Goldbug

Dave and I have noticed a big difference just in the last couple weeks with the way the boys are interacting. They are playing really well together. As Dave puts it, "They're just getting so much fun!" For several weeks now their favorite thing to do is play with their toy guns that shoot foam balls. Our house is constantly littered with the little red and blue balls-- all 120 of them! Although we're probably down to about 110. Some of them have been shot off the balcony into the backyard leaves and some of them have been thrown out after they were shot into dirty dishwater, etc. 

Their language skills continue to expand by the minute. Ben adores construction vehicles in books or in real life or on their current favorite show, "Mighty Machines." He is constantly talking about bulldozers, cranes and cement mixers. Luke appears fluent in English. You'd never know it wasn't his first language. Some of the words I love hearing the most from him are coffee, uncle, Hi Mommy, teddy bear and I love you. He decided about a week ago that his big teddy bear from Aunt Becky must always be with him at bedtime. 

Several weeks ago Ben decided he was done with the crib. Initially he slept in the twin bed overnight and the crib for naps, but now he sleeps solely in the bed. He loves having mama and/or daddy with him in the bed. His preferences change by the second. Sometimes he adamantly wants just one or the other of us in bed to put him to sleep and other times he "must" be sandwiched between both parents. This has become one of our favorite times of the day. We ask Ben if he had a good day and he amazes us each night with how much he can communicate about the day's events. One day after a walk on the trails behind our house, he recounted what he saw, "Tractor. Whoa! Hop hop. (bunnies) Woof woof. (dogs)" Made blowing noise with his lips. (dandelions) On halloween night he said, "Am-ma. Am-pa. (We went to grandma and grandpa's house to trick-or-treat.) Then he said, "Baby" and "Roaaarr." He was recounting the two things that spooked him... someone dressed up in a huge baby costume and someone dressed up as a gorilla. He usually tells us who he saw that day either in person or via FaceTime... Papa, "Nee" (Nanny), Am-ma, Am-pa, "Me" (Auntie Mary), Jachin, Bo, "Day" (Uncle Dave). 

When Papa was here for a visit, he introduced Ben to "Goldbug" the cute little character on every page of Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things that Go book. Ben still LOVES to find "Bug-Bug" and he's ridiculously good at it. He finds Goldbug very quickly on most of the pages and then claps for himself each time!

One night we left the boys with uncle and auntie. Apparently, Uncle Dave got a little enthusiastic while shooting their guns and broke one of them. For a week afterwards, whenever Ben would see the broken gun he'd point to it and say "Day" as if to tattle on his uncle once again. :)

Luke got his first haircut this week. He was a big wimp about it (shocker!) but it looks absolutely adorable!! He still likes to sleep in the crib. I think it's comforting for him. He climbs in and out with ease. Some mornings one or both of the boys will just show up in our room or they'll decide it's time to head downstairs. This morning they were heading down the stairs at 4:30 am! We had to nip that one in the bud!! Mama doesn't do 4 AM!

These boys bring us so much joy. We feel beyond blessed to have them as our sons. Dave and I love talking about the funny (and annoying) things they do each day. We've enjoyed a few date nights recently. Auntie is very sweet to watch them for us so we can get a little time to ourselves. The other night at dinner Dave said, "I loved the idea of adoption before we had Luke but now I REALLY love it!" I couldn't have said it better. So thankful that God brought Luke into our lives. I can't imagine life without that sweet boy. Such a privilege to have him in our family.