Silly Stories

My oh my it has been a long time since I blogged here! Oh well.

Last night, while reading our 2 bedtime stories, one of which is the current favorite, Froggy's Sleepover, DS1 wanted Daddy to call Max "Froggy" and to call Froggy "Max". The boys usually giggle and laugh at this book a lot anyway because of the sound effects, but switchin names makes them even sillier. DS1 also requested that Froggy's mom and dad be switched, specifically that the mom be called "Father," not "Dad." The "huggy" and "toothbrush" also traded names, as did "pillow fight" and "tell scary stories".

I'm not sure where this came from or what it means, but DS1 is starting to like to pretend to be other people more. He likes me to be the pretend Daddy and he will switch names with his brother. I'm sure this is some cognitive developmental milestone, and it's fun, too.

Helping at the ballpark

Yesterday we went to a baseball game. While DS2 and I found seats in our regular area, DH and DS1 bought dinner. As they came back, DH carried a tray with 2 drinks & 3 fries, and DS1 carried a tray with 3 hamburgers and a hotdog. He looked like such a big boy! A nice lady seated on the first row tried to help him ("let me take that for you", said very nicely), but he said, "I can carry it myself." And he did! One hamburger slid off, so she picked it up and put it back on the stack for him. He climbed up about 10 steps carrying the tray, after having carried it up a long steep ramp. I told him "thank you" and that I was very proud of him for helping Daddy bring supper.

Choices

Last night DS1 wanted to sleep in his underwear and shorts. He usually wears a "pull-up" to bed instead of underwear so we can all sleep better. I told him that after he "went potty" aside: (I tried to use "toliet" instead "potty" but 9 hours a day of "potty" beat 3 hours of "toilet". Now DS2 says "potty", too.) he could wear underwear if he would sleep in his bed (instead of on the floor) and that he couldn't have any more water to drink. Those were acceptable conditions (at first) so DH put an extra mattress pad and sheet on the bed (so fresh sheets would be available if needed after an accident). DH read DS1 the two stories he picked out while we had some upbeat music playing. When it was time to change to "nighttime music" and get in bed, DS1 decided that he wanted to sleep on the floor. We reminded him that the choice to have underwear meant he had to sleep on his bed, so he changed into a pull-up so he could lay on the floor to do go sleep instead.

I wonder about this... laying on the floor to go to sleep is more desirable than wearing underwear to bed. Hmmmm. What's driving him? I want to pay closer attention.

counting in Spanish

On the way to daycare, DS1 likes to count the bridges we go over. This morning he started counting them in Spanish: una, dos, dos (oops). There is a lot of time between bridge 2 & 3, so I said 'tres' and then he said 'tres'.

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

A couple of nights ago, DS1 wanted to sing some songs after we had turned the light off at bedtime. I sang one to him, but then he asked for another one that I didn't know. So I asked him to sing it for us, to teach us. And he did! It was Five Green and Speckled Frogs, and it has 5 verses, counting down from 5 to 1. DS1 repeated a little bit because sometimes he didn't remember which number verse he had just finished, so I think he actually sang about 7 verses. We were so impressed that he remembered such complex verses. Here are the lyrics:

Five green and speckled frogs sat on a speckled log, eating some most delicious bugs (yum yum), one jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool, then there were four green and speckled frogs (ribbit ribbit).

Repeat, counting down to "no" (for zero).

Best Friend & other things

• Sunday DS1 told me "You're my best friend in the world." I practically melted with happiness.


• Yesterday I drove home a different way, to see a house that is for sale. This morning I drove the same way, in reverse. He said, "Mommy's driving silly. This is how we came home yesterday."


• He knows that he daycare class is going to see Goldilocks and the Three Bears later this week. They have been talking about it since last week. On Friday he asked me to tell him the story on our way home. Today, while doing puzzles at the library, he said "I'm going to go see that," and pointed to the Goldilocks puzzle that another child was doing.


• One day early last week he wanted to drive home from daycare, so I told him that he had to be 16 to drive. He has mentioned it at least 3 times while getting in or out of the car, and also told Daddy at dinner, that "when I am older than 16 I can drive my car".


• Tonight he wanted to be a "pretend baby" and lay in his brother's crib and play with the toy piano that is in the crib. So I let him for a while, as long as he stayed laying down.


• He can type his full name on the computer, but does still have to ask how his middle name is spelled.

Mothering Magazine Article: Let The Healing Begin

Mothering Magazine Article: Let The Healing Begin -- Okay, this made me cry it's so loving. I find it difficult to teach boundaries in a loving way when I'm sleep deprived, which is quite often right now. I want my sons to explore and be excited and loving and honest, but I also want them to stop when I ask or tell them to.

Pockets

Last night DH discovered that it is time for us to start checking DS1's pants pockets when we do laundry. At church on Sunday the pastor passed out rocks. Although DS1 insists that they are "stones". Anyway, the two that came home with him are clean now. He's growing up, and I'm excited!

Transition to Preschool

Yesterday DH and I had a parent-teacher conference with DS1's "Toddler" teacher and the "Preschool" teacher at daycare. Since his birthday is this coming Sunday (turning 3!), he will "transition" next week, spending a little more time each day in the new room. There are 2 or 3 kids in the room that have moved up within the past month, so at least he will have a few friends that he knows.

We were impressed by the classroom and the playground. The room does look more like a "classroom", but that's primarily because the teacher does so many more specific "hands-on" activities. They still get "free play" time, inside and outside. The room has a loft, 2 computers, a book corner, an aquarium, 2 toilet rooms (that used to have doors), and direct access to the HUGE playground. The playground has some bigger equipment for climbing, swings, slides, a house, a sandbox, a trike path, and lots more running around space.

The only down side that I forsee is that the preschool teacher works 9 months a year. She takes mid-May through mid-August off. So DS1 will be with her only 2-3 weeks before she is gone for 3 months. The lead teaching assistant will take over for the summer. She is quite competent, but I wish the main teacher worked a 12 month contract with a week off here and there, instead of the whole summer off. But, since she is the one with the most seniority (been there since the center opened, less a couple of years elsewhere), it's probably the only way to keep her on staff.

We really think DS1 will like his new groups of "big kid" friends and the teachers & class activities. They eat both breakfast and lunch about 30 minutes later than his current class, but that should be okay since they get snacks. Also, naps are 60-90 minutes instead of up to 2 hours. We were warned that he might be exhausted and go to sleep early, especially at first. (Okay with us!)

Toileting

Well, we didn't have to use diapers on the next Monday after my previous post was written. It did take some convincing Friday evening to get him to wear underwear, but he did, and it went fine. He woke up (and woke me up) do go potty during the night. The next night he had an accident. The next time he woke up again.

Then he kept having night accidents, sometimes two a night. A few nights before going on vacation we switched to "pull-ups" at night. We are all sleeping better, he is doing great during the day, and sometimes the pull-up seems dry in the morning.

What You Should Expect of Your Child - The Natural Child Project

What You Should Expect of Your Child - The Natural Child Project

Toilet time

We are having a hard time with toilet time. At daycare DS1 eagerly wears underwear, goes to the potty on his own, and has few accidents. At home he is very resistant to using the potty or wearing underwear. Except for 2 days (3 times total) he has not gone at home. He asks for diapers instead. So we change him into a diaper, believing that it needs to be his decision. He is obviously physically capable, and mentally there when he wants to be. He has been a lot more clingy than usual the past week, his eczema has flared up, even to the point of me suspecting chicken pox last Sunday because of the spots on his face. His daycare teacher disapproves of us letting him go back and forth, but we won't force him onto the potty and don't want to shame or coerce him into wearing underwear either.

The night before last, during his sleep, he yelled "mommy, I don't want to wear underwear!" He has also been crying and throwing "mini tantrums" over little things. He is fairly easily consoled, usually. One website I like, The Natural Child Project, has an article about The Nature of Dependency in which the author states, "I believe it is normal for people of all ages to hold it together while facing a stressful situation and then to let down and fall apart, if necessary, once they are in a safe environment. For a child, this safe environment is home, mother, or father." I think DS1 is doing this to some degree.

This weekend we are going to try a new approach. The rule will be that he has to wear the same at home and at daycare. (He will come home from daycare in underwear.) If he insists on a diaper (after discussion & several attempts to encourage him to stay in his underwear), then he will get to wear a diaper all weekend, but will also wear diapers all day Monday at daycare. I know he won't like that, but we believe he will decide that it's worth wearing underwear at home, to get to wear underwear at "school" too. Reading this plan in print, I think it seems harsh to "make him" wear a diaper Monday if he asks for "big boy pants", but we also think 1-2 days will be all it takes for him to choose underwear all the time.

It's going to be a tough weekend.

Underwear!

DS1 is wearing underwear today! He has been since about 9 this morning. The past 2 weeks he was used the toilet both at daycare (many times) and at home (3 times). His teacher suggested "toilet training" begin Monday (3 days ago), but since he was not interested in the toilet at home all weekend we waited. She doesn't recommend pull-ups in most cases, since they feel like diapers to the kids. Also, since we use cloth most of the time anyway, he knows what dry vs. wet feel like.

It was a conscious decision on his part "to be a big boy". I do want to make sure he doesn't feel pressure, especially if he has accidents. I also want to comfort him and let him know that he can be a "big boy" on the potty and still be a "little boy" in other ways. I think he is processing and working on the "big boy" thing a lot. He has asked to get into his little brother's crib several times in the past couple of weeks. I let him a couple of evenings ago. He played with the piano at the end of the crib, then wanted out after a few minutes.

Parents put kids in charge of school

Parents put kids in charge of school -- An article about unschooling.

A Fresh Approach to Tantrums

Mothering Magazine Article: A Fresh Approach to Tantrums

KittyBook!

KittyBook! The Ultimate WAHM Business Directory. Work At Home Mother-Owned Businesses. -- I found an auction site (other than eBay) that specializes in kid things. That led me to this directory of businesses.

Feingold Program Home Page

Feingold Program Home Page -- We don't have serious problems, but sometimes when DS1 is more hyper than usual I wonder about food additives.