"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!