I'm a Big Boy - NOW!

Shawn didn’t want diapers / pull-ups today! He made comments like, “I’m going to give all of my diapers to a baby!”  So, I quickly obliged and dressed him underwear…

all

day. 

He went through a few pairs of underwear, but only one pair of pants.  Today was by far the most successful potty training day we’ve had.  We even left the house to go to Open Gym at the Hoffman Estates Community Center and later to pick up a few groceries. (I made sure to bring along a spare set of clothes just in case – but we didn’t need it!) 
 

He still doesn’t like me reminding him or asking if he needs to go, but when he felt his underwear start to get wet, he’d run to the bathroom as fast as he could.  Next step – realize he needs to get to the bathroom before he gets wet at all.

This evening, Shawn pointed out, “I get to go to Pre-School now!”

[whimper]

Look Who's Growing Up!

In the past few weeks, we have had a lot of changes. I already wrote about how Shawn transitioned from a toddler bed to a full sized big boy bed. Since then, he has also dropped his nap in exchange for having a much, much earlier bedtime. It’s been wonderful - instead of going to bed at 11:30 pm, he's not going to bed closer to 8:30 pm! The whole family is happier with his more reasonable bedtime!


We also got to put on his new bed sheets with cars, trucks, and roads on them. They go really well with the mural on his walls!

Plus, Shawn has figured out how to put his own shoes on. He and Raj went to Meijer and got new Toy Story shoes with characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear on them. These new sneakers even flash when he walks. Sometimes I catch him stomping just to see them flicker! He is very excited about putting them on by himself. Thank goodness for Velcro!


Every once in a while, Shawn wants to wear underwear instead of diapers / pull-ups. Potty training is proving to be a very, very slow process. But, he's getting better at it.  He understands that babies wear diapers and big kids wear underwear, that kids in diapers don’t get to do as many fun things as big kids in underwear do (like preschool, the kids’ land at Ikea, etc.). He’s staying dry a lot longer in between changes is asking to wear underwear more often. Now, that it's not every day, but it's happening more often than it used to. Sure wish he was one of the ‘trained in a weekend’ types, but everyone reminds me that this isn’t something that can be rushed… sigh.


Shawn has even had his first activity without me involved! He and Abby went to a ‘Dora and Diego's Super Scavenger Hunt’ Spanish class at Language Stars. (The class description was, "Oh no! A group of baby animals is lost in the jungle, and they need help! Can you help Dora and Diego find them? Come join the super scavenger hunt to make a super rescue!") It was a Kids Only class for 3-5 year olds. (Technically, he didn't qualify for the class because he’s too young, but because he knows the center, the routines, many of the teachers, and has been attending classes for so long, the director invited him in anyway. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Abby was going to be there, too.)

When they arrived, the students each got a name tag and drawstring backpack. Inside the backpack was a pair of binoculars, a map, and vocabulary page to bring home.

 

They got to draw on their backpacks with crayons. I think their favorite part was wearing the binoculars as they searched the center for hidden animals. Very cute!

 

They had so much fun at this special Spring Break class that we've agreed to sign them up for the Kids Only class this summer. Another bonus about the summer class is that they take the children outside to a park - not to have recess outside, but to have an outdoor classroom. This allows the students to learn new vocabulary about the world around them and extend the lessons beyond the confines of the classroom. The Kids Only classes are also a longer time. They've been used to having classes last about an hour, while their new classes will be 85 minutes. Many exciting changes! However, I'm torn about moving them up to the next level because I'm certainly going to miss my Spanish lessons in the Parent and Tots classes… but I guess it's not reeeeeeeally my class. Shawn and Abby are doing very well and are ready to do some things on their and learn some independence. I'll just have to figure out another way to learn a few extra words here and there!


So we've had many changes in the last few weeks! It's been very exciting. Shawn is making it very obvious to me that he's not my little baby anymore.

…I’m not sure if I’m ready for that!

Happy Halloween!

Shawn's Eggs

Abby's Muffins

We started our Halloween morning with a little fun with our breakfast.

Since we don't have any scheduled activities today, we ran to Meijer to pick  up a few last minute things for our costumes.  Back at home, we played with play-dough and did a mini-art project  (thanks to Jennifer for forwarding the idea!).  I traced the kids’ feet and hands onto white paper, cut them out, and then decorated the upside down shapes as ghosts.  So easy!  Abby loved being traced, so we made a few sheets of ghosts for her.  (Bill’s birthday is on Friday, so we’ll make a birthday card for him using her ghosts.)  Shawn liked having his hands traced, but I think his feet were too ticklish to keep from wiggling while I was mid-trace.  I got a couple, but I’ll have to be creative when cutting them out to get the wiggled lines to resemble his feet!


I finished my costume last night.  With black pants, a gray sweatshirt, a bunch of scrap fabrics, and a glue gun, I’ve ‘built’ a building ablaze.  (I hate to admit that I burned myself more than once in the process!  …I guess that’s appropriate…)  I altered a red night shirt (also with a glue gun), added stripes with electrical tape,  and Raj added Chief Baron for our Fire Chief’s costume.  Shawn’s dog was store bought (from our Mothers & More Resale) and I’ve been working on his fire truck for the past few days.  It started as an apple box from Costco, but with the magic of paint, the glue gun, and some random materials, a fire truck has been manufactured.  I put some finishing touches on fire truck during naptime (the hose, drivers, lights, and siren).  DONE!

 

When Bill picked up Abby, I thought I had a little time to wake up Shawn, get him changed into his costume and truck, put my costume on, and then get Baron ready to go, but I didn’t have nearly as much time as I had hoped.  It seemed like only a few minutes later, Abby (Lady Bug), Bill, Viola (Olivia the Pig), and Heidi were at our front door ready to go.  I had my outfit on, but hadn’t done the flaming make-up or false lashes that I had planned.  I quickly tossed Shawn into his suit and then belted him into his truck and we left Chief Baron behind.  I almost forgot to grab Shawn’s Trick-or-Treat bucket as we rushed out the door!


Shawn loved being able to put on his fire truck, though I wasn’t sure he’d ‘wear’ it for long.  It didn’t make walking very easy, bumping into his legs with each step.  In fact, as we were rushing out the door to join the gang for Trick-or-Treating, Shawn took a massive tumble over the step at our front door.  I think the fire truck got caught up on either the step or the door frame, which threw off Shawn’s center of gravity, tipping him forward, over (and off) the front stoop, into the void where there should be bushes (luckily, there aren’t any right now!) where he landed on top of the fire truck completely shocked, disoriented, and scared by the mid-flight somersault he had just made.  Though the fire truck caused the accident, I think wearing the cardboard box actually prevented Shawn from getting hurt at all!  Thank goodness!  But, what a way to start the adventure of Trick-or-Treating !  It can only get better from here…

And, it did.  I was able to adjust the length of the arm straps to lift the box out of the way of his legs a little, but then Shawn said they were too tight.  So, we just walked slowly and I helped him up and down the front steps at the houses we visited.  Surprisingly, Shawn wore the fire truck the whole time we were out with Abby and Viola.  He even insisted on holding onto the fire hose, rather than tucking it into his arm straps, and preferred that I carry his treats bag.  (So, just to get this straight, you want to carry a pretend hose, while I carry candy?  OOOOOOKAAAY!)  We stopped at a handful of houses of people that Bill knew, but then Abby and Viola were ready to go home.  Shawn and I decided to go back out and visit some more houses.


As we past a group of other trick-or-treaters, one little boy stopped us and, with total exuberance, asked, "Did you make that?!" pointing to Shawn's costume.  Needless to say, he was in an entirely store-bought, plastic, one-of-a-million-just-like-it costume.  In fact, I hate to admit it, but I don't even remember what it was!  Maybe seeing us will inspire him (or his parents) to be a little more creative next year... maybe...  I can hope...


We tried finding our dog park friend, Ms. Katie, who would have really appreciated Shawn’s Dalmatian costume, but I only had a vague idea of which building she lived in within the neighboring townhome association.  It was really difficult to tell which residents were welcoming Trick-or-Treaters in her neighborhood, since some buildings had communal front doors.  Though we didn’t find Ms. Katie, we did stop at a plenty of other houses before heading home (well past dark).


I wasn't overly surprised, but still a little disappointed, that I only saw one other parent dressed up (a very elaborate witch) with the kids.  It's a fun excuse to do something silly with your child and there are only so many years that they'll let you get away with it before they're too old to tolerate having that kind of fun with Mom and/or Dad!  I say take advantage of the time while we have it!


Shawn did great and I had fun going out with him in costume, too.  He managed to find a just-loud-enough voice to say some combination of “Trick or Treat!” “Happy Halloween!” and “Thank You!” at each house.  He wore his fire truck a lot longer than I had ever anticipated and even when he was tired of wearing it, he still held on to the hose! The fire truck’s lights and siren were fading just about the same time that Shawn and I were.   It was time to go home.


Raj had been home for a short time handing out candy and his customary (and now requested!) toothbrushes.  He dressed as a crazed dentist… hmmm…


After Shawn changed out of his Dalmatian suit and into little boy pajamas, he continued to play with the fire truck and hose.  He was frustrated that the lights and siren wouldn’t work anymore, but at least the hose still stretched!

He and Raj greeted the last of the trick-or-treaters while I made dinner.  Our menu for the evening consisted of crocodiles’ eyes, lizards’ skins, owls’ tongues, rats’ hearts, frogs’ toes, and vampires’ teeth stirred in a cauldron of orange monster blood and topped with spiders and webs.  And, we nibbled on witches’ hats and severed fingers.

 

 In other words, we had carrot, cashew, and ginger soup (orange monster blood), to which I added meat stuffed tortellini (crocodiles’ eyes), diced onions (lizards’ skin), corn (owls’ tongues), diced red peppers (rats’ hearts), diced green peppers (frogs’ toes), and pine nuts (vampires’ teeth). Then, I garnished it with swirls of plain yogurt (webs) and cheese cut-outs (spiders). On the side, we had baby corn (severed witches’ fingers) and garlic dusted crescent rolls (witches’ hats). (Raj helped me come up with a couple of the Halloween-y names for the ingredients.) We had fun eating the ghoulish concoction and Shawn has now renamed baby corn as "witches’ fingers"!


We put the fire truck in the basement, since it’s still being played with, but I don’t want it to be run into the ground!  Raj thinks we might be able to use it for something next year, but I have a feeling Shawn will be ready for something different a year from now.  (It was a relief to see it last longer than a walk around the block.  Still, I kind of wish we could’ve used it at the Gymboree Pumpkin Patch Party, the Mothers & More Fall Family Party, or the wear-your-costume-but-no-accessories-please Language Stars class next week.  Oh, well.  It served its purpose.  I’ll totally admit I had fun making it, and I’m just glad it was worth all the effort and time!)


However, now that the festivities are over, I’m ready for another weekend!

Shawn and Abby were very playful at breakfast this morning.  They both made their fair share of silly faces for the camera.  I can’t say that a whole lot of eating was accomplished though!

We went to Music II and Family Gym at Gymboree today.  In Music, there’s an activity we call the “Ba-Bas” where the Miss Elizabeth leads us in an echoing exercise of simple vocal rhythms (a.k.a. Ba-ba!).  The kids’ favorite part is that she uses a play microphone to show whose turn it is to say the rhythm.  She starts us and the parents echo in unison a few times.  Then we go around the circle.  She starts, the parent echoes, she repeats, and then points the microphone at the child… who may or may not repeat the rhythm.  No matter what the child does (says, “Ba-ba,” points at the microphone, smiles, leans forward, hides his face, whatever…) Miss Elizabeth is always beaming with praise for the effort made.  Anyway, Abby shows no shyness when it comes to “Ba-Bas.”  She waits for her turn, but then confidently chimes in “Ba-ba,” right on cue - and pretty well in rhythm with Miss Elizabeth’s lead!  Shawn isn’t quite as interested in performing for others.  He follows along and he waits for his turn (sometimes he’ll even whisper “Ba-ba” while we’re waiting!), but when it comes to saying “Ba-ba” into the microphone, he clams up.  Sometimes he’ll smile as he hides his face in my arm, but he just doesn’t seem to like being the center of attention.  I don’t think it’s the toy microphone that bothers him because Diego uses one in Spanish class and Shawn loves playing with it.  It took him a while before he’d speak in Spanish class, so maybe he’s just not ready yet.  Regardless, both kids did a great job listening and following directions throughout class – whether they were vocal or not!

In Family Gym, it was the second week of the transportation theme.  This time we were using the different modes of transportation (train, plane, car, boat…) to go on a trip to Gymbo’s house.  We had to pack a bag (of scarves) and then we did an activity on the equipment that represented the different vehicles we had to take to make the journey.  We also played a game of Red Light, Green Light while the kids “drove” mini-hulahoops as cars.  Shawn and Abby liked that game, though I had to help them stop for the red lights!  On the way home, we practiced saying, “Red light means STOP!  Green light means GO!” whenever we came to a stoplight.  I have to agree with the kids, green lights are much more fun!

When we got home, they kids know to take off their shoes and coats and to put them away in their baskets.  They’ve gotten pretty good at knowing the routine, but with all of the cold weather gear on, it can be a little tricky to get it all off on their own.  Abby’s showing that she wants to try to do it, even if she needs a little help sometimes.  Once we get their shoes, hat, gloves, and coat off though, they’re both pretty quick about tossing them into their baskets so they can go play.  I love watching them become independent.  They look so proud when they finish their “jobs”!

To Laundry or Travel? THAT is the Question!

Abby and Shawn started their day together in pajamas, but shortly after breakfast, they were both dressed and ready to play hard!  Though it was snowing outside, it was a bit too chilly for sledding or other winter toddler sports.  Maybe later in the week we’ll go for it again.

I had set a laundry basket by the basement stairs as a reminder to myself to continue a few loads of wash that I had brought down earlier.  Instead, the two opportunists had other things in mind.  After pushing it around the hallway, living room, and dining room, they finally parked it by the kitchen doorway.  I’m not sure if the basket was turned into a car, a boat, a train, or ??? But, they both called out, “Bye-BYYYYYYYEEEEEEE!” as they waved enthusiastically from inside.  I’m fully aware of the fact that this isn’t really possible, but at one point it sure sounded like Shawn even announced, “We’re going to Hawaii!”  as he grinned from ear to ear.  (Notice that Abby even has plastic postcards/envelopes in her hands!)

Bon Voyage!  Don’t forget to write home!

After traveling around the world, or at least around the main floor of our house, the kids were ready for lunch.  The patience to sit through the meal didn’t last very long – there was too much to do than to sit at a table!  So, we jumped into our winter gear and climbed into my car.  We’re off to Gymboree for Open Gym.

Shawn, as usual, loved the rocking horse style ride-upons and climbing onto anything that he could manage.  He even tested his own limits by cautiously walking up a small set of stairs without holding on – to anything!  He was so proud of himself when he made it to the top that he continued to go down the other side no-handed.  What happened to my little boy??

Abby joined Shawn on a two-rider rocking horse for a few gallops, though they didn’t always agree if the horse should be rocking back or forth and had a few near head bonks.  Abby was much more interested in ducking into tunnels and surprising me on the other side.  She also found a few slides that she made sure to polish a few dozen times.

Miss Elizabeth made sure to point out how well the two play together.  (Always a nice thing to hear!)  As Open Gym time was coming to an end, we were running out of steam and in need of some naptime.  Though we made sure to get Gymbo stamps on both hands for both kids before we left, getting back into our coats and things seemed much more challenging as we tried to leave Gymboree.  Our walk to the car was also much more slushy, since the snow was now very wet and mixed with sleet.  Yuck.  Shortly after pulling out of the parking lot, I was serenaded by a duet of snoring babes coming from the back seat.

Somehow, I managed to get both of them into the house without completely waking them up.  Abby woozily opened her eyes as I was unbuckling her, but when I put her into the pack & play, she went right back to sleep.  I was able to get Shawn out of the car and into his room before he woke up, but after a few paces in the rocking chair, he was back to sleep as well.

While they slept, I decided to make cookies.  It just seemed like the thing to do on a cold and snowy day like today… don’t ask me why…  The result was a mix between chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and banana bread.  I made sure to set a bag aside for Abby to take home with her.  As I was taking the last of the cookies out of the oven, Bill called to see if Abby was napping or ready to come home.  After apparently having an event filled weekend, she needed her sleep, so I promised to call him back when she woke.  Luckily, Shawn woke up just a few minutes after Abby did, so he was able to say goodbye.

I had planned to go to Costco today, but the icy weather had a way of reprioritizing another trip outside.  Instead, Shawn and I played with his trains (‘Choo-Choo Train Tommy Woo-Woo,’ aka Thomas the Train)and school bus (‘shoo-bah’) while was dinner was cooking.  Mondays are generally later work nights for Raj, so Shawn started dinner on his own and kept me company as I made a bread to go with dinner.  He had an intermission from his meal when Raj got home and we all sat down in the dining room together.  I didn’t think Shawn would eat much more, but it was as if he hadn’t eaten anything earlier.  He polished off his plate of beef and veggie stew with noodles, a bowl full of pineapple (which he’s able to say pretty clearly now!), and then shared a cookie (‘tootee’) and some ice cream (‘eyesteem’) with me!  Fill up that belly and sleep well tonight – please!

After dinner, it was time to get ready for bed.  Where did the evening go??  Shawn’s starting to participate more actively when I’m getting him dressed and undressed.  He hasn’t had a lot of practice with zippers, snaps, or buttons yet, but he’s starting to realize that he can play a role in getting changed too.  He’s been able to bring his arms in and out of sleeves for months, but now he’s starting to do more.  If I start lifting his shirt over his head and let go, he’ll try to get it off the rest of the way.  He’ll also try to get his legs into his pants.  Socks are still a little tricky for him, though he knows very well where they go.

Shawn’s also getting really good at brushing his teeth now.  Rather than simply biting on the bristles, he’s actually starting to move the brush around a little on his own.  We still do a once-over ourselves, but even that is becoming easier.  Shawn’s much more willing to hold his mouth open and doesn’t push the brush out of his mouth with his tongue anymore.  Then he runs out of the bathroom to say (with a little coaching), “Night-night, Dadda!  Ah vah ooo, Dadda!” or “Night-night, Dadda!  I love you, Dadda!”  Then, it’s off to his room where he picks a book to read from his shelves, not always the same ones surprisingly!  We cuddle in the rocking chair for a story, or sometimes two.  (This is one of my favorite times of the whole day.)  Even I can get in a chapter or two in my own book as he drifts off.  The tough part is not falling asleep in the rocking chair myself!