21 months

The day almost slipped passed me before I realized it: Hunter is 21 months old!

I love that I am getting to learn more about his personality everyday. The other night I said, "Hunter, you know a lot of words. How many words do you know?" He said, "Two!" HAHAHA! Had us rolling! He is able to say lots of words now so often is it easy to tell what is on his mind. For example:
--> When we get into the car, the first thing he says is, "Dance!" He loves to have the music blare and dance in his car seat. (wonder where he learned that?!?)
-->If we are about to go somewhere, he says, "Coat! Hat! Keys! Door!" as if telling me the order of what needs to happen in order for us to go somewhere.
-->He has just started telling me what to do when I put him down for a nap or at bedtime. He says, "Blanket. Paci. Thomas (his humidifier). Heater. Light." He has picked up on our patterns and now wants to make sure I don't forget any steps.

To mark his 21-month birthday, he showed definite signs of growing up. He started the day by unzipping his pajamas, taking off his diaper, and exploring its contents by smearing them all over his bed. As a result, he was rewarded with a bath, complete with bubbles, first thing this morning. (Not really sure that taught him not to play with poo, but oh well, the kid had to get clean!) At lunch time he willingly ate grapes, carrots, rice, apples, and chickpeas. WOW! Finally he is branching out from his constant bread & cheese routine! Hooray!

Everyday, Hunter asks to play his piano (pi-o). He loves music and he can really hear the beat quite well. He loves trains, Bob the Builder (which he calls "bob" or "fix"), and milk. He spends his free time reading, playing with blocks, going for walks, and playing with friends. He is such a joy and we feel so blessed to have him in our family!

Patrick

Written Dec. 9, 2010
--------------------------------
Oh sweet baby
Growing inside of me
You are the answer to the prayer of my heart.
You are already loved!
I have hoped for you and I am so excited to meet you in a few months!
I hope you find my body a nice place to grow and get strong.
God has created you, dear one
And he has deemed it right for me to be your mommy.
What a huge blessing for me!
This world is beautifully tragic.
I cannot wait for you to come enjoy it.
We are praying for your development.
I love you so much, little one.


Written February 24, 2011
---------------------------------
Patrick

Saying Goodbye was not on my mind
That sunny Christmas afternoon.
You represented excitement and future plans
I already loved you so much.

As the doctor told us you were gone
The pain swelled in my heart.
Your presence in the world came and left
Far too quickly, but not without an impact.

Dear one, you were celebrated, longed for, and loved.
Your short life will not be forgotten.
My body was connected to yours from the beginning
And I will always miss you.

Now you get the gift of eternity
With the One who created you and knows all.
A perfect body, with the Perfect Lord
Your life is much more beautiful there than it would be here.

I am happy for that reality,
The gift of hope.
But I am sad I missed out knowing you.
My dear Patrick, I love you.
--Love, Mommy

pi-o!

Hunter loves to play the piano-- which he calls the "pi-o!" This video is super long and pretty much just for the grandparents and serious Hunter-lovers! LaVonne & Paul got Josh this keyboard and Hunter loves it.

Valentine's Day

Amidst the three-and-a-half weeks of sickness our family has suffered, Hunter and I managed to make some Valentine's Day cards for our families and friends! ( Josh didn't get to help this year because he was called into the Army Reserves.) We did this last year and decided it was a good tradition.
Hunter is currently going through a phase where he does not like his hands to be messy. If there is the tiniest crumb on his finger he will hold out his hand and say, "yuck, yuck" or simply whine until someone takes a wipe and cleans off his hand. It is semi-rediculous. So with the paint, at first he wasn't too sure he wanted his hand covered in slime, but within a few minutes he decided it was really cool that he could leave marks everywhere he touched. He was still sort of hesitant, so that made it a little easier to manage.
I enjoy this tradition with Hunter, and I am happy to say that his handprints turned out slightly better this year!

20 months

(I asked Hunter to smile for me and he made this goofy face and then did a little dance. Wish I would have had the recorder on... it was really cute!)

Hunter is 20 months old today! He is busier than ever and always entertaining us with his clever personality. He loves cars and trains-- he calls them"choo choos"-- right now and those are the most common words out of his mouth. He also enjoys blocks-- he calls them "bocks," his tunnel-- he calls it his "tatoo" (yea that is so funny!), and books. Books about choo choos or cars are priorities.

He loves graham crackers, goldfish, bread, milk, peanut butter, mac n'cheese, honey, and cookies. It is hard to get him to eat anything else! We have been successful with some pasta that has cheese and he usually likes pizza. The doctor told me not to worry-- kids his age need lots of carbs. He is getting carbs, that is for sure! :)

He recovered from his ear tube surgery quite well. He still tests his ears a lot-- like when we are talking to him or he is listening to music he will cover his ears and then uncover them many times. It seems like he is testing how well he can hear. I'm sure it is like a whole new world now that the fluid is gone! As far as sickness, he has been fighting a cold the past week and a half. RSV is going around campus so it may be that. Today his lungs sound awful when he breathes. I am just praying it almost over!


Hunter loves to dance and he has learned how to turn on the CD player in our dining room. He is not supposed to do it, but often when he does he just smiles and says, "dance, dance." He loves to watch Thomas the tank engine and again, he has learned how to operate the DVD player and the TV.

We have started brushing his teeth every night and he actually loves it. He gets really excited when I tell him it is time to brush his teeth. I hope this lasts for a while! He still loves bath time. And he has been showing an interest in the potty the last week or so. One of his new favorite words is "poop." When he says it, we ask, "do you need to go to the bathroom?" Usually he says yes. Then we take him to his potty. He has never actually gone to the bathroom on his potty--yet-- but we think this is at least getting him familiar to it. He is a smart kid. I'm sure it won't be long!

Nana?

Hunter's grandparents came to visit!! Hunter seems to be calling LaVonne something like "nana." We'll see if that sticks!

They made Hunter some wooden blocks that have Thomas all over them. They are a big hit in this house.



Thanks for coming to visit us!

Icephoon 2011

This storm has been much anticipated and it is finally upon us. We are currently under a blizzard warning until noon tomorrow. So far we have seen a lot of ice and it is just starting to transition to snow. Our school closed down yesterday afternoon and everything is cancelled for today.

We slept in until 9--- yes, 9!! Hunter was the first to wake up! Now we are preparing for the worst case scenario-- to be without power. We are cooking a lot this morning, finishing laundry, and we are heating our house a few extra degrees. We don't know if we'll be without power for sure, but we want to be prepared! This afternoon we plan to get together with some friends on campus and play games while we wait out the storm.

Here are some pictures from our apartment this morning. Check out the ice on the tree limbs. It is so beautiful.

This pine tree is right outside our window. The ice hangs on it so gracefully.


We are thankful for Covenant's Snow Plow. He faithfully comes by every half hour or so.