Shark Hair

Today we decided to spike Christian's hair for the first time.  When I picked him up from school, he was very proud to tell me he had "shark hair"! :)   Ah, this kiddo does love his sharks!  Everybody at school knows about Christian and sharks ... so no doubt, the "shark hair" came from one of his classmates.

Twister

Auntie Liz brought us Twister and we all played together for the first time.  Christian was pretty good about knowing which foot/hand was left/right.

Christian's First Solo Haircut

Christian's haricuts have always been a bit traumatic for us all.  He would scream bloody murder and we were always thankful that our hair lady has an incredible amout of patience.

For today's visit, Chrsitian said in the chair by himself for the first time (he's always sat in Jonathan's lap) and he did GREAT!  We kept him talking to keep his mind off the situation, and it worked.

It was the most pleasant haircut we've ever had!!

And you now how we are ... there is a video of the joyous occasion at the bottom of this blog post. :)





The Little Artist *sigh*

Ah, a marker in the hands of our young lad. Never a good idea.

In the past, when he's found a pen or marker, the next time we see him, he's done quote a job on his body ... ALL over his body.  You would think I'd have learned by now.  Guess I haven't.

We stopped into the new doctor's office down the street the other day, and they gave Christian a magnetic white board and dry erase marker. He asked if he could practice writing his letters, and since the drive home was so short, I agreed.

Big mistake.

I opened the door and he was so very proud of his artwork. I was none-to-thrilled, and let him know. Poor lil' guy went from proud to tears in a matter of moments. I felt badly, but despite how awful it made me feel, I had to stand my ground - it is not acceptable to write on himself, his clothing ... or the car.

Our Awesome Swimmer

Christian is doing so great with his swimming lessons!  We learned he's the best in his class, and he just needs a bit more confidence before he can move up the the next level.

In the picture below, Christian was getting read to retrieve a ring off the pool floor.

I have a great video of him doing it, but unfortunately, it won't successfully upload.

And he now loves the flog slide at the end of class.  

He now goes down without any prompting from anybody.

Christian and the Water Dispenser

It is always exciting when Christian figures out he can do something by himself.

He is forever asking us to get him a cup of water, so you can imagine my delight when, out of the blue, Christian figured out he is tall enough to get his own water out of the dispenser in the fridge door!

So naturally, we had to take a picture of the happy moment! :)

So Long Pull-Ups!

At long last, we can kiss Christian's Huggies' Pull-Ups goodbye!

It has been a long road to get Christian fully potty traied.  A long, long road.  Loooooonnnngggggggggg road.

He still won't typically initiate going to pee, but he's getting really good at letting us know he's got to poop (yep, I'm writing about this in a blog ... he'll be embarassed one day, and that is okay).   And some days, he won't pee all morning at school.  I hope he gets past that before he moves onto kindergarten at a new school.  We've got a few months to work on it.

So we first tried naps without Pull-Ups and only had one accident - and Christian changed his own underware and didn't tell us.  So he knew how to handle the situation.

Then as our latest package of Pull-Ups was dwindling down, I decided that was it.  I wasn't going to buy any more Pull-Ups.   I made sure Christian understood that if he has an accident, he'll get wet, and his bed will get wet.

Last night, he drank A LOT of water before bed and we were worried.  So I checked on him several times before he went to bed and the three times I asked him if he needed to go potty, he said yes ... and went potty.

And he's gotten good about being okay with going potty when we're out an about.  So he'll got at stores, restaurants, etc.  It takes a few times of asking him, but he'll eventually go.  But, if we don't ask (aka insist), then he'll hold it forever. 
This latest achievement in ditching hte Pull-Ups is such a relief to us.  Finally!   And now we can stop spending money on Pull-Ups every couple of weeks.   YES!

Christian the Cubby

For several weeks, Christian has been going to "AWANA," which is an international, non-denominational Bible club for children.  His age group is called "Cubbies." 

He goes every Wednesday night for a couple of hours.  They have fun activities, games, snacks, etc.  The kids also get a book and each week, they memorize one Bible verse and periodically earn patches to put on their vests.  Memorizing verses is easy for Christian, since he can read and can visualize what he's memorizing, rather than just having somebody recite it for him over and over again.

Jonathan told me that before they entered the building tonight, Christian said, "Papa, you can go home now."  He's been doing the same thing to me at school when I drop him off.   Gone are the days when Christian was timid and needed to cling to Mommy and Papa.

We are just so proud of him!



The Amazing Dentist Appointment

We were dreading today - Christian's bi-annual dentist appointment.  It is always such a nightmare with Christian screaming bloody murder much of the time, and even refusing to get xrays.  We can't even tell him we're going to the dentist ... he just figures it out on his own as we turn the corner during our drive.

He began to panic as we pulled into the parking lot and I had to carry him inside.   When the hygienst called his name, I quietly asked her if she'd be okay taking him back by himself and she readily agreed.  Christian put up a short protest in going back by himself, but walked back reluctantly.

I stood by the exam area door to see if I'd hear him pitch a fit ... a fit that never came.  A very kind staff member would go look in on him periodically and report back each time that he was doing great.  He even let them get a full set of xrays - he's not had xrays since he was one.  ONE!

I am happy to report Christian has no cavities.  He eats A LOT of carbs, which can be the same as sweets when it comes to oral care.  Both the hygienist and the dentist commented on how great Christian did and we made to to make a BIG deal about how well he did and how proud we are of him (he LOVES to hear when we're proud of him).

Thanks to the xrays, we learned that there likely aren't two teeth coming in behind Christian's two extra front teeth.   That is good and bad:  that means there won't be adult teeth to work around, which is good. But that also means that there aren't adult teeth to push against the extra teeth and loosen them up so they fall out on their own.   So Christian will definitely need to have oral surgery in the next 6 - 12 months to take out the extra teeth.

An oral surgeon isn't necessary, technically.  I hear it is actually a quick procedure to pull out a couple of teeth (and I know from my own tooth extraction experience, it is pulled out in an instant).  But we all feel it is better to take Christian to a surgeon where he an be put under anesthesia for the procedure.

Dr. Kelly also noted that Christian will likely start losing his baby teeth in the next six months or so, according  to the xrays.  So he'll go from having too many teeth to have lots of missing teeth.  It'll be interesting to see how his facial structure changes without the two extra teeth.

Frankly, I'm glad we can have this issue with the extra teeth resolved before he starts kindergarten next year.  I don't think he gets any comments from kids at his school because they are all used to how Christian's mouth looks.  But kids can be cruel and I'm quite certain he'd get a few comments from new kids at a new school (and i base that statement on observing a couple of comments Christian has received in the past.  Little kids have no filters and just say whatever comes to mind.  Christian didn't mind, as he didn't understand that he was being teased.  But the comments broke MY heart on his behalf).

Here's a picture of our little all star with with Doctor Kelly and the hygienist ... a bunch of happy faces, and a couple of THRILLED parents who aren't in the picture.  In fact, the dentist said that if we'd send her this picture, she'd run in in our local newspaper in her advertisement! :)

Our Trip to Washington

At long last, 4.5 years later, we made our way back up to Washington State.

We weren't sure how the flight would go with two kiddos.  But we had Auntie Liz with us, which meant the adults out-numbered the kiddos.  We were able to take Scarlett's carseat, and so that made the flight much easier, esp. since she slept the entire first leg of the flight.

Our first stop was to visit my Grandpa Kahn, who is 86 and broke his hip back in April, so he's been in an assisted living facility.  He was very thin and frail and I'm so glad we got to see him.  He really enjoyed seeing the kiddos.   We also got to see my Aunt Gayle whom we haven't seen in 12+ years.

After that visit, we headed up north to Ferndale to say for the next few days.



Noticibly missing was one person who has always been there:  my Grandpa Wieland, who passed away in July.  They day after our arrival, several of us gathered to bury his ashes next to my Grandma, who passed away in 2002.  I was the one who placed the cremains in the grave.  It amazed - and saddened - me that an entire person's existence can be reduced to a small, five pound box. 

We were all given an opportunity to put some of the gravesite dirt over the box.  I called Christian over to do that, and explained reminded him that Grandpa Wieland had died and I asked him, "Do you remember where Grandpa Wieland is?"  "Yes, he's in heaven with Jesus."  I was so very proud of him for remembering - and believing - that.

When somebody referred to my Grandpa as "Grandpa Lee," Christian got confused and upset because he thought his Grandpa Lee (who is alive and well in Denver) had died.   Jonathan placed a call to Granny, and though Grandpa Lee was out for the moment, Christian got to talk to him a bit later.

We had a really nice stay.  I love my Grandparent's house and the nearly 40 years worth of memories within.  Our kiddos got to spend a lot of time with their Grandma Janet (whom we hadn't seen since March 2008).  It was fun to see my kiddos doing some of the stuff I used to do.

Christian playing with some really old toys that I played with as a kiddo.

My grandparents' house.

 Mommy, Grandma Janet and Scarlett

Grandma Janet with the Lucero Family

Christian eating right off Aunt Patti's blueberry bush.  Yum!!

Christian and a real John Deere tractor! :)

The traditional tractor ride with Uncle Howard

Visiting with our friends, Ben and Donna Barker!

Christian is missing from the pics because he was sick (threw up twice at the restaurant) and feel asleep at the booth next to our table.   Poor kiddo!  He was sick for the rest of the day, too, so we didn't get out much that day. 

Aunt Patti and Scarlett

Hanging with Grandma Janet

Scarlett's turn on Mr. John Deere

Scarlett under Grandma and Grandpa's Kitchen table

More time with Grandma Janet

Christian hangin' in Grandpa Wieland's chair

Aunt Patti and the gang checking out the cows



Scarlett and Uncle Howard

Scarlett and Uncle Ralph and Aunt Patti

Grandma Janet with some chilly kiddos who are used to hot temps.

Scarlett and her first hashbrowns, courtesy of Grandma Janet

Saying goodbye to Grandma Janet

The Kahn Ladies

On Saturday, we headed to Seattle, and to the aquarium.

Christian holding a real megaladon shark tooth.  Megaladon was the largest shark to ever exist.  If you'd like more information on megaladon ... he can tell you ALL about it!

Auntie Liz and Christian in front of Puget Sound

Miss Scarlett was having a good time!

Ah, Pike Street Market.  One of my favorite places! 

Jonathan drinking his all-time favorite coffee. 

Christian's newest shark for his collection.

We had such a nice trip!  It was great to see friends and family we hadn't seen in years.  The weather was wonderful and provided a welcome relief from the long hot summer we've had in the Phoenix area.

And then it had to come to an end.  We were running late (as always) and very nearly missed our flight home.  Talk about STRESS!   But we made it by the skin of our teeth and had an uneventful flight home.

Score for "Lucero, Family of Four" !!!