Mommy tried to vacuum.  Luke found the ninja turtle toothpaste. 

​May has been a wild month for Mommy.  She went back to work.  That about sums it up! 
 
But really, it’s been a wild month.  Daddy had Bach Choir festival rehearsals and concert 5 out of 7 days/nights last week, which left Mommy overwhelmed with bedtime duty.  Thankfully, Grandma and Grandpa came over 2 nights last week to help with gymnastics, soccer, and bedtime, but Mommy is happy to have Daddy back again.  The two little kids are still a handful at bedtime, both requiring constant attention, rocking, feeding, singing, etc. 
 
Luke is very good at bedtime, though.  He loves to sing songs and rock in the comfy chair.  When we tell him that it is time to rock he knows to go get his blanket and find a stuffed animal (usually Minnie Mouse!), and go to the chair in Alyssa’s room.  It’s really the only way we can consistently get him to go to bed at night, so for now, we do what works.
 
Luke is a bit more tech savvy at age2 than his big brother was at this age.  I’m not sure if that is a good thing.  He knows how to find YouTube on my phone in order to watch ridiculous videos with lego trains, silly songs, dinosaurs, and other stuff.  He also knows that computers require a mouse in order to work.  If Daddy’s computer is on in our bedroom he will go into his bedroom and get the mouse from Yellow Ironman (Preston’s computer – just think of John and you’ll know why Preston has a computer) and bring the mouse into our room to try to make it work on Daddy’s computer.  It doesn’t work of course, but it’s crazy that he thinks of even trying that. 
 
Luke is also pretty good with letters and numbers.  It’s hard to know if he actually knows what he is talking about, but more often than not he can point to the correct number on the keyboard or count down from 5.  He also likes to do sight word flashcards with Preston and me at breakfast time.  Pretending to read is fun, too!
 
Luke finally got to drive the big wheel tractor on Saturday.  Preston helped a little bit, but Luke was in the driver’s seat and LOVED it.  Preston was 3 when we got the tractor, so Luke finally gets a bit of a bonus by being the little brother. 
 
Last night I decided that I should try a chapter book with Preston.  I’ve been holding off for a while, because he really likes to look at pictures and I was worried that he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with “just words.”  I first I was going to attempt Harry Potter, but I don’t have a hard copy of the first book, so then it was back to the drawing board.  I found a list of chapter books to read to pre-schoolers on goodreads.com.  The second book on the list “My Fathers Dragon” sounded good to Preston, and when I looked it up on Amazon I could buy it for $1 for my kindle.  Score!  When I was a kid we had to think ahead and check books out at the library, but there is nothing quite like instant satisfaction.  I had the book within seconds and I patted Alyssa to sleep on my chest while I read the first 6 chapters to Preston!  It surprisingly held his attention.  After each chapter I did a quick check-in to see if he was comprehending the story (What did the cat find on the island?  A dragon.  Why was the dragon sad?  Because he wanted his Mommy (not how it went in the story)  How did the boy get off of the ship?  I don’t know.  How did the boy get to Wild Island?  He jumped on rocks.  What animal found the tangerine skins?  I don’t know).  Some of the more basic things he could follow, but the more specific things (which the author uses more flowery language to describe) he had a harder time with.  It didn’t seem to matter in the long run, though.  And let’s just say, I enjoy reading this book a LOT more than some of the baby books we’ve been rotating for the last 5 years.  I’ve never read “My Father’s Dragon,” it’s a very fun book!  I recommend it for almost-Kindergarteners.
 
I don’t think I’ve had a chance to blog about it yet, but Preston got to play the organ at church at his last choir practice a few weeks ago.  He liked playing the trumpet sounds and the pedals!
 
Alyssa is still our little lovey.  She’s doing great at daycare, which is a relief to me.  It was VERY hard to leave her the first day, and the month of May has been a trying one for me as I’ve been back at work.  I’m very emotional.   Knowing that she is happy and having a good time at daycare makes it a little better.  She takes bottles without a problem, she’s starting to find a nap routine, she made her first finger paint project (a mother’s day card), and she had her first school photo taken!  She gets to play outside sometimes when her brothers are on the playground (and it’s not too cold outside), and she is of course, the daycare favorite!  It’s always fun when I take her socks off and find the her toenails are purple!  I know she did foot print painting that day at school.  It happens with the boys sometimes, too. 
 
We’re all looking forward to going to the lake in a week and a half!  We’ll see how Alyssa does on a LONG car ride. 
 
Mommy:  Who wants to take a shower in my shower?  No answer
Mommy:  Preston, do you want to take a shower in my shower? No Answer
Mommy:  Who wants to take a shower in my shower? No Answer
Mommy: Luke, do YOU want to take a shower in my shower?  YES!
Mommy: Ok!  Let’s go!
Preston: But I WANT to take a shower in your shower!
Mommy: Preston, I asked you three times and you didn’t answer.  Lukey answered me, so he gets to go first.  You can go when he is done.
Preston: Yeah, but you didn’t YELL for me to take a shower.
Mommy: Oh yeah?  I shouldn’t have to YELL about anything.  YOU should listen the first 87 times.