Holy moly, has it already been about a week? Last weekend we were doing a happy dance: I wasn't on call, I wasn't working, Matt wasn't working...that's like two times that that has happened in the last month or so!! We enjoyed our day by sleeping in (well, Matt did at least), going to the library, making an early dinner, and heading to the beach for a little bit. We haven't been to the beach yet this summer, as I am not terribly endeared to the thought of packing everything up and carrying one, potentially both, kids (if the sand is really hot) and all of the *stuff* just to stay for maybe an hour between nap times. Next year we'll have a little more flexibility to spend maybe a morning at the beach, but now is not that time. Levi was actually less interested in playing in the sand and more interested in standing by the channel watching the boats.
Catching some guy time together after naps
Trucks at the beach
A very typical Luke look: scrunchy nose
I only put this on because you can see the escapee in the background. That's just his M.O.
...and then we went to Captain Sundae!!! Whoop, whoop. Levi's VERY into boats right now, so this scored some major points.
We stayed on the letter V this week because I didn't do a whole lot with him last week. We played with trucks in a sensory bin filled with beans and the letter V; colored, cut and glued a few things; learned about violins and listened to Vivaldi; and learned about veterinarians. Levi memorized Psalm 104:1 (Lord my God, you are VERY great.) His favorite activity was when I set up bug hunts for him - he has a bucket filled with different colored plastic bugs, and I'd hide them all over the basement, and when he found them he had to call out their color. When he had found them all he dumped them out and counted them.
He doesn't recognize his letters whatsoever but it's still fun to teach them and use them as a springboard to learn about other things and check out books on subjects I wouldn't normally think about (he and Luke LOVED listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons). He is starting to ask "What letter does ____ start with?" or "How do you spell _____?" and he will point out letters on objects, and is starting to line up his letter magnets like they are words. It's intriguing to see the wheels start to turn when they are ready to turn. I think that's my favorite part about doing this "schooling" thing so far. And being more aware of what makes him tick.
Luke James turned 11 months on Monday!!! WHATTHEHECK. He is quick on Levi's heels trying to be a big boy like his brother. Levi at this age was VERY into his little walker thingy to get around. Luke will play with it, but would far rather push around anything that's not bolted to the ground...even if someone (like Levi) is sitting in it. He pushes chairs, baskets, laundry baskets, you name it. He's figured out how to push them up against furniture so he can climb, so I will find him scaling the couch - and the top of the couch at that. He doesn't talk much, he's far more interested in moving. He will babble and makes some sounds that are sort of distinct pre-words, but not much yet. He treats Matt like he's a movie star. He's VERY affectionate and snuggly. He loves to eat almost as much as Levi does and pretty much entirely eats regular food now. His faves are pretty much any fruit, peanut butter (*gasp* yes I feed him peanut butter before he's a year old!!), cheese, oatmeal, and yogurt. He loves to play with balls, splash any form of water (including Molly's water dish), and ride on Levi's little four-wheeler!
Auntie Lisa was here this week. :) Levi loved seeing her. We went to Zeelmania in Zeeland the other night because they had a tractor display. The lady who owned a few tractors told Levi he could sit on them.
...and then the crud visited. :( I knew something was up when Levi didn't want to eat his lunch on Tuesday. Something in the universe has shifted if that kid sits there with food in front of him. Sure enough, he took a three hour nap and woke up with a temp close to 103.
Maybe it was a ruse to get extra video time.
It was a long night. I tried to let it go as long as possible without treating it. I'd rather the immune system walk on its own instead of giving it a crutch, and fevers help it do its work. By 2:30am we hadn't slept much and the fever tremors were freaking the poor boy out (he was absolutely wild - clawing at me, shrieking, begging me to make it stop - that's not like him, he was just that scared by it), so I gave him a small dose of ibuprofen and that gave us some respite. It was a long night. He's been on the mend and I had to take today off work because he was still iffy yesterday morning, and I didn't want to send him to Aunt Mary until he'd been fever-free for at least 24hrs. It was his first real fever in nearly three years of life, so I can't really complain!
I have to admit I enjoyed a little extra playtime with Luke while Levi slept in. :)
This morning Levi put on Matt's hat, and Luke went crazy (I told you he thinks Matt's a movie star). I put on his little matching hat, wish I could have taken a better picture with the two of them looking at me! Then Luke tackled Levi, as if he was Matt. Pretty funny.
On the reality end of things, Levi's whining is mildly out of control lately (and maybe he just doesn't feel like himself yet, that could factor into it). Why is every kid's default switch set to whining??? Today I've just completely, utterly, absolutely ignored him when he whines. It seems to work. He then stops, pauses for a few seconds, and then starts talking in his normal voice. It takes a great degree of self-control on my part because I really want to lose my cool. I have no nerves left when whining takes place. We're also trying to work on the whole selfishness/sharing issue. If Luke even sort of looks in Levi's direction, Levi has a cow and starts gathering up ALL of his toys in his arms and whines (!!!!!) about how Luke is going to destroy (yes, "destroy") them. I then send him to his room to sit by himself while Luke plays with his toys in the living room, which is not a popular outcome for Levi. Then the cycle of whining starts all over again. Luke, on the other hand, is more of a shrieker. He shrieks when he's happy, he shrieks when he's upset, he just defaults to loud. And it takes a great deal of self-control to not find myself yelling. So...it gets a little loud here!! Oh well!!!
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