August 31, 2007

The Parents as Teachers people came yesterday and I really like them a lot. The lady who will be coming once a month is Jackie and she has been doing this for ten years. They bring lots of information and fun things to do and they will always bring one fun activity to do with us while they are here. She told me about several of the activities and they sound like a lot of fun (one of them was the shaving cream on the table thing). I think the boys will love this and it will give us something to look forward to.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier post or not but we went back to the dermatologist to have the mole on Ben's face checked again. It had been three months and they wanted to see if it had changed at all. It has not. We were told that the experts are in disagreement about the approach for this type of mole, as to whether it could eventually become cancerous or not and whether it should be removed or not. The one thing that they all agree on is that removing it as early as possible will leave less of a scar than removing it later in life. After listening to the discussion between the dermatologist and my husband (who is a doctor), it sounds to me as if we are most likely going to have it removed. We are going to meet with a plastic surgeon to discuss it sometime soon but not sure when yet. I think the only question remaining is probably whether we will have it done by a regular plastic surgeon here or whether we will go to OKC and have it done by a pediatric plastic surgeon. If we do have it removed, it will be an outpatient kind of thing, where Ben does not have to stay overnight in a hospital, which is good.

We went outside to play again this morning and it was the most pleasant morning we have had in a long time. It was so cool and there was a very light breeze, very nice.

Two of the things they really like these days are the bean box and playing with the blocks. They ask about the bean box several times a day and Nick now calls the sandbox the bean box too, which is funny. I tell him it is a sandbox and he still calls it a bean box. They love for me to build a tower from the wooden blocks and let them knock it down...over and over and over again. Sometimes they are really good about waiting and letting me build it real tall but most of the time they knock it down before it gets very high. Nick will sometimes knock it down when I am just starting and Ben will get upset because he wants it to be bigger.

The boys can both now climb up into their booster chairs at the table and fasten the buckle all by themselves. Sometimes they will clap and cheer when they are finished, especially Ben. It is very cute to watch.

One of Nick's favorite things to say right now is "knock knock". The funny thing is that I only said this to him once, as I was knocking on a door that he had closed between us and he picked it up right away. He will knock on anything and everything and say "knock knock". My favorite thing to hear them both say though is still "umbrella". It is sooo funny to watch and listen to them say this word.

August 30, 2007

Do you have certain buttons that, when pushed by your children, will really get you going...and they know it??  One of my children loves to throw things on the floor. He will pick up something or, more likely, many somethings, and deliberately throw them on the floor, for no reason whatsoever. Sometimes, when I am changing his diaper, he will grab anything nearby and throw it on the floor. He will go over to one of the toy baskets, pick up a toy on top, throw it on the floor and then walk away, looking for another toy that interests him, or the next thing to add to the pile on the floor. I think this child is really good at finding my buttons and sometimes enjoys pushing them...sometimes while looking right at me, with a smile on his face.  It is such a wonderful thing that the good Lord made them so cute:)!!

August 29, 2007

We have been enjoying some outside time. The boys love their swingset and will let me push them until my arms fall off, which can be very startling to a almost two year old:). They love the slide and the little teeter totter...and their sandbox and, mostly, playing in water. Nick especially loves playing in water. Anytime we go outside, I ALWAYS bring towels, even when they are just wearing their normal play clothes. And, we ALWAYS need the towels.

The boys are spending more and more time playing together and making each other laugh, which is fun to watch. I have also noticed that they spend more time on an activity and less time bouncing around from one thing to another. They have recently started roughhousing, which I have mixed feelings about. They think it is hysterical but I'm not so sure. It is cute to watch them have fun and laugh so much but Nick definitely has the advantage and tends to push Ben back (they play on the couch so it is a soft landing) or get on top of him. Ben thinks it is funny, for now. I have some horrific memories of my three brothers "roughhousing" and really being kind of mean to each other and I don't want my sons doing that.

Nick is coming down with a cold (yes, we were back in church on Sunday:). So I'm not sure how he will be feeling today, since they are still sleeping.

I hear banging on cribs now, so the kiddos are up and ready to start their day:).

August 28, 2007

Getting ready for potting training!!  I bought a potty chair and one of the small seats that goes on top of the toilet seat. I bought two books for toddlers about learning to use the potty. I bought that cute, animated DVD and one of the books I got goes along with it. I also got some training pants, some cute big boy pants and some double purpose plastic / training pants.

The boys enjoyed the DVD the most and they have watched it several times. They love the potty song, which is played while they show lots of cute pictures of toddlers running around and playing with a potty chair. They enjoyed playing with the potty chair, sitting on it and taking it apart. They loved one of the books. It has a button that, when pushed, plays the sound of a toilet being flushed and then little kids laughing. Unfortunately, it is extremely LOUD. For some reason, it didn't sound that loud at the store. The boys do not care anything about looking at the pages of this book. They just want to press the button over and over and over again. So, for now (until I can figure out how to break the button), that book is in the top of one of our cabinets:).

I knew it was most likely too soon but today I decided to put them both on the potty and see how they did. Ben wanted absolutely no part of it, so that was the end of that. Nick wanted no part of the potty chair, but is very excited to get to sit on the big potty, mostly because he likes tearing toilet paper into little bitty pieces and putting them in the toilet and he also likes flushing the toilet over and over again. I let him sit there several times today because I thought it was good practice.  He seemed interested and I figured at least he is getting some practice on the routine (washing hands after, etc.).

After he finished sitting on the potty (with no results, other than some wasted toilet paper and water) I put him in the double purpose plastic/training pants, thinking that he might feel the wetness and want to go sit on the potty again. He peed in them right away, although he gave no indication of this. Soon after, he wanted to sit on the potty again (which is how I knew he peed in them right away), so I let him and then put him in a pair of cotton training pants with another pair of the double purpose plastic/training pants on top of them (thinking that maybe he would now feel the wetness). Nope. Didn't even notice the wetness and, when I asked him if he was wet, shook his head no, even though I knew he was.

My conclusion is that I am definitely not ready for this and am really dreading the time when I must do this. I don't think they are ready either....well, Ben is definitely not ready, which I pretty much already knew. Nick might be, if I really wanted to work with him on it. I think I would rather wait until he is more obviously ready though....mostly because I am just not ready...and I think if I wait longer, it might be easier and faster.

I am definitely going to need to do some reading about this in order to be more prepared. Oh how I dread this. (Can you tell I hate messes?)

August 24, 2007

This morning the boys and I got outside. I pushed them on their swings for quite a while, until my arms were too tired to continue. They played on the slide for a while. They are pretty good at the slide now and can even climb up the slide these days. They played in their sandbox for quite a while. I even had time to weed an entire flower bed that was completely covered with weeds, while they played.

We are suppose to get some rain today and it has been cloudy all morning. I love it! It was 78 degrees when we were outside this morning. Although it was a bit humid, it was still somewhat breezy and it felt so wonderful.

August 23, 2007

I took the boys to the park on Tuesday and they had a great time. They are really into climbing now and they like the slides. They especially enjoy swinging and I was getting tired of pushing them both by the time we left. I definitely need to start working out again. I am thinking about it:).

They continue to eat like there is no tomorrow. They are such good, healthy eaters. I am constantly amazed. They are also saying more and more words every day. Today I was teaching them about opposites, such as up and down, big and small, etc. I can tell that Nick is trying to figure out the big, smaller, smallest thing lately because he is very into trying to stack the stacking cups in the right order.

August 21, 2007

I took a few pictures this morning and, when I uploaded them to my laptop, I had a surprise.  My husband had taken a few pictures one evening, while he was playing with the boys and I was taking a break in the other room. I thought this was especially cute, with the boys "reading" their Reader's Digest and Ben wearing the snow boots.





I have not seen any temper tantrums from Nick for a while now, which is wonderful. However, now it is Ben's turn. I think he learned a lot from watching Nick:). He can throw quite a fit these days and anything and everything seems to set him off.  Yesterday Ben fell down and busted his bottom lip so he has a fat lip today that looks very sore.

 

One thing I started doing a few weeks ago that the boys love is to keep a couple of sippy cups full of ice water on the kitchen island, next to their little learning tower. They get so excited when they see me preparing their ice water and they climb up on their tower many times a day and drink their water.

Both boys have now learned how to take off their bibs, which I find very annoying because they do it before they are finished eating.






Nick has been trying to learn to wink. It's quite funny to watch him try.








I almost had a big "uh oh", as I got locked out of the house this morning. I went into the garage to look for the two smallest cups that go with our stacking cups. We have not seen them since Ben took them with him in the car one day. I decided to go back into the house to get a flashlight and found that the boys had locked me out while they were playing with the door.  I kept telling them to open the door, while trying to turn the knob, and eventually they finally got it open, thank goodness. I let out a big "whew!" on that one. I could just picture myself, shelping around to the neighbors house trying to find someone home, wearing my husbands huge house shoes and looking as if I just crawled out of bed, while the boys were alone and crying in the house. Needless to say, I learned a big lesson and will always take keys with me in the future.






The boys both like to try to put Mr. Potato Head's glasses on.

August 20, 2007

The dad was at a men's retreat this weekend so it was just me and the boys.  Saturday morning, the boys and I got around a bit earlier than normal and were able to enjoy some time outside before it got too hot. They played in their sandbox while I did some weeding of the flowerbeds. Then they just enjoyed some playtime, running around in the yard and playing with the hose. They were both soaked when we came in so I threw their clothes in the dryer while they had their snack. It was a fun morning for all of us and I felt better that we were able to get outside for a little while, although I was dragging a bit because I had not slept well that night. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful. The boys were happy when daddy got home. I was happy too and I slept much better that night.

We decided to go visiting on Sunday. We surprised my grandmother at the hospital and she was especially happy to get to see the boys. They were so well behaved too. We did not stay too long though because she had been sitting up in a chair for a while and, by the time they got her back in her bed, she was very tired.

Our next stop was at my mom's house. She is so cute. She had cleaned off her coffee table, which usually has lots of pictures and pretty things on it, and she had put out two good size tubs and each contained lots of bowls, spoons, spatulas, measuring cups, etc. for the boys to play with. They really enjoyed it a lot. My sister came over and played with them too.  The dad stayed busy doing some things around my mom's house for her:).  He is so sweet.

We finally got some rain, yay!!, and it cooled down considerably yesterday. It was so nice and I just loved seeing all of the clouds. We really needed that. We had fun running our errands in the rain yesterday morning, before we went visiting. It wasn't raining hard, just sprinkling at the time, but it was also windy and we all enjoyed being out in it. It just felt so good. What a relief, after all of the hot, hot days we have had recently.

August 16, 2007

Ben, trying to put his pajamas on. The boys were having so much fun playing with each other and with these pajamas. They were cracking me up.














Playing tug of war with some of the pajamas. Up until this day, Nick would be trying to put the pajamas on and Ben would climb up next to him, grab any pajamas he could reach and promptly throw them in the floor. This was the first time Ben tried to put them on. They were having a pretty fun time together in this picture.







Our first meal where we were all at the table together. The boys love sitting at the table with us. When they are eating their snack or lunch, they love it when I sit down next to them at the table. We were having roasted chicken, baked potatoes and green beans on this evening.

August 15, 2007

Yesterday I took the boys out for a quick trip to Babies-R-Us to buy them each a booster seat. I was really tired of the high chairs and how much room they took up in the kitchen and I had been looking forward to having the boys sit at the table with us for a while now. I knew they would love it and they do. They obviously feel like such big boys now and my husband and I both really love having them sit at the table with us. They love using forks and spoons and will try to use them to eat everything, which is sometimes kind of funny. Yesterday evening, they wanted big people forks, instead of their little ones, so I got them each a salad fork and they really liked that a lot.

Another notable event that happened yesterday. When I got the boys up from their nap, Nick pointed to his bottom and said "poopy" again. This is the second time this has happened so it seems he is moving in the right direction. Yesterday the boys were having fun putting diapers on their teddy bears (actually, I put them on, repeatedly, and they took them off, repeatedly). I also gave them each an old bottle so they could "feed their baby". They tried it once or twice but, overall, they weren't too interested in feeding their teddy bears.

 It is too hot to be outside for any length of time so we are just staying in and playing. I am enjoying spending time watching them play and reading to them a lot. They will now pat a chair and say "chair" or "sit" when they want me to sit down so they can get in my lap and read or just show me something. They also do it while they are eating, because they like for me to sit with them while they eat. It is very cute.

They are talking so much these days. The Sooner Start lady was here yesterday. She is only coming once a month now and she could not believe how much they had changed. She thought Ben looked like he had grown a lot and she thought both boys were talking a lot and their pronunciation was better than when she was here last, which was nice to hear.

Ben's birthday is rapidly approaching, although I just realized the other day that we will be in Arizona for his birthday. So we will plan an early birthday party for him before we leave.

August 14, 2007

Nick is now 21 months old and came home from Russia at 14 months old, so he has been home 7 months now.

Nick is definitely an extrovert. He loves to be with people.  Lately he has started saying, in a questioning tone "brother?, brother?", when he has lost track of where his brother went off to. As soon as I tell him where brother went, he is off to join him, always running, always in a hurry. It is really cute. Sometimes Ben will be sitting on the couch or in a chair, looking at a book and Nick will get his own book and climb up right next to Ben and sit next to him, also looking at his book. They are really cute together and they clearly enjoy each other a lot. I have also noticed that they have no sense of personal space with each other. One will move in close and start examining something the other is doing and they usually just take it in stride, unless someone tries to take the other's toy.



Nick is a clever little boy, when it comes to getting what he wants with Ben.  If he wants something Ben is playing with, Nick will bring another toy or book, hand it to Ben and promptly take the toy or book that Ben was playing with. Most of the time, Ben is interested in the new toy or book and Nick will get away with this. It is very amusing to watch. Nick knows exactly what he wants and what to do to get it. Sometimes this doesn't work and Nick is not happy when he has to find another toy to play with and leave Ben alone.

Nick is a normally a very happy-go-lucky boy, although he is probably more volatile than Ben with his emotions.  I would say he has higher highs and lower lows than Ben and tends to display more anger if things don't go his way. He is also a very compassionate child and does not like to hear Ben cry. If Ben is crying while having a diaper change or sitting on the little time-out stool, Nick will quickly go find a toy and bring it to Ben, trying to cheer him up. It is very sweet to watch and Nick is obviously pleased if the toy ends Ben's unhappiness.

Once, the boys were in their cribs and had not been awake very long. I was listening to them on the monitor, while finishing up something I was doing. I heard Ben start his whining kind of fake cry and then I heard Nick saying "boo, boo", as if he was playing peek-a-boo with Ben, trying to cheer him up. Ben stopped his whining and was laughing before I went in to get them.

Nick is a singer. He loves to sing and I will frequently hear him singing a little song as he goes about his playing or even on the baby monitor, after he has awakened in his crib. Lately he has been singing the "clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere; clean up, clean up, everybody do your share" song. He only sings the "clean up, clean up" part but he has the tune right and I can understand the words. I think sometimes he just makes up the songs. They are all sweet to my ears. I love to hear his little voice.




Nick is not enthused about "time to eat" if he is busy playing with a toy, although he does get excited about being able to pick out his own yogurt and get it from the fridge himself. Sometimes, when he gets downstairs in the mornings, he will immediately head to the kitchen and say "eat?, eat?",  so he does get excited about eating when he is hungry and not too busy playing. I normally cut his food into bigger bites, hoping to get him to eat a little more. He is right around the 25th percentile on the height to weight ratio, which is much better than he was when he left the orphanage. He is very active so he burns it off quickly. He is so fast, it is hard to catch him when he decides to run from me (we work on this so that, hopefully, this doesn't happen often and it has never happened out in public, thankfully).





Nick is very athletic and loves to do anything physical. He loves to play with balls, throwing and kicking them, and he loves to climb anything and everything. There is no doubt in my mind that, when he gets tall enough, he will be climbing out of his crib. Fortunately that is not happening yet. He plays hard and he falls asleep fast, even in his car seat.

Nick is definitely a child who loves life and embraces anything new that looks like fun. Nick loves to give kisses and hugs, although they are usually quick because he has things to do and places to go. He is one busy little boy and he has also definitely stolen my heart.

August 13, 2007

Ben is now 22.5 months old.  He came home from Russia when he was 15.5 months old, so he has been home now for 7 months.

 



Ben is a happy little guy and always has a smile for me when I go in to get him from his crib, after he has awakened from a nap or in the morning. He will sometimes wake up with some of that fake sounding crying and may even be doing it just as I am approaching his room. But, as soon as I open the door to his room and our eyes meet, he ALWAYS has a huge smile for me. It is as predictable as the sun rising and I love it.







 


Ben is a pretty good natured little boy, although he does have his moments.  He likes being picked up and will raise his arms frequently, asking to be picked up.  If he is picked up in a timely manner, he will be the happiest little guy. If you are too busy at that exact moment and he has to wait a bit, he most likely will not be a very happy little guy and will start crying...not every time but most times. His latest form of temper tantrum includes a whine/cry with an immediate throw-his-little-self-back-on-his-bottom (from a standing position) with a look at you, as if to ask "and just what are you going to do about that??".




 

Ben loves books and loves to sit in a lap and have books read to him, over and over again. There are times when I have been working in the kitchen and have looked up to see him sitting on the floor or in a chair, looking through some of his books and he would stay that way for a pretty long time, for his age. He will get pretty impatient and whiny if he climbs in your lap with a book and you are talking or something and not paying attention. He wants his book read pronto; no talking to others in between readings!







I love to sit and watch him, as he walks around and plays with toys.  He has the cutest looks on this face. He is a very determine little guy and does not yet quite get the concept of taking turns or "he had it first; you need to find another toy". These types of things frustrate him. He has the cutest little gait in his step, both when walking and running. Every time I take the time to just sit and watch him, I always end up smiling.

Ben loves to eat. I will always ask the boys if they are ready to eat or if they are hungry, when it is time for snack or meal time. Ben immediately takes off towards the kitchen, without fail. I've never seen him turn down or ignore a snack or meal opportunity. He loves loves loves fruits and veggies of any kind, any that we have tried so far anyway. He is always a very good eater. The biggest clue that he is getting sick is if he is not eating, since that is the only time we have ever seen this with him.

 




Ben is also a snuggler.  He loves to be held and loves to be snuggled and kissed. He will frequently crawl into my lap and put his little head on my shoulder, ready for his snuggle. How long he stays depends on how tired he is. It is very easy to evoke a smile from Ben. A kiss and a snuggle, a tickle, a little teasing or just looking at him and giving him a big smile and you will very likely be rewarded with a quick, beautiful smile. He has a very engaging smile, this one. He has most definitely stolen my heart.

August 11, 2007

I made a bean box for the boys yesterday and it is definitely a big hit. They love it1 The adults find it irresistable too:).

I have also been letting them play in the water at the kitchen sink, which they love. I put towels on the floor to catch the splashes. I would rather clean up beans than water but they really love playing in the water too.








The bean box has a really nice lid and the handles of the box close up around the lid to hold it on. It seems to be just the perfect size for two little boys.













Here is a funny close up of Nick from yesterday. Hasn't he changed so much in the past 6 months?
















Here is Ben, playing in the bean box yesterday. He tends to get bored with it faster than Nick but he enjoys it for a while.


Both boys are so lovable and are offering lots of affection unprompted these days. It is so sweet and heart warming. They both love music so we listen to music every day. One of them always remembers to ask for it to be turned on.





Yesterday Ben and Nick both had to go for more shots. Ben had two and Nick had one. It is harder now because they are starting to remember the room where they get the shots and the lady who gives them. Nick was pretty upset even before he got his shot. He knew what was coming. Ben did too but not until just before. Ben is now caught up and does not have to have any more shots until 2009. Nick has to go back in September for two more and then he will also be caught up. I really hate shot days.

August 9, 2007

I was looking back through some of the first pics we took, after the boys came home, and I was just so surprised at how much the boys have changed in 6 months. I'm thinking I didn't do our 6-month-home post justice and you just have to see the comparison of these pics.


These first two pictures were from Feb. 3rd of this year. The boys arrived home from Russia on January 23rd of this year.



























These two pics were taken on my birthday this year, Feb. 23rd.




















Can you believe what babies they were 6 months ago?? And now look at what toddlers they are!! I am amazed at how quickly they changed.





This picture was taken on July 22nd.














I was trying to find closer up pics that are more recent and discovered that I really need to take a few good pics. This is the best one I could find of Nick. It was taken on August 3rd.


















This picture was taken this evening. Ben is holding the alligator flashlight… mmmmmchompchompchompyumyumyum!!














And, last but not least, here are the promised pics of the boys and Jana outside, playing in the new little sprinkler thingy we got. The boys have really enjoyed Jana this week and she has been such a huge help to us.









The boys had so much fun with this sprinkler thing.

August 7, 2007

Nick and Ben enjoy turning Jana around in her chair. They love doing this to anyone who will let them. It makes you dizzy pretty fast though.











Yesterday, when I went to my doctors appt, the boys received their first sucker. They thoroughly enjoyed it, for a little while. Nick got tired of his after a little while, and handed it to me. Ben lost his during a diaper change and, since he forgot about it, it remained "lost".


























Don't they look like happy little campers with their first suckers?












Nick, getting a pony ride from dad.












Nick, trying to put on his pajamas. He takes both pairs of bottoms (his and Ben's) and puts one on each leg. I leave the pajamas out, after dressing them, and it keeps Nick entertained for the longest time.








We also had another first today. When I went to get them up from their nap, Nick was standing in his crib. He pointed at his bottom and said "poopy".  I have been asking them "are you pooping?" when I see them making *that* face, so they will start becoming aware of it. I guess it is working with Nick.


















The boys were having a great time *helping* clean the floors. It kept them busy for a little while, when I was not feeling that great.


















Doesn't Ben look happy with himself and his mopping abilities?














This is Ben with the latest boo boo on his nose.











The boys noticed these boots in their closet that my friend from Boston sent them and they wanted to try them on. It was so funny to watch them, since the boots are still big on them, especially with no socks.































Jana set the boys up at the kitchen sink and let them play in the water in some soapy bubbles. They had a ball. She gave them each a bowl to play with but Ben kept pouring water all over the floor behind him, while trying to reach the facet with the other hand. We switch the bowl for a small glass and that seemed to work better.














I was in the kitchen and it got real quiet in the library so I was sure they were up to something. I peeked in and they were both sitting on this little couch, looking at their books. It was so cute....and surprising:).

August 4, 2007

We took 6 month measurements of the boys today. The first official measurements we took was about one week after the boys came home, on Feb. 1st. Six months later, on Aug. 1st:

Ben is now 29 pounds (feels like 35:) and 34 and 3/8 inches tall.
Nick is now 24.8 pounds and 33 and 5/8 inches tall.

In this 6 month period, Ben has grown 3.38 inches and has gained 7 pounds.
In this 6 month period, Nick has grown 3.88 inches and has gained 4.8 pounds.

I am recovering from a bout of pneumonia and my niece, Jana, is here to help during my recovery.  She has been a life saver and they are having so much fun with her.