Brendan...I've been slacking, there has been so much going on with you and I haven't written any of it down. September, October, and November are all through and here we are in December, and you'll be 33 months old in about 2 weeks! We have had a very busy fall; you started school, we went on our first Disney trip with Grandma and Grandpa V, we went to the apple orchard, the pumpkin patch, and you dressed up as a cow for Halloween! You made hand turkeys and we colored big turkeys for everyone in our family telling them that you are thankful for them. And now you are super excited for Christmas; you understand what is going on and you walk around telling everyone "Merry Christmas". You have helped decorate our house; it looks so festive. One of your favorite things is our Dickens Village Christmas collections. You sit and stare at the houses and buildings for long periods of time. We have an Elf on the Shelf for the first time this year, you named your Scout Elf, Chippy. The other day we asked you what you wanted Santa to bring you for Christmas, and you said, "Santa will bring me Thomas, gifts, money, and books." You love to put coins and bills into your little blue piggy bank.
You have grown so much, you are 38.75 inches right now and about 31 pounds; my long and lean big boy. School is one of your favorite things, along with going to your weekly library class that Mrs. M leads. You can now put on your jacket all by yourself! Miss Debbie and Miss Nicole at school have been teaching you to put on your own jacket and we've practiced at home and now you can do it all by yourself. You are so incredibly proud of yourself and every time you accomplish this task you run and give me a huge hug! You can now drink out of a big boy cup...we are so proud of you! It took you a lot of practice and many spills, but you didn't want to give up, you kept trying and you finally drink out of a big boy cup at our meal times.
Music and singing...you can't get enough. You make up your own songs and sing all day long. Plus you sing all of your favorite songs...all day long. Right now, some of your favorite songs are "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Sweet Baby James", and anything Raffi related. You've started to dance now too; it's so much fun to have dance parties with you. Sometimes you take me by the hands and ask me to dance with you because I am a princess and we sway back and forth holding hands. You are my prince!
Lately, you've been working on the letter sounds, by yourself. I catch you saying a word (soap) and then thinking about what it starts with and then you'll say the letter sound (sssssss) and the letter name (s). You're always thinking and always reading; you still love your books and I hope you always will.
You have been so animated, amazing, fun, silly, and funny; we love you so much and are so proud of you, but sometimes you drive us nuts too! You are one of the most stubborn people I know (and you get that from me) and right now you're going through a phase where you are beyond contrary. If you want or need something, you say the opposite. For example, when you really want to have a certain snack or go to a certain place (i.e. Grandma's house) and you can sense it won't be instant gratification, instead of asking for that particular thing outright, you madly say, "I don't want cookies after dinner!" or "I don't want to see Grandma and Grandpa!"....when clearly, these are things you want. You'll repeat those proclamations over and over and over and over. You do it for everything and you do it ALL DAY LONG. We left your friend Everett's house yesterday, and the whole way home, you yelled that you didn't want to see Everett soon. Did I miss something, is it opposite day, every day?
Your testing the limits with so many things, as many children your age do, and your listening skills have taken a nosedive! We'll ask you to do something or not do something and you slyly look over your shoulder and run away or continue doing what you shouldn't be doing.
On a more positive note, you love to help and you are becoming more and more independent every day. You are constantly telling us, "I can do it by myself!" You love to help us build and fix things...especially when tools are involved. You walk around like a little handyman; your favorite tools are the tape measurer, hammer, and drill.
You are excited about your baby sister coming, but at the same time you get very upset about it. Sometimes you shut down completely if talk of your baby sister comes up and other times you excitedly tell us about the things you'll do for the baby when she gets here. You have felt your sister kick you and you were so excited! Only 10 more weeks to go and you get to meet her!
And how could I forget about your sleeping habits! You are one silly guy. You've been sleepwalking a few times now and you do very odd things while sleepwalking. One time you went into your bathroom in the middle of the night, grabbed your toothbrush and toothbrush holder and threw them down the hallway. Another time, you came into my room, and started knocking on my bedroom wall, and then went into my bathroom and stood in there with the door closed for about 1 minute with no lights on. And you talk in your sleep A LOT! You also must have a lot of bad dreams, because you wake up crying a lot in the middle of the night. You come to my room and ask to be tucked in again, sometimes you come in 5 or 6 times. Other nights you are quiet and sleep soundly all night long (those are my favorite nights). You are an early-riser; you get up between 5 and 5:30 every day. You know that you need to stay in your room and wait for your special clock to turn green (6:30), but you still come and visit me every 15 minutes, in between reading books. You end up reading about 10-20 books every morning. You leave a big pile by your shelf, as you sit and read books until your clock turns green. I love hearing you down the hall, reading all of your favorite books.
Hopefully, I can keep up with you Brendan and write about all the great (and not so great) things you do, so that I don't have to jam all of it into one post!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
(pre) School days
B is growing up! So. fast. We decided that B needed some other interaction, other than sporadic library storytime/craft and play dates sprinkled throughout each month. So we enrolled him in a Montessori school, where they have a fantastic toddler (2-3 year old) program; we opted for the two-days a week, instead of the 3-days. He goes Mon and Tues every week for a whole school year for 3 hours each day. The program teachers handle the transition for these little students so flawlessly that there was never a worry that Brendan wouldn't handle it well, even though it was new, strange, and a little scary to have mom leaving. I sat in the classroom in the corner for the first 2 days, but wasn't allowed to interact with him (not that he even tried to interact with me), and on the 3rd day, this past Tuesday, I left. I didn't have to leave the building though, I got to watch his session (they don't start with the full 3 hours right away) in the little observation room where there is a two-way mirror! He didn't even know I was gone. I thought I'd be hurt, but I was very proud of my little guy. He has a very bashful, observer, internalizer personality, but that didn't show one bit!
His favorite "work" (they call what the kids do work) is playing with this realistic baby doll. He gives it a real bath with actual soap and water, then dries it off, and puts the baby's clothes on. Once that is all done, he puts the baby in her cradle, covers her up, and then rocks her to sleep, the whole time singing "Rock A Bye Baby". The first time I saw him do this, I cried. What a compassionate sweetheart. I'm hoping that this bodes well for when baby #2 arrives. He behaves so well at school (knock on wood), which is great, but I wish some of that carried over to how he behaves at home!
Brendan loves school at this point in time and does nothing, but talk about it! I can't wait until he goes to the 3-6 year old room, which is more like a pre-school environment or is enrolled in the district pre-school; I really think he'll enjoy it.
His favorite "work" (they call what the kids do work) is playing with this realistic baby doll. He gives it a real bath with actual soap and water, then dries it off, and puts the baby's clothes on. Once that is all done, he puts the baby in her cradle, covers her up, and then rocks her to sleep, the whole time singing "Rock A Bye Baby". The first time I saw him do this, I cried. What a compassionate sweetheart. I'm hoping that this bodes well for when baby #2 arrives. He behaves so well at school (knock on wood), which is great, but I wish some of that carried over to how he behaves at home!
Brendan loves school at this point in time and does nothing, but talk about it! I can't wait until he goes to the 3-6 year old room, which is more like a pre-school environment or is enrolled in the district pre-school; I really think he'll enjoy it.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Doorknobs and early wake-up calls
A few weeks ago, Brendan finally figured out how to open his bedroom door (mind you, he's been able to open other doors for a little bit now)...I was proud that he figured that out, but the pride quickly turned to annoyance! With his newfound freedom, bedtime is now 10,000 times more difficult. It's always taken him awhile to fall asleep, he'd toss and turn, talk, sing, and bang his feet against the wall...but now he does that AND tries to get out of his room. Thank goodness for video monitors because we're able to see when he's about to make his escape, and we call through the door for him to get back into bed. This means one of us needs to be on guard until he falls asleep. I sure hope the novelty dies away quickly and that this is only a phase. He thinks it's a hysterical game...we do not.
Which brings me to the morning...4:30 is the record so far. I put him back to bed at 4:30, then he was up again at 5:00, then 5:15, then 5:30, and then 5:45...finally when he came padding down the hallway to my room at 6:00, I just tossed in the towel and got up. Today he stayed in his room until 5:30, who would've thought I'd be happy that he slept until 5:30?! That is ridiculous! If he could sleep and/or stay in his room until 6:00 or even 6:30, I'd be one happy camper. And Brendan is such a morning person, he wants to get right down to playing or having breakfast and he's so jolly about it. He's so excited to start the day...good thing I'm a morning person (once I actually get out of bed and get going). But then he's tired by mid morning and ready for a nap too early! I have ordered from Amazon, one of those special clocks that tells the child when it's okay for them to leave the room. It's my last hope.
And Brendan's behavior at 2 years 5.5 months...what happened to my good little boy and why was he replaced with the kid version of a dictator?! Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously, the hitting, the screaming, the tantrums, the talking back, the not listening, the smirking and laughing as we try to give time out or take away toys/privileges or talk with him about his behavior (boy oh boy, does that make me the most mad!). He only reserves this behavior for mom and dad and sometimes the 4 grandparents and 2 uncles...other adults and children he acts like a perfect angel and no one believes me that he can be a holy terror! I'm going to tell myself it's just a phase and when I look back at this blog entry a few years from now, I'll just laugh and say that was nothing, just a little phase.
Which brings me to the morning...4:30 is the record so far. I put him back to bed at 4:30, then he was up again at 5:00, then 5:15, then 5:30, and then 5:45...finally when he came padding down the hallway to my room at 6:00, I just tossed in the towel and got up. Today he stayed in his room until 5:30, who would've thought I'd be happy that he slept until 5:30?! That is ridiculous! If he could sleep and/or stay in his room until 6:00 or even 6:30, I'd be one happy camper. And Brendan is such a morning person, he wants to get right down to playing or having breakfast and he's so jolly about it. He's so excited to start the day...good thing I'm a morning person (once I actually get out of bed and get going). But then he's tired by mid morning and ready for a nap too early! I have ordered from Amazon, one of those special clocks that tells the child when it's okay for them to leave the room. It's my last hope.
And Brendan's behavior at 2 years 5.5 months...what happened to my good little boy and why was he replaced with the kid version of a dictator?! Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously, the hitting, the screaming, the tantrums, the talking back, the not listening, the smirking and laughing as we try to give time out or take away toys/privileges or talk with him about his behavior (boy oh boy, does that make me the most mad!). He only reserves this behavior for mom and dad and sometimes the 4 grandparents and 2 uncles...other adults and children he acts like a perfect angel and no one believes me that he can be a holy terror! I'm going to tell myself it's just a phase and when I look back at this blog entry a few years from now, I'll just laugh and say that was nothing, just a little phase.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Picky, picky!
I used to have to order a side of broccoli at any restaurant we went to, so Brendan would be happy. Broccoli. He loved broccoli. Note the past tense. As a baby and as an early toddler B would try everything and eat a majority of what he tried. Today's diet: milk, Trader Joe's cereal bars, scrambled egg (but only every other day at breakfast), sausage/bacon, pancakes/waffles/french toast, bananas (if the mood strikes him), clementines (when in season), applesauce, mixed fruit cup (has to be Del Monte brand, sorry Target brand), boiled hot dogs (can't be grilled or microwaved), PB & J (sometimes), pickles, chips, yogurt (only when sitting on the couch and watching Mickey), and Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets from Costco.
I would've included pizza in this list a few weeks, but Brendan now refuses to eat frozen pizza, Little Caesars pizza, and the awesome pizza from the place in town. Really? He used to want to eat it 24/7. But then I figured it out....he only wants to eat Bagel Bites pizza. I'm at a loss. There is a lack of veggies, grains, and a ton of other things. He won't even try new things. Not even one little bite. I am certain this is fairly normal for his age group and perhaps older children as well, but it's so frustrating and worrisome! And BORING! He has been taking the calcium gummies (coated in granulated sugar) and likes those vitamins, but when I try introducing actual gummy multi-vitamins, heaven forbid. He gagged on them and swallowed them whole, instead of chewing them, because they were weird and different. He made a huge production of it and of course now he's fine with them, months later. I would try spinach smoothies (green monsters), but he won't even try a regular smoothie, yet alone a green one.
Meal time is a constant battle. I'm hoping that he gets better; well, at least I can dream. Oh, and of course, cake, candy, cupcakes, donuts and cookies aren't an issue.
B has again made leaps and bounds since the last time I wrote. He is very perceptive and makes so many connections (text to self, text to world, text to text--the reading teacher in me is so proud!); it's so fun to watch him. And the things that come out of his mouth...he always has us cracking up. Some of my favorites....
When something is wrong- (putting his hands on both cheeks and shaking his head) "This is just terrible, just terrible."
When asked if he'd like something or like to do something that we know he'll answer yes to- (thinks about it for a minute with a pondering look) "Well....um...of course!"
Of course, when he says something cute and/or funny I think to myself, I need to record that, but then I don't because the meaning will be lost when translated to the written word. I can explain it to my parents or Charlie on the phone and they get it because they know him, but how to describe it so that he can look back and understand it and appreciate it. I just don't want to forget a moment of how awesome he is...
Monday, July 11, 2011
So many changes
The last time I checked in on this blog was almost 2 months ago, and oh boy, have things changed since then! Brendan--you are the most amazing, but yet the most challenging parts of each of my days. You are too smart for your own good and at the end (or start or middle) of the day I'm at my wit's end! As you say, "You're driving me nuts!"...because when I sigh or use a certain tone you just know and intuitively know to say, "you're driving me nuts!"...which is usually the case. You are one of the most stubborn people I have ever met (gee, I don't know where you get that from!), but you are also the sweetest and most sympathetic. If I'm crying, you always run to get me a kleenex and then you wipe my tears and tell me "now you're all better mommy". Then 30 minutes later you are refusing to eat dinner or refusing to get dressed. At the age of 2 years, 5 months you are already a perfectionist. You become insanely embarrassed if you make a mistake or accidentally drop something or if you can't complete a task on your own (oh boy, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). For example, this morning you accidentally dropped one of your toys down the basement stairs as you were trying to carry it up to me. You were so upset that you didn't succeed in bringing it up the stairs that you put yourself in time-out and wouldn't even look me in the eye as I tried telling you that it was okay. You are incredibly smart, picking up on everything, working on your letter sounds, singing all of your favorite songs--you may be the only 2 year old who is able to sing all of Bing Crosby's Too Ra Loo on your own. It's so fun to watch you make connections between our life and the outside world and to watch your thought process on things new to you.
Brendan, you're going to be a big brother---how exciting! I know that because you are so sympathetic, thoughtful and helpful you will be an amazing big brother. One morning while snuggling in bed with me, you accidentally kicked me in the stomach and I told you that you needed to be careful of my stomach because I have a baby growing in there. You looked bewildered at first, but then shook that off and asked me "how do you clean the baby? you know, the pee pee?". Always the thinker, that's you Brendan. And I love that about you. Even though you drive me nuts a greater part of the day, you make me incredibly happy and I'm so proud to be your mom.
Brendan, you're going to be a big brother---how exciting! I know that because you are so sympathetic, thoughtful and helpful you will be an amazing big brother. One morning while snuggling in bed with me, you accidentally kicked me in the stomach and I told you that you needed to be careful of my stomach because I have a baby growing in there. You looked bewildered at first, but then shook that off and asked me "how do you clean the baby? you know, the pee pee?". Always the thinker, that's you Brendan. And I love that about you. Even though you drive me nuts a greater part of the day, you make me incredibly happy and I'm so proud to be your mom.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Got Mi--Shhhhh!--lk?
B is officially a milk drinker...again. It took many weeks of putting milk in his straw sippy cup and having it on the table at every single meal. He eventually grew accustomed to the taste of it and when the the straw is sucking up the dregs, he promptly says, "more milk please"....music to my ears! I never thought this day would come. He's almost drinking 3 cups a day, sometimes more! It's because we bought another huge jar of gummy Calcium doo-dads, that will take a very long time to finish now, since he does so well with milk and yogurt every day! Woo hoo!
Today at the library we were playing in the kid's section and a girl, about 6 months older than Brendan, came in to the play area and stood right in front of B and waved. He was too shy, as usual, to say anything, instead he walked away from her. He then turned to me and said, "mom, that's a kid, not a baby". I told him he was indeed correct, and he promptly turned to her and yelled "Hi kid!". Even though he yelled it, I'll take this social progress! The girl started to talk as she played with one of the toys and Brendan (now he listens to what I've been telling him while in the library) walked up to her, put his finger on his lips and said, "Ssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". After which, he grabbed my library card and ran over to the check-out counter, singing loudly the entire way.
Which reminds me...how can a 2 year old already be such a smart-alec (sp?)?! One such instance was at dinner last night. I told him that he only needed to take 3 more bites of his "ham stick" (he'll eat the salmon fish sticks if we call them ham sticks), then he could have a mini-cupcake. He picked up his "ham stick" and took the absolute tiniest bite possible and said, "one", took another impossibly small bite and said, "two", and did the same for "three". Wow. Really? I had to tell him small bites like that don't count and he had start over...he didn't see that coming and was pretty upset. We eventually came to an agreement over the size of the bite and he got his cupcake after all.
But there are times when he's not being a smart-alec, and he just amazes me. The other day the ice maker in the fridge made more ice and he was startled by the loud noise. B was a little scared, so I showed him the ice maker inside the freezer and took out a piece of ice and let him touch it and he told me "ice is cold". Fast forward to the next morning when I was changing him from his pajamas to regular clothes in his very cold room (dang this ventilation system in this house, it's awful), the poor guy was shaking, complete with teeth chattering, he looks at me and said, "Brrrr, I'm as cold as ice." I just looked at him in complete shock, that was the last thing I was expecting to come out of his mouth. I yelled to Charlie, "Um, hon, our son just his used his first simile...."
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| Now if only he'd drink milk out of a regular cup with a straw, like they give you at restaurants...where he goes, so does his special sippy cup straw |
Today at the library we were playing in the kid's section and a girl, about 6 months older than Brendan, came in to the play area and stood right in front of B and waved. He was too shy, as usual, to say anything, instead he walked away from her. He then turned to me and said, "mom, that's a kid, not a baby". I told him he was indeed correct, and he promptly turned to her and yelled "Hi kid!". Even though he yelled it, I'll take this social progress! The girl started to talk as she played with one of the toys and Brendan (now he listens to what I've been telling him while in the library) walked up to her, put his finger on his lips and said, "Ssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". After which, he grabbed my library card and ran over to the check-out counter, singing loudly the entire way.
Which reminds me...how can a 2 year old already be such a smart-alec (sp?)?! One such instance was at dinner last night. I told him that he only needed to take 3 more bites of his "ham stick" (he'll eat the salmon fish sticks if we call them ham sticks), then he could have a mini-cupcake. He picked up his "ham stick" and took the absolute tiniest bite possible and said, "one", took another impossibly small bite and said, "two", and did the same for "three". Wow. Really? I had to tell him small bites like that don't count and he had start over...he didn't see that coming and was pretty upset. We eventually came to an agreement over the size of the bite and he got his cupcake after all.
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| Has he been studying language arts when I'm not looking? |
But there are times when he's not being a smart-alec, and he just amazes me. The other day the ice maker in the fridge made more ice and he was startled by the loud noise. B was a little scared, so I showed him the ice maker inside the freezer and took out a piece of ice and let him touch it and he told me "ice is cold". Fast forward to the next morning when I was changing him from his pajamas to regular clothes in his very cold room (dang this ventilation system in this house, it's awful), the poor guy was shaking, complete with teeth chattering, he looks at me and said, "Brrrr, I'm as cold as ice." I just looked at him in complete shock, that was the last thing I was expecting to come out of his mouth. I yelled to Charlie, "Um, hon, our son just his used his first simile...."
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Reading Rainbow
I sure wish Brendan could experience Reading Rainbow, that was one of my favorite shows...ever. I'm sure it's out there somewhere in DVD land, but probably listed at a crazy price. Brendan loves reading. He has about 20 of his books completely memorized, so he'll sit down and "read" to himself aloud. In fact, when he wakes up, it's the first thing he does, he picks several books from his bookshelf and then sits on the floor and reads. In between books, he tries to open his bedroom door and shouts, "Mommy! Mooooooooooommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!", then sits down to read again. It's interesting that he can open other doors throughout the house, but yet he can't open his own bedroom door...hmmmm. Every time we read a new book, B has a majority of it memorized after 2 read throughs, so that he can sit and "read" it on his own. It's the cutest thing ever; he even reads with emotion. Let's just hope his love of reading lasts a lifetime!
The memory on this kid amazes me (he gets that from me, not Charlie!). We went to Walgreens one morning and I bought a Cadbury egg for us to share in the car, as a special treat. Anytime we pass ANY Walgreens, he points and yells, "chocolate", oh dear. And his latest thing is saying "maybe after dinner", anytime he asks for something and we say no to it. "I have a chocolate?" "We don't have chocolate for breakfast." "Ohhhh, gotcha mommy, maybe after dinner." Replace the chocolate for any food or activity and the same conversation happens about 30 times a day, every day. I said "maybe after dinner" to him ONE TIME, about 1 week ago. He hasn't forgotten it and it's now his favorite expression. Along with the ever awesome, "oohhhh, gotcha mommy" after I explain something to him. We get to have real conversations with him now. How much they grow up in just a few months, it's amazing and sad at the same time.
B is absolutely obsessed with construction trucks, so we love Bob the Builder on DVD (they have to be the ones that are on-site, they show real construction sites and trucks!) from the library. I wish that show was still on too, then it would be conveniently on the DVR. We recently went through some construction in the town south of us and B went NUTS. He could barely breathe, he was talking so fast, "Look exa-ater (excavator)!" "Look bulldozer!" "Look digger!" "Another bulldozer!" "Crane mommy!" And on and on and on. Sitting in traffic because of construction had never been so fun. B also loves his trucks (big rigs) and cars too. So the movie Cars is also a big hit with him. Although he doesn't sit still long enough to watch the whole thing, he loves the first half! He asks for "Mater" and "Light-ing MaKeen", and he'll talk about the "tacktors" falling over because they were scared, and he'll repeat that same tractor story about 80 times after seeing the movie.
It's nice that B can request certain things to eat when asked what he wants to eat for a meal. His number one requested item is "cereal bars", the ones from Trader Joe's. Then comes "fruit cup" and "pancakes, sausage, and syrup! Pleeeease?" And when given two choices for a meal, he understands and can pick one of them...so much easier. In fact, that's how B will eat his daily yogurt (thank you Yoplait for making your yogurt with 2x the calcium of any other yogurt...it's not natural, like I prefer, but desperate times call for desperate measures!)...as long as we show him two different flavors and he gets to choose, he'll then eat his yogurt...oh, and it has to be while sitting on the couch watching a show, after nap. Yeah. Again, desperate times call for desperate measures. The awesome thing is that B is drinking a little milk! Woohoo! At every meal he has his favorite straw sippy cup and it has milk in it (no choice there!), and he's gotten used to drinking milk at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It may not be as much liquid as he'd take in if it had water in it, but at the end of the day, he drinks about 6-8 oz. of milk. It's progress...huge progress. And I'm so proud of him! He doesn't even complain anymore and he stopped asking for water while eating.
Now if I could get ready for potty-training and make progress with that (I'm avoiding it like the plague, but he is showing signs that he's really ready to start the process). B has peed on the potty 3 times so far...thanks to running bath water. As his bath fills up, we put him on the potty to wait and tell him to make pee if he needs to...and he has 3 out of 4 times so far. It's exciting and we act like we just won the lottery, but he seems very non-plussed by the excitement. He acts as if it's no big deal, like he pees on the potty all the time.
And last, but definitely not least (mainly because it's hysterical), we have a major drama king here. When he doesn't get something he wants, he puts on a show (sometimes that show is a major tantrum, but most of the time it's a fantastic act, one that would work on a Grandma perfectly, but not mom and dad). For example, we read 2 books before his nap, he picks out his first book and we finish it, then he chooses "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" as his second, I veto it because it counts as two (which he does know--if he picks that one first, he knows we only read that book). I tell him no, but we can read it at bedtime. He promptly hangs his head and slowly walks to the corner of his room, faces the corner (head still hanging), puts his hands on his head, and starts quietly moaning, "No One Fish, Two Fish, so sad." He slowly turn his head around to see if I'm paying attention and he'll repeat himself, head hanging once again. I explain to him that he can pick another book or get into bed for his nap. He picks One Fish...again. I tell him no...again. He then puts his head in his hands and whimpers and says, "So sad. So sad." He gets this pathetic look on his face, like I just destroyed all of his dreams. I offer the two options one more time, a lot sterner. And he quickly stops his charade--I swear he shrugged his shoulders--and picks a different book. He does this for many things, including, but not limited to wanting cookies, wanting a movie or show, wanting to go outside. Where does he learn this stuff?!?!? It's so hard not to laugh, because it's hysterical to witness. I wish I could record it and show him later!
The memory on this kid amazes me (he gets that from me, not Charlie!). We went to Walgreens one morning and I bought a Cadbury egg for us to share in the car, as a special treat. Anytime we pass ANY Walgreens, he points and yells, "chocolate", oh dear. And his latest thing is saying "maybe after dinner", anytime he asks for something and we say no to it. "I have a chocolate?" "We don't have chocolate for breakfast." "Ohhhh, gotcha mommy, maybe after dinner." Replace the chocolate for any food or activity and the same conversation happens about 30 times a day, every day. I said "maybe after dinner" to him ONE TIME, about 1 week ago. He hasn't forgotten it and it's now his favorite expression. Along with the ever awesome, "oohhhh, gotcha mommy" after I explain something to him. We get to have real conversations with him now. How much they grow up in just a few months, it's amazing and sad at the same time.
B is absolutely obsessed with construction trucks, so we love Bob the Builder on DVD (they have to be the ones that are on-site, they show real construction sites and trucks!) from the library. I wish that show was still on too, then it would be conveniently on the DVR. We recently went through some construction in the town south of us and B went NUTS. He could barely breathe, he was talking so fast, "Look exa-ater (excavator)!" "Look bulldozer!" "Look digger!" "Another bulldozer!" "Crane mommy!" And on and on and on. Sitting in traffic because of construction had never been so fun. B also loves his trucks (big rigs) and cars too. So the movie Cars is also a big hit with him. Although he doesn't sit still long enough to watch the whole thing, he loves the first half! He asks for "Mater" and "Light-ing MaKeen", and he'll talk about the "tacktors" falling over because they were scared, and he'll repeat that same tractor story about 80 times after seeing the movie.
It's nice that B can request certain things to eat when asked what he wants to eat for a meal. His number one requested item is "cereal bars", the ones from Trader Joe's. Then comes "fruit cup" and "pancakes, sausage, and syrup! Pleeeease?" And when given two choices for a meal, he understands and can pick one of them...so much easier. In fact, that's how B will eat his daily yogurt (thank you Yoplait for making your yogurt with 2x the calcium of any other yogurt...it's not natural, like I prefer, but desperate times call for desperate measures!)...as long as we show him two different flavors and he gets to choose, he'll then eat his yogurt...oh, and it has to be while sitting on the couch watching a show, after nap. Yeah. Again, desperate times call for desperate measures. The awesome thing is that B is drinking a little milk! Woohoo! At every meal he has his favorite straw sippy cup and it has milk in it (no choice there!), and he's gotten used to drinking milk at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It may not be as much liquid as he'd take in if it had water in it, but at the end of the day, he drinks about 6-8 oz. of milk. It's progress...huge progress. And I'm so proud of him! He doesn't even complain anymore and he stopped asking for water while eating.
Now if I could get ready for potty-training and make progress with that (I'm avoiding it like the plague, but he is showing signs that he's really ready to start the process). B has peed on the potty 3 times so far...thanks to running bath water. As his bath fills up, we put him on the potty to wait and tell him to make pee if he needs to...and he has 3 out of 4 times so far. It's exciting and we act like we just won the lottery, but he seems very non-plussed by the excitement. He acts as if it's no big deal, like he pees on the potty all the time.
And last, but definitely not least (mainly because it's hysterical), we have a major drama king here. When he doesn't get something he wants, he puts on a show (sometimes that show is a major tantrum, but most of the time it's a fantastic act, one that would work on a Grandma perfectly, but not mom and dad). For example, we read 2 books before his nap, he picks out his first book and we finish it, then he chooses "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" as his second, I veto it because it counts as two (which he does know--if he picks that one first, he knows we only read that book). I tell him no, but we can read it at bedtime. He promptly hangs his head and slowly walks to the corner of his room, faces the corner (head still hanging), puts his hands on his head, and starts quietly moaning, "No One Fish, Two Fish, so sad." He slowly turn his head around to see if I'm paying attention and he'll repeat himself, head hanging once again. I explain to him that he can pick another book or get into bed for his nap. He picks One Fish...again. I tell him no...again. He then puts his head in his hands and whimpers and says, "So sad. So sad." He gets this pathetic look on his face, like I just destroyed all of his dreams. I offer the two options one more time, a lot sterner. And he quickly stops his charade--I swear he shrugged his shoulders--and picks a different book. He does this for many things, including, but not limited to wanting cookies, wanting a movie or show, wanting to go outside. Where does he learn this stuff?!?!? It's so hard not to laugh, because it's hysterical to witness. I wish I could record it and show him later!
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