15 month and 3 year checkups

I saved myself a trip to the pediatrician by booking Lucas' 15 month and Caleb's 3 year appointment at the same time. Caleb was first and he stood up on the scale and got weighed and measured. He weighed 33 pounds and is 38.5 inches tall. He then had his first vision test. The nurse showed him a bunch of pictures to see which ones he knew - boat, heart, moon, circle. There was a tricky one because it clearly was a picture of a flag and when Jamie told her he doesn't know what that one is, she replied, "he doesn't know a square?" Well yes he does know what a square is but the picture was a square shaped flag. Kind of confusing if you ask me. I'm guessing the chart was 20 feet away and the nurse pointed to the pictures and he had to say what it was. Caleb being Caleb, he would whisper what the picture was and Jamie would tell the nurse what he said. She asked him to speak louder so she could hear him. Maybe she thought we look like we would cheat and give the answers. Ha! So the results came in and he has 20/40 vision. Our doctor asked if we were concerned but we weren't. We feel like he could see just fine and doesn't squint. Caleb had to get one shot which he wasn't thrilled about. He complained for a long time that his arm hurt.

Caleb getting weighed


Lucas was second and measured 31 inches and 21 pounds and 11 ounces. Yay! He finally went up the growth chart instead of going down. I almost could've bet on that since he eats twice MY body weight. The doc asked about his eating and sleeping. We told her he used to be a fabulous sleeper but the past few days his naps have been all over the place. She joked and asked if WE were ready for him to go down to one nap (ummmm that would be a NO) but it sounds like he might be. ugh! We did tell her that eats (and poops) ALL THE TIME. She thought that was great. She asked if he has said any words but we could only say with confidence - ball, banana, and dada (ggrrr!) She asked if he understood what we were saying to him and we felt pretty confident about that. I have asked him to put clothes in the laundry, dirty diapers in the garbage, to stand, sit in my lap, so that was good. The doctor mentioned she remembered Caleb was pretty verbal early on and between 15-18 months there can be a language explosion. She just said to keep reading to him and it'll happen. HA! Well that explains everything... I hate to admit this but I probably read to Caleb waaayy more than I read to Lucas. Poor second child syndrome. My only consolation... I am a second child and I turned out ok :)

Lucas getting weighed

15 month Lucas

Lucas can be a pretty demanding kid especially when it comes to food. He will eat just about anything. Sometimes when I put him in his high chair, he will point to the tray as if to say "I want my food here, right now". He's beginning to say a few words like ball, nana (ie banana), and I think he can say bye bye. He has no problems running off away from me. And it doesn't appear he has stranger danger because he immediately went in the pool with the swimming instructor. He's getting faster and faster at walking. He was an awesome napper until the day he turned 15 months and he suddenly is having a hard time going down for his morning nap. He is trying hard to feed himself with a fork or spoon but it's usually a giant mess so I don't let him do it often. He has the best laugh and I love tickling him just so I can hear it. It appears he is fearless if he was tall enough he would ride on a kiddie roller coaster. He does not like his stroller and being strapped in it for too long.

I could probably go on and on but to sum it up our baby Lucas is growing way toooo fast!

3 year old Q&A

I got this cool idea from the GVZs. Basically it's a list of questions to ask your child every year around their birthday.

I thought it would be easier to video the Q&A session rather than try to write everything down. (please excuse the renovation noise in the background)



Here is some of the questions with my commentary.
What is your favorite food? - I thought he would say Mac and Cheese or Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets.
What is your favorite toy? - Imagine my shock when he didn't immediately say train.
Who is your best friend? - I was curious to see if he would mention any of the kids from preschool. But I loved his response!
What is your favorite song? - 'Jumpin Josie' is from Music Together class.
What is your favorite TV show? - Ni Hao Kai Lan. Oh how I wished they made more episodes of this show. I think we've watched each episode a dozen times.

I was surprised at some of his answers and his willingness to be videotaped while I asked them all. He is becoming such a little person with his own thoughts and opinions. Having a 3 year old is fun.

First Rule of Little Brothers

I found this cute book called The First Rule of Little Brothers. It basically is about two brothers and the little brother just wants to copy and do whatever the big brother is doing. I'm sure that's the case for any older/younger sibling and not just brothers but it's nice to have a book about two brothers to read to my boys.

Today, Caleb was jumping around our bedroom. I noticed that Lucas was watching him and trying to imitate him. He is too young to jump but he would bend his knees like he was going to jump and raise his arms. I thought it was really cute and made me think that they are bonding as brothers. In the morning time Caleb usually is the one who wakes me up and he'll say, "Let's get Lucas". A lot of times when I put Lucas down for a nap or bedtime Caleb wants to help read a story.

I love watching them interact. In the bath they fight over the same toys and splash each other (and me!). Caleb likes to wrestle around with Lucas. Sometimes Lucas tolerates it but sometimes Caleb can be a little rough and Lucas will run crying to me. Of course not every interaction is loving. There's a lot of pushing each other. If Lucas is on my lap, Caleb wants to sit on it too. At least he's starting to ask if I can move Lucas to one knee so he can share. And there's been a few times where the answer to "What happened?" begins with "I pushed Lucas..." I guess you just need to take the good with the bad.

On Wednesday he ate....

My hungry little caterpillar strikes again. I got some plums in my Farm Fresh to You box this week. I cut one up and gave some to Lucas. He loved it and wanted more. He was in my arms when I grabbed another plum. He got impatient so I handed it to him and he immediately started eating it. He was eating it so well that he actually got to the seed and spat it out (Thank God!) instead of choking on it. After that I took the plum away and cut it up.

First Words?

Nowadays I can tell that Lucas is starting to understand some words. He definitely is trying to communicate by grunting. Most of the time it's because he wants some type of food. I didn't push the baby sign language like I did with Caleb but sometimes I think he signs 'milk'. I could've sworn tonight during his bath he said "Mommy" but it could just be wishful hearing.

Ball


Banana

Caleb's Train-tastic Birthday

We decided to hold Caleb's train themed birthday party at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos because it has a steam train and carousel.



I reserved a picnic area that I felt was equal distance from the playground and the train ride. Unfortunately, the area was not shaded and I did not get canopies. The weather wasn't terribly hot but when you're in the sun for a long period it doesn't matter what the temperature is - it gets hot.

It was a pretty casual birthday party. We got platters of deli meat, cheese, and rolls, chips, and fruit salad. When kids arrived I gave out tickets for the train and carousel. They came back when they got hungry and then we had birthday cake. I had another bad mommy moment when I realized that I forgot to get a BIRTHDAY CANDLE! Oh dear me! By now Caleb knows the drill when it comes to birthday cakes. You sing, you blow out the candle, and you get a piece of cake. Jamie jokingly suggested I visit another birthday party and ask if they had any extra candles. I was tempted but the cake was already out and people were gathering. My only consolation was the night before on his actual birthday I did have a cake AND birthday candles that he got to blow out.

A rare family picture


He did go on the train twice but I wasn't there :(

On the carousel


Birthday cake!


Singing


Cake cutting

The things you'll do...

When we asked Caleb what kind of birthday party it was no surprise that he said "TRAIN!" I was thinking about what kind of decorations I could have and got inspired to build a cardboard train.

The box that will become the cab of the train


The cab


The first attempt at the engine. The box was too small and not proportionate to the cab.


The cab and the engine


Caleb checking out the progress


Spray painting


Should've worn gloves while spray painting


The chimney


Mixing paint


Gray face


Thomas!


The original idea was to put the train over our Radio Flyer wagon so kids can take a ride but due to stability issues that idea had to be scrapped. Plus I couldn't put the Thomas face in the front because of the wagon handle.


So wheels had to be added


I asked Caleb what number could I put on the train. He said 1 since Thomas is number 1. Obviously my choice was to put the number 3. Luckily we made a compromise. I added a C on the top. I hope Caleb doesn't mind.




Finally figured out a way to attach Thomas' round head to a rectangle box. It's not pretty since I used blue duct tape but hey... it's the night before his party and almost 11pm.

Caleb is 3!!!

Me: How old are you?
Caleb: THREE!


We took Caleb to Happy Hollow for his birthday. It was an easy trip down to San Jose, a pretty warm day and not crowded. He was into watching the roller coaster but not into going on it. (On the other hand, Lucas headed to the entrance and I had to chase him down.) It was still an enjoyable time but towards the end he got really whiny. I guess the park tired him out because he was falling asleep on the way home.





After his nap, we hung out at home. My sister and nieces came by for a pizza dinner and birthday cake. Caleb loved blowing out the candles on his cake**.


**Don't make fun of the awful looking cake. I consulted Chef Google and it seemed really simple. Unfortunately I didn't plan well and didn't have time to decorate it. But the good thing is, I asked Caleb what he thought it was and he responded with "TRAIN!" Given that he thinks that all things that are in a line is a train, I asked my niece and she agreed. Having Caleb think I made him a train cake is all that matters to me. 'A' for effort right?

Caleb the sculptor

Caleb's works of art

Choices

We try to give Caleb choices so he feels like he has some control and to avoid the constant "no" that toddlers say. There are times when I give Caleb a choice like "Do you want bananas or mangoes" and he'll respond with "cookies" and I'll reply, "No, that's not a choice... your choices are bananas or mangoes." I'm lucky that I usually don't get too much of a fight or worse a tantrum. But gosh it's still a constant struggle to always give him choices in a way where I still get him to do what I want. And I'm sure I'm not the only mom who constantly wonders if their kids listen to them.

Today I learned Caleb really does listen.

I gave Caleb a cheese stick as a snack.
Me: Can I have a bite?
Caleb (after thinking long and hard): No.
Me: Can I have a bite please?
Caleb: Do you want an orange or white cheese stick?
Me: I just want one bite of yours
Caleb: That's not a choice. Do you want an orange or white cheese stick?
Me: Um okay, forget it.