Firsts

In the past week or so, the boys have both experienced some "firsts!"

Darren experienced coloring Easter eggs for the first time, and he liked it!

He did a GREAT job, too!
Joseph experienced crazy nap hair for the first time! I seriously didn't do anything to his hair! Those little wings on both sides are so stinkin' cute when they're this little! And, that expression with the thumb in his mouth adds to the cuteness as well!

Joseph got to taste/eat dirt for the first time today! That's what big brothers are for, right?! This is the second time (in the same day). The first time was MUCH messier,

though still doesn't compare to Darren's first time eating dirt. Darren's first experience eating dirt is the dirtiest I have seen him to date! We were salmon fishing/camping in Chitina when he was 10 months old. Look at that face!

Joseph's first word is Dada (Pretty typical). But, he said his second word for the first time on Sunday! "Wow!" Trying to talk (kind of) already! He also started pulling himself up on the couch. He is only 7 months old! Watch the video clip below to see the cute boy in action!

Fun in Utah!

The boys and I went on a trip to Utah to visit with family (and a few friends) the last 2 weeks of March. Unfortunately, Matt was not able to join us, because of work. We missed having him with us, but we still had fun. No one in Matt's family had met Joseph yet, and Darren wasn't quite walking the last time any of them saw him. So, I think it was about time! And, I needed to escape Texas for a little while (I'll write about that in another post - if I get around to it!) While the 3 of us were all together most of the time, we all had very different experiences, so I'll talk about them all separately.

I LOVED having adult interaction all the time! In addition to lots of family, I got to visit with 2 former mission companions, my mission president, my great friend, Andrea, from our days at McChord, and my good friend, Maria, from our days at Eielson! It was so wonderful to see them all again, and to catch up in person! There were several others I would have liked to see as well, but there just wasn't time. But the point here is: social/emotional needs.... Met!

I also had the privilege of attending the LDS Draper Temple dedication! It was a live broadcast at my parents' stake center. That was quite an interesting experience to see an ordinary church building instantly take on the sacredness and reverence of a temple. Even though we watched from a stake center, we still had to show our tickets/temple recommend to get in. When it was over, NO ONE said a word. It was pure silence - people practically tip-toed out to their cars. Even the parking lot was quiet. No one wanted to disturb the peace and reverence of that special event. Then a couple nights later, I was able to attend the Provo temple with my sister-in-law. It was wonderful. So, my spiritual cup.... filled!

Having lots of family around that we don't see very often, meant that I had multiple people practically begging to watch the boys for me. So, I was happy to oblige! This meant that I could go do some shopping without children! I was also able to go get my hair done! It was wonderful - I almost didn't know what to do with myself! Break from physical/mental responsibilities... received!

Darren had SO much fun the whole time we were there! He had FUN places to go, and cousins or other kids to play with EVERYDAY! I don't think he ever got bored! In fact, he had a smile on his face practically the whole time - those days where naps were super late, or didn't happen were the exception. Darren made made lots of new friends, and tried some new things, and here some of the highlights in pictures......

Grandma (My Mom) is SO fun to play with! She wrestles, tickles, plays chase games, hide and seek, makes funny faces, and even plays with cars!

Darren LOVED Uncle Justin! They would follow each other around, and Darren would do anything Justin would do. Justin was FABULOUS with him! Seriously, I wish I could have brought him home with me!

Darren and his cousin Cambria loved making faces at Grandpa Lee's video camera! It was pretty funny to watch!

Darren's FIRST real Easter egg hunt! Matt's family had an early Easter gathering, and there were TONS of eggs for the kids to find. it was such a nice day too!

Playing outside with Grandma! (Matt's mom) Both of them were loving it!

Darren and his cousin, Allie, at a place with wall-to-wall trampolines! Literally! With Darren's energy and love of jumping, this was SO right up his alley! He LOVED it!!

Climbing Grandma's apple tree with cousin, Aleia!

Darren got to ride a real horse for the first time! He loved it! At the same place, he also got to feed the animals, and ride on a cart pulled by a tractor!

Joseph had everyone wrapped around his little finger! The whole family fell in love with his great big smile, and he had plenty to go around! He also reached a few big milestones while we were there! He cut his first 2 teeth, started crawling, and turned 7 months old!

Getting acquainted with Grandma! (Matt's Mom)

Playing with Grandma! (My Mom) If you click on the picture, and look closely, you can see his new teeth!

Joseph also got into a regular pattern of eating solid foods, though not usually popcorn! The big kids left their bowl there, and well, Joseph found it!

Grandma helped him find his first Easter Egg!

Having a good time getting acquainted with Aunt Kim! (One of Matt's little sisters) I love this picture!

Probably needless to say at this point, we all had a great time! The only thing missing was Matt. By the time we got home, we were all more than ready to see him. As soon as we saw him at the airport, Darren took off running! He then had to do everything his daddy did, and had something to tell him (mostly undecipherable) about every 5 seconds! Matt was thankful for the noise, and was very happy to see us!

Time Out!

The other day, while making lunch, the boys were contentedly playing. Joseph enjoying tummy time, Darren with his cars and the stroller. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Darren push the stroller down the hall and into his room. Curious, I take a peek down the hall to see/hear what will happen next. Right at that point, Darren comes out of his room - WITHOUT the stroller, and closes the door! He looks at me and says:

"Time out! Stroller!"
Me: "Why is the stroller in timeout?"
Darren: "Stroller. Crash. Truck."
Me: "Ohhhh! OK!" (The stroller must have crashed into one of his trucks)

About a minute later, I hear Darren go back into his room, and hear him say something like this (I will fill in some words, so it's easier to follow):

Darren: "Stoller, be nice! No crashing into the truck! Play nicely! Say sorry to the truck!"
Stroller: "Sorry! I'll play nice!"

Darren and stroller come out and continue playing. A few minutes later, I see Darren go to his room again, this time WITHOUT the stroller, and comes out closing the door behind him.

Me: Darren, what's going on?
Darren: Truck. Time out!
Me: What happened?
Darren: Truck. Crash. Stroller.
Me: Oh. Was the truck being mean?
Darren: EE-Yeah. Time out.

About that time, I had lunch ready, so the poor truck got left in timeout for a VERY long time (more like forgotten). Too bad I didn't know which truck it was, so I could go rescue it!

A Budding Photographer!

Darren has a fascination with ANY sort of electronic gadget, and the camera is no exception. So, today, I finally realized this camera intrigue isn't going away, and showed him how to take a picture. Then, he went on a picture-taking rampage, and these are the ones that turned out. He was so excited, he had a hard time holding the camera still! It was pretty fun to watch his excitement! And just for the record, no one else had their hands on the camera.

Our lovely drinking water! I like the toddler angle/view point!

Joseph reading/eating a book. If only he was looking at us!

Darren's room that HE totally TRASHED during his "nap" today!

Livingroom ceiling fan!

I think these are pretty good for a 2 year old!!!

Playmate for Buddy

This picture makes me sad. Darren is peering over the fence at some kids (at least 7 or 8 years old and older) playing in their backyard, LONGING to go play with them. While we do have a GREAT backyard for kids to play in, Darren's been lonely, and wants a friend or two to share it with. At this point, his prospects are few. At church, there's not much interest in a playgroup, and most of the other kids in nursery (the whole 5 of them!) live an hour out of town, and have Mom's who work, so that's a challenge. In the neighborhood, my boys are the only ones under age 7 or 8, so that's out. The base here is TOTALLY lame - the worst base we've been to so far, so there's nothing there either. Most everything else in the community I've checked out, requires kids to be at least 4, or strictly caters to disadvantaged children. And, most of the time we go to the park, he's the only toddler there (we must pick the wrong times to go). To top it all off, he's been evaluated by a speech therapist, and is a little behind (which I've suspected for awhile now). Her recommendation at this point is to have him play with other kids around his age, but who speak better than him at least once or twice a week! HA!! Something about peer influence showing him the NEED to say his words correctly- there's more detail to that, but would take too long to fully explain. So, our solution at this point is to take him to story time at the library once a week, and get him started in a toddler tumbling class (Karen, thank you for your suggestions!). I hope it helps him enough. At this point, he asks for friends in Alaska and some relatives on an almost DAILY basis. Little Darren is really lonely, and it breaks my heart. Poor kid. Anyway, that's a very long explanation as to why the above picture makes me sad.

On the other hand, he's quite a little genius. That fence he climbed is a 6 foot fence! He first emptied all the garbage out of the black garbage can, which is about as tall as he is, and flipped it over. Then he somehow climbed on top of that in order to scale the fence. Pretty resourceful if you ask me!

Parenting Payoff

Darren's typical bedtime routine is as follows: diaper change, jammies, brush teeth, say goodnight to those still up, then either Mom or Dad (we take turns) will take him to his bed, where we read a scripture story, say prayers, and sometimes I'll sing to him, then do the final tucking in, hug, kiss, lights out, etc. This has basically been his routine since before he could walk, and knows it well. However, he still does not always like to hold still and pay attention to his scripture story, or fold his arms and kneel for prayer. Every night we remind him of what we do for prayer and try to get him to pay attention to his scriptures. Some nights he's really good about it, and other times, you'd think it was a completely foreign routine to him!

Anyway, this last week, not only has his bedtime routine been a challenge, but ALL DAY, EVERYDAY has been very trying. So, last night was my turn to get him to bed, and my patience was a little thin because of challenges we had had during the day. When we got to his room, he crawled in bed, I grabbed his little scripture reader, and started reading. He propped himself up on his elbows and was very attentive the whole time. Then, it was time for prayer, so I knelt, and he wanted his stuffed monkey to kneel too, so while I was getting monkey all situated, Darren slid right out of bed, knelt next to me, and folded his arms. I didn't have to say a word to him - he just did it! For prayer, we will usually say a couple words and have him repeat it since he's still learning to talk. Last night, as I was helping him say his prayers, he started saying things on his own, and wanted ME to repeat it! ON HIS OWN, he was thankful for the sun, moon, stars, cars, trucks, Lightning McQueen, tractors, Mommy, Daddy, Joseph, the sky, candy, and church. I wanted to melt! I was SOOO proud of him! When he was done, he crawled right back in bed and held VERY still while I sang him the "Angel Lullaby" my mom used to sing to me, and "I Am A Child of God." Then he very nicely asked to sing "Sunbeams!" I hesitated because that's not exactly a settle down and go to bed song, but we sang it anyway - complete with the actions. Then he gave me a great big hug and kiss, said "nuh night," curled up with his monkey and went right to sleep! I was SO pleased with him, especially with the week we've had. It was such a sweet little reward for trying so hard to teach him correct things and stay consistent. His sweetness last night made it ALL worth it! And, starting to say prayers by himself... how cool is that?!!

6 Months Old!

I, Joseph Porter Coleman, turned 6 months old on Friday, February 27th! I feel so big now! Mom took me to the doctor that day and the doctor said I was a very long, skinny baby! I am 29 inches long (88th percentile), but only weigh 15 lbs. (11th percentile). The doctor seemed a little concerned that I didn't weigh more than that, especially since I was so big when I was born; however, she still said I was healthy! Then, she sent a nurse in to give me some shots in my leg. It really hurt, and I cried really loud, but Mom was holding me close, which made me feel better.

My family is really great, but Mom is my favorite. I get very, very sad and cry when I can't see her. She holds me, snuggles me, kisses me, talks to me, sings to me, and feeds me all the time. I feel very content when I am with her, because I know she loves me very much.

Dad is really good at letting me experience new things. Lately, he's been trying really hard to teach me to crawl. He gets down on the floor with me, shows me what to do, and is very encouraging. He likes to see me accomplish new things. So far, I get up on my hands and knees, rock back and forth, and can travel halfway across a room (usually backwards). A few days ago, Dad let me "hang out" with him in his hammock he brought home from Brazil when he was a missionary there. This is very special, because he is super protective of that hammock, and not very many people get to relax in it. He actually let us swing in it for awhile. It was soooo much fun! I had a great time!

After swinging, we were both so tired, that we fell asleep together. I love my Dad!

I think it is SO much FUN to have a big brother! I can't wait until I am big like him. I LOVE it when he wants to play with me! He lets me play cars with him, and loves it when I chase him around the house (via Mommy). I like chasing him too. I can't help but laugh every time - it's just so much fun! I think it is so fun when he wants me to be a horse and sits on me, or wants to wrestle with me! Darren gets in trouble for getting "too rough" with me though, which I don't understand. I'm tough, and I love that my big brother wants to play with me! We're just playing, Mom! Big brothers are also great for sharing their toys. Darren lets me ride in the back of his truck and pushes me around the backyard. It's a lot of fun!

Darren also likes to sneak me treats when Mom is busy fixing dinner. Just tonight, he introduced me to maple syrup! It's good stuff! I was sitting in my bouncy chair, just happily playing with my toys and sucking my thumb, when Darren dumped half a bottle of syrup on my head. A bunch of that yummy stuff drizzled it's way into my mouth, and I kept sucking my thumb like crazy, trying to get as much of it as I could. Then Mom came and ruined it! Darren was sent to his room, and I was wisked off to the bathtub! Way to wreck the fun, Mom!



My life so far has been pretty good! I love to smile at people and babble! My brother is setting a great example for demonstrating all the big loud noises that I can make! I also like to be a part of whatever is going on around me. I am so happy that I can grab for things that I want, and that people respond when I make noises. I think it's great to be snuggled, but also love to stretch out as far as I can! Mom and Dad do a pretty good job of keeping me fed, and changing my diaper, so life is good! As a bonus, I know that I am very well loved by my family and friends! My first 6 months have been great, and I can't wait for the rest of my life!