Coming home from Blake's pediatrician visit, I had his latest stats: height and weight. As I came home with this data, I tried to remember how big Trev had been at his 3 year appointment. While I know they are closer and closer in size and weight, when I actually took a look at the numbers, I was SHOCKED at the reality of the situation.
Blake 1/14/09: 39 1/4 inches (90th percentile), 34 pounds 6 ounces (75th percentile) age 3
Trevor 12/0: 8 : 41 inches (50th percentile), 34 pounds 3 ounces (25th percentile), Age 4 and 5/12
Trevor 7/17/07: 37 3/4 inches (50th percentile), 28 pounds 3 ounces (25th percentile), Age 3
Do you see the disparity?? They are currently less than 2 inches apart, and probably the same weight (give or take!). At the same age, Blake is 1 1/2 inches taller and 6 pounds heavier!! Yikes!
In fact, looking over their growth records since birth, this really isn't surprising.
At Birth:
Trevor: 6 lb 13 oz , 20 inches
Blake: 7 lb 11 oz, 19 3/4 inches
So, while Blake was technically shorter at birth, he was almost a pound heavier. But since their 2 month appointments, Blake has been at least 1/2 an inch taller and 1/2 a pound heavier at each milestone age. In fact Blake at 6 months, was the size of Trevor at 12 months!! No wonder people were shocked to see Trevor walking at 9 1/2 months old, he must have been tiny!!!
So for kicks and giggles, I searched online and found growth charts for boys ages 2 through 20. And here's the very interesting, yet not really surprising, future that it shows for my T&B when they are age 20...
Trevor at age 20: 5'10" 140 pounds
Blake at age 20: 6'1" 175 pounds
Basically, Trevor will be my size, but about 2 inches taller, and Blake will be 4 inches taller than Daddy and weigh about what he did at the end of high school!
So, Trevor better get used to the idea of being the older but not bigger brother!!! And I have to get used to the reality that there are no hand-me-downs in this house.... B needs new shoes and T hasn't outgrown them yet! Time to go shopping. Maybe one day B will give T the clothes that don't fit him anymore!!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Chiro's, OBs, and Pediatricians... Oh My!
Okay, I've been in 3 doctors offices in a week! Seriously...3! I say this in shock, because I am one of those people who can go months, if not close to a year without visiting the doctor. I'm not phobic, or anti-doctor (that's my hubby) but I'm a (luckily) healthy person who doesn't see or have much need to visit the doc that often. Ah well, pregnancy and children seem to bring out the best....
Thursday was my favorite visit of the month.... my chiropractor's office. While I love Dr Bob (the chiro), my current appointments are not with him, but with his massage therapist, Annette! She rocks my world! My own little hour of the day when I can practially fall asleep on the table, while having all my pregnancy aches and pains rubbed away. It is easily the best hour of my day/week/month. Topped off by the fact that my insurance covers pregnancy massage, and it's right next door to a Panera Bread. So I follow my massage with a decaf mocha by the fireplace until it's time to pick up the boys from school! Wow.... how totally selfishly indulgent!! Go me!
Yesterday, was a visit to the OB. While no where near as high on my list as Annette, Dr S and his staff are pretty cool. And right now, the visits are all routine, non-invasive, and let me hear the little girl's heartbeat.... so really cool!
In fact, yesterday's visit was shockingly cool, based on past experiences. I got there 15 minutes early, figuring it can't hurt to be early, and there was NO ONE in the waiting room! At this appointment they were testing my glucose levels (in case of Gestational Diabetes) and so I had to drink the "yummy" sugar drink an hour before my appointment. So, even though I was early, they couldn't see me until the hour had passed. They checked my vitals (I've gained 20 pounds.... yay!), and checked my sugar (70) and all was well. They put me in the room, and viola, not 5 minutes later, the Dr was there. Yes..... 5 minutes of waiting.
This was the first time I've met the actual Dr (MD), previously my appointments have been with one of the two midwives on staff, one of whom will hopefully deliver this little girl. Dr S took a moment to learn to pronounce my name right (bonus points!) and then go thru my (boring) history with me. He apologized for this, and I pointed out that I appreciate that he wants to make sure he knows what/who he's dealing with. After chatting for a while, he measured me, found the heartbeat, and did the 'medical' part of the appointment. Then it was back to chatting... baseball, football, how I ended up here from growing up out east. All kinds of things....and it was chatting, both him and me, and he's funny! So it was a pretty darn good appointment.
He's not worried about me working (my job involves some lifting). He encouraged me to do it as long as I feel I can, pointing out that pregnancy is not a disease or an illness (Amen! that's how I feel). And told me to stay active - how can I not I have 2 preschoolers at home!! He does lose about 5 points off a totally perfect score, as he made me a tad bit nervous...
When searching for the little girl's heartbeat, he commented that it seemed somewhat slow. Not slow as in something to worry about, but slow as in, "sounds more like a boy", which were his exact words! Not what I want to hear, since last month the U/S tech pointed out that there is always a chance she could be wrong! Her heartbeat was 136 which I guess is more in the 'boy' range, but I recall both my boys having high heartbeats, so maybe I just grow little backwards babies!!! Dr S suggested I have another ultrasound later on to confirm it's a girl, so hopefully that will happen (and insurance will cover it!).
Otherwise.... fabulous appointment! I was in and out in 30 minutes, and 15 of that was me waiting until my scheduled appointment time!!
The trifecta of the Dr's appointments came this morning, when I took B for his 3 year well child exam and physical for pre-school. My children (bless them) are also children who don't visit the Dr often, as they are rarely sick. I thank them for this 99% of the year, but I learned last month when they were both sick, that sometimes there is a downside to this. Blake doesn't care for strangers, and his only memories of the Dr (I'm guessing) involve the flu-shots and vaccinations... i.e. PAIN. So B, tends to be a bit of a PITA when we go to the Dr.
So, after dropping Trev off for his day at school, B and I drove to the ped's office. We talked on the way about where we were going (something I don't think I've done in the past.) We talked about the Dr having a little flashlight and wanting to look in his eyes, ears, mouth, nose etc. just to see. We talked about him standing on the big boy scale to be weighed (or the alternative, if he doesn't cooperate of being strapped to the baby table scale like last time!). We talked about the eye test and how he would get to pretend to be a pirate (putting the paddle over one eye) while naming picutres for the Dr. He was excited about all of it. He said (in the car) he would do all of it. He asked to bring his Elmo (Chicken Dance Elmo) in with us, and I said sure.
At the ped's office, we had no more than a 5 minute wait in the front room before being called back (unheard of!). We went back and it was scale time. Chicken Elmo got weighed and measured, then Blake stepped on the scale... piece of cake! We went back to the room and he let the nurse check his hearing and take his temp, no fussing. She asked to do the eye exam and with a little work, he played his role as a pirate, looked at the eye chart, and told Chicken Elmo (vs. the nurse!) what pictures he could see!! We waited and read a book (Thomas of course!), and then the Dr came in. B talked to him, answered his questions, let him look at him with the flashlight, and even did some physical 'tests' with him (walking, squatting, tiptoeing, jumping, etc.). He cooperated for the entire visit, was an angel, and was generally..... totally not my child!!! It was awesome, and weird all at once!!!
I don't know what I owe it to, but I guess when my next few Dr appointments are really slow/bad/late etc. I better try to remember this week, and realize that I've just cashed in ALL my good doctor karma for 2009!!
Thursday was my favorite visit of the month.... my chiropractor's office. While I love Dr Bob (the chiro), my current appointments are not with him, but with his massage therapist, Annette! She rocks my world! My own little hour of the day when I can practially fall asleep on the table, while having all my pregnancy aches and pains rubbed away. It is easily the best hour of my day/week/month. Topped off by the fact that my insurance covers pregnancy massage, and it's right next door to a Panera Bread. So I follow my massage with a decaf mocha by the fireplace until it's time to pick up the boys from school! Wow.... how totally selfishly indulgent!! Go me!
Yesterday, was a visit to the OB. While no where near as high on my list as Annette, Dr S and his staff are pretty cool. And right now, the visits are all routine, non-invasive, and let me hear the little girl's heartbeat.... so really cool!
In fact, yesterday's visit was shockingly cool, based on past experiences. I got there 15 minutes early, figuring it can't hurt to be early, and there was NO ONE in the waiting room! At this appointment they were testing my glucose levels (in case of Gestational Diabetes) and so I had to drink the "yummy" sugar drink an hour before my appointment. So, even though I was early, they couldn't see me until the hour had passed. They checked my vitals (I've gained 20 pounds.... yay!), and checked my sugar (70) and all was well. They put me in the room, and viola, not 5 minutes later, the Dr was there. Yes..... 5 minutes of waiting.
This was the first time I've met the actual Dr (MD), previously my appointments have been with one of the two midwives on staff, one of whom will hopefully deliver this little girl. Dr S took a moment to learn to pronounce my name right (bonus points!) and then go thru my (boring) history with me. He apologized for this, and I pointed out that I appreciate that he wants to make sure he knows what/who he's dealing with. After chatting for a while, he measured me, found the heartbeat, and did the 'medical' part of the appointment. Then it was back to chatting... baseball, football, how I ended up here from growing up out east. All kinds of things....and it was chatting, both him and me, and he's funny! So it was a pretty darn good appointment.
He's not worried about me working (my job involves some lifting). He encouraged me to do it as long as I feel I can, pointing out that pregnancy is not a disease or an illness (Amen! that's how I feel). And told me to stay active - how can I not I have 2 preschoolers at home!! He does lose about 5 points off a totally perfect score, as he made me a tad bit nervous...
When searching for the little girl's heartbeat, he commented that it seemed somewhat slow. Not slow as in something to worry about, but slow as in, "sounds more like a boy", which were his exact words! Not what I want to hear, since last month the U/S tech pointed out that there is always a chance she could be wrong! Her heartbeat was 136 which I guess is more in the 'boy' range, but I recall both my boys having high heartbeats, so maybe I just grow little backwards babies!!! Dr S suggested I have another ultrasound later on to confirm it's a girl, so hopefully that will happen (and insurance will cover it!).
Otherwise.... fabulous appointment! I was in and out in 30 minutes, and 15 of that was me waiting until my scheduled appointment time!!
The trifecta of the Dr's appointments came this morning, when I took B for his 3 year well child exam and physical for pre-school. My children (bless them) are also children who don't visit the Dr often, as they are rarely sick. I thank them for this 99% of the year, but I learned last month when they were both sick, that sometimes there is a downside to this. Blake doesn't care for strangers, and his only memories of the Dr (I'm guessing) involve the flu-shots and vaccinations... i.e. PAIN. So B, tends to be a bit of a PITA when we go to the Dr.
So, after dropping Trev off for his day at school, B and I drove to the ped's office. We talked on the way about where we were going (something I don't think I've done in the past.) We talked about the Dr having a little flashlight and wanting to look in his eyes, ears, mouth, nose etc. just to see. We talked about him standing on the big boy scale to be weighed (or the alternative, if he doesn't cooperate of being strapped to the baby table scale like last time!). We talked about the eye test and how he would get to pretend to be a pirate (putting the paddle over one eye) while naming picutres for the Dr. He was excited about all of it. He said (in the car) he would do all of it. He asked to bring his Elmo (Chicken Dance Elmo) in with us, and I said sure.
At the ped's office, we had no more than a 5 minute wait in the front room before being called back (unheard of!). We went back and it was scale time. Chicken Elmo got weighed and measured, then Blake stepped on the scale... piece of cake! We went back to the room and he let the nurse check his hearing and take his temp, no fussing. She asked to do the eye exam and with a little work, he played his role as a pirate, looked at the eye chart, and told Chicken Elmo (vs. the nurse!) what pictures he could see!! We waited and read a book (Thomas of course!), and then the Dr came in. B talked to him, answered his questions, let him look at him with the flashlight, and even did some physical 'tests' with him (walking, squatting, tiptoeing, jumping, etc.). He cooperated for the entire visit, was an angel, and was generally..... totally not my child!!! It was awesome, and weird all at once!!!
I don't know what I owe it to, but I guess when my next few Dr appointments are really slow/bad/late etc. I better try to remember this week, and realize that I've just cashed in ALL my good doctor karma for 2009!!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Christmas Photos
So it's 6:45 am.... why am I blogging?
Well, I slept like cr@p, I was supposed to babysit a friends kids who would arrive at 6:20, but at 6:05 she texted me to say her hubby wasn't working today so I get the day off! While yay for that, I am bummed to be up and showered and dressed. I'll be taking a nap for sure today!!
Anyway... since I'm up and the kids aren't (rare!!). I figured I should post all the Christmas pictures that haven't made it up here yet! So a compliation of our various holiday celebrations!
Our, very successful, visit to see Santa earlier in the month
Helping Daddy make the gingerbread house!
Christmas morning, opening movies from Santa
Christmas morning playing with the Play-Doh ice cream factory Blake got!
Opening (more) Hot Wheels tracks that they got at Grandma's
Helping distribute the gifts
Reading one of our new books with Mam-gu
It's funny. My folder of photos contains 118 pictures of various Christmas festivities... and these are the best ones of my kids! All the rest are blurry, full of their backs, show only wrapping paper, etc! There is not one decent picture of the two of them in their cute matching holiday shirts, or any of the 4 of us! Oh my!!!
Well, I slept like cr@p, I was supposed to babysit a friends kids who would arrive at 6:20, but at 6:05 she texted me to say her hubby wasn't working today so I get the day off! While yay for that, I am bummed to be up and showered and dressed. I'll be taking a nap for sure today!!
Anyway... since I'm up and the kids aren't (rare!!). I figured I should post all the Christmas pictures that haven't made it up here yet! So a compliation of our various holiday celebrations!
Our, very successful, visit to see Santa earlier in the month
Helping Daddy make the gingerbread house!
Christmas morning, opening movies from Santa
Christmas morning playing with the Play-Doh ice cream factory Blake got!
Opening (more) Hot Wheels tracks that they got at Grandma's
Helping distribute the gifts
Reading one of our new books with Mam-gu
It's funny. My folder of photos contains 118 pictures of various Christmas festivities... and these are the best ones of my kids! All the rest are blurry, full of their backs, show only wrapping paper, etc! There is not one decent picture of the two of them in their cute matching holiday shirts, or any of the 4 of us! Oh my!!!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Potty Training: An Update
Well, thanks to my husband (and yes I REALLY mean that), we are still on the potty training wagon and Blake is getting more and more successful!!!
He stayed dry all day last Friday, while wearing a pull-up. Since then we've had good days and bad days, and days I wanted to throw in the towel completely! There are times we can go out somewhere (say the aquarium for 6 hours!) and he stays dry the WHOLE time. He won't pee in a public potty yet, but he stayed dry. Then we get home, and he had 3 accidents in 1 hour!!! So, my patience is wearing thin at times!
We have gone through fights over when to pee, where to pee, and how! Blake has taken to sitting on his little potty and reading various catalogs that are kept in the bathroom, or (his favorite) a Thomas catalog showing EVERY wooden Thomas train and accessory. He 'shops' while he sits, and eventually goes.
At times he would agree to go potty, and then sit and sit and sit. He'd yell at me that, "I'm starting" and try to hit me if I dared to interefere. He'd sit for 20-40 minutes and not pee, then put on his pull-up and immediately pee in it. After a few days of this, about Tuesday, I called hubby at work and tried to quit the whole thing again and throw in the towel on the process. (And this is where hubby earns his kudos) Hubby talked me down, calmed me down, and reminded me who was the adult and in charge here (apparently he thinks I'm in charge!! ha ha!). Basically, he saw this as a battle of wills between two very stubborn people (me and Blake) and he wouldn't let me quit and let my 3 year old win. And I think that was the key. We kept going even when B was pushing my buttons, and now B seems to realize that this is what needs to happen and he has no choice!!
Since then, we have finally had many successes: Friday he went potty for Grandma (a first!), and today he went potty for Daddy (or he couldn't go out and play in the snow!). Prior to this, he's held it while I've been gone until I get back and can sit with him in the bathroom. He's also started asking me to leave the bathroom and then he goes and calls me back in when he's done to help him clean up!!! Holy cow!!! And, he's stayed DRY (except for nap) for 2 straight days!!! HOLY COW!!! (At the moment, we're only dealing with peeing... we'll get to #2 when we've mastered this part!).
So we've made some major progress in the 2 weeks since his birthday!! I'm still waiting for him to start noticing when he needs to go, as so far I am the one who initiates the "it's time to go to the potty" concept, but that will come in time I'm sure. Strangely, we're still having success wearing pull-ups all the time, and while I want to get to undies, I'm not anxious to change our successful formula. Not sure how or when we'll transition, but I really think we're on the right path.
As a funny ending to this whole topic. Here's what happened this morning (while I was at work). Trevor still sleeps in a pull-up, and when he gets up, he changes into undies (even if he leaves his jammies on). After the boys woke Daddy up, they went into the boys bedroom to change Blake out of his wet over-night pull-up and into a new dry one for the day. Daddy asks B to take off his pants and is confused to see B wearing a dry pull-up. And then Trevor speaks up and explains, "I helped him put his pull-ups on. I pulled it over his butt!!" What a nice brother.... and what an embarrassing story for when they are older!!!
He stayed dry all day last Friday, while wearing a pull-up. Since then we've had good days and bad days, and days I wanted to throw in the towel completely! There are times we can go out somewhere (say the aquarium for 6 hours!) and he stays dry the WHOLE time. He won't pee in a public potty yet, but he stayed dry. Then we get home, and he had 3 accidents in 1 hour!!! So, my patience is wearing thin at times!
We have gone through fights over when to pee, where to pee, and how! Blake has taken to sitting on his little potty and reading various catalogs that are kept in the bathroom, or (his favorite) a Thomas catalog showing EVERY wooden Thomas train and accessory. He 'shops' while he sits, and eventually goes.
At times he would agree to go potty, and then sit and sit and sit. He'd yell at me that, "I'm starting" and try to hit me if I dared to interefere. He'd sit for 20-40 minutes and not pee, then put on his pull-up and immediately pee in it. After a few days of this, about Tuesday, I called hubby at work and tried to quit the whole thing again and throw in the towel on the process. (And this is where hubby earns his kudos) Hubby talked me down, calmed me down, and reminded me who was the adult and in charge here (apparently he thinks I'm in charge!! ha ha!). Basically, he saw this as a battle of wills between two very stubborn people (me and Blake) and he wouldn't let me quit and let my 3 year old win. And I think that was the key. We kept going even when B was pushing my buttons, and now B seems to realize that this is what needs to happen and he has no choice!!
Since then, we have finally had many successes: Friday he went potty for Grandma (a first!), and today he went potty for Daddy (or he couldn't go out and play in the snow!). Prior to this, he's held it while I've been gone until I get back and can sit with him in the bathroom. He's also started asking me to leave the bathroom and then he goes and calls me back in when he's done to help him clean up!!! Holy cow!!! And, he's stayed DRY (except for nap) for 2 straight days!!! HOLY COW!!! (At the moment, we're only dealing with peeing... we'll get to #2 when we've mastered this part!).
So we've made some major progress in the 2 weeks since his birthday!! I'm still waiting for him to start noticing when he needs to go, as so far I am the one who initiates the "it's time to go to the potty" concept, but that will come in time I'm sure. Strangely, we're still having success wearing pull-ups all the time, and while I want to get to undies, I'm not anxious to change our successful formula. Not sure how or when we'll transition, but I really think we're on the right path.
As a funny ending to this whole topic. Here's what happened this morning (while I was at work). Trevor still sleeps in a pull-up, and when he gets up, he changes into undies (even if he leaves his jammies on). After the boys woke Daddy up, they went into the boys bedroom to change Blake out of his wet over-night pull-up and into a new dry one for the day. Daddy asks B to take off his pants and is confused to see B wearing a dry pull-up. And then Trevor speaks up and explains, "I helped him put his pull-ups on. I pulled it over his butt!!" What a nice brother.... and what an embarrassing story for when they are older!!!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
2 Big Boys Live here!
Tuesday brought a momentus occasion to our household. Blake started preschool! And in true Blake style, his first day was nothing like Trevor's first day!!
For a few weeks, I've been reminding Blake that after his birthday, he would be starting school with Trevor. Trevor is in the Blue Room and Blake will be in the Red Room. So they'll be at the same place, but with different kids and teachers.
Monday night, Blake went to bed excited, thinking about getting up and going to school. Tuesday morning, they were both up and raring to go. T has missed school friends, as it's been 2 weeks since he's been there, and B was just plain excited.
We got to school, walked in the door, and B dropped his coat and was off! I got him back enough to hang up his coat, but that was it!! He knows the school kids routine so well, just from seeing it when we drop T off. He walked over to the cabinet, picked out an activity, took it to the rug and started working on it (exactly what he's supposed to do!). That was it... he was at school, didn't need me, and was ready to go! Trev hung up his coat, came back to the Red Room (where all the kids start out in the morning), and sat down to work with Blake.
I spent a moment watching them, and talking with the teachers. Trevor took a brief moment to run over and give me a hug and kiss goodbye. But not Blake! He was done with me, didn't need me, wasn't worried about me leaving, and was happy as a clam. He's SO different than his brother sometimes!
I spent the next 2.5 hours, having coffee and chatting with my girlfriends!! Yay me!
When I came back to pick them up, they both were happy to see me, both had a great day, and both were excited for to come back!
The only downside to Blake starting school, he doesn't understand why today only Trevor goes to school! He was more upset about dropping T off this morning and leaving to come home with me, and T was upset that B wasn't staying. But that's how it goes....2 days a week for 3-year-olds, and 3 days a week for 4-year-olds!!
For a few weeks, I've been reminding Blake that after his birthday, he would be starting school with Trevor. Trevor is in the Blue Room and Blake will be in the Red Room. So they'll be at the same place, but with different kids and teachers.
Monday night, Blake went to bed excited, thinking about getting up and going to school. Tuesday morning, they were both up and raring to go. T has missed school friends, as it's been 2 weeks since he's been there, and B was just plain excited.
We got to school, walked in the door, and B dropped his coat and was off! I got him back enough to hang up his coat, but that was it!! He knows the school kids routine so well, just from seeing it when we drop T off. He walked over to the cabinet, picked out an activity, took it to the rug and started working on it (exactly what he's supposed to do!). That was it... he was at school, didn't need me, and was ready to go! Trev hung up his coat, came back to the Red Room (where all the kids start out in the morning), and sat down to work with Blake.
I spent a moment watching them, and talking with the teachers. Trevor took a brief moment to run over and give me a hug and kiss goodbye. But not Blake! He was done with me, didn't need me, wasn't worried about me leaving, and was happy as a clam. He's SO different than his brother sometimes!
I spent the next 2.5 hours, having coffee and chatting with my girlfriends!! Yay me!
When I came back to pick them up, they both were happy to see me, both had a great day, and both were excited for to come back!
The only downside to Blake starting school, he doesn't understand why today only Trevor goes to school! He was more upset about dropping T off this morning and leaving to come home with me, and T was upset that B wasn't staying. But that's how it goes....2 days a week for 3-year-olds, and 3 days a week for 4-year-olds!!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Quoteable Moments
Tonight we opened the Christmas presents from my brother Tim. While Tim was here just after Christmas, it seems that Amazon misunderstood his request for Expedited Delivery (and his extra payment) that guaranteed the gifts would arrive on 12/27. The gifts have arrived over the last few days, and finally the last one got here today.
So after dinner we opened.... a Wii game for Daddy, Monopoly Here & Now for Mommy (the only Monopoly recieved this year!), Hi Ho Cherry-O for Blake, and a Lego Star Wars vehicle for Trevor.
Trev was thrilled, Blake was thrilled. Each started to play, with help from one of us. A few minutes later, Blake has Hi Ho Cherry-O set up, and is ready to play. The following conversation was recorded in its entirety with no editing from Mommy or any one else...
Blake: "When are you gonna be done?"
Trevor: (completing step 3 of 16 in building the Lego vehicle) "Probably never!"
It was hilarious (and totally unprompted! I swear!)
So after dinner we opened.... a Wii game for Daddy, Monopoly Here & Now for Mommy (the only Monopoly recieved this year!), Hi Ho Cherry-O for Blake, and a Lego Star Wars vehicle for Trevor.
Trev was thrilled, Blake was thrilled. Each started to play, with help from one of us. A few minutes later, Blake has Hi Ho Cherry-O set up, and is ready to play. The following conversation was recorded in its entirety with no editing from Mommy or any one else...
Blake: "When are you gonna be done?"
Trevor: (completing step 3 of 16 in building the Lego vehicle) "Probably never!"
It was hilarious (and totally unprompted! I swear!)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Underwear vs. Pull-Ups
Having been all the way down the road of potty-training once before, I've heard my share of advise. While I know most advise comes with the best of intentions, I fully believe in only listening to about 50% of it at the most! (ah, parenting advise... a topic for a whole lot of blog posts... but not this one!).
One memorable piece of advise regarding potty training, seems to be regarding the use of Pull-Ups. You know Pull-Ups right? The diaper/underwear combo, that go on like underwear to make the kid feel like a "big kid" but that protect like a diaper. The majority of parents I know (or at least who have commented to me on this topic) seem to feel that pull-ups just allow the kid to keep peeing in their pants, and don't force them to learn what happens when they pee in their undies. Most of these parents I have talked with, agree that it's just better to cut to the chase, put the kid in undies, and let them learn thru trial and error that they have to learn to hold it, and then go to the potty. This happens to be part of the 50% of advise I'm willing to listen to. Use pull-ups rarely if at all.
For Trevor, that was the case. He didn't think pull-ups were undies, he thought they were diapers. And he didn't care that the designs faded, or that they felt wet (his cloth diapers usually felt wet!). Trevor was also a peach of a child to potty train. I knew he was ready to learn, as he would come up and tell me, "Mommy, I peed/pooped while I was playing trains." Then when I asked him when he would start wearing underwear (he was just about 2 3/4) he said (oh so logically), "When I run out of diapers." And pretty much that was it. He 'ran out' of diapers that weekend (I didn't wash the cloth and I took away the 'sposies) and he looked around the room, and then put on undies. He wasn't instantly trained, but he was willing to try and practice and learn. It took him a few months to completely get it, but right from that moment, he was trying. During the early part of the training process, if we were going out, I put him in a pull-up. Sometimes he used the potty, other times he didn't. But he still knew when he peed and could tell me.
I also knew, as Trevor completed potty-training in a few short months, with few roadblocks... That I couldn't expect to be lucky twice. I KNEW that as similar as my boys were (and are!), I was probably going to get what was coming to me (a royal pain in the @$$) when it came to training Blake. Why then do I stress so much about it?
Anyway... the point of this post. We've been down the potty-training road with Blake before, wish some success and quite a bit of failure. At hubby's request, we started again on B's 3rd birthday. Both of us agreed that he seems to be the kind of kid who will believe he can do it simply because he's 3 now! Well, it's been relatively positive so far. It has not been completely successful, and we've had our share of fights and issues, but we're doing much better than a few months ago. And heck a week later, we're still trying and succeeding!
In part, I think this is due to the, "I am 3" mentality that we are pushing at Blake... about everything, not just potty training.We've raised our expecations (just slightly) and we keep pointing out to him, "You're a big boy, you're 3 now". At the same time, I think the fact that this is not an entirely new concept is also helpful-he knows what we expect, what he needs to do, and what it feels like to sit on the potty etc. Knowing Blake, that's a very good thing. It may even by helpful that he starts pre-school next week.... Big Boy! He doesn't have to be trained for school, but we keep telling him that all the big kids who go to school use the potty, and he REALLY wants to go to school with Trevor.
So.... yesterday, we got up and had plans to go out, so I put Blake in a pull-up. I asked him to go potty before we left, and he did. I reminded him to keep his pull-ups dry, and he said he would. He has previously kept them dry for a 5 hour period while we were out... major progress. He prefers to hold it, than use a big potty (something we'll deal with eventually!). So we went out, he kept them dry, he came home and went pee on the little potty. He napped, stayed dry, and so kept wearing the pull-up since he already had it on. He wore that one pull-up all day, and itwas DRY at bedtime! Holy Smokes!! He stayed dry an entire day (and in a pull-up no less). Celebration ensued with ice cream and lots of kisses!
This morning, we got up, and when given a choice, he put on a pull-up vs. underwear. Fine with me. We reminded him during the day to keep it dry, and had him go potty (at our request) a few times. Fine, dry through lunch time. At nap, he pooped in the pull-up (this is no surprise!), so when he got up, we got out a new pull-up. Nope, he says "I want undies". Fine with me (great even...maybe we're making progress). In the next 2 hours, he pees in 2 pairs of undies and pants. So we go back to pull-ups.... and he stays dry from then until bed time! What the HECK!???! I have such weird children!!! He just likes to be different/difficult??? I don't get it!!
One memorable piece of advise regarding potty training, seems to be regarding the use of Pull-Ups. You know Pull-Ups right? The diaper/underwear combo, that go on like underwear to make the kid feel like a "big kid" but that protect like a diaper. The majority of parents I know (or at least who have commented to me on this topic) seem to feel that pull-ups just allow the kid to keep peeing in their pants, and don't force them to learn what happens when they pee in their undies. Most of these parents I have talked with, agree that it's just better to cut to the chase, put the kid in undies, and let them learn thru trial and error that they have to learn to hold it, and then go to the potty. This happens to be part of the 50% of advise I'm willing to listen to. Use pull-ups rarely if at all.
For Trevor, that was the case. He didn't think pull-ups were undies, he thought they were diapers. And he didn't care that the designs faded, or that they felt wet (his cloth diapers usually felt wet!). Trevor was also a peach of a child to potty train. I knew he was ready to learn, as he would come up and tell me, "Mommy, I peed/pooped while I was playing trains." Then when I asked him when he would start wearing underwear (he was just about 2 3/4) he said (oh so logically), "When I run out of diapers." And pretty much that was it. He 'ran out' of diapers that weekend (I didn't wash the cloth and I took away the 'sposies) and he looked around the room, and then put on undies. He wasn't instantly trained, but he was willing to try and practice and learn. It took him a few months to completely get it, but right from that moment, he was trying. During the early part of the training process, if we were going out, I put him in a pull-up. Sometimes he used the potty, other times he didn't. But he still knew when he peed and could tell me.
I also knew, as Trevor completed potty-training in a few short months, with few roadblocks... That I couldn't expect to be lucky twice. I KNEW that as similar as my boys were (and are!), I was probably going to get what was coming to me (a royal pain in the @$$) when it came to training Blake. Why then do I stress so much about it?
Anyway... the point of this post. We've been down the potty-training road with Blake before, wish some success and quite a bit of failure. At hubby's request, we started again on B's 3rd birthday. Both of us agreed that he seems to be the kind of kid who will believe he can do it simply because he's 3 now! Well, it's been relatively positive so far. It has not been completely successful, and we've had our share of fights and issues, but we're doing much better than a few months ago. And heck a week later, we're still trying and succeeding!
In part, I think this is due to the, "I am 3" mentality that we are pushing at Blake... about everything, not just potty training.We've raised our expecations (just slightly) and we keep pointing out to him, "You're a big boy, you're 3 now". At the same time, I think the fact that this is not an entirely new concept is also helpful-he knows what we expect, what he needs to do, and what it feels like to sit on the potty etc. Knowing Blake, that's a very good thing. It may even by helpful that he starts pre-school next week.... Big Boy! He doesn't have to be trained for school, but we keep telling him that all the big kids who go to school use the potty, and he REALLY wants to go to school with Trevor.
So.... yesterday, we got up and had plans to go out, so I put Blake in a pull-up. I asked him to go potty before we left, and he did. I reminded him to keep his pull-ups dry, and he said he would. He has previously kept them dry for a 5 hour period while we were out... major progress. He prefers to hold it, than use a big potty (something we'll deal with eventually!). So we went out, he kept them dry, he came home and went pee on the little potty. He napped, stayed dry, and so kept wearing the pull-up since he already had it on. He wore that one pull-up all day, and itwas DRY at bedtime! Holy Smokes!! He stayed dry an entire day (and in a pull-up no less). Celebration ensued with ice cream and lots of kisses!
This morning, we got up, and when given a choice, he put on a pull-up vs. underwear. Fine with me. We reminded him during the day to keep it dry, and had him go potty (at our request) a few times. Fine, dry through lunch time. At nap, he pooped in the pull-up (this is no surprise!), so when he got up, we got out a new pull-up. Nope, he says "I want undies". Fine with me (great even...maybe we're making progress). In the next 2 hours, he pees in 2 pairs of undies and pants. So we go back to pull-ups.... and he stays dry from then until bed time! What the HECK!???! I have such weird children!!! He just likes to be different/difficult??? I don't get it!!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Quoteable Holiday Moments
While there is tons that I could or should blog about regarding the past 10 days of holidays, friends, family, visitors, and more.... I just can't figure out where to begin.
But at least I will share some of my most favorite quotes that have been said by the boys the past few days!!
************************
Usually, at 7 am the boys call down the hallway to me, "Mommy, we come to your room now?" And they come in my bed and watch tv for 1/2 an hour or an hour until I get in the shower. While my parents were visiting it shifted to:
Boys: "Mommy, we come to your room now?"
Me: "Yes"
Boys: "Mommy, we go downstairs with Pa-Hugh now?"
Me: "Yes"
and they were gone.... and I was back asleep in 2.5 seconds!!! Pure Joy!!
******************************
Tuesday we drove to the mall to get hair cuts and then go see the great Christmas lights nearby. On the drive there...
Trevor: "Mommy, drive faster!"
Me: "Why?"
Trevor: "Because I can feel my hair growing!"
*******************
Daddy has been looking at 2007 photos on the computer and sorting, cleaning up, and getting ready to archive them. Trevor was sitting with him for a while one day watching the old movies and photos.
Daddy: "Do you remember that?"
Trevor" "I have SO many things in my brain, I can't remember!"
Note: Sorry kid, it's only gonna get worse from here!!
*************************
At our New Year's Eve gathering, Daddy's sister helped the boys' cousin Amy, get a New Year's tiara and lei. The boys saw her...
Blake: "I need a tiara!"
Trevor: "Where's my bling?"
But at least I will share some of my most favorite quotes that have been said by the boys the past few days!!
************************
Usually, at 7 am the boys call down the hallway to me, "Mommy, we come to your room now?" And they come in my bed and watch tv for 1/2 an hour or an hour until I get in the shower. While my parents were visiting it shifted to:
Boys: "Mommy, we come to your room now?"
Me: "Yes"
Boys: "Mommy, we go downstairs with Pa-Hugh now?"
Me: "Yes"
and they were gone.... and I was back asleep in 2.5 seconds!!! Pure Joy!!
******************************
Tuesday we drove to the mall to get hair cuts and then go see the great Christmas lights nearby. On the drive there...
Trevor: "Mommy, drive faster!"
Me: "Why?"
Trevor: "Because I can feel my hair growing!"
*******************
Daddy has been looking at 2007 photos on the computer and sorting, cleaning up, and getting ready to archive them. Trevor was sitting with him for a while one day watching the old movies and photos.
Daddy: "Do you remember that?"
Trevor" "I have SO many things in my brain, I can't remember!"
Note: Sorry kid, it's only gonna get worse from here!!
*************************
At our New Year's Eve gathering, Daddy's sister helped the boys' cousin Amy, get a New Year's tiara and lei. The boys saw her...
Blake: "I need a tiara!"
Trevor: "Where's my bling?"
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Happy 3rd Birthday Blake!
**PHOTOS ADDED 1/4/09**
I greet you from my comfy La-Z-Boy chair after a busy day!
My parents and brother are in town to visit. They arrived yesterday after a 7.5 hour delay at the airport, not due to weather, but a missing part for their plane. Fun times!
We decided to do something simple but near home today to get out at least for a little while, so we went to visit a classic/antique car museum near home. The kids really loved some of the famous ones, but also loved some of the classic cars that had unique paint jobs (skulls, flames, etc). They also adored the military section full of tanks, helicopters, jeeps, and more.
Cat in the Hat Car
Kit from Knight Rider
Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters
The Flintstones car from the movie
The Delorian from Back to the Future
The General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard
The Batmobile from the 1966 TV show
We ended the outing with a stop for hot dogs at a nearby place....Yummy! (I hate that I LOVE hot dogs when I'm pregnant. I usually think they're disgusting, but right now they are OH SO GOOD!).
We came home, and were soon joined by Grandma, Aunt Kate, and Scary Steve. The two families visited and everyone was having a good time. Dinner time couldn't come soon enough for the boys, who were anxiously awaiting cupcakes!! We finished dinner, Blake opened his presents, and we ALL had cupcakes. Yum!
Cupcakes for the birthday boy!
One of the favorite presents
Everyone (except the birthday boy) playing Hungry Hungry Hippos!
Photos will come soon, but puting them on now would require me to leave my comfy chair... which ain't gonna happen! Christmas updates coming soon too!!
I greet you from my comfy La-Z-Boy chair after a busy day!
My parents and brother are in town to visit. They arrived yesterday after a 7.5 hour delay at the airport, not due to weather, but a missing part for their plane. Fun times!
We decided to do something simple but near home today to get out at least for a little while, so we went to visit a classic/antique car museum near home. The kids really loved some of the famous ones, but also loved some of the classic cars that had unique paint jobs (skulls, flames, etc). They also adored the military section full of tanks, helicopters, jeeps, and more.
Cat in the Hat Car
Kit from Knight Rider
Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters
The Flintstones car from the movie
The Delorian from Back to the Future
The General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard
The Batmobile from the 1966 TV show
We ended the outing with a stop for hot dogs at a nearby place....Yummy! (I hate that I LOVE hot dogs when I'm pregnant. I usually think they're disgusting, but right now they are OH SO GOOD!).
We came home, and were soon joined by Grandma, Aunt Kate, and Scary Steve. The two families visited and everyone was having a good time. Dinner time couldn't come soon enough for the boys, who were anxiously awaiting cupcakes!! We finished dinner, Blake opened his presents, and we ALL had cupcakes. Yum!
Cupcakes for the birthday boy!
One of the favorite presents
Everyone (except the birthday boy) playing Hungry Hungry Hippos!
Photos will come soon, but puting them on now would require me to leave my comfy chair... which ain't gonna happen! Christmas updates coming soon too!!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Blake's Birthday Cake Tribute
Back in July, I did a tribute to the birthday cakes daddy has made for Trevor. Now of course, I must do the same for Blake.
2006: Blake turns 1. Daddy picks the cake theme as B doesn't really seem to care yet. Trev had lots of ideas, but this was daddy's choice - and since he bakes them, he gets to choose!
2007: Blake turns 2. The theme for this cake and party was not a tough guess at all! What else could it be???
2008: A cake will be made for his kid party which is sometime in January (no it's not all planned yet, I'm too busy with christmas and being pregnant! Who picked this time of year to have a kid!).... so you'll have to wait and see what the theme is!!
2006: Blake turns 1. Daddy picks the cake theme as B doesn't really seem to care yet. Trev had lots of ideas, but this was daddy's choice - and since he bakes them, he gets to choose!
2007: Blake turns 2. The theme for this cake and party was not a tough guess at all! What else could it be???
2008: A cake will be made for his kid party which is sometime in January (no it's not all planned yet, I'm too busy with christmas and being pregnant! Who picked this time of year to have a kid!).... so you'll have to wait and see what the theme is!!
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