Around the house moments

All seems to be well in the Motekaitis home these days. After we buckled down and began our "tough love" campaign, we seem to have a ship that is running much smoother (and most importantly, the parents are at the helm instead of the kids!)

Here are what our sweet little guys have been up to lately. Dominic loves to paint. I imagine if we focused on sports a whole lot, that he'd focus on those too. He loves being our ball boy when we play tennis, and he enjoyed playing soccer with hot shots. But he definitely gravitates naturally towards hands-on projects and music - play doh art, lego building, science experiments (which mostly involve a great deal of my tupperware, sink water, plastic spoons, mini hotel shampoo bottles, and a closed bathroom door) and lately he has an affinity for stuffed animals and train track building. This is completely new. He never cared two sneezes for trains, and suddenly they are all he thinks about. He wants to play pet store ALL the time. He sets up elaborate forts with pillows and builds his animals homes. He is reading to himself in one of these famous pillow nooks as I type. The age of four has not been without its tumult, but everything else has been pure joy!


Milo has been climbing things (sighhhhhh). This is good, I know, as he is a boy, and aside from being a boy, he's a kid! And kids need to climb within reason. I can't stop wanting to shelter him though. He is fearless on the playground, and I can't get lost in conversation for a second, because I once did, and he went down the big swirly slide - feet first - but backwards on his tummy- all by himself! How he got up there so quickly is beyond me. I will leave a room and find him somehow sitting on the coffee table, or lately, the couch! After hearing distressed sounds from the other room, I turned the corner to find THIS. He's trying to slide down this toy car ramp in his room!



Milo eats about 4 bananas a day. It's just his ritual. We are working with him on sitting in a chair when he eats instead of roaming like a nomadic cave baby. He now runs over to his chair and slaps it when I grab him a banana. He is signing up a storm! We weren't very consistent with signs this time because it seemed he understood what we were saying. But lately we picked them up again, and he is responding with enthusiasm with "please," "more," "come out," "all done," "help," "yes," and a few others I am forgetting. He is still the loudest baby on the block :) We're hoping that signs will help reduce some of that angstyness though. Did I mention that he dropped his morning nap? Well, I encouraged him to, at least. He was taking them on and off, and then falling asleep at 11 am when we'd be running errands (which he still does if I don't watch the clock carefully), but now he takes one afternoon nap of 2.5 - 3 hrs and it's such good quiet time for Mama and big brother. After about 1.5 hr, Dominic comes to find me and we do a quiet project together and I treasure that one-one-time.




The bedtime routine calls to me now, but thank you Jesus for our Beata Vita.

G Family

We got to see Family G this weekend! Mr. G (or I should say Dr. G) graduated with his PhD and we were delighted to come and celebrate his accomplishment and have a chance to see this family that we love so much. We're so glad they are back in Texas! I only managed to get a picture of me and Josie while the children literally ran circles around us. :) Ahhh the mirage of peace was nice while it lasted! Congratulations Omar!

Summer's almost done!

We're packing our summer days with as much fun as we can. We went to Houston to visit my brother Steve who just bought his first house! We got to spend time with Lesley at her place too. I love seeing my little brother and sister living their lives downtown - they're so grown up and doing such wonderful things in the world. Looks like I was the last one to get the memo that they're adults now. :) Other pictures include some of Dominic's amazing lego towers (which he insists upon photographing) and a splashpad playdate with our friends. It's a shame that "summer" is almost done now that we've got the hang of it! And now we have the whole school transition to be nervous and excited about in two weeks. We're hoping to make a beach trip and a blue bell trip before all is said and done, too. This weekend we get to see our old friends the Gutierrez' and we're thrilled about that. Hopefully I'll have some kiddo videos and posts to share soon.

Milo's 15 months!

My how time goes by. Milo is 15 months! He is a busy little fellow this month. He is very curious about getting into things, but so far not very interested in climbing (phew!) He runs very fast, and does not enjoy being held unless we are on-the-go. I still try to rock him after his naps so I can hang on to those baby cuddles as long as possible :) In news this month, Milo is dropping his morning nap. Last week was rocky because we were trying to find that new rhythm, but I think we're getting there. It's nice to have the morning free and an earlier bedtime to look forward to for all of us ;) Milo broke more teeth in, I may have mentioned that before....any way, he wakes at night again sometimes but settles right back down when we bring him the pacifier (which by the way, is hands down, the best invention on the face of the earth).

Milo is testing limits recently too - he throws things off his high chair, tries to run when Mommy says "no" when we're out and about and keeps making sure that rocking the lamps and opening the dish washer and unrolling the toilet paper is off-limits. He also is very vocal, especially around mealtime - he grunts, and people in restaurants evacuate their tables fairly quickly because of it. Seriously. Of course this is all normal toddler behavior, but, we're experiencing a little bit of parenting burn out this month, literally burning the candle at both ends as we discern the best positive discipline approaches for our very vocal, emotionally intense, wildly independent (and of course, brilliant) children. It is a labor of love and we are learning to lean on God's graces and also to share our experiences with family and friends to help us through a very trying time.

But it's not ALWAYS such hard work. :) This summer Milo has really enjoyed dancing with his brother, making "pillow piles," and playing with ANYTHING that rolls. He is a happy baby when he can explore and do things for himself. He is a take charge sort of a guy for sure. Bronius and I are completely astounded that we were both non-assertive people but we seem to make very assertive little people! :) It is wonderful to watch Dominic and Milo play together!!!

Fall is around the corner and there is so much fun ahead. I am looking forward to taking Milo to storytime and music classes in the Fall when big brother starts school. I'm looking forward to spending all day outside with the boys. Having to stay indoors all summer with active, young children has required more creativity and energy then I expected ;)

Happy 15 months Milo baby. We love looking at the world through your eyes and enjoying all of your "firsts" with you. We love you sweet boy!

Fave children's books July 2009

Dominic's picks:


Little Rabbit series - Harry Horse
(most favorite being Little Rabbit's New Baby)

Mama, Do You Love Me? - Barbara M. Joosse

The Story of Ferdinand - Munro Leaf

Follow the Line - Laura Ljungkvist

A Quiet Night In - Jill Murphy

The Windy Day - Brian Karas

Don't Make Me Laugh - James Stevenson

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Judi Barrett

Henry's Show and Tell - Nancy Carlson



Milo's picks:

Wheels on the Bus

Animal Sounds

Aunt Ruth's visit from Virginia

My Grandfather's sister Ruth came to visit us this summer from Virginia. Aunt Ruth is so much fun, she is so bubbly, so young at heart, so fit and active, even at 88. She is emailing and running volunteer groups and traveling by plane all by herself to see her nieces, nephews and their children, her grandchildren and great grandchildren all across the country, and I just love her tenacity. She came to visit our family and also to see Grandpa's gravesite, since she was unable to come to his funeral 2 years ago. I had to choke back tears when I saw her face come through our door because she reminded me so much of Grandpa. I hugged her for a very long time. :) We enjoyed your visit Aunt Ruthie, we hope to see you again soon!

Happy 6th Anniversary

February and July are always my favorite months because they are filled with family celebrations. We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this weekend by going to New Braunfels...on our first trip without the kids! It was only an overnight, but it was so fantastic to go at our own pace and have no schedule, and to eat and sleep whenever we wanted, and sight see, and ahhhhhhh just have quiet time. Thank you Senele for watching the kids!

We stayed at the Prince Solms Inn Bed and Breakfast in New Braunfels, a great place for families. They serve a beautiful gourmet breakfast. And there's a piano bar beneath the B&B which was so convenient. We had intended to canoe down the Guadalupe River but the river was too low due to drought, and was not moving quickly enough for a satisfying canoeing experience. So, we joined the masses at the Comal River and swam in the hugest natural spring-fed pool either of us had been to. Amongst sea weed and minnows I might add. It was a flesh-fest. People and kids EVERYWHERE. Leaping, splashing, screaming, diving....and literally swinging and sliding into the water. Not *exactly* the peaceful, romantic getaway we had planned, but I just wanted to be in the water. I am a fish by nature! Afterwards we went to the Huisache Grille for dinner and I had the BEST meal I've had in years, it seemed. It was an achiote rubbed chicken infused with bacon and serrano peppers, with a cilantro cream sauce on top of a bed or wild grain rice and steamed squash. Bronius had his dream-come-true platter which was a sampler of duck, steak, quail and shrimp. We were seriously in heaven. I sat trying to absorb all the culinary combinations from the menu, I am going to try to do some of this at home! We spent the next day browsing the boutiques downtown and the art gallery, and then we stopped for a movie before heading home. We had such a great time, talking, eating, sleeping without being interrupted....I'm counting down the days until our next anniversary trip! :) In the meantime, it's back to reality :)

Happy 6th Anniversary to us, Bronius. I am so proud of the marriage and the family which we are building together, our lives are so wonderfully blessed. I love you!

Little Fish swims

Here's a glimpse of Dominic's first official swim lesson. We've been swimming with him a little bit this past month and he has taken to it very naturally, we are so proud of our little fish. The coaches are fantastic. The lesson takes place in this little wading pool and they are teaching skills with fun, short little games. I don't remember my swim lessons being THIS fun! :) In this picture they're playing "ring around the rosy" to become acquainted with dunking in the water.

And some bonus pictures of my little ham sandwiches goofin' off at the grocery store.

Dominic's 4th Birthday party at the Natural History Museum

What a super party we had! This year we decided to go leave home-base for Dominic's party, and it was fantastic. The Natural Museum staff handled everything for us, we just had to bring pizza and cupcakes! They provided educational activities and games, hands-on learning opportunities and party favors. Dominic is in a bug & lizard phase, and they had a "creepy crawler" themed party all set up. We got to pet an iguana, a hissing cockroach, a milk snake, and a tarantula. The kids went on a bug hunt inside the museum and had to catch pretend bugs in their little nets. They had an outdoor snake hunt also. There was another fun activity where they all put on a sack that looked like snake skin and they had to do a dance to shed it off. They also made bracelets that looked either like a milk snake or a coral snake (the coral snake being the fatal one, the milk snake being the non-venomous). We made "grasshopper" cupcakes for Dominic since grasshoppers are his favorite bug and he lives mint and chocolate together ( a boy after my own heart!) He had a wonderful time, and that's the most important thing for us. :) Thank you to our lovely friends and family for coming out to celebrate our Dominic's life with us!

Happy Fourth Birthday, Dominic!

It is a daunting task to write a post which highlights a year's worth of updates. Honestly, I don't know if I can pull it off. But I'm going to try! Dominic, this has been such a year of growth for you. Daddy and I are so proud of you. At the beginning of this year you moved from a crib to a big boy bed (SO hard to believe), you received a brand new baby brother, you potty-trained, you began preschool, you gave up your pacifiers at 3.5 (and consequently, your record-breaking 3 hr naps). You absorbed a lot of change in a very short time. You are such a different little boy than you were at age three! You are doing so many things for yourself, you are quite resourceful and take great pride in doing daily tasks without my help (and you are quick to remind me that you don't need help) :)

On being a big brother......
You are a little bossy and you like things the way you like them, but who doesn't. You have learned to be more flexible with Milo, you can be very helpful and attentive and sweet to him, when he needs something, or he's sad or scared or hurt (the times that you had nothing to do with it, that is). You guys are at the age of playing together and that is really special to watch.

Your development has truly stunned us. You went from being a busy and often noisy toddler who I felt I had to preoccupy, distract and entertain fairly constantly - to a more patient, subdued, pensive little boy, who is enjoying music and art projects almost as much as your parents do. You are beginning to read now! Just little words, but we are so proud because it's totally your initiative! Today you read the word "DIP" on a sign, and I had a fun time explaining to you what a dip meant and why cars need to know about them. You are a joyful boy. You are so full of life and excitement. Your spirit is always optimistic. The only times you are not optimistic are when you are fiercely frustrated...when you can't figure something out, when someone thwarts a plan that you had, or when your brother comes over to tamper with anything you're working on. We have made great strides in learning what "cool down" time is...and man do you need it. :) I had a world-class temper as a child and still do, so luckily I can relate to you on this.

You got so excited about the Fourth of July this year. We explained to you that it is America's birthday, and we listened to a cd of classic American band marches which Senele gave us, and you became obsessed. Daddy played in the symphony fourth of July concert this year and so I brought you along to see the fireworks and hear your favorite marches and you had a time to remember! It was so much fun for your very first late night celebration!

You are a master at building. Once you gave up your naps, I told you that you could read books to yourself in bed and then build with legos if you didn't fall asleep. And this is still the tradition. Over the last 6 months your lego creations have become more complex and very interesting! After you build with legos, you play educational computer games for a little while while Milo finishes his nap and Mommy finishes her much-needed quiet time. You are very considerate of my need for some quiet time to myself!!!!

Other favorite activities for you right now are building pillow piles and crawling and climbing and rolling with Milo in them, building tents and playing "space ship" (all of the above include the couch cushions which get aired out regularly). You love cooking with me in the kitchen, you are SUCH A GREAT HELPER! Lately you love the author "Harry Horse" and his series on "Little Rabbit." The main rabbit character is a lot like you :) You are beginning to do spontaneous prayer, which almost always takes my breath away. If we are driving and you see an accident, or a situation where someone needs help, you pray aloud and I love to listen to your prayers.

A huge answer to our prayers is that you have finally stopped having night terrors. Your night terrors started right after you started preschool, and my instinct was that you were processing a LOT of adjustment all at once. This whole year, you would wake up from naps and nighttime sleep screaming and crying in terror, as if you were having a tantrum in your bed. One night you actually got out of bed and ran around the room. After that, I called a child neurologist in Austin to make an appointment for you since it's abnormal to have night terrors every night of the week and they seemed to be getting more physical. It was very scary for Daddy and I to witness, mostly because we could do nothing to help you. We'd have to let you ride it out, and then we'd come comfort you and you'd settle right back to bed. These N.T.'s terrified me, and I am so relieved that for at least the time being, they have ceased and you get a peaceful night's rest again!

This summer has been so much fun. You started gymnastics and you have taken it on with such zeal and enthusiasm (and given that you are in a contrary phase, it's nice to have something you love to do!) You have done very well with learning to swim...we spend a lot of time at Grandma and Papa's pool, at the Martell's pool and at our friends, the Arnold family's neighborhood pool. You started out a little skittish but you are embracing it so well now. We start swimming lessons in a week, as well as Vacation Bible School. We find ways to keep busy in the heat, we hop around to playdates and run errands, and our little trio has a good time (most of the time ) :)

It is hard to catch you, let alone your eyes, while taking pictures, so I'm still working on that. But here are a few more pictures we've managed to snap of our favorite four year old. We love you so much little prince, what a gift you are to us. You have taught us so much about love, and parenting, about life, and about ourselves. God bless you in your fourth year of life!

More pictures of swimming, and birthday festivities to come....

Dominic makes a cappuccino

It's really only a steamer - steamed milk :)

Dance party

We play this song after dinner sometimes, and almost always on Friday night. This is mostly because Dominic REQUESTS it. He loves it. He dances to it. He knows the words even though they are in HINDI (he has listened to it THAT much). Now Milo's on the scene trying to dance too.

Music lovers

Milo is 14 months old

My, what a difference a month makes! Milo is walking this month! And he has been so proud of himself! Giggly, happy and full of excitement. He loves to explore life from his new point of view. He's sportin' a new tooth and some new skills, too. He's making the signs for "more," "please," "come out," "all done," and "yes." It does not surprise us that all of these words revolve around eating :) Milo is starting to show us his sense of orderliness...he likes to put things away...books back on shelves, toys back in baskets, paper bits in the trash. He's fascinated with the contents of the refrigerator, the pantry and unrolling the toilet paper rolls. I don't know why we even bother with toys at all. :) He loves to climb. We find him sitting on Dominic's little chairs, or occasionally finds his way on to the sofa. Makes us nervous! We took him swimming for the first time this past month and went 4 times one week, and he is enjoying it so much more now. He points to things that he wants, usually a banana or his sippy cup, sometimes his little blue puppy with whom he sleeps. I'm really enjoying this phase with him, we love watching him grow and learn!

Milo is still eating like a champ and sleeping beautifully through the night this month. I can not imagine ever going back to having interrupted sleep again in my life, although I know I will at some point :) Milo, we love you sweet boy. Thank you for making life so much fun!