Sweet moments on the lake

Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE being near the Lake again?  One of the publics beaches/ parks is only about five blocks from the house.  We walked down there tonight after dinner in the hopes of tiring the boys.   Tamlin rode his little bike.   He is getting pretty good at pedaling now.   Jude rode in the wagon which I pulled.  He adores riding in the wagon and kept a running commentary of everything he saw as we walked along.  It was a slow enough pace that Brian and I could hold hands and just enjoy time spent together outdoors.

  I love watching the lake change with the weather and hearing the waves crash on the breaker walls and seeing the sunsets.   This evening the lake was a bit churned up from recent storms earlier in the week.  This meant virtually no beach and waves swallowing the rocky breaker wall most of the way. We braved the waves together as a family as we walked along the rocks.  Tamlin was nervous and insisted on a hand being held.  Jude was more brave and wanted to jump the puddles and waves.  

We sat together as a family...Jude in Brian's lap and Tamlin in mine.  My oldest child insisted on my arm being firmly around his middle in a hug to keep him safe.  

Yes, buddy, I will always try to keep you safe.  Always.

When we tired of listening to the waves, we played on the playground for a bit.  There was lots of swinging and sliding :-)  We didn't stay for the sunset tonight because of bedtimes...but soon...I told Tamlin that at our new home we will be able to watch the lake change through the seasons.  He was curious about this and how waves are made and why wind is invisible.  Trips to the library may be in the future.

Latest notes on the boys

Tamlin...
Is sleeping on the top bunk bed and loving it.
Has mastered pedaling his two-wheeler with the training wheels and using the hand brakes.
Is working on making the swing go on his own, but loves being pushed high.
Loves going in the water and will jump into the deep end with Daddy.  (He's thinks he wants to jump from the dive board, but backs down).
Recognizes a few words on sight, "Truck", "Car", "Dinosaur" and "Stop"
Can do some simple addition
Has started doing chores: Put dirty clothes in hamper, hanging jammies on hook, putting dirty dishes in sink, shredding paper.
Loves playing games with others on the iPad
Sayings include: "One more game", "I wasn't talking to you", "I love you", "What are we going to do today?","Let's go see the cousins","I'm going to see the neighbors", "Hey, Mom...I've got something to tell you","Can I play on the iPad?"
Often wants to play with whatever Jude is playing with





Jude...
Has figured out how to climb the ladder to the top bunk, but can't get down again.
Loves to ride in the wagon on walks.
Adores swinging and has learned to lean his head back and laugh like a maniac (thanks to brother).
Can kick when on his belly in the water
Is starting to put words together, such as adjectives and nouns like "Big Car"
Knows his body parts
Knows that he is JuJu or Jude (exclaims this and pats belly)
Will count to ten on his own, but tends to repeat three and five and forget six and seven.
Recognizes many letters, including M, O, F, T, I, H, E
Has figured out how to push the kitchen chairs around to climb up to the counters
Has figured out that he can swing on the galvanizes clothes bar in the upstairs cubbies.
Amazes me with how his much his brain is thinking...such as walking on a fallen tree on the beach and hooting like a monkey, then saying "JuJu, Monkey"
Often wants to play with whatever Tamlin is playing with




Probably a few others that I'll think of soon...

Potty training update

We are back to the potty training Jude...

And we are "mostly" successful!

He will say "potty", sometimes before he needs to go...but sometimes just as he starts.  We are rewarding the early acknowledgements and consoling the misses.  The rewards are M&Ms and stickers, so we get "Pee!"  followed by "M!" shouted loudly from the toilet.  For going number 2 in the potty (mostly misses currently), he gets a prize airplane. 

He is still in a pull-up diaper for the night, but he does say dry a good portion of the time.  I've been bold and placing him in underwear during the day...Brian is not quite as brave and often gives him pull-ups.  But, we have cleaned and placed all the cloth diapers away.  No more diapers!

Jude has certainly come to understand that he can control his pee and is fascinated in watching it come out.  He is the thinker compared to his brother.  I'm just so proud of him hitting this milestone!

Of course Tamlin is the helpful big brother.   He is often asking Jude if he has to go potty...but he knows that if Jude is successful on the potty, he gets a M&M too :-)