An Unexpected Beginning: October 2013

It does not seem like 2 years could have flown by this quickly! I still feel like I just started blogging to keep family and friends updated on my not as long as anticipated stay at Northside Hospital. I admit my blogs have gotten less interesting as time has gone on, but I think that is in part to lack of time and keeping busy with a toddler and now a newborn! I am splitting this entry into parts to keep them shorter, and I know I won’t get through everything in one sitting. I will add a Kaycie update soon! I have to admit that a huge part of the reason I keep blogging is that I have not kept up with LJ’s baby book and never even bought Kaycie one…I plan on one day doing something creative with my blogs for the kids, but until then, this helps me keep track of milestones, emotions, and memories that I have not documented elsewhere.

I have to say, when Kaycie was born, I had a rough time. I am sure all Mama's go through it, but I felt horrible. LJ had a rough time, and I began to wonder what we had done. However, my concern allowed me to really pay attention to LJ's feelings, and I am just amazed at where he is now. I think having another little one has allowed for more "quality" time with LJ. As opposed to just passing time some days, I have been able to use my available time to really just "be" with LJ. I think it has also allowed Matt and I to let LJ grow up a little bit. We realized that maybe we babied him beyond what he needed on occasion. He was just waiting for us to let him flourish in some ways. It amazes me every day.

LJ was excited to spend his birthday eve at Grandma and Grandpa Evensen’s house with cousins Sam and Max and his Aunt Kristen. LJ and Sam seem to be bonding some and playing together more every time they see each other. When they are not here, LJ regularly asks about them. We just hung out for his birthday and had dinner, opened presents, and had “birthday cake”, which were cupcakes with Mickey Mouse on them. LJ loves Mickey Mouse. Grandma and Grandpa Evensen found a huge Mickey, and he loved it immediately…it has been added to his bedtime collection of animals that is about to overtake his full sized bed. That is for him to figure out.

On LJ’s birthday, we took him to Build A Bear, where he picked out a monkey that he named Mo (Well, I named him Mo, but LJ didn’t object because Mo the Monkey is perfect). We found him a cute football outfit and got Mo all dressed up. LJ didn’t seem overly impressed…I have to say I was a little disappointed because he loves his stuffed animals. By the time we got out of the car, Mo was undressed, and LJ was much happier with him. The clothes are now put away and Mo is also a member of the bedtime crew. I think we are up to 20 animals that he sleeps with, and he insists on kissing each one goodnight. I am trying to smuggle them back out of his room, but he notices, and we have to go on a search for Gator Tater or Scout or Seahorse or Big Mickey or Little Mickey or Sheep or Lamb and the list goes on.

Speaking of bedtime…I love bedtime, and it is hard since Matt is still working at night and bedtime is when Kaycie seems to start having a rough time, so I feel like I have to rush it most of the time. One thing LJ loves as much as his animals are his books. He is now big enough where he will tell me what book he wants to read at bedtime. Sometimes it is the mouse book (Goodnight Moon…did you know there is a mouse hidden on every page), sometimes Angry Duck (Happy Hippo, Angry Duck…a book about feelings that my friend Rise gave him, and he loves to tell me if he is a Happy Hippo or Angry Duck, or he will ask if I am a Sad Chicken), sometimes Jesus! Not long ago, he started telling us he was not afraid. I had no clue where he got it from. One night while we were reading the Jesus book, he started saying, “I am not afraid.” I hadn’t even paid attention, but in the book, Jesus tells his disciples “Be not afraid.” My heart melted…he memorized it from the book and says it regularly. Now he has also gotten, “God says forgive.” I know that he is just repeating at this point, but gosh if it doesn’t make a Momma’s heart happy! After a book, we always say prayers, and he loves to cuddle up, fold his hands, wait for me to say prayers, say a big “Amen!” and clap. Clapping is always involved.

Other things I am proud of…they may not be exceptional things for his age, but they are exceptional to us, and over time, we have realized that is all that matters. He can count…he can count to 15. This too involves a lot of clapping for himself. He points to things and counts to about 3, but he has memorized to 15. His vocabulary is huge…he repeats absolutely everything. He points out every stop sign. Favorite phrases…”Oh gosh”, “I am not afraid”…”walk outside”…”all done.

LJ would live outside if he could. If he can see a door, he is trying to get out of it. He knows if we leave the house and go in the direction of his favorite park. When we pull into the Home Depot parking lot, he immediately starts asking to “Ride tractor.” He would much rather walk than ride in the stroller.

Some people are lucky enough to have gotten a random phone call from my son, or a text message. He loves the phone. He likes to talk on it, watch videos on it, book appointments on it, and take pictures on it. He has amazed me what he has been able to do!

LJ has started to want to play with his sister in the past week or so. When he wakes up from his nap, the first thing he asks is if “seester” is awake. He likes to lay on the play mat with her and sit with her while she does tummy time. The other day, Kaycie was in the bouncy seat in the playroom with LJ. I was in the kitchen making lunch. Kaycie started crying, and LJ was saying, “It’s ok seester.” When I looked up, he was gently bouncing her in her seat, and he had moved the toy bar in front of her. He also found a paci and put it in her mouth. I still insist our little boy is a gentle and loving soul, and I cannot wait to see how their relationship evolves.

LJ has become buddies with his 4 puppies. I have to say that 4 big dogs and little ones has always made us nervous. We have always let them be around each other, but we always kept LJ in the playroom if the puppies were inside and at some point, we had to do something different. In the past few months, LJ has really learned to love the puppies and to be gentle with all 4 of them at once and they have learned the same. They chase each other around the house, they steal each others toys, LJ is quick to hug and give kisses, and it all seems to be falling into place. I will never let them be unsupervised because when it comes down to it, we have over 350 pounds of dog and 2 children. In fact, I think one of them just figured out we had a second child (but Rosco has never been too bright). LJ has a safe spot if he feels like he is getting overwhelmed, but he uses it less and less. He loves them, and they, as dogs do, seem to have found a soft spot for him. They rough house with each other, but they are amazingly gentle with LJ.

At his 2 year appointment, LJ was 27 pounds and 34 inches. He is wearing 2T clothes, with adjustable waist pants for the most part because he is still skinny. The doctor was impressed with where he was. He is getting his 2 year molars in, and he will tell us when his teeth hurt. He loves bath time…if he isn’t asking to go outside, he is asking to take a bath. I suppose getting clean after getting dirty is a good thing! We live on about ¾ of an acre and it is covered in trees, much to our disdain these days. I could write a whole post about this land that we live on...maybe I will. We are having to teach LJ about bugs and snakes sooner than I would have liked, but he is also learning about tree nuts…he likes stuffing them in his pockets. It seems as though every time I do laundry these days, I am pulling nuts out of the washing machine. Hoarder of nuts.

Of course, every new thing the little guy does is great to me. I could go on and on. If you have made it to the end, great, if not, great…I have material for a book for the kiddos one day!