We were in the playroom the other day and Eric was doing somersaults off this little table that I use to fold clothes on. He slipped a little and bonked his head on the floor and started crying and crying. Then he sat up, put his hands on his head, and said, "Oh! That was terrible." And then Sam said, "How adorable. Have you ever heard of anything like a three-year-old using the word 'terrible'?" I think he gets his verbal skills from you, Sam. Now, could you just teach him some Spanish?
Last night, Ivan was commenting that he sometimes wonders what they think of us at Sam's preschool since he comments on everything. We're having more sleep issues as Sam and Eric have been waking each other up at 5:00 in the morning again, so I made Sam sleep in Mikey's room again. This morning he told me that he was going to sleep in Mikey's room until he Eric was 4 and then back in Eric's room "until we move to a bigger house."
"Oh really? we're moving to a bigger house?"
"Well yes. We'll need at least three apartments for Eric and Mikey and I when we grow up and our wife."
Our wife? I'm thinking where did he come up with this? Sam knows absolutely nothing about polygamy, but his teachers at his school (who knows that he is LDS) don't know this.
So I say, "How many wives are you guys going to have?"
Sam: "Just one. One of the dads will go to work to earn money, one will do the cooking, and one will ... will set the table. And the wife will just play with the babies."
Sounds good. And I'm sure you'll be the star of the new reality TV hit, Brother Husbands.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The End of Potty Training (For Now)
I wish I could report a raging success. Nope. I am just completely demoralized and tired of the potty defining my day and my relationship with my son.
We got a Jack-in-the-Box dragon which Eric thought was great. After peeing in his underwear all day, I told him that he couldn't play with the dragon until he went to the potty. He went four times that evening. The next morning, he woke up and said, "I have to go to the potty." Yay! Potty dance. Potty skittles. Play with the dragon. And 15 minutes later he pooped in his pants.
Later that day, I said "do you have to go potty?" "Nope." And 5 minutes later, he peed in his pants. So I thought I would take the "this is so inconvenient" tactic and say, "Oh man. Now that you've made a mess, you'll have to stop and clean it up." So I made him go in the bathroom and wash out his underwear. Of course, I had forgotten how much Eric likes to play in the water. So two hours later, I hear, "Oh! Poor Tinkerbell. Now I have to wash you out." Ivan, of course, is not so concerned about Eric's manliness now that he likes to pee on Tinkerbell.
So I gave up. The question is not one of ability, it's motivation. And for now, I don't feel like fighting that battle.
We got a Jack-in-the-Box dragon which Eric thought was great. After peeing in his underwear all day, I told him that he couldn't play with the dragon until he went to the potty. He went four times that evening. The next morning, he woke up and said, "I have to go to the potty." Yay! Potty dance. Potty skittles. Play with the dragon. And 15 minutes later he pooped in his pants.
Later that day, I said "do you have to go potty?" "Nope." And 5 minutes later, he peed in his pants. So I thought I would take the "this is so inconvenient" tactic and say, "Oh man. Now that you've made a mess, you'll have to stop and clean it up." So I made him go in the bathroom and wash out his underwear. Of course, I had forgotten how much Eric likes to play in the water. So two hours later, I hear, "Oh! Poor Tinkerbell. Now I have to wash you out." Ivan, of course, is not so concerned about Eric's manliness now that he likes to pee on Tinkerbell.
So I gave up. The question is not one of ability, it's motivation. And for now, I don't feel like fighting that battle.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Potty Training Chronicles
We are so tired of poop. Sick of it. For the past 14 months, we have been changing two boys' diapers. That's over 4000 diapers. In fact Sam had this insight a few weeks ago:
Sam: "Mom, what smells like butt?"
Me: "I don't know."
Sam: "I think it's you because you spend so much time around Mikey's butt."
We've tried potty training a bit. Our potty-training expert friend says that with determined kids, you can either potty train (oh, excuse me; to be politically correct, I should be saying that our child is potty learning right now) before they turn 2 or after 3-1/2. In between, they are asserting their independence and there's nothing you can do. We have tried several times, but it just frustrates us.
Eric is a very determined, active, masculine child--full of energy and testosterone, and quite frankly, potty training takes a lot more work than changing the diapers.
But something snapped and we decided that we are going to give it another try now. So we were in Target last Saturday and one of the techniques is to let your child choose their own underwear. Well, we have very cool underwear left over from when Sam was that size--cars, diego, batman, mickey mouse, etc. so I hadn't really felt that I needed to do that. But we were near the underwear aisle, so we strolled down it.
Me: "Hey Eric. Do you want some cool new underwear?"
Eric (pointing): "I want those."
Sam and I looked at each other and Sam and I both started showing him other options. Don't you want the Superhero ones? Look at the awesome Toy Story underpants! Aren't these Diego ones coooool?
Nope. Eric only wanted Tinkerbell. The ones with frilly edges. Now, knowing what a boy he is, this was really funny to us. I called Ivan and asked him how he felt about his son wearing girl's underwear. He said, "I don't care as long as he stops wearing diapers." So we put them in the cart and kept going. Eager to enforce the idea that he would not be wearing diapers, I said to Eric, "Now Eric, you're going to want to make sure that you always go in the potty so that you can keep your Tinkerbell panties, excuse me, Tinkerbell underwear nice and clean."
Did it work like a charm? Nope. The next day, we put them on and he peed in them. The next day, we put some more on and he pooped in them. He peed in the next pair. "Oh, Eric," we'd say each time, "that is so sad that your Tinkerbell underwear are dirty." Later that night he peed again. "Oh Eric. That is so sad that they are all wet." "No," he said. "It is NOT sad."
So today, we were off to Target again, to try to find something to bribe him with. We got some Squinkys (I had never seen them before). They are tiny dolls/accessories/animals that come in little plastic balls that are in a gumball machine type thing. I figured this would be good because he could get a new one every time he went pee. But then we hit the jackpot. Target has this area with retro toys and we came across a dragon jack-in-the-box. He couldn't put it down!
Since we got home, he went pee in the potty 3 times (and kept his underpants clean) so that he could play with the dragon. I'm just hoping he gets the potty thing down before the novelty of the dragon wears off.
Oh, and we're starting to potty train Mikey now too. We're not going to go through two more years of diapers. Since Mikey is as compliant as he ever will be (which is not too compliant as we had an inkling since it took so long for him to be born), we figured we'd better get it done before the 18 month mark. Maybe he'll even be potty trained before Eric.
Sam: "Mom, what smells like butt?"
Me: "I don't know."
Sam: "I think it's you because you spend so much time around Mikey's butt."
We've tried potty training a bit. Our potty-training expert friend says that with determined kids, you can either potty train (oh, excuse me; to be politically correct, I should be saying that our child is potty learning right now) before they turn 2 or after 3-1/2. In between, they are asserting their independence and there's nothing you can do. We have tried several times, but it just frustrates us.
Eric is a very determined, active, masculine child--full of energy and testosterone, and quite frankly, potty training takes a lot more work than changing the diapers.
But something snapped and we decided that we are going to give it another try now. So we were in Target last Saturday and one of the techniques is to let your child choose their own underwear. Well, we have very cool underwear left over from when Sam was that size--cars, diego, batman, mickey mouse, etc. so I hadn't really felt that I needed to do that. But we were near the underwear aisle, so we strolled down it.
Me: "Hey Eric. Do you want some cool new underwear?"
Eric (pointing): "I want those."
Sam and I looked at each other and Sam and I both started showing him other options. Don't you want the Superhero ones? Look at the awesome Toy Story underpants! Aren't these Diego ones coooool?
Nope. Eric only wanted Tinkerbell. The ones with frilly edges. Now, knowing what a boy he is, this was really funny to us. I called Ivan and asked him how he felt about his son wearing girl's underwear. He said, "I don't care as long as he stops wearing diapers." So we put them in the cart and kept going. Eager to enforce the idea that he would not be wearing diapers, I said to Eric, "Now Eric, you're going to want to make sure that you always go in the potty so that you can keep your Tinkerbell panties, excuse me, Tinkerbell underwear nice and clean."
Did it work like a charm? Nope. The next day, we put them on and he peed in them. The next day, we put some more on and he pooped in them. He peed in the next pair. "Oh, Eric," we'd say each time, "that is so sad that your Tinkerbell underwear are dirty." Later that night he peed again. "Oh Eric. That is so sad that they are all wet." "No," he said. "It is NOT sad."
So today, we were off to Target again, to try to find something to bribe him with. We got some Squinkys (I had never seen them before). They are tiny dolls/accessories/animals that come in little plastic balls that are in a gumball machine type thing. I figured this would be good because he could get a new one every time he went pee. But then we hit the jackpot. Target has this area with retro toys and we came across a dragon jack-in-the-box. He couldn't put it down!
Since we got home, he went pee in the potty 3 times (and kept his underpants clean) so that he could play with the dragon. I'm just hoping he gets the potty thing down before the novelty of the dragon wears off.
Oh, and we're starting to potty train Mikey now too. We're not going to go through two more years of diapers. Since Mikey is as compliant as he ever will be (which is not too compliant as we had an inkling since it took so long for him to be born), we figured we'd better get it done before the 18 month mark. Maybe he'll even be potty trained before Eric.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Eric Loves to Dance
A while back, I wrote a post about Eric's hobbies, and tried to post a video of him dancing, about a year ago. I could never get it figured out, but I finally have it uploaded. It still reminds me of him. He loves music, all kinds, and loves to move and climb. And he's all boy while he does it. Enjoy :)
Development in kids ...
I've been thinking a lot about how kids develop and am amazed sometimes by just the little things ...
Highlights in language development at our house lately ....
First, Mikey. He said, "Pa ... " the other day. It was pretty exciting because it was the first time we heard it associated with Ivan. (Ivan was holding him and I tried to take him to get him to bed, and he didn't want to, therefore "Pa." Mostly he grunts a lot. He doesn't say many words. He's started saying "yeah" lately in response to questions. "Do you want some more applesauce?" "Yeah." I haven't figured out if it's just the response to the inflection in our voices or if he really does mean "yeah".
And Mikey is starting to understand agency also. We taught him the word "give" several months ago. It was a great game. When ever we said, "give" he would hand over whatever he had. Sam especially had fun with this one, and I thought it was interesting because several times, I knew he didn't want to hand it over, but he would do it anyway. It was sort of automated. "Give" and he gave. Recently, he's figured out that when we say "give" he doesn't have to give it and instead tucks it closer and makes a squeaky whine that means no.
Eric just said his first sentences in Spanish. It was "Papi! Papi! Mami me da un yogurt!" (Mami gave me a yogurt!) This must have been pretty exciting because I ration the yogurts around here. (It's how they get their sugar fix.)
And Sam ... I am really excited because Sam is really reading now and I love reading, so it's fun to see him read. It's fun to watch him read and get some of the jokes that he never got when I was reading the stories to him. (Like Three Little Monkeys Bake a Birthday Cake--he realized for the first time that the monkeys put in too much of many of the ingredients, which is why the cake overflows. And at the end, it says, "The five little monkeys think the cake is delicious." And his comment was, "Of course it was delicious. They put in too much sugar." Yes, my kids really like their sugar.)
When he was not quite 3, we made this video for my mom and dad's anniversary. He's telling some jokes and at the end he says something and we could never figure out what he was trying to say.
It sounds like "da me wion" And since "da me" means "give me" in Spanish, I was trying to figure out what "wion" was. A few months ago, he was watching the video (they love to watch videos of themselves) and I said to him, "Do you have any idea what you were trying to say?" And he said, "I was saying 'dandelion'". And it made sense because he was really interested in dandelions that summer and must have noticed them from our back porch. I just think that it's amazing that he remembered what he was saying over two years later.
Highlights in language development at our house lately ....
First, Mikey. He said, "Pa ... " the other day. It was pretty exciting because it was the first time we heard it associated with Ivan. (Ivan was holding him and I tried to take him to get him to bed, and he didn't want to, therefore "Pa." Mostly he grunts a lot. He doesn't say many words. He's started saying "yeah" lately in response to questions. "Do you want some more applesauce?" "Yeah." I haven't figured out if it's just the response to the inflection in our voices or if he really does mean "yeah".
And Mikey is starting to understand agency also. We taught him the word "give" several months ago. It was a great game. When ever we said, "give" he would hand over whatever he had. Sam especially had fun with this one, and I thought it was interesting because several times, I knew he didn't want to hand it over, but he would do it anyway. It was sort of automated. "Give" and he gave. Recently, he's figured out that when we say "give" he doesn't have to give it and instead tucks it closer and makes a squeaky whine that means no.
Eric just said his first sentences in Spanish. It was "Papi! Papi! Mami me da un yogurt!" (Mami gave me a yogurt!) This must have been pretty exciting because I ration the yogurts around here. (It's how they get their sugar fix.)
And Sam ... I am really excited because Sam is really reading now and I love reading, so it's fun to see him read. It's fun to watch him read and get some of the jokes that he never got when I was reading the stories to him. (Like Three Little Monkeys Bake a Birthday Cake--he realized for the first time that the monkeys put in too much of many of the ingredients, which is why the cake overflows. And at the end, it says, "The five little monkeys think the cake is delicious." And his comment was, "Of course it was delicious. They put in too much sugar." Yes, my kids really like their sugar.)
When he was not quite 3, we made this video for my mom and dad's anniversary. He's telling some jokes and at the end he says something and we could never figure out what he was trying to say.
It sounds like "da me wion" And since "da me" means "give me" in Spanish, I was trying to figure out what "wion" was. A few months ago, he was watching the video (they love to watch videos of themselves) and I said to him, "Do you have any idea what you were trying to say?" And he said, "I was saying 'dandelion'". And it made sense because he was really interested in dandelions that summer and must have noticed them from our back porch. I just think that it's amazing that he remembered what he was saying over two years later.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Happy Birthday, Mikey!
Yesterday was Mikey's first birthday. It's been a fun-filled year and we love having him in our family. He is pretty determined, but also pleasant and easy going. He's like most other one-year-olds--likes to explore, discover his independence. He loves being tackled by his brothers (honestly! he laughs when Eric steps on him), and dishes it back. He's learned to tease Eric by grabbing his trains and cars. He loves playing with pots and pans in the kitchen. Oh, and climbing stairs. He climbs up and down stairs when ever he escapes.
When Sam turned one, I had a big party and invited all sorts of people. When Eric turned one, we still had a party, but a much smaller one. This time, we kept it in the family. We had free passes to Jungle Java--think the largest McDonalds playland multiplied by 10, with fancier food for the adults. The kids had a great time.
Then we came home, had naps (well, the kids got to take naps), and got pizza and watched Mary Poppins, which is the kids' new favorite movie. As I was headed out to get the pizza, I thought "maybe we should have some cake" so Sam and I stopped at Josef's our own little European bakery, and the Red Velvet cupcake seemed the most appealing. Here he is, polishing off his cupcake. As a plus, it matched his shirt!
What's Under My Living Room Chair?
Sam loves to take the camera and take lots of pictures of random, every day things. Think of him like a 16th century Dutch painter. For some reason, there's a series that if titled, would be "Under the Living Room Chair". The next time I need a battery, I'll know where to look.
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