Another Zane Milestone

Contemplating Change

Tonight, for the very first time, my boy Zane is wearing underwear to bed. What's the big deal? you may be asking. Zane has been mostly (9 days out of 10) dry for several months now. Recently I asked Eric what he thought about letting him wear big boy unders to bed and he thought it would be ok. Andrew was much older before he would wake himself up at night so it makes me a bit nervous to let Zane do it so young. I know several people who go straight to underwear at night when their kids potty train but mine either sleep too hard or don't have large enough bladders. Either way it would just work out to a lot of laundry for me to push the issue. Fortunately, Zane is Zane and is not in a terrible hurry to grow up. I first mentioned the idea of underwear at bedtime about a week ago. The answer was a resounding NO! Ok, no big deal. Not going to push the issue. It isn't like we were almost out of pull ups or anything. So I let the idea percolate in his little stubborn 3 year old brain. We have asked him a couple of different times. Still the answer was no. Tonight he was agreeable to the idea though and I am guessing that this will be it for him. Once he gets an idea in his mind the decision is done. Oh, it is so much fun to wait out my 3 year old!

Fishing at Lake Tye

Eric, the kids and I went to Lake Tye in Monroe for their annual kids fishing day. A local fishing club (can't remember which one, sorry) nets off a section of the lake and overstocks it with trout. This makes the fish super eager to bite and lets all the kids get the excitement of catching a fish. We went to the lake after church so the event was almost done. I got a little concerned that maybe they were all fished out but I shouldn't have worried. Eric took care of the boys (baiting lines and casting them) and I got to take care of Lucy. I first thought that I would just have to keep her from drowning herself in the lake but I soon realized that the shoreline was full of bits of Powerbait and some fish guts. Not exactly what I want my girl to play with or put in her mouth. So, I got to corral her on my lap. She was none too pleased with it either. The boys were having all the fun with daddy and she wanted a piece of the action too!


As I expected, Zane lasted only about 10 minutes of fishing before he wanted to come and sit on my lap. The kids next to us on either side kept pulling fish out of the water and I started to get a bit nervous that we were not going to catch anything and have to take home two (three if you count Eric) super disappointed boys! I shouldn't have worried though because soon enough Andrew caught his first fish.

Well, watching your brother catch a fish is absolutely no fun so after Eric got Andrew's fish off the line Zane wanted back in the game.

Eric rebaited Andrew's hook and was getting Zane's ready to go back into the water when lo and behold Andrew caught another one!!! Well, the limit for each kid was 2 fish so Eric got Andrew all finished up so he could focus on Zane. For whatever reason the fish seemed to like Andrew's pole the best so they stuck with that one. About 3 minutes later Zane was reeling in his first fish and it was a doozy!

Now that both boys had caught something we decided to call it a day. We went and got our fish weighed (2# 14 ounces for the 3 fish) and then stood in line to have the nice gentlemen clean them for us. They were significantly faster than we would have been at home! Plus we didn't have to worry about Calvin trying to eat the fish guts.

All in all, a great day of fishing and family bonding. Next year I think we are going to bring a lunch though. By the time we got done we were all starving and raw trout didn't appeal to any of us. Now to cook them for dinner tonight. If the kids take more than one bite I will be impressed. Eric is going to have a LOT of trout to eat!

Playing Go Fish

I recently got the kids a holder for their cards when we play go fish and other games. They love to play but they can't hold onto the cards the way that they need to. The cards end up in a lump and then it takes them forever to sort through them. Anyway, while I was at Target this week I picked up these card holders to see if they would make a difference.

Eric and I played Michigan Rummy this week with Andrew and it definitely helped him. Then tonight with Go Fish it helped with both Zane and Andrew. They like poking the cards in and out of the holder. I like that it was a non expensive solution. Now the card games can really begin at our house!

And just a random cute picture of Lucy for your enjoyment!

Z's, Pee and Ready, Set, GO!

This week Andrew brought home worksheets to start working on the letter Z for his speech therapy. I think he is only saying it wrong about half the time. I love seeing the concentration on his face when he is doing his homework. He is a very determined little guy when he knows the correct and proper way to do something. I am so glad that we pushed the speech issue too. He is getting much clearer to understand and it is wonderful to hear the progress. He still has a lot of sounds to go but I am confident that he is going to tackle them with the same dedication he has shown already.

Zane had his first true boy moment this week. Tuesday we went to the park and somehow during the midst of the playing Zane and one of the other little guys went and peed in the bushes. Honestly I don't know what he was thinking. I understand that it is a very BOY thing to do but it still was so out of character for him. I think the other little guy mentioned it and it sounded like fun to Zane so he went along with it. It isn't so much of a big deal as it is just a shock to me that he would take that much initiative and just go for it. It is probably good that Andrew didn't see him either. He would have flipped out.

Lucy this morning was super cute. Eric was getting her diaper changed and he said "Ready,Set, Go!" several times and Lucy was saying it with him. Silly mommy, worrying about her talking! She is doing fine. I am just not listening for it. It was very cute though and we can get her to say it for us periodically. She looks so proud of herself too. She will be chattering like a magpie in no time!

That is all for us. Just thought a quick update was in order!

Some Fun in the Sun at Our House!

The sun FINALLY decided to come out in Western Washington and we decided to take advantage of it.

Andrew spent some time playing soccer. First with me and then with Daddy.

Lucy wandered around the yard and just enjoyed being outside in general. On a side note, she is now able to get up to the top of the slide on the play structure without any assistance. YIKES!

Zane spent some time playing with trucks and also played some soccer with Andrew and Daddy.

For Easter Angie and Reece got the kids these very cool bubble swords. They are a total hit and the boys played for quite awhile with them. I had gotten the kids one of those no spill bubble buckets and they had fun with that too. Lucy seemed to think the bubbles were to be eaten, but other than that it was a great activity.

I love sunny days! I wish they would be here to stay until at least November. Maybe we would get sick of them but some how I doubt it!!!

Lucy Fern- 15 Months

Lucy had her 15 month checkup today. She is getting so grown up I can hardly believe it! Here are the latest stats on my baby girl!

Weight: 23# 3oz (56%)
Height: 31" (67%)

I actually thought she would be a bit taller than that but apparently she is just looking tall to me. In comparison to the boys she is close to tracking with Andrew for weight but she is considerably shorter than he was at this point. As I told the doctor, I am glad she is not on track to be a lumberjack! The only thing the doctor and I chatted about this time was that Lucy is not terribly verbal yet. I just assumed that since she is a girl she would be super chatty by now. I think part of the problem is that I am not listening to her babble and interpreting it correctly. I think she really only says "ma" and "da" but in the office both the doctor and I could swear she said "read it" "elmo" and "book." So maybe my ears just need to be listening better. Either way it is nothing to worry about (according to doctor) until she hits 18 months and then they would just test her hearing. I am sure she will be chatting my ear off by then and I will be wishing for a little peace and quiet. :)

Here are some Lucy lunchtime pictures to enjoy!

"Seriously lady, I am eating here"

I think she was trying to say "cheese" in this one!

All Star Andrew!

T-ball, for all the uninformed out there, is hilarious. Andrew had his second game today and it is so much fun to go and watch kids picking daisies, missing the ball, fighting over the ball and occasionally throwing it where it is supposed to go. I hate to brag (ok, I don't really) but Andrew is pretty stinking good at t-ball. Part of what works in his favor is that he has a good attention span and reasonably good hand/eye coordination.

His team is called "The Zoo Crew"

Today Andrew got to play catcher, center field and second base. I really enjoy the league that he is playing in too. Every inning, every child gets to bat. There are no outs and everyone gets to score even if they are the last hitter. Andrew's coach is really good at moving the kids around too so that they will get into a position with a chance to actually touch the ball. Let's face it, in t-ball there is not a ton of action to the outfield! Each game we have played has been 3 innings long. It usually lasts just about an hour and a half. Kinda long and by the last inning the kids are done but it is fun and very educational. What I have figured out about t-ball (and baseball in general) is that it is a much more complicated sport than soccer. I am sure that big kid soccer has more rules than what Andrew played this year but it certainly was less confusing than t-ball.

Getting ready for the game!

Andrew gets a HIT!!!

Andrew's biggest fan!

Andrew's other biggest fan!

Andrew playing catcher, keeping his eye on the action. They have to stand behind the fence in case of thrown bats. Good game today, only one thrown!

The thing that impressed me most about Andrew today was that he is totally a team player. When he got a chance to play second base he would try and field the ball (he made several great stops) but if the ball rolled past him he didn't mind letting other kids have a turn. It was very impressive that he had that much position integrity. Many of the other kids ran all over the field every time the ball got hit. Not my guy though, he is a team player all around!