Spring Pics/Update

Now that it feels like summer, I thought I'd do a spring wrap-up post. So here goes:

KYLE:
He can TOTALLY read (and has been for a couple months!). He just picks up a book and reads it! Really cool and something he just taught himself. So proud of my little smartypants :) So that's his big news.

And being the big boy that he is, he now gets up by himself in the morning, disarms the security system ("does the numbers"), and plays quietly (wishful thinking!) in the family room until Luke wakes up. And I stay in bed until that happens (which unfortunately is usually before 6am, due to Kyle's not quite playing). Still a better way for me to ease into the day, instead of having to jump into action before 5:30am every day. And now that Kyle can read, I leave him a (fairly lengthy) note every morning, telling him about the day ahead, or things that he did that made me happy/proud. I love listening to him read it when I'm lying in bed. He usually ends by saying "awww, that was so nice of Mommy" :)

His new not-so-good milestone (although good developmentally) is that he's starting to talk back to me..."Mommy, I won't", or even things like "no one else has to do that" or "everyone else is eating dinner right now" (usually uttered around 4pm). And his other not-so-good development is that he appears to have ANOTHER cold! For a kid who was exclusively breastfed and eats SUCH a healthy diet, he seems to have no immunity from colds. In June nonetheless! Oh well, hoping it's mild and Luke and I don't catch it.

LUKE:
He can do 48 piece puzzles all by himself! And NEVER gets frustrated. He is the most patient little boy, and I love watching him in action. Not quite as amusing is his habit of removing all his clothes and diaper when I put him down for his nap. Somehow he is able to remove his duct-taped diaper that I need scissors to get off. So napping isn't his strength right now, although if I can ride out his antics he'll always sleep for a couple hours.

But he just continues to crack me up with the things that he comes up with. Like I always tell the boys that I love them more than anything in the world. And Luke very sincerely and sweetly looked at me the other day and said "Mommy, I love you more than anything in the bulldozer" :) Oh, and he can put on his right sock all by himself. So he can usually be found roaming the house in just his right sock...I put on both, he takes both off, and then proudly puts the right one on himself :)

And he's getting very good at using the potty (nothing I'm pushing though...I'm all for waiting until they are TOTALLY ready, like Kyle at age 3.5, who literally to this day has never had an accident). Luke does a pee before his nap and before bed, and even did his first big poop on it yesterday that he was very proud of! He's very into it. Looks like I may be potty-training him before I'd like to...

ME:
After having a VERY scary night with a 105F fever (bronchitis/pneumonia), I took two weeks off from exercising, as recommended because of the deep congestion/stressed respiratory system. At first this bothered (the somewhat OCD) me, because it was the first time I've missed a day in almost 2 yrs. But once I got over that, I must admit it was really nice! Not exercising without guilt! Up until now, I've still had that "rattling" so truly felt like waiting was the right thing to do. But it was back to reality the last two mornings, and I've felt good...no worse for the rest!

And last and also least, SUNDAY GIRL AND PATSY PATS:
They seem to be adjusting well to their new home, and Luke's less-than-gentle shows of affection for them. Kyle and I can totally tell them apart now, and Luke about 10% of the time. None of us have quite nailed their gender though, still routinely referring to them as "he" and "him". I can't say I'm overly attached to them yet, but they are very low-maintenance and easy, with no real downfalls (except poor toenail clipping cooperation, right Ca?). I do see potential in Sunday to be Benson-like. Plus they are still kittens, so hopefully some of their friskiness/skiddishness improves with age.