So much goings on lately! Too busy to even update a blog for our family and friends to keep up with it. 
Yesterday Andrew started his first class with other kids his age. We have him in Tumbling for Tots at the rec center. He LOVES it! And if I do say so myself he is one of the best in his class. heehee But we do let him “tumble” all around here so he’s had a lot more practice I bet then most of those kids. Heck he’s been doing forward rolls for a year because we would roll him around on our giant bed! He did learn one cool new thing – backwards rolls off the edge of a mat. And he practiced them off the side of our bed last night too. He only needs a hand to get into position (and he’d rather you didn’t help but if we don’t he falls on his head) the actual flipping he handles himself very well.
We are also very proud of him learning to take turns and waiting for someone to finish on a particular activity space before running onto it. He has a hard time with it but if we remind him he accepts it well, so far.
BTW, he made it across the balance beam without falling off at all! No help! Big Boy.
Paul T got in on the action trying to crawl on mats not in use too. He got frustrated he couldn’t go where he wanted, he often does though. Another kid of ours thinking they are bigger than they are.
The other day at our apartment park, Andrew saw some big kid girls hanging by their legs from the bars and he was right up at them watching and trying to figure it out. Then Andy and I let him try and get it going himself for a while before Daddy went and helped him out. He was so excited to do it too!
Paul T wants to eat! He wants everything we have. No baby we tell him! I made him some steamed organic carrot puree and that he didn’t want so much… hmmmm But the chips and queso he wants! lol He does love apples and bananas which we eat together, me and the boys every day. Paul gets to have the core and chews on it every time we have an apple. Andrew can take BIG bites!
Paul’s newest thing like you’ll see in the pics from May is the chicken bones. Loves them. With Andrew I was very nervous about food introduction. I am cautious with Paul with allergens like wheat, eggs, dairy, soy strawberries and such, but I will not wait on meats like I did with Andrew. Andrew had low iron at 9 months and I think some chicken before then might have decreased that. SO Paul get a chicken bone! He sits and chews on it and sucks on it. I don’t know how much meat he eats, I do leave some on there for him and it is mush by the time I get it back. Heck if nothing else, it makes a great teether!
Paul T is working out a top tooth now. Been poking for over a week! We can see it below the surface and the darned thing will not come out! At least it hasn’t seemed to bother him so much these past few days.
Andy is still working at an office and we are all adjusting. The hardest thing is the getting up early. Not a big deal unless the kids don’t go to bed timely! But it’s already getting easier. No one has been up past midnight in a long time and the latest usually is about 1130. And Andy comes home by 130 at the latest so on the super good days we all nap at the same time but at the very least Daddy will get a recharger.
On Wednesdays me and the boys take the bus to the downtown square for live music and friends and a picnic. It’s also a block from where Daddy works! It’s so fun and I think Andrew really enjoys it. We meet with the groups of people that we usually go to the park with so Andrew has lots of friends to run around with. Lots of big kids to follow around and try and do what they are doing! I don’t always get to sit and enjoy the music because I follow Andrew around the courthouse but we have fun anyway. Heck, the bands aren’t as fun as it is watching Andrew play!
He’s really getting into the concept of “friend” lately too. He knows his friends’ names and will play with them more than just next to them. Now if only he could do that with Paul T…
Everyone who sees Paul T move about thinks he will be an early walker. Andrew was taking steps before 9 months and could walk completely on his own before 10 months. I think that is a bit on the early side too but most people think Paul will be even earlier than that. Well, he does have a big brother to chase around after all! I was also walking by 8 months so it is in his blood. I am still not sure though. A lot of kids feel comfortable with crawling because they are good at it and it is faster and easier and they crawl for a very long time. So we’ll see. Paul loves standing and is starting to really grasp the step taking motion involved in cruising.
Last Thursday we went to a kids concert at the civic center and the Just Between Friends sale was going on at the same time. This is like a big garage/consignment sale for kids things only. Oh we had a blast! We managed to only spend $50 when most of our friends didn’t get out for less than a hundred! Dirty trick having the concert at the same time. The best thing was we finally got a new stroller. The one we’ve been walking Andrew to sleep in was too small for him and truly falling apart. Our “new” one is so much easier to push! Makes taking the kids out for a nightly walk more of a joy and motivation and even if they don’t fall asleep it’s OK, we got our exercise and talking time and didn’t have to wrestle a clunky stroller! We gave the old one away to a family in need and that feels good too.
Andrew is getting into learning numbers and letters. He has been slowly progressing into that for a while but now it’s like he wants to point out every letter and number he sees and say what it is and if he can’t remember it he asks. He tries to read words. It’s so cute. For example, he has a box of Altoids, we call them spicy mints. He got out the box and pointed out all the letters in Altoids, backwards and then proceeded to proudly read it “SPICY.” So cute! We told him what it said of course. He also read the word Tonka on his tool box as TOOLS. I need to make a label for it that really says tools because that one is a bit misleading. We got him some work (play) books for preschoolers and he and I will start finding time for them every day while Daddy is working. We’ve been doing activity books most days and they are a bit too advanced so we’ll see how he does with this one. We also got him some learning sticker books.
It’s hard not to feel overly proud of his drive and progress but I try to balance myself and keep the “good jobs” to a minimum. It isn’t a surprise to see him do these things to him. He knows already that he is capable of anything and everything! If I get super excited and surprised by his skills it might seem like things he shouldn’t be capable of. I give him many a “you did it” without a tone of surprise but a tone of, I knew you would! So important for building self esteem.
Anyway, enough of my psuedo-psychology from parenting books right! Here’s some fun videos:
Hanging with Paul T (Hotrod!)
Andrew on a ride at Chuck E Cheese (actually after the ride, darned slow camera!)
Same trip, playing air hockey with Daddy
Playing at the music on the square with his friends Liam and Kaya (well the other 2 just kind of run by)
And I can’t remember if I’ve put this one up yet. It’s a bit old. He got some sour candies for Easter and I thought he’d react much more than he did!
Hope this greets you all with as much happiness as it was sent with!