So I've always heard that second children pick up things sooner and faster, but I did NOT see this coming: Ethan has started potty training! And this is totally child-directed. For a couple of months, he's been going pee-pee in the potty right before he gets in the bath, but that was it. He even dropped a few 2's in the pot on random occasions, but it was more like he just happened to be sitting on the potty when the urge to go hit him (which isn't terribly surprising since he poops about five times a day). But about a week ago, he has started telling me when he has to go pee-pee. He is peeing in the potty 8-10 times a day, though still regularly wetting diapers as well. If he is naked, he will ALWAYS go in the potty, but if he is wearing a diaper, it is 50/50. I'm wondering if I should just put him in underwear at 22 months and see what happens, but the 12-month saga of potty-training Caleb is still too fresh in my memory for such ambition. I think I'll just keep helping him go when he wants to, and keep him in diapers for the time being. I could change my mind, but I'm not anxious to start all that frustration all over again if he's really not as ready as he's acting right now.
But for posterity, I have to share this: Ethan has a little blue Baby Bjorn potty seat in the bathroom, right next to "Bubba's big boy potty." This is what he uses all day long, and he LOVES to sit down, do his business, and then jump up to see how much he's produced. He quickly pronounces it "a LOT" or "a lil bit", and then proceeds to pick up the potty bowl, dump it in the toilet, flush the toilet, and even RINSE OUT THE POTTY BOWL HIMSELF. He puts it back in his potty chair and pronounces it "all clean". Sometimes, he enjoys this process so much that he sits back down, makes some more pee-pee, and does it all over again. Marcus and I think that cleaning out his own potty won't last more than a week, but I want to be sure to get it on video tape before he gets tired of it :)
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wagner Christmas in AL--Part 2
Since Marcus had to work Wednesday and Thursday while everyone was here, we decided to do our Christmas on Friday morning. Everyone was up by 9:00, so after breakfast, we all gathered in the living room for present time. The kids opened their gifts with gusto. Ethan took his time...playing with each toy after he opened it. Caleb was more eager to get everything unwrapped and then take each item out of the packages. Since we just did presents for the kids on this side of the family, as well, present time was much shorter than in previous years. And the traditional stocking hunt which usually precedes opening presents was done the next morning instead. This year, Mimi prepared two separate stocking hunts: one for Chase & Caleb and one for Kylie and Ethan. Chase and Caleb did pretty good with theirs, though Kylie preferred following the big boys to searching for her own clues, and Ethan was not quite old enough to stay focused on such a long task. Regardless, all the kids were caught up in the excitement of running around the house and looking for clues.
This was sort of the Christmas of Mike & Gigi renovating our entertainment world. They recently got a new TV, so they dragged the huge TV they had replaced all the way from Florida to give to us. They also gave me a Roku for my birthday, which is a super-cool little box that takes Netflix videos and transfers them from the computer to the TV. And to top it all off, Mike (and Al and Josh), helped Marcus go buy this beautiful entertainment armoir that I found on Craig's list (since we didn't have anywhere to put the new TV). Now our living room is so much more attractive! Our previous entertainment center was purchased for $20 from Craig's list, and we had to slide wood slivers under the right side to keep it standing up. This entertainment armoir the guys brought home for me was probably purchased originally for more than $1,000; it is still in perfect condition and it only cost us $120.
Everyone (except Wendi) headed out of town around 1:00 Saturday afternoon. That night, Wendi babysat for us so Marcus and I could go out and celebrate my 30th birthday with our best friends.
This was sort of the Christmas of Mike & Gigi renovating our entertainment world. They recently got a new TV, so they dragged the huge TV they had replaced all the way from Florida to give to us. They also gave me a Roku for my birthday, which is a super-cool little box that takes Netflix videos and transfers them from the computer to the TV. And to top it all off, Mike (and Al and Josh), helped Marcus go buy this beautiful entertainment armoir that I found on Craig's list (since we didn't have anywhere to put the new TV). Now our living room is so much more attractive! Our previous entertainment center was purchased for $20 from Craig's list, and we had to slide wood slivers under the right side to keep it standing up. This entertainment armoir the guys brought home for me was probably purchased originally for more than $1,000; it is still in perfect condition and it only cost us $120.
Everyone (except Wendi) headed out of town around 1:00 Saturday afternoon. That night, Wendi babysat for us so Marcus and I could go out and celebrate my 30th birthday with our best friends.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wagner Christmas in AL--Part 1
Just like the other one, this Christmas post is coming a month late, but better late than never. This year we were blessed by the whole Wagner clan coming up from Florida to celebrate Christmas with us here in Birmingham. Mike's family and Mimi arrived on the 29th, which happened to be my 30th birthday. Mimi was kind enough to keep the four kiddos so Mike, Gigi, Marcus and I could go out to eat. I got to pick the restaurant, so we went to my favorite Thai/Sushi place, and then to see Avatar afterwards. (It had been at least a year, maybe two, since I'd seen a movie in the theater, so my perspective may have been a little skewed, but I thought the movie was GREAT.) The next day, Marcus had to go to work, so Mike, Gigi, Mimi and I took the four kids to the McWane Center. It was a good thing that we had a 1:1 adult/kid ratio because it was CROWDED that day. We all just each took a kid and followed him or her. We ran into one of our BFF's with his triplet 3-year-olds, and they joined us for lunch. At one point, because everyone else was up getting food, drinks, napkins, etc., it was just Gigi sitting at the table with seven preschoolers. People probably thought she was a preschool teacher on a field trip :) That evening, Traci and her family, along with Wendi and two of her friends, arrived. That topped us off at 15 people in our house at that point (five of them age 4 and under). Nevertheless, we all had a good time hanging out that evening. That's all the time I have right now, but look for more about our Wagner Christmas tomorrow.
Wagner Family: Josh, Traci & Maddie McGough; Marcus, Rachel, Caleb & Ethan; Michael, Gigi, Chase & Kylie; Mimi; Wendi
Wagner Girls: Gigi, Maddie, Susan, Wendi, Rachel, Traci, Kylie
Wagner Boys: Ethan, Marcus, Caleb, Josh, Chase, Michael
Wagner cousins: Ethan, Kylie, Maddie, Chase & Caleb
Ethan and Kylie in the new entertainment armoire.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Prayer Under Pressure
Caleb has never been a very big eater. He particularly dislikes dinner cuisine (probably because it is catered to our tastes rather than his own). Over the past couple of years, we have tried many things to encourage him to eat more. Sometime around Thanksgiving, we hit the jackpot of motivators: filial competition. One day, the boys were eating dinner (Daddy was still at work) and I commented about how well Ethan was eating. Caleb just kept sitting there staring at his plate, swinging his legs, and waiting for Ethan and I to finish so he could ask to be excused. I looked at him sideways and said, "Caleb, you know, if Ethan keeps eating so much and you keep eating nothing, Ethan is going to get bigger than you." CHA-CHING. Caleb looked at me incredulously. Then he looked at Ethan with alarm. Then, miracle of miracles, he picked up his fork and started to eat. Since that day, you would not believe how many plates he has cleaned due to a simple repitition of this line of thought.
Just last night at the dinner table, Caleb was resisting participating in our prayer time. He wiggled and writhed and refused to fold his hands and bow his head, as he knows he is expected to do. After two false starts and reminders, we completed the prayer and temporarily ignored his disrespect. After the three of us raised our heads, I removed Caleb's plate from in front of him and told him that he could eat after he was ready to say his own prayer respectfully. He grinned impishly, and I realized that my punishment was going to fall flat, since he didn't like what we were having anyway. Daddy decided to add a little heat to my flickering fire, so he started commenting on how much Ethan was eating, and how big Ethan was going to get. He laid it on thick, saying "Mommy, did Ethan just grow a little bit? I thought I just saw him get taller? Did you see that?" The more he talked, the angrier Caleb looked. Finally, he closed his eyes and burst out in a loud and frustrated voice, "THANK YOU GOD FOR OUR FOOD IN JESUS NAME AMEN!" Then he grabbed his plate and started shoving food into his mouth. It was all Marcus and I could do not to choke on our food.
Just last night at the dinner table, Caleb was resisting participating in our prayer time. He wiggled and writhed and refused to fold his hands and bow his head, as he knows he is expected to do. After two false starts and reminders, we completed the prayer and temporarily ignored his disrespect. After the three of us raised our heads, I removed Caleb's plate from in front of him and told him that he could eat after he was ready to say his own prayer respectfully. He grinned impishly, and I realized that my punishment was going to fall flat, since he didn't like what we were having anyway. Daddy decided to add a little heat to my flickering fire, so he started commenting on how much Ethan was eating, and how big Ethan was going to get. He laid it on thick, saying "Mommy, did Ethan just grow a little bit? I thought I just saw him get taller? Did you see that?" The more he talked, the angrier Caleb looked. Finally, he closed his eyes and burst out in a loud and frustrated voice, "THANK YOU GOD FOR OUR FOOD IN JESUS NAME AMEN!" Then he grabbed his plate and started shoving food into his mouth. It was all Marcus and I could do not to choke on our food.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Caleb (Monthly Update)
I missed Caleb's update last month, since it was while we were in Texas, so here is an overview of the past two months. Caleb is 3 years and 10 months old now...I really can't believe I'm going to have a 4-year-old in just two months.
So Caleb has developed a bit of a competitive spirit in the past couple of weeks. To be honest, its a bit of a relief to me. Caleb has always been a little too willing to have things done for him and to stand on the sidelines. Completely opposite of most toddlers, he never went through a fiercely independent stage, and rarely demanded to do any tasks"by myself". I realized this imbalance in his temperament sometime after he turned two, and started encouraging him to do more things on his own. (Ethan's birth definitely facilitated that change.) Still, he preferred for me to do everything for him and resisted/fought my encouragements on a daily basis. He didn't want to get his own cup off the counter, take a spoon out of the drawer, put a toy away, take his clothes to the laundry basket, throw something away, etc. He always whined, "You do it, please, Mama!" We've been having these redundant conversations that ultimately end in him completing the task, but with a lot of unpleasantness in the middle, since he was two.
Now, more than a year a half later, he is finally starting to take pride in completing daily tasks independently. He buckles himself in his carseat, he picks out his clothes and gets dressed (though he still won't/can't do his shoes and socks alone), he loves to be the "leader" in any activity, and he is always trying to do things faster and be the "winner." (This is not a word we use, but he's picked it up on his own.) He is also very interested in being stronger and bigger than everyone he knows. He asks me regularly if he will be able to do this or that when he grows up. He still resists completing any parent-directed task, no matter how simple, but now, at least half the time, he will do what I ask with minimal complaint. I think going to preschool helped him develop this healthy motivation to do things on his own.
Caleb is still very into playing with his friends, just as he was a couple of months ago. Anytime I tell him we are going somewhere, his first question is "Who's going to be there?" or "What friends will I see?" (Is this a flashforward to teenage years?) His face falls and he protests if I tell him we aren't meeting anyone.
Caleb's not as into puzzles as he used to be, and new on the horizon are computer games on pbskids.org. I've picked out 4-5 number games that he can play, and he has really improved at counting lately. He can even do some very simple subtraction and addition in his head. The games I like are Bring It, Banana 411, Zoo-Mazing, Roly Poly Roundup, and Super Bouncy Blast Off. Another of Caleb's favorite pastimes these days is tumbling. I'm thinking about seeing if we can swing putting him in a gymnastics class this summer. He can do a very smooth somersault, and is working on doing a round-off. He loves to jump and to test his own coordination and balance, so I think gymnastics would be a good fit at this stage.
My favorite thing about the past couple of months in Caleb-land is watching him and Ethan become closer and closer. They are best buddies right now, and I am loving it!
So Caleb has developed a bit of a competitive spirit in the past couple of weeks. To be honest, its a bit of a relief to me. Caleb has always been a little too willing to have things done for him and to stand on the sidelines. Completely opposite of most toddlers, he never went through a fiercely independent stage, and rarely demanded to do any tasks"by myself". I realized this imbalance in his temperament sometime after he turned two, and started encouraging him to do more things on his own. (Ethan's birth definitely facilitated that change.) Still, he preferred for me to do everything for him and resisted/fought my encouragements on a daily basis. He didn't want to get his own cup off the counter, take a spoon out of the drawer, put a toy away, take his clothes to the laundry basket, throw something away, etc. He always whined, "You do it, please, Mama!" We've been having these redundant conversations that ultimately end in him completing the task, but with a lot of unpleasantness in the middle, since he was two.
Now, more than a year a half later, he is finally starting to take pride in completing daily tasks independently. He buckles himself in his carseat, he picks out his clothes and gets dressed (though he still won't/can't do his shoes and socks alone), he loves to be the "leader" in any activity, and he is always trying to do things faster and be the "winner." (This is not a word we use, but he's picked it up on his own.) He is also very interested in being stronger and bigger than everyone he knows. He asks me regularly if he will be able to do this or that when he grows up. He still resists completing any parent-directed task, no matter how simple, but now, at least half the time, he will do what I ask with minimal complaint. I think going to preschool helped him develop this healthy motivation to do things on his own.
Caleb is still very into playing with his friends, just as he was a couple of months ago. Anytime I tell him we are going somewhere, his first question is "Who's going to be there?" or "What friends will I see?" (Is this a flashforward to teenage years?) His face falls and he protests if I tell him we aren't meeting anyone.
Caleb's not as into puzzles as he used to be, and new on the horizon are computer games on pbskids.org. I've picked out 4-5 number games that he can play, and he has really improved at counting lately. He can even do some very simple subtraction and addition in his head. The games I like are Bring It, Banana 411, Zoo-Mazing, Roly Poly Roundup, and Super Bouncy Blast Off. Another of Caleb's favorite pastimes these days is tumbling. I'm thinking about seeing if we can swing putting him in a gymnastics class this summer. He can do a very smooth somersault, and is working on doing a round-off. He loves to jump and to test his own coordination and balance, so I think gymnastics would be a good fit at this stage.
My favorite thing about the past couple of months in Caleb-land is watching him and Ethan become closer and closer. They are best buddies right now, and I am loving it!
Friday, January 22, 2010
"He Forgive Me!"
So Marcus and I are LOVING Caleb and Ethan sharing a room. The last two nights, we have just done their bedtime routine and left them awake to fall asleep without either of us there. We leave the door open, so any attempts to get out of bed can be promptly redirected. Both nights, they have talked for at least 45 minutes before Ethan fell asleep, and then Caleb followed shortly afterwards. Last night, Ethan was still a little wired after books and prayers, and he executed several small acts of violence against his brother during their chatting time. Each time, Caleb would wail and I would come in and ask what happened. Caleb would tell me, I would scold Ethan, and Ethan would apologize. Then I'd tell Ethan that if he didn't behave, he was going to have to go sleep in his crib by himself. Ethan would assure of his commitment to behaving and Caleb would jump in with, "I forgive him, Mama, don't take him away." The third time this exact scenario played out, I told Ethan that sorry or no sorry, he had crossed the line too many times, and he was going to have to go to the crib. Ethan's face crumpled up, he shrunk back into the pillow, pulled the covers up to his chin and wailed "NO! NOOOOO!! HE FORGIVE ME! HE FORGIVE ME! HE FORGIVE ME!" I'd never heard Ethan say "forgive" before, and in that context it was too hilarious. Needless to say, he got one more go-around with grace. As I was leaving the room, Caleb said in a quiet voice, "Mama, next time, you don't need to come. I'm going to forgive him every time."
I was humbled by his attitude, and I guess it had an impact on Ethan as well, because there were no more outcries after that.
I was humbled by his attitude, and I guess it had an impact on Ethan as well, because there were no more outcries after that.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Anything But the Crib!!!
As I've mentioned before, Ethan changed almost overnight from loving his crib to hating/fearing it, starting about a month ago. (We still have no idea why.) After he started sleeping with Caleb and the crib wasn't being used, I thought I'd start using it as Ethan's "big" time-out (like Caleb being sent to his room). One day, Ethan had been put in time-out several times in a row, so I told him if he did whatever again, he would have to go to time-out in his crib upstairs. His eyes got wide with fear and he exclaimed. "I NOT DO IT! I NOT DO IT! I NICE BOY!" And he was...I didn't have another hint of trouble from him. And I had discovered a pot of gold for keeping Ethan in line. For the past two weeks, it only takes the threat of being put in his crib to turn Ethan's attitude around. He can stop crying mid-scream, turn from a sprint and come back, and overflow with profuse, heartfelt apologies whenever a trip to the crib is mentioned. The best thing about it is that it keeps him from climbing out of Caleb's bed after we tuck them in at night. He knows that climbing out of bed or any other serious disruption will land him back in his crib. (I had to follow through on this threat once, and I thought he was actually going to pass out because it took him so long to breath between blood-curdling screams.) I know it won't last forever, but for now, I am using this tool for all its worth :)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Campbell Christmas in TX--Part 2
Back to stories and snapshots of Christmas in Texas...
No gathering of Campbell's would be complete without lots and lots of poker. We played poker for hours every night. As soon as the kids were down and the dishes were done, we were all at the table laying out our chips. This year, as usual, Marcus came away with the biggest pile of chips (he more than tripled what he started with), though no one person went too far in the hole to line his pockets :)
Since my brother's family planned to go back to their home in Fort Worth on Thursday and Friday (Dec 24 & 25) to celebrate Christmas with his wife's family, we did our Christmas at the lake house on Wednesday, December 23rd. For Christmas Eve, we watched the Veggie Tales Saint Nicholas video with the kids. We bought it at Walmart that afternoon having never seen it, and ended up liking it even better than we'd expected to. As I've mentioned before, I put a bit of effort into helping Caleb see this Christmas as a time of giving rather than a time of getting, and this video really reinforced that lesson. Then the kids all opened one present each before getting ready for bed. Caleb opened his Kidzone camera and Ethan opened his very real-looking cell phone with a working "voicemail" button, both gifts from Nanna and Papa. (Is this the age of electronics or what?) Both boys LOVED their presents and played with them nonstop until the bedtime drummer came drumming.
Christmas morning, we shared a big breakfast of bacon and eggs, etc, and then let the kids hit the presents. (We only did presents for the four boys this year.) The kids spent the rest of the day playing with their new toys. Thursday and Friday were really long, with Michael's family gone and NOTHING open in Gun Barrell City (even Walmart and McDonald's shut down Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We almost went stir crazy and drove home on Friday, but ended up sticking it out for the last night and having one more great evening of poker with Michael and Jennifer on Friday night. The drive home on Saturday went pretty smoothly. We were amazed both ways how good the boys were in the car. Don't get me wrong, it was still several bars below fun, but it just wasn't as bad as it has been in the past.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Campbell Christmas in TX--Part 1
I realize this post is coming about a month late, but due to an electronic failure, I just got the Christmas pictures in the mail on Friday. So here goes...
On Sunday, Dec 20th, Marcus and I woke up after only a few hours of sleep, strapped the boys into their car seats, and drove ~10 hours to Gun Barrel City, Texas. My dad had rented a 5-bedroom lake house so my brother's family, the four of us, and my parents could spend Christmas together in the same house. The house had not been previewed by anyone in our family, and the pictures and description on the website where my brother found it were misleading at best. Here is the customer review I wrote on Vacation Rental By Owner after we got home. (By the way, VRBO allows the owner to screen all reviews, so my negative review naturally did not appear on the website.)
My family (6 adults, 4 children) stayed at this lake house over Christmas. We liked the layout of the house because the preschool-aged kids had plenty of room to run around, but many other things were a disappointment. There were only 3 full baths, instead of the 5 advertised (the other two baths were half-baths...just a toilet and sink). At least 3 of the mattresses were VERY old, lumpy and so uncomfortable that it was difficult for my husband and I to get any sleep on them. There is no front door to the house, so one must enter through the garage (which can't be opened from the outside) or go through the fence gates and come in from the backyard. This was inconvenent, particularly when loading and unloading cars. The kitchen was haphazardly stocked and contained a lot of cabinets full of clutter, including old containers of cleaning supplies (which were a potential danger to our young kids). The dishwasher was tiny...less than half standard size. The bedding on one of the queen beds (the one our son used), did not even have a flat sheet. It was just a fitted sheet covered by an old, ragged comfortor of questionable aroma. The towels in our bathrooms were mismatched, old and smelled like mildew. Some pillows did not contain pillowcases. Something else that was a surprise is that the house is located across the street from a trailer park. All-in-all, the house was not what we expected it to be and we were disappointed.
So, though the house itself was less than pleasing, watching the four cousins play together all week made the drive worth it. My brother and his wife have two boys, Bennett, age 3, and Jasper, age 9 months. Bennett and our boys played hard together all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. There wasn't much to do in Gun Barrel City, but we did find a small elementary school park nearby, and we took the kids there when it was warm enough. The kids also played in the fenced back yard of the lake house each day. We also went to a nearby state park and hiked for as long as the kids would hike. We saw two deer in the woods and a beaver lodge out on the lake. Our boys always love hiking, and they weren't at all deterred from being outside by the cold weather. (I guess taking them camping with lows in the 30's has set their tolerance bar very low :)
That's all the time I have for today...more on our Christmas in Texas tomorrow :). Enjoy the pics!
On Sunday, Dec 20th, Marcus and I woke up after only a few hours of sleep, strapped the boys into their car seats, and drove ~10 hours to Gun Barrel City, Texas. My dad had rented a 5-bedroom lake house so my brother's family, the four of us, and my parents could spend Christmas together in the same house. The house had not been previewed by anyone in our family, and the pictures and description on the website where my brother found it were misleading at best. Here is the customer review I wrote on Vacation Rental By Owner after we got home. (By the way, VRBO allows the owner to screen all reviews, so my negative review naturally did not appear on the website.)
My family (6 adults, 4 children) stayed at this lake house over Christmas. We liked the layout of the house because the preschool-aged kids had plenty of room to run around, but many other things were a disappointment. There were only 3 full baths, instead of the 5 advertised (the other two baths were half-baths...just a toilet and sink). At least 3 of the mattresses were VERY old, lumpy and so uncomfortable that it was difficult for my husband and I to get any sleep on them. There is no front door to the house, so one must enter through the garage (which can't be opened from the outside) or go through the fence gates and come in from the backyard. This was inconvenent, particularly when loading and unloading cars. The kitchen was haphazardly stocked and contained a lot of cabinets full of clutter, including old containers of cleaning supplies (which were a potential danger to our young kids). The dishwasher was tiny...less than half standard size. The bedding on one of the queen beds (the one our son used), did not even have a flat sheet. It was just a fitted sheet covered by an old, ragged comfortor of questionable aroma. The towels in our bathrooms were mismatched, old and smelled like mildew. Some pillows did not contain pillowcases. Something else that was a surprise is that the house is located across the street from a trailer park. All-in-all, the house was not what we expected it to be and we were disappointed.
So, though the house itself was less than pleasing, watching the four cousins play together all week made the drive worth it. My brother and his wife have two boys, Bennett, age 3, and Jasper, age 9 months. Bennett and our boys played hard together all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. There wasn't much to do in Gun Barrel City, but we did find a small elementary school park nearby, and we took the kids there when it was warm enough. The kids also played in the fenced back yard of the lake house each day. We also went to a nearby state park and hiked for as long as the kids would hike. We saw two deer in the woods and a beaver lodge out on the lake. Our boys always love hiking, and they weren't at all deterred from being outside by the cold weather. (I guess taking them camping with lows in the 30's has set their tolerance bar very low :)
That's all the time I have for today...more on our Christmas in Texas tomorrow :). Enjoy the pics!
Monday, January 18, 2010
"I Couldn't Change My Mind"
On Friday, the sun came out and the temperature rose to 60 degrees, so the boys and I spend the morning at the zoo. It was a beautiful morning, and the zoo was not very crowded (there are still plenty of people in Birmingham who think a high of 60 is not a good reason to go outside). We hadn't been to the zoo in more than two months, so the boys were PUMPED. Ethan jumped and skipped and exclaimed over every animal. Caleb was fascinated by the informational signs outside each exhibit. He wanted me to read every sign to him, and he was especially interested in what the animals like to eat. We'd been at the zoo for about three hours, seen about 2/3 of the animals, had a picnic lunch, and played in the zoo's Rock Park for about 30 minutes when disaster struck. I was changing Ethan's diaper in our stroller when I heard Caleb exclaim from the top of the rock park, "Uh oh. Momma, can you change me?" I climbed up to where he was and asked him what happened. Here is his reply:
"I was playing and then I had to go and then I did and then I couldn't change my mind."
Never heard truer words, my son. And so ended our morning at the zoo. :)
"I was playing and then I had to go and then I did and then I couldn't change my mind."
Never heard truer words, my son. And so ended our morning at the zoo. :)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Bed Buddies
So the boys have been sleeping together in Caleb's bed all week. We've continued the bedtime routine of reading books, praying, and then one of us laying down with them until at least one of them is asleep. Most of the nights, they have both stayed in bed together until morning. Two nights, Ethan woke up during the night and joined us in our bed until morning. They look SO SWEET curled up sleeping together. Sometimes they end up snuggled up, and sometimes they stay on their halfs of the bed. Ethan looks so tiny in that big bed, and they both look absolutely precious sleeping together.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bugs
So Ethan's other recent fixation is with tiny, tiny bugs. When Aunt Wendi first came to stay with us in mid-November, she brought a children's science book called Ouch: How Your Body Makes It Through a Very Bad Day . (I actually had to go look at the title because since Day 1, Ethan dubbed the book the "Yucky Bug Book" and that is what we have called it ever since.) On pages 28 and 29 of this book, there is a two-page spread of tiny bug photo enlargements: chiggers, scabies mites, fleas, dust mites, head louse and eyelash mites. Ethan was fascinated with this page, so Wendi explained to him that these are big pictures of tiny bugs that just look like dots or small pieces of dirt in real life. She taught him that tiny bugs live on our bodies, in our hair, and on our clothes. The lesson was so thorough that Ethan absorbed which different bugs make us itch in different places. He can explain to you that dust mites make you sneeze, head lice make your head itch, chiggers bite your ankle, etc. Unfortunately, what started out to be an excellent science lesson quickly turned into a toddler obsession.
For the past eight weeks, tiny bugs have made their way into every aspect of Ethan's life. He'll be playing happily and see a speck of dirt on his hand. He stops playing, leaps up and shouts "BUGS! WASH HANDS!" Nothing can deter him from climbing both sets of stairs from the playroom to his bathroom and scrubbing his hands for a full five minutes. A speck of dirt on his clothes warrants a new outfit, and an itch on his back or on his head leaves him begging Mommy to "GET THE BUG!" If a piece of food falls, not just on the floor, but out of his bowl onto the table, it has bugs on it and is therefore inedible. (He also promptly dubs any food he finds unappetizing as bug-infested, as well.)
The newest bug complication is that he sees tiny bugs in the BATH WATER! The irony is evident: if the water can't be trusted to be clean, what is he to do????? For three nights, he only lasted about 30 seconds in the bath before climbing out of the tub in a panic after spotting a fleck of dirt floating in the water. Even if I "catch the bug" floating in the water, he won't get back in. So last night I rinsed the tub out thoroughly, rinsed both boys off before running the bath water, and then filled the tub with bubbles. Ethan got his first good bath in four days.
I've hidden the book, but there is no getting this bug thing out of his head. I'll just need an extra measure of patience until he outgrows it. :)
For the past eight weeks, tiny bugs have made their way into every aspect of Ethan's life. He'll be playing happily and see a speck of dirt on his hand. He stops playing, leaps up and shouts "BUGS! WASH HANDS!" Nothing can deter him from climbing both sets of stairs from the playroom to his bathroom and scrubbing his hands for a full five minutes. A speck of dirt on his clothes warrants a new outfit, and an itch on his back or on his head leaves him begging Mommy to "GET THE BUG!" If a piece of food falls, not just on the floor, but out of his bowl onto the table, it has bugs on it and is therefore inedible. (He also promptly dubs any food he finds unappetizing as bug-infested, as well.)
The newest bug complication is that he sees tiny bugs in the BATH WATER! The irony is evident: if the water can't be trusted to be clean, what is he to do????? For three nights, he only lasted about 30 seconds in the bath before climbing out of the tub in a panic after spotting a fleck of dirt floating in the water. Even if I "catch the bug" floating in the water, he won't get back in. So last night I rinsed the tub out thoroughly, rinsed both boys off before running the bath water, and then filled the tub with bubbles. Ethan got his first good bath in four days.
I've hidden the book, but there is no getting this bug thing out of his head. I'll just need an extra measure of patience until he outgrows it. :)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Bare Feet
Ethan's two latest things are providing us (mostly me) with a heavy dose of frustration as well as some comic relief. The first is that he refuses to keep his shoes and socks on. Ever. As soon as I put them on, he takes them off. Now, considering that we are coming out of a record-breaking cold stretch, you can imagine the problems this causes. I try to get the boys bundled up with jackets, hats, shoes and socks before we get into the car, so I don't have to stand in the freezing air tying shoes and zipping jackets after we arrive at our destination. Since Ethan won't leave his shoes and socks on in the car, I end up standing in the freezing air anyway. After about a week of putting his shoes on twice for every outing, I started telling him that if he took them off, I would not put them back on, and his feet would get very cold. Ethan is a very bright little dude, and he completely understood me, but decided to call my bluff anyway. He had them all off before I'd pulled out of the driveway. And so I took him into Publix barefoot. I got quite a few stares and two people even commented, but I just explained the situation (more for his benefit than theirs). After several days of carrying him bare foot everywhere we went, he started to figure out that he didn't like never getting down and walking around. I think the icing on the cake was when we all went to Toys R Us on Saturday: he took his shoes off, so Daddy and I wouldn't let him get down and play with the Thomas train table. He had to sit in the cart and watch Caleb play by himself. He wailed his pitiful, "I SAAAA-AAAD!!! I SORRY, MAMA! SORRY!!!!!!" but he stayed in the cart. Since then he has left his shoes on more than half the time. I'm pretty sure the little booger actually weighs where we are going and whether or not he has anything to lose. He took them off on the way to Publix yesterday (where he always has to sit in the cart anyway), but left them alone on the way to church tonight. Little stinker :)
See tomorrow's post for Ethan's other issue, which is much funnier and even more frustrating.
See tomorrow's post for Ethan's other issue, which is much funnier and even more frustrating.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sleep Struggles
After ten months straight of Ethan sleeping through the night (starting right after his ear tube surgery last February), he's been waking up multiple times a night for the past couple of weeks. I'm not sure whether the sleep interruptions were precipitated by our traveling and abnormal sleeping arrangements, or if perhaps his tubes have come out and he has an ear infection again. I'm taking him to the doctor this morning to eliminate (or confirm) the ear possibility.
Whatever the reason for all the night wakings (and him getting up for the day before 5:30 am, no matter how late his bedtime is), Marcus and I are starting to feel like parents of a young baby again! In the past two weeks, we've done the middle-of-the-night rocking and patting, we've brought him into our bed, and we've let him cry for periods of time, all in an effort to get him to go back to sleep in the middle of the night. Only, this time around, it is even harder because he can argue with us, and he says the most heart-rending things from his crib. He's developed a fear of shadows (thanks to big brother), and he's always pointing at the shadows around his room and saying "I SCARED!" MONSTER!" Whenever anyone mentions or makes a move toward putting him in his crib for bed, he starts crying and wailing "I SAAA--AAADD!" This is such a dramatic change from the little boy of past months who used to ask to go bed when he was tired. He loved his bedtime routine and he went contentedly into his crib after books and rocking, talked to himself for a little while, and fell asleep without a protest. Now he BEGS to sleep in our bed or Caleb's bed every night. Marcus does not sleep well at all when either child is in our bed, so Ethan sleeping in our king with us on a regular basis is not really an option.
We've tried three times putting him to bed with Caleb in Caleb's queen-sized bed. The first two times, they just talked and played and eventually got too rowdy, so we separated them back into their own rooms. Last night, I did their bed time routine together in Caleb's room, and then I laid down in between them in Caleb's bed, and we all fell asleep together. I woke up around 10:30 and slipped out of bed, and the boys slept on until Ethan woke up at 5:30. Marcus said he heard Ethan wake up once, but he went back to sleep without any parental help. We would love it if the boys would get used to sleeping in the same room. Our best friends have 3-year-old triplets who share a room, and when we are over there, Marcus and I love hearing their kids talk to each other in the monitor before they fall asleep each night. Chatting before sleep is such great bonding time, and hopefully our boys will be old enough to handle sharing a room very soon.
Whatever the reason for all the night wakings (and him getting up for the day before 5:30 am, no matter how late his bedtime is), Marcus and I are starting to feel like parents of a young baby again! In the past two weeks, we've done the middle-of-the-night rocking and patting, we've brought him into our bed, and we've let him cry for periods of time, all in an effort to get him to go back to sleep in the middle of the night. Only, this time around, it is even harder because he can argue with us, and he says the most heart-rending things from his crib. He's developed a fear of shadows (thanks to big brother), and he's always pointing at the shadows around his room and saying "I SCARED!" MONSTER!" Whenever anyone mentions or makes a move toward putting him in his crib for bed, he starts crying and wailing "I SAAA--AAADD!" This is such a dramatic change from the little boy of past months who used to ask to go bed when he was tired. He loved his bedtime routine and he went contentedly into his crib after books and rocking, talked to himself for a little while, and fell asleep without a protest. Now he BEGS to sleep in our bed or Caleb's bed every night. Marcus does not sleep well at all when either child is in our bed, so Ethan sleeping in our king with us on a regular basis is not really an option.
We've tried three times putting him to bed with Caleb in Caleb's queen-sized bed. The first two times, they just talked and played and eventually got too rowdy, so we separated them back into their own rooms. Last night, I did their bed time routine together in Caleb's room, and then I laid down in between them in Caleb's bed, and we all fell asleep together. I woke up around 10:30 and slipped out of bed, and the boys slept on until Ethan woke up at 5:30. Marcus said he heard Ethan wake up once, but he went back to sleep without any parental help. We would love it if the boys would get used to sleeping in the same room. Our best friends have 3-year-old triplets who share a room, and when we are over there, Marcus and I love hearing their kids talk to each other in the monitor before they fall asleep each night. Chatting before sleep is such great bonding time, and hopefully our boys will be old enough to handle sharing a room very soon.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Catch-Up
I am so behind in blog-land. It has been an unbelievable four weeks since I have written a post! I haven't written about Christmas or New Years, and I missed both boys' monthly updates.
Well, we have finally gotten back into the swing of things after the chaos and fun of the holidays, so I think I'll be able to get some of our experiences and events typed up. For today, here are some pictures that my parents took when we were in Searcy for Thanksgiving. My mom gave me a CD of these pics over Christmas, and some of them turned out really well. The pictures outside are at the elementary school park one block from my parents house. (The elementary school I attended for kindergarten and first grade.) The inside pictures are at my parents house. Enjoy :)
Well, we have finally gotten back into the swing of things after the chaos and fun of the holidays, so I think I'll be able to get some of our experiences and events typed up. For today, here are some pictures that my parents took when we were in Searcy for Thanksgiving. My mom gave me a CD of these pics over Christmas, and some of them turned out really well. The pictures outside are at the elementary school park one block from my parents house. (The elementary school I attended for kindergarten and first grade.) The inside pictures are at my parents house. Enjoy :)
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