Height: 42.5 in (40%)
Weight: 38 lbs (25%)
We might need to take him in to go see an eye doctor. He was 20/20 when they were doing the “which way does the E point” test (when I also realized that Andrew knows right and left), but when they scanned his eyes, they looked a little far-sighted. We’ll see. He kicked and screamed and cried and was a holy terror about shots, but when it was done he said “I didn’t even feel it”. True to form for Andrew. All shot-up for kindergarten!
Tomorrow will be Seth’s day … he’s almost 3! What’s new with our little man?
He still whines and whines up a storm, but if you remind him, he usually will stop whining (and even sometimes stop all-out-crying) to tell you calmly what he wants. It. drives. me. nuts. He also just seems whiny in general – he gets really frustrated if he doesn’t get to do certain things – like pass out the cookies from our neighbor (whether to ensure the most sprinkles or to control everything I am not quite sure), or decide on certain toys, or pass out game pieces. Passing things out, actually, just seems really important.
Seth just seems so grown up compared to a year ago I can scarcely believe it. He wants to do everything himself, but he is actually pretty good at it. He completely dresses himself, socks and shoes included, though things are usually backwards (heaven forbid you try to change it though). He also wipes himself (yay! I swear, Andrew and Seth reached this milestone together).
Seth is also great with chores. He helps me load and unload the dishwasher and put away all the dishes (I moved them so he can reach). He also helps set the table and can get himself plates and cups and even get himself water. He likes to dust, too. He also is in charge of feeding Joe.
Oh, boy. The boys were really bad one day and I was at my wits end. As part of the badness, they had thrown an entire large container of beads on the floor. I decided to vacuum them up because they were EVERYWHERE – all over the entire kitchen and living room. Well, I guess this was a horribly traumatic experience for Seth, because he now is deafly afraid of the vacuum and most especially that I will vacuum his toys up. I feel really bad … but it’s not like I even vacuumed up any of his toys, just some beads. Anyways, almost every day almost a month later he still says “Don’t vacuum today” and he will burst into tears and run frantically around the house picking up everything if he thinks I am going to vacuum. He has become a very good picker-upper, though. Poor guy.
I am always impressed at Seth’s academic skills. He knows all his letters by sight and also can write many of them. He also knows his numbers by sight as well. He can count pretty high, probably to at least 30 or 50, though he occasionally skips a number here or there. I realized that he knows how to rhyme (still not quite sure how well Andrew gets that).
Seth is super excited about preschool. He had his preview day last week and he was so ready. He enjoyed playing with the other kids and going to the music class. (Today was the preschool’s day at the Magic House, our children’s museum in St. Louis, and when Seth saw the music teacher he said to her “You were in my class”). He also got his preschool bag and he has been SO excited. The bag has come everywhere with us and he keeps loading it with things he says he needs for preschool. Poor boy to have to wait the whole summer!
Seth really is helping to take care of Logan. I can tell how much he loves Logan now. He will go to Logan when he is crying and try to take care of him.
Seth really wants to be a part of everything and gets so jealous when Andrew does anything without him. He really wants to be as big as Andrew and friends with all of Andrew’s friends (and invite them all to his birthday party). He really likes doing things with all the boys and is always trying to tell me what boys do and girls do.
Fun Things we did this month:
(not much since Michigan)
He is closer to 7 months now, but he is as of 5/21
Weight: 23 lbs 8 oz (> 98% … like way bigger)
Length: 28 inches (95%)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (>98% … they seemed a little concerned and measured it twice, but it was the same both times)
Big boy.
I now get comments at least once a week but often more often if the boys are twins (Andrew and Seth or Seth and Logan) or sometimes even triplets! It baffles me! And when I say “no”, they always say “but really close right” … well, slightly over 2 years is not really close in my book, but sure.
So, artichokes were on sale last week at the grocery store. I have never cooked them before or eaten them that I can recall, but for some reason, they were calling my name. I read up in the cookbooks and decided steaming was called for. We recently got all new pots, but, alas, no longer have a steamer inset. So, today I finally bought a steamer and decided to fix artichokes. But, I still did not know how to eat one. So, we watched a youtube video before dinner about it. And lo, and behold, EVERYONE ate and liked the artichokes. Andrew ate half an artichoke all by himself. And they were pretty big artichokes. I don’t know if it was the complicated eating, the presentation, or the video, but wow – that was a first for a new vegetable. Up there with the kids suddenly liking romaine lettuce when we used it for the bitter herbs for our Passover dinner. Weird kids.
We stayed at a little run-down hotel, but the set up was very nice. Our next door neighbors were having some sort of big party, but thankfully it wasn’t too loud. We had two floors, with a bedroom for me and Logan on the bottom floor and Katsu slept on the top floor with the two boys – where there was two big beds. Seth feel down the stairs almost as soon as we got there, which was quite scary, but he survived and seemed to do fine after we all recovered from the shock. We checked out the grocery store and got food and ate dinner and watched way too many episodes of MythBusters.
Sunday, we packed our lunch and drove about 40 minutes over to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was quite cold – in the 40s unbelievably considering how hot it was in St. Louis. First, we went to the Visitors Center and checked out the little museum. The boys were obsessed with the automatic air dryer in the bathroom. The park was free because it was National Parks week. Then, we headed over to the Scenic Drive. We stopped off at all the scenic overlooks. I read out all the information, and of course, Andrew was very interested. We looked at the first stop and saw the dunes and the surrounding lakes. It was picturesque and no bugs. The next stop off was a little bit of a walk over to see Lake Michigan. But, oh, the bugs. They were EVERYWHERE. Even the pictures are full of bugs. The whole front of our car was covered with bugs even when we got back to Missouri. The view was beautiful, but Logan was screaming and none of us could stand the bugs, so we had to hurry off. We also saw a nice looking tree. The dunes were very interesting because they were on a plateau – not right next to the ocean like the Indiana Dunes.
Next, we went to the Dune Climb. Seth and Logan had fallen asleep in the car, so I stayed with them, while Andrew and Katsu hiked up the Dune. Andrew did a really good job climbing. It was pretty empty when we first got there. Just a couple people were there, and so of course, Andrew had to talk to them and tell them his life story. He wanted to climb all the way up to the top. They were so tired by the time they came down. They also collected a few stones. I wanted to go up, but Andrew wanted to come up with me, too. We just walked up some of the way (to the top of the part of the dune that you can see). Then we came down and had some lunch. By that time, Seth and Logan were awake. So, I took Logan partially up. He mostly just liked to play with the sand and be there with Mommy. Seth hiked up with Katsu and had fun. He was concerned about the sand in his shoes when he was at the top.
Next, we went to do a little hike, through some dunes and then down to Lake Michigan. We saw a sign warning about cougars in the area, so the boys were a little concerned. Seth was jealous about the rocks that Andrew had gotten, so we spent some time collecting rocks. The hike was short, but a little hard going through the sand and dunes. But the view at Lake Michigan was beautiful and had many rocks to collect.
We were so worn out after hiking. We wanted to do more … but, it didn’t really happen. We attempted to drive along the peninsula in Traverse City to see the scenic drive, but after Katsu realized how long it was, he had no interest. And the boys were done. So, we went home and relaxed and had some dinner after stopping for a quick play at a local park.
Monday, we left early in the morning and drove a kind of very round about way to Grand Rapids. I saw a turkey again, but Katsu missed it. Ha ha. After a quick lunch at McDonalds, we drove to the Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. First, we saw the inside with the gardens and their caterpillar/butterfly exhibit. Then, we went to the Children’s Gardens. The kids loved it. Seth especially loved the water part – they had a water play area with boats and stuff that you could float. The water represented all of the great lakes and were appropriately shaped. Seth got soaking wet trying to push his boat everywhere. The boys also especially loved the mazes and just running around everywhere to see everything. Next, we went and saw the sculptures. The boys liked the horse based on Da Vinci models but were pretty nonplussed with all the others. We encouraged them to go around and see some of the sculptures and I think we saw most of them. The boys were not impressed and Logan was only happy if I was dancing around with him in the carrier. And even then, we had to carry him a lot. So, we went back.
We had just enough time to stop at the Gerald Ford Presidential Library. Seth had fallen asleep in the car, but luckily they had loaner strollers in the museum, so we strolled him around and he was asleep for most of the museum. Logan fell asleep during the film and also slept through half the museum. Andrew enjoyed watching the film and watching for soldiers and army, which is all he loves nowadays. He also liked voting in the Oval Office and deciding what to do about Nixon and pardoning him. I thought the museum was pretty well done. Even though Ford was president for such a short period of time, I still felt like we had to rush through the museum because it was closing and the kids were going crazy near the end. I am still glad that we stopped by.
We drove to Holland, MI where our hotel was. The hotel was nothing special and we drove to a nearby diner for dinner, which was actually pretty good. On the way, we drove past most of the main tulip streets, so we got to see some of the late-blooming tulips that hadn’t died yet. They were quite pretty. Of course, this is what Andrew shared with everyone about the highlight of our trip. Funny, since it took about 5 minutes. I noticed that Logan’s other ear was draining while we were at the restaurant. Yes, his other eardrum ruptured.
So, we decided to just drive straight home on Tuesday. Well, actually straight to the doctor’s office. The drive home was pretty uneventful, except for that awful Chicago stretch, where this time Seth had to use the bathroom immediately. It was a fun trip, but it is just so tiring and stressful to travel with kids. Next time, we need to just go somewhere and relax in place for a long time.
We left for Michigan on Wednesday and drove and drove and drove. Logan had an ear infection before we left, but seemed to do pretty well. The first 6 hours went pretty well. But the last few hours were torture – Logan was hysterically crying, so we would stop and then he would calm down until we started driving again. We drove through Chicago (well, just south of Chicago) and I don’t like that way much – lots of traffic, lots of trucks, a really random sudden toll, and lots of stress. Once we got to Michigan, it was gloomy and rainy. The boys did pretty well and watched lots of movies. Seth did really well, considering he is still pretty newly potty-trained. We had one sort of accident just before Ann Arbor that was our fault for not stopping soon enough – sorry Andrew. We did eventually get to Ann Arbor and were so happy to stay with our friends, the Lyles.
Thursday was low-key. Katsu went out for lunch with guys from work and also picked up the graduation gowns. We mostly spent the day with the boys playing – inside, outside, at the park. The boys loved each other and were playing largely with swords the whole time. Seth worked really hard at trying to learn to ride a scooter. My parents came in the afternoon. We dropped them over by the family they were staying with and then we all went out to the Chinese buffet. Andrew and Seth thoroughly enjoyed it.
Friday was the big day. We all got ready and the boys dropped me off at Rackham to go wait in line. I really could have gotten there much later, but, oh, well. The boys found somewhere to park and met up with my parents. It was quite chilly in Michigan and even though we brought long sleeves, it was still too chilly for me waiting outside during our processional. Graduation was pretty boring from my perspective. I only attended the Graduate exercises because you are hooded and named there. The Engineering and entire university exercises would have just been big and boring. The speaker was a journalist whose basic idea was “Don’t think you know everything because you have an advanced degree”. I liked it; Katsu didn’t. When I got up to walk, I couldn’t find my advisor anywhere. Turns out my name wasn’t in my program (I guess because I technically could have attended Winter Commencement, but having a baby sure changes those plans). So, he almost missed me, but ran up just in time to hood me. I also was surprised because he was just wearing a suit – no robes. He had two other students also walking. My hat was kind of on funny after that and none of the pictures turned out too great. But I did get hooded and they did have my name. Then, more waiting, more waiting, finally recessing and finding my family and Jeff for pictures.
From the rest of the family’s perspective, graduation was a little more intense. My parents got a row right in the front of the balcony so they could see everything. The boys did really well – it went better than expected. Andrew behaved really well. Though if it weren’t for fruit snacks, we wouldn’t have made it. The Lyles came with two of their kids, too, so it was a lot of little kiddos. Katsu cheered a whole bunch when I came up, which scared Logan and he started crying. Katsu and our friend Sarah were both crying. Ha ha ha. Logan did well sitting in Katsu’s lap. After about “L”, everyone went out of the auditorium and played and then they wandered out to the fountain. The boys threw pennies into the fountain – Seth forgot to wish the first time and then threw a fit so they all had to throw pennies in again. I think they liked the fruit snacks and then the brownies and cookies at the reception best.
We went “home” after the reception and fed a starving Logan. The boys played outside and we all relaxed. Then, it was time to go to my advisor’s Jeff’s for a reception. I wasn’t particularly excited since I have not really done anything since I finished my degree. Luckily, we had dinner reservations at 5, so we only stayed for an hour. Seth fell asleep on the car ride over and slept the entire time at Jeff’s. We chatted around, with my Dad especially being great at the small talk. Andrew played with Duplos. The food was excellent. But, alas, then it was time to go.
We went out to dinner at Mediterrano – one of our favorite restaurants that also was making reservations during graduation weekend. We were a bit late due to traffic, but still got in. The food was delicious – I really loved my ravioli. The kids meals were especially large and yummy – a real bargain compared to the adult meals. The boys did pretty well except for a huge spill from Seth right at the beginning.
We were worn out and ready to go home and sleep!
Saturday morning, the boys played with their friends and my parents. My parents, Katsu, and I walked over to a Café for lunch without the boys (yay!) and then got caught in a little rain on the way home. It was fun. Then, my parents had to go back to Dallas. We said our goodbyes, played a little bit more, and then said our goodbyes to the Lyles and drove up to Traverse City. The drive was pretty easy. Katsu was very said that he missed seeing a turkey on the way up.
TO BE CONTINUED …
I can’t believe it has been 5 years since I became a mother. Wow.
Andrew is getting so grown up. He is not a huge kid (we’ll see his stats in a couple weeks when he goes for his well-child visit) and I could definitely see he is one of the smallest boys in his class today during the Mother’s program. He definitely talks with the best of them, though. He loves to talk to adults and tell them all sorts of things. About his life, about fun facts he knows, gossip, stories … whatever he can think of. Today, out of the blue, at our mother’s breakfast he said, “My teacher at Primary at church got divorced”. Well, yes, but, hmmm … what do you say.
Andrew is not a rough boy – at least, when he’s not at home. He has the gentlest soul, and so he tends to love the girls. Last year, his preschool class was perfect because the other boys were kind of gentle, too. I could see with the boys at his birthday party this year, though, they were a lot more rough and just didn’t click well with Andrew. We went to a birthday party earlier this month and the kids were watching a movie. The parents had rented out the entire movie screen and so it was just about 7 boys and their parents. Near the end, the boys had had enough and were running around the whole theater, wrestling, and running out the exit doors. Andrew just sat and watched the entire movie, completely transfixed. Afterwards, he sat and ate his pizza while the other boys were wrestling and goading each other. He is just a different kind of boy.
Until we get home – and then, oh, boy! He and Seth have been wrestling and fighting almost non-stop lately. It’s enough to drive me completely nuts!!! And Andrew is drama queen at home. Heaven forbid he get a little hurt or not get his way. I have been really trying to come up with ways to come Andrew down when he gets into his disobedience craziness – he will just throw and spit and scream and say naughty things for sometimes hours at a time. I’ve found, it usually helps if I stick him on the couch or in his room with some books and force him to look at them. After about 5 or 10 minutes, he will get engrossed enough in what he is looking at to finally calm down.
Let’s see – little things. Andrew loves Magic School Bus and Ms. Frizzle books. He is also obsessed with books where you have to find things on every page. He likes Animalia and this book written by a friend of a ward member called “An Armful of ABC’s”. He loves the new toys he got at his birthday party – the legos, the Pirate Playmobils, and the army toys he got from us todays. He likes to build elaborate battle scenes using Lincoln Logs for cannons. He is learning to spell things out.
He is very interested in recycling and reusing and reducing after learning about it in preschool for Earth Day. He likes to pray about recycling (even at the snack prayer in preschool). He prays almost every time that “the poor people will get money” and that the “dead people will get better” – not sure how that will work. He loves to read Bible stories and Book of Mormon stories and gets excited when he sees stories he knows (he recognizes the Pharaoh, parting of the red sea, Daniel, Good Samaritan, etc.). He is learning his phone number at school – tricky since the first few weeks they had him learning the wrong one!
He loves his friends at preschool, but is no so sure how much he loves preschool. He secretly really enjoys preschool even if he doesn’t realize it. He is sort of scared of the dark, and tries to get people to turn on lights for him – usually Seth, whom he often treats as his personal servant. He is very excited about kindergarten and bringing his own school supplies. We had to have a long conversation about why he has to bring things and then was excited that we can use the money we were spending on preschool on other things (since kindergarten is “free”, though we did talk about taxes and such).
He had a lot of fun at his birthday party, even though it was hot, hot, hot. We had it at the park with some friends from school and church. They just ran around the park and playground and decorated cupcakes, and then, at the end we opened presents. I made him write fill-in-the-blank thank you cards. He wrote the names and I filled in the rest. I loved his “why I like it”. They were usually something like this “It is cool and it looks fun though I already have something like it (I edited out parts like that) and I love you.”
Andrew had fun on our trip to Michigan and really loved playing with Jonas. Sometimes I wish we could have stayed in Ann Arbor. I really think they would have stayed best buddies. He loved staying at hotels. When we got home he told everyone about going to Holland to see the tulips – which was funny since we did that for about 10 minutes. But I guess since it was the last part of the trip, it was the easiest to remember.
Happy Birthday, my baby boy Andrew!
Fun Things This Month:
