One of Caleb's most favorite things to do is read books. Going to the library once or twice a month is like Christmas to him! One of his all-time favorite library books in called Hondo and Fabian. The illustrations are so sweet, and it's a wonderfully soothing book for bedtime. Hondo is a dog who goes to the beach to play with his friend Fred. Fabian is his fellow pet, a cat, who stays home and plays with the baby.
Of course, Caleb has to spice it up by replacing "Hondo" for our own dog's name, Meggie. He also replaces "Fabian" with our own cat's name, Captain Hook. Hondo's friend, "Fred," is Auntie Jenna's dog, Sadie. And the baby is our very own Baby Russell.
Without further ado, here is Caleb reciting his rendition of Hondo and Fabian: (he's a little quiet, but if you turn it up and enlarge it, you can see the words on the page, which will help you understand him)
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Artists
Caleb wanted to color the other evening, so we let Russ have a go at it, too. He was a big fan!
He even held his crayon properly! (Caleb has never once held his crayon correctly.) He is also obviously right-handed, like his brother. I suppose I'll have to be ok with being the only southpaw in the family. Darn.
Russell's longish attention span definitely contributed to his success with coloring. It's a weird adjustment for me. I'm not used to having a kid who can stick with the same activity for over two minutes!
Then this morning we did a "craft" at the request of Mr. Cal. Caleb painted a sun catcher on his homemade light table (which is pretty cool, if you ask me--and just ask me if you want to know how I made it and what I use it for).
Russell colored with crayons...until he started biting the tops off of his crayons, at which point I took them away and he had a 30-minute meltdown.
Here is a video of Russell coloring for the first time. He's got it down! His little feet get going like that when he's especially happy. :) He had to get up at the end of the video to dance for a second while Caleb sang Good Time (by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen).
Monday, March 4, 2013
Boy's Best Friend
Caleb is growing up (*tear*), so it was about darn time we got him a decent white button-up shirt to wear to church. It was Saturday night, and we were excited for him to wear it for the first time the next day...when we realized that he didn't have pants that matched his one and only tie. So, I sewed him a new tie that would match his pants. Now I need to sew him some pants to match his old tie! And a few more ties, since they were oh so easy and insanely cute!
He was excited to wear it when we woke him up on Sunday morning. I told him, "It's a bow tie, like Donald Duck's tie!" He said, "No, Donald Duck's tie is red, Mommy!" And so it is. I should have known.
He left it on all day, and when we got home from church I was going to take pictures right away. Then I noticed that he fell in the mud on his way to the door. Oops. Oh, well.
We went out to the front porch anyway, and El Capitan joined us. Caleb is in love with this cat. And the cat is the best cat I've ever known. He puts up with so much from that toddler! He's the perfect balance of affectionate and aloof. And he's so pretty! He's not a boring, plain ol' short hair, but his hair isn't so long that we find it everywhere. You would never know that he naps on my bed now and then. No pile of hair. It's great.
So what was going to be a photo shoot to capture the adorableness of Caleb's Sunday best turned out to be a photo shoot to capture the bond between a boy and his cat. And he happens to be wearing an adorable (yet dirty) outfit.
I told Caleb to give Captain Hook a kiss. So sweet!
Then Caleb told Captain Hook to give him a kiss...and he DID! Notice the tongue on Caleb's cheek? How perfect!
So much joy on that sweet little face.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Smarty Pants!
Every time Russell finds a rag or a wipe, he "wipes" up whatever is nearest to him. The chair, the floor, the book....This is one of those milestones that took Caleb FOREVER to meet. I always thought it was because I didn't spend enough time cleaning my house. ;)
It's interesting to see how smart my boys are in different ways. Caleb gets a lot of credit for being smart because he talks so much and is so witty and social. He has an amazing memory and can learn anything that we set out to teach him. He can command the attention of a room by laughing and asking questions and being so darn cute. I remember his first birthday party. He knew that the day was about him, and he soaked it up. After his first few bites of his cake, everyone began to mingle and eat and talk among themselves, and Caleb realized that he wasn't the center of attention any more. So instead of crying for attention (which is what most 9- to 12-month-olds would do), he burst into laughter! The whole room noticed and thought it was adorable (it really was!) and they all laughed along. He has always had that kind of personality.
Then the other day Russell pushed the step stool up to the wall so he could reach the light switches! That's something that Caleb never thought to do until the past year! Russell is very aware of his surroundings.
He also pushed the step stool up to the kitchen table and climbed on up. He was pretty proud of himself. Then Caleb thought, "Hey, that's not a bad idea!" So he climbed up, too.
Russell is also very self-aware. For a while now he has been "helping" to put his clothes on by putting his legs up for me, stretching his arms out, etc. Caleb still has problems with that. He's so caught up in talking to us while we dress him that he lets his legs go into the same leg hole, or puts his arms out of the neck hole of his shirt without realizing it. It's quite frustrating at times! He also won't pick up his feet when I lift him out of the car seat, so they drag along and get caught in the crook of the car seat and his boots get pulled off. Not fun to fix when he demands to put them on by himself in the parking lot in the snow and cold.
Anyway, the point of this is not to compare my kids. I just love that they can be individuals. They're both so smart in such different ways, and I think that's great. I hope I can raise them to help each other, not to compete with each other. It's just so fun to see them blossoming into individual little people with strengths and personalities and wants and dislikes. They're so incredible in so many ways.
It's interesting to see how smart my boys are in different ways. Caleb gets a lot of credit for being smart because he talks so much and is so witty and social. He has an amazing memory and can learn anything that we set out to teach him. He can command the attention of a room by laughing and asking questions and being so darn cute. I remember his first birthday party. He knew that the day was about him, and he soaked it up. After his first few bites of his cake, everyone began to mingle and eat and talk among themselves, and Caleb realized that he wasn't the center of attention any more. So instead of crying for attention (which is what most 9- to 12-month-olds would do), he burst into laughter! The whole room noticed and thought it was adorable (it really was!) and they all laughed along. He has always had that kind of personality.
Then the other day Russell pushed the step stool up to the wall so he could reach the light switches! That's something that Caleb never thought to do until the past year! Russell is very aware of his surroundings.
Anyway, the point of this is not to compare my kids. I just love that they can be individuals. They're both so smart in such different ways, and I think that's great. I hope I can raise them to help each other, not to compete with each other. It's just so fun to see them blossoming into individual little people with strengths and personalities and wants and dislikes. They're so incredible in so many ways.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Russell's Words
At Russell's 12-month checkup, he didn't know any words. At that age, babies are supposed to use at least three words other than Mama and Dada. Since Russell is already in the Early Intervention program, I told the pediatrician that at his next eval he would probably qualify for speech therapy, and he said that that would be good. (I love having a ped who trusts that I'm on top of things.)
Not two weeks later, Russell spoke (and signed!) his first word! "More." I was feeding him baby cheetos in the airport. It's a little weird to me that my FTT baby's first word was because he wanted more food. Fine by me!
Within the following week he spoke many more words! "Da" for Dad. "Wasat?" for What's that? "Hi." "Dog."
As of today, at 14 months, here is a list of all of the words he knows and uses (pronunciations, if different, are in parenthesis):
Mom (Ma)
Dad (Da)
Hi, while waving excitedly
Whoa...! (used all.of.the.time! "Whoa!" when he sees a new toy, "Whoa" at the dinosaur museum. It's like everything is so exciting to him!)
Dog (daw)
Thank you (ay-too)
More (mo, while signing)
That (dat, while pointing)
Sadie
Love you (ya-yu)
Night-night (nigh-nigh)
Auntie (aw-tee)
Bye-bye
Cat (at)
Rawr (as in what a lion, bear, dinosaur, etc. says...and he says it while playing with those animals)
Vroom (as in what a car says...again, he says it while driving toy cars around on the floor)
Please (This one he doesn't speak, he only signs it. The sign is done with an open hand, moved in a small circle on your chest. He doesn't do it on his own chest, but he does it on the chest of the person closest to him, or on his high chair tray. Cutest thing ever, when he pats his little hand on my chest to ask for a bite of whatever I'm eating while he's in my arms. I love it.)
I'm probably missing some words, but that gives you a pretty good idea of the huge language explosion that happened in the last two months. Russell is also getting better at non-verbal communication. He gestures and points when he wants something. We can hold up a food and he'll wave his arms and make a "yucky" face if he doesn't want it, and he'll get really excited and reach for it if he does want it. He is also really good at throwing himself to the floor and crying when he wants something that he can't have, or if Caleb snatches a toy away from him. It's kinda like the terrible twos, only a whole year early!
Russ is also getting better at comprehending what we say. Just today he discovered where we keep the chore boots. He tipped one over and picked up the dirt chunks on the bottom. I told him "no-no, that's not a toy" and I put the boot back. He put the dirt chunk back, and crawled away.
And I must say, I'm so very proud that both of my children used "please" and "thank you" before they used the word "no." I feel like that makes me a good parent. ;)
Also, Russ won't say most words if prompted. He'll say them in the appropriate context on his own, such as saying, "Auntie!" when my sister comes home and he sees her for the first time all day. But we can't point at my sister and say, "Who is this?" If we say, "Night-night, love you," then he'll respond, "Love you." But we have never gotten him to answer appropriately when we point to a picture of a dog and ask what it is, for example. It's weird. It makes it hard to "practice" with him.
Russell is also learning body parts! He points to his belly on demand, and sometimes his nose and ears.
To wrap up, here is a cute video of my cute boys. Russell says "hi" in his deep, breathy voice. So cute!
Not two weeks later, Russell spoke (and signed!) his first word! "More." I was feeding him baby cheetos in the airport. It's a little weird to me that my FTT baby's first word was because he wanted more food. Fine by me!
Within the following week he spoke many more words! "Da" for Dad. "Wasat?" for What's that? "Hi." "Dog."
As of today, at 14 months, here is a list of all of the words he knows and uses (pronunciations, if different, are in parenthesis):
Mom (Ma)
Dad (Da)
Hi, while waving excitedly
Whoa...! (used all.of.the.time! "Whoa!" when he sees a new toy, "Whoa" at the dinosaur museum. It's like everything is so exciting to him!)
Dog (daw)
Thank you (ay-too)
More (mo, while signing)
That (dat, while pointing)
Sadie
Love you (ya-yu)
Night-night (nigh-nigh)
Auntie (aw-tee)
Bye-bye
Cat (at)
Rawr (as in what a lion, bear, dinosaur, etc. says...and he says it while playing with those animals)
Vroom (as in what a car says...again, he says it while driving toy cars around on the floor)
Please (This one he doesn't speak, he only signs it. The sign is done with an open hand, moved in a small circle on your chest. He doesn't do it on his own chest, but he does it on the chest of the person closest to him, or on his high chair tray. Cutest thing ever, when he pats his little hand on my chest to ask for a bite of whatever I'm eating while he's in my arms. I love it.)
I'm probably missing some words, but that gives you a pretty good idea of the huge language explosion that happened in the last two months. Russell is also getting better at non-verbal communication. He gestures and points when he wants something. We can hold up a food and he'll wave his arms and make a "yucky" face if he doesn't want it, and he'll get really excited and reach for it if he does want it. He is also really good at throwing himself to the floor and crying when he wants something that he can't have, or if Caleb snatches a toy away from him. It's kinda like the terrible twos, only a whole year early!
This is the look Russell gave me when I found that he had discovered that Caleb's stash of juice boxes have straws attached...that happen to be very fun to detach. I found a stack of de-strawed juice boxes next to a stack of de-juice boxed straws. It's one of his new favorite pastimes.
Russ is also getting better at comprehending what we say. Just today he discovered where we keep the chore boots. He tipped one over and picked up the dirt chunks on the bottom. I told him "no-no, that's not a toy" and I put the boot back. He put the dirt chunk back, and crawled away.
And I must say, I'm so very proud that both of my children used "please" and "thank you" before they used the word "no." I feel like that makes me a good parent. ;)
Also, Russ won't say most words if prompted. He'll say them in the appropriate context on his own, such as saying, "Auntie!" when my sister comes home and he sees her for the first time all day. But we can't point at my sister and say, "Who is this?" If we say, "Night-night, love you," then he'll respond, "Love you." But we have never gotten him to answer appropriately when we point to a picture of a dog and ask what it is, for example. It's weird. It makes it hard to "practice" with him.
Russell is also learning body parts! He points to his belly on demand, and sometimes his nose and ears.
To wrap up, here is a cute video of my cute boys. Russell says "hi" in his deep, breathy voice. So cute!
Friday, February 15, 2013
It's Feeding Tube Awareness Week!
Happy Feeding Tube Awareness week!
Remember the video that I shared last year, showing step by step how we gravity feed Caleb every three hours? Well, it must be helping people, because it has almost 900 views on youtube! (I'm really regretting not doing my hair that day....) Here is it again, in case you missed it:
This year I wanted to share some lighthearted peaks into the lives of parents of children with feeding tubes. I'm part of an online support group for parents dealing with pediatric feeding issues and a few weeks ago one member asked, "You know you're the parent of a tubie when_____." Here are some of the more popular answers that had us all laughing at ourselves because of this bazaar world that we live in.
You know you're the parent of a tubie when:
Remember the video that I shared last year, showing step by step how we gravity feed Caleb every three hours? Well, it must be helping people, because it has almost 900 views on youtube! (I'm really regretting not doing my hair that day....) Here is it again, in case you missed it:
This year I wanted to share some lighthearted peaks into the lives of parents of children with feeding tubes. I'm part of an online support group for parents dealing with pediatric feeding issues and a few weeks ago one member asked, "You know you're the parent of a tubie when_____." Here are some of the more popular answers that had us all laughing at ourselves because of this bazaar world that we live in.
You know you're the parent of a tubie when:
- You use a 60ml syringe in the kitchen...to baste a turkey, to make filled cupcakes, etc.
- You buy KY jelly for your toddler [for you non-tubie parents, this is used to lubricate a new feeding tube so it goes into the stoma easier].
- You know what stomach fluid tastes like.
- Your child is hungry, so she pulls up her shirt and points to her button
- You are cautious of the button on every child you care for...even though none but your own has a tube [this took a lot of getting used to after Russell was born! It was kind of nice when he had his umbilical cord stump, so I had something to be cautious of. Many tubie parents would cringe at the sight of Russell sliding down the stairs on his tummy...that would surely pull out a tube!].
- You have lifted your non-tubie's shirt to try to connect them to a feed.
- Clothes shopping for your child is all about how accessible the tube would be (no onesies!), and if those pants would fall down off of his tiny waist
- You're in awe while watching a healthy baby eat and drink
- Gifts are wrapped in medical tape
- Your toddler drinks more fluids from a 12ml syringe than from a cup, sippy cup, or bottle
- You hear phantom beeping all night long [from the feeding pump...it beeps if there is anything wrong, like a kink in the tubing, or a clump in the formula, or when the feeding is done]. It drives us CRAZY! We can't watch a movie without pausing it at least twice to listen to see if the beeping is real or in our heads!
- You see a toddler wearing a backpack and you look close to see if it has tubing coming out the side and going under the child's shirt.
- You are so used to being puked on that instead of thinking of how gross it is, you think of how many calories were just lost, and if you dare try to make them up.
- Cookies, suckers, and green beans count as "dinner."
- Your child pukes and you're so used to it that you can just clean it up and get on with what you were doing.
- Chunky puke is revolting, but formula puke is no big deal.
- Cleaning up puke while you eat doesn't phase you.
- You tell your friends that you have to go "plug in" your child, then you wonder why they give you a funny look.
- You plan your day around a feeding schedule.
- You get all excited when your child LICKS something!
- You ask other parents, "Don't you wish your child had a tube, too? That way you could give them meds and fluids when they're sick!"
- When you order a kids' meal for yourself so your kid can have a toy.
- When you have drawers and cupboards in the kitchen devoted to syringes and medical supplies.
Well...when I originally read this list, I laughed and laughed! But now, typing it up for all of you, I wonder if you will "get it," or if you'll even think it's funny. These aren't sad things. They're normal things (for us tubie parents). And it's so funny for us to realize it, because they're so obviously not normal for the rest of the population. So go ahead and laugh with us. Because I'm telling you, this is funny stuff!
Happy Feeding Tube Awareness week!
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