Differing Opinion...

I took Jonathan to the pediatrician today to get his thoughts on the speech teacher's observations.

Ya'll, the man laughed at the suggestion that Jonathan has muscle tone issues. (as we were discussing it, J was attempting to scale the exam table via a step stool and the stirrups) Really, the doctor *actually* snickered. I sort of thought this would be the case, but didn't want to assume.

He did a whole bunch of little tests with J and moved his arms and legs all around, checked his reflexes and lifted him up over his head airplane style (Jonathan LOOOOVED this) and some other things and concluded that he does not have and never HAS had any concerns of this nature. He also said he had looked over all of his developmental notes from the last 21 months and truly has no concern other than his expressive language.

He wants to talk to the teacher himself to figure out where she's coming from. This could be interesting... ;) He also asked me if I knew if she was from New York because he has apparently had issues with one of their people, but couldn't remember her name, just where she was from.

Tra la la...

After all that and bloodwork (they didn't take enough blood for the blood lead test and bloodcount test J had MONTHS ago as part of a well visit), the poor kid had completely passed out by the time we got out of the parking lot.  So much for visiting Aunt Sarah and cousin Audim, which had been next on our list!

Sometimes I Wonder About That Boy...

From the backseat yesterday...

Ben: Hey, look at this! This is awesome!

Me: What's that, buddy? (turning around, expecting to see something shark-related in the book he had been looking at)

Ben:  I can fit my ENTIRE HAND in my mouth!!  Mmmpphh!!! Mmmmm mmm Mmmmph!!!

Here's a reenactment. (I know, his eyes are horribly allergy-ridden... try to look past it to the funny...) ;)

New Words!

Adding to Jonathan's verbal collection --

"yum yum" and "peach".  Bet you can guess how he feels about peaches?

First Dip!

Yesterday was our first day at the pool. I hope this is a better pool year for us... last year, I only made it there with the boys TWICE because it was just too hard with Jonathan being so little.

I had Tom there yesterday, so extra hands. BUT, I think it will be doable by myself with all three of them. The catch is, I will need to be mostly IN the pool the entire time. Can't really complain. I am water lover through and through. It has just been awhile (like YEARS) since I got to REALLY swim and I got to do that yesterday for a bit, which reminded me that yes, I actually DO enjoy getting completely in the pool and not just sitting on the side watching.... you know, the mom rut.

It seems oodles of our preschool friends have joined our pool for the summer and we saw a few of them yesterday. Simon found his blonde, curly-haired twin, Briggs, who was in 3s this past year.  Interestingly, Ben ended up playing with Briggs way more than Simon did. Instead, Simon mostly stayed on the step playing with his diving fish and net. I was a little disappointed he didn't want to try out his swimming skills he has learned over the past weeks and chose instead to hang out on the steps like every other summer... but to each his own.

(After awhile and realizing I was going to see her everytime we came to the pool, I finally had to buck up and confess to Briggs' mom that I didn't know her name and that I only knew her as "Briggs' mom." Glad to have that awkward moment out of the way.)

Ben, on the other hand practiced, practiced, practiced! I swear, that swim cap holds magical powers or something. And yes, he wore it... the ENTIRE TIME.

I let Jonathan "accidentally" go under water enough times that he finally seems to have developed a healthy sense of caution with regard stepping off the last step or just randomly jumping off the side when no one is there to catch him. He does love to be in the regular pool with the big kids though. I thought maybe I'd have to spend a significant amount of time hanging out alone with him over in the baby pool this summer, but it's not looking that way.

We only stayed a couple hours because, even after a long morning nap, Jonathan was yawning by the end. He totally wore himself out.

Not too bad for a first outing. We'll call it a success. :)

The Swimcap...

We've had a major hurdle to overcome with Ben and swimming lessons... which is really the biggest reason he is eight years old and still can't really swim. The kid has had ear infections since he was younger than Jonathan... like, a LOT of ear infections. So many that he has had two sets of ear tubes placed and his adenoids removed.

Now, I have never had ear tubes before, but I am told that when you have an ear tube and water gets into your ear, the pain is excruciating. He used to totally spaz in the bathtub when water got into his ear and I thought he was just being dramatic, until my friend who was older when she got tubes imparted this knowledge upon me. Mom of the year award for me!

Needless to say, the water in the ear thing happened enough times that he got REALLY paranoid about water possibly getting in there, to the point where going under water was his worst fear.

I got the pediatrician to reassure him at his visit in March that he know longer had holes inside of his ears for water to get into and that it would no longer hurt... but, Ben didn't buy it.

I was proud of him though at swim lessons this time around when he faced his fear and went under water when the teacher asked him to. HUGE breakthrough on that. I could tell he was still fearful though.  We tried earplugs, but he thought they were uncomfortable and they wouldn't stay in.

When we got to SIMON'S swim lesson on Wednesday, our friend who swims before him was wearing a swim cap. I asked her mom about it and she said that her daughter had been having ear infections and the water was really bothering her ears... apparently the swim cap had worked wonders. I suggested it to Ben and he was ALL OVER this idea.

Hence, this at yesterday's lesson.

The difference? NIGHT AND DAY. He actually swam... like REALLY swam. Face in the water, underwater, breaststroke, whole deal. He was so proud of himself.

:)

Now, the true test will see what he does at the regular pool today in the absence of the swim instructor....

But I think we've turned a corner!! :) YAY!

Sharktastic!

So I was telling the Facebook people how Ben has jumped headfirst back into his shark obsession from two years ago. It started with the story he brought home from school, then he started carrying his shark books everywhere and quoting shark facts to us... we visited the aquarium last weekend and beelined for the sharktanks. He also dug all the rubber sharks out of the pirate treasure box we have in the playroom and has been looking high and low for his shark tooth necklace which we can't find ANYWHERE. Oh, and now he is saving his money for a megalodon tooth.

This morning, immediately after getting out of bed, he started watching an Imax documentary about sharks (it was really interesting!) and then, starting working on finishing up this drawing from art class, which he informed me he wants to get a frame for so he can hang it in his room.

Weeee!!! Ben's obsessions sure are a ride for all involved! I am loving this one though... it has been awhile since he has been into something sciency. For a solid year, it has been Pokemon, Ninjago and Bakugan. This is SUCH a nice change.

Jonathan is 21 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are 21 months old... going on fourish.

You've always been my most social and friendly little guy, and this last month has really cemented that. You wave and smile to absolutely everyone and now you also say, "Hehoh!" and when we leave, you wave and say "Goobye!"

You are truly just the sweetest little guy. When I pick you up, you always pat me or rub my back and you have started kissing everything in sight, including characters in all your books, which has led to some sticky pages.

Your current most favorite book in the world is still The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. BOY do you love that book. In addition to kissing the mouse on every page, you alway try to eat the strawberry by grabbing it off the page and making a gobbling sound. When that doesn't work, you lick it. Yeah. We may be replacing this particular book at some point.

We set up our backyard pool last weekend and you dove right in. You love the water and you especially love going down the slide INTO the water. I'm pretty sure you'd stay in the pool all day long if we'd let you, and are not pleased when we pull you out to take a break in the sun because your teeth are chattering and your lips are blue.

I think the water really is your most favorite place. You have had to come with me the last two weeks to Simon's swimming lesson, spending the 30 minutes "swimming" in the beginning part of the gradual entry which, at its deepest, is about up to your neck. To say you are in HEAVEN would be an understatement. You jump in just like the big boys, float on your back and go under water, all without missing a beat. You don't stop the entire 30 minutes.  As soon as the swim teacher will take you on, you are starting lessons so I can stop sprouting grey hairs.

Your words are coming along and several are becoming ones we hear every day.  Hello, Goodbye, All Done, All Gone and Hop are the ones I can think of right now that we hear most often.

Thanks to watching the big boys with Guitar Hero, you have discovered "singing". You will grab the microphone and sing random syllables with passion. It's HILARIOUS. OH! You also say "WOCK!" for "rock" when you want the big boys to play Guitar Hero. You also pretend to play the instruments just like they do, which is quite the sight to see.

All is not rainbows and ponies though. You are, without a doubt, the most tantrum prone of any of my three babies, resorting to the lying face down on the floor and screaming tactic almost immediately after you hear the word "no". I keep thinking eventually you'll get the hint that this doesn't work because we ALL ignore you... but you are a persistent little bugger.

I suppose I should prepare myself for the long haul because I suspect you are going to always be headstrong and stubborn... maybe someday this will turn out be an asset?

So that's 21 months... here's to summer and lots of swimming and wearing you out for long naps each day.

I love you, Gooby, J,  JJ, Stinky...

Love,
Mommy

Ben's Shark Story

Ben came home from school with this yesterday... I don't think it was an assignment, which means he did it in his free time. I took his temperature to make sure he was feeling okay. LOL. He does write a lot in his room... but i'm shocked he did this in free time at school. Kudos to his teacher for transforming my kid this year! (last year, he had to be pushed to write more than a couple sentences about anything at school... )

So, without further ado, I give you "The New Hexo Mystery" (chapters 1 and 2... I guess it's "to be continued...")

Last Day of Preschool...

Today is a bittersweet day -- Simon's very last day of preschool ever. I know it's cliche, but I honestly can't believe how fast it all went. The time truly FLEW and I  can vividly remember his FIRST day ever.  He was so excited to finally not be dragged out of there like he was the year before every morning when we dropped of Ben.

Thankfully, I'm not as teary over this big milestone as I would be if I didn't have another one coming right up behind him to start in the fall.

Simon took it all in stride. He knows he's going to be at school with big brother Ben and with his friend Quinn next year (and probably 95% of his other 4s preschool classmates... some of which I would be happy to leave behind, quite frankly... but annnnyway). So he's excited for what's ahead, I think, as am I. We had a good second run at Chestnut Grove and it's time to move on to kindergarten for yet another one of my boys!

First Day of 2s...

Last Day of 4s

Last Day of 4s

First Day of 2s

Annoyed with myself that I don't have a "first day of 2s" shot in front of the doors... but anyway... here is my little ham on the way in this morning... :) 

Jonathan Update...

Need to record some things before I forget them because the speech teacher is coming tomorrow...

He now has has an "approximation" as they say in the speech pathology lingo, for "All Done" now. It's mostly just "Ah Awww" with his hands out in the all done sign. But it's consistent.

He says "Hello" clearly and consistently. "Heh-oh".  Today he said "hello" to many a duck and chicken at the nature center we visited.

Lots and LOTS of new babbley jargon baby sentency stuff. (those are NOT technical terms.. LOL): "Mamamamamama", "babababababa" and a babbly string that kind of sounds like "bay bay bay beh beh blig oh blig oh blig." This is a new sound for him. Every time he comes out with his jibberish "baybee", I try to reinforce with "OH! You said BABY!!!" even though he doesn't mean it as such. I figure maybe eventually he'll the connection that his accidental word is a real one.

He consistently says "hop hop hop" now when we play with his toy kangaroos or if we talk about bunnies. He had said it once or twice bcfore awhile back, but I can get him to say it almost all the time now.

He calls Ben all the time now. Anyone who was at the town center the other night with us, heard the toddler in the stroller bellowing for his big brother from across the walkway: "Behhhhh!" "Behhhhh", while waving frantically.

"Apple" was heard once, although not since.

I almost think of him in an adjusted age now with the speech thing... the way they do preemies when checking up on milestones. He is definitely making steady progress, but starting from about where an average 12-14-month-old is, instead of a 21-month-old. If I think of it that way, it's a little less daunting how far he needs to go...

Simon's Treasure Hunt Firepit Party....

My parents and Aunt Debbie did Simon's family birthday party this year. He asked for a firepit hotdog cookout and a treasure hunt. Ask and ye shall receive... As usual, they went allll out. The kids had the time of their lives and we are now the proud owners of a great many Lego people that were part of the treasure hunt clues. (they are very cute though!!) These pictures are in no particular order because Blogger makes it really annoying to move photos around once they are uploaded!!! But anyway....

The boys on the treasure hunt. Ben read the clues and Simon had to figure them out. We had a hard time getting Ben to NOT give him the answers though, or run up ahead. (sigh) Big know-it-all brothers! 

The centerpiece!

More treasure hunting... 

On their way to the slide for another clue... 

His present! The Lego City Forest Police Station that so desperately wanted to buy with his birthday money the day before but mean mommy wouldn't let him. :)

The happy birthday boy! 

Some of the treasure hunt clues... 

Lego brick candles!

Blowing out his Lego candles!

A clue in the mailbox awaits... 

More clues... 

The five of us... Simon looking a bit American Gothic, Jonathan looking at who knows what and Ben being Ben... 

Tada!

The little one... 

More clues... 

Lots of clues... 

The message on the present... 

Lego men flashlights! Aunt Debbie finds the coolest stuff! 

Hugs for Aunt Deb. 

Shh....Don't Tell Facebook...

... I don't want to post this on Facebook because I swear as soon as people post about this there, it happens to them. I think FB does a keyword search on statuses!

... but, here it is.... I don't have Timeline yet.  I seem to be flying under Facebook's radar and will continue to do so as long as I can. HATE Timeline!

Mom-blems....

LOL. This is so not something to be whining about, but I am sad anyway.

When Ben was about Jonathan's age, I found this awesome little pool at Target. It was made by SwimWays, and was the only one I saw like it... it only has one ring to inflate, the rest is canvas (or something similar?)... so it was fairly deep...  and has a spring in it so it folds up into a circle, like one of those play tunnels... and the same size! I paid $30 for it.

We used it summer after summer. I was always amazed when I would get it out and it never had a hole in it because really, how long are wading pools supposed to last?

SUCH a great little pool.

And last night, we discovered it has a huge slit in the seam near the bottom on one side.

I could cry.

Every summer, I have checked the Target pool aisle for another pool like this because I knew this day would come... they haven't had it since 2006.

Today, I am on a mission to find one I like just as much. Seriously, my kids LOVE wading pools... even Ben, who is really WAY too big for one.... they just love them and will play for hours!

Farewell, little spring pool. We will miss you!

ETA: I actually found one on Amazon...! Hesitant to order though because the reviews are bad... could it be a different one? I would have given this pool five stars easily!

HAHA! I should get one of these. The neighbors would LOVE me. ;)

Closet Talker...

We used to joke that Ben was a closet talker when he was Jonathan's age because he would often whisper things or accidentally say a word and then seem to realize he had been "caught" and wouldn't repeat it. If counting "closet" words, one of his first words was actually "medicine". LOL.

So yesterday, I stopped to get the little boys Happy Meals (I know, gag... but I was out and it was lunchtime, wasn't going home and McDonald's was the only thing around). They now come with little packages of apple slices. Jonathan saw me take the package out of the Happy Meal box, pointed to it and said, "Apple" clear as day and totally all cool and nonchalant like. Then, I kid you not, the child looked at me with an "Ohh... oops!" look in his eyes and clammed back up. Wouldn't say it again for nuthin'. Just kept nodding and pointing at the apples. GR.

So yeah... another closet talker, I think. ;) Too funny. All part of Graff Genetic Package A, I suppose.

Speech Update...

If you give Jonathan choices for things now, he will sometimes answer with one of the words. For example, "Do you want to go up or down?" He'll answer with "up" or "down" fairly clearly. If it is a word he doesn't say yet, he may sometimes try to imitate the sound or he'll just say, "Dat" for "that" and point to his choice.

He is also babbling more. He sounds like a pretty average 10-12-month-old now with babbling... lots of mamamama and dadadada... also lots of gibberish "sentences" when he is in a talky mood,  none of which he was really doing before. So there is progress being made, I think.

The eye contact thing is coming along... not a whole lot of concern there for me. He makes plenty of eye contact, and is initiating back and forth interactions with it. Everyone who is with him on any kind of frequent basis reports he makes eye contact with them too.

In other news, he has started having insomnia at night. There is really no other word for it, honestly because he is seriously just AWAKE and can't get back to sleep. It's not teething. He's not particularly upset, except that he gets bored and lonely while it's going on. Generally, this happens around midnight and lasts 3-4 hours and it has been happening about 2-3 times a week or so.  It's awful, to say the least. I'm a little concerned because I know one of the worries the speech teacher has (as yet unspoken, but I do enough research to know what's what) is that he has a spectrum disorder. This, along with the low muscle tone issue, are both hallmarks of that. Soooo... really not liking the insomnia thing on several levels. My hopeful theory on this though is that the synapses are firing on the learning to talk thing and his brain is just awake... like what happens when they are learning to crawl or walk. ALL my kids had crazy annoying night wakings when they were learning to do those things... so maybe it's that.

Anyway, next speech session is in a week... I hope to have lots to report back to the teacher and maybe catch some of his new things on video for her to see/hear because he basically shuts down when she comes over, so it's hard to get her opinion/thoughts on what I am hearing because she is not hearing it for herself.

Never a dull moment!

Mother's Day 2012

The three dudes, my mom, my brother and me. :)

A rare photo! Just me with the boys!

Simon's Birthday Wrapup...

So, we've had two out of three birthday parties thusfar. The last one is next weekend at Grandmom and Poppy's.

The first was his party with his friends at The Little Gym. It was a whirlwind, but a success. The kids had a blast! What's not to love? Running and flipping and jumping and cake. I mean, really.

On his actual birthday, we celebrated in the morning in the usual way... balloons all over his bedroom and a pile of presents to open. :) Everything was Legos and he was THRILLED. It was a very Lego birthday. 

That night, we had NaNee and Pap, Great Babby and Great Grandad and Aunt Krystyna, Uncle Marc and cousins Alek and Anastasia over for dinner and cupcakes. More Legos were opened! :)

Yes, it's a lot of birthdaying... but we have kind of a big family and this was the year for big KID parties for both big boys. (1) Shh... don't tell Jonathan 2) those are not going to happen next year) I think the birthday boy felt super special and he has been building with all of his new Legos for the last three days straight. :o) (which means mommy has also gotten to build a lot of Lego sets and seriously, it's one of my favorite things to do)

Anyway, so I have a five-year-old now! And you know what that means? Next stop, kindergarten! 

Today You are Five....

Dear Simon,

Today you turn five -- a whole handful, as they say in preschool.

You are, on hand, a very worldly five, having had an older brother all this time to show you the ropes. You know all about Cartoon Network and Ninjago and all the other things 8-year-old boys are into. On the other hand, you are still my little guy who likes to wear costumes, play pretend, and snuggle and cuddle and share your puppy lovies with me.

You are my morning buddy, almost always awake by 6:45, if not earlier. Sometimes you sneak downstairs and around the corner, where I am often typing away on my computer. "Good morning, mommy!" you whisper, and you throw your arms around me. Other times,  I just hear you stirring in your room and know you are up and building with your Legos.

Legos. They are your passion right now. I could give away every other toy in this house and you wouldn't care so long as you still had boxes of Legos. I find them all over the house and have given up trying to contain them. I think you might end up being an architect or something one day because you are quite the impressive little builder. Just last week, Ben built a helicopter set he had been saving from his birthday. You wanted a helicopter too, so you rounded up a bunch of random pieces and fashioned yourself one, complete with spinning blades on top. Not bad for a five-year-old. And the best part was when you showed it to me and said, "And you know how much it cost me, mommy? No money! It was FREE because I made it myself!"



You definitely see the world with the eyes of an artist. What kind exactly, is yet to be determined, but I would be shocked if you didn't do something creative with your life. You are a performer, that's for certain and you love an audience and a laugh.

We have made great strides this year managing your quick temper and the majority of the time now, you are sweet, affectionate, gentle Simon and not angry Simon. That has been a major improvement. :)

You have loved school this year and are excited to start kindergarten in the fall "at Ben's school!", As with all almost-kindergarteners though, I'm not sure you quite grasp all that real school entails. It will be an interesting transition, for sure. I suspect the sitting and learning part may take you by surprise a little. I also think your teacher may have her hands full for awhile as you figure out the routines, because unlike your older brother, you aren't terrified of accidentally (or purposely) breaking a few rules... not that that is entirely a bad thing.  I am sure you will give her many, many laughs though along the way, as you have your teacher this year. :)

And that's you... our little comedian.  I hope you always keep us laughing and from taking things too seriously around here.

Happy happy handful birthday, my sweet boy.

Love,
Mommy

Funny Conversation....

From Simon's room last night....

The conversation that just went down in Simon's room that still has me laughing. 

Me: Simon, daddy is leaving really early for work tomorrow so he won't be here to see you open your birthday presents when you wake up. Do you want to open them tonight?

Simon: Oh! Yes!

Me: Okay... but when you wake up, you won't have any presents to open.

Simon: Okay then. I will only open ONE.

Me: Are you sure? Because you can open all of them.

Simon: No. I will pick just ONE.

Me: Seriously?

Tom: Well, he is clearly not YOUR child.

Me: I know! Sheesh. Simon, who ARE you?

Simon: I'm SIMON!

Ben (from the bathroom): She meant that metaphorically, Simon.

Birthday Chair Day!

Simon's big day in the birthday chair at school!  :o) 

A few pictures from Simon's mother's day luncheon yesterday. :) 

In front of the school tree before everything started

With his buddy, Quinn. 

Playing around with Anastasia

With mommy... this picture took 25 takes and this was the best one... he wouldn't stop acting silly. (sigh)

"Smiling" during one of the songs... I think he was imitating the teacher who was up in front reminding them to smile. LOL!

All the 4s. What you don't see is the hoard of mamarazzi coming up from behind me. This was the best picture I could get before they all stormed the front!

Mrs. Kalenbach's Tuesday/Thursdays 4s.  Back to front, left to right: (Ava, Kiah, Bridget, Derek, Simon, David, August, Aldo, Quinn, Mrs. K)

My silly boy....