Birthday Cake on a Stick

Micah turned 2 years old today! We celebrated his birthday yesterday since Colin was home all day.

The day started out with birthday signs (made by Jackson and me) and decorations,





blueberry muffins with birthday candles and scrambled eggs (made by the boys) and pears (a few of Micah's favorites).



Then we opened presents and played until it was time to go to church.




We enjoyed a wonderful worship together as a family and then came home and had a quick lunch and long naps. After naps we all had cake pops!


Why I haven't heard of cake pops until now is still a wonder. It is SO much easier for a young child to eat and easy for Mommy to clean up afterwards. It helps with portion control and it's just plain fun to eat just about anything on a stick. It was my first attempt at making them and I think I'll have to make a new batch for the celebration we have with family on Novemeber 5th. If your adventurous and want to try them out and get lots of good decorating ideas you should check out the Bakerella website here. It's where I got the idea for the Mickey Mouse shaped cake pop.




After cake pops, Micah picked out a movie of his choice and we sat in front of the TV and ate chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, broccoli and smoothies (more of Micah's favorites) as a special birthday dinner treat.


That night as Colin and I were reflecting on the joys of the day he said, "I've come to realize that my parents probably got more enjoyment on my birthday than I did growing up." SO TRUE! What a blessing to be able to celebrate LIFE! May we never take it for granted.

P.S. Micah has his two year check up on Thursday, so I'll be sure to post another blog with his stats then.

"School" Part 2

A while back I wrote a blog entitled "School" laying out the fact that Colin and I haven't decided what we are going to do in regards to schooling for Jackson yet.

We still don't know.

Partly because we still don't know where we'll be living, but partly because we just haven't made up our minds.

Since my first post I was able to go to a homeschooling conference here in town. Here are a few things that I got out of the event:

1. We've got time! Jackson is FOUR! Most states don't require you to declare your intent for education until age 6. I think I was just feeling a little peer pressure watching friends and family send their kids (who are actually older than Jackson) off to school this fall.

2. We can make our educational decision one year at a time. If we choose to do homeschooling for the first year that doesn't mean we have to commit to it for the rest of Jackson's academic life. However, I've heard from several parents that it's much easier logistically to start homeschooling first and then move to public or private schooling because of the hoops the government requires you to jump through when you change (each state is different though).

3. Homeschooling is a lifestyle. It will affect our family as a whole ... perhaps not more than public or private school, but differently. It will be a lot of work on my part.

4. Homeschool communities are essential. Parent's swap tips, curriculum, set up co-teaching arrangements, group field trips, events, sports, etc. You name it, they do it. I'm not sure I'd even consider homeschooling if there is not a homeschool community where we will eventually live.

5. Every body's reasons for homeschooling are different and not all of them are because they want to "shelter" their kids from the world. I wanted to walk away from the conference with "my reason to homeschool" or even "my reason not to homeschool", but I didn't want to walk away on the fence or with someone else's reason for homeschooling. After a looooooong talk with my husband, I think we both concluded that our reason for homeschooling and what excites us most about homeschooling is being able to tailor our children's education to their strengths and weaknesses.

Like I said before and contrary to what it sounds like from the list above, we STILL have not decided officially what we'll be doing once Jackson turns 6 years old, but we've got a little time.

In the mean time I decided that I needed to do "School" this year with Jackson to see if I could handle having more structure in my days, weeks and months as the "teacher."

So, at the beginning of September we started the "Five In A Row" curriculum that I mentioned in my first blog. Only this time I am much more consistent and structured in what I'm doing for Jackson. It also means that I take weekly trips by myself to the library to load up on books for the week's lessons.

We've also started "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." Jackson has had a grasp on phonetics for a long time now, but has yet to have the confidence to just put the sounds together and start reading. We're only on lesson 8 of 100, but so far I can already see his confidence level growing in reading AND writing.

Anyway, here is what we do for "School" in a typical week. Note: "School" lasts about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how much I want to get accomplished and how quickly we can get Micah down for a nap in the afternoon.

Everyday: Calendar, Prayer, Weekly Bible Verse, Reading and Writing

Mondays: Review the Sunday School lesson from church.
Read the story for the week.
FIAR Christian Character and Bible Supplement

Tuesdays: Read the story for the week.
Social Studies

Wednesdays: Read the story for the week.
Art/Literature
Supplemental worksheets (optional)

Thursdays: Read the story for the week.
Math/Science

Fridays: Review/ Catch Up
Pbskids.org

Friday's are typically my days to clean the entire house, so we don't have "School" on those days. However, Jackson does get some time to play on the PBS Kids website and they have a lot of fun educational games on it that I'm comfortable with.

Here are a few pictures from the week we read through "The Rag Coat" by Lauren Mills



Jackson's "Quilt" he made during his art lesson. He LOVES to cut with scissors!



Pretending to be a "coal miner" in my closet during his science lesson on coal was one of his favorite lessons for this book.

Anyway, I know this was a long post and I know it may seem like I've dropped off the blogging planet, but I'm here! I have SO much I want to blog about and so little time ... isn't that just about every blogger's mantra?! ;)

Summer Vacation Photo Book 2010

Click here to view this photo book larger

Transitions

We've had a few transitions in our household over the last couple of months that I wanted to take note of.

Micah Night Lights

After we returned from our vacation to the Midwest, Micah had a rough time going down for naps and bed time. He would cry and cling to me almost as if he was scared. If Colin put him down he seemed to do a little better, but he'd still wake up early or in the night and cry until we settled him down.

Out of pure desperation one night (I think Colin was out of town for work) I put a night light in Micah's room thinking perhaps he was just getting to the age where he was scared of the dark. It didn't solve the problem immediately, but after a couple of days the crying and clinging stopped.

We don't have a timer on it like Jackson's. We'll probably start doing that once he's in a big boy bed which we'll be after we move to wherever we're going next ... that's another blog for another time. However, I do turn off the night light before I get him out of bed and turn it on when it's time to get into bed just so he gets used to the idea.

Jackson Shorter Naps

Lately Jackson has been taking FOREVER to go to sleep at night and it's not without being called into his room a MILLION times for water or a shadow or just one more hug.

Jackson has been a good napper for most of his life. He's 4 and he still takes a 2 hour nap every day. About a month or so ago I tried to cut his nap by an hour and that just made him weepy, so I stuck with the 2 hour nap. UNTIL this past week when he was taking longer to fall asleep.

This week I've cut his nap by 30 minutes by setting his night light to go off that much earlier. The first day he had a playdate and slept right through the night light going off (which is really rare) and woke up at his normal time. I guess he played hard. Today he woke up with the night light. We'll see how bedtime goes tonight.

Me Exercising During Pregnancy
I'm 9 weeks pregnant as of tomorrow. Before I became pregnant I was doing circuit training 4 days a week and doing cardio 1 day a week for about 45 minutes each workout.

Since I've become pregnant I've continued to circuit train for 3 days a week and cardio for 1 day a week for about 30 minutes each workout. I've noticed that my heart rate goes up pretty quickly and I lose my breath just as easily. It's kind of annoying actually, but only in the beginning of the workout.

There have been a few days that I opted to sleep in instead of work out and although it was probably the right choice I did notice a change in my mood and energy level.

I'm still "Shredding" but have taken the intensity down a notch especially during the cardio sections. Around 12 weeks I plan on modifying any abdominal workouts that are done on my back. I'm thinking I may need to find a prenatal workout DVD, so if anyone has any good suggestions let me know.

Fun Vacation Memories

I realize my blog can be overly practical at times and my last blog about vacation didn't mention any of the fun stuff we did. So here is a list of the fun memories from our family vacation in no particular order.

1. Playing on the beach every day with the kids.
2. Micah's excitement as lake waves reached his chin and he'd smile and say, "More!"
3. Sun bathing with the other moms as our children took long naps in the warm cabin.



4. Going running with those same moms after our kids went to bed.
5. Learning how to play "Hand and Foot."
6. Sneaking into the bedroom at 11:30 at night as 3 boys slept in nooks and crannies.
7. Finding those 3 boys playing when they were supposed to be napping in the bedroom.
8. Papa telling stories at midnight to help Jackson be brave during a big storm.
9. Taking Lilly and Jackson to their first evening movie "Despicable Me" in 3D.



10. Jackson shouting, "I wish Papa were here, he likes M&Ms" at the movies (my in-laws stayed home to watch the 4 younger kids).
11. Going out to eat for my mother-in-law's birthday and announcing that we are expecting our 3rd child in March.
12. Caravaning with my sister and her husband to WI.
13. Jackson shouting, "My mommy has a baby in her tummy" right when we arrived at the Door County cabin ... so much for timing.



14. My brother teaching me how to play "Texas Hold 'Em."
15. Playing dominoes with Becky, Lora and Jackson.
16. The AMAZING burgers and steaks Brian and Lora made.
17. Getting alone time with my sister.
18. Learning how to make "Cloud Nines" (chocolate chip cookies, Reece's Peanut Butter Cup and roasted marshmallow) over a fire pit.
19. Playing "BS" with Taryn, Caitlin, Diana and my dad (turns out he's not very good at it).



20. Witnessing Caitlin and Taryn becoming teenagers.
21. Seeing Ericka with the rest of the family even though my brother wasn't there.
22. Bible Story times as a large family.



23. Watching my two boys bond with other family members!!

There really were so many good memories to mention them all in this blog. I will truly treasure this trip for a life time.

Vacation Notes

We just got back from a lengthy vacation to the Midwest and I wanted to be sure to take note of the things that I'd do for next time.

For the first leg of our trip we flew out of Ontario (which was a lot less hecktick than LAX) and flew into Omaha and drove to Spirit Lake all in one day. We didn't actually arrive at the cabin until around midnight, but it felt like ten o'clock to us. We stayed there for one week with the rest of the Doughan families arriving about a day and a half after we arrived. We had a total of 8 adults and 6 kids (under the age of 5) in a small two bedroom cabin.

At the end of the week we drove 4 hours and stayed in a hotel and then the next morning drove another 4 hours to a cabin in Door County. We were there for only a weekend and the adults out numbered the children almost 4 to 1 which was a nice change of pace. After a short weekend we drove 3 1/4 hours to my dad's and spent about two days there.

Overall, (if you include the night we spent at my grandparents' in LA) our trip spanned 14 days and we had about 32 hours in an airplane or a car.

If you know me or spoke to me or read my facebook at all before we left you'd know that I was a little stressed about the possibility of the craziness that could have arose from the long trip we had planned. I truly tried to give my worries to the Lord and enjoy each and every moment I had with family and by God's grace the vacation was a lot less challenging than I thought it would be.

For next time I would:

1. Guard our schedules before and after the trip to make sure we get plenty of sleep and eat healthy well balanced meals. This helped us all have much happier hearts and also made sure our immune systems were in shape.

I was nervous that my boys would get sick like they usually do when traveling on airplanes, but I think it helped that we weren't traveling during cold and flu season.

Arriving at the cabin a day or so before the rest of the family helped with this too. The boys were able to get a good night's sleep and get adjusted to the two hour time change before they gained some roommates/playmates at night time.

2. Be okay with snacking while we travel and bring healthy options for snacks so we don't fill up on junk (airport security had no problems letting me bring pre-sliced apples and carrots on the plane).

The time zone changes, pressure changes in airplanes, motion sickness, being out of routine, etc. all lend to snacking. I'm okay with it the days we travel all day long, but I try to quickly get us back on regularly scheduled meals as fast as possible.

3. If we have to eat out make sure we choose healthy options because vacations tend to lend themselves to having lots of "treats" be that chocolate brownies or hot dogs and potato chips. Subway was a lifesaver for us many times on this trip.

4. Be okay with watching more DVDs than normal in order to give the kids a little down time after a long day of play and to get through long car rides. Our portable DVD player came in VERY handy.

Note: I did bring some new toys and even wrapped them so the boys could open them and play with them in the car, but they lost interest in them very quickly.

5. Drive a bigger vehicle if possible for long road trips. We ended up renting a Ford Flex (about a mini-van size) and I put Micah in the third row behind Jackson in the second row on the right side of car so that I could reach both of them easily without making myself get motion sickness (which can happen to me pretty easily).

As a result we all got a few naps in in the car (with the exception of Colin who drove), but I'll know for next time not to rely on those naps because they may or may not happen.

6. White noise is a MUST! The Spirit Lake cabin had lots of fans running and even though most of the kids were sleeping in the same room with each other I think the fans really helped them stay asleep even if someone woke up crying.

It was an adventure when we had a huge thunder storm the first night (100 mph wind) and we lost power for 24 hours. Luckily our sound spa can run off of batteries and my sister-in-law's dad was able to bring over a generator so we could run the fridge.

7. 14 days is LOOOOOOOOOONG vacation for little kids. By about day 10 Micah was having random melt downs every day and Jackson was more irritable ... to be honest, so was I.

I loved having that much time with family, but I may either have to mentally prepare myself for that again or cut the trip by about 2 - 3 days for my sanity. We may have to see my dad first next time though since he had the "burnt out end of the trip" this time around. :)

8. Make sure to give our family about 3 - 5 days AFTER our vacation to fully adjust back to our normal routines. Time zone changes are hard and Micah's been having some big issues with napping since we've been home.

However, I must say that even though it seems anal and can be a frenzy to do a good house cleaning before we left on a long trip it was a huge sigh of relief to come home to.

We had SUCH a good time on our trip!!! It was so good to see everyone especially the Fanning side in light of the past years' events. It may sound crazy to me know, but I really am hoping to make this more of an annual event.


Spirit Lake, IA


The one-year-olds! These three boys are each 4 months apart in age starting with Micah then Orin and then Tucker.




The two oldest cousins ... 4 years old and also 4 months apart in age.



Micah making "soup" with sand and lake water.






Jackson having some bonding time with Great-Grandma Heyer.




Door County, WI








Union Grove, WI


BOYS! Jackson loved to wrestle and play with his older cousins.





I think Micah's favorite part of the trip was Gomez ... my dad's dog.




Grampa Fanning giving the boys fresh blueberries and raspberries from his garden.

Jackson's Birthday Buddy

This post is about a month overdue, but it's been a busy month (translation: don't be surprised if you see me posting multiple blogs over the next couple of days to catch up).

Jackson's best friend here in California is two weeks younger than him and last year they had a joint birthday party together. Little did we know at the time that we'd be here for another birthday party this year and of course we wanted to do a joint one together again.












Those two boys are best buds! We had a great turn out for the party, but the boys are such best buds that they would have been perfectly content if it was just the two of them.

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!