Long Overdue

Shaun's at his friends house so I decided to get everyone updated on my family.

Ian is closing in on 5 months old. He's able to roll from his tummy to his back, though not consistenly because there's still times when I'll place him on his tummy and he'll be beside himself minutes later because he hates it. Good motivation for him to practice rolling, I figure. He's getting closer to the back-to-tummy roll but I think that's still about a month away. When he's laying on his back he'll pull his feet up to examine his toes and sort of rolls to his side to get a better view but hasn't made it the full roll yet. Ian's passing toys from one hand to the other, and back again. He'll reach out for a toy in front of him and is able to bat at it but can't yet grasp it on the first attempt. Usually it looks more like the toy swung into his reach than him reaching out to the swinging toy. He 'talks' a lot: cooing, blowing bubbles and making spitty raspberries. He hasn't started any consonant sounds yet but I would guess that 'g' will be the first. He's getting really close. Ian's just like Shaun, in that he loves getting lotion on after bed. I just use the regular Johnson's bath lotion that I still use for Shaun. Ian's favourite part to have rubbed is his head and temples and he hates getting lotion on his belly and chest. Maybe because it makes him cold. Shaun's been getting a kick out of how Ian will follow him around by turning his head. Shaun discovered it one day as he walked past Ian in the Bumbo and now it's a game the two will play together. The most amazing is that when Shaun disappears behind a wall Ian will look to the other side of the wall and wait for Shaun to pop out. Though that's probably because Shaun couldn't be quiet if his life depended on it so he's always crashing into something or making some sort of noise to indicate to Ian where he's going to reappear. Ian really enjoys singing songs and finger-plays. I do this one with him about a Teddy Bear walking around a garden and then tickling Ian's neck. He thinks that one's pretty funny and will shrug up his shoulders as I near the end in anticipation of the tickles that are coming. Ian seems to be making strange a little bit. I was visiting my sister in laws yesterday and their kids and Ian only wanted to sit with me. He wanted to be facing out so he could watch all the action but when Sheri or Julia tried to hold him he let them know he prefers to sit with Mummy. Hopefully the activity over the next week and a bit will help him a little. I know it's developmentally normal but after all the struggles we had with Shaun's separation anxiety I'd prefer if Ian had a milder case.

Shaun is 3 1/2. Boy, it feels so wierd to type that. He speaks like an adult some days but still has a hard time pronouncing 'r' and he lisps the letter 's'. Occasionally I'll catch him saying 'th' with an 'f' sound but mostly just for names. Other words that he uses regularly, like the number 3, he can say just fine. He's able to count objects up to 10 consistently and can count to 20 but misses 15 and says eleventeen instead. Shaun recognizes every letter of the alphabet in upper and lower case and knows the main sound for all the letters. Some of the secondary sounds - like the 's' sound for the letter c (circle) - he's still learning. Most confusing for Shaun is how Ian's name is spelled. Once again, we have a spelling issue. Man, we can't win! Most of you know that I regret spelling Shaun's name with a u and now Shaun can't wrap his head around an I being at the front of Ian's name instead of an E. When Shaun's in a mood to learn he'll work at sounding out words on his own. Butter - BTR, Ian - EN, Kitty - KTE. I just need to get him more interested in writing. Shaun doesn't have very much interest in writing or colouring at all. That definitely explains his poor motor skills when it comes to holding a pencil or a crayon. Up until a couple of months ago he was still holding a crayon in his fist. I've really tried to encourage him daily to practice writing letters and he's coming along. He is able to write all the letters that make up his name and most of the time, it's legible.

Shaun's been experimenting with his body recently; pushing himself more and more. He'll launch himself off the couch into a pile of pillows... backwards. He'll climb down the stairs using only the banister and spindles. He hops and jumps on one leg or both or alternates between the two. He's also just discovered walking with his eyes closed. He tried it in the grocery store last week after practicing in the house for a few days. He was thrilled when he "only ran into one lady, and she was old". I guess he reasons that she wasn't quick enough to get out of his way. We apologized, by the way!

Shaun's taking more of an interest in food. Finally! He wants to help me prepare dinner and often will make his once-daily cup of chocolate milk all on his own in the morning. Microwaving it and everything. And chocolate milk in this house isn't as simple as one would think. First there's digging the cup out of the cupboard. Then comes getting the white milk from the fridge (some days the jug is empty so Shaun will have to remove the old bag, place a new bag in the jug, cut the tip and discard the garbage) and placing it in the microwave to warm up. 45 seconds to be exact. While it's warming up Shaun gets the chocolate sauce from the pantry and puts the valve in the lid of the sippy cup. Once the microwave beeps he removes the cup, adds the chocolate sauce and screws the lid on. Before he shakes the cup, Shaun returns the milk to the fridge and the chocolate sauce to the pantry. Then he's free to drink his chocolate milk. When he makes it himself, he calls it 'homemade'. I wonder what it is when I make it?

Craig and I will be married for 6 years in February. Six years ago I pictured myself to be pretty much where I am: with kids, a house, a vehicle. Never though did I imagine that I'd be so happy, so content, so blessed.

I'll be even more happy when his place sells! :P