The West Side Story: May 2015

Trenton,

Since your birthday your life has changed! I've separated things into categories again since that seems to be the easiest

EDUCATION:
-You are learning to recognize some of your letters. You know T, R, I, E and you know all of the pictures on your alphabet book. Which is your favorite book right now, by the way
-You are getting better at your colors and shapes too. It seems like your favorite colors are orange and black (second favorite) because your go-to color is always one of those :)

SILLIES:
-You pick your nose and eat it then think its the funniest thing when we tell you to stop
-Walking backwards and says, "beep beep!" is super fun for you. We have no idea where you got that from either. You even do it when we are reversing the car
-We had to ban your Leap Frog puppy from your bedroom for awhile since you would just sit and press the buttons instead of going to sleep. Sometimes you would play with it for TWO HOURS before finally falling asleep!
-The guys think you are crazy, but you love to run around the house and scream "ahhh!!!!" while doing laps around the furniture

VOCABULARY:
-Trenton is "Tin-Tin"
-Good news: you say "help please" alot! Bad news, whenever you are frustrated you repeat it over and over again in a super whiny voice....!
-"hah-tish" means "hold me". Not sure how that came about...
-Sometimes you love taking pictures and have always loved watching videos of yourself on our phones. Now when you want to take more photos you say, "More Pictures?" and when you want to watch your videos again its, "More Trenton?"
-On March 5, 2015 was one of the happiest days of my life. You finally said "I Love you!" At first you only said it to Tucker by saying "I love you Cookie Dean!" and then would run away laughing when I would try to get you to say it to me. But eventually you said it to me and it just made my night. Too bad you haven't said it in a long time again
-Whenever you carry big things you say, "I Strong!"
-Sentences are coming easier for you but you get the order mixed up a lot still. You will say, "watch baby Cars" instead of "baby watch Cars". Things like that
-We are working on manners and occasionally you will say "'scuse me" when you are trying to get by. Thanks for making us feel like good parents here :)
-Everything is peanut butter. Anything that you spread, whether it be butter, mayo, or peanut butter, it's all classified as peanut butter in your head
-Pears are peppers

BROTHER:
-Whenever Tucker is nursing (and sometimes even when he is not) you still ask to nurse. Apparently they are "Baby's Bo-Bo's" or "Trenton's Bo-Bos" no matter how many times I keep saying its my body :)
-Even though it doesn't bother you as much now, a couple months ago you hated it when Tucker chewed on his fingers. You would always pull them out of his mouth and say, "No Cookie!"
-I always though the little brother was supposed to copy the big brother but that is not the case here! At least so far. You are always copying things Tucker does! Like laying on the ground, babbling, chewing on his toys....
-Whenver Tucker is doing tummy time, you find that it is your duty to help him roll over. So you will sit on the floor and "help" him roll all over the place. Good thing most of the time he laughs

MOMMY AND DADDY:
-Daddy makes fun of you all the time and you are so tempermental and get so mad at him. So that means I have to deal with both of you whining
-Every day you are getting more and more attached to Daddy (when you don't have an attitude toward him, that is)
-I can't believe how much you are growing up. You love to help me in the kitchen and when the guys!

THE GUYS:
-We finally got guys! We started with seven boys right away then a few days ago we got our 8th boy. You love every minute they are home! The ylove you too and all of them do really well playing with you and trying both you and your brother they way they should. As of when this is written, we have had our own guys for a couple days shy of three months.
-Every night the guys do evening chores and when they turn on the vacuum you think it is so funny! You run around chasing it and laughing. It makes me laugh too
-It took awhile for you to feel comfortable with our guys, so you have to give them all your signature dirty looks. Occasionally they still come out when you are being a little too sassy
-One of your favorite things to say is, "Hey guys! Where you going??" You're very concerned about their whereabouts

OTHER:
-Loretta had to go away :( It was the saddest day too. We had to surrender her to the humane society since she was too aggressive toward other people and it wouldn't be a good fit in the job we are in. You and Daddy waited in the car and when I came back out you asked, "Retta?" and I just about started crying. I know you still miss her too.
-Since turning two, we started you on vitamins and it never fails that you remind us to take your vitamins. My smart little helper that you are, you open the cabinet, bring me your bottle, then put it back before taking your vitamins. Also, they are called, "mine-a-mens" Cutest way to say it :)

DEVELOPMENTAL:
-You've discovered how fun it is to spin around in circles until you are dizzy then fall over. Lots of entertainment for us too :)
-Jumping with two feet off the ground has been a skill you've mastered!

PLAY:
-Your favorite show right now is Little Bus Tayo. It's a Korean show that is on Hulu but we've also let you watch it on YouTube on our phones. While playing on YouTube though you have discovered Asian toy reviews and apparently all these people are making tons of money by playing with toys all because toddlers love to watch these things. It's ridiculous. The Korean ones usually just have music playing and a mysterious hand opening toy packages, examining them, and playing with them. A lot of the English ones have the same things except these adults try to animate their toys....Then there are some you watch that are in a different language. Gi-Gi is convinced you are going to start talking Korean one day :)
-We have a play ground in our back yard and that is your new favorite spot! It's a snad playground that has dump trucks in it. You don't play on the slide too much anymore but mostly play and dig in the sand. Occasionally you wil lask to swing as well. I love having a playground in our back yard!

SICKNESS:
-The beginning of April you got another round of fevers. But thankfully your pediatrician has been in contact with a pediatric rheumatologist at the Children's Hospital here and they are thinking it is some sort of periodic fever syndrome. We have an appointment with the rheumatologist in May and your next round of fevers should be in June so hopefully we can finally get some answers!
-Since this fever episode fell on Easter yet again, we didn't get to celebrate Easter this year either. Hey, maybe next year we can dye eggs, do an egg hunt, and have an Easter basket....!
-I know you don't feel good when you are sick, but you are SOOO dramatic! Every little thing sets you off and you get the biggest, whiny attitude. It's like the Man Cold but times five.

FUTURE:
-While playing with some other kids at the playground one day, I was wondering what kind of person you will be. What culture will you identify with? Because you are biracial, will you identify more with being white or being black? Or by the time you are in school, will biracial be it's own widely known racial group and sub-culture?
-Who will you marry? Will you marry a woman who treats you well and you treat her well? Will we have raised you well enough to know how to treat a woman and how to be chivalrous?
-Will you be bullied in school? So far when you are playing with other kids you are very passive and don't like to be near stronger-willed kids. If someone takes your toy, most of the time you just let them. I do love how you don't pick fights (at least yet), but it also makes me wonder if you are going to be able to stand up for yourself....I hope we will be able to raise you to take a stand, but also show compassion

I love you so much my sweet baby Trenton and I can't believe how big you have gotten and how much you are growing. I thank God for the job we have that we are able to stay home with you and your brother and see all the little and big changes that we would've missed if we were in a corporate setting.

Love Always,

Mommy

At the zoo!

You love your brother :)

Sometimes Mommy does yoga and you like to do it too. This is your yoga pose

Happy Easter! You actually didn't cry this year. But you still didn't like the Easter Bunny

Pumping.....silly boy

Your first major snow day! Needless to say, you didn't like it

You are becoming too much like a big boy. Plus I love that smile

Mi Familia

The fish store is like a free aquarium. You love going with Daddy

Brotherly love in your new big boy bed

You like to "Ye-haw Daddy" whenever he is laying on the floor

The good thing about having the guys do their evening chores, you are learning as well. You love to sweep, mop, and vacuum

Being able to help has been something you always ask to do now

Brother kisses

That hair is going to get us in trouble when your older with all the girls....

These eyes as well....

All ready for church and super stylin'. Even with your flashlights

One night we had corn on the cob for a side for dinner. You skipped the main course and instead ate NINE pieces of corn! Then 4 the next day

Daddy time by the lake

Mommy and Me at the zoo

Pushing Cookie around was really fun. For you :)

You were sick on Easter again this year so our Easter Egg hunt wasn't nearly as exciting as it should've been

All the West Boys

You two are twins, just 21 months apart

oh those EYES!

Feeding the ducks at the Boys Town lake

Tucker,

Apparently I didn't take notes very well this month :( Hopefully I will remember a few things...!
You do love attention. You are our little faker. Crying will ensue until someone is looking and/or talking to you then the laughter comes out. Mr. Nosy Pants (aka you) will also be completely asleep but if he hears his brother's voice, then "BAM!" Tucker is wide awake and giggly again. It's frustrating and yet so cute at the same time.

Kisses are also another favorite of yours. You giggle and laugh so much when we give you kisses I just can't help myself! You also give good kisses too. Always attacking my face :) But please don't let this be a glimpse into my future of you being a crazy teenager boy who is lovestruck over every girl!

We also celebrated your first Easter! Trenton was sick so we didn't get to do much of anything, but that's alright. Hopefully next year. We got some pictures taken with a private photographer and they turned out pretty great! You could hardly care less about the strange giant bunny though.

A couple weeks ago we got our own guys finally! We started off with seven then we got our 8th a couple days ago. So far they are all doing well and you adore them all. A few of them have be able to hold you and they were thrilled.

We officially started solids! You've had sweet potato, banana, green beans, and carrots. So far you really have only liked the sweet potatoes, and carrots only if I put a little cinammon in it. And of course bananas. You ate an entire banana in one sitting!

At your six month appointment, it was proven that you are truly our big boy! I always thought you were the giant baby :) Some of your 6-9 month clothes are already getting too small! At the doctor you weighed in at 17 lbs 7 oz and in the 48th percentile for weight. Length was 28" and in the 94th perccentile. Head circumference is 17 1/2 inches and you are in the 81st percentile for your head.

We've got lots of pictures though so even though I didn't do a very good job at taking notes, at least we've got some good photos!