Welcome....Here's a glimpse of our happenings!

The verses that have REALLY spoken to me (Sarah) lately....



"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25



Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. I Peter 5:8-9



From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Acts 17:26-28



May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14



So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. Deuteronomy 5:32-33



God, our God, will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It's up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this Revelation. Deuteronomy 29:29 (The Message)

About the Friesen's....

We are Marc, Sarah, Luke, and Kate Friesen. We were married June 5, 2004. We have one son, born July 21, 2008, named Luke Andrew -- now 4 years old. We also have a daughter named Kate Christine -- born June 6, 2012. Marc is working at Cessna as a Senior Accountant, and Sarah stays home full-time with Luke. Sarah also gets to work very part-time at home for Graber Backhoe -- an excavation company AND VERY part-time at our church. We LOVE being a part of Grace Community Church here in Newton, KS. We lead a Community Life Group of other wonderful couples. Marc thoroughly enjoys long-distance running and Taekwondo. Sarah thoroughly enjoys walking -- especially when the weather is nice to take Luke and/or out in the stroller. Thanks for reading our blog!

Friday, November 12, 2010

"Nanna -- Bink...."

We have Luke enrolled in the Parents as Teachers program through our local school district. It's a program for babies and toddlers aged birth to 3 years.

It's been a good little program, for the most part. I've received a few ideas of activities to do with Luke. I've been able to take Luke to some playgroups where he gets some interaction with other kids, and I have gotten to know a few other moms in the area.

Each year, around Luke's birthday, our parent educator has done an assessment on Luke -- assessment on gross motor skills, fine motor skills, personal/social, etc.....

I completely understand the point of assessments, and for the most part, I agree with them.

Luke, since birth, has always "taken his sweet little time" on almost every developmental milestone....And, I say BIRTH because even in the area of eating -- Luke didn't catch on quickly.

ANYWAYS, this past summer, in July (Luke's birthday is July 21), our parent educator did a home visit and conducted his 2-year assessment.

Luke was only slightly behind on gross motor skills (not surprising to this Mama)....

Luke scored EXCELLENT on fine motor skills (again -- not surprising to this Mama)....

Luke was slightly behind on language (this Mama knew that as well)....

Luke was also slightly behind on personal/social....This one surprised me just a bit. But, once I saw which "question" on the assessment knocked Luke down to the "slightly behind," I stopped being concerned.

Question: Does/Is toddler able to hold a doll like a baby and "pretend" bottle-feed or feed the doll? (This question probably isn't exactly how it was worded, but you get the point).

My Answer (as his Mama): "Nope, I've never seen him do that, but in all fairness, we don't have any dolls around here. He's a boy, and so far, I've seen him show no interest in dolls. Also, since Luke currently doesn't have a sibling, we've had no reason to introduce him to cuddling and holding a baby."

At that point, the parent educator pulled a doll out of her bag to see what Luke would do....Yep, you guessed it. Luke had ZERO interest in the doll and went straight to a ball to play with.

Sooooooo, Luke was knocked down a point.

This Mama didn't worry about it.....

******

Luke has this little plastic pull dog.



Marc's parents gave it to him for his birthday. Luke does like to pull it around the house, and if we let him, he'd probably take it to bed with him some nights (it has a string, and we don't necessarily think it's the safest with him in bed).

It's quite cute, really (we, as his parents, think it is, anyways).

Last weekend, OUT OF THE BLUE, we noticed Luke doing this....



Yep, Luke, on his own, went to the drawer in the kitchen with all of the storage containers. He pulled a container out and pretended to give the dog a drink.

Luke kept saying, "Nanna -- Bink."

"Nanna" means "Anna." (Anna is the name of my parents' dog). "Bink" means "drink" in Luke-Speak.

He then proceeded to take a drink on his own. I'm hoping he knows NOT to drink out of the same bowl as a real dog. But, I guess if he does once or twice, it won't kill him. He'll learn :)



Sooooo, all you trained educators out there.....Wouldn't this count for something?

If it does, then I, as his Mama, can add this to the list of developmental milestones that Luke "gets in his own time."

And, this Mama will continue to NOT worry about picky stuff like this (I have ample opportunity to worry about other things as a parent, though :))

6 comments:

Candice said...

How sweet of him to share with the doggie. I love how he relates it to your parent's dog. And yes, I agree with you, it's the same thing as feeding a baby!

The Sieberts said...

why didn't she get out a dump truck and have him put things in it? that is a little of a wierd question i think...

Momma H said...

Luke is doing just fine. Our son was always one to do everything his own way and in his own time. They are just totally individuals! Period.
And you are absolutely right. There are many other things to worry about.

The Rakows said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Rakows said...

(just posted and erased it...there was a sentence in there that made NO sense! :))
that is the cutest story... :) awww! :) yes, in my teachery reading, i've read that, by the age of 5, in general, most kids are at the same place, developmentally. so, they get there...just at different times... :) developmental questions are interesting, but they are not the do all/say all...
look on the bright side... luke is a very wise little boy... in my most recent experience, dogs are so happy to just have a "bink" and to go outside to go to the bathroom - then they take a nap! SOME babies like to cry their head off for nearly 2 hours on a given Friday, driving the babysitter batty... dogs are lookin' PRETTY sweet right now! :)
keep up the good work! :) and don't worry about the dog water...it's when they pick up DOG
FOOD and EAT IT (when they won't eat basic foods!) that sends you over the edge...water is minor :D

Diana said...

I'm very surprised about that question being part of the assessment... seems pretty biased toward girls, really. And anyway, everything you've shared about Luke shows he is a totally well-adjusted 2-year-old and is doing just fine. I've never understood assessments on so young an age group. By the time they are in school they have all reached the same developmental goals they need to anyway, just at different times. Yes, enjoy your handsome little guy! There are so many other things that you could be worrying about, but thankfully, you are blessed with an awesome boy!

And I have to agree... doggies need drinks as much as babies do... Luke does a mighty fine job of taking care of his pup. ♥

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