Innate cuteness

As I was changing Matthew's diaper last night, in the dark, his chubby, little legs flew up and he started grabbing at his feet. I smiled and of course, thought, "How cute!" Then I continued to think about how my little guy was just so cute (as all parents do, I would hope). Like how he used to just put his hands up by his head to sleep, he now grabs a little taggy blanket from Grandma Sue and pulls that up over his head to sleep. So when I check in on him, his head is covered with his taggy blanket and I just see his round nose peeking out the side. The other night, Matthew started crying and Jason said "He's on his stomach, you can tell as he can't keep a sustained cry." He was crying in short bursts, then catching his breath, perhaps turning his head from side to side, so I went to his room and rolled him over. Normally such frequent nocturnal interruptions would be resented, but from a 5 mo. old, they are cute. Now when Jason snores, that is another issue.

The word "cute" seems rather cliché, but sometimes I can't think of a more appropriate word to describe Matthew. Perhaps endearing? His innocent actions and sounds just beg to be liked and loved and appreciated. Isn't it endearing that he doesn't try to be cute but he just is? He doesn't try to make unique squeals or coos to make people laugh. He doesn't get haircuts or workout to look nice, he just is adorable, even when naked, and not a lot of people can say that.

Our neighbor Karl, came over the other day while we were playing outside and Matthew was on his stomach on a blanket. He pushed himself up as far as his arms would push him, then craned his neck around to see Karl, standing 6 feet above him. I don't know why that's particularly cute, but I just thought it was. God has blessed babies, Matthew included, with innate cuteness and it's amazing how such simple things can bring such joy to our lives.

A day in the life of a two-year old tyrant

Yesterday morning, Matthew was down for his morning nap, so Sam and I had some time to ourselves. I decided to get our dinner for the evening prepped as the evening hours are too hectic to actually prepare a meal. I was making Sesame Asian noodles and had to frequent the refrigerator for veggies, soy sauce, rice vinegar and other similar items. As I open the fridge, Sam swoops in and grabs the hot sauce and runs. "Bring that back!" I say, and receive a mischievous grin and he starts to run faster. After a brief run around the couch, I catch the little guy and replace the hot sauce. I have to retrieve another item from the fridge and this time, he swoops in and grabs two bottles of BBQ sauce and again runs. I am very confused by all this. Nearly daily, he manages to grab those three items and place them in various areas on our main level, or runs around with them while I try to catch him.

For lunch, I made pizza and Matthew was being an angel in the bumbo chair watching and chewing on one of his toys. I think he may be teething. I told Sam we were having pizza and he demanded "Apple Jacks!" Jason has introduced him to the wonderful world of kid's cereals. A few months ago, Jason told me that I could stop buying Coco Puffs, one of Jason's favorites. He was ready to move on to more grown-up cereals. But then a few weeks back there was a Kellogg's sale and I asked Jason what he wanted. He looked at the ad and said, "Frosted Flakes and Apple Jacks." So we had breakfast the other day and Sam had Raisin Bran, which I gave him, and Jason took out his flashy box of Frosted Flakes with the cartoon tiger. Of course, Sam started begging for that cereal instead. Silly Jason. To think that he could eat something different that what Sam was having and not have Sam want it too? You would think he was a new parent!

Back to the Apple Jacks request. It was denied, so the little tyrant ran over to the wine cabinet and starting touching the bottles (which is forbidden). Then he went to the loveseat, climbed up on it and started jumping (which is forbidden). He was removed from the situations and given a seat in the no no chair.

Fast forward to the evening. I was rocking Matthew before bed, around 6 PM and had closed his door so we could have some quality time together. I hear Sam running back and forth in the hallway outside, then I see the door handle jiggling. Oh no, he got it open. In runs the little tyrant, yelling and jumping. I whisper "Be quiet!" He starts playing with Matthew's crib music thing and can't quite reach it, so he climbs into Matthew crib, and starts jumping and running in little circles inside of it, then he belly flops in it and grabs Matthew's baboosh. I stand up from the rocking chair and with Matthew in one arm I yell, "Jason!!!" and grab the little tyrant out of the crib, whispering "no no!!!" I don't know why I whispered, as Matthew had already been startled out of his relaxed state by the little tyrant and being held on one side of my body while the squirmy tyrant was on the other side. Jason emerged and took the tyrant away and Matthew, the little angel, went right to sleep.

A potty dilemma

As Sam is scared of his poo we decided to take a break from the potty for awhile. How do I know Sam is scared of his poo? Well, he holds it for hours on end and would start crying when he started pooing and saw his poo. He was obviously uncomfortable from holding it so long and had become quite a toddler terror. I started calling him the tyrant, as his tantrums were frequent and insatiable. So we're taking a break from underwear and are back into diapers. However, Sam isn't apparently taking a break from it. Whenever he has to go, he says "Poopy! Poopy!" and asks immediately to go to the potty or have his diaper changed. Since we've been doing that routine for a day or so with his regular diapers, I decided to try the pull-ups as they're much easier to get on and off for the frequent trips to the potty, yet they're essentially a diaper and I hope will give him the freedom to poo in peace. So today we put on a pull up and I told him they can be pulled up and down when he needs to use the potty. He then proceeded to pee in the pull up, tell me it was "poopy" and pull it down, then run around the house half naked. Hmmm. So the potty training tinkering has resulted in a toddler unable to go peacefully in a diaper, who desires freedom, but really can't handle it yet. I am at a loss as to what to do next. Who knew potty training would be so hard?

Now for the pictures, the first one is the hat I knitted for Matthew. Jason liked it so much he asked me to knit him a sweater.

And we've all been enjoying the weather and the sandbox lately.

Doctor's visit

I forgot to write about Sam's 2 year appointment which was last week. The worst part of the exam, at least according to how much Sam cried, was when he was weighed and had his height measured. You would have thought he was getting his shots, he cried so much during that time. When the doctor came in to talk to me and look over the little guy, Sam was like an angel, he was intently and quietly watching cars drive by out the doctor's office window. During his blood draw, he didn't make a sound when his finger was poked, and watched closely  as the nurse filled up the little tubes with his blood. He's never really seen blood before, so apparently it didn't scare him, nor did it hurt. He had two shots, which elicited about 20 seconds of crying. I cradled him afterward and remembered that he is still so young. When he's running around, jumping, playing, etc. he seems so big, and his language is pretty advanced, but when he's crying and his face is beet red and he only wants to be rocked, I'm reminded that his is just 2 years old.

Here are Sam's 2 year stats:

Height: 35 inches, 75th percentile
Weight: 27 pounds, 25th percentile

So today both the kids went down for naps around 12:30 or so. And I found myself somewhat resenting the fact that the house was a mess (imagine the toddler drag-and-drop), there was laundry to do, dishes to put away and bathrooms to clean (Monday is bathroom cleaning day), so I couldn't shower, read, or knit. I seem to have gotten into the mindset that nap time is my "break." But then I remembered that most people don't get 1-2 hour breaks every afternoon (except for teachers and the union pothole fillers in Minneapolis...just kidding about the teachers, prep hour is NOT a break). After all, staying at home with the kids is my JOB. I'm not just a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom for those of you who don't peruse mommy forums and message boards), I'm also a homemaker. That sounds so 1950s, but it's true. So I put on my cleaning gloves and got to work. This realization is an epiphany for me. Anyway, I just had to divulge this (during my 15 min. break) and now, back to work.

Five accidents

Well, we've had five accidents this morning and four relate to spilled drinks, only one relates to a miss for the potty. Sam hardly spills his drinks anymore these days, but he's wearing a large sweatshirt today so I believe the sleeves are catching his drinks when they're too close to the edge of the table or counter. He usually causes spills because he tries to put things in his drink, like his cereal, or french fries, or whatever food item strikes him as interesting to put into his drink.

Regardless, it sure is nice to have to get out the mop for spilled drinks versus other spills. Although Sam hasn't had much in the way of potty spills lately, he also hasn't done much on the potty. He holds it for a long time. This morning he told me a few times he had to go, then we went and sat on the potty and he just couldn't produce. I guess it's normal for little ones to be unable to relax and not perform the appropriate bodily function at the right time. It's a learning process and we are still learning.

A traumatic bath (I'm being melodramatic)

Something traumatic happened during bath tonight. No one died or was seriously injured, although if you heard Sam's screams and cries you might think otherwise. Given recent topics of this blog you can probably imagine what I'm talking about. Sam was quickly extracted from the bath and put to bed and I retreated to the fabric store before cleaning up further.

What's Matthew up to?

There has been a drought of discussion about Matthew lately, so it's time to highlight the little one's recent achievements. Matthew is sleeping like a champ after a week and a half of his early bedtime. Who knew he would take to 6PM bedtime so well? And his napping is going fairly well too. However, he recently started rolling over in his crib. He's been rolling over (both ways) for over a month, but just yesterday figured out that he could roll over in his crib in addition to the floor. So we've woken to the terrified cries of "I'm on my stomach and I can't get back!!!" (he can roll back over, but he must forget in the moments of terror).

Jason suggested we try the wedge, a little foam wedge with bumper things on the side to hold the baby in one place, but I tried that a few nights ago and he wiggled to the top of the crib without a problem. In other words, the wedge may prevent side to side movement, but not top to bottom. Matthew has also recently gotten stuck by rotating himself perpendicular to the length of the crib so his head is stuck on one side of the crib and his feet/legs on the other. I've been placing him with his feet at one end of the crib because he frequently wiggles to the top of the crib and inevitable gets his head stuck in the corner which also elicits terrified cries. For not being able to crawl, this kid sure covers a lot of territory.

Birthday party!

Sam and Grandma Sue in the birthday sandbox

We celebrated Sam's birthday with our families on Sunday. He seemed excited about his birthday and all the festivities, but was a little unsure of everything, perhaps a little overwhelmed. When we unwrapped presents, he immediately commanded "open" when faced with trucks and other items wrapped in plastic and cardboard packaging. When he received a book, he took it over to our ottoman and flipped through it before returning to open another gift.

I broke down and bought him John Deere plates and napkins. I initially thought I wouldn't because I figured he wouldn't notice and it would be a complete waste of money, but they were on sale. When he awoke from his nap on Sunday and saw the plates on the counter, he got very excited and flipped through the stack of plates and has asked for the tractor napkins and plates at almost every meal since his party.

He received a birthday cake set (Melissa and Doug) from Ken and Cheri and has taken it out periodically these past two days and sang "Happy birthday to you" (he sings the first line over and over). He also received many trucks and various ones have gone on our outings with us or Sam has held while on the potty. I'm not sure what his favorites are as he seems to play with all of them frequently. Jason built him a sandbox and we've enjoyed early evening playtimes in the sandbox.

Sam in training

As far as potty training goes, it is still going. My favorite line from today, "Mommy, I'm dripping! I'm dripping!"

Potty training

We started on Thursday. Sam went right into underwear, no "pull-ups" which are really just expensive diapers. Here's the tally so far:

Day 1, Thursday: 5 hits, 10 misses (only 3 misses required cleaning up, the rest were contained by the underwear)

Day 2, Friday: 2 hits, 3 misses (Sam was in a diaper for the evening as we had a wedding to go to and didn't want Ken and Cheri, who were watching the kids, to have to deal with messes). Sam "held it" from 7AM until about 11:30AM. He was walking around with his legs tightly held together in typical "I have to pee" fashion, but refused to go until I loaded him up with Kool-aid. The kool-aid was supposed to be a treat for his birthday party on Sunday, but he was obstinately refusing milk and water (his normal drinks) in addition to refusing to potty.

Day 3, Saturday (so far...): 4 hits, 2 misses (both misses were contained by the underwear). We have  made a turn in our training. Sam has asked to go potty twice this morning. Previously, I would put him on the potty every 30 minutes or so and see if he had to go (we're still doing that), but he's actually told me ahead of time, then we go to the potty. Wow. And Sam pooed in the potty (which is also a big step), but he scared himself. When he saw what he had produced, he started crying. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

A big day

Today is a big day. Sam woke up with a dry diaper so I set him on the turtle potty and ah ha! He went! That's our first success. Then later this morning, he came over to me and started whimpering, "poop", so we went to the potty again and success! I'd say that's a pretty good start for 9:30 AM.

I've also been allowing Sam some say in choosing his clothes in the morning. Yesterday he chose to wear his "new jamas" and since he was only going to visit Papa and Grammy, I consented, and we went to their house in the new jamas with some jeans and t-shirt in a bag.  This morning, however, he picked out 4 shirts to put on. In the picture he has on his firetruck sweatshirt, tools long-sleeve t-shirt, moose sweatshirt and the shirt you see on top. He looked so silly with his arms sticking out so far because of the bulk of his attire.

The last picture is Sam's new hat. Last week I taught myself how to crochet and this week, knitting. So the hat is my first project. It was supposed to be Matthew's, but as you can see, it is pretty big and fits Sam perfectly.

Some photos

I realize there has been a drought in the posting of photos, so here are a few recent ones. This one is from last week when it was chilly (in the 50s) and I put on the hat Matthew received at the hospital before we spent some time outside.

Also, since Matthew has been on a new sleep schedule (to bed around 6PM, up around 7AM with a few wake-ups and 2-3 naps a day, usually around an hour or more each), he's become a new man. He is so chipper these days, coming up with all sorts of new sounds and his attention span for things like the jumperoo have increased by at least tenfold. Today Matthew was working on his new sounds and Sam commented, "Donald Duck, sounds like." And he kind of did sound like Donald Duck.

Lastly, yesterday I went off with Matthew to change his diaper and when I returned, this is what Sam was doing. Note that he's not supposed to have a baboosh during the day, nor is he supposed to be in Matthew's bouncy seat. He is reading one of his current favorites, Construction Countdown.

Visiting Papa and Grammy's

This morning I took Sam over to Ken and Cheri's for some time with them and Matthew stayed with me for the day. On the drive over to Ken and Cheri's Sam warned me of upcoming features as he's been on the drive many times. Some of his warnings included "Bulldozer, comin' up!" (near the road construction on 694 and 35W), "Dump trucks, comin' up!" (there have been many dump trucks driving by Ken and Cheri's from some other construction), "Deer comin' up" (one of Ken and Cheri's neighbor's has a lot of lawn statues, one of which is a deer) and "Grammy and Papas!!!!"

When we arrived I got Sam out of the van and we started walking to the house. Sam then turned around and said to me, "Mommy going." He then pushed me and pointed at the van, saying "Van!" Then he turned and went up to Ken and Cheri's door. I guess he likes playing at his grandparents, particularly when I'm not around.

Throwing rocks

Something really funny happened this morning, but Jason's exact words were, "That's not going on the blog" so I'm afraid I will have to write something else. Interested persons can direct their inquiries to Jason.

On our daily walk we go on a paved trail which goes alongside a marsh/pond. At one point, the trail cuts through the pond. Small rocks line the trail on both sides. Yesterday I decided to stop and let Sam throw rocks into the pond for the first time. We got out of the stroller and Matthew and I sat along the side of the trail. Sam walked to an area 10 feet from where we were sitting and picked up a handful of rocks. He then made his way back to us and started throwing the rocks into the pond, with giggles and excitement with every splash. He seemed to be throwing mostly with his left arm and holding the rocks in his right hand. When he'd run out of rocks, he'd make his way back over to the area 10 feet from us and repeat the pick up, walk back and throwing process. Why he didn't just bend down and pick up the rocks immediately beside us is a mystery. There were plenty of rocks around us and they were the same all along the trail. I didn't ask questions, but I'm sure Sam has his reasons. We played with the rocks for about 10 minutes, then made our way up a really big hill to the playground near our house.

Sunday School

Sam experienced his first children's message at church today. I went up to the front of the church with him and the pastor was talking about sheep and how God takes care of us like the shepherd takes care of sheep. He had a bunch of sheep toys that he passed around. It couldn't have been a better start for Sam's children's message career as, of course, he loves sheep. And Sam looked like a little angel compared to one other child who brought up some toy trains and was rolling them across the floor in front of the church. Although there aren't many children in church, I can usually count on one or two being more of a distraction than Sam.

We also started Sunday School. Sam is in a class with three two-year-olds (including Sam), one three-year-old and one four-year-old. I thought I'd stay with him today since it was something new and I think the teacher was glad I was there. The same child who was playing with trains earlier was getting into everything during class. Here's a short clip of the beginning of class:

Sam: (clinging to me with a death grip) Mommy? Mommy? (voice cracking, tears starting to fall)
Mommy: it's ok, I'll stay with you today.
Girl 1: X is getting into the crayons!
Teacher: In the beginning, God created all the animals. What animals do you see in the picture?
Girl 1: Fish!
Girl 2: Fish!
Sam: Butterfly!
Boy 1: (in the cabinet, getting out puzzle pieces)
Girl 1: X is getting into the puzzles!
Boy 2: zebras!
Girl 1: tiger!
Teacher: hmmm, I don't see a tiger, do you see that pretty hummingbird?
Girl 2: Hummingbird!
Mommy: (shifting around as Sam is sitting on my lap.)
Sam: Mommy? Mommy? (still clinging, not crying much anymore).

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't stay with Sam in a situation like that, but I knew it was not going to work otherwise. The teacher already had her hands full and wouldn't be able to keep up with Sam's crying when I leave, which in new situations usually lasts around 5-10 minutes. Since Sam's so young, he needed a lot of guidance to participate in the class activities, so I'm glad I was around. I think the teacher wants me to come back next week too.

Sam the Baby Monitor

I've mentioned before that Sam keeps us posted on Matthew's status regarding whether he is sleeping or awake. He's recently expanded his status updates. Yesterday it was, "Matthew crying!" Yes, he was crying. And "Matthew pooping." Yes, he was pooping. Sam's is almost as good as I am with telling Matthews BMs by his facial expressions and associated noises.

Also, about the early bedtimes last night. Matthew and Sam both slept until 7:30 this morning. Matthew woke 4 times, but that's still an improvement over how things had been going previously. I think the early bed time may be helpful for our reluctant napper, but I also hope he doesn't need to go to bed by 5:30 every night as that would put a damper our on evening family activities.

Sleeping issues

So Matthew has been having some problems at night lately. Although our going to bed routine is going ok, he's been waking every 2 hours most of the night, for most of the past few weeks. Last night he cried from 2-3:30AM. It wouldn't seem so difficult if he hadn't already been sleeping 6-8 uninterrupted hours for the two months prior, but that's all changed. On top of that, he's hardly napping during the day at times. Now it's time to get serious. I'm reading the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and it recommends putting the child to bed sometime between 6-8PM, whenever they show early signs of tiredness. I guess I thought that 6 was too early, but according to the author (who's a sleep researcher), it's not too early for little ones. Matthew began showing signs of tiredness around 5 tonight. So instead of waiting for the magical 6PM to roll around, we started his bedtime routine around 5:30ish and by 5:40 he was asleep. And he's still asleep. We'll see how it goes.

Sam started showing signs of tiredness around 7, which I thought was too early for him too. But it didn't take hardly any convincing to get him up the stairs for his bedtime routine and now, at 7:17PM on a Friday night, both kids are in bed sleeping. Amazing.

A new phase of toddlerhood

Lately I've been witnessing a few signs that Sam may be entering (or is completely in) a new phase of toddlerhood.

• Most requests and commands are met with ignorance (he just ignores us), resistance (if we make him do something, he squirms, screams, runs away), retaliation (he hits, throws, swings, etc.) or outright disobedience. 
• For example, after bath tonight, I knelt down and told Sam that Matthew was in bed and we needed to be quiet in the hallway. He then ran down the hall (naked, of course) squealing and shouting.
• Another example. Sam tried to run over Matthew with the digger (his little bulldozer-like riding toy). The digger is in timeout. 
• Yet another example: Sam smelled dirty this morning, so I asked him if he had a dirty diaper. He said "No, I'm fine." I told him that, no, I thought he needed a diaper change. So then he ran in circles around the kitchen and living room area. I finally caught him and he became the plank, then went boneless and otherwise squirmed, screamed and whined.
• Again, another example. Tonight before bath I thought I would have Sam sit on the toilet first before getting into the tub so we could avert another incident like I wrote about previously. He sat on the toiler for a minute or so, then he got into the tub and peed.

Brotherly love and potty time

Tonight Sam and I were sitting on the couch. I laid Matthew between us and he was watching Sam very closely. He seems to pay a lot of attention to what Sam is doing. So I told Sam to look at Matthew and play with him. Sam then stuck his toes in Matthew's mouth and started laughing as Matthew tried to suck on them. I told Sam, "No, talk to him." Then Sam leaned over about 1 inch from Matthew's face and said "Talk, talk, talk." Matthew was smiling and cooing, so he didn't seem offended by Sam's attempts at play and conversation.

Fast forward about 20 minutes. It was time for Sam's bath, so I ran the water and got him undressed. As Sam was climbing into the tub, he said "Potty." Uh oh. I was prepared for anything. He stood up for a few seconds, looking down at his private parts, then he started peeing. Thinking back, Sam has peed quite often upon stepping into the tub. So he knows he has to go, and apparently waits until he is in the tub and pees. Maybe its time for some serious potty training. If he can hold it for the bath, I think he can hold it until he's on the toilet.

Matthew update and Samisms

Matthew has almost fully recovered from his bug bites. There are only faint marks on his head as reminders of the ordeal, although I think he's having mosquito nightmares as he's woken up every two hours at night since then. However, his sleep training is going well. He barely puts up a fight and is generally super tired by 7PM due to his lack of napping during the day. He is a turbo-kid. I'm a little apprehensive for when he starts becoming mobile. I thought I had to run after Sam a lot, but if Matthew's energy level at 4 month is any indication, he will far surpass Sam in the make-mom-round-around category.

Now for some Samisms.

Sam: "Avonda vonda vonda at car wash": Jason's interpretation: Avonda vonda vonda is a woman Sam met at the car wash and Mommy doesn't approve.

Jason: "Sam, what's your favorite breakfast?"
Sam: "French fries"

Sam: "Jason? Daddy? Jason?"
(since Sam started calling Jason Jason, we have decided to only refer to one another as honey, sweetie, sweetheart, schnookums, etc.)

Sam: "Mommy? Honey?"
Mommy: laughing...

Mosquito bites

Last night a bunch of mosquitoes got into the house. Unfortunately, we didn't realize it until Jason woke up in the morning and found one of the doors open. Ugh. Our front door doesn't latch properly and it must have come open during last night's storms. Sam's bedroom door was closed, so I wasn't concerned about him getting a bunch of bug bites. Our bedroom door was mostly closed, although my wrist was itching last night and I was suspecting some uninvited insect guests. But poor Matthew, I leave his door wide open at night so I can hear him without using a monitor. So I was imagining a Matthew covered in bug bites, and sure enough, when I went in to get him in the morning, his little face had four bug bites on it. On the back of his head, there are at least four more. So little Matthew got eight bug bites overnight. He seems to be doing fine, but I feel so sorry for him when I see the little red marks covering his precious head.

CORRECTION: I did a closer count of Matthew's mosquito bites, as they're becoming more pronounced as the day goes on. He has 10 on his face and at least 10 on the rest of his head. Poor kid. He's been trying to itch the ones on his forehead so they're getting worse too. Still smiley, though.

Toddler Tragedies

As I've mentioned, Sam gets very excited about the little things like seeing the garbage truck or the UPS man. On the other hand, he also gets very upset about the little things. Today both kids were napping around 2 pm. I worked on the computer for awhile and around 4 I heard Sam crying the most tragic cry he can make. This could only mean one thing: separation from BaaBaa. Sure enough, when I walk into his room, I see that BaaBaa has fallen out of the crib and is out of Sam's reach. I pick BaaBaa up and hand him to Sam and Sam, in true toddler form, changes his demeanor in less than a second.

We then go downstairs. It is time for a snack and drink, so Sam starts whining/crying "Waaaaaaater!...Waaaaater!..." He had some water before his nap. We aren't running out of water anytime soon. We aren't in a desert. However, in true toddler form, Sam's need for water is immediate and it's tragic if it's not immediately met. I tell Sam to count to 10, then he will get some water. "8, 9, 10, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11!" I try to explain to him that he needs to use his regular voice and say "Water, please." He obliges with just a little whine in his voice. That's acceptable, so I get him some water.

I'm making pizza for supper (aka dinner if you're in the city), and start stretching the pizza dough on the counter. Sam takes his little stool that I got for him a few weeks ago so that he can wash his own hands, and pulls up beside me. He wants to help, but I don't have much for him to do at that point. In retaliation, he takes all his silverware out of the drawer. Hmmm. I'll let that one go. Time for sauce and toppings. Last time I made pizza I had Sam help put pepperoni on the pizza. However, he put more pepperoni in his mouth than on the pizza, so I don't really want his help time time around. "Peroni! Peroni! Cucumber! (He means peppers, but most green veggies are cucumbers these days.)" Apparently not helping with the pizza is also tragic. I tell Sam to go stand by the table, so I can put the pizza in the oven. He actually obliges, so I put the pizza in without event.

Sam then goes over and touches the oven door. "No touch!" I say. He touches it again. "No touch!" Same response. Time for the no-no chair. Sam turns into the plank as we walk to the no-no chair. Then he sits down and starts smiling. The no-no chair clearly isn't working, but I still need to think of another strategy.

Finally the pizza is done, we sit down to eat, and fortunately, there are no toddler tragedies during the meal.