4th Birthday and 4 Year Check Up

This year was the first year that Jackson REALLY anticipated his birthday. For several weeks before his birthday we heard "is it my birthday yet?"

The weekend that we went to my grandparent's house in L.A. to celebrate his birthday he said, "but it's not my birthday yet." When we sang him happy birthday he said, "but I'm not really four yet." He can be very legalistic at times ... although that didn't stop him from opening presents and enjoying the birthday treats.

We had such a great time with family in L.A.


I think Jackson's highlight was playing treasure hunt with Auntie Sarah.

On his actual birthday Jackson really soaked up the special attention. "I get the special plate because today's my birthday." "I get to eat first because today is my birthday." "I don't have to clear the table tonight because today is my birthday." It was the first time he could really recognize and appreciate being treated extra special and it was really fun for him AND me.

I'll need to remember that kids feel special even with the littlest things ... sometimes ESPECIALLY with the littlest things (i.e. birthday signs and balloons around the house, phone calls from family members who were calling just to talk to him, special birthday only privileges, etc.)


He got a birthday cookie this year since he's having three different celebrations (one with family, one on his actual birthday, and then a joint party in July with his best friend who is 2 weeks younger than him) and I didn't want to get stuck with a bunch of leftover cake. He got to eat the blueberries off of the cookie for breakfast, but waited to have the actual cookie until his birthday supper.


Jackson's big presents this year were two Hotwheels track sets! One from Grandma and Papa and one from Mom and Dad. I'm not sure if I was more excited or if he was. Jackson LOVES playing with cars, but his cars are pretty conversational and I get a little exhausted trying to keep up with his imagination and energy while playing "cars." I was looking forward to actually zooming some cars around the tracks. He's still getting the hang of setting it all up, but this is DEFINITELY a toy that he'll be playing with for quite a while ... and I have to admit that I was tempted to play with it while he was taking a nap the other day. :)

Last Wednesday we took Jackson for his 4 year check up. I thought it'd be quick since there were no shots or anything to be had, but still dropped Micah off with a friend for the morning so I could have some alone time with Jackson. It turns out that they did a lot more than I expected and boy did Jackson feel grown up. Here's what they did:

An eye exam with a chart of shapes - his left eye is a little weaker than his right and we'll have to watch for that as he gets older due to the ptosis in that eye.

A hearing test where he had to wear earphones and listen for different pitches and volumes - he passed with flying colors.

A urine sample - I don't have those results back yet, but he thought it was so cool that he got to pee in a cup. The nurse reminded him that we only do that at the doctor's office as he was gloating about it on the way out.

Dr. Macias was very impressed with his cognitive skills and reassured me that he was ready for school (although we'll be waiting for at least a year or so). After his appointment we went out to lunch with just Jackson, Colin and me to make it a special day.

My little man is getting so big and I'll need to make sure that as he gets older and life gets busy for him and me that we take little moments like days with doctor's appointments to slow down and enjoy special time with just the two of us.

Premiere 5K and Pancakes

What's with the random title? I was going to do two different posts, but I just thought I'd save time by combining them, so bare with me.

Over the past two months or so, I've been trying to get more physically fit for various reasons. One being that my family has a history of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes and I know that staying healthy can hopefully prevent all or some of these.

The other is because I want to be a healthy weight before I start trying to have another baby. I know it seems fatalistic to do all of this work and then gain 40lbs during my next pregnancy. However, I figure if I do it now I'll only have to lose 10lbs instead of 30 - 40lbs.

Anyway, I've been doing a lot of things got get fit. I've been doing Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" workout DVD for 4 mornings a week (it helps that Colin is willing to be a workout partner), I'm also doing a Jillian's "Yoga Meltdown" DVD in the afternoons and running/elliptical at least 3 days a week. On top of all of that I've cut my calorie intake and tried to cut back on processed foods using a meal plan through www.jillianmichaels.com . It's actually been really fun to try new and healthy recipes. Here's one of my favorite ones so far because they taste so good and they are really filling without a lot of calories:


FYI: I made a double batch of these and put them in the freezer because they reheat very well.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup(s) flour, whole-wheat
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup(s) cottage cheese, fat free
2/3 cup(s) milk, lowfat (1%) (I used skim)
2 large egg(s)
1 tablespoon honey (I added about 1/2 tbsp more)

Preparation

In a large bowl, stir together flour and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, milk, eggs, and honey. Stir wet ingredients into dry ones.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium. Working in batches, drop pancake mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into pan. Cook until bottoms are set and tops have small bubbles, about 1 minute. Turn pancakes and cook until just firm in the center, 1 to 3 minutes more. Repeat. Serve with fresh strawberries, blueberries and/or bananas (add an additional 91 calories).

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 10 mins

Nutrition Facts
Number of Servings: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 193
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 110 mg
Sodium: 221 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 26 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 15 g

All of the workouts and calorie cutting has really paid off. So far I've lost 12lbs, in a little over 2 months. I have about 5 more pounds to go to reach my goal weight. Hopefully just in time for swimsuit weather! ;)

Before I began doing the "30 Day Shred" DVD a friend of mine and I were doing the "Couch to 5K" challenge. I wanted to continue doing that too, but I really cut back on my running. So, when I entered for a 5K this weekend I didn't really know what to expect.

The 5K was in Huasna Valley and was GORGEOUS! It was a fundraiser run for a girl named Holly Navolt (they called it Hike for Holly and you'll soon find out why), she's an 18 year old girl who has severe Cystic Fibrosis and needed a lung transplant. The plan was that I would run and Colin would walk the 5K with the boys in the stroller. We had heard that that the route was pretty flat except on section that had a pretty steep incline. WRONG!



When we got there you couldn't tell where the 5K trail was because of the surrounding forests. It wasn't until the actual run that I found out that it was more of a hike than a run. There were several steep hills that had rocks, sticks, deep holes (from cattle and possibly ground hogs), mud, etc. They weren't just little hills, they were hills that were hard to walk up AND down let alone run. If I would have known I would have taken a camera with me to prove it to you.



Needless to say Colin couldn't make it up the first hill (which was the most mild of them all) with the stroller and Jackson was devastated that he couldn't "run" with his mommy. However, the trail looped back near the starting line a little less than half way through, so Jackson did get to cheer me on then. It was SO adorable to hear his little voice yelling, "Go Mommy, go!"



There was a straight away at the end of the race where the boys met up with me and Jackson could "finish" the race with me in the end. He was very proud of himself. Although I added about 5 minutes to the 3 mile time I ran earlier in the week, I'm still VERY proud of my 35:59 finish time.



Even though they couldn't participate in the run, the morning was still really fun for the boys. The event planners really did a great job. They had a bounce house, a band, a BBQ and a mini petting zoo. The boys had a great time ... we all did.

However, I'd have to say that the best and worst part of the morning was when Jackson had a melt down as we were leaving because he dropped his uneaten banana on the ground and his balloon animal popped out of it's shape. He yelled through angry tears, "now I won't have anything special from the race!" It was probably one of the worst public tantrums he's ever had. It was also a REALLY good opportunity for me to remind him of the reason why we were doing the race to begin with. We talked about Holly and her sickness and how she needed new lungs because hers were broken ... it was a good reminder for the both of us that we shouldn't be so focused on ourselves.

Breakfast of Little Champions

If you know me, you know that when my kids are in the pureed baby food stage I have no qualms about mixing different foods together to speed up the feeding process. That mixing has resulted in some experimenting over the past years and a few creations that my kids love and I feel are a really tasty and healthy choice for them.

Here is a GREAT breakfast that is a good source of protein, iron, fiber and vitamin C.

PB&J Oatmeal
1 serving

1/2 c. prepared instant oatmeal
1 - 1/2 tablespoon of natural peanut butter or almond butter (if allergic to peanuts)
1/4c. unsweetened applesauce
fresh or thawed frozen blueberries and/or strawberries

Mix the first three ingredients and top with fruit. Serve and enjoy! (Note: sometimes I'll use yogurt instead of applesauce for a little extra protein and probiotics).

18 Month Old Check Up

Micah turned 18 months on April 25, 2010. His personality over the last several months has just blossomed and the paths of the two boys are now starting to diverge a little (as they should).

The Stats:
Weight: 24lbs 2oz 25%
Height: 33 1/2 inches 75%
Head Circumference: 49cm 80%

Micah's Schedule:
6:30 - some days he'll jabber in his crib and then go back to sleep
8:00 - wake up (sometimes he'll sleep till 8:30 if I'm lucky)
Noon - lunch
12:55 - small snack (we've found that he sleeps better at night and for his nap if he has a little snack (i.e. a cup of yogurt of peanut butter toast) right before he goes down).
1:00 - nap
3:30 - jabber or cry (depending on the day) in his crib until about 4pm if he doesn't just sleep until then ... more on this later.
4:00 - snack (not too much though otherwise he's not hungry for supper)
5:30 - supper
7:15 - bedtime routine including a little snack
7:30 - Bible story time, which he's gotten much better at sitting through over the last several months.
8:00 - in bed
8:30 - usually asleep

18 Month Challenges:
NAPS, NAPS, NAPS!!! Micah was sick over Easter and it took him awhile to bounce back which had a direct affect his naps.

At first he'd sleep about an hour and then wake up frantically crying. If I went in there to calm him down it only seemed to wake him up more, but if Colin went in there he'd go right back to sleep ... go figure ... it was the same if he woke up in the middle of the night, which he was doing during the time he was sick.

Eventually I tried rocking him for the rest of his nap to see if I could at least get him to take a full nap on me ... NOPE. My only choice at this point (knowing that he was perfectly healthy and perfectly capable of sleeping a full nap and through the night) was to let him cry it out. The evening cry outs were short lived, but the day time naps were not seeming to get any better UNTIL...

... one day Micah went over to a friend's house for a play date and came home after lunch, but right before nap time. I had no idea how much he had to eat for lunch, so I fed him some yogurt just in case and HE SLEPT AWESOME!!

Since then we've been giving him a snack before his nap and bedtime and he's been sleeping much better. He still has days where he wakes up early and sometimes he wakes up crying, but other days he wakes up happy (which I can handle much better), either way he stays in his crib until 4 o'clock because Mommy needs to have some down time.

18 Month Joys:
TALKING, TALKING, TALKING!!! Micah's vocabulary has taken off this past month and he's now even streaming two words together. Here are a few things you might hear him say:
"Mees!" - please
"Mee Mama!" - please Momma
"Hi,hi" - hide, hide
"Ah-min" - amen
"Da!" - yes
"No?" -no (I wish you could hear his intonation because it's so adorable)
"Moe" - more
"Up" - up
"Puppy" - puppy or any animal
"cows" - cars
"caka" - cracker
"me-mow" - Nemo and/or fruit snacks
"choo-choo" - train
"Ah-ah!" - monkey/Curious George
"Em-oh" - Elmo, but also elbow
"ni-ni daddy" - good night daddy
"da-di" - Jackson
"wee-oh" - wheel
"bi-boh" - bible
"dee-dus" - Jesus
"oots" - oops
He actually has quite a few more, but I won't bore you with a longer list than what I've given here. He's SO adorable when he "talks" and especially when he mimics his older brother ... thankfully Jackson is eating that up right now.

Micah's also showed some beginning signs of potty training readiness. The day of his 18 month check up he told me that he was poopy during lunch, but when I went to change him his diaper was empty. I asked him if he wanted to go poopy on the potty and he said, "Da!" (see above for translation) and to my surprise he went poop and pee on the potty! I've tried several times since then with no luck and it seems he has lost interest, so I'm not going to push potty training at this point, but it's a glimmer of hope for the future.

PLAY TIME! Micah and Jackson are now starting to play together ... okay well at least in the same room next to each other without me having to be present. It's been fun to watch them develop their relationship as brothers. Since this has taken place here are a few phrases you'll hear me say to both boys at various times and most likely several times during the day:

"You need to use your words if you want that toy and not just take it from him."
"He doesn't like that, you need to stop."
"Tell him 'no thank you' if you don't like what he's doing."
"Let him have a turn."
"Are you being loving?!"
"Go play in Jackson's room!"

Playing "together" at a children's museum.

Micah has caught Jackson's love of cars, but he also loves trains and puppies. He has a stuffed puppy that he sleeps with now (mostly because then he can play with it in bed after his nap until I'm ready to get him up). He'll walk around the house cuddling, kissing and talking to the puppy. He really is a cuddly little man and it is not uncommon for him to stop playing and find me just so he can cuddle for a minute or two (I LOVE THAT!).

He's starting to get more interested in reading entire books even with more than just a few words on a page, but he loves anything that he can take apart and put back together or that has multiple buttons on it. His absolute FAVORITE pass time is sitting in the parked car and playing with the steering wheel and all of the buttons and levers with Daddy. I may have to invest in a few more small motor skill toys in order to keep him busy in church and occupied on the potty once we're serious about training.

Micah's favorite thing at the children's museum.

Micah's personality is free spirited, adventurous and even at such a young age has some great comedic timing (although I'm not sure he's aware of that quite yet). He's shy around strangers, but once he warms up he can be such a HAM! He's a Momma's boy when he's out of his element, but when he's up for an adventure he runs straight to Daddy or his brother! :)

What more can I say?!

You are such a treat and a delight Micah! We love you SO much!

Motion Sickness

Colin had it when he was a boy and I still have it and it seems like the day Jackson turned 3 years old he inherited it too. MOTION SICKNESS! Here are a few things that have worked for us when it comes to motion sickness in the car:

1. Always keep a large cup in the car. It's even better if it has a lid just in case you have no place to stop and rinse it out once it's been "used."

2. Cover the window adjacent to the child's seat with a thick blanket to block out any motion in their peripheral. We've found that by putting Jackson behind the driver's seat we can tuck the blanket in such a way that the driver can still see out of his blind spot.

3. Just recently we got Jackson a Leapster2 to play while we travel and bought kid friendly ear phones like the ones pictured here to go with them and that seems to have made a HUGE difference. I'm not exactly sure why, but it did.

4. I always keep a pack of gum and a few extra munchies in my purse when we travel. I know a full tummy helps my motion sickness, so I figured it'd help him too.

5. Now that Jackson is old enough he can tell us when he is starting to feel motion sickness and we can tell him to close his eyes until he feels better. Colin will also crack the windows for a few minutes for fresh air and that seems to help too. We've avoided having to use "the cup" several times this way.

Those are the things that have worked for us. I'd love to hear solutions from others whose kids struggle with motion sickness.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

While traveling over Easter Micah got hand, foot and mouth disease. It's a sister virus to the chicken pox that starts with a fever for 24 hours and then creates blister like sores in the mouth and on the hands and feet. Most children get it when they are young, but the symptoms are rarely noticeable and sores may not even appear on the hands and feet (in fact we're pretty sure Jackson had it too since he had the 24 hour fever as well, but he had no other symptoms).

However, poor Micah got this virus pretty bad and there was nothing we could do for him but wait it out. He had a fever on Easter Sunday that lasted 24 hours. A day or two afterwards his eating habits were strange. I thought perhaps he had a sore throat because he was spitting out some of his most favorite foods(even sweets).


Then a few days later I noticed that in between his toes were raw and blistered and finally noticed his hands had a few little blisters as well. That's when I put two and two together and realized he had hand, foot and mouth. We had already been giving him Ibuprofen because we thought he was in pain from his throat, but it turns out he had visible sores on his tongue too. Poor guy.

We continued the Ibuprofen and put triple antibiotic cream on the open sores on his feet and covered them with socks, which seemed to ease his discomfort. After a couple of days of eating just eggs and drinking just milk the sores in his mouth went away and he slowly went back to his normal eating habits.

Micah was so exhausted from this virus that he fell asleep at the lunch table.

The virus was a doozy for Micah. It's now been over 2 weeks and he still has remnant blisters on his hands, but mostly his feet that are peeling and healing. He's been sleeping through the night for a little over a week, but still struggles with his naps, but we're getting it all worked out.

LOTS of Pictures!! Enjoy!

February - April 2010!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Diapers

I've seen a lot of facebook status updates about diapers and diaper brands, so I thought that I'd do a quick little blog so I can remember for the next child.

Newborn
Pampers Swaddler diapers are much softer and more absorbent than most diapers and don't cause rashes. I made the mistake of using off brand wipes on Micah and his poor little tooshie paid for that mistake. Next time around I'll definitely use the sensitive wipes until I feel like their bottom has toughened up a bit.

3 Months and Up
Once their bowel movements are a little more predictable and solid and their bottoms are a little tougher, I switch to off brand diapers during the day and the name brand diapers a night in order to save a little money. The only off brand that isn't really a "bargain" has been the Walmart brand Family Choice because I have to change their diapers more often due to leaking. Although, I have friends who have had good luck with them. I've also found that although Pampers is a little more expensive than LUVS or Huggies, they hold more and cover more of the boys' bottoms and are worth the price. I also have a "Strike Three" rule - after 3 blowouts/major leaks I up the diaper size.

Between 12 & 18 Months
Both of my boys began to wet through their night time diapers even though I was putting them in name brand diapers as well as in one size bigger than they wear during the day. Micah woke up several nights in a row one week soaked ... I quickly mastered changing a toddler's clothes and diaper in the dark. Eventually I gave in and bought Pampers special overnight diapers. Again, they are more expensive, but if it saves me having to change an entire outfit every night and getting more quality sleep for both me and Micah it's worth it.

Potty Training
I don't do Pull-Ups (you can read my potty training blog for more details). I think that I can just as easily take off and put on a normal diaper for early potty training and save the extra dollars. When Jackson was in his later stages of potty training I put him in underwear and never looked back ... I just hope I'm as lucky with Micah.

Cloth Diapers
I'm not an expert on cloth diapers all I know is that there are SO MANY different brands to choose from. I have a lot of friends who use them for various different reasons. I'm a just a little too lazy for them perhaps. If you have questions about them I know some great women who would love to answer any questions you have!

Click!

At various stages in children's lives things just click! Before that moment you think "they'll never learn to walk, talk, feed themselves, climb stairs, jump, use the toilet, ride a bike, pee standing up, etc." But then one day it seems that they wake up and they set their mind to a task and they "get 'er done."

Here are a few things that have "clicked" for Micah and Jackson over the last couple of weeks/months:

Jackson:

peddling his big wheel


coloring and beginning writing skills

and ...yes ... peeing standing up (I don't have a picture for that one folks).

Micah:

talking, talking, and more talking... (this one counts for triple)


It's SO FUN to watch skills magically happen! It's the wonderment of learning that I love the most. You never know when it's going to happen ... when they'll FINALLY get it, but they do and I feel so privileged to get to see it happen.

My First Dentist Appointment by Jackson

So first we went in. And then we played with toys. There were Duplos and there were stuffed animals (a giraffe, a polar bear, a panda bear) and there were more, but I don't remember them.

Then the waitress said, "Colin it's your turn." And then we went into the room where there were chairs and tools. There was a big chair and there was a small chair (like a rocking chair) and I sat in it and then I rocked. Then I read books while Daddy climbed up in the chair and then they started fixing his teeth.

Later Daddy put on an apron (a really heavy apron) and then ... um... cuz they wanted to take a picture of his teeth. The picture looked like a big picture with five pictures on it and it was turquoise color.

Then Daddy got out of the chair and then it was my turn.

I sat in the chair and then they looked at my teeth and they had a hook and mirror. They kinda got in between my teeth and then they counted my top teeth (there were ten). Then they counted my bottom teeth and I had ten teeth down there. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, TWENTY!

Then when I was all done I got to ride up and down on the chair. After that she showed me "Mr. Thirsty." He's a tool that sucks up water. They put it in a cup with water and he drank up all the water. Then I drank a cup of water and spit out in the sink. Then Pat (the dental hygienist) gave me a toothbrush and some toothpaste and some floss and some other floss... two toothpastes and a pencil. Then I said, "goodbye."

Then Daddy talked to a lady and I got a sticker to put on our calendar to remember when we would come back.

THE END

United States Flag

Our next door neighbors (the ones that I've blogged about before) are both in the military. When we moved in the father was deployed and now the mother has been deployed since August. We've become good friends with them and their daughter and Jackson are inseparable. So, we sent a thank you letter and picture to the mother soon after she was deployed and yesterday she sent us this in the mail:



Yes, that is Jackson using the USA flag as a blanket.

The certificate says that the "flag was flown over the skies of Afghanistan on the 9th day of February, 2010... in a Close Air Support mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in finding and destroying all those who threaten our very way of life. With great appreciation we present this certificate to those who support the few that fight for the freedoms of many: Colin, Corinne, Jackson and Micah.

We thought that it was WAY cool to receive that gift and what a wonderful teachable moment for Jackson to learn about our country and what we stand for. As a result we are now beginning to work on memorizing the "Pledge of Allegiance." I'll be sure to post the video.

Video taken on 3/10/10:

Sleep Over Party

Jackson and his best friend Patrick had a sleep over at our house a couple of weeks ago. Both boys had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures... we also went to the discovery museum in Santa Maria, but I forgot to bring my camera *snap* bummer.

A Surreal Reality

Today is my 30th birthday. Perhaps if circumstances were a little different I'd be blogging about how old I feel and how my body has changed, but I'm just grateful for one more year of life.

My brother, Jason, died in a car accident at 1:30 in the morning on Valentine's Day.

Reality as I know it has changed forever.

I'm not really sure how to process this all or how to interact with/react to others. I've been in their shoes before and always thought, "I don't know what to say." I still don't know what to say.

The days come in waves of surreal moments ... waiting for my brother to call and tell everyone it was just a big prank (he was like that) and then waves of emotion with the reality of his death emanate and tears flooding my eyes.

Micah is obviously too young to understand, but I did explain to Jackson what happened. I could tell he understood intellectually (we talk about heaven a lot I guess), but I don't think he understood emotionally except for the fact that I was crying and that made him a little sad.

We've decided to leave the kids with church family and Colin and I will travel alone to Milwaukee to mourn with family. My thoughts are that we can then be free to go wherever and whenever and stay however long we need to and not worry about nap schedules and bedtimes, etc.

Surprisingly, facebook has been a huge healing balm for me (besides the obvious fact that God is sovereign in every way and in everything). Jason's life really did touch a lot of people in so many different ways and I've been able to see that more through facebook. It comforts me to know that other people share in the sorrow and to hear the funny stories about Jason.

Yet, I can't help but feel a little unworthy (for lack of a better word) of my sorrow because I think of his wife, Ericka, and how much pain and sorrow she must be feeling. The bond a husband and wife have is SO much stronger than a sister and brother (as it should be). I CANNOT imagine what she is going through.

My reality has changed forever, but not NEARLY in the same way as my sister-in-law's. I've just barely begun to wrap my brain around the fact that I'll never see my brother here on earth again, but I don't think I'll ever be able to comprehend what it's like to wake up one morning and miss the other half of me ... his dirty laundry still in the hamper, leftovers in the fridge, toothbrush still in the bathroom, ...

My brother's in heaven... he's not in pain ... he's not missing us ... he's worshiping our LORD who is in control of all things in Heaven and on earth, both life and death. It brings me comfort to know that.

I pray for my sister-in-law and all of those who love Jason and remain here on earth, because the reality is that we are in pain and we do miss him. Please pray for us ... may we cling to the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, that one day there will be a new Heaven and a new earth where no one in Him will be in pain and no one will be missed and all will worship Him.

Nap Transitions at 15 1/2 Months

Micah transitioned from 2 naps to 1 nap this past week. He will be 16 months on the 25th.

I started to notice his need for this transition when he was taking a really long time to go down for his second nap in the afternoon. Prior to this he'd take two 2 hour naps one from 10 - 12 and the other from 2 - 4.

I tried just giving him one nap right away, but then he was crabby that evening and sometimes even into the next day. So, I made his morning nap shorter since I wanted him to eventually take his long nap in the afternoon when Jackson was sleeping (although, I think he would have naturally taken a longer nap in the morning and a shorter nap in the afternoon).

For about a week or so he was taking one 45 minute to an hour nap in the morning from 11 - 12 (I'd have to wake him up from that nap otherwise he'd sleep longer and not take an afternoon nap) and a longer 2 hour nap in the afternoon from 2 - 4. He did that until he was having a hard time falling asleep or woke up early on a regular basis from his second nap. (There were even a few nights that it disrupted his night time sleep too, but that may have also been due to sickness/teething.)

Every once in awhile I'd skip his morning nap to see how he handled it. Once he could skip a morning nap without being cranky that night and/or the next day, we tried skipping the morning nap for two or three days in a row. That naturally happened on the weekends because 1. Saturdays can be pretty busy, and 2. he has been skipping his morning nap at church for several months now, so then we'd just skip Monday's morning nap as well.

It's been one full week with only one nap in the afternoon and although for a couple of them he only slept 2 hours (again I think that was due to sickness/teething) for the most part he is sleeping 3 hours for his afternoon nap, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Meta-sepatary

The Monarch butterfly has a migration spot every year at Pismo beach, so I took the boys to see them a couple of weekends ago. Here's my interview with Jackson on the life cycle of a butterfly.
(By the way, when he doesn't know how to say a big word he inserts "sepatary" at the end of it.)

Here are a few more pictures of the butterflies and Pismo beach:
Make sure you look very closely at the above picture because although at first glance it seems like there are only a hand full of butterflies there are many, many more.

15 Month Check Up

Weight: 23lbs (although he was pretty wiggly and I think he's closer to 24lbs) - 25%
Height: 32in - 75%
Head: 49cm - 90%

Mobility
Micah now walks everywhere and can get up and down the stairs with ease. He can also open and close doors and drawers. He's usually pretty persistent and determined when he wants something he can't have or do like turn on and off the T.V. or dig through my night stand drawer. As a result I have resorted to locking some doors from the outside (particularly bathroom doors) when I cannot devote my attention solely to him.

Feeding
Micah has at least 11 teeth now and handles table food very well. He has breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon, a snack at 4pm and supper at 5:30pm. Most of his meals now are finger foods with ocassional things I spoon feed him like applesauce and yogurt.

He prefers to feed himself and lets you know what his preferences are at meal time refusing to eat anything unless he gets what he wants. However, usually the old "out of sight, out of mind" trick seems to work well with him.

Sippy cups are no longer an issue and he drinks about 20 ounces or more of vitamin D milk in one day.

Sleeping
On average, Micah sleeps from 8:00pm - 7:30am. Sometimes he'll wake at 6:30am and go back to sleep and other times I have to wake him up at 8:30. Regardless, the earliest I'll get him out of his crib is 8am unless we need to be up early for a specific reason.

He's transitioning from two naps to one by taking one short nap in the morning usually at 11am that's about 45 minutes to an hour and one longer nap in the afternoon from 2 - 4pm. However, lately if he sleeps an hour in the morning he's less likely to take a long afternoon nap. There have been a couple of days that he has taken one long 3 hour nap, but then he's usually crabby the next day. My goal is to get him to take one long nap from 1 - 4pm every day.

Communicating
Micah communicates very well. He can sign: "milk," "all done," "more," "book," "nigh, nigh." He can say: "mommy," "dada," "da-din" (jackson), "cra-grr" (cracker), "nigh, nigh," "ah-me" (amen), "Bapa" (Papa), and he mimics and tries to say more and more every day.

He'll cry and or throw a mini-tantrum if he doesn't get what he wants, but it usually lasts seconds and as he gets older we will definitely begin to discipline the behavior, but right now I feel he's too young to understand when he's throwing a tantrum.

However, he gets disciplined on a pretty consistent basis when we know and MICAH knows that he is being directly disobedient. Usually that entails touching something he's not allowed to or going up the stairs when we tell him not to.

I've thought about "baby proofing" those sort of things to prevent having to battle with him. I think I would if I was convinced that he didn't understand what I expected from him, but it is SO CLEAR that he understands when he's disobedient. I've come to the conclusion that the battle is worth it now so that I don't have to fight a WAR months or years from now. Consistent boundaries bring a sense of security (especially to children) and Micah is testing those boundaries which is a good and natural thing for him to do.

Playing
Micah's favorite toys right now are anything that has buttons and makes noises and anything his big brother is playing with at the moment.


As of late he's also taken a liking to fleece blankets (which is what he sleeps with) and the other day insisted on carrying one around. I'm trying to put the kabosh on that one, but we'll see.

He also loves to hide in closets, forts, cupboards, etc. He can sit through whole books now, but Bible story time is still a struggle (especially when we're explaining the story to Jackson).

Micah ADORES his big brother and mimics him in just about everything that he does. (I'm secretly and publicly hoping that that will aid in future potty training, but we'll see).


Micah is a pretty active player and I now have to use the cry room in church (we do not have a nursery) during the sermons, but he'll sit through most of the singing.

Micah loves to play outside when we can and is very brave at the playground going up stairs and down slides without any fear or hesitation. I may have a dare devil on my hands.

Personality
Micah is quick to laugh and smile and even quicker to make someone else laugh and smile.

He's shy around strangers and will cry with a babysitter or at the doctor's office, but once he gets to know you he's a hoot. He's definitely a child that should make you worry if he's off playing by himself not making a peep (that usually means he's into something he's not supposed to). I think he's going to be my "sneaky" one. So far he's not a "people pleaser", but loves doing his own thing. He loves to cuddle unless he's really tired and then he'll insist on laying down in bed. His exictment and smile when you walk in the door makes you feel so loved.

I'm blessed to have you Micah! I love you SO much!

School

Why is this such a difficult and confusing decision for me? I guess it's a sign that I'm taking it seriously and wanting to make the right choice for my children ... right?

Anyway, Colin and I have talked about school a lot more this year than we ever have because Jackson has definitely begun to show interest in more structured learning and because we have several friends whose kids are starting school and/or making decisions about home school, public school or private school. We still haven't made an official decision and I realize that the decision might change a million times even after we think we've made it.

I feel like part of my lack of decision making is because we don't REALLY know where we'll be living when Jackson hits school age. Which, by the way, Colin and I do agree that we'd like to start Jackson in Kindergarten when he's six ... at least we've made that a final decision. Where we are will make a difference (in my mind) of how we decide to school.

Colin and I still have a lot to talk about as far as what kind of educational experience we want for our children and how socialization fits into that as well. We need to answer big lofty questions like: what do we want our children to get out of school?

Whatever we decide for our children's future education I'm also trying to live in the present and presently Jackson is HUNGRY for learning. So, we decided to start a curriculum called "Five in a Row."

"Five in A Row" is a literature based curriculum that takes one piece of children's literature per week and extracts different subjects each day.

For example, the first book we read was "The Story About Ping" by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese.

Our "school" time (which lasts about a half hour to an hour) Monday - Friday starts by reading the story of the week (I LOVE the idea of redundancy in teaching)and then we move on to a subject that is brought out in the story.

On Monday we studied Math and counted all the ducks in the book and practiced reading larger numbers.
Tuesday we studied Art and learned about different mediums and mixed primary colors to make secondary colors (I helped him draw the duck by the way, but he colored it).

Wednesday we studied Social Studies and talked about natural consequences and family relationships.
Thursday we studied Science and learned about buoyancy.


Friday we studied Geography and took a trip to China on YouTube.

You get the idea. It's been really fun for me and for Jackson and he begs to do "school" and will only call me "teacher" when we are. We've been doing "school" now since the middle of November.

The break we had with Thanksgiving and Christmas allowed me to see if Jackson was really interested in school or if it was just a phase ... he really does love to learn (surprise, surprise ... Colin and I are BOTH learners).

"Five in A Row" is really flexible and I really feel like it'll grow with Jackson until he's in the upper elementary school ages.

The only qualm I have with the curriculum is that the books can be hard to find in the library (at least our library) and I end up having to do inter-library-loans more often than I want to and our library doesn't have a smooth system for that. I recently went online and found a great website www.betterworldbooks.com and found most of the books on the book list for an average of $7.00, except the rare few that are out of print and are running for about $300.00 (I'll just skip those), but let me note that the proceeds go towards world literacy.

We're going to keep plugging away at "Five In A Row," but I'm going to remain flexible knowing that Jackson is only 3 1/2 years old. I'm excited about his love of learning! All the more reason to continue to keep prayerfully considering our education options for the future.