Lucan's Letter

Seven-year-old Lucan has a pen pal in South Dakota. He received his first letter from Ty last month, and finally we sat down to get a response ready. I decided to allow Lucan to dictate the letter to me in the interest of getting something IN the mail rather than waiting for him to write everything out. This is what he dictated...I love the random ramblings!

December 2, 2016

Dear Ty,

I hope you and your family have a great time. I am an artist, and I like playing with Legos. I really want to obey my parents very well. Zaden, my 5-year-old brother, sometimes wants me to not make my Lego guys back to normal. Zaden also has less schoolwork than me.

Tobin and Arden sometimes do Minecraft. Tobin is 14, Arden is 13. I am 7 years old.

Kenna, my 9-year-old sister, has Legos too. And also me, Kenna, and Zaden like playing with Legos together.

Charis, my 16-year-old sister, is a babysitter. And also sometimes she is here at home.

And Seanin is the chubby one. He is 3 years old. Me, Zaden, and Seanin share a room. Seanin just won’t let me have some of my Lego pieces.

And baby Rhema, my youngest sibling, she is very cute even though she cries sometimes. She is one and a half years old. Sometimes me and her play with each other.

I have 8 children in my family, soon to be 9.

My dad goes to work almost every day and comes back for dinner. My mom, with baby Verity in her tummy, it’s getting hard for her to bend over.

Ty, there is one thing I would like to tell you about me. I sometimes have dreams what are like in heaven.

Sometimes our movie time is watching “Octonauts.”

I hope you like my letter!

Update: Kenna, Lucan, Zaden

KENNA:
We had an ice-skating birthday party for Kenna at the end of February when she turned 9, a fun celebration with friends and cousins. While many remark about how much Kenna looks like Charis did at this age, their personalities are very different. Kenna is definitely a girly tomboy: you are likely to find her outside digging up and collecting worms for her dirt-filled birdhouse container, with toenail polish on the nails of her muddy feet. She loves to dress up but hates to shower (although a good long soak in the tub is always a treat). She plays hard and works capably, although her bedroom is more likely to be a disaster zone than to reflect the organizational skills of her big sister. She loves, loves, LOVES to read, and it doesn't bother her in the least to do schoolwork "later" when she'd rather finish the current book in her hands. Her math skills are coming along nicely after some struggles, and while she knows/feels she is "behind" (finishing up the Beta book instead of Gamma this year), she works steadily and is understanding the concepts well. Her sloppy handwriting is something she has a desire to change, so she is working more in earnest on learning cursive and practicing on various pieces of scrap paper. While the language arts writing assignments have never been her favorite, she has discovered that typing out a creative story can actually be fun...so last week's assignment is still a work in progress as she adds a little each day to her Story Starter. Kenna is a social being, thriving when she gets to play with friends or attend anything remotely social. She loves her siblings fiercely and carries Rhema around like a pro. Her current career choice is to be a missionary in Fiji...and I wouldn't put it past her to make that happen!

LUCAN:
Having received a number of art supplies for his recent 7th birthday (celebrated fireman style!), Lucan describes himself very seriously as an ARTIST. Some days it is an effort to pry him from the table and convince him that he really would enjoy going outside to run around! He has always loved working on his own little projects at the table by himself (yet with a constant stream of chatter about what he is creating to anyone who will even pretend to listen), and since he is not a typical rough-and-tumble boy, he usually responds to my requests for outside play time with reluctance...until he comes up with a creative play scenario that has him narrating his actions and traversing the yard in his own neverland. He and Zaden are--usually--best buddies in these scenarios. Lucan is very passionate about Jesus and wants to tell others about God's love for us. Almost every day he says something that reflects his tender heart, whether talking about being a missionary or praying for our sponsored kids in Africa. His prayers are wide-sweeping as he asks the Lord for there to be no more fighting or wars (before playing good-guys-fighting-bad-guys, lol). This post I left on Facebook awhile ago still makes me laugh:

Lucan has been showing such a tender heart to share the good news of salvation through Jesus with others. This sweetness does, however, end in a good giggle at times, as this conversation shows...you'll have to imagine my responses for brevity's sake.

"Mommy, when I grow up, I want to tell people in South America about Jesus. When I am 19, I will tell people in Peru. After I walk to all the cities, then I will go to Brazil. I will be 20 then. And then I will go to Argentina. I think I will be 24 then. And then I will tell people in Chile about Jesus when I am 25."

After listening to Lucan tell about his planned route, I ask him if he will learn Spanish.

"Spanish?!"

"Yes. Most people in South America speak Spanish. And most people in Brazil speak Portuguese."

Pause. "Um, never mind."

Quiet...

"Mommy, do people in Canada speak English?"

ZADEN:
While he loves to run around with his siblings and friends, Zaden is still a cuddler and usually prefers to sit on Ted's or my lap in church instead of joining the kids when they leave for their class. Though we are trying to remind him that sucking his thumb means it's (nap) bedtime, he still pops his thumb in his mouth when he's tired or feeling shy. I'm trying not to make a huge deal out of it; simply making him aware that big boys don't suck their thumbs (and if he's sucking his thumb, then it clearly means he needs a nap!) seems at least a step in the right direction. I'm enjoying this last year of not having to do much of anything "school-ish" with Zaden, although he sometimes REALLY wants to work on some kind of workbook, anything to make him feel like he's doing school also. We are lazily learning to write letters and finishing up random workbooks when we feel like it, and he sometimes listens in on Kenna's reading and almost always listens in on Lucan's reading. He is an AWANA Cubbies graduate now--hard to believe he will be a Sparkie next year! He is a passionate little boy, and by "passionate" I mean "still prone to insanely ridiculous temper tantrums." (He had a meltdown Sunday morning because Ted gave him the plate he asked for. Sigh.) He is also an excellent tattle-tale, which may or may not be helpful, depending on which sibling he feels the need to report about. I am trying to capitalize on his desire to help in the kitchen, even though having one little helper usually means I end up with 4 or 6 extra hands to keep gainfully occupied.  As cute as he is, Zaden probably often feels overlooked, with two cute baby sibs that need a lot of supervision and all his older sibs engaged in schoolwork that Mom needs to oversee. There are times when lesson plans need to rest awhile so I can snuggle and read with my thumb-sucking boy!

Lucan

Me, after nearly rear-ending some idiot who stopped to talk on his cell phone IN THE EXIT LANE: Whew, my heart is racing!

Lucan: My heart is racing, too, Mommy! It's going to win!

**********

Lucan has always been very affectionate, earning the name "Lovable Lucan."  Lately his thing has been telling me, "Mommy, I love you 100!" or "Mommy, I love you 100 times!"  Not sure where he got that quantifier, but it melts my heart every time I hear it!

**********

A current obsession has been playing Peter Pan and Captain Hook.  Of course, Lucan is always Peter Pan, even though he also loves to dress up like a pirate (complete with the crocheted eye patch that Charis made for him).  The obsession carries over into his building and drawing--he builds Captain Hook's ship out of legos, math blocks, trio blocks, pretty much any kind of building material.  And of course he draws and paints Captain Hook's ship as well, and his play-acting includes all of these elements.  He proudly announced to me one day, "Mommy, Captain Hook's pirates are getting dead!"

The Littles

Some random tidbits about current life with the littles...

SEANIN
Seanin had his lip tie clipped on September 11 and has done beautifully with nursing ever since!  I'm so glad we had the procedure done.  He was fussy that day (understandable), but was back to his normal self the next day, and we noticed a big difference with his eating and sleeping habits.  And I felt as if he were milking the breast much more efficiently.  Praise God!

We did start putting Seanin to sleep on his tummy a few days ago with fantastic results.  He really had not been a great sleeper at all--ever.  Trying to get some sort of predictability to his daily routine was impossible, and you can imagine how difficult that made our school days (not to mention nights--oy!).  I wondered aloud if sleeping on his tummy would help, since he seemed to prefer cuddling on someone's chest while sleeping.  Ted tried putting him down that way, and lo and behold!  It was like MAGIC!  He goes 3.5-4 hours or so at night and has a fairly predictable 3-hour schedule during the day.  He rarely wakes up in the middle of a nap cycle anymore, and I am SO THANKFUL God pressed that on our hearts to try!

ZADEN
Zaden is adding to his vocabulary daily, and it is so fun to hear him chattering away!  One of my favorite things to hear him say is, "Bess-oo, Mommy!" whenever I sneeze.  He will stop what he is doing, run into wherever I am, and say that if he hears me!  Melts my heart!

Like Lucan, he went through a huge bus obsession.  When he first started talking, "bus" was easy for him to say, and so EVERYTHING on wheels was a BUSSSSS!  This led to great exclaiming in the car as he realized the power he had to name every. single. vehicle that we passed.  "Bussss!" he would shriek.  "Actually, that's a car."  "No, bussss!"

Similarly, all liquid is "milk."  If we are reading a book that has pictures of water, such as his Flashing Fire Engines story book that depicts a hose spraying water at a fire, he pronounces it "milk."  "Actually, that's water, honey."  "No, MILK!"

He is an amazing eater--pretty much anything he sees us eating, he wants to eat himself.  Heaven forbid that we should scoop it up to cool onto his plate before we sit down to pray...no, he wants us to scoop from the pan just like all the big people!

Zaden's eyes are as big as ever and look even more so since Ted buzzed his hair.  It was looking pretty ratty, since he twirled it while sucking his thumb, resulting in various bald patches where it got knotted up so badly that it either fell out of its own accord or had to be snipped.  I almost cried when I saw his near-bald head, but we're getting used to it (and it's growing back!), and I do love how his eyes look bigger than ever!

He still loves "Baby Say-nin" and "holds" him frequently: that is, he holds out his arms, we hold Seanin out so Zaden THINKS he is holding the baby, and Zaden smiles, coos over him, kisses him, and then runs away.  He also likes stealing Seanin's blankets and running around wearing them like kingly robes.

When Zaden goes down for a nap or for the night, he settles himself into his crib with his stuffed buddies arranged just so around him, lies down on his tummy, indicates that we are to put his blanket over him, pops his thumb in his mouth, goes to twirl his hair but remembers there is nothing left to twirl, removes his thumb, and says, "Daddy (or Mommy or Charis, whoever is with him), song!" and then we sing "Jesus Loves Me," just as we've sung with all the kids.  It will never get old!

LUCAN
Lucan is taking on more of a big brother role now that he has officially moved into Zaden's bedroom!  (That noise you heard was the cheering of Tobin and Arden who no longer have to share their space with a 4-year-old!)  The two little boys shrieked with giggles and delight the first few nights but seem to have settled down and are used to sharing now.  We kept Zaden in his crib since he doesn't seem to mind, and he is such a good napper...why mess with a good thing?!

Lucan still loves to build, anything from puzzles to train tracks to magnet structures to Legos to Math-U-See blocks.  He's quite protective of his creations and gets extremely upset when Zaden messes things up.  He will cry pitifully, covering his mouth in his distress.  It's hard not to laugh at the drama, but it does show Lucan's passionate, sensitive personality!  He even asks at times, "Mommy, will you please put Zaden to bed?!" because he knows that nap time is the best time for him to play without interruptions.  Although...then he often has to fight his big brother Arden, who enjoys building with the same play sets Lucan is working with while I do our afternoon school reading!

Speaking of school, we have not officially started any school-ish activities with Lucan.  I may start working with him on some writing.  He has begun showing a lot more interest in coloring and drawing than he has in the past and enjoys creating elaborate picture scenes on the white board when I let him!  The drawing below shows mountains with an orange tree and a blueberry tree on top and a person in between.  There is a small crooked tree in front of the mountain with the fruit trees on it.  To the right of that is Split Mountain (which we went to on Labor Day) with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in between the halves of Split Mountain.  Love it!  (Note that the green scribbles in the top left corner were NOT Lucan's doing and have nothing to do with his masterpiece, LOL.)

Lucan may be on his way to becoming a vegetarian; for some reason, he resists eating chicken in almost any form.  (Chicken spaghetti?  Hello?  Kid-friendly meal...he wouldn't even touch the noodles.)  On the other hand, he adores salad or veggies with Ranch dip and will often fill up on veggies and fruit, bypassing the main course altogether.  Thankfully he does like cottage cheese, cheese, eggs, sausage, and other forms of protein, and of course good ol' PBJs!

A food funny from tonight's dinner...as I mentioned, Lucan really loves salad.  Tonight I made a Caprese salad--fresh tomatoes and basil from our favorite farm stand, mozzarella di buffalo, plus some olives.  Not all the kids appreciate this kind of salad, so we had carrot sticks on the table as well.  Lucan decided to have some salad.  He got halfway through eating it and then lamented, "Awwwww!  There are LEAVES in my salad!"  (Referring to the basil!)

Lucan has continued to do well with using the potty, although he still wears pull-ups at night.  He still feels the need to proudly announce his bowel movements...since the weather has been nice and all the windows are open in the house, we can hear him wherever we are as he shouts, "I DID go poopy on the potty!"  And he will continue to holler that over...and over...and over...until someone reaffirms him, "Good job, Lucan!"  Lord willing, the announcements will stop before he graduates...

And Now for Something Completely Different

It's time for an update on LUCAN'S POTTY TRAINING!!

I don't know that I've actually blogged about our efforts; I know it has crossed my Facebook status multiple times, though, as well as been a source of conversational laments with my close mommy friends.  So, for those who are uninitiated, here's a rundown...

First, we began to realize that this poor kid just never really had a "prime" potty training window:

• He definitely was not ready early as some toddlers are.
• Shortly after he turned 2 years old, his daddy left for 13 months.
• During the time Daddy was away, Baby Zaden was born.
• After Zaden was born, Mommy and Zaden had lots of issues related to nursing.
• By the time Lucan turned 3, Daddy was still gone.
• Two months later, Daddy returned!  Yay!
• And then we went on a 30-day road trip.
• And then we returned to Ohio to pack up our house.
• And then we moved overseas.
• And then we lived in a small apartment for two months.
• And then we moved into our house.
• And then, as we were FINALLY feeling at-home, Ted left for a 6-week TDY.
• And THEN Lucan turned FOUR!

Oh, my.

Combine all the transitions and trauma of the last year and a half or so, and it was no wonder Lucan was four years old and still wearing pull-ups.  Added to all that, his laid-back yet focused personality weren't conducive to self-motivation...he hated to be torn away from his building projects!

At the same time, it wasn't as if we didn't put forth ANY effort to train him.  Before we moved to Italy, he had some potty successes, including a few poops!  We were encouraged that maybe it wouldn't be so hard after we got to Italy.  Once we felt somewhat "settled" in our apartment, plus having very little that HAD to be done each day, I thought we'd make some focused efforts and really make some headway.  Well, we did make focused efforts, and he did make...a small bit of headway...but after finding that he had smeared poop all over the balcony one afternoon, I decided that I was NOT ready to deal with this and maybe it would be better to wait until we got settled in our actual house.

More attempts.  More failure.  Finally we decided not to worry about it until after Ted returned from his 6 week course in Texas--I was early on in my pregnancy and not feeling up to the potty challenge.

We desperately tried to get Lucan to even approach consistency, but to no avail.  Plus, he simply WOULD NOT poop on the potty.  He seemed agreeable enough, even sitting on the potty for 10-15 minutes at a time, but with no results.  And he was happy enough to run and pee when we asked him to (even graduating to standing up instead of sitting), but it was NEVER his own idea.

We gave up and put him in pull-ups for the duration of our road trip.

After our return, we ditched the pull-ups (except at night) and told him it would be underwear only during the day.

Also, I found a potty training book (how many of those have I browsed over the years?!) at the thrift store during a Bag Sale Day and figured it couldn't hurt!

Well!!

That book gave us the idea that was the TURNING POINT!!

There was a special section on kids who were delayed potty trainers for whatever reason, so I just focused on that.  Their solution was to have the child clean up his own mess, and once everything was clean, to have him run from the location of the accident to the nearest toilet and go through the motions of taking down his pants, sitting on the toilet, "finishing," and then doing that whole routine TEN TIMES.

Thankfully, Lucan's first few accidents happened when Ted was home, so we were able to have Ted do this with him instead of me having to figure out how to add this into my regular routines.  As you can imagine, the first couple of times of RUNNING TO THE POTTY were like a game!!  Oh, so fun!  But ten times?!  The fun definitely wore off.

Would you believe...I think Ted only did that with him a couple of times, and all of a sudden, poop success!!  AND Lucan started making sure he got himself to the potty when he needed to pee instead of waiting for us to prompt him!  

We were so excited.  I made a new potty chart: yellow stars for the days he has no pee accidents and brown stars for the days he has no poop accidents.  (Gross, I know, but it is working for him!)

And then I went into the hospital with pre-term labor.  Ugh.  I was away for over 5 days.

We were concerned that Lucan would revert to his original potty problems, but I am SO THANKFUL to report that he is doing GREAT!  The only poop accident he has had in the last week and a half or so was when someone was using the toilet he was headed to and he had to run upstairs...and didn't quite make it!  And only one pee accident that whole time.  He is still wearing pull-ups to bed, but he's been dry maybe 50% of the time, and honestly, that's the least of our concerns now.  Our big prayer was that he would be completely daytime potty trained before the Baby's arrival, and God has graciously brought us through a very, very frustrating time to some profound success in the last couple of weeks.  Thank the Lord!!

It seems like such a minor issue, especially since we really haven't had potty training problems for YEARS! Tobin proved a bit challenging because he thought it was so fun to let fly in...um...unique locations, but Charis took the initiative to train both Arden and Kenna, so it had been awhile since we were actively involved in the process!  But this "minor issue" was starting to consume my life, causing me much stress and frustration, and I hated that.  I'm so grateful that we seem to be over the hump.  Plus, Lucan's new self-confidence and happiness with himself is an added bonus in seeing him graduate to full-time dry/clean underwear!

Sir Lucan & the Princess

Charis helped Kenna and Lucan make this stinkin' cute video yesterday while I was running some errands. Lucan the Knight saves Princess Kenna by cutting off the head of a dragon.  He then shyly asks, "Will you marry me?" and they ride off into the sunset!

Spotlight on...LUCAN

It's time to remember those precious things about our children that change all too quickly as they grow!  Today I want to record a few of the fun quirks and sayings from our little Lucan.  We have to focus on the positive aspects of being 3 years old...

He is still a Veggie Tale fiend.  
Evidence is as follows:
1. His lunchtime prayer a couple of days ago was this:  "Dear God, thank you for my cottage cheese and for my apples and for my crackers and for my yellow peppers and for my Larry the Cucumbers."

2. His playtime set-up today involved a replica of the wall of Jericho, complete with a row of "Percy Pea" soldiers on top, just like the French Peas in the Veggie Tale episode "Josh and the Big Wall."

After I took this picture he completed the line of "veggies" marching around the city so it was completely surrounded and then spent the next hour or so (no exaggeration!) singing his own version of the Veggie Tale song "Keep Walking," which changed the words slightly to "Keep walking...you'll knock down our wall," while knocking off various parts of the wall.  Of course!

He is loyal to his buddies.
Evidence is as follows:
Doof Dog has been slept on, cried on, sat on, snotted on, dragged around, kicked, squished, and literally has had his stuffing beaten out of him.  Lucan's little security habit involves reaching into this hole and fondling "Doof Guts" (as Ted dubbed the stuffing) to the extent that we find balls of fluff all. over. the. place.  It's not uncommon to hear during evening clean-up time, "Lucan, please come get Doof-Dog's guts and put them back inside him."  And Lucan will go trotting to the area of destruction and piece his friend back together.

This is one well-loved pooch who spills his guts for Lucan!

He falls asleep in weird positions/places during rare but needed naps.
Pictorial evidence as follows:

Oh yes, this child is sacked out.  Feet propped on a laundry basket.   Comfy, eh?!

UNDERNEATH the roll-away bed in the laundry room.

He hums instead of sings at bedtime.
The current song regimen includes 4 songs when I put him to bed and 5 songs when Dad puts him to bed.  The parent sings, and Lucan hums.  Woe be to the parent who skips a song.  The order is as follows:

1. "Jesus Loves Me"
2. "Jesus Loves the Little Children"
3. "1-2-3 Jesus Loves Me"
4. "You Are My Sunshine"

(Those are the 4 songs I sing to him.  The 5th came about, I believe, because when Ted returned from deployment and attempted to figure out this routine, Lucan kept asking him to sing the "Shine" song.  Which is OBVIOUSLY song number 4, but if you have spent the last year in Kandahar, this could be a bit difficult to figure out, since communicating with 3-year-olds can be about like trying to have a conversation with a cat.)

     5.  "Shine" by The Newsboys, chorus only, sung by Ted, because THAT makes sense, and Lucan approves this message.

He hugs with an "mmmmmm" sound effect.  
All the time.  Every single hug.  *Melt*
(This can be a bit amusing when he's coming off a tantrum, sobbing away, and being told to go give Mommy a hug good night.)

Other favorites include "Buzz Lightning Year," tunnels (going through them on drives and building them with toys), his buddy Josiah, our friends Ms. Hannah and Mr. Tuba, building robots, and Superman.  He has Superman pajamas and tells us often that he wants to fly like Superman.  When he told me that this morning, I agreed that it would be very fun to fly like Superman, and he got this brilliant idea:

"Mommy, YOU wear Superman jammies!"

I'm sure Ted would be thrilled. ;-)

Loveable Lucan

I can say with a fair amount of certainty that Lucan has to be one of the most easygoing 3-year-olds I've ever known.  Most of the time he is an absolute delight to be around, and his silly antics and constant random chatter keep us well entertained (for free, even!).  As you can see from the picture above, he is 100% boy--this was taken after he and his friend Sean entertained themselves for over an hour with a couple of snow shovels, lots of ice, and some dirt from the yard!

Lucan naps a few times each week, on occasion even putting himself to bed.  The picture below shows him as I found him, half asleep, in the entryway the other afternoon.  He uses his "Doof Dog" as a pillow and curls up with his "Soft" (owl blanket), with other stuffed buddies and pillows about.  The difference between this picture and a regular nap time scenario is that we generally don't allow him to sleep with pirate ships or blue balloons...

This picture shows Lucan with some of his favorite things.  While he isn't as obsessed with buses as he used to be, he does enjoy having a bus or a ship to place his Veggie Tale characters in.  These things go with us EVERYWHERE these days!  Even at the airport when we welcomed Ted home, you can see him in the pictures holding Laura the Carrot and Junior Asparagus with his USA flag!  He also loves his Cars lego set from Grandma J and really anything to do with cars, even though I don't know that he's super familiar with the movie.  He has hand-me-down pajamas with Mater and Lightning McQueen on them, which you can see in this picture of Lucan with my brother John, so maybe that's part of it.

Other Lucan tidbits:

• He is potty training!  Really, there has been--and is no--good time frame to potty train this kid.  Daddy deployed right after he turned 2, and now that Daddy's home, we're preparing to go on a major vacation and move overseas!  So, we're trying but not exactly expecting miracles.  Still, maybe God will be gracious!  Lucan loves the attempts and seems to think the whole process involves one long string of words:  "Pee pee poo poo potty, Mommy!"  Whenever he produces (always #1, so far never #2), it's still "Pee pee poo poo potty!"  He loves to get an "M L M" (what he calls M&Ms) as a reward.  Bet you didn't know potty training was a multi-level marketing endeavor.
• Hugs from Lucan include sound effects.  How can you not melt when he wraps his chubby arms around you and says, "Mmmmmmmm!"
• He is definitely in the independent phase.  He finally learned to say, "I did it!" instead of "I made it!"  Which was definitely an adorable phase while it lasted.
• I'm a much more patient mommy now than when I had other 3-year-olds in this independent phase.  I've learned it's much less stress and saves time to just let him do certain things himself, such as climb into the Suburban and into the car seat instead of lifting him up.  But I still have to sigh when he reverses a process that he thinks you've helped too much with and starts all over just so he can do it himself.
• I have NO IDEA where this one came from, but he is often heard muttering, "Little bit one zero [fill in the blank about whatever topic is at hand]."  This morning it was, "Little bit one zero Bob the Builder movie."  He has been saying these four words in connection with random things for at least a month now, and no one in the house has any idea where he came up with it or what it seems to mean!
• He is a very agreeable child and quite obedient, although we're working on coming right away when called; he tends to get very absorbed in what he's doing and doesn't want to come unless there is an obvious motivation, such as food.
• He is also a very polite child and even corrects others on their manners.  He once told me "thank you," and when I didn't respond quickly enough, he said, "Say 'you're welcome, You-can,' Mommy."  Oops!
• Lucan entertains himself amazingly well.  Like big brother Arden, he can be content with doing puzzles and building things for hours at a time.  The only bad thing about this is that because he is so content, I don't sit down with him as often as I might otherwise to cuddle and read to him or interact with him that way, because he plays so well by himself!  Hopefully we can work in some preschool cuddle and reading time once we get settled after our move!  In the meantime, this is a great season of our lives to have an easy-to-entertain boy!

Lucan Tidbits

• Praying with Lucan before his breakfast:  "Dear God, thank you for Lucan and for his oatmeal."  Lucan says, "You're welcome."

• For unknown reasons, Lucan doesn't usually care to have the lights on in the family room.  In fact, he often demands that they be OFF.  Now that he can reach the light switch on his own, this can be tiresome, particularly for the siblings who are trying to read.

• Likewise, for reasons known only to himself, it is not acceptable for the windows to be OPEN, even if we have a beautifully warm day and want some fresh air.  With much screeching and loud protesting, Lucan will drag the footstool to the windows in order to reach the windows, pull them down, and close the curtains as if to say, "I said, WINDOWS DOWN!!"

• When I'm reading a book to him, after he turns each page, Lucan says, "Mommy," as if to announce, "OK, the page is turned and you can keep reading now."

• New favorite snack:  almonds.  He knows where I keep them and often tries to help himself.

• Current sleeping location:  either the big boy bed or the crib, depending on whatever his whim is!  He can climb in and out of the crib, but he's been doing pretty well with napping nearly every day anyway.  He has slept in the twin bed a number of times, and I can't figure out any sort of pattern, so I've taken to just letting him decide where he wants to be--BUT, we don't go back and forth!  I'm not playing THAT game, not with 12 stuffed animals, two blankets, and a ginormous pillow to shuffle back and forth!

• Still repeating everything we say in a monotone voice--very funny!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Lucan's Current Obsessions

Nowadays Lucan has some strange and amusing fascinations, and I wanted to note them before he moves on to another phase! 

I've mentioned before how much Lucan loves to see a BUS or talk about a BUS or play with anything having wheels, which is also a BUS.  Any larger vehicle (including trains, trucks, our minivan, and the Suburban) is a bus.  Any smaller thing on wheels, such as a normal car, is a bike.  Despite efforts to educate our son as to the proper names of wheeled objects, he is firmly convinced that there are only the two categories.  We may be making progress, however; he recently brought to us a toy dump truck and informed us that he had a "dump bus."  Maybe something is getting through!

Lucan is also extremely fascinated with Bob the Tomato.  I'm not sure if this is because of Veggie Tales or simply because Bob is so easy for him to say, but he adores Bob.  Charis has kindly taken to drawing pictures of Bob for Lucan to color and even made him his own Bob & Larry poster for his wall, which lasted a surprisingly long while as decorative art before it was yanked down and dragged about the house.  During Ted's week at home before his deployment began, he took to asking Lucan if he wanted to "eat Bob" when he was cutting tomatoes for dinner.  Lucan apparently has no qualms about devouring an object of his affection, and I've been able to get a variety of foods down him by asking him if he wants a "yellow Bob" (yellow pepper) or an "orange Bob" (bite of carrot).  Actually, he's a pretty good eater as it is, but I thought it was funny that he wasn't voluntarily reaching for the peppers until I mentioned they were different colored Bobs!

"Daddy" is another obsession, and not just Ted.  Lucan loves pointing out the daddy figure in all of his storybooks and is especially fond of "Daddy Dart," a figure Charis draws frequently.  If you've seen the 3-2-1 Penguins episode about Planet Tell-A-Lie, you may remember the dart characters...she watched the bonus feature on how to draw them and began drawing them everywhere, even drawing a dart "J family" with all of us represented (including a Baby Dart!).  So, in addition to drawing Bob, Charis now draws Daddy Dart for Lucan's viewing pleasure.

A newer addiction is "Sam."  During school on Monday, I was reading to the kids about Sam Patch, a man who gained fame in the early 1800s by jumping from high surfaces into water.  There was a picture of Sam leaping off Niagara, and Lucan wandered into the kitchen to hear the rest of the story.  He loved the picture and kept exclaiming over it.  "Sam" is an easy name to say, so...no surprise...he now says "Sam" a lot.  And yes, "Sam" gets drawn quite a bit now, too.

Lucan also adores any kind of music, exclaiming delightedly, "A song!  A song!  A song!" when he hears music or singing.  ("A song" seems to be one word in his mind, so when you read that, say it fast!)  In fact, he was so delighted with this toy guitar that my friend Sidra gave it to us to keep, since her kids seem to be uninterested in it nowadays.

I think that sums up some of his interests nowadays.  I know I'll look back one day and think, "When did he stop loving buses so much?!"  But for now, I love his enthusiasm when we're out and about!

Happy Birthday to Lucan!

OK, so I'm a little late posting about this, but Lucan turned TWO on March 27!  We celebrated with our family, including our Colorado family!  Rhonda, Joel, Sarah, and their two boys Anders and Cade were with us a few days over spring break.  Lucan had no idea what was going on, but he had fun nevertheless and was very excited to get some new puzzles (especially the dinosaurs, "ROAR!" and the kitty, "Yow!").  He and Ted shared an incredibly yummy birthday cake, since Ted's birthday happened while he was TDY in Florida.  (We used this frosting...MMMM!  Honey instead of agave syrup, though, because we can't have the syrup on GAPS/SCD, and homemade yogurt cheese instead of cream cheese.)  Oh, my!  I must say, it was WAY better than Kenna's birthday cake!  Hooray for legal sweets!

Quick 2-year-old stats for Lucan:  he is 28 pounds and 34 inches.  Not the biggest boy we've hatched, but he's definitely a happy and healthy boy!

Some of my favorite pictures are below.  My parents came for a brief visit last weekend, and we did a belated celebration of Lucan's birthday and an early celebration of Tobin's.  So the last picture is of one of the gifts they brought for Lucan.

Kid Update

We're halfway finished with our Sonlight curriculum for the year, which means it's a perfect time for a little update on all the short people in our house.

CHARIS
An obsession with historical fiction keeps us trekking to the library frequently to keep Charis in books.  She has progressed far beyond the American Girl series and now reads all kinds of diaries/journals (fictionalized, but based on real people and events).  Her favorite authors are Kathryn Lasky, Andrew Clements, and Beverly Cleary.  When she's not curled up with a book, Charis is either playing the piano, working on a self-imposed writing assignment, or holed up in the craft room, making a mess on my stamp room floor as she creates gifts for loved ones.  (Latest project: two dolls in a box crib for Kenna's birthday present.  You can see one of her projects in the picture of Kenna below--she made "mice" and "cages" for her and her siblings to have as pets.  Such detail in the boxes!)  She is a HUGE help to me in the kitchen as well as entertaining the little ones, and I am so thankful that she is such a natural homemaker-in-training!  I truly enjoy working in the kitchen with her, and it's a delight to both Ted and me to watch her with her younger siblings.

TOBIN
Having found a new literature series to read (The Lightning Thief), Tobin also frequently escapes to spend some quality time with library books.  He will begin piano lessons on March 1, so we will have two piano students in the house!  Our piano teacher is thrilled to have another student, and I was thrilled that Tobin finally agreed to start lessons, LOL.  It's quite convenient, as she drives here and does the lessons in our dining room with the kids while I work on lunch or do what needs to be done with the other children.  Tobin also continues to fulfill his role as Ted's "Mini-Me," cracking jokes and puns at the drop of a hat.  He's getting more dependable with household tasks, and I find myself calling for him to do things for more and relying less on Charis in some respects, so that is definitely a good thing!

ARDEN
Although Arden is not as big of a reading fanatic as his older siblings, he does enjoy comic books!  He has read tons of classic Peanuts books as well as others that we let him check out from the library.  But given a choice, he would much rather be playing something:  Legos, chess, Wii, computer games, anything that involves running with a pointed object, and so on.  He and Tobin often disappear for hours on end to build and play with their Legos.  Arden is excelling in math, doing double-digit multiplication and nearly catching up to the book that Tobin is currently in.  I've decided to stop trying to slow him down!  Only this past week did he finally seem to "struggle" with a new concept, which he quickly mastered after a little one-on-one time with me.  He adores his little siblings and is such a gentle-hearted boy.

KENNA
Eagerly anticipating her upcoming princess "par-tea," Kenna is still the happy, joyful girl she's always been.  I love how she comes downstairs in the morning with her hair sticking out in every direction wearing a huge smile.  That girl is just so HAPPY!  Her exuberance for life always lifts my spirits--one can't help but smile when she's around...assuming she's in a good mood, that is!  Watch out if she is crossed!  Kenna is quite tall (big, even!) for her age.  She turns 4 on Sunday, but her 4T clothes are nearly too small already!  I'm glad spring is close by so we don't have to worry about her ankles hanging out of her pants, LOL.  Kenna loves singing, being chased and tickled, and bossing Lucan around.  She loves thinking she is a big kid, listening in on our Sonlight reading and helping set the table every morning for breakfast.  She really is becoming quite a good little helper, sometimes even being more dependable than Arden, who is easily distracted!

LUCAN
Our baby isn't really a baby anymore, sigh!  He also is fast outgrowing all his clothes.  We are reaching the end of the hand-me-downs we received before we left Las Vegas, so I may actually need to go buy him some clothes!  Hurry up, garage sale season!  Pretty much all his pants are too short, so we have to creatively dress him when the weather is cold, LOL.  Lucan is shaping up to be like his big brother Arden in so many ways.  I remember Arden was doing 100-piece puzzles by himself when he was 2 1/2.  Lucan will be 2 at the end of March, and while he isn't close to 100-piece puzzles yet, he is quite capable of doing 24-piece puzzles and even a 48-piece one that Kenna got for Christmas (thanks, Ski!).  A recent obsession is the Hungarian New Testament that he found off our bookshelves.  I don't know if it's the size or the bright blue color, but he LOVES that thing!  He carries it around and randomly opens it and "reads" out loud to anyone who will listen.  It's very cute to hear him babble...maybe he'll be a preacher to Hungary someday, ha!  Another likeness to Arden is his sweet, gentle spirit.  When I picked him up from the toddler room on Sunday, his teacher described him in just those words--"He has a sweet, gentle spirit!"  Reminded me of a time when a godly woman from our church in Maryland spoke similar words over a one-year-old Arden, saying she didn't know exactly what it was, but she felt in her spirit there was something special about that little boy.

BABY TBA
I am pleased to announce that I have indeed been feeling Baby J move over the last week or so, quite frequently, even.  I could tell my belly was growing (that happened starting the moment of conception, LOL), but not feeling any movement was beginning to worry me.  I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow and have my OB appointment in the morning.  I am trying hard not to FREAK OUT that I am 1/3 of the way through this pregnancy.  Oh, that Ted's deployment will go so quickly...

As much fun as it is to watch our children grow and become the people God created them to be, it's also fun to dream and imagine what they'll be like in 10, 20, and even 50+ years.  What a blessing each one of them is!

Lovable Lucan

Lucan has been doing some cute things in this phase of his life, so I wanted to record them before we forget and he moves on to other cute things!

He LOVES animals, dogs in particular.  In fact, most animals, in his mind, ARE dogs.  And his word for a canine is a combination of the animal and the sound:  Dah-oof!  He would go into fits of excitement every time I carried him downstairs and he saw our string of Snoopy Christmas lights on the stairs, pointing and saying "Dah-oof!  Dah-oof!" over and over until I let him touch each one.  Then he started pulling off the plastic Snoopy light covers, and finally Mom got tired of finding them on the floor, so Snoopy is gone.  But no worries--Lucan got a big stuffed dog from my parents for Christmas, and the other kids have various stuffed dogs, so there are lots of critters to hug and exclaim over.

Lucan definitely has more words than the last time I blogged; we had politely turned down the offer of some early intervention services that we could have gotten from the referral from the pediatrician, and I'm glad.  Though he still isn't as verbal as other kids his age might be, and though his pronunciation of his few words still lacks perfection, he is doing pretty well at communicating.  Newer words include:

• milk
• off
• hat
• doof (we're not sure what this means, but he says it a LOT!)
• those/this 
• church
• eye
• ear
• head
• mouth

And of course he chatters to himself frequently in his own little language.  He looks so cute, nodding his head and saying what sounds to us like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," as if he is participating in actual conversations with us--and I'm sure in his mind, he is!

Lucan loves his daddy and frequently exclaims, "Daddyyyyy!!!!!!"  He does this every time he hears the garage door open, thinking that Dad is home from work, but he also says this while pointing to my dad's picture on the wall...he spent a few days calling Grandpa "Daddy" while I was in Salt Lake City!  And sometimes I am "Daddy," too.  Sigh.  He has been heard saying "Mama," but as usual, Mom gets the shaft, LOL!

His other consistent word is "Ewww," said at appropriate times like diaper changes and when pointing to the trash.

Lucan loves music and will start bobbing his head side to side when he hears any, and if he's up and moving, he may very well dance as well.  He is loving the excitement that has come from our family getting a Wii, and he points the remote and dances on the pad just like the big kids.  In fact, he mimics a LOT of actions that he sees the big kids doing!  Yesterday he threw his hands up in the air and said, "Yes, yes, yes!" just after Arden was cheering over a touchdown he saw on TV!  And he pours a mean cup of tea and passes out "desserts" just like he has seen Kenna do with her new tea set.

He's still my little cuddle bear, loving to be held and snuggled.  His sweet, laid-back personality is a wonderful complement to the other kids' personalities, and I thank God SO much for blessing our family with our little Lucan Thaniel!

A Lucan Video

Is it REALLY November?!  I haven't blogged nearly as much as I have wanted to...this is one of my only ways of capturing our family moments since I haven't made time to scrapbook in, oh, well over a year.  And now I'm barely even posting!  Here is a video of Lucan babbling.  Though he doesn't have a whole lot of words right now, that doesn't mean he's speechless, LOL.  Whenever he sees the camera, he stops what he's doing and just stares at it, usually with a smile, so I was trying to be sneaky about getting this speech on video--therefore, I apologize for the quality!  Still, it gives you an idea of what I'm up against when I try to read anything to the kids during breakfast or lunch!  (We usually do our Bible reading at breakfast, and on days when we have errands to run, I will often try to read some history or science at the table while they are eating lunch.)  When Lucan hears me reading, he thinks it's the perfect time to spout off about his own knowledge of the world, and this is what we hear on top of my reading...which usually doesn't last long!

Spotlight on...LUCAN

Today was Lucan's 18-month well-baby check-up.  (We're about a month late...)  Weighing in at 24 pounds, 4 ounces, he's in the 26th percentile for weight and 33rd percentile for height (31 3/4").  He is definitely not going to be the same build as Arden, LOL.  Overall, he's a pretty healthy little guy.  Since we had his check-up this morning, I thought I'd take time to jot down some notes about him at this stage in life.  All too quickly, I know, things will change!  So, here are some random things about our sweet little Lucan.

COMMUNICATION
Lucan definitely understands more than he can communicate.  He has a grand total of maybe 6-7 signs:

• More
• Please
• Eat
• Milk
• Shoes
• All done

His verbal skills aren't much more impressive.  I was hard pressed to list a half dozen words that he consistently uses.

• Eee (eat)
• Hi
• Nigh (night-night)
• Dare (there)
• Yay!  (Both arms must be raised above the head when saying this word.)

 Um, yeah.  Notice "Mama" and "Dada" are not even on the list!  Neither is "uh, oh," which was definitely one of Kenna's first words.  (Go figure.)  If it would count as a word, I'd list "uuh" or maybe "ooo."  He says that a lot.  While I'm not terribly concerned about the lack of verbiage from the baby of the family, his PCM (primary care manager) suggested having him evaluated to see if we can help him begin to speak more and whether speech therapy is needed at this point.  (Although, to be fair, she didn't seem overly concerned about it, either--just something that probably had to be said at this point.)  I think someone may be calling me to set up an in-home appointment to come and observe him in his natural environment...I wasn't really clear on whether this WOULD happen or COULD happen.  I guess I'll find out!  With 4 older sibs who know their baby brother REALLY well, there really isn't much need for Lucan to talk.  I've been trying to make him use more sign language before giving him what I can tell he wants, and we will try extra hard to have the kids really work with him to repeat words (which he does try to do on occasion).

But the kid understands quite well what's happening around him!  When I tell him it's time for a diaper change, he trots to our "spot" and assumes the position.  When he hears it's bath time, he trots into the bathroom and begins stripping down.  And oh, the boy knows when it's time to eat!  Guess we just need to prod him a little to make him work harder for what he wants.

PREFERENCES
Mommy, Mommy, and did I mention, Mommy?!  We are definitely in the clingy stage.  I remember going through this with the others around this same age.  It can be very aggravating when trying to make dinner--it's not easy toting around a large object on one's leg or working with a small person's head stuck between one's knees.  All I can say about this is, thank God for hips.  And nap time.  And when I read about the Proverbs 31 woman having arms that are strong for her tasks, I think..."She ain't got nothin' on my left bicep!  This baby-hauling mama HAS to have strong arms in order to survive!"  (I just sometimes wish there were more than two of 'em!)

Other favorites include:

• Listening to Daddy make raspberry noises.
• Light switches--turning them off and on.
• The phone.  (We never lose it anymore...he certainly knows how to page it...)
• The piano, especially when Charis is trying to practice.
• Having his shoes ON.  Even when wearing pajamas with feet.
• Big bouncy balls.
• Greeting Daddy when he comes home from work.
• Indiscriminate waving.  Alive or not, it doesn't matter--if he can see you/it, he will wave to you/it.
• Giving high fives.
• Riding piggy back on Charis or Tobin.

ACTIVITIES
Lucan is really getting into books these days, which is fun for all of us except Kenna, because it seems to be my reading time with her that he decides is the best time to horn his way onto my lap, grab the book we're looking at, push her aside (literally), and demand my full attention.  But other than the Mom-stealing part of reading time, it's fun to see him really start to be engaged with what's happening on the page, pointing and exclaiming in his own little babble language.

Puzzles are another budding interest.  We have quite a few of these to capture his fancy, from magnetic book puzzles to foam and wooden shapes.  He definitely knows where pieces are supposed to go, even if he isn't quite coordinated to get them all in the right way.

We still like to go for walks in the wagon, but the weather is turning colder, so we no longer do this before the big kids rise and shine.  So we don't go out as frequently, though I do try to send him to the back yard with an older sib to bounce on the trampoline or just putter around with a ball and some toys.  I do miss the little play gyms we've had in the past...

And, as you can see below, he loves being a little ham!  He always has an appreciative audience.  Lucan really does light up our life ("Lucan" = Irish, "light"), and we can't imagine our lives without him.  What a blessing and a treasure he is!

On His Soapbox

Milestone

I was cleaning the kitchen when Lucan toddled in, all clean from his bath. He wore a huge grin and some red and black Montana pajamas that family members gave us when Charis was a baby. It dawned on me that my days of seeing him crawl into the kitchen are officially over. In less than a week he has gone from taking 2 to 3 steps at a time to plodding steadily all over the house, fists up by his cheeks for balance, heading for no particular place, content just to practice his new skill.

As I gazed at him a bit misty-eyed, he wandered over to his chair and dug out some morsels leftover from who knows how many meals ago, stuffing them into his mouth hastily. I guess that's another milestone--he can now get his own meals!

How Time Flies

On Saturday our little Lucan turned ONE! I can hardly believe it's been a year since his traumatic delivery. He is such a happy, healthy little guy, and I can't imagine our family without him. He had his one-year check-up on Monday. He is only 19 pounds, 8 ounces, and 28 1/4 inches long. I'd have to look up the definite stats in the boys' baby books, but I know that at a year they were well over 20 pounds already. Charis, on the other hand, was a mere 18 pounds at her one-year check-up.

I do know that Lucan's appetite was greatly diminished the week before his birthday, and for good reason--it looks like his top two teeth are ready to pop through any moment. He was crabby, drooly, snotty, and all that other fun stuff. But he seems to be through the worst of it, and his appetite has definitely returned. You should have seen him stuffing his mac 'n cheese into his mouth at lunch time!

Lucan isn't walking unaided just yet, but he is on the verge of a major breakthrough in this skill arena. He has recently realized that he can stand without help, and he is SO steady it's a wonder he hasn't just taken off yet. I'm sure it will be any day now! He loves having his own cheering squad that breaks into praise every time a sibling notices he is standing on his own or even, like last night, taking a couple of steps without realizing it.

Some favorites:

Food--bananas, grapes, raisins, pears, sweet potatoes, mac 'n cheese, Cheerios, spaghetti, PBJs. He does NOT like cheese and wasn't too excited about his first hot dog.

Objects--anything with a cord, especially Mommy's computer mouse. Socks. (He likes to chew on his own.) Stuffed animals. Chairs. (He likes to push them around the tile floor in the kitchen, as they help him walk.)

Toys--his walker, any one of multiple toy phones we have (he especially likes my old cell phone), baby keys (the ones that make noise when you push buttons, of course).

Activities--playing airplane, being tickled and chased, banging objects, grabbing anything he can reach off the table.

If only...

...if only I could walk, I could be playing with the big kids outside, too!