Worth fighting for

Every time I issue a command or say "No", I should think about whether this is something worth fighting for. Because there will be a fight. There will be no swords or guns, just a war of the wills. Mine versus Sam's (fortunately Matthew is not at this point yet, he is in the charming "older baby" phase. Additionally, Matthew is the family CEO for the time being and Sam only thinks he is). The fight goes something like this. I issue a command such as "Get down" or just say "No." Now I'm not talking about unrealistic commands or expectations, but toddler-appropriate ones. Things that toddlers need to start learning to be productive in the world. After my command Sam either 1) disobeys and continues or 2) starts screaming and crying or 3) complies and life goes on. If he disobeys, I issue the command again or immediately remove him from the situation, which then results in screaming and crying. It's then a war of the wills to stick to it and not let the crying/screaming cause me to change my mind. I usually try to distract myself by doing something that needs to be done like putting away dishes and let Sam cry/scream without a direct audience. Matthew usually just stares.

So this afternoon I made popcorn for our snack. I have a rule, "snacks stay at the table or counter". Does that mean that Sam must be sitting at the table or counter? I haven't drawn that line in the sand. I require that the food stays at the table. So today Sam brought his bowl of popcorn over to the ottoman. I reminded him that snack stays at the table. He pulled out a few kernels of popcorn and sets them on the ottoman, then returned his bowl to the table. Hmmm...Smart move. My turn to countermove. I have not faced this issue before. What do I do? Sam returns and quickly consumes his popcorn. I do nothing. I remember times like this when I was teaching. I would face a totally novel situation, not know how to react and react poorly, then mull over my miss-move later. So Sam partially obeyed, but not quite. I guess I'm not sure he was trying to disobey, just being a toddler and not understanding that the command meant all the popcorn and the associated bowl. These dilemmas are a daily, maybe even hourly occurrence. I never knew parenting would require such endurance.

Is it worth fighting for? Is saying please and thank you worth fighting for? Is picking up toys worth fighting for? Is being quiet in church worth fighting for? Is not standing on the couch worth fighting for? Mostly the tactic of distraction works, but there are occasional crossroads that require a more parental posture. And they're becoming more common as Sam develops more of a mind of his own and also becomes more mobile and able to get into almost everything. Like 90% of our stuff is within his climbing ability. We are going through occasional skirmishes in the war, but I try to remember 1) it could be much worse and 2) I am raising children who will someday be adults and toddler behavior just isn't going to cut it for them in the real world.

And we have our victories. For example, the past three times we went to the grocery store I told Sam before we went in the store that he was to remain in the car cart at the store. I've read about this tactic (communicate expectations before entering the store), but wasn't sure that Sam was old enough to understand it. But the past three times he has remained in the cart. I really haven't had to warn him either. He just sits in the car cart, honking the horn and pointing out different kinds of foods. He hardly grabs anything. I point out some things and have him grab items that are at his level and he complies brilliantly. I can't believe it. It's like magic. During times when the war is less pleasant, I remember the small victories like the grocery store.

Thanksgiving road trip

This weekend we went down to IA to see the Reese family. Car trips are becoming more and more interesting these days. Matthew isn't much of a car sleeper, which is very different from Sam. Sam slept the entire way to IA and back until he was a little over a year old. Matthew, however, is good to sleep for maybe 45 minutes (even if we're driving during his nap time), then he's awake. Keeping a baby occupied while confined in a car seat poses some unique challenges of which we are still trying to figure out but we really didn't have much of a problem, as long as Matthew had plenty to eat.

Sam was well behaved on the trip down. He looked at his books and played some cars as best he could and otherwise enjoyed the view facing forward. Jason and I explained the state line to Sam and when we crossed into IA we told Sam that we were now in IA. Frantically, he said, "Where is it? Where is it?" I think he equates IA=the Reese farm. Then we saw a bunch of wind turbines which Sam called "stars" until Jason informed him that they were called "boondoggles." From then on, Sam pointed at them and said "Boondoggles! Boondoggles!"

On the ride home, Sam looked intently through his farm equipment catalog for the first 10 minutes. I mean intently. He would open to a page, then scan back and forth across the pictures of tractors, combines,skid loaders, fork lifts and other equipment. The catalog is one from Grandpa Don and Grandma Sue's and it has been looked at frequently. Sam took a liking to the catalog on our last visit in October and Grandma Sue said he could have the catalog. We forgot to pack it up with us, but Grandma sent it in the mail. Shortly after it arrived we looked at it all the time. I offered to read Sam some stories once during Matthew's nap and he instead wanted to look through the catalog. And we looked through it for 20 minutes. I was so tired and it wasn't the most stimulating for me, but Sam loved it.

Anyway, back to the car ride. The catalog kept Sam occupied until about Fertile (10 minutes into the trip). Then Sam asked for books. So I handed him his books one at a time, which he looked at each one for less than 10 seconds. 15 minutes into the return trip, Sam had exhausted his supply of reading material. I gave him the one toy we brought with, which was a backhoe digger. That occupied him for a short while too. Fortunately we passed bunch more boondoggles and Sam enjoyed watching them.

After 45 minutes we stopped for gas and snacks. Sam and I went into the convenience store which was a new experience for Sam. We went to the area with bags of cookies, crackers and other snacks. I decided to let Sam pick out his snack. He chose some Teddy grahams and took them off the shelf. He then saw the ritz sandwich crackers which he had at our playgroup last week, so he replaced the teddy grahams and grabbed the ritz. I then scanned the other side to see what I wanted for a snack. I did that for maybe 5 seconds and when I had made my selection (I went with a banana) we started walking to the checkout counter. I looked down and noticed that Sam now had goldfish crackers. I looked back to the snacks and Sam had replaced the ritz and apparently grabbed the goldfish.

We made it back to the van and were on the road. I had forgotten to bring a covered cup for Sam so we had to try to drink the chocolate milk we had purchased in the bottle it came in. That went well for maybe 5 minutes. I would hand Sam his bottle and he would take a drink and hand it back. Then he dumped half of it on his lap. Fortunately he was wearing athletic pants so he didn't get soaked. Most of it was absorbed by the car seat. Fortunately, the cover is machine washable.

Matthew slept for, of course, 45 minutes. Then he was awake but didn't make any fuss. Sam was perturbed for the last 20 minutes or so as he wanted to get to "Arden Hills". He would occasionally whine frantically, "Arden Hills! Arden Hills!" Then when we got about 2 minutes from our house, Sam said, "No! Grandpa Dons!" Apparently he wanted to return to the farm.

The cure for insomnia

Play hard. That seems to be Sam's prescription for good sleep. For example, this morning he was throwing a little rubber football around. It would maybe travel 5-7 feet, then he'd run after it and repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. Yesterday evening while we were at Ken and Cheri's after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, Sam was pushing a metal Tonka dump truck around the loveseat and couch. And he wasn't just pushing it, he was running and pushing it. And he went around and around and around and around and around. The adults were sitting or laying on the couch and loveseat in exhaustion and here was Sam going and going and going. When we returned home we had some leftovers then Jason and I were sitting on the couch and loveseat. Sam was climbing from the ottoman to the couch and/or loveseat using our legs as tightropes. He would squeal in delight when he reached his destination and roll around and/or kick his legs. And he did this over and over and over. A few nights ago Sam figured out he could use my legs as a slide. So he would sit on my lap, then slide down my legs as I was sitting on the couch. And he did this over and over and over. Additionally, Sam's pace in life seems to be "running". When we go from the van to buildings such as the Y or the grocery store, Sam runs. Fortunately, his running pace is close to my walking pace, so it's not too much of a problem. But he runs. That's just what he does.

And then he sleeps hard. Sam goes to bed around 7:30PM and usually wakes around 7AM or so. I've only had to go in to his room once in the past two months and that was two nights ago to give him some water because he was coughing hard. He really sleeps hard. I think it's a combination of being super tired from his super-activity level, but also he likes spending quality time with BaaBaa which only occurs in his crib. He naps every afternoon and you can usually bet on at least 2 hours of nap. Sometimes more, sometime less.

Sam's motto: play hard, sleep hard.

I am a minivan

Today Sam was reading one of his many truck/car books and he pointed out a pickup truck and said, "Daddy's truck! Daddy's truck!" Then he pointed at a minivan and said "Mommy's minivan!" I said, "Where?" as I wasn't aware that there was a minivan in his book. There was, and he clearly associated the minivan with me. I relayed this story to Jason when he returned from work and he said, "You are a minivan" over and over.

I am a minivan. When people see the black minivan driving down our street they think one of two things: 1) there goes Ally (if they know me) or 2) There goes the lady down the street in the new house (if they don't know me). Either way, I am identified with my minivan. There comes a point in life when you realize that you're getting older. It creeps upon you slowly and insidiously, but it's there, showing it's face occasionally in moments like the one I just described. Like when you realize that you're older than most pro sports athletes. Or older than most of the students walking around the U of MN (when I occasionally return). Or much older than the former students I used to teach.

I thought only middle-aged moms, my parents and in-laws and old people had minivans. (No offense is intended to any of those groups of minivan drivers). But I have one. My view of myself just doesn't jive with my view of minivan drivers. We've had the minivan for over a year now and somehow I have managed to disassociate myself from the reality that I drive a minivan. It simply is. I know I have a minivan and drive it almost exclusively, but I manage not to think about what that means about me. Maybe it just means that I have two kids and a minivan makes life with kids much easier. Plus it's comfortable on my back.

Increased mobility

Matthew is now putting together scooting, rolling and pushing himself backward (in an unsuccessful attempt to crawl forward) to move himself around maybe 4 feet or so. This results in him not being in the same place where I left him, he often moves out of my sight, gets into Sam's toys and sometimes gets stuck under the couch, as seen in the picture. I knew it would come to this eventually, but I am not mentally prepared for this change. When I'm getting ready in the bathroom I can no longer confine him to the bouncy seat, so I have him sit on the floor outside the bathroom as it's carpeted there, and he plays with a box of treasures. Matthew's Box of Treasures is a wicker basket filled with treasures like a gift bow, some balls, a highlighter, a metal candle container, a small empty paperboard box, a random toy car or bath toy, a ribbon and a large piece of felt. They are diverse materials designed to stimulate Matthew's senses. Actually, it's filled with basically what I found in the hallway when I was scrambling to find something to keep Matthew occupied while I got ready in the morning. They were items that Sam had dragged out of their places and left wherever he felt like leaving them.

Sam is becoming more mobile too. He has tried to scale the shelves in the pantry to get to snacks and other untouchables. I move them higher and higher, but he seems to find a way around my defense tactics. He also takes chairs, stools and other objects like boxes or the potty chair to wherever he pleases and uses them to boost himself higher. Almost no place in the kitchen is safe anymore. I have no where to put my cell phone which is out of his reach, but easily within mine. I put a few items in the cupboard above the fridge, but that isn't exactly an easy place to retrieve them from when needed. Every morning he takes the stool from the guest bath (which I sit on during bath time) and brings it into Jason and my bedroom and turns on the ceiling fan. Or he takes it into his bedroom and tries to get into his crib to retrieve BaaBaa. I make him return it, but it is seriously annoying.

PS Matthew is doing much better now. He still has a cold, but we had an uneventful night last night and day so far.

An early morning for Matthew

Matthew's had a little bit of a cold lately as we all have. He was a little snuffly when he went to bed and was hoarse and coughing when he woke up at 10:30. We got bundled up and spent some time outside which seemed to calm him down and he went back to sleep. At 12:30AM he woke up and was coughing very badly and having trouble breathing so we decided it was time for a trip to the ER. We've been down this road before with Sam and I didn't want another ride in an ambulance for little Matthew.

At the ER Matthew was immediately seen, much to the annoyance of the other people in the waiting room, although I overheard someone say something like since it was a baby skipping to the front of the "line" it was ok. Apparently the waits were rather long. Apparently, a number of people had slipped on the ice and fell. Matthew had croup and was barking and wheezing accordingly. Poor guy. He responded to some medicine pretty well, and fortunately didn't have a fever or other symptoms and by the time we went home at 4:30 he was almost back to his normal self. We were there for over 3 hours in the middle of the night and Matthew only slept 10 minutes. It's not that we were being examined all the time, he just looked around him and kept himself busy with his new environment. He slept this morning until 9 and is napping again now (10AM). Sam is now watching the wheels on the bus video and it might be a day of many videos for Sam. Hopefully we can all get some good naps in this afternoon.

It's Winter

We have snow here. Over the weekend we got maybe 8-10 inches of snow. It was 67 last Wednesday, and now it fully looks and feels like winter (though the temps aren't bad, in the 30s). This means we must find a new routine as going out for our daily walks probably won't occur anymore, nor will we be playing in the sandbox. Just when you think a new routine is figured out, something changes, like naps or the weather. Either way, it's out of my control.

Yesterday I bundled everyone up and we went out to play in the snow for a bit. Sam loved the snow, but he hated his mittens (which I had purchased at Target the night before). I just can't seem to get his thumb into the thumb holes. There must be a better way. And his snowpants from last year just are too small. They barely tuck into his boots and he got some snow into his boots while we played. So I will be making another trip to find new snowpants. Fortunately Matthew's snowsuit and hat fit him perfectly. Matthew was pulled/pushed around a lot in the baby sled which he seemed to enjoy. Sam would push and I would pull the rope attached to the sled or vice versa. The baby sled really works best in about 2 inches of snow, so we were limited to areas where the snow had mostly melted. And the handle/rope is about 2 feet long, so it really worked better to have Sam pull and me push. Either way, I was awkwardly bending over and my back was telling me my age (or adding a few extra years). After awhile Matthew and I sat on the front steps and Sam pushed around the empty sled.

It was pretty fun, except that it got dark so early, so we couldn't play outside too long. On nicer days this winter I think we will spend some time outside, but definitely not as much time as we did before, so we are again going to have to figure out a new routine. I think we will go to the Y more often as Sam seems to enjoy playing there and I get in a workout as well as a needed break from the sometime crazy life with two little Kirchhoff boys. 

Playtime

This morning we went to church for our Tuesday playgroup, which was great fun. Matthew again got a lot of attention from the girls and Sam enjoyed playing with the trucks, balls and other children who were there. The "playing together" aspect of the playgroup involved chasing around and screaming, much like get-togethers with Sam's cousins on my side of the family.When the kids weren't "playing together", they we taking each other's toys and screaming at one another because a toy was taken and mom's were trying to intervene in the toddler problem of selfishness.

Then we returned home and Sam played with his trucks and cars as he always does. He gets out every single vehicle he can find and puts them on the ottoman and makes up various events for the cars/trucks, or just lines them up in a long row. Matthew plays with whatever toys I put around him as he sits on the floor, or he hangs out on my hip while I engage in cleaning, making lunch, laundry or just putting stuff away. A few days ago I put the Digger/Dozer toy near Matthew and he loved it. If Sam is distracted enough by another toy he doesn't have a problem with Matthew playing with the Digger/Dozer, but if's often a problem for him.

After Sam played for awhile he decided to strip. He took off his pants, socks and diaper and then said he had to go potty. I got out the potty chair and he sat on it for a few minutes, but nothing happened. I then asked if he wanted a diaper and he said, "No, Lightening McQueen" which is a pair of underwear. So we put that on, then Matthew needed attention as his BM had produced the need for a complete clothing change. As I was cleaning up Matthew and changing his clothes and diaper, Sam came to me, naked, and was whining, "Diaper, diaper." Ok. I finished up with matthew and put a diaper on Sam. I then took Matthew into the kitchen and started lunch and Sam stripped again. I'm just not having any luck today in the diapering and potty department. Maybe the afternoon will be better.

No Cookie Monster

This morning Matthew woke a little after 6 and then Sam a little before 7. I got Sam out of bed and returned to Jason and my bedroom to check on Matthew whom I had been playing with before Sam awoke. Sam followed me into the bedroom, then he turned around and said, "I get BaaBaa, no Cookie Monster." Okay. I'm not sure where he got the "No cookie monster" from and what he meant by that, but anyways, it brought a puzzled smile to my face.

Matthew has been laughing a lot lately. After months of few laughs, he now laughs frequently throughout the day and will laugh at almost anything (including Sam's dramatic cries on occasion). He laughs to himself as he's playing and laughs in conversation with myself, Sam or anyone else. It's like he's listening in on our conversations and copying our laughing whenever we laugh. And then we laugh in return and he laughs again. We're quite a happy house these days. He's quite good at keeping himself entertained, playing with toys on his own, talking to himself and laughing to himself and I still believe he has the gifting to be a radio talk show host. I don't know how people can talk to themselves for 3 hours and not get bored, but Matthew is showing potential in that realm. The Little Scooter, (fortunately he is no longer the Reluctant Napper) is not scooting too much on his bottom, but is combining scooting and rolling to move about 2 feet these days. He's still trying to get himself on hands and knees, but is not advancing too quickly in the crawling form of locomotion.

Pumper truck and Sam's imagination

Today during lunch Sam created a small tower of his cup, his empty bowl which had contained pears and the cap for the milk jug. Then he took another glass, put a straw in it and came over to his tower claiming he was a "pumper truck" and proceeded to fill up his tower with imaginary milk.

Another example of Sam's imagination is that he like to put his animals on the toy John Deere tractor mower or his dump truck or train and let them do the driving. He also takes his cars on various trips during the day, mostly mimicking what we do throughout the day. There are no secrets anymore and Sam bares all to Jason through his playing. For example, Sam was playing with his cars and I asked him, "Where are your cars going?" Sam said, "Drive thru for caramel cooler." Or he also has said "Drive thru for french fries." Now, these are not frequent occurrences. I maybe get drive through coffee once every other week or so and our trips to McDonalds are about every other week or so too. But Sam remembers everything and as he greatly loves french fries and caramel coolers they must make an impact on him. So Jason has learned about our little vices through Sam's play. I guess I'm busted.

But Jason's busted too. I have a women's Bible study every other week that I attend and play volleyball once a week. So Jason and Sam have some quality time together when I'm out of the house on those evenings. Matthew is always asleep by the time I leave, so he doesn't get any quality time with his dad yet. So I told Sam that I was leaving for volleyball the other night and started getting on my coat and shoes. And Sam turns to Jason excitedly and says, "Red guys, blue guys?" (red guys, blue guys = Halo, a video game that Jason plays). So apparently that's how they spend their quality time together. Jason gives Sam a controller without batteries and Sam "plays" along while Jason actually plays the game. Sam doesn't really push any buttons (unless prompted), but he holds the controller and intently watches the TV screen.

On a different note, I think Matthew may be a thrill-seeker. I get the most giggles out of him when I gently, of course, throw him up and catch him. He giggles and giggles and giggles. Much more so than any of the other antics I try on him. We must look silly trying to get that kid to laugh. Anyway, Jason and I certainly are not thrill-seekers and I don't believe Sam is showing those inclinations, so I don't know who Matthew will ride on roller coasters with down the road.

The wheels on the bus

When I was in 8th or 9th grade my family went to Disney World. We went on the It's a Small World ride and the ride broke down. So we were stuck on the ride for a seemingly endless amount of time listening to It's a Small World. Fast-forward to present day. Now I'm not stuck on a ride or anything, I'm a prisoner in my own house and have to listen to the Wheels on the Bus over and over and over.

It all began when a friend of mine suggested getting this Wheels on the Bus DVD to pacify Sam while I was putting Matthew down for nap or bedtime. She said her two-year-old LOVED it. So I purchased the 3-DVD set of "Wheels on the Bus with Mango and Papaya" (Mango and Papaya are a monkey and toucan) and it came with a CD of all the songs in the DVDs. Now the music is not just your typical Wheels on the Bus, it is actually many different versions of the song as well as other songs about the bus getting gas or getting tuned up or about sharing and taking turns, things like that. One of the DVDs has the bus going "all through the town" and visiting a zoo, aquarium, farm and circus, therefore, there are many different animals riding the bus and making their animal noises like a monkeys, mice, dogs and cats.

We've watched the DVD maybe two times over the last month, but we listen to the CD every day. Multiple times a day. Over and over and over during Sam's waking hours. At first, I would turn on the CD player every time Sam would ask for the music, but I finally decided to show him how to do it on his own. Whether this was wise or not, I'm not sure. He's been interested in the CD player for a long time and has been trying to figure it out on his own which hasn't been working out so well (for example, he pushes some mysterious button which renders the player inoperable and only Jason can fix it or he turns up the music so loud that everyone, including myself, cry and shake because of the shocking loudness), so I guess now he's appropriately using it at least, but he's using it all the time. 

In the morning, we all go downstairs and Sam shouts, "Bus video!" (video = CD). He runs to the CD player, turns on the tuner, pushes "3" for the Bus CD and it starts playing. Sometimes Sam stands by the CD player and lines up the three Bus DVDs side by side and looks at that and otherwise stands fairly still listening to the music. It's unbelievable how he stands for such a long time just listening to the music. Other times, like tonight, he goes crazy. He runs, jumps, jumps, jumps, jumps, jumps, flails his arms around in his typical dancing manner, occasionally sings along and does motions associated with the song like waves his arms back and forth for the "wipers on the bus" or claps his hands for "doors on the bus open and shut". He listens to the first five songs or so, then returns to the player and presses "3" again to start the CD over again as he doesn't like some of the songs at the end. After his nap the same routine occurs. A few days ago, Sam came down from his nap and said, "Prager show off. Bus video on." I was getting my daily dose of talk radio and Sam clearly had had enough of my boring auditory stimulus and wanted his own. fortunately he can't reach my radio with my talk radio so I remained in the kitchen listening to talk radio while he fed his appetite for the Wheels on the Bus across the room. If Jason was home the TV would have been on too, so that would have been interesting.

For days now, those songs have been going through my head constantly. They're with me in the car, when I shower, when I wake and when I go to sleep at night. What's funny about the whole thing is that I too really like the songs. I highly recommend the CD to any parent as it's music that when your toddler falls in love with it, it's actually fun and not annoying. I really like it. I dance occasionally to the music throughout the day (only to entertain the children, of course) and it's rather uplifting when dealing with toddler mishaps (I'm calling them mishaps and avoiding the terribleness of some toddler incidents) and crying Matthew who is not adjusting well to the time change. I have heard horror stories from other parents who never wanted to hear or sing the Wheels on the Bus for the remainder of their lives, but I certainly do not fall into that category.

Daylight savings time

On Saturday night we went to bed knowing full well that "fall back" for daylight savings time would not mean an extra hour of sleep for us. For some reason babies and toddlers don't bother with changing their schedules according to the rest of the US (except for Arizona, am I missing any other states that don't change time?) and do basically what they want to.

We all went to bed at our normal times and Matthew woke Sunday morning at 6AM (new time), Sam woke at 7AM (new time). We were all up and had breakfast by 8AM (new time) and actually made it to church about 1 minute early instead of late, which is normal for us.. Matthew got an early nap in before church, but still managed to yawn his way through the church service. Sam still managed to be a pill and get taken out by Jason mid-way through the service. Some things haven't changed.

Sunday night, Matthew went to bed at 5:15 (new time) and Sam at 7:10 (new time) and Jason and I managed to get to 9:20 or so (new time). This whole time change thing is not a lot of fun. The kids still want to eat at the same time, and get up and go to bed at the same time. Matthew was so fussy yesterday afternoon and I couldn't figure out what was the problem. For the past few months, he's had an afternoon snack around 3PM. And yesterday, at 2PM he became very irritated. I couldn't figure out what his problem was until I realized that to Matthew, it was still 3PM, not 2PM.

Today went pretty well, though, and the kids are adjusting. Matthew woke up at 6:30, which is pretty normal for him and Sam woke up just before 7, which clearly indicates that he is on old time still as he's been sleeping in until around 8. Matthew managed to stay up until 5:45 and he wasn't really fussy. I don't know if I'll make it up until 10 tonight as my cold has taken a bite out of my energy lately.

Matthew's 6 months!

This week Matthew had his 6 month appointment and I took some "formal" pictures of him too. He is still a big boy, although his weight is no longer in the 90s. Here are his 6 mo. stats:

Weight: 19.5 lbs (80th percentile)
Height: 28.5 in (95+ percentile)

Sam's 6 mo. stats were:
Weight: 17.5 lbs (50th percentile)
Height: 28 in (95th percentile)

The two kids are fairly close in height although Matthew packs two more pounds onto his 28 inch frame.

Here are some of Matthew's pictures. I included two smiley ones and two quintessential Matthew pics. The last pic is Sam at 6 mo. so you can compare the two kids.

No more diapers

For Sam, at least. In fact, he doesn't want to wear much of anything below the waist these days. I was wondering when this stage would begin. The stripping-and-running-around-naked stage. It started a few days ago when Sam kept on taking off his pants. I thought they were maybe too big and long and so he was stepping on them and wanted to take them off. But the past two days, everything has been stripped off, even pants that clearly fit him. And the diaper. And his socks.He goes into the stairway, strips, then starts screaming.

I asked him this morning if he wanted to wear a diaper or underwear. He chose Mater underwear (Mater is from the Cars movie). So we put on Mater. Then we went downstairs and Mater quickly came off. Sam had an accident so I asked him if he wanted to wear a diaper. He shouted, "No diaper! No diaper!" and ran around screaming. He's been doing a lot of screaming these days.

Then later in the morning Sam said he had to pee, so I asked him if he wanted to pee in a cup. I don't remember if I've mentioned this or not, but we've made a habit of peeing into a cup at the beginning of bathtime to salvage the bath water. He said yes and I quickly found a disposable cup and we averted another accident. In the afternoon I asked Sam if he wanted to wear a diaper for his nap. He said yes. An hour later he was awake and I went into his room and he was naked from the waist down. His diaper was a little wad on his mattress. I've decided to take advantage of his desire for nakedness to work more on potty training, so I just let him go naked.

After awhile in the afternoon, I saw Sam eyeing the potty chair and slowly walking by it as if he was considering it. Then he bee-lined up the stairs, which is not unusual as he generally goes upstairs after his nap and attempts to get BaaBaa out of the crib. A few minutes later he came down the stairs and said, "Mommy, big one upstairs." Matthew was eating at the time, so we finished up then I went upstairs knowing what awaited me. There were two big ones next to Sam's crib. He was quite proud of his accomplishment, and we cleaned it up and flushed the evidence down the toilet. I told Sam to try using the potty next time and he nodded.

I still decided to let Sam go naked to see how he progressed in his potty training. Later in the evening when Jason returned home, Sam went over to his potty chair, grabbed the disposable cup and peed right into it, the flushed it down the toilet. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

A house full of sickies

Well, I just gargled some of Jason's whiskey as my throat is rather sore and nose rather runny and head rather foggy these days. I poured myself about 1/4 of a shot, got it to the back of my throat and gargled for maybe 10 seconds. As I spit the whiskey out, I couldn't get it over my lips without touching them so now they are numb. But so is my throat, so that's a positive. Ugh. Sam has been a nose-running fool these days too. And rather crabby. Whenever I tell him I need to wipe his nose he runs away from me and then proceeds to bury his nose in whatever happens to be near him at the time. Yesterday it was a blanket and Matthew's winter coat (bunting???) and today he got my jeans and the couch. Yuck. Matthew has just a little runny nose and runny eyes. He started showing symptoms today, whereas Sam started Saturday and Jason and I started feeling yucky Sunday. Maybe he's just a little behind the rest of us, but I hope he holds strong and doesn't get too sick as a sick baby is no fun for anyone.

We've finally entered the stage of toddlerhood where Sam runs away from my summons and yells, "No!" I was wondering when we were going to arrive at that point (as I've heard about it extensively from other mom friends) and hoping that we maybe wouldn't, but alas, here we are. I'm not sure what it is about nearly every request and summon that results in running and yelling, "No!" I think it's just a phase of toddlerhood that all must go through and reflect upon God's sense of humor in the whole deal. I've had to reach deep into my repertoire of manipulation, err, parenting skills to motivate Sam to acquiesce. Otherwise I just chase him and force compliance.

Matthew has started copying some behaviors and reaching out to be held. It is cute to see him grow in these ways as it's just neat to see him communicate in ways other than crying or smiling. I was clicking my tongue this morning to Matthew and he started bobbing his jaw up and down, mimicking my mouth. Then Matthew was playing on the floor (sitting) for awhile this evening and when I walked over to him he reached out his arms. I don't know why I get so surprised to see him gaining more and more control of his muscles, as it's how babies grow and development, but it's fun to see how he grows and changes everyday. It really seems like every few days or so he's gained or refined some skill.

Later today I showed Sam tongue-clicking and he was mesmerized too. He just stared at my mouth for like 15 seconds of clicking. Then he wanted to put his hands in my mouth to see how the tongue was working. That didn't happen.