April makes kids grow too fast...

JOSH is growing up so fast lately. I can't believe he'll be four years old soon! Here is what he's been up to...

Josh started playing on a soccer team a few weeks ago. Most days he likes it. He listens to Coach Tam really well, and is one of the only players who "freezes like a snowman" when the ball goes out of bounds (a challenge at this age, when most kids just want to keep kicking and chasing the ball into other fields and puddles and parking lots). He has scored a few goals, but says his favorite part about soccer is "when I kick the ball away from the other kids". Hmm...social-aggressive much? Usually he just runs around the field staying tight in the pack of kids, stopping every once in a while to roll around in the grass or practice his ninja punches against the wind.

 Remember how he likes to make up his own exclamations? His cuss word of the week has been "BARN!" I have to fight the urge to make animal sounds whenever he says it.

He comes to volleyball with me once or twice a week and plays with this wonderful little herd of boys. Usually they race around the gym, but when they get tired of running, Josh pulls out my cell phone. This is when he feels really popular, because all the big boys will sit in a huddle with their heads together watching little Josh play video games. Don't know if I've posted this picture yet, but I love it so much I'm posting it again.

Last week, I dropped him off at Matt's work after lunch for Take-Your-Kid-To-Work Day. He was only there for a couple of hours, but they both loved it. He got to draw on a huge white board (pictured below), play on the Kindle, see the gym area where Daddy exercises, and race around the indoor track. It was so cute watching him walk through the security gate with Matt, wearing his little Transformers back pack, feeling grown up.

We've been working on reading together. This week he read a whole book all by himself! Not a big book, and not one with any hard words, but we are counting it! The book is called "Gus", and it's part of a series of great little books for brand new readers, focusing on one vowel sound at a time. Matt used these books when he was little, too. I highly recommend them. Here is a link to check them out.

We have started using a chore chart for Josh. He gets a star sticker any time he does a chore, then later we count stars and give him a prize or money. This has helped him learn to get excited about helping and having responsibilities. It's not a perfect system, but I think it's never too early to start learning how to work.

He has become very artistic in his coloring and painting. He draws with intent now, and colors in the lines. He's learning about mazes and dot-to-dots. He loves his activity/homework books.

Josh had his first visit to the dentist! This is a big deal. Josh HATES doctor visits and usually will not cooperate at all without threats and tears. I was surprised at how well he did for the dentist! He watched me get my teeth cleaned first, then slowly but surely allowed the hygienist to lean the chair back, offer him sunglasses for the light, explain all the dentist tools, and count his teeth. He didn't let her clean or polish them, but I'm just happy that he sat in the chair and opened his mouth without a freak out! He had been learning about the dentist in school, and we checked out a bunch of dentist books from the library earlier, so I think that helped.

We learned a special thing about our boy that day -- he has an EXTRA TOOTH. Kids his age should have twenty teeth, and he has twenty-one. There's an extra one right smack in the middle of his bottom row. It looks perfectly normal and straight, so much that his parents didn't even notice. We won't know if his permanent teeth are set up that way until Josh lets them take x-rays, but we'll have to wait on that until next time. Baby steps.

JUDE has been acting less babyish by the minute! 

He is almost 14 months old. Here are some new things he's been doing these days...

- Makes car sounds with his mouth while he plays.

- Unrolls the toilet paper and pretends to blow his nose.

- Fights with Josh over toys. I can't believe this starts so early!

- Stands up by himself all day, but is not great at taking steps yet.

- Stays entertained by the TV for short segments. (I'll take what I can get!)

The Princess and the Frog gets pretty serious sometimes.

- Taught himself how to draw on the walls.

- Throws a ball (and his food), often backwards.

- Follows Matt to the door every morning calling "Da-da-da!" and shrieks with sadness when he 

leaves.

- Will not eat any vegetables unless they are disguised in a smoothie, not even baby food anymore. He likes to practice feeding himself with a spoon.

Jude plotting how he will destroy this restaurant booth in the next three minutes!

- Looks up at me with a guilty face whenever he's about to do something sneaky, just to make sure he has an audience.

- Tries to sing along to songs, like the ABCs, Patty Cake, and Eensy Weensy Spider. Whatever I sing to him before bedtime, he rest his head on my shoulder and coos or sighs along with me. It is the sweetest thing. I swear he tries to sing "H-I-J-K" in this video. Check around 0:43 and 1:06.

- Knows some face parts: nose, eyes, tongue, ear, head.

- Says the words duck, eye, hi, go, mama, dada, nigh-nigh.

- Does the motions to "Patty Cake". I will catch it on video one of these days.

- Loves to read books and point. He makes fish sounds with his lips whenever we read about fish, and it is to die for.

- Also, he has the best laugh EVER. Watch this and try not to smile.