bring your kids to work:

Last Friday was Manny's division's Bring-Your-Kids-To-Work Day.  The kids had fun and were excited to tell me about it.  I think Lucas just partook of the food and treats.  Naomi did the scavenger hunt and other activities (and also enjoyed lots of treats).  I hope they learned a little more about what their father does, and I hope they never work for the company.  Haha.  I stayed behind with Isaac.  They didn't seem gone too long.  Manny had to drop them off and then rush back for an evening meeting.  We all miss him.

Last week a deacon at our church sent a message to a few of us asking for help or a meal for someone who got out of surgery earlier than expected.  It was sort of last minute, but exactly in God's timing, and I was moved to act.  I woke Isaac out of his nap yet again, packed up the kids (thankful I have kids who are usually quick to stop what they're doing and get out the door), and headed out to get the family the food they requested.  It's good for the kids to be part of helping others and see all kinds of living situations.  Aside from parenting around the clock, homeschooling, and managing the home, this is my other job (which is really just to obey God), so I guess I brought the kids to work, too.

Keeping 350+ kids happy with loads of sugar.

Bean quesadillas and watermelon.  Yum!

Naomi got the water bottle and trail mix packs she'd been wanting.  She also enjoyed her cotton candy and Trader Joe's kettle corn.  

lucas starts school:

Last Monday we began kindergarten with Lucas.  We met with the ISP principal/coordinator, and that went really well.  I have never been an isolationist, and I find great value in working with those who have extensive experience and training in education, especially when they are supportive of alternative education.  Lucas does have an IEP (individual education plan for special needs children) with our school district, but because his processing issues are not debilitating, I am able to teach him at home. 

At the meeting with the ISP principal, Lucas talked to her, joked with her, and came up with a game for them to play while we discussed the plan and expectations for the year.  It's a phenomenal improvement over years past where he wouldn't interact with her at all.  With Naomi, she'd blow them away at the monthly meetings.  With Lucas, we're just looking for a show of improvement and academic progress, no matter how small, from month to month.  If I feel Lucas is not ready for first grade, we will have him repeat kindergarten.  This is new territory for me.  I guess I thought all of our kids would do well academically, and it was just a matter of leading them to do their best.  However, now I'm seeing a new benefit to homeschooling, and that is helping Lucas to thrive despite his learning glitch.  It's going to be quite a challenge and a journey!

   

The first day went as expected.  He hid from me, cried through a lot of the beginning.  Naomi helped a lot; she starts this coming week.  He was probably afraid and didn't know what to expect.  By week's end, however, he was cheering when he did something right, and all he could think about was showing his work to Manny.  If I haven't mentioned it before, Lucas will hide under tables or run out of classrooms or decline participation, and he gets away with it.  At home, he can only go so far, and there is no exception to getting through school, even with interruptions.  I'm pretty sure I'm sparing some teacher out there a lot of stress.  Naomi was amazed by my patience at the start of the week, but trust me, by the week's end with unexpected needs that came up, I was wiped out and had a short fuse.  I'm glad Manny had a take-your-kids-to-work day at week's end.

I don't know how long we'll do this.  A lot of my plans changed once we had Isaac.  But we'll just take each child year-by-year and see.

    

Naomi made a first day drawing on the board.  She said SHK stands for School for Hernandez Kids.

Lucas learning to cut with real scissors.  I never let him for safety reasons.  And of course in the thirty seconds it took me to pick Isaac up, he cut some of his hair.  You can't really tell, though, he has so much hair going in all directions.

Naomi found these erasers she got for free for Lucas's alphabet game.  He has a hard time with letters.  I've noticed that he tries to count the position on the card to find a letter rather than actually learning the letter.  Numbers seem to come more naturally to him, but language must be learned to communicate!  Naomi knew all the letters and how they sound by 18 months, so I've definitely had to rein it in this time around.

kids day / uncle chris / mother-daughter time:

There's Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Grandparents' Day, but no official Children's Day here in the U.S.  Some kind folks from the Taiwanese Volunteer Group brought the celebration to California.  It's not especially easy getting out with the three kids, and Isaac cried most of the time, but we had a lot of fun.  I'd invited my cousin, but she had other plans.  

The event and parking were free, but once in, you had to buy tickets for practically everything, and could only buy in $10 increments.  We bought $20 to cover food for all of us and a couple of activities.  I was so disappointed we were one ticket (called happy money) short for Lucas and Manny to get on the train ride.  Lucas was such a good sport about it, but I know he'd been excited to get on.  I'm proud of our kids for not acting spoiled and understanding frugality.  When we left, Naomi said it was a great day (even though we weren't there long), and Lucas said we didn't have enough money so we couldn't stay till nighttime.  I love freebies and really wanted Naomi to participate in some of the contests, but I didn't force her.

The longest non-food line I saw led up to a college program booth.  Maybe it was something in close proximity to something else, but I wouldn't be surprised since it's a Taiwanese event after all.  The Taiwanese Christian mission dental group was giving free check-ups, so that was nice to see.  I really liked the costumes in the brief parade, and especially seeing folklorico dancers in it.  We missed their stage performance.  I'm proud to be an American citizen and proud of our kids' mixed heritage as well.  I am a Chinese person from Taiwan.  I don't speak Taiwanese, but my father does.  I speak Mandarin (the Chinese national language) with a slight Taiwanese accent.  I have no indigenous blood nor do I speak Portuguese like some native Taiwanese.  So most of the time I identify myself as Chinese just to be clearer, but culturally I'm more Taiwanese.  By the way, Enigma's "Return to Innocence" includes an Ami (indigenous Taiwanese tribe) chant--it's not Native American!  Also, my roommate in college called a radio station to prove me wrong about that song being sung by a man.  The DJ agreed with her that it was a woman, and that was it.  But I knew I was right--it was sung by a man.  That's okay, people often think I'm wrong; story of my life, etc etc.

Chris was in town, so Manny and he went to a movie afterward.  I made breakfast cupcakes (eggs, milk, bacon, broccoli) for dinner with the older kids, while Isaac finally got his much-needed nap.  The kids miss Chris, so he came by later to hang out with (or be tortured by?) them.  

I was the adult in charge at the church nursery last Sunday.  It was hard work caring for the babies and toddlers, including my own, with teenage helpers who cannot really carry the babies around or change their diapers (our church policy).  They often chat as teenage girls do, but they help when asked.  The Lord gave me grace--most of the kids came in crying, and I was able to calm each one down within a minute, even  the two girls who usually don't want to be there.  Very thankful!  

We went to lunch at Denny's with Chris (no A/C), and then I took Naomi to the mall.  It was primarily to return a couple of bottoms I ordered online (she grew this summer!), but I had wanted to do some other things with her.  However, the place was packed, and the lines were so long with a lot of families doing back-to-school shopping, so we weren't able to do more than the return and getting her a jean jacket on sale at Macy's.  I remember I was 13 when my mom also got me a jean jacket from Macy's.  A lot of 90s fashion is in again.  Macy's needs to work on the cash register situation, which hasn't improved since I was a kid.  Anyway, Naomi was really cute trying to pay for it with her own money.  Then we got a couple of gumballs, and that was our treat.  It took me 15 minutes to even get out of the parking lot.  Yikes.  No more of that for us.  While we were gone, Isaac was napping in the crib (he is the first of our kids to really do that at this age), and Manny and Chris were watching Marvel Superhero Squad with Lucas.  He's into that right now.  The kids and I stayed home for dinner while Manny hung out at Chris's for a while.  Manny had purposely not looked at his work emails all weekend to not have it hanging over us, but he had an important meeting Monday, and his computer had gone kaput.  So he had to go into work late at night.  Thankfully, he didn't have much extra work to do, and I'm glad that worked out.     

Photos from the Kids Day event:

Chinese rice roll (fan tuan).  I'd been craving one for months.  It was good, except part of the filling was stale.

The sun was a little bright for Lucas.

Naomi crossing the boy scouts' monkey bridge.

Happy Kids Day!

By the cool costumes.

Cotton candy to share.

The "i" in Taiwan is shaped like the island of Taiwan, in case you didn't know.

Folklorico in the parade.

The freakiest thing is that I have a friend that looks like this guy's mask.  Those look like Mickey gloves.

Though he was tired, he always musters a smile for big sis!

art class / new friend:

Naomi and her friend C. went to a half-day art camp together last Thursday and Friday.  The theme was South America, and they worked with various mediums and methods new to Naomi.  I was so thankful my friend was willing to drive Naomi, or I would have had to wake the baby and Lucas, get them ready, and drive an hour roundtrip just to drop her off.  Our friend's family just adopted a son O., and it was nice to finally meet him.  He is just a sweetheart, and one strapping two-year old!  Friday after class, we went to their home for pizza and a playdate.

Because both our youngest boys need to nap, we didn't overstay our welcome as I think we usually do.  It's hard to leave there.  It's just a pleasant home, and our girls get along, and now our boys do as well.  Lucas and O., got along pretty well.  Lucas tried to teach him to play hide-and-seek and they just chased each other around the house and outside.  Lucas also built structures for O. to knock down.  He was a little frustrated when O. did it too early, but I was pleased to see him exercise self-control.  This is the first time Lucas has really befriended a boy outside of the family.  It was good for the boys not to be knocking on the girls' door crying to get in.

When we left, O. cried, and Lucas said O. was his friend.  We exchanged some belated birthday presents, and said our goodbyes.  If only I could get Lucas to say goodbye.  He never does, and it's hard to force him.  He said he doesn't like to, and usually the adult will tell him it's okay if he doesn't.  We had been invited for a last swim date with several families from church, but we didn't make it.  Naomi and I agreed that one-on-one time with friends we haven't seen in a while is often better.  Again, I neglected to take photos!

Some of Naomi's artwork from the class:  South American instruments with pastels, large stamp artwork, Brazilian watercolor scene, framed metal carving (it's a moon).

swim day:

Our friend A. invited us and J.'s family to her complex pool last week.  We've all had a lot going on, and it was good to squeeze in some summer fun before the school year began.  It was a fun afternoon, perfect weather for swimming.  The other two families have four (yes, four) little ones eight and younger, so we were three moms with eleven kids in tow.  A.'s baby girl is nine months old, and J.'s baby boy is just a week and a half younger than Isaac, but he's bigger.  I didn't take a lot of photos--it's harder to remember or manage that these days.

Lucas in the water.  Naomi did some floating and laps in the big pool, at the top of this photo.  She seems to go back to her way of swimming, not using much of the freestyle she learned this summer.

Lucas outgrew his swim vest, so he was only allowed in the kiddie pool and on the steps of the big pool.  He had fun just splashing around by himself and doing a couple of the things he's learned.

star test:

We received Naomi's first ever CST/STAR results, and they were, well, stellar.  I can't compare it against my elementary standardized tests, because this test is different.  We see a total score and comparison graphs, so it's not just percentiles like it was with mine.  She scored at the Advanced Level in English and math (492 and 470, respectively, out of 600), which means ahead of her grade level (second grade).  She scored 100% on many of the sections.  In light of the fact that we had to take a break from school, did not follow Californian standards, and were so thrown off by Isaac's birth just before the exam, I am extremely proud of her.  And, of course I knew she'd do better in English than math, even though that's so unlike me and Manny.

It would be helpful to see which questions were missed so we can help our children more (they do break it down by topic, but no further).  This is one of the many reasons I don't like these tests or NCLB.  I liked them as a kid, though--I always scored 98-99th percentile (99th is highest) across the board, and I started off a grade ahead (I skipped kindergarten) in public school with limited knowledge of English.  My mom taught me at home, though her English wasn't good either.  Those were the days when I could pick things up without even trying.  Nowadays, I can barely remember what I did five minutes ago!

It appears that STAR will be phased out in favor of a new test to reflect Common Core standards in 2014-2015.  The new test will be done on the computer, and there might be a paper-and-pencil version initially.  I prefer the paper-and-pencil, because the student can go back and check, whereas with the computer version, the difficulty level is adjusted based on whether the student gets the question right or wrong, so if you make a simple error, it could be costly.  

The good news may be that Lucas won't have to take the STAR, but I don't know what he'll have to do or not do in the second grade, and I will not be able to prepare either child as well.  Not all homeschoolers do the standardized tests, but I like having that record, and we have plans to transition our kids into public school anyway.  But through and through, I am against high-stakes testing, and Common Core does little to change that.

safety tips for parents and kids:

When N was young, I remember telling her about "stranger danger," and it was necessary, because she was so social.  She went up to some random man at a park when she was about two and introduced herself.  Then it led up to the question I always had as a kid--what do you do when you are lost and need help?  They always said go to a policeman, but when's the last time I saw one?  A friend shared this post (link below) on Facebook, and I thought it offered good insights in light of recent news events and what we know statistically about those who exploit or abduct children (it's often someone they know and not a stranger).

And there's my story.  When I was about six or seven, a man working in our trailer park knocked on our door saying he needed to use the bathroom.  He wasn't a friend, but not exactly a stranger either.  I let him in (my parents were out, and I don't know where my brother was).  I guided him to the restroom where he proceeded to flash his you know what at me and ask me how to use the bathroom, as if I should show him.  I said I don't know and ran out of there.  I can't actually remember what happened afterward, and I never told my parents either.  I've been lost, picked up by strangers, my hand burned with a cigarette by a neighbor (these events happened mostly before I came to the U.S.).  I could be dead.  Parents and caretakers need to talk to children and keep an eye on them.  You don't have to helicopter parent, but you shouldn't take your eyes off your kids at the park or store, even for a minute.  I may not always interfere, but I watched mine like a hawk when they were young.

Tricky People Are the New Strangers

There was a recent special where kids were given talks and instructed about strangers right before going to the park, as an experiment, and 7 out of 20 failed the test, walking off with the man (an actor playing a pedophile/predator) right in front of their parents.  One even climbed into the dog cage in the back of his truck!  You don't have to live in fear, but try not to neglect kids for your own convenience!  I know some moms who have a different philosophy, and my conclusion is that I just have to distance myself sometimes so that we don't end up compromising our children's safety.

a little dream of me:

A couple of nights ago, I was startled awake by the baby during a rather vivid dream.  I dreamt that our worship pastor had thrown this surprise birthday party for me.  He was up there with his instruments and a DJ booth.  I looked around and saw familiar faces, including Manny who was smiling at me wearing this jacket from when we first met.  He has a cameo in almost all of my dreams.  Many of the attendees were friends with whom I was once close, but now have drifted away (though often not by my choice--I had tried to maintain many of the relationships).  The biggest surprise was that my friend C. flew in--she has been my closest friend since I was 13.  I was so giddy with excitement introducing her to everyone.  Then they told us to be seated.  We were in a theatre of some sort, and when the movie came on, it was a movie or slideshow of my life.  I didn't really care to watch it; I already lived it.  I just wanted to see my friends.  It was then I realized (in the dream) that I was deceased, and this was some warped version of heaven, and I was filled with joy, seeing and being with my good friends again.  Right when I woke up, I involuntarily whispered, "I'm so sad, Lord."  I think what prompted that feeling was mostly the distance from these friends, and in particular my best friend from my youth, whom I haven't talked to in a few months, and whom I haven't seen in over a year.  She sent our family gifts after Isaac was born.  But the distance feels much longer for some reason lately, like I'm losing her.  Maybe I'm coming to terms with the fact that she may have others whom she's closer with now, and I have to let it be.  I'd imagined us living at least in the same state, visiting each other, taking trips with our families, but now we're so far apart.  We'll always be friends, but I still miss her.  I'm blessed with good friends, but there are just those friends whom I'd never want to lose, and others whom I just want to love because they're not loved enough.

Most of the dreams I remember look like sci-fi films, with futuristic transportation, machines, sometimes space and time travel, and sometimes the end of the world.  Many have the same settings and cast of characters.  Perhaps I should write about them more often, but I lost my second nature for writing years ago.  A lot of dreams I have also involve fear of losing our children.  And I actually die in some of my dreams (it's a myth that if you die in your dream you die in real life).  But this one stood out to me, because it represents something I'm actually going through at the moment that I haven't really dealt with, and it showed it in a very symbolic way.

birthdays, baby shower, hot pot, and the wolverine :

I didn't want to call this a "misc update" as I usually do, because these were really special events, but I'm combining them all because I need to get caught up on updates before I forget.  I'd also like to write about other topics.

Naomi went to a Parisian-themed birthday party for an older classmate a couple of Saturdays ago.  They had a simple, beautifully decorated party in a clubhouse, with just a few friends and family.  The girls dressed up, painted, enjoyed croissant sandwiches, French toast, and a cake with sorbet.  Then they opened presents and played in the clubhouse.  Naomi said when she saw the other presents, she thought ours might have not been fancy enough (we got her a knitting kit), but it turned out it was one of the birthday girls'  favorites.  She and her mom are currently in a knitting class together!  Naomi is a lot like me in how she worries about those things.  The birthday girl's mom said she kept it small, and yes, she was thinking about how chaotic our party got.  Haha.  It's tough to keep Naomi's parties small, and we cut out so many friends as it is.  Next year, she wants to do a picnic party.  Last time I tried that, it rained, and every other year it's been very sunny!  Either way, if we can make it smaller, then if the picnic doesn't work out, we can move the party back home.

Saturday I went to a baby shower for a friend from church.  I took Isaac with me, while Manny took the kids out for a Chinese lunch and frozen yogurt.  Isaac cried for two of the three hours we were at the shower.  This was a lot even for him, but he's usually napping during that time and only naps well in his crib now.  I was supposed to give an encouragement and blessing, but the hostess didn't get to coordinate with me because I kept having to go in the room with Isaac.  I felt bad and even though I was nervous, I did really want to do it.  I enjoy encouraging people, even though I'm not the best speaker.  If one is gifted in exhortation, it can be challenging to find a place for to exercise that in the church, but I was really encouraged to be asked.  At our church, I've had so many opportunities to do encourage others.  The weakness, though, is that I can overstep my bounds, and encouragement can come off as criticism to others, even if that's not what's in my heart.  Plus, I often talk too much once I'm comfortable with someone.  So, this might have been good practice, but you know, things happen.  Babies happen.  :)  I was glad Isaac was with me, and that Manny and the big kids could enjoy some quality time together.  [ETA:  I forgot to mention I did win a prize, a pretty water bottle, from one of the shower games--Baby Price is Right, Walmart version, and they gave out hand sanitizer as shower favors--awesome]  Manny is a fun and loving dad.  He has to work all the time, so weekends are a big deal for the kids.  Lucas still remembers everything he had that day down to the drinks and toppings.  I'm sure it was a lovely memory for the kids.

The next day, Isaac did a 180 and didn't want to nap at all at church.  It was really busy in the nursery so I felt bad, and wondered if I can handle it this weekend when it's my turn to be the primary worker there, but it worked out because Isaac slept through all of our celebratory lunch for a friend's birthday.  Another friend and her children joined us, and it was a fun time.  Except we were in the sun and had to play musical chairs before Manny came up with a brilliant (as in, should have been obvious) idea to move the umbrellas.  It really is nice to go out for lunch again with friends.  I was so sick when I was pregnant it really did a number on me.  It's still expensive, though, so we'll have to spread it out more once we have three kids eating.  We took the kids out for hot pot (a Taiwanese or Japanese style of cooking where you cook all fresh ingredients for everyone in a hot soup pot) a few weeks ago, and it was a pretty good deal considering how much we all ate, but we couldn't do that all the time.  Lucas pretty much ate his weight in food.  Wow.  I remember when my parents couldn't pay the gas bill sometimes or the power went out otherwise, and my dad would break out the little hot plate and we'd have hot pot at home with whatever we had on hand.  It's a good family experience, and the food was good, too.  Good nutrition for nursing babies as well.  :)

After the lunch, I actually went out to a movie with a friend!  Manny had encouraged me to go see The Wolverine and all its Japanese ninja fun, but I was hesitant because Isaac still refuses the bottle and is not eating solids yet.  I fed him as much as I could before I left, but he got hungry.  Manny said the second he tried the bottle, and it totally set Isaac off.  He just wasn't having it at all and went into major meltdown mode.  Thankfully I was just gone for three hours, but I'll have to shorten that next time.  The movie was good, and I liked the action scenes and Wolverine's internal struggle, but I was bothered by some aspects of the ending.  I won't give it away, but it just was a letdown, even though it made sense to the plot.  My friend Melissa and I covered our eyes at a few of the violent scenes, and there was profanity, but that's expected from Wolverine.  It's good to see Sanada Hiroyuki, a very famous actor in Japan, getting steady work.  People might not know he's 52 now--to me, he's hardly aged in 25 years.  Hugh Jackman worked hard to be in shape for this role.  As usual, I don't get why they have Koreans playing Japanese parts, but their Japanese was good anyway.  The unknowns who played the female lead and supporting roles did well.  I might have picked a different actress to play Viper, though.  I am a fan of female heroines and fight scenes.  You can be feminine and strong at the same time.  If I hadn't had Isaac, and I had more time, I'd love to learn kung fu.

  

T's 9th birthday with a Paris theme.

Baby shower

Isaac and I with the guest of honor after the party.

Manny out with the kids having noodles, potstickers, and spring rolls.  They're not using chopsticks; must not be authentic.  :)

Yay!  Frozen yogurt (Looney Tunes theme).

Out for B's 50th birthday.

Nice dinner out with just us--hot pot!

I'm pretty sure Lucas had over ten servings.

vbs summer camp / church music:

 Our church partnered with a community youth program for a vacation bible school/summer camp program (mornings was VBS, afternoons sports camp).  Naomi's first day was the day that my in-laws left for Manny's aunt's house.  It wasn't easy packing up the kids to and from the camp, but I'm glad Naomi went.  I held off with Lucas this year, because the afternoon camp was for older kids, and I also felt we needed time together.  It worked out, because we had to make an urgent dental appointment, get his shots and TB test for school, and also do some shopping.  I was asked to help in the nursery, but it was probably for the best I turned it down.  Isaac was really thrown off that week, but it's the way it goes.  Naomi had the best time, and I enjoyed hearing about everything she did.  She never wanted it to end (except on the water play day, the staff dumped buckets of cold water on the kids as a surprise, and she didn't really like that, but kept it to herself).  I wish it was as easy to communicate with Lucas sometimes, that he would follow directions better, that he would just want to participate in these types of events without me having to drag him, but I guess I'll keep working at it, and hopefully he will be ready next year.

The church had a special VBS day on Sunday, inviting kids and their families to return and enjoy the session as well as a group lunch provided by our Latino ministry.  That went pretty well, and then Naomi and I went to watch the color guard do their flags while Manny sat with the boys and a friend from church.  Lucas talked and talked to her about his birthday and life in general.  I wish I was out there to take a photo of Manny and the boys chilling on the little couch.

During the karaoke talent show after the community lunch, our pastor's daughter sang a hymn beautifully, while a couple of other kids (children of VBS leaders) sang a secular song and jumped up and down.  Even though I listen to secular music, I still would prefer to keep it out of the church, because not all that is acceptable is beneficial.  I wouldn't leave the church over it, but I would probably not want Naomi singing the same song.  There is something to be said for that fact that our church is honest and welcoming without being self-promoting or seeker-friendly.  But at the same time, the music can be so loud, I have a number of Christian friends who probably wouldn't be comfortable there.  I'm still a hymn-lover at heart.  There's just something about them for me.  But I can and do still sing the contemporary songs as well--it just comes down to being there with the rest of the body of believers and not just for me.

VBS photo from Naomi's scrapbook.

Special lunch made and hosted by our Latino ministry.

Watching color guard and karaoke performances.  Grandma crocheted Naomi this hate, and she got a lot of compliments.

isaac, four months old:

About to roll over.  Always happy in Naomi's room.

Baby Manny, is that you?

I'm four months old!

Isaac loves to give Papi the kung fu kicks.

He's torn through two of my shirts fighting to be held this way.  He gets sweaty, so I removed his pants.

He likes to shove both hands in his mouth.

A little late, but here is Isaac's four-month update!  At his four-month check-up, Isaac was 25 1/2" long (61st percentile) and 13 lbs 11 oz (13th percentile).  His growth rate has dropped significantly, but he won't eat more or take supplementation and wiggles nonstop for long periods.  He is rolling over now, from front to back.  He also grabs toys/teethers/what have you and puts them in his mouth.  He's very interested in food, although we haven't started solids yet.  He spits out any liquid I try to feed him manually, including vitamin drops, pain reliever, and formula.  He still will not take the bottle from anyone, but we'll keep trying.  I guess all formula by six months may not happen, but it's less expensive this way! 

He's really happy when he's happy, laughing at Lucas's dancing, Naomi's peekaboo games, my tickling, or when he kicks Manny in the face.  He can also be pretty grumpy, and he cries himself to sleep pretty much every nap.  I do a lot of soothing, rocking, etc., but he just is used to going to sleep that way, I guess.  He's shifted to a morning, afternoon, and evening nap now.  He's a light sleeper, so even with the sound machine, he needs complete quiet to stay asleep (tough with the other kids here and in the neighborhood).  He has slept through the night (about 6-8 hours straight) only twice since we've brought him home.  Most of the time, he's up every 2-4 hours, but he's drowsy enough that he'll feed and fall back asleep.  He seems pretty hungry, so I haven't let him cry all night yet.  

He still likes interaction, diaper changes, and chewing on his hands.  He doesn't want to be held inward at all when awake--either he wants to face outward or sit on my arm beside me, sort of like a tree branch (Naomi's explanation).  He doesn't like the carrier or sling anymore, probably because he can't face outward and see anything.  I think he'll really like the backpack carrier.  

This time around, I'm going with the flow and trusting my instincts more.  I'm doing my best to manage and juggle the needs of the day with three kids whom I can't just send off to school or daycare or Grandma's.  It is hard work, but I guess I feel really motivated because this will be our last time through this season, and we've been through it all before.  But a few times a day, I feel my age!

lucas, five years old (and thoughts on raising such a five-year-old):

That's my boy!

He was so excited to finally get to wear that shirt.

Can't get enough of those baby feet!

Lucas when he was 5 months old.

One of the fun parts of having Isaac is remembering Lucas at his age.  They have very different personalities but look very similar.  It's a cliche, but it seems like only yesterday we brought Lucas home from the hospital.  He was such an easy baby, or at least easygoing.  Now of course we are in the midst of raising our son to be the man he is meant to be, along with all its challenges, but we still love him to pieces.  He has the cutest laugh and expressions.  He loves Isaac's feet and kisses him often.  He likes to tell me or others what I just said to him as though he came up with it.  He cares about others, but doesn't always readily show it.  He's more comfortable around adults than his peers, and seems to like sitting in laps.

Many parents of five-year-olds begin to see their child's leanings unfold, whether it be sports, reading, music, math, science, or something else.  Maybe it's because at this age, kids they make it pretty clear what they're into.  However, I honestly haven't figured out Lucas's proclivities yet, aside from trying to push people's buttons, but we'll keep growing and see!

Lucas only recently began really watching TV shows and movies.  Even though it's easier for me, I am missing the days when he'd get me a stack of books to read to him or sit down and do puzzles with me.  He's pretty good at video games, which is common for boys but sends alerts to my motherly mind, especially in that I was addicted to video games when I was younger.  He just recently started noticing superheroes, Marvel ones to be exact, but I won't let him watch the movies unless another adult insists.  He did watch Iron Man 2 and some of Avengers with Grandpa on TV, and he cracked up at the fight scenes.  Even a few months ago, he would've been too scared.  Now he says he is "five and brave."  I haven't even let him watch Star Wars yet, and I was about his age when my dad forced me to watch Halloween.  I think the trauma of watching so many R-rated films is part of why even a little violence and gore disturb me, so I try to remind myself to be a little more open-minded and let some things go, while still drawing my line when I'm with the kids alone.  I do think that boys are overdiagnosed with ADHD partly because women don't understand boys, so I want to make sure I let him express some of the energy, experimentation, competitiveness, and courage that are ingrained in his nature.  But I also need to establish limits that will lead to greater wisdom (e.g., boys should not ever hit girls or bully others, no playing with fire, be a good sport, help others, etc.).  I wish I had greater wisdom myself in knowing how to raise boys, but I'm learning a lot from Manny and from authors or friends who have been there and done that...and also trial and error.

Lucas recently watched Ratatouille, Meet the Robinsons (it was playing at the doctor's office, but we have it at home, and it's been on high rotation), and Monsters, Inc (dentist's office).  He really enjoyed them.  He likes The Incredibles as well.  I had held off on letting him watch these, plus Monsters isn't my type, but I think he's very much a boy in what he likes, and that's not by our or others' influence.  He seems to be "over" Lightning McQueen, Thomas, all that consumed him just last year.  I make the effort to take them on nature walks and let them play with the neighbors outside, though it's harder at the moment with a baby.  Lucas likes going out to play, but he generally decides to stay inside.  I think he accepts not really having friends to play with outside of the family.  A lot of that is his choice, and some of it is just the neighborhood demographics.  I hope that will change.  Lucas still likes balls, music, and vehicles.  He also still likes to pretend to cook and dance, although he hasn't done either as much as before.  Throwing balls at people's heads hasn't changed either, although my patience with it has.

He's still relatively shy, but he can be a total chatterbox in a comfortable setting.  He takes a while to warm up, and doesn't always express how happy he is to be somewhere or to be doing something.  He jokes around a lot, but not maliciously.  He likes to concentrate, do one thing at a time, and follow a sequence or order.  All these thing are like Manny.

He keeps copying me, as many five-year-olds do, but when I use it as an opportunity to teach him something like the alphabet, he stops.  Yes, we are still going over the alphabet and counting to twenty.  It takes a lot of effort to teach him.  Even when he knows something, he won't tell me or other grown-ups.  This does not bode well school-wise.

Lucas is about 42 1/2 inches and only 32 lbs.  He's a little shy of average height, but his weight is still almost 0th percentile.  He is eating a lot these days, and finally more protein, although this past week he was preferring the greens again.  Three bowls of soba salad a couple of nights ago, two bowls of broccoli last night, and I had to make him stop to eat his chicken or rice.  Being as active as he is and just having that metabolism, he seems to burn through those calories.  I don't expect him to be a football player, but I want him to be a little more sturdy.  He doesn't get sick much, but I just don't want him to be too frail.  He does like pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, spaghetti and meatballs, and fries as much as the next kid.  He's become more particular now.  Cheese pizza.  Plain hamburger with only pickles.  Spaghetti with the meatballs centered on top.

He will start homeschool and the ISP classes at the end of the month.  He does have an IEP (individualized education plan for special needs students) file started with our district for when we decide to put him in.  I'm not an isolationist homeschooler.  We think it'll just be good for him to go full-on IEP and ease into the pace at the beginning.  Then twice a week (AWANA and ISP day at the public school) he'll learn to stand in line, ask to go to the restroom, work with other students and teachers, wash his hands, have lunch with other kids, etc.  With Naomi she had a natural social aptitude which was easily nurtured, but Lucas will need a little more encouragement.  It'll be exciting to see!

family visit part 2:

I didn't realize that I never finished the other post.  I've just been super busy, a lot going on with friends, and out of it in general.  Plus if I don't take pictures, I forget.  Anyway, we all went to church, and Lucas got to hand out some favors Grandma had bought for his birthday.  Naomi went to a gymnastics birthday party.  I was so thankful for friends giving her a ride.  She had the best time, she said, especially getting bounced up on a trampoline and conquering her fears to jump down into a pit.  Then, we came home and Grandpa barbecued.  He made hamburgers, hot dogs, and Korean ribs.  I was mostly relaxing and didn't go in the back often or take pictures.  Plus, I had a cut in my mouth so I had to eat with my mouth open and didn't really want everyone to see that.  Lucas was sitting with Naomi, Grandma, Manny's aunt, and me at first (Manny had gone in the house briefly).  But looking around, I guess he realized he was sitting with the women.  So he said, "I'm going over there," and picked up his food and went over to lie in the back with Grandpa and Great-Uncle Gerard.  I'm hoping Manny's aunt took a photo, but I'm not sure.

On Monday before they left, my in-laws helped us a lot.  Isaac made sure to poop all over Grandpa.  I went to drop Naomi off at VBS and Summer Camp in the morning while Manny got ready for work.  I hung out with my mother-in-law afterward.  They were waiting for my sister-in-law and her boyfriend before heading out to Manny's aunt's house.  My sister-in-law's boyfriend is a biker/bike enthusiast and had gone to a vintage bike replica shop to buy one of those old-time bikes with the giant wheels.  The mounting and dismounting process is kind of gnarly.  And you can't brake quickly, so note to everyone:  Get out of the way instead of standing there and gawking.  :)

Some more photos, mostly taken by other people:

Cool bike.

Lucas's favors for his Sunday school classmates. 

R's gymnastics birthday party.

From the party:  Lucas playing well with his 2-year-old cousin.  They wrestled and rolled around in the grass like typical boys.