shane-man and our young jedi

Let's see...do I start with the good, bad or the ugly? Okay, the good...of course. The wonderfully good things to say about our boys. Nicholas is fast approaching the end of his first year of school and JK. As much as he loved his school year for the most part, he is deliriously happy that it is ending, I think mostly because his grandmother, MawMaw, is here with us and he loves each and every second he gets to spend with her. He is also super excited about his sister getting here in July. He has been learning to read a little...knows what some words are by seeing them...one of those being Mommy which of course just makes me smile. His printing has greatly improved over the year and his favourite thing to do right now is draw pictures....many, many, MANY pictures. Now, most of those are of Star Wars scenes which doesn't wholly impress me but he does have a great imagination and plays it out in his pictures. We give him nudges though to draw other things and he will happily ask for an idea and once given, will produce a lovely drawing. Our fridge has now become Nicholas' art gallery and Shane, for the most part, will leave them be. Nicholas has always had the gift of gab....yep, just like his Daddy...and it hasn't slowed any. His vocabulary is amazing and we are stunned almost daily with the new words he knows and is almost always used in the right context. Johnathon and I sneak grins daily hearing him talk, especially when it is so nonchalant and these big old words come out of his mouth.

Our boy is also FULL of love. He always, always will stop what he is doing and come over for Mommy and Daddy hugs and smooches and the I love you's are forever flowing....even to his brother which is just the sweetest thing. And my hope is that will last forever and ever. My precious boy

Our little Shane-man...what a joy of a boy. His laughter is contagious and he is so full of energy. He says his favourite words over and over and puts this spin on the end that I could only explain in person. It is priceless. In less than two short months, he will be turning two. TWO! He has turned quite independent...absolutely no way are we allowed to help him on the stairs and he loves getting things for you out of the fridge or wherever things may be. And if you leave the pantry open, he will dig in there until he finally decides on just the perfect snack or food that he wants. He loves feeding Chrissy and is quite excited when I ask him to do so..BUT leave that cupboard open where the dog food bin is and he will continually feed Chrissy! And as much as Chrissy takes joy in that, she takes more joy in Shane sneaking food to him at mealtimes. He tries very hard to put his coat on and his shoes...often with the coat left covering his head...but he is trying! Oh, and though he can't get his shoes on, he has no difficulty putting Mommy's shoes on and trying to walk around in them, heels and all.

Hm...the bad. And I shouldn't really say bad but the 'not so good'. We made the mistake one day of allowing Nicholas to watch a Star Wars (Clone Wars) animated movie....which has now turned him into a Jedi in training. And as funny and cute as it can be, it is also a little worrisome with how involved he is at times. I worry. But I'm good at that. Our little boy who once loved his Thomas and Little Bear and all the wonderful shows on Treehouse now has no time for them. He refuses to even put the station on. He says it is for babies. Thankfully, he will still watch CBC Kids and TVO Kids which has a good variety for all children. He is still amazed with Space and any show he can learn from that way. This is a good. But if he had it his way, it would be Star Wars and Bakugans 24-7. I know, he is a boy. A growing boy and knows what he likes. The best we can figure is to let him be a boy but with guidelines and constant monitoring. And I have to be honest, I like a good light saber battle once in a while! It just thrills him to bits!

Nicholas has also picked up this bad habit of biting and picking at his lips. It drives me absolutely crazy! I've talked to him over and over, I have applied different lip remedies which he can't stand over and over and I've even resorted to bribing. The latter is the only method that worked...temporarily. And now that I held up my end of the 'deal', he is full on back to it. So, today, I gently let him know that this habit is getting bad again and he is not living up to his end of the deal so his Lego Star Wars DS game (that was his 'prize') will need to go away until he can start kicking this habit again. Is that wrong? Bad parenting? Perhaps...but it works!

The funny thing is that when I picked him up at daycare today after school, he immediately came up to me hiding his mouth and let me know that he had a very bad day with his lips or I should say 'wips'. He did not want me to see. The boy is very honest!

Shane's not so good. We...well I for the most part, worry a little about his speech. He is behind a little with his words and like any Mommy, I worry more than I probaly should. It comes with the package. Shane, in total, says about five words really, really well and like I said earlier, says them often and all the time. He tries to say other words but they are not there yet. We spoke with our doctor about this and she said to me "Laura, my one son didn't speak until he was in his two's and he is now borderline genius." She also told me that Albert Einstein didn't speak until he was four. I thank her for making me feel a teeny bit better. But truth is, Nicholas was a little 'behind' with talking as well but once he did start talking, it did not stop. At all. Shane's hearing is fine and he totally understands us so we are not worried there. We are believing that in his own time, the words will come. Patience. Not my best virtue at the best of times. In the meantime, we are being set up with a Speech Therapist for down the road for if the time arises and he is not speaking with more clarity, all will be in line for him to begin.

The Ugly. Ugh, the ugly. Ugly is an ugly word, isn't it? But I do believe whining and screaming are good examples. And my boys can be experts on this. Nicholas and the sometimes whine...and Shane with the crying yelling. Now, I do understand that with Shane, he is trying to express himself because the words aren't there yet. Yet. But my goodness, when he gets started, we all want to run for cover! We are very much hoping that this stage will end sooner than later. Please! And Nicholas...grr...when he gets that whine on....well, I think any parent can relate and understand. Another phase we hope ends and quick!

So, in a nutshell, this is my update. My boys. They light up my life like I have never known. Their smiles, giggles and laughter are my biggest blessing.