Outside!!!

Yesterday we did a little experiment. Luke has been going potty on his little potty chair fairly frequently lately, about three+ times a day, so I was curious to see how much he knew when we needed to go or if he could tell me or if he would be interested in potty training at all. I knew I had the whole day at home so aside from the time that we were on our walk outside Luke went without pants and we made sure that the potty chair was always close by.

(Luke watching Thomas while sitting on his potty chair)

Anyway, he did go potty in the potty chair about 5 times and on the floor about 4 times, then I put the diaper back on him. When he doesn't have a diaper on I can tell when he needs to go by the way he stands and the way he holds his mouth, but even though I could always tell he didn't always want to sit on the potty. I do think he can hold it a little bit though because when I tried to get him sit on the potty when he didn't want to he would wait until I had stopped trying to get him to sit down and then go! I didn't force the issue or anything, I wanted him to have fun with it and to keep it relaxed. I had also heard about a program of teaching a kid to go potty in the potty chair using a doll and having the child teach the doll to potty in the potty chair. I got out one of Luke's dolls and we talked about what happens, how after the baby drinks water his tummy gets all full and then he has to go potty on the potty chair, and Luke thought that was pretty funny and really got into giving the baby drinks and then making the baby sit on the potty. I think we will wait a little longer before we get serious on the potty training.

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Today we again had a lot of fun being out doors, but this time Daddy was home and that made it even better!

Bubbles!

(notice Luke's new hair cut!)


Me sitting by our front garden that needs a little help.


Luke and I "driving" in the car. He always asks to drive, I always say no because usually I need to get somewhere, but I guess Greg lets him pretty often.

Notice my new glasses! Mom and I both got two new pairs for very cheap at Eye Glass World.

We haven't had a family pic in ages, and while this isn't the best it is definitely the most current.

Grilling with Daddy!!!!

The Meat!

Very good burgers Daddy! In fact the first thing Luke did when we got home tonight at around 10pm was to eat another half a burger and he told me it was GOOD!

After lunch we went back outside and raked up some leaves. Luke got a little bucket and rake and shovel for his birthday from friends Amy, Derrick and Glen and he enjoyed using the rake and the bucket to help Daddy.

He actually did use his own tools for about the first half of the time but then he decided he wanted to use the real things.

Such a big helper!

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Tonight Ben and Andrea agreed to watch Luke for us so we could have a date night. (Thanks guys!!!) We went to see Avatar and then out for some supper. It was really nice to get away together and talk about all the things that get pushed to the side lines when you are busy with work, school and a 2 yr old. We really had a great evening together and I think Luke had a lot of fun with Ben and Andrea too!

Luke and I had some fun outside today blowing bubbles and taking a walk.

Soap in the mouth face!

We decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. We walked to 3rd street, down to Walnut, back to 2nd and then back to our house. It was a nice little walk and we really had fun.

Last fall they redid a lot of the sidewalks in our neighborhood, and since it was fall and there were a lot of leaves on the ground there are now a lot of leaf impressions on our sidewalks. This one was just a block from our house, we have lots in our sidewalks too.

After we got back to the house Luke helped me take a few pics of the flowers we have. Actually he pushed the button for all but the first flower picture.

Here are a couple of short videos...

Easter

We celebrated Easter with both sides of my family last weekend but unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the Bartel get together. I did get several at the Regier gathering because I didn't have to go to work that day and Luke wanted to be outside all the time! There are tons a Luke and few of everyone else once they came outside too.

When we got up that morning Luke was still a little sleepy so I asked if he wanted to go see Grandma and Grandpa Regier and he said, no he wanted to stay in bed! Then I asked if he wanted to see his cousins (actually my cousins) Eli, Addy, Kaitlyn, Austin and Erin and he got really excited and popped right out of bed! Eli was the biggest hit of the day and Luke even figured out how to say his name!

It was really nice outside, but pretty windy. Luke had a lot of fun playing ball and with bubbles with whoever he could snag. Then it was time for the Easter basket hunt and he grabbed Addy and Eli to help him find his basket.

Found it! How exciting!!! A whole basket fully of chocolate!

Enjoying the spoils!

My basket was a little harder to find, they are building a new shed and mine was hidden in the rafters. Greg's was also pretty hard. His was hanging from the rear view mirror in Grandpa's truck but the keys to the truck were hidden too, I think in the little door to the gas tank! This year several of the boy cousins hid everything and they had a little too much fun!

Back to play!

Boy it's hard to get these bubbles out!

These cousins were trying to recreate a photo from when they were Luke's age. Addy is filling in for my brother Wes who got sick that morning and had to stay home.

Then they wanted to add the rest of the small cousins, but Luke wasn't very happy about being pulled away from playing basket ball and pretty much just sat there and cried until everyone got up and went to play with him again!

Everyone stayed outside for a while after the baskets were found and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

You can see the shed in the background of this pic. It still needs some walls and doors but they have gotten a lot done in the past few weeks.

We left soon after that because Luke was so tired and ready to crash at the slightest disappointment.

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Luke also has a ton of candy and Eggs at home from his Myers grandparents that he has really been enjoying. Some of it we have been using for when Luke gose potty in the potty chair, and he is going pretty frquently now. Right now it is still just when I suggest it and happen to catch him at the right time, but I think that once he figures out how to tell me when he needs to go he won't take long to potty train. For now we are just very relaxed and having fun with it.

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Happy Easter!!!

WOOOHOOO!

I just found out that this bill that I signed a petition for has become a LAW under Obama's health care reform package. It is in support and protection of working breastfeeding moms and among other things it requires that all businesses that employ at least 50 people provide reasonable break time and clean space (not a bathroom) for breastfeeding moms to pump!!!! It suggests that smaller businesses do the same but doesn't require them to if it causes undue hardship. Since I have some personal experience related to these issues this is an especially sweet moment for me. I feel like running out and shouting in the streets! Hurrah!

Time for a new post, but unfortunately no new pics. I need to dust of the camera, probably literally since Greg and a man named Kevin have been busy sanding and staining all the wood work in the downstairs of our house. It looks beautiful but it is far from complete and most of it isn't back up yet. It looks a million times better than when Greg was trying to do it himself, and Kevin is helping us out for a very minimal fee. He is an expert at it and has figured out different mixtures of stain for our three different kinds of wood so that they all end up looking pretty much the same color! Pretty awesome!

Luke is SOOOOOO two!I am still having fun with it, figuring out how to help him through a world where he is still very limited but in which he wants and demands to be more independent and self reliant. I delight in his successes and puzzle over how to help him through the things which are either not safe or which he is incapable of doing at this point. He is changing and learning new things everyday and becoming such a little boy, sometimes I want to give him a big squeeze and tell him to slow down a little, but I know it is impossible. Thank goodness he still loves to snuggle with me and Greg. I don't know what I will do when he tells me not to hug him anymore!

We have had some really beautiful weather this week and for once I didn't have to work when it was nice outside. I spent one afternoon at the zoo with Luke and we got to see the elephants being bathed and going through their tricks. That was really fun for both of us. Then we went to the chimp area but we only got the tail end of the zoo keeper talk there. Luke still really enjoyed them. Next we went to the Amphibians which was also supposed to have a keeper talk shortly but when we got there Luke did well for about ten minutes and then suddenly wanted to leave right away!!! I tried to get him interested in all the snakes and frogs and turtles but I only had minimal success so eventually I gave up and let him lead me to the Jungle, where they were feeding the fish. I don't know what happened there but from the moment we walked into the building he was scared of everything. I got him to calm down and enjoy the birds or the golden lion tamarinds a couple of seconds here and there but for the most part he hated it and was freaking out. We went home after that and took a good nap together!

He has never been scared of things like this before, I guess it is part of his growing up. He is also now afraid of big trucks, tractors and machines when they are moving anywhere close to him. He still loves his toys and he likes to watch them from far away but nothing close up at all. He is also scared of our dog Sam now, but at the same time he has a desire to interact with him. He tells me that we need to feed Sam or let Sam come inside or put Sam outside, etc. and he wants to help me do all of that, but whenever Sam comes near him he gets scared and starts crying or clinging to me.

The second day I thought it would be fun to go to the park, and that it would be fun to do something with Ben and Andrea. Fortunately they were free for something last minute so we got together and grilled hot dogs and ate outside on their porch. I got a bunch of cheap bubbles that Luke had a blast with and later we walked to the park close to their house and Luke got to play with a bunch of other kids who happened to be there. He really loves all the slides. Ben became a hit with a group of about four little boys who saw that he had brought along a Frisbee so he got tied up pretty good for a while doing that. It was so beautiful outside and so nice not to have to worry about cars ten feet from my front door. (Ok, that is an exaggeration, but they are definitely way to close for us to play outside at our house.) It was nice to catch up with Ben and Andrea too. To just relax together. We don't do that nearly as often as we should.

Luke has gone to Sunday School twice now and has stayed all by himself both times. I am very proud of him for this, but I'm not sure if he is completely ready for it or not because I have gotten reports from the teachers that after I am gone he won't interact with the other kids and acts sad, putting his head down on a chair and sitting by himself, which is not the way he acts around other kids normally at all. I'm not sure if it is the rules, "Now it's time to sing", "You have to eat your cookie at the table", or if it is the fact that I am not there and he is starting to get more fearful. He doesn't cling to me or anything when I leave him, just gives me a kiss and says bye like normal, but he does look sad and he is extremely glad when I get back, more so than normal when I go some where. I guess it might also be that he is just needing time to gain trust that I will always come back to get him from this new setting, and to get to know the teachers better too. I think the first Sunday he actually did better than the second but the first Sunday my Aunt and Uncle were teaching and he does know them a bit. Anyway, it's one that I will have to figure out with him. I am going to ask his teachers for a list of songs they sing so we can sing them at home so he can learn them. Maybe if he has a hard time again I will stay one Sunday with him so I can see what he does if I am there, if there is something in particular that he is bothered by or if there is anything I can do help the teachers understand him better.

Luke is also using the potty chair a lot recently. He still hasn't figured out how to tell me he needs to pee, and he doesn't really care if he goes in his diaper or not, but he does really like candy! He has gone in the potty chair as many as three or four times in one day and I always make a big fuss about it. Usually it is when he first wakes up or right before his bath, but occasionally he goes at random times through out the day. Even if he can't go he likes to try because he knows if he goes he gets a little piece of candy. (M&M's are great!) I think he might still be a ways off from being completely ready to potty train, but he is getting a lot better and more interested in it than he ever has been before, and it is fun to see him be proud of himself.

Well, I need to go to bed. I'll try to take some pics and put them up soon.