Doctor, Doctor

Last week was so crazy!  Daniel’s adoption finalization requires that we all have a medical exam in the last six months.  Evan and I were going to make ours anyway, so it worked out well.  Nicholas’ annual cardiology appointment was already scheduled and so was Daniel’s 4-month appointment.   I just didn't expect them to all fall within the same week (or 8 days).

I have to brag about Nicholas right now.  He did so well at his cardiologist appointment.  He laid still for both his EKG and ultrasound.  This can feel like ages to a little boy.  He wasn't scared and was very patient.  Daniel also was very content.  In fact, when Nicholas heartbeat was played really loud, Daniel’s eyes got huge.  They said Nicholas was one of the best five-year-olds they have had as a patient.

And, Daniel has doubled his birth weight.  His doctor said we can start him on cereal, so we gave it a try this past weekend.  The verdict is in:  He doesn't like it.  Well, the first time I tried giving it to him he cried the entire time.  I tried it the next day and he didn't cry, but he also didn't look too thrilled.  So, we’re taking a week off and we’ll try again next week. 

School continues to go well.  Nicholas really loves our science book.  We’re learning about Astronomy all year and the past two weeks have been about the sun.  He and Evan did a fun experiment together.  They used the energy from the sun to melt chocolate.  It was hard for Nicholas to sit for too long, but Evan had his chocolate smoking at one point. 

Nicholas is also sounding pretty good on the violin.  We have set up a better practice schedule which I think has helped a lot.  I've told a lot of people that Daniel really likes it when Nicholas plays.  Here’s some proof:

Daniel has been battling a cold this week.  Last night he slept better than he had the two previous nights, thankfully.  It hasn't had an effect on his mood though.  He’s still a happy guy!

Here he is advertising for the current grant contest
for Ordinary Hero.

You too can purchase this onesie (drool not included).

Finally, we're hoping to have another life change in the next six months or so.  We feel like it is time to move.  Our house was fine when it was just Evan and me.  It was okay when it was only three of us, but four of us and one being an active 5 year old . . . well, we've just outgrown this place.  So, we had an interior designer come in and give us suggestions for updates and how to stage our house when the time comes to put it on the market.  It is a little overwhelming for me, but thankfully, I have a sister that is much more gifted in this area than I am.  So, there will be lots of projects around our house for awhile.  It will all be worth it in the end.

Watch Me Grow: 4 Months

Daniel is growing and changing so much.  From here on out, I think we’re going to be seeing some fun milestones.  His doctor’s appointment isn’t until Friday, so we won’t know how much he weighs yet.  We think he has doubled his birth weight though.  He seems to be on a consistent eating and sleeping schedule.  He still likes to cry before taking a nap or going to bed, but is much happier the rest of the time. 

Last month Gabby jumped in the picture
 and this month this guy did!

Such a happy guy!

Daniel says, "Here’s what I Can Do":

- Take my pacifier out of my mouth and hold it.  Putting it back in my mouth is another story.   I’m about 50/50.

- “Talk” a lot!  I love to babble and hear my own voice.  I’m not sure if I talk as much as my big brother, but even he stops talking long enough to know that I have something to say.

- I pressed the button on one of my toys the other day more than once.  My mom and brother were both surprised.  I’m not sure how I did it, but I’m going to figure it out.

- I found my bath hilarious the other night.  I was chuckling pretty hard.  Maybe it is because I surprised my mommy and turned into a water spout – not one time, but three!

- I can bear weight on my legs.  My mom likes to make me dance a little.  I don’t mind.  Sometimes I even find it funny.

- I can already roll from my front to my back, but recently I worked really hard to try and roll from my back to my front too.  It made me so frustrated!  My mom and brother were cheering for me, but I got so tired.  I believe in perseverance though.  Every chance I got, I tried and tried.  Finally, with tears in my eyes, I did it on September 13^th! 

- I love my big brother.  I think that’s one of the reasons I’m so determined to get moving.  He’s so funny! He really makes me laugh.  He’s really nice to me too and always helping me by getting my toys.  I wonder what he’ll think when I start taking his toys!

This past weekend I decided to trim Daniel’s crazy hair a bit - just the sides and a little by his neck.  My inexperience coupled with a squirmy baby turned into a bit of a hack job.

Thankfully, I had a hair appointment a couple of days later and she was nice enough to fix it a bit.  He was happy the entire time.  Maybe it was because he realized he wouldn’t have to sport that silly hair-do anymore.

She just fixed the sides a bit.

He likes it!

He still has crazy hair though!

 It is hard to believe that he is already 4 months old.  We are so glad that Daniel's a part of our family!

Our Week in Rewind

This past week started our many consecutive weeks of very busy Mondays.  This one isn’t even the worst.  But, we managed to get most of school done that morning.  Evan helped me by working with Nicholas on some of the subjects, so I could get a few things done. 

Then, after lunch, we headed to the dentist to drop me off and then the guys went onto Nicholas’ speech therapy.  Usually, Nicholas can get in early.  I was hoping that would be the case that day.  See, my dentist appointment is just a few minutes down the street from speech therapy.  Our dentist and their staff seem to genuinely care about our lives and wanted to see Nicholas and meet Daniel.  Well, Nicholas’ appointment ended up starting on time, instead of early, and I ended up sitting 20 minutes waiting for them to pick me up.  At least the ladies at the front desk were able to meet Daniel.  Our dentist did jokingly ask me if Daniel’s middle name was “Brutus”, “Tressel” or “Woody”.  Our dentist knows full well about Evan’s obsession with Ohio State.

After a short rest time, Evan and Nicholas worked on their first science project.  They made a model of the solar system out of balloons.  The object of the lesson was to see how big the planets are in comparison to each other.  They will be doing projects together 1-2 times a month throughout the school year. 

Tying on the balloons

Nicholas also started soccer Monday evening.  Last Spring, the league was 3-5 year olds.  Well, they split it up on Mondays, so he is now in a 5-6 year old league.  He says it is much better that way.  I saw a lot more confidence out of him too, since he had played before.  This league is really more instructional, but when they did split up for the game, Nicholas’ team won (No one keeps score, but Nicholas did apparently).  Daniel did really well the entire hour.  He even cheered near the end.  He kept watching the game and babbling.  We thanked him for his support, but told him that he was watching the wrong game. 

He is babbling in this picture.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are heavier days of school.   We cover more subjects because I know these are days we will most likely be home.  Our routine has been working pretty well for us too.  We finished our first chapter read aloud book this week – Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.  I had fond memories of it from my childhood.  We spent the last two weeks reading a chapter a day while Daniel took his morning nap.

“School” doesn’t really ever end though.  Nicholas loves to lie on his bed and read books each day.  The other day he was making his own grocery list using an advertisement we got in the mail.  Then, he took the initiative to write G.G. a Thank You/I Love You Note after she visited us on Wednesday.  He wrote it out all by himself.  He only had one spelling error where he doubled a letter. 

We finally got Nicholas his new school shoes on Friday.  He was happy to find a pair that light up.  He has a wide foot, so there usually isn’t much of a selection for him.  But, once he saw these, he wouldn’t try on anything else.

Finally, today Nicholas had the best violin lesson.  He sounded pretty good and enjoyed himself so much that he couldn’t believe the lesson was over.  Then, we headed home for a snack and so he could change for his next activity – swimming lessons.  This is his first time in non-preschool lessons.  I was a little nervous for him since he didn’t swim that much over the summer.  His last teacher wanted us to skip Level 1 and put him in Level 2 to challenge him.  I hoped he was ready.  It turns out that he was the youngest, but could hold his own.  He even jumped off the diving board.  I was so proud of him!

He let his brother in the picture.

This coming week is probably our busiest of the month.  Every member of our family has some kind of doctor's appointment (all routine) and at least one form to be filled out for our adoption paperwork.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the boys are growing!

Just an Ordinary Update

We have completed two weeks of school.  Nicholas is doing really well.  We’ve got a good routine going and we just do school in the morning.  We use the afternoon for rest time and other activities.  I feel like we get a lot accomplished in those morning hours. 

One thing that Nicholas and I do every day is read together.  Sometimes it is just me reading to him, but I try to pick out a few books that he can read too.  He surprised me the other day with how far he has come with his reading skills.  He usually reads and then pauses for me to help him with the harder words.  I was prepared to help him with a few of the words, but he kept on reading.  I guess when it clicks, it clicks. 

It still has not been too difficult to homeschool with Daniel here.  We know what activities to do when he is awake and which ones work better while he takes a nap.  He seems to enjoy listening to Nicholas practice his violin, but he babbles too much when we read together.  He can sit on my lap while we do math and handwriting, but spelling is another story.  I’m sure once he is more active, I will have to get more creative here and there, but it works for now.

I didn’t get any pictures of school this week – or Nicholas.  But, I did take a couple of cute ones of Daniel.

Earlier in the week, Daniel was playing on his play mat.  He was having a good time and really kicking and batting at the toys.  Then, we didn’t hear anything for a minute or two.  I looked over and this is what I saw:

Playing is hard work

It is no secret that Daniel has a good head of hair.  Lately it has been some crazy hair.  After his bath a couple of days ago, I experimented with some hair styles.  What do you think?

I don't think he likes that one.

Not sure about that one either

I guess that will do

Finally, Daniel’s neck has become a lot stronger lately.  Even tummy time is more enjoyable for him.  He still prefers his back, but he had a good time today. 

Next week will be our first five-day school week.  If all goes well, Nicholas and Evan will be doing a fun project to start the week off.  We can't wait!