Play Dates & Road Trips - Part 1

Before the summer began I wrote on my blog that I had big plans for me and Luke during our summer vacation. For anyone who knows me personally, you know that I am a planner....I love my calendar (still the handwritten kind)....and, in order to make sure that I accomplished all that I wanted to do this summer, I planned our field trips for the whole summer. In this plan, I decided to use Thursdays as our "road trip" field day...by that I mean, any destination that takes more than 45 minutes, we will do on Thursday each week. For this post, I have documented our trip to Burlington City Park that we took last Thursday. You will see pictures and video below.

In between the road trips, I am planning to give Luke as many opportunities as possible to play with other children. Just about every week, I have planned a play date with someone. For this post, our play date was last Friday night at Matt Hill's house. Landis, Luke, and I went over to his house to grill and let the kids - our Luke, Matt's Madi (3 years old), and Matt's Connor (8 years old)- play. While the grown-ups played corn hole, the kids played in the dirt, on the slides, with the tricycle, and, of course, with the play lawn mower.

I already have pictures prepared for this week's play date and road trip so stay tuned for "Play Dates & Road Trips - Part 2" coming soon (hopefully, Sunday). Until then, enjoy the pictures....

Matt's fiance, Fran, said that a dryer sheet will keep the mosquitos away, so we tried it....amazingly, Luke had NO mosquito bites and I had several...I should have used the dryer sheet!> :)



That's Madi...isn't she cute???



Now...the 1st road trip of the summer...Burlington City Park. If you haven't been here, you should go. They have a playground and several super fun amusement rides. And, if you go on Thursdays, every ride is only 50 cents. Luke and I stayed at the park playing and riding for over 2 hours and only spent $3...in this economy, cheap fun is necessary! :)

Luke playing in the gazebo...


Luke riding the car ride....he was so cute on this ride. I made sure to put him in a car that had doors and a seatbelt. Every time that he rode, he rode with a girl that was at least 4 - a complete stranger, but that didn't matter to Luke, he will talk to anyone....he gets that from his daddy. :) So...here he is with (who knows what her name is) in the green jeep - at least he has already learned that the man does the driving! If the doors would have opened, I could have taught him another gentleman lesson - open the doors for the ladies! :)

This is Luke driving the boat....the boat ride at this park is great! Parents can actually sit inside the gate on benches while the ride goes, so, I was very comfortable letting him ride because I was literally 2 feet from the water.
Luke playing in the field watching a lady fly a kite...
Back to the boat ride...he loved this.
He's ringing the bell...

Back to the car ride...another hot lady in the passenger seat...
Fun times, I'm telling you....fun, fun, times!

By the way, I have had several of my blog readers ask, "How do you know where to find all of these neat parks, museums, etc?" My answer - this website....www.piedmontparent.com....you can sign up for email alerts on the local events/specials in the area and you can also read articles from the Piedmont Parent magazine, which will often times include information on local parks and activities. As always, if you have questions, email me at lnbumgarner@northstate.net....have a fabulous fourth! :)

Toddy

(In the car video, make sure you keep your eyes on the green jeep.)

Night Time Routine & New Words

Let me start with the exciting news that the night time routine that I'm getting ready to describe was WITHOUT the paci last night for the first time EVER!!! :) I am super excited.

Last night, around 8:00pm, Luke and I began the normal night time routine....(sometimes his routine includes a bath, but his bath was finished before dinner because I gave one immediately after returning from the pool)....so, after the bath, the routine begins with the pjs....I put Luke in his overnight diaper and then his pajamas (my favorite are his Thomas the train pjs). While I put on his pjs, I remind Luke to finish his milk. Then, I tell him to go get his toothbrush and toothpaste and he does just that and brings them to me. We, together, brush his teeth - he wants to do more of the work than me so I brush his teeth the best I possibly can with the little, tiny hands in the way. After the teeth brushing, I tell him to give "Daddy" a kiss and a hug. Landis is usually stationed in the recliner at this point so Luke climbs into the chair and then gives daddy a hug and a kiss.

Before last night, the next phase was Luke getting his pacis. He knew which drawer they were in so he would walk to the drawer and remind me of where to find them. For the longest time, Luke was actually addicted to 2 pacis each night while rocking - one in his mouth and one to hold. I am hoping this is DONE!

Finally - my favorite part - the rocking and reading. We shut his door, close his blinds, turn on the lamp and begin rocking. At first, I talk to him about his day and we say a prayer thanking God for all the things that happened during our day. I can't wait until he can begin telling me exactly what he is thankful for.

Next, we read A TON of books - each night he seems to pick different ones....some of his favorites include: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Snuggle Puppy, Moo, Baa, La, La, La, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Goodnight Moon, Five Little Ladybugs, the Numbers book, and a cute book called Tuck Me In. If Luke doesn't want a certain book read, he lets me know it by pushing it away. He also lets me know when he is ready to turn out the light...he turns around and reaches to put his arms around my neck....I love that part! :) So....from his cue, I turn out the light and begin singing a variety of songs (a different one each night) - some of my favorites include Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Jesus Loves Me, This Little Light of Mine, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and I Love You Lord. Luke will toss and turn several times while I'm singing....he will lay facing the window and then he will turn and lay his head on my shoulder....he goes back and forth between these two positions until he finally passes out. I usually rock him for about 10 more minutes - just because I love holding him and then I gently lay him in his crib, cover him up, kiss his tiny head, tell him I love him and then out the door I go. Our whole rocking routine usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

I know the doctor would like for me to put him in his crib and then let him fall asleep on his own and I know deep down that I should listen....however, I really enjoy that night time quiet time and I'm just not giving that up right now. :)

Here are a few pictures of Luke before bedtime....

This is Luke and Landis before the PJs one night - this was taken last week so you still see the paci....

And, here he is in his PJs (not Thomas, but the sharks PJs)....in this first picture (which was taken last week), Luke is getting the pacis from the drawer....last night, he didn't even attempt to go to the drawer....I was very proud!

Brushing his teeth...

And, now before I get to the final video....I wanted to make a list of all the words Luke has added to his vocabulary in the last week. We took his paci away (except for the car and crib) exactly 1 week ago. It's amazing how much he talks now! He jabbers all day and says at least one new word each day! Here are some words that I have heard him say and can understand....

ball, water, pool, hi, hello, bye-bye, thank you, slide, Silas, Lexi, Max, bird, dog, milk, sky, mailman, truck, duck, quack, shark (when pointing to his pjs and his bathing suit with the sharks), outside, back, bath, stick, mommy, daddy, poppy (for papaw), maw (for mamaw), up, out, and probably a few more...pretty much, he tries to repeat all of the words that I say to him, but I can't understand all of them.

He also makes several animal noises - barking, monkey sound, baaaa, roar, and quack (when he quacks, he does the cutest little hand motion with his fingers like a duck's beak - I taught him that.) :)

A few of the words are especially cute and popular in his vocabulary....for instance, he now says, "no, no" to us when he sees things or thinks about touching or getting into things that he knows is off limits. For example, when he sees the remote control, he will look at it and say, "no, no" and then sometimes still touch it, which doesn't result in a happy mommy.

Other words that he says all the time are "bicycle" and "bus"-in the car, he calls every big vehicle a bus and every motorcycle, scooter, bike a bicycle - as we drive, he says these two words over and over. When we are driving, I have also taught him that a red light means stop and I hold out my hands as I say stop. He now does this when I stop at red lights - it's quite cute! He will also say "go" at green lights.

I'm very proud of the way Luke is progressing with his language. I always knew he had the ability, but the paci was in the way.

Luke puts an EEEE sound at the end of a lot of his words....like Ma-MEE, Da-DEEE....About 2 weeks ago, I was able to catch him on video saying these words....I hope to post more video of him saying other words later in the summer...until then, check out this video...

Have a great week! I hope to post again on Friday!

Toddy

18 Month Check Up & Preschool Hunt

On Tuesday, Luke went to the doctor for his 18 month check-up....yes, that's right....he's REALLY 18 months....officially on June 21st. While everyone was celebrating the official beginning to summer, we were celebrating the 18 month milestone!

The doctor's appointment went great - we saw Dr. Bunneman, the same doctor that we saw last time. I really like him because he thoroughly answers my questions and doesn't sugar coat anything. My personality needs someone to tell me EXACTLY like it is - no bouncing around the issues, just tell me....and, boy did he ever!!!

First of all, he saw Luke's paci and he asked, "Is that just something you brought for comfort or does he have that all the time?" Uh-oh! CAUGHT! I shyly grinned and said, "He has it most of the time." The doctor immediately told me to begin the process of getting rid of it. He said that after 18 months, the paci begins to affect the formation of their teeth as well as their speech. He said that pacis result in speech therapy in pre-K and Kindergarten....oh my....I don't want that. So....on Tuesday, we started the process of freeing Luke from the "numi"....according to the doctor, we should limit it to the crib and the car for about a month and then take it for good. On Wednesday, we tried this - he did not have his paci except for naps, bedtime, and car trips. He asked for it a few times, but, for the most part, he did really well. Each day has gotten better and better. We have been able to be consistent with our plan for 4 days now....I'm very proud of myself for not giving in and very proud of Luke for being a "big boy." It is amazing how much Luke is talking now without his paci. I have some ideas written down for a post that includes all of the words that he is saying-I'm trying to keep an ongoing list but he seems to say a new word everyday. :)

Back to the doctor's visit-the second big topic that the doctor and I talked about was Luke's teeth brushing. I told the doctor that Luke likes to have a cup of milk right before he goes to bed - while we are rocking. He asked me, "So, you give him milk after he brushes his teeth?" I, once again, shyly grinned...."ummm....yes." Oh no! Here comes the 2nd lecture.....he told me ABSOLUTELY NOT! He said to brush his teeth and then the only thing I could offer him was water. He said, "Ideally, he will not need anything comforting to go to bed. You should be able to put him in his crib and he fall asleep on his own." Wow! I feel like I'm a pretty good mommy, but I'm definitely not on target in that area. Luke is addicted to the rocking chair, his paci, and a cup at night time. Thank goodness....he has handled the water in his cup instead of the milk quite well. He is actually sleeping really good lately. He sleeps from approximately 8:30-9:00pm to 7:30-8:00am without me holding him and in his crib. So....to the doc....we will compromise on this one - I'm going to keep rocking him but I will follow the water advice for the sake of Luke's teeth.

On to the next Doctor topic - I noticed on the 18 month checklist that the toddlers should be drinking from a regular cup all by themselves. This worried me because I haven't begun trying this with Luke yet at meal times. Sometimes I will let him try it outside for fun....but, mealtimes and playtimes, a sippy cup is used. I guess I have another project. I also told the doctor that, even though Luke is capable of feeding himself with a fork and a spoon, often times, he requests that I feed him instead. Surprisingly, the doctor wasn't too concerned about this - he said, "Continue to offer the utensils to him and he will eventually gain that desire." Thank goodness! :)

Basically....other than leaving the doctor with a "To-Do" list including - stop the night time milk, stop the paci, and start the regular cup, everything was great. Luke weighs 21 pounds, 4 ounces and is 29 1/2 inches long. He gained about a pound and a half and grew a 1/2 inch. He is still "well-proportioned, but small."

I will continue to keep you posted on my projects. :)

Next on the agenda - a preschool hunt. I decided to enroll Luke in the Shady Grove United Methodist 2 day a week (8:30-12:00) preschool program beginning in September. I visited three preschools - Mt. Zion Wesleyan Church Footsteps, Fair Grove United Methodist Kingdom Kids and then Shady Grove was my last visit. I looked for a few things: #1 - education level of the teachers, #2-teacher/student ratio, and #3-clean, safe, spacious facilities. Shady Grove ranked higher in all three areas. All of their teachers are Smart Start certified, but most of them have a college degree and have worked in the Davidson County school system before....matter of fact, I knew several of them from teaching at Wallburg. The Shady Grove facilities are much newer, bigger, and had more to offer Luke as far as educational toys and games. Luke will be in a class with 6 toddlers - age ranging from 18 months to 2 1/2 - with 2 ADULTS! YES, that's right - Shady Grove has a teacher and an assistant for each class. I also was attracted to Shady Grove's program because they invite some outside programs to come in and work with the kids - there is a special reading program, music program, and art program that comes to the preschool to work with the kids. My objective for sending Luke to a preschool was not to have someone "babysit" him but to have someone challenge him and work with him developmentally. I feel confident that is what he will get at Shady Grove.

One more positive piece of Shady Grove - as an administrator, I often times am one of the first people that a new family will meet when coming to Fair Grove. I take this responsibility very seriously and always make sure that I present myself in a professional, organized manner. I looked for these same qualities as I spoke with the directors of each child care program. Some directors were more organized and professional than others and Shady Grove's director was excellent - she responded to me quickly, professionally, and with up to date detailed information. With that type of leadership, the preschool program will be a success!

Here are some pictures to go along with this LONG post....these are actually a few pictures I took about 2 weeks ago....I'm telling you, I am so behind on picture posting! :)

The first few pictures were taken at the mall...Landis was shopping for some shorts so Luke and I tagged along. Luke enjoyed playing in the dressing room...

Now....these two have a special story....do you have any guesses what Luke might be doing in this picture???? Keep guessing!!!

Did you figure it out? If you said, "Luke is taking a #2", you are correct! Luke is very shy about doing his business....even at home, he goes and hides (usually in his tunnel) to do his #2. Because of this, I'm thinking potty training might be a little easier. I think he hides not only because of the shyness but because he hates to have his diaper changed and he thinks if he hides that I want find him to change it. I guess he doesn't realize that I could "sniff him out." :)

The next few pictures were taken on a rainy day when I was still working....when it rains, I try to find super fun things to do inside....one of the games we play includes lining up different pillows in the hall and running across them like an obstacle course. I do it and then Luke tries it....here he is trying to navigate the pillows.





And...now some silly faces from dinner....Luke is full of personality and the personality seems to explode at dinner time....here he is being silly...


Did you see that? He is stuffing crackers down the straps of the high chair! Cleaning up sure is fun!





Peek-a-book behind the cracker!

Luke received a medal at gymnastics a few weeks ago....here are a few pictures of him playing with it...he didn't want to wear it, he wanted Mickey and George to wear it....in the first picture he is giving them a hug with the medal on.





That's all for now....have a great weekend.

Please remember - if you have not visited my blog in awhile, make sure you check some previous posts...now that I have some extra time on my hands, I am posting every 2 to 3 days in order to journal our fun summer and some other random thoughts that I have been writing down, but have not officially recorded....the post right after this one has some super cute video....so, don't miss out! :) (Did that sound like an advertisement?? LOL....I'm just a little crazy!)

Toddy