Look At Us Now!

TJ will be 6 years old in a month. It is really hard to believe. Doesn't this picture make him seem so grown up?

-He is a GREAT eater. He eats a ton, and eats just about anything you put in front of him, from lentils to stir-fry, to a good old hamburger. And he seems to genuinely enjoy it all too!
-He is starting to get the hang of reading and is beginning to enjoy it. He has a new outlook on books; he has gone through almost all the books in the house from a new perspective. He now also wants to leave the light on for a few minutes after we read to him at night so that he may "read" on his own. He also seems to take an interested in math, and gravitates towards those pages first when doing his homework.
-TJ still likes to bug his brother, but Luka is starting to fight back a bit more, because he is learning from his big brother.
-He has a bit of a sassy mouth, so we continue to work on this. I'm not sure how successful we are at the moment, addressing it immediately and taking things away from TJ seems to work for now.
-He taught himself to print on the computer. (How exactly, I will never know.) About the only website the kids know is PBS.org, and you wouldn't believe the pile of papers I found in the office that he had printed. He was so proud. We found time for a lesson around saving trees as well...
-TJ is a saver. We went to a friend's house for homemade donuts. I showed each of the kids the donuts they could have for the rest of the day. Luka promptly ate all of his at once. TJ put his in a bowl on the corner of the counter, and for the next 2 hours, would come take a bite every now and then.
-Both kids love to brag. Yikes! We have responded by immediately taking away whatever it is they are bragging about, whether it is a toy, food, an outing, etc. For example, TJ bragged to Luka that he had more macaroni. (And he did, because he eats more!) I responded by asking Luka if he wanted more, and proceeded to dump half of TJ's onto Luka's plate. The next morning, I allowed Luka to take a toy into the van. He looked at me and said "Mommy, I'm not going to "bwag" to TJ, because I don't want you to give this toy to him." Score one for the parents.
-TJ is very sweet with his sister. He loves to hold her and takes delight in being the big brother.
-TJ is Daddy's helper. You can almost always find him out in the garage working on a project. Their latest was painting boards to go on the jungle gym. I'm fairly confident that TJ already know more than I do about tools.
-This first born can be the sweetest, nicest, most polite kid. I so enjoy these times. He is such a dear. TJ, I love you with all my heart!


Luka is 4 1/2. He has lost his toddler body and is quickly stretching up.
-He has trouble pronouncing his "r's," but we are working on it. Not sure at what point it becomes a "problem."
-D-R-A-M-A K-I-N-G Everything is a crisis, but the next minute is fine. Along with the drama is a loud high-pitched cry or whine. I really don't know how many times a day I say "Luka, please lower your voice. I don't understand. Talk in a normal voice, please." He gets a kick out of it when I mimic him back!
-Luka is plain clumsy. His legs have polka dots of bruises. When I asked him to turn off the TV, he tripped (not sure on what) and fell all the way to floor. On the way back to the chair, he stumbled and hit his head on the corner of the couch. Seriously?
-Luka is not only emotionally sensitive, but he has sensitive skin. Mosquitos attack him first over anyone else. This past week, we made another trip to the ER because he had a funky rash that was extremely itchy. $100 later...no diagnosis and "must just be something he ate."
-Luka adores his little sister. "Mommy, can she see me?" "Yes." "Mommy, can she hear me?" "Yes. She has known your voice for about 8 months now." It is amazing to see how he delights in her "firsts." He gets so excited [insert high pitched loud voice here] when she giggles at him, and when she grabbed a rattle for the first time. He loves to see her little pink clothes come out of the dryer, and always runs to show Daddy or TJ (who really don't much care, relatively) the new little pink dress.


-I turned on the ceiling fan the other night, and Luka said [again, high pitched loud voice] "I don't want it on the speed limit!"I responded "You mean you want it on low?" Yep, that was what he wanted.
-Luka is still very opinionated about his clothes. I am so tired of the stretched out shark shirt. For the most part, I let him wear what he wants. But, when Mommy says that she is "picking out the clothes today" he knows better than to argue!
-Luka, you are a terribly sweet, sensitive, funny child. I love when you make me laugh, and when you want to hug and kiss just one more time before I walk out the door.

Sweet Mikayla is just a doll. She is so far an easy baby. While a bit rocky at first in trying to get her cries figured out, she is pretty predictable and seems to be in a groove. If she is fed and dry, she is generally happy, and is content to lay by herself for quite some time on her activity mat, or in the swing.
-She has found her hands, and now takes delight in putting them in and out of her mouth.


-She does grab little toys if we put them in her hand, but hasn't put them to her mouth yet to explore.
-She is getting rolls in her legs and is a bit chubby all around...and she does love to eat. Sometimes we feed her every 2 1/2 hours. I think I see "screw-on wrists" in the near future.


-I think she eats a lot more during the day because she sleeps so well at night. She goes at least 6 hours, if not more. Last night, she slept from 10-7...9 hours!
-When she is tired, she does not want to be held. She wants to be put in her "bed" (bouncer at the moment) and left alone.
-She loves books! She seems to giggle at the pictures of the baby faces, and she is happy to sit in our lap and read listen the whole time we are reading to the boys before bed.
-Everyone says she looks like Scott. And in the past week, she has become very content in his arms, and I think she has become a bit of a Daddy's girl. We'll see about that!

Sweet Mikayla, my little girl...I adore your dimples and charm, and your precious little "coos." I can't wait to get to know you better!