Missing Things

The worst part about leaving home for a few days without your family is that you are bound to miss something. I'm down in New Orleans with some friends for a birthday and I've missed something. Luke stood up on his own without holding on to anything. Since he started standind and even walking Luke needed to hold on to something for stability. Those days are passed. I heard from Mom yesterday that Luke just stood up. He'd been croughing down to pick up things so i knew he had the balance for the manuver. We're really proud of you Luke. Keep reaching those milestones.

Six Flags

Sunday we took Alyce and Luke to Six Flags. It is Luke's first trip ever and the first time this season for Alyce.  Another first for Alyce is that she got her first season pass.  This is the first year that Alyce was old enough to need her own pass.  It was also her first ever picture id.  Getting the season pass was the first thing we did once getting inside the park and Alyce seemed pretty excited about it.

The first ride we rode was the Enchanted Carousel.  It was close and a good introduction to rides at Six Flags.  Luke was even able to ride the horses even though Mom had to be there to hold him.  After the Carousel Alyce played on the playground.  This was also the first and only ride that she couldn't ride on because of her height.  The two biggest and best slides available were only available to kids 42" and taller.  Can you believe it?  You have to be 3'6" to ride a slide?  Before we got busted on height Alyce and I managed to go down the slide so she got the experience.  Hah! Take that height checker.

After the playground Alyce rode all manner of rides in the Looney Tunes kids area.  Some rides she was very excited to go on and others required a bit of cajoling.  The balloon ride and the the boat ride were her two favorites while the plane ride was her least favorite.  The best part about the majority of these rides is that the parents get to go one them too.  They aren't anywhere near as exciting as an adult ride but Alyce's excitement was so infectious that was impossible not to have a good time.


Toilet training continued even at the park.  Alyce was a big girl and told Mom and I she needed to use the restroom and didn't have any accidents.  Upon exiting the restroom I caught this great action shot of her running into my arms.  I love it when she runs into my arms.  I pick her up above my head, swing her around, and we come to rest in a big bear hug that I want to hold as long as possible.

The last ride we rode for the day was the steam train.  The kids area is right next to a train station and the train came through more than once while we were there.  Alyce noticed this and asked repeatedly to ride the train.  We figured we could do it last and ride it back to the front of the park.  Before the train left the station I hopped off real quick to get a picture of Alyce.  Alyce voiced her displeasure with my actions by saying "daddy get on the train it's going to leave without you".  Adorable.  This was also Luke's 2nd and last ride of the day.  Had the Ferris Wheel been open we could have gotten Luke on three.


Luke was an angel during the whole trip.  He spent most of his time in his stroller but he didn't seem to mind except when he got hungry.  I'm thinking he was too busy taking in all the action going on around him.

The last thing we did before leaving the park for the day was to pick up a cape for Alyce.  Mom and I on previous trips to Six Flags say kids and adults wearing superhero capes.  Rather than wanting one for ourselves we knew that Alyce would love one.  So as we were leaving we were $5 poorer and the proud parent of one super girl and owner of a pink super cape.  It will need some hemming to fit perfectly but we know a few people with a sewing machine.

Synergies

One night while hanging out with my friend Ted we discussed how having a 2nd kid doesn't make things twice as difficult.  There are a lot of things that double the amount of effort you have to put out.  For instance, diapers.  Both kids have them and they can't share so you are left changing twice as many as you used to.  On the other hand there are a lot of synergies that does ease the burden of a second child.  You have double the laundry which isn't fun but because kids clothes are so small there is enough extra room with Alyce's clothing that we can throw in Luke's.

One synergy that we are just now starting to enjoy is the two kid bath.  Just recently we started putting Luke in the bath with Alyce and the results have been pretty good.  A few weeks ago we took Luke out of his baby tub and plopped him in the big boy bath.  Mom and I thought why not put them in together.  We asked Alyce if that would be o.k. and she responded with an emphatic "yes"!  So now we have both kids in the tub getting clean at the same time.  Luke still requires 100% attention in the tub so now Mom and I both have to be in there to get the kids clean.  But now instead of two 20 minute baths we have a single 20 minute bath.  Another positive from this is that Luke is not getting more baths per week.  It used to be an immense undertaking to get him clean with the baby tub and pre setting out the towels and clothes.  Which on late evenings Mom and I would just skip the bath as we just didn't have the energy for it.

 
One area I am really looking forward two is the synergies when it is time to go to bed.  Once both kids are semi self sufficient one parent could handle getting  the kids in their p.j.s, reading a single book to two kids, and getting them both off to bed.  That is still a year or two away but it will be so nice when it shows up.

Little Tornado

With Luke's new found mobility a larger space is available for him to explore.  A side effect of all of this exploration is the path of destruction he leaves in his wake.  Luke likes to make a mess.  He dumps out boxes of toys, pulls bowls out of a cabinet, dumps out cups full of liquid, play in the dog's water dish, empty toilet paper rolls, empty my sock drawer, and pulls cords out of walls.  Simply if you leave him in a room long enough it will eventually look like a tornado came through.  If we weren't so busy or trying to keep the house clean we'd find it cute, however, it seems like he is at his worst when we need him at his best.  That being said we still find it all amusing and we lovingly refer to him as our "Little Tornado".

What is very interesting is that this is one area that Luke is very different from his sister.  Alyce like to open cabinets, dump out toys, and generally explore but she would stick around and look in the cabinet or at the toys she just dumped out.  Luke on the other hand delights from the chaos rather than objects within.  It is probably just a boy vs. girl thing but it is very entertaining to see him as his own person and not a copy of his sister.

Walking

Luke started walking on his own in late March and early April which was just about a week before his first birthday.  Even though he was taking steps his preferred mode of movement was crawling.  In the past month that has changed.  Luke now prefers to walk every where he can and does a pretty good job at getting where he is going.  The video below highlights how far he has come.


The last hurdle that Luke has to clear to be a full fledged walker is standing up without grabbing onto something.  At the moment if he were to fall or sit down he would have to crawl over to a wall or a table into order to transition to standing.

Now that Luke is a walker whenever I get home from work he can now walk over to greet me.  Since he isn't as stable when he isn't moving he usually ends up bear hugging my legs to stay vertical long enough for me to pick him up.

Ear Infection

Luke has come under the weather just recently. What started as a cold has since moved into his ears for his first ear infection. A few nights ago Luke uncharacteristically woke up in the middle of the night. Mom being the great mom she is got up to take care of him and after a bottle and some tylenol Luke was back in dreamland. When he woke up that morning is when he faltered. Luke both looked and sounded awful. He was only awake for 20 minutes and already looked like he needed a nap. And back to bed he went; off and on for a total of seven hours.

Mom being the intuitive one knew something was off and got Luke into the doctor. The examination found a double ear infection. With one ear being particularly bad. Some antibiotics were perscribed and administered.

Luke went to bed and thankfully slept through the night. In the morning we knew he was feeling better as he was jabbering to himself in his room instead of crying. His ear to ear grin reinforced the sentiment.