Here is a link to an album of recent photos

After Greg took his test, we decided it was time to move Henry into Lloyd’s bedroom (out of our bedroom).  We had prepared Lloyd for this transition about 6 weeks in advance and Lloyd seemed excited.  Lloyd’s bedtime ritual had gotten pretty out of hand – either Greg or I would read him about three stories (and he likes move involved books at this point), and then he’d beg us to sit on the floor of his room until he fell asleep.   We knew Lloyd would really respond well to not being alone at night, but we were unsure of Henry’s ability to sleep through the night.   In our room Henry was still waking up multiple times during the night, and because we were lazy and exhausted, he’d just end up in bed with us, with everyone tossing and turning until morning.

However, Henry adjusted perfectly to being in “The Boys’ Room.”    The first night he woke up just one time: Greg nabbed him out of his crib, I rocked him for a while and put him back into bed and he went back to sleep with little fuss.   Lloyd never complained about Henry crying (sometimes Henry will cry for about five minutes before conking out) and in fact, by the third night or so, Lloyd got really upset when we tried to sneak Henry out of the room to give Lloyd some peace and quiet!    It’s changed their relationship, making them closer and Lloyd more willing to try and get Henry to play *with* him.   There’s a lot of wrestling, giggling, kissing, and cuddling.  It’s really nice to see and I know that as Henry grows and builds his vocabulary, there is tremendous potential for them to be best buds.

In regards to Henry’s current communication skills, he says “Mama/Mom” and “Dada,”  although not on cue (just when he wants us or when we’re snuggling).  He “Ooo Ooos” when we ask him what a monkey says (even without having a monkey-image on hand) and, in the same fashion, he “RAWRS” when we talk about dinosaurs.  A cow says something closer to “Moo” and he’s even started saying “Bye bye” when it’s time for us to go.  He also has quite a bit of Henry-ese, where he has a distinct, musical “Ahhhh” that means “Cat” and an exclamatory “Deh!” that means “I want THAT.”  He also says “Hi-ya” and “Ar-row?” which are his greetings : )

Henry is 24 and a half lbs, in the 90th percentile for height and the 70th for weight.   He is cutting his seventh tooth and is working on two molars.   He can eat every food except nuts (because he doesn’t have enough teeth to grind them.  We’ve given him peanut butter and he loves it), and we’re slowly working on weaning, although he’s only nursing three or four times a day currently.

And if you haven’t seen him in a while, you’d be surprised at Henry’s mobility!  Right before his first birthday he started taking consecutive steps.  Now he practically runs and loves to climb.

Lloyd is doing great.  He has developed a very nice relationship, not only with Henry but also with one of our cats (Montoya).  He’ll have Montoya sleep in his bed with him and pets her very sweetly.

Lloyd’s big phrases right now are:

• “I never knowed (sic) that before!”
• “Once when I was older… [insert story he makes up on the spot about his life as an adult]“
• and also, he doesn’t know the difference between “universe” and “University of Michigan,” so sometimes he’ll say something like, “He’s the best artist in the whole University of Michigan!”
• When he’s frustrated, he’s started threatening to “break the house”

He’s still really into naming things with funny, Germanic names.  He tells me stories about his 20 older sisters named Glum, Glomb, Cleemp, Bllarng, etc…  And when I do my exercise he tells me he has an exercise he does called “Pllerng Plarng” and then he proceeds to spin in circles.   It’s very entertaining.
As for us adults, it’s business as usual for me, although there is a little bit of adjustment trying to ensure that the boys are ready for a nap at the same time as each other.   As for Greg, he’s transitioning to a new project at the University of Michigan.  He’s very excited for something fresh, but it’s sad that our honeymoon period of having him be able to come home for lunch each day is over.  It was a really nice run!

Henry also LOVES these circles.  He just sticks them on the windows and then un-sticks them and rearranges them.  Keeps both of the boys occupied for a good stretch of time!

Lloyd also made another beautiful Easter Egg – this is a very easy, toddler-friendly craft.  Tape some contact paper onto a window, sticky side facing out into the room.  The toddler artist places tissue paper shreds onto the sticky contact paper.  Place another layer of contact paper on top – sticky sides together, and cut out your shape!

We heard the tornado siren Thursday in the early evening.  We turned on the television and saw the storm front coming our way on the radar.  At first it looked like Dexter was going to miss the worst of it, but then it became apparent that the giant red swirl or doppler dread was going to hit us head-on.   Lots of rain, then thunder and lightening, then hail.  The siren went off again and when I looked out the window I saw the falling leaves sort of hang in mid-air.  We lost power and that’s when we all moved into the bathroom.  Thank God Greg was home – forever the cool cucumber, forever sane and calm, always what I hope our sons will grow to be.   I did my best pretending I was calm… Tra la la!  Yes that is big lightening!  Yes, Lloyd, this is a big storm!  Yes we will be fine – our house is over 100 years old – it’s seen many storms…  Thankfully that last reassurance wasn’t contradicted!

We hung out in the bathtub for about five minutes.  The storm passed by very fast.   Soon it was just raining with a little thunder and lightening.  We ate dinner by candlelight.  Lloyd was very brave.  He didn’t cry at all until it was bedtime and he realized that we were asking him to go to sleep without a nightlight or his white noise.  That was difficult, exponentially so because he has a cough and wasn’t feeling well to begin with.    But the power came back on by 11pm and we had been in contact with many of our family and friends thanks to cell phones.

Here’s some information on how to donate to Dexter Relief if you feel so inclined. I can tell you that what we’ve seen from this community has been amazingly heart-warming: this is exactly the kind of place you want to raise your children.

If you didn’t see the post about our Valentine’s Day celebrations – it’s right here.

And here’s a little movie I posted on FB a while ago with all of Henry’s tricks. A must view, if I do say so myself  : )

We also celebrated President’s Day!

made henry a george washington hat

And of course Pa’s 90th birthday.  What a wonderful, fun, HUGE celebration!

Lloyd is really fun, although definitely more stubborn than ever before.

He uses these silly voices while playing, giving his toys different personalities.  He loves role-playing, but adds this hilarious touch of tacking on “… says Lloyd the cat.”   So for example it’ll be something like, “‘Let’s go find our water!’ says the boy cat.”  Delightful.

Lloyd with his cousin Logan

He continues to be the best eater.  He’s tried new foods such as sour cream, spinach, and guacamole and responded really positively to each one.  He even tried black rice, although that took a bit more coaxing.  It was a proud parenting moment for me: He saw the black rice and said, “That’s not for me, right? I don’t like that.” I said, “Well, it’s just rice, and you like rice.”

“But not that rice!”

“Why not? You like lemonade right? Do you like yellow lemonade and pink lemonade? This is the same.  You like white rice, and you like yellow rice!  I bet you’ll like this rice, too.”

Then I had him take a sip of his milk.  I said, “You like that milk, right?” Then I went and put a dot of blue food coloring in his milk.  “Now you’re milk is blue!  Do you think it will still taste good?” He tried it (laughing, because you know – blue milk!) and of course he was delighted to find out it tasted the same.  So then he tried a bite of the black rice and shouted out, “Pretty good!” and now he eats it whenever we have it.  So proud – of him and myself!

But Lloyd also has this fickleness that is a little challenging.  (e.g. “I NEED THIS” / “I DON’T WANT THAT!” / “GIVE ME THAT” all in the same breath… sigh).  But when he’s at his best, he’s the very, very best.

Henry is starting to make the big transition from baby to toddler.  He’s taken a couple of accidental steps, and can stand unsupported for close to 30 seconds.  He clearly says “Mamama” at me and “Dadadada” at Greg, although he will also mutter those sounds at several other objects and as he crawls about.  He “RAWRS” for all animals (including cows and sheep), but is starting to “Meow” at the cats.   When he crawls into a room or pretends to talk on a cell phone he says “Ah-row?” which is his version of “Hello!”  He also can clap, kiss, and wave all on verbal cues alone.  And he signs “More” but really he uses it to mean “I’M HAVING FUN! MORE OF THIS ALWAYS.”

One especially neat trick is how he plays with this little kid stereo we have.  He can turn the stereo on all by his self, then fast forward it to “When you’re happy and you know it.”  Then he claps along, and then after the clapping verse he will re-wind it to go back to the beginning.  It’s pretty special.  : )

Both Lloyd and Henry are true jokers.  They love making us laugh.  Lloyd tells jokes now, like “Hail! To the Cheetahs!” and “Blue light, blue light, what do you say?” (instead of red/yellow/green – trust me, this is hilarious to him).   And if we laugh at something Henry does, he’ll do it over and over again – looking right into our eyes the whole time.

Sadly, we ended the month on a rough note.  We all caught the norovirus, which is a particularly nasty stomach bug.  Everyone took their turn being an absolute mess – and sadly we infected the Crawford parents and our babysitter.

But now we’re all feeling on the up-and-up and ready for a festive March!

Anyway – on to our family update!

Henry continues to grow and learn.  He has had a perpetual snotty nose for the past two months.  I sometimes forget what he looks like without a schnoz encased in buggers.  Perhaps it’s teething or just a constant battle with little viruses.  His mood, in general, is fine so we’re definitely not worried.  His 10 month birthday brought about a little stranger-danger for Henry, as well as some added clingyness.  I remember when he was younger fearing that he wasn’t attached enough to me for my selfish comfort.  Let’s just say that’s no longer a concern…

He’s doing okay eating more grown-up foods, but he’s definitely a lot more particular than his brother.  I’m hoping some additional teeth will help with meal-times, but we’re still stuck with the six he popped out in the fall.  No new ones in sight, although I suspect that they’ll all come in a cluster eventually.

One added bonus with Henry is that he’s, in general, great in the car.  We remember Lloyd crying for every minute of every car ride for a three-month stretch in his first year and are so thankful Henry has differed from his big bro in this instance.

Lloyd is doing great! Preschool has been an adjustment.  He goes two mornings a week from 9 – 12 and has improved his willingness to participate and interact with other children at every single school day.  We’re so happy to watch him increase his socialization skills.  It really shows when meeting new adults and we even see a difference at home.  All of  a sudden he is a lot more interactive with our cats and with Henry.   Lloyd plays and talks with Henry a lot now and loves to make his brother laugh.

Greg is gearing up for a new project in Ann Arbor come Spring.  Since our honeymoon  of him working in Dexter is coming to an end, we’ve sought out a morning nanny to help us get through the weekday mornings a little easier here at the house.  Cara is a God send who comes and feeds the boys breakfast and then plays a little bit until I finish with my morning work.  She’s an extra blessing on our crazed preschool mornings, helping us all get on coats and shoes so we can get to the car and to school on time.

As for me, I’ve started selling a couple of craft goods on etsy and am entering some quilts into some competitions this spring.  Other than that it’s work and playing with the boys : )

Wishing you a wonderful February!

Lloyd’s been doing great as a 3-year-old dude.  His potty training continues to improve and he’s always learning and growing.  He is even more interested in painting and coloring than ever before.  He’s also enjoying playing with a whole bunch of blocks making skyscrapers! He has kicked off a fresh round of “Why?”-itis.  Everything is “Why?” and when he’s glum he says, “I want to go home” even if we are currently inside of our house.  Not sure what that’s about.  In a couple of weeks Lloyd will start preschool at Sunshine Special Children’s Studio on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.  Although we’re sure it will take a while for him to get comfortable, we’re hoping that the exposure to other children helps build his confidence and friendship-making skills.

Christmas was extra fun with Lloyd this year.   He really understood the whole concept and was so excited for Santa to come.  We wrote a letter for Santa before we went to bed and left cookies for him to eat.  Lloyd would lower his head onto his pillow and then sit up with a start, yelling/asking “IS SANTA HERE YET?!”  “No, he won’t come until you’re asleep,” we reminded him.  In the morning we brought him out of bed and the first thing he asked was if Comet and Blitzen were here.   It’s so nice because he is still not manic about the present opening.  He takes his time with each gift and brings the new toys over next to his old ones and mixes them all together.  It was a very nice morning for him with lots of gifts and treats.

Henry’s first Christmas was a little less positive.  He woke up that morning quite sick with a simultaneously stuffy and runny nose.  I can’t even imagine being a little baby with such a cold… all of the snot pouring out and none of the instincts to wipe it away!  So he just sits there with encrusted nostrils until someone braves the screaming that results from wiping his nose clean.  Poor guy.

However, he still continues to learn and grow.  Now Henry claps, gives high fives, does “touchdown” and is learning to wave.   He can clap and do “touchdown” on verbal cues alone.    He also babbles all of the time and can mimic noises.  His favorite is to squeal in the same tone as a noisy toy we have around.  He also can buzz his lips like an elephant along with me.   And it may just be wishful thinking, but it sure does seem like his “Dadadadadada”s are linked to Greg’s presence and the “Mamamamamama”s are saved for me.  : )

We were really lucky to see so many family and friends this holiday.  Alison and Paul, Brent, Dustin, Metta, Irene, Grandpa Jim, Caitlin, and Kylie all made the trip to see us here in Dexter.  It was amazing fun and very, very special.  We’re a spoiled bunch.

Happy New Year!

The biggest development is that Lloyd is now officially three-years-old.   He had two wonderful birthday parties with lots of family and friends.  He yelled out, “Happy Birthday, everybody!” and “Thanks for all the presents!” (unsolicited) and after opening his last present, “Oh no!  My birthday is all gone!”  On his actual birthday he got presents from Greg, Henry, and me, and Greg and I took him out to see “The Muppet Movie.”  He had a lot of fun, topped off with mac-and-cheese for dinner.

Greg made Lloyd a dinosaur-excavation cake

Lloyd’s potty training is progressing nicely.  He won’t go unless we tell him to, but usually he will go without too much of a protest.  He’s just starting to tell us or at least hint when he thinks it should be “potty time.”

Another fabulous Lloyd development is in the arena of winter-gear.  In case you don’t remember, last year Lloyd would.not.wear.a.coat.  Hats were a battle and gloves/mittens were an absolute no-go.  Things that Lloyd wouldn’t wear included anything with zippers, snaps, buttons, collars, jeans, overalls, and corduroys.  That’s a limited wardrobe!  And it made for a restless winter as he was not able to play outside for too long, considering he’d only wear a hooded sweatshirt.   However, this year Lloyd happily is wearing his coat, his hood, hats, mittens, boots, and even snowpants!  What a difference a year makes!

A big milestone is on the horizon for Lloyd as we research pre-school options for the new year.   His pediatrician and the teachers at his “First Steps” school have recommended increased exposure to kids his own age to improve his friendship-making skills.  Lloyd is not currently interested in playing with kids his own age (and definitely not kids who are younger).  He’s very shy and nervous.  Lloyd is too young for Dexter Public and Dexter Co-op, so we’re looking into a private option to get us through the spring.

Melts our hearts!

So on to Henry – Henry has had an amazing couple of weeks.  He’s gone from 3 teeth at my last update to 6.  He crawls now, pulls himself up to stand, and scales himself across the furniture.  He loves to buzz his lips and babble.  He can pick up small objects and would LOVE to get his hands on all of Lloyd’s snacks.   Although he is still waking up several times a night, his naps have improved greatly.  Throughout the day he is mostly very sunny and independent :  )  It’s fun watching his personality develop; right now he loves babies, isn’t too shy with strangers, and hates mornings.

We had  a couple of wonderful Thanksgivings spent with family and are gearing up for Christmas!  Happy holidays!

First and foremost, Lloyd wore and LOVED his costume.  I absolutely delight in making costumes for our family and friends, but there was definitely a little bit of worry slaving away on Lloyd’s costume thinking that there was maybe a 12% chance he would wear any of it.  Last year he was excited about being a dinosaur, but when it came time to draw up the hood and stomp around – he was miserable : (

So when Lloyd said he wanted to be a blue dinosaur again this year – I was a little nervous (to quote son #1).  He said this year he didn’t want any spikes, but rather stripes, and how about a tail and claws and toe claws, too?

I made every component and had it finished in time for his school costume party which was the Monday before Halloween.   I put him in the sweatshirt and he whined a little.  I took him to our largest mirror and lifted up the hood so he could see his big sharp teeth.  He smiled a little and I lowered the hood saying maybe we could lift it up again when we got to school.  He immediately objected, “Can I leave my hood up PLEASE?!”  Ab-so-freakin-lutely!!!  I was beaming.   Next came the tail and the claws and he was SO HAPPY but not happier than me.   The days before when we had been talking about wearing our costumes to school he asked if he could ROAR at all of the kids and we said that sounded like an awesome idea.  At school boy-oh-boy did he roar and he kept it up for a solid week.  Instead of a coat, he wore his costume sweatshirt everyday until it got too cold here in November and we upgraded to a real coat.

SO MUCH FUN.

As for actual Halloween, Lloyd trick-or-treated with his buddy and cousin Logan, as well as Grandma and Vikki and Baby MacKenzie.  They had a great time and we’ve been using the candy to help reward and motivate potty-training, which has been going great, but more on that some other time…

As for the rest of the family, Henry was Yoda.  He didn’t mind his costume one bit, which was also delightful.

And Greg was Luke Skywalker from the scene in StarWars where he wears Yoda on his back. When I came home with his light-saber he was just about as happy as any little boy getting a big glowing toy.

And I was a skeleton.

Hope you all had wonderful Halloweens and that you’re looking forward to delicious Thanksgivings!

It’s Henry vs. the Teeth here at Fort Brand…

Last toothless smile picture

He has sprouted three teeth this month!  A solid effort.  Grumpy nights, still fairly happy during the days.   He’s definitely enjoying rolling all around and babbling.  He is also a solid sitter now.  He sits and lowers himself down to roll with relative ease.  He cannot get back up to sitting, however.  He is very interested in getting into crawling position, but we have yet to see any scooting action.

He is such a little heart-warmer.  Obviously he’s incredibly adorable, but he is also so easy during the days.  When company is over he really mellows out, observing the scene.  Whenever Lloyd’s in the room he definitely calms down, so absorbed in watching his brother and waiting with bated breath for a bit of recognition (he gets it every now and then).

He’s 7 months old now and weighs 20 lbs and 5 oz.  (that’s just starting out 12 month clothes in retail-language).

Lloyd has had an excellent month.  Even though there are still tantrums and whiny days, in general he’s been a real joy.  Some new phrases are “I guess so…” and “Of course!”  He says things out of wishful thinking like, “Of course you’re not going to work, Dad” to Greg when he’s getting ready to head out the door in the morning.  It’s sweet.

At a school field trip

His talking is so amazing.  The other day I was working in the office and he was going outside with Greg and he opens up the door, waltzing in saying, “Okay Mom, Dad and I are going to go play!”  It really almost made me tear-up because it was a sentence an 8-year-old could have said.   He really does use the proper “me/I” grammar about 60% of the time.  He floors me… so many adults aren’t even at that percentage!

On a bakery-run with Dad.

Lloyd’s imaginative play has made huge progress.  Listening to him talking to his toys, giving them voices, is my absolute favorite thing.  At first it was very interesting because he was using his toys to play-out interactions he’d had with his friend Libby or us.  Then it became purely imagination.   One day I told him my knee was bothering me (I’m old, get over it) and he plucked out some fluff from the carpet.  “These Mrph Mrphs will make them feel better!”  It took me a while to stop asking him to repeat himself and to understand that he made up a new word just for fun.

For Greg and I it’s been a fall of work-challenges.  Greg’s still very busy working in Dexter and overcoming various obstacles.  I’m doing fine with my work-load but am struggling with the fact that the children are essentially tandem-napping so I always have one little squirt awake.   It’s meant conquering some work after they go to bed and in general operating on less sleep.  I have to remind myself that this baby-toddlerhood is just a brief moment in time.   Next fall Henry will be 18 months and Lloyd will be in preschool!  I work everyday on overcoming the insubstantial stresses and appreciating the good (the great!) in this funny, crazy house.