Mr. Muscles

Today I was informed that you NEVER wear a shirt under overalls.

P.S. I love the hand in the pocket.

In Motion!

Nothing in the house is safe......Eli is all over the place! Carter better hide his trains!

It's a Jungle Out There

With the beautiful weather in the beginning of the week, the boys and I have really been enjoying the outdoors so when yesterday was dreary we were pretty bummed. To cheer up my little men Brian and I took them to Jungle Fun last night. The best thing about this place is there is no time limit so for three hours we enjoyed puzzles, slides, the obstacle course and pizza. We all had a great time! We definately got our money's worth.

Daddy's Boy

Elijah is not much of a "talker" (he prefers to cry), so Carter and I were shocked when he came out with Da-Da on Tuesday morning at breakfast. It was really cool, especially for Carter. Everyday since Tuesday we have been working with him to "say" something else (i.e. Ma-Ma or Pop-Pop)....nothing...just dadadada. I guess after hearing Da-Da for three days Carter felt it was time to move on....... This morning at breakfast he demands, "Just stopping saying Da-Da. Say Carter!!"

Happy Easter!

So....all the craziness of Easter is over and I am happy say my boys did wonderfully enduring a full 12 hour day with no naps. There was a lot of smiling and laughing and NO meltdowns which was fantastic. Our day started at 7am when the boys tore into their Easter Baskets! Eli really enjoyed the Easter grass.
The Bunny knew to leave Silly Billy the train for Carter. He also left some really cool bunny straws and bunny hoppers. Without much time to play we quickly dressed and headed out the door for church.

After the service we headed back to Mimi and Poppy's house and can you believe the Easter Bunny had been there too?! As you all can see Maggie was eager to help Eli with his goodies.

Carter and Uncle Jeven worked on train "stuff" and hooked up the below train cars which was our centerpiece for lunch.

After a a delicious lunch Carter and Uncle Jeven settled in with a train movie and a little bit of shut eye for Uncle Jev.

You think our day ended there but we had one more stop to make.....Nini's house!! That darn bunny knew visit her house as well. More treats! These must be the best boys in the world!

We had a nice dinner and then Aunt Jenna and Uncle Adam came to join us for dessert and of course some train time. (Yes, everyone who knows Carter has trains for him to play with!) Finally....it was time to head home. I am not quite sure who was more exhausted...Carter and Elijah or Mommy and Daddy!

From our family....we hope that each and everyone of you had a blessed Easter with the ones that you love!

All Aboard

Today as a special treat we took a ride on the Delaware Railroad in Phillipsburg. Carter, Elijah, Mommy, Daddy, Nini, Poppy, Mimi, Uncle Jeven and Aunt Julie boarded the train for a fun filled adventure.

Both of the boys were wonderfully behaved as they waited almost a half an hour for the ride to start. No easy task for Carter who sometimes can have ants in his pants.

Eli held on for as long as he could but riding the rails proved to be too relaxing for him.....so he just took a nap.

Eli and Daddy spent some time with Easter Bunny and smiled for pictures. Carter was a little bit scared and didn't want his picture with the Bunny....oh well.

The train went all the way to Riegelsville and then headed back but not before stopping for an Easter Egg Hunt. After finding his eggs Carter set off to check out the engine and meet the engineer. If any of you are wondering about Eli....still snoozing in the cozy train car.

We had an awesome time and the boys really had fun. We are planning on heading back in May when they start running the steam engine. If anyone is interested we would love for you to join us.

Eggs to Dye for

We spent Friday night coloring our Easter Eggs. This year we did a zoo theme. Our kit was complete with zoo animal stickers. Carter was in Heaven. Eli didn't understand and would have preferred to eat his egg!

On the Go!

Take a peek at Elijah on the move......

Making Progress

As most of you already know, Carter and Eli are part of a therapy program called Early Intervention. Thank goodness for this wonderful program and the fantastic therapists that we have come in contact with. Both of the boys see an occupational therapist, Miss Kelly, once a week and Carter sees a speech therapist, Miss Jen, once a week as well. Carter loves Kelly and gets very excited to see her each week. Of course, the fact that she brings "new" and exciting toys could have something to do with it. Kelly has been helping me with tackling some minor issues that Carter has. Since Carter is dealing with low muscle tone in his jaw we are working on improving meal times. I am happy to report that he is now using his utensils for most of the meal and he is learning to take his time and chew. He is also learning to not shove his mouth full of food. I have learned new exercises and new foods to introduce to Carter to "wake up" his mouth and this also helps with his speech as well. Unfortunately Jen, the speech therapist, has been not well and we haven't been able to meet with her on a regular basis but even so Carter's speech continues to improve everyday. We are now in the process of transitioning Carter into a different program (Early Intervention only covers kids until they are three) and from what we can see it seems Carter has made great progress and we are hoping that he will need little help as he gets ready to transition to the next step of the program. My little Eli is amazing! When Kelly first started coming to us Eli could barely roll over or sit up. In just a few short months he is sitting on his own and is able to go from all fours to a sitting position and he is also able to go from sitting to all fours. Kelly is now working on getting him to pull himself up and stand at tables and couches ect. Most exciting is that Eli crawled for the first time tonight! He went halfway across the living room floor on all fours with Brian, Carter and I cheering all the way. Kelly really feels that once Eli realizes how great is to move he will just take off.....we are anxiously waiting to see if she is right. To all of our family and friends....I would like to say thank you. This has been quite a journey and very stressful and upsetting for me at times. (Mostly because I worry way to much.) We appreciate all of your love and support and all of your words of encouragement!!!! We will continue to keep you updated.

Splish Splash....Let's take a Bath!

Even though Eli looks scared beyond belief, tubby time is the only time the boys interact really well together. For some reason Carter will play nice with his brother and not get too rough. It's nice to know that for about 15 minutes out of my day I don't have to worry about any eye poking or pushing.....just giggles and hugs!

Carter loves to play "train" with Eli in the tubby. Eli is the engine and Carter, of course, is the caboose. It is during this game that Carter talks to his brother about trains and is teaching Eli all the names of Thomas and his friends
The other wonderful thing about bath time is that Carter helps wash his brother (notice the soap and washcloth) and then does an excellent job washing himself. Carter really is becoming a BIG helper!!

Hippity Hoppity

Wednesday of this week was Carter's Easter party at school. Since the pre-school follows the public school calendar this was the last day until March 26th. (BOO!!) Eli and I were happy to attend and enjoyed snack time, the story of Easter, songs, a craft and an Easter Egg Hunt. I was very proud of Carter......he listens so well to his teacher and followed direction beautifully when told he could only find 6 eggs while hunting. He was very patient as we stopped to take time to count the eggs in his bag and after we counted 6, he sat down and waited for the rest of his class to finish.

It was on Wednesday that I also learned that Carter and his "very best friend", Jacob (he is in the blue jacket) have to be seperated at times. They play very well together but it seems at times that they can become rather silly. Boys! Of course, having had Jacob and his mom and sister over for a few playdates I had already suspected this.

It was also really great to watch Carter interact with the other children in the class and with his teachers. He listens very well to Mrs. McAtee and Miss Jackie and also does an excellent job cleaning up at school. (we are still working on cleaning up at home!) Again both of his teachers made it a point to comment on how far Carter has come since September.....a wonderful thing to hear! Happy Easter, indeed!

Angel

Elijah Brian at 10 months old.......such a sweet little angel.

Daddy's Breakfast

Brian and Carter enjoyed a special Father's Day Breakfast at school last week. For a week Carter and his class worked on special projects for the dads. This was a great opportunity for Brian to spend some time with Carter and meet the other dads. The children put on a small program and sang some songs. Brian was pleased to report that Carter stood with his class and sang along. The dads were then presented with a goodie bag of their artwork....a handprint wall plaque, key chain and handmade card. As you can see the kids made the dads special ties and I am happy to say that Brian is still wearing his tie!

Snow Day!

For those of us in Pennsylvania, particularly in North Eastern PA, already know that this winter has been a bust as far as snowfall goes. With more rain and ice than snow we really had to enjoy what little flakes and accumulation we saw. Carter loves the snow and cold (he gets that from his Dad). Eli wasn't really into the snow and preferred to cuddle up with Mommy inside. Brian and Carter did enjoy sledding and making snowballs......

P.S. McGraw loves the snow, too!

A little bit Italian

There is nothing like Mom's spaghetti and meatballs!!

Spaghetti is Carter's favorite meal and he would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if we allowed. It is just so much fun to spin it around your fork and then slurp it into your mouth!

Elijah recently enjoyed his first spaghetti meal. Ah....good stuff!!
More cheese, Please!

Welcome to our Blog!

With spring right around the corner and the anticipation of many fun filled days with the boys I have decided to start a blog so all of our friends and family can keep up with the Lansek Boy's adventures!
We hope that whether you live across the country or around the corner you will enjoy keeping up with our family!!!