Yummy Calamari

Kenny and I went to eat lunch at Cafe Sevilla in Riverside. It is a Spanish restaurant. The meal I ordered had calamari. I chose to eat the other meats that were in the dish. I could not bring myself to eat the squid that had the tentacles still attached. I thought it would be fun to bring my leftovers home, with the calamari included, to see if any of the kids wanted to try. I got Matthew, Myranda, and Lucas to try it. Yes, I said Lucas. My pickiest eater ate calamari. He won't eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but he will eat squid. He ate a whole one and part of another. He was just chowing it down. Matthew and Myranda only took a bite.

Busy Summer & Lucas Talking

I have not posted in so long. Summer has been busy. We have had girls' camp, scout camp, swimming lessons, deep cleaning rooms, summer school for the boys, doctors appointments, and Kenny has been working a lot of overtime.

I have been getting concerned about Lucas not speaking well. He seems to be having a language problem not a speech problem. I don't know at what point I need to take him to the doctor or if I need to at all. He will be 2 and a half next month. There are many words that he does say, but so many more that he doesn't. For instance he will repeat "Baja Beach" all day long but will not say milk. For milk he just whines "mu" and sometimes makes the sign. Maybe he is just being stubborn or lazy? I often find myself laughing because I can totally understand what he is saying while most would not. Last night he went in to the girls room and said, "Zee, no boo ba Lala." Which means, "Susie, don't fight with Myranda." Me Lu Man (Lucas) seems so intelligent so hopefully one day he will get this talking thing. In the meantime it is cute and funny.
You would think that with child number 5 I would know what I'm doing. But I have no clue. This is the first time I have been a parent to a 2 year old. I have so much to learn.

My Baby is Growing Up

Jackson is 8 months old today. Time goes by so quickly. It amazes me at how much a baby grows in a short amount of time. In the last month Jackson has:

-Started to crawl
-Got his first tooth
-Feed himself Cheerios
-Clapped his hands
-Rocked his head to music
-Said Dada (but not at his daddy)
-Started to put everything small he can find on the ground in his mouth
-Started wearing 12 month size clothes
-Started physical therapy for his neck
-Has been out of the country
-Has visited his great grandma (Nana)
-Went swimming for the first time and loved it :)

I sometimes wish he could stay my little baby, but at the same time I am eager to see how much he will grow in the next month.

Me Lu Man

Lucas has started to call himself Me Lu Man. For the longest time, when we asked him his name he would say "me". Then we tried to get him to try and say Luke. He would only say "Lu" and it became Me Lu. While we were in Baja someone taught Lucas to say "I am the man." When we asked him who he was he would say, "Me Lu, I am the man." Well, now he has shorted it to "Me Lu Man."

The kids are now calling him Me Lu and sometimes I find myself saying it too. The kids also have started calling each other the names that Lucas uses for them. Nathan is Nay Nay, Myranda is La La, Susie is Zee, Matthew is Mapoo, and Jackson is J.J. We just got a Wii and the kids made Miis for themselves with their new nick names. I just love it when Nathan calls himself Nay Nay.

I have a chore chart and the 4 older kids have 2 chores to do most days. I usually ask, "Who does the dishes? or Who takes out the trash?" The kids will then check the chart to see who it is for that day. Everyday someone takes out the trash. This evening I pulled out the recycling can from under the sink and asked Matthew to take it out. Lucas picked up the can and walked over to the chore chart. He pointed up to the chore chart and said "Me Lu." Then he walked to the door to take it out. He is such a little helper. I hope this continues. When the kids complain that Lucas doesn't have any chores(which luckily is not very often), I remind them that when he is their age it will just be Lucas and Jackson doing all the chores that the 4 of them do. After tonight though I think I might add Lucas to the chart with some easy chores. I often complain that Lucas and Jackson can't so their laundry yet. The older 4 do all their own laundry from start to finish.

A while back I complained about Lucas' sleeping habits. Well he is back to being my great sleeper. Like tonight-he had a bath, drank his Instant Breakfast(since he won't eat anything good for him), brushed his teeth, we read 3 books, kissed and hugged, and then he stayed in bed and went to sleep. Now I need to work on Jackson. He still is waking up at least 3 times a night to eat.

We went to Baja over Memorial Weekend. Lucas had a great time. Since we have been back Lucas begs to go to back to Baja Beach. Some nights when it is time to go to bed he whines a little that he wants to go to Baja Beach instead. If I am going somewhere he thinks I must be going to Baja Beach and he wants to go too. Out of the blue he will ask if we can go to Baja Beach. He rides his tricycle and car around making motorcycle sounds. If you ask where he is he says "Baja Beach".

I am really enjoying witnessing this stage of a child's life. It is like his little personality has exploded and he is becoming his own little man. I enjoy just sitting and watching both the little boys discover new things. I missed it with my older 4. Oh how I wished I was there and I don't see how anyone would want to give that up.

Happy Father's Day

Pictures From Baja

Our Trip to Baja

We went to Baja over Memorial Weekend. Kenny's parents have a house right on the beach a few miles south of San Felipe. Kenny's parents, 4 of his siblings and their spouses, and 14 nieces and nephews were there. That means that there were 32 of us there. We all had a great time. The 7 hour drive down there and home was great. You would think that driving with 6 kids would be stressful, but the only problem was the girls fought a couple of times about what movie to watch. I feel lucky to have great travelers. The kids had fun playing in the sand, swimming at the beach, and going on quad rides. I enjoyed not having my daily chores and actually reading a book. I was able to read a book all the way through for the first time since being pregnant with Lucas. I read "Twilight" and enjoyed it. Kenny was glad to finally have a paid vacation. I know he was really excited to go to Baja because he was kind of giddy on the way there. Nathan's arm was feeling better, so the last day there he was able to play rougher. All of the kids enjoyed spending time with their cousins, playing games, and getting to know each other better. It has been a week since we have been home and Lucas has asked everyday if we can go to Baja Beach. I think that all of the kids will have fond memories of the trip and I hope to return to Baja Beach again soon.