Wren update and general news

At his two year appointment, Wren measured 39 inches tall and weighed 33 lbs and 4 oz. He is a tall boy for his age! Looking a lot like his daddy, I might add, too!

Wren is on the fast track to lots of changes! He's saying new words and doing new things every day now. He's repeating things a lot more when we say, "Say ____", which he didn't do very much before. He's singing and saying words that he normally signs. In just the last few days he's started saying "cracker", "book", "milk", "shoe", "more", "eat", "all gone" and "thank you" -- all things he's consistently signed for. I'm not used to him looking at me and saying "cracker?" and I'm thinking, "what is he saying? What does he want?" just because I'm not used to hearing that word!

For a few weeks, Wren was really into labeling things either "Mommy" or "Daddy" -- when we would fold laundry, Wren would point to Daddy's shirt and say "Daddy!" or in the kitchen he would point to a coffee mug that I usually use and say "Mommy!" One day Wren pointed to the candy dish and said "Daddy!" which I thought was pretty funny. :)

A few weeks ago, Wren was going through a cranky stage that wasn't very fun, and then we discovered he had a double ear infection! He'd never had an ear infection before so we didn't know what to look for exactly, and he hadn't had a cold or sickness beforehand so we didn't think of it. He was waking a little in the night and touched his ear a few times and had some wax in his ear -- these are the things that led me to think of his ears. And telling a friend about him waking in the night and her saying, "maybe it's an ear infection" ! :) He started acting much happier after he started taking his amoxicillin.

My parents both visited us in the past few weeks -- Wren calls them "Ha-ma" and "Daddat" -- his interpretations of "Grandma" and "Granddad". They joined us for our regular activities and we had a fun time. Wren really enjoys visitors! He thinks about them down in the guest room as soon as he wakes up in the morning and talks about them after they leave.

Wren likes reading! Now he will sit with us in the blue comfy chair and read books over and over again! We've been waiting for this. It's pretty neat. Before now, he was going through a stage of either not wanting to read, or giving us a book and wanting us to read it while he ran around and played and glanced at the book occasionally. The books he's been into are: If You Were a Penguin by Minor, Please Baby Please by Spike Lee, In Our House by Anne Rockwell, At the Beach by Anne Rockwell, and Water, Water by Eloise Greenfield. We like to snuggle with him while we read. Wren is starting to point to things in the books and want to know the names for them -- he also is doing this in general now too, and then trying to say the word himself. It seems like a real turning point!

Also -- how could I forget? Wren has been wanting MOMMY lately! The last couple of weeks he wants Mommy to get him out of his crib, down from his chair after a meal, etc, etc ... it's pretty annoying but not a huge deal. He seems to already be moving out of wanting me as much as he did. But Wren whines and cries when things don't go his way, and wants Mommy. We have been counting him (as described in the 1-2-3 Magic book) and giving him time-outs in his pack 'n play for two minutes and it seems to help with his behavior (and our frustration).

Scott finished his school semester and now can go in to his office and work on things that he needs to get done for himself -- research, book writing, articles -- instead of preparing to teach class all the time. Very exciting! He has to mow our lawn a lot (one of Wren's favorite new phrases: "lawn mower") and we have both been doing a little work in the yard -- planting and planning. I am looking forward to our summer share starting with our CSA and to the farmers' markets being open soon. We'll eat lots of fresh food this summer and enjoy some meals outside -- we just put the umbrella out on the patio.

We're planning a trip to Missouri this summer and a trip to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware -- we can't wait! I'm sure this summer will go fast. It's hard to believe how much time flies ever since Wren has been born. And you say it just gets faster?

Drop us a line and tell us what's going on with you. We miss all our friends from South Bend (and everywhere else!) and family too. Wish we could see you more in our everyday lives! Love you!