been asking us to read all of the time for the last two days. He calls them instructions, and he asks us to read them! and sits quietly while we do it. He goes and gets them and asks us to read them! Am I the only one that thinks that is hilarious!

Jac woke up a little but a few minutes ago and said, "train tracks," and then went back to sleep! Ha!

Fun at the park

Nic in take off position! He gets in this position before he starts running! I think he looks like a ski jumper! I finally got a picture of it!

Getting the boys out of the house has gotten harder! A lot harder! They don't want to put on diapers, or suits, or shoes, or socks or eat or anything! Once they are out though they always have a good time!

On Sunday we went to the park close to our house with Katie (Daddy was working all day). It took us a long time to get out but once we got there we had a really good time. The boys brought their fire engines and Jac rode his around. Nic preferred to play on the playground equipment and run around!

I took the DSLR with me and tried to get some good pics. I am hoping to learn a little bit more about the camera so I can take even better pictures in the future!

Fun in the bath, again

About a month and a half ago, Jac turned the shower on while he and Nic were in the bath tub. He REALLY did not like this. It scared him a lot. Ever since then he has not wanted to go in the bath. I have found this a bit sad because I loved watching Jac and Nic play in the bath. They both loved it, and Joseph or I would sit by the tub while they played (and manage the inevitable toy squabble). It has been hard to see Jac refuse to get in the bath, and get very upset when we would make him get in, even for thirty seconds, to get clean.

Today, after playing in the puddles, I told the boys they needed to take a bath to warm up and get clean. Jac refused but Nic went in. After a little bit, Nic asked to get out, came out and got dry, and then asked to go back in. When he asked to go back in Jac decided that it looked like fun, and went in! Yeah! I was so excited I went and got the video camera!

Hopefully this will continue!

(Update 1/27/10: Jac went in the bath with Daddy and Nicie tonight. He did not want to get in at first but once he was in he had a pretty good time. He complained a few times that he wanted to get out but overall he had a pretty good time. Yeah!)

Puddles

It has been raining in LA! A lot! All week! We have pretty much been trapped inside and we are all going a little stir crazy. I have not taken the boys to one of the indoor playgrounds because I figure that is what everyone else is doing - snotty nosed or not - and we don't really need another round of sickness right now - so we are toughing it out at home.

We have a new helper, Katie. Our last helper quit, which I was very sad about, but we are adjusting. It is so nice to have help, so that when Joseph gets home late I am not cranky and ready to throw up my hands - and so that the house is not a mess, and the kids a mess and Mommy a mess! Everyone is happier for it!

Today the boys went out into the hallway to do some running - they like to run up and down the hallway and go to the trash chute! This was during a break in the rain (which has been pretty much constant) and they found puddles to play in, lots of them! After they played with all of the puddles they could find on our floor, we headed downstairs to play with even more puddles! They sat in them, tried to drink them, stamped on them, ran through them, whacked them with his hands and generally had a lot of fun!

Second photo shoot!

We did an indoor photo shoot this time! It was a little rough! Nic has been teething and he was not! in a good mood. Ironically we got more good pictures of Nic (perhaps because he was moving more slowly!).

Tangerines

I bought a bag of tangerines (Grandma's favorites) last night at Costco and the boys "ate" them last night! By eat, I mean, eat/spread/peel (in Jac's case)/drink/put on head/play/throw!

This was only ten months ago!

Tonight we were watching YouTube videos on the TiVo with Jac and we came upon this video of Jac walking at the Denver museum. This is when he was just learning to walk well - this was only ten months ago! It blows my mind! He was so bald!

"Very dangerous"

Today, Jac and Nic took apart one of their trucks. Screws and all. When Joseph came home he helped Jac to put it back together. When I told Jac that Daddy would help him Jac said, "Jacie fix it." Then when Nic tried to take the screwdriver from him he cried out, "very dangerous," to Nicie and to us to say that Nicie shouldn't have the screwdriver because it was too dangerous for him! As Joseph said, "This is going to be a very expensive development!"

Babywearing/carrying/no stroller

We own three strollers. And we don't use any of them! I sometimes think I must be a nutter but I just can't bring myself to put the boys in them. When Jac was really young we didn't own a stroller. He was really small and light and carrying him was not a problem at all - and I wanted to. I wanted him close all of the time. It was very hard to find a baby carrier that was small and adjustable enough for him - since he came home from the hospital at 4 pounds. As he got older and bigger I just kept on carrying him.

A few months before Nic was born I got it in my head that we needed to get a stroller. That I was going to let my little boy be a little further from me and that I needed to be reasonable - how was I going to carry two little boys. We bought a Stokke Xplory. We used it a bit before Nic was born and some after - but not enough to justify its price tag.

When Nic was about six months old I got it in my head again that I was going to put the kids in a stroller, but this time it was going to a double one, so we got a Maclaren Double. I used it a bit, but again not enough.

When we moved to Pasadena I decided that I needed a jogging stroller, so we got a BOB Dualie. I have used it a few times, but mostly it sits in the car. I just can't bring myself to force the kids into it.

I have very strong feelings that both boys have benefitted greatly from being carried. That they have learned to interact socially in a very positive way through being up at our level. I am struck so strongly when I see kids in strollers that it frequently feels like they and their parents are on different planets, in different planes. When I am carrying the boys, we are together. All three of us are right there, talking, interacting, being together, learning from one another, experiencing the world from the same level, seeing similar things - together! I just can't wrap my head around putting them in a stroller where they will experience a knee-level world, completely different from mine.

But they are getting heavier. When I am carrying them both now I have an extra forty one pounds of kid plus the thirty extra pounds I am carrying on my own still expanded body. Mostly I carry Nic in the carrier and Jac in my arms - and then a bag, or two. It is hard. I can do it, but it is hard. My arms get tired after a while.

I think it is time to figure out a second carrier solution, for my back or hip, so I don't have to carry all of the weight of the second boy just in my arms - although I do have great biceps from it!

I love carrying my kids, and it is only for a few years. Soon they are not going to want to be carried and I am going to miss it.

"What are you doing?"

Tonight, we were in Little Tokyo. Jac had a pooper diaper and Daddy picked him up to take him to the restroom to change him. Jac was none to happy about this development and as Daddy was carrying him away he yelled, "What are you doing?" to make it clear that he wasn't happy about this turn of events.

"Bye brother, see ya later"

I just told the boys I was going down the hall to throw away the trash. Jac followed me and said to Nic, "Bye brother, see ya later!"

Oh man! Jac is growing up too fast!

No covers

Nic will not sleep with covers on - if you try to put them on him, no matter how asleep he is, he will escape them! Jac loves covers and burrows under them - sometimes you can't see him at all!

"Wes"

Jac has learned to use the word "yes" - and he uses it all the time to tell us which train video he wants to watch on YouTube! It sounds like "Wes" though - no Y sound. Apparently I said the same thing when I was little! (Ooops - My Mom says I said "Es", not "Wes" - Also - Jac also says "Wyeah!")

Diaper please!

In Colorado we had a changing table in the boys' room that we used all of the time. It had a nice wipes warmer and it was up high (easier on Momma's back!). When we moved back to California we decided to forgo the changing table. We now do our changes wherever is convenient - the floor, the bed, the couch - whatever!

Diaper changes have traditionally been a great source of conflict - particularly when the diaper is filled with something other than just pee! In the last week or so both boys have been submitting to diaper changes more easily - and actually lying down for them!

When we do our diaper changes now we generally put a disposable liner down on whatever surface we are using and then ask the boys to lie down there - or lay them down there. They have gotten really used to this in the last few months.

The day before yesterday Jac told me, "Nic diaper." This meant that Jac thought Nic had a pooper diaper. Jac tells me Nic has a pooper diaper when he has one - at least usually! So I gave Jac a sniff test and he had a pooper diaper. So I asked him to come have his diaper changed in the bedroom. He came with me and Nic followed us. I asked Jac if he wanted a diaper change and he said "Wes" (Yes!) Amazing! Before Jac could lay down to have his diaper changed Nic got up on the bed and laid down on the mat to have his diaper changed! (He had a pooper also - Jac was right!) More amazing! My boys jumping each other in line to get their diapers changed! I love it!

Even better - today while Jac was napping, Nic went over to the shelf where we keep the diaper wipes, grabbed a pack of them, and brought them to me and pointed at his diaper - to ask me to change it! He then laid down on the bed and rolled onto his back so I could do it! Amazing! I have been telling that story all day to anyone that would listen! 15 months! It is amazing what having an older sibling will do! There is no way in heck Jac would have done anything like that! Even 3 months ago - even now! Love it!

Jac narrates the world

Jac now narrates what is going on in the world to me! Wherever we go or do, Jac tells me what is going on! He understands so much now and has so much language to express it!

Yesterday he told me the following things:

"Daddy glasses blow" - We were talking about cleaning something - and he demonstrated blowing and then told me "Daddy glasses blow" to remind me about how Daddy blows on his glasses to dry them after he cleans them.

"Grandfather" - My Dad has been trying to get Jac to say Grandfather but pretty much the first moment he laid eyes on him! Last week Grandfather went out to dinner with Jac, Nic and me and Jac said, "Grandfather carry," as a request for Grandfather to carry him. This is the first time I think he ever said Grandfather. Last night, we were eating dinner and I was talking about having dinner the next night. When I mentioned that we might eat dinner with Katie (our new Mother's Helper) Jac said, "Grandfather," as a request that Grandfather also join us for dinner! Precious!

"Grandma car" - Later during dinner, Jac saw a white Prius and pointed at it and said, "Grandma car," to explain that Grandma has the same kind of car (Grandma's is green!)

"Too much" - Tonight we went to pick Daddy up from work. When we got there Daddy's cell phone had died and I went around the block to look for him. Jac knew we were there to pick up Daddy and was talking about it. I explained that we were going around the block to look for Daddy but Jac didn't understand. He got very upset saying, "No Daddy", "Too much". The too much was his way of saying I had gone too far and I needed to go back to get Daddy!

Someone's learning to talk!

Nicie is learning to talk! And fast!

He has added at least a word a day to his vocabulary this week.

"Up" - I want to get up in my seat, on the couch, in your arms

"Ball" - His favorite toy! Nic loves to throw balls and palm them!

"Cap" - I am amazed he learned this one! I was writing with a pen this afternoon and he wanted it. I offered him his own pen to play with and all he really wanted to do with it was take the cap on and off and write on himself and say, "cap."

"Boobie" - when Nic wants to nurse I ask him if he wants "boobie!" I am sure I will greatly regret calling it that later but Nic has now learned to say it!

He also now understands the word bottle, as in "Would you like a bottle to drink?"

It just feels like his receptive language has gone through the roof and his expressive language is increasing quickly also!