Tubes Back In

Thomas did great! Both tubes were replaced...the right one was just coming out so he was able to use the same hole as last time. The left one was completely out so he had to suction out the fluid that had accumulated behind his eardrum and make a new hole for the tube.

And so we begin again :)

He was completely hilarious waking up from anesthesia and had the recovery nurses cracking up. He told us "Good morning," when we got to the room and sat right up for some apple juice. They had warned us that he would be wobbly, and it was funny to watch. He held his cup crooked and we had to help him. Then he was drinking without hands - just holding the sippy cup in his mouth and tilting his head back. I almost took a sip of his juice to make sure that's all it was. On our way out he wanted to walk, so he led us, wobbly, crooked, strutting and carrying his juice. They were all in hysterics then! We decided that carrying him the rest of the way would be best.

Better Day

A much better day....up a few times last night, but today has been good. He actually napped again, and his appetite is better. He is back to directing us what to do and has very little interest in cuddling with me on the couch. Good news for feeling better, too bad for me that he's not snuggled up!

Right now he has trucks and trains scattered from the living room to his bedroom. He goes back and forth between the rooms at random times. Sometimes he narrates for them to us, sometimes a rogue truck will coming careening through the room. You never know.....

Feeling Yucky

Poor little boy.....he is a little under the weather today. He started the day with a horrible nightmare about tigers and cheetahs and lions trying to get him. He was so scared he didn't even get out of bed - just screamed and cried. Tom got him calmed down and back to bed, but it only lasted a few minutes before he was screaming and crying again. He came to bed with us, but as we all know there was no more sleep.

He wasn't very hungry but ate breakfast eventually. About an hour later he threw it up all over the living room. He actually napped during nap time and just can't really eat today. Mostly he wants to lay around, periodically asking, "Mommy, can we just cuddle together?"

Okay, so even if he's feeling bad, I'll take it!

Where are the elves?

Wish we had video of him walking toward Santa. Elbows and shoulders pumping in the very determined march that we've all seen, he didn't even hesitate to climb right up there ...

and rattled off the list: HotWheels Track, a drum, big dinosaurs, and a Dinosaur Train book.

Parents standing and listening: check, check, check, and check. Whew!

While waiting to see "The Man", he got to decorate, and eat, a cookie.

And after, make his own necklace!

All the while, he kept asking where the elves where. We told him they were back at the workshop. "Is the workshop here? Where is the workshop?" At the North Pole. "Can we go there now?" It is very far away, we'll show you on your globe tomorrow. "That's where the elves are?"

This Past Weekend

Mommy: "That was pretty good."
Thomas: "Yeah, it's because I'm the smartest boy."
Mommy: "Who told you that?"
Thomas: "Daddy."

Hmmmmmm.....no problem with self-esteem here.

You never know

Two things:

At dinner the other night Thomas said, "I don't like your nose." At least that's what I thought I heard. When I asked "what?", he said, "You know, no no no no no. I don't like your nos." Nice.

We saw the ENT today. Both tubes are coming out. Sigh. They are being replaced on December 27. Boo!

I Love This Christmas Tree

Every morning when we plug it in.

Christmas is very cool with a little kid who is really excited about it!

Thanksgiving pics

Some highlights for the boy!

Thanksgiving and pictures

Lovely Thanksgiving and great time in Sarasota. I'm glad to be out of the car :)

Also, we got some proofs from our "photo session"....here are some highlights

And There's More

Thomas was giving me a bit of a hard time about eating breakfast this morning. There had been a few other instances of him not following directions so I got on to him about how I needed him to follow directions.

Here is the end of the exchange.

Me (with a stern face and tone of voice): "I need you to follow directions. You are not making good choices this morning and that must change. When I tell you to do something, you are not allowed to whine or tell me no." Blah blah blah.

Thomas: "I don't love it when you do that."

Me: "When I do what?"

Thomas: "Talk and talk and talk and talk."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!

Leah, you and Earl are right - skipping right to the teenage years.

He Said What?

Thomas: If I keep following all the sleep rules, I can have Bob the Builder again.

Tom: Well, that's not why you aren't watching Bob the Builder. Mommy and Daddy don't really like that show.

Thomas: Well, I do. That means you don't have to watch it.

Always Surprising Us

Yesterday at a 4-way stop:

Thomas: S-T-O-P. That spells stop.
Me: "What?"
Thomas: S-T-O-P. That spells stop.

Genius.

Of course, the punchline is that we were on the way to the pediatrician where he was diagnosed with yet another ear infection.

As soon as we are finished with this round of antibiotics we are headed back to the ENT where they will schedule us to have his tube put back in.

Today he is feeling much better. He wants to watch Finding Nemo....which he keeps calling Minnow.

Still a genius though!

Thomas' School Picture

How cute is this?

Whatchu Talkin' Bout Willis?

It warms my heart that my child (who has no idea what a cool show that was) looked at me during lunch today and said, "Whatchu Talkin' Bout Willis?"

Awesome!

"Hair Growing People"

Progress! The perfect gift for a growing 3 yr old boy. Grandmommy sent these - Gammie watered them and got them started, mommy keeps watering them, and Thomas and Daddy keep checking the progress. "What should we call them?" asked Daddy. "How 'bout Hair Growing People", said Thomas.

And That's a Fact

This is his ending after many of his longer stories.......

It never fails to crack us up!

Halloweekend! Trick-or-treating!

Dinner with friends, then hittin' the street 'til he was beat!

Halloweekend! Saturday in the park!

Great costume, neighborhood parade around and into the park.

Stats from the 3 year check up

37.5 inches tall, 32.6 lbs.

Great report, pediatrician said the sleep/won't stay in bed thing will pass (one day) and the nurse gave him 2 shots - one was a catch up shot due to a shortage when he was a baby and one was a new recommended shot from the CDC. He was less than thrilled with that part of the exam :)

Happy Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday Thomas! What a wonderful little person you are!

Feeling Better

A few doses of antibiotics and we have a different kid! Thomas is feeling much better - he had a great day at school yesterday and went to the Farmer's Market with Christina today. He is sleeping much better at night (picture my happy dance here) and generally seems on the road to recovery. Whew.

Ears

One of Thomas' tubes is coming out early - the ENT said about 6 months too early. But, what are you going to do? Wait and see. If he gets 2 ear infections then we will need to have it put back in. Because the tube is closed he has to take antibiotics instead of the drops. YUCK.

He's had a cold for several weeks now - coming and going. But, we got a clear ear check last week at the ENT.

Yesterday his eyes were red. This morning they weren't better. So, off to the pediatrician. Yep - bacterial pinkeye from the cold and.....wait for it.......an ear infection in the ear where the tube is coming out. So, 10 days of antibiotics. The medicine is a little like bubble gum flavored chalk. Thomas had to be physically held down to get the first dose in him tonight. Chocolate ice cream helped convince him the second dose might be easier to take :)

I really wanted fall and winter to get here, but now I'm not so sure!

Wishful thinking

Bed time was a dream.

Then...he got up at 9:45pm, 9:50pm, 12:45am, 5:40am, 6:00am.

Babies sleep better than this. I used to.

Right now he's playing the xylophone.

I guess he's got the music in him!

Quiet Time

Bed time became a war zone this week. So for now, no more nap. Instead, one hour of quiet time in his bed with lots of books. Today he wanted his sound machine on too. Whatever :)

Today is the 3rd day of this. Last night was the first time in weeks that he didn't get out of bed at bedtime. Of course, he then proceeded to get up 4 times in the middle of the night.

Sigh.

Maybe tonight will be better!

Busy!

We've had a fun weekend enjoying this beautiful weather! Thomas has enjoyed getting lots of attention and had a great Friday with Christina. He is giving us a bit of a hard time about bed, but only because he is hopeful that the rules don't still apply. He's slowly figuring out that we miss him during the day, but bedtime means bedtime regardless.

Now, if I could convince him that the weekends mean sleep late, then we'd be set :) On Saturday, Tom set him up to play in his room and we went back to sleep for another hour. Bliss!

Transitions

.....not very easy when I've been home for 3 years. For him or for me.


Sigh.

Shadows and Monsters

Poor scared Thomas. Again, 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning - running through the house to us crying and whimpering. The shadows, the shadows, the shadows.

At 4:00 (keep in mind this is AM!), I thought, okay, light makes shadows, we put the nightlight back in because he was afraid of the dark. Now, he's afraid of the shadows instead. Nightlight unplugged, problem solved.

And it worked. And we all went back to sleep.

This morning we asked if the shadows were gone. "Yes, Thank you Mommy."

It's a good day to be brilliant.

Deep Breath

The nanny started today. I go back to work on Friday.

Deep breaths.

It will all be fine.

Thomas stayed in bed at bedtime last night. But then had nightmares about lions eating his hand and shadows trying to get him so he was up and down a few times from 4-5.

That oughta help my concentration. LOL!

Deep breaths.

It will all be fine.

A Nanny

Her name is Christina. She just finished a job nannying 3 year old twins, so we think she is a good match. Her last employer really liked her and gave her a glowing recommendation. She starts Monday and will be with me part time for the first part of the week. Then.....I'm back to work on Friday.

In other news, the little one will not stay in his bed still. Today we took away his trains and train tracks after a disastrous nap and let him know when he could stay in bed he could have them back. We also made him stay in his room and not have any toys for a long time. For the first 15 minutes or so he screamed (and yes, he screamed), "Those trains are MINE. They are MINE."

Hmmmm......could this be about control?

He has no idea who he is dealing with.

:)

Jack in the Box

If I could swaddle that boy and put him in a crib I would! He's decided that staying in bed is overrated. Up and down, up and down, up and down. We have been pretty strict about how we handle it to make sure he's not getting any attention - doesn't really matter to him.

Today at nap I put him down at 1:30 as normal. After up and down and up and down and temper tantrums and more temper tantrums he finally went to sleep at 2:45. Really? 2:45? That's ridiculous. I was grading papers during all of this mayhem- there's no telling what my students' feedback actually says - hahahahaha

Well, he's persistent- an admirable trait I'm sure. When he's running for office, or explaining his ruling on the Supreme Court. Because no matter what, he's still a genius.

In other news - we've interviewed more nanny candidates and have two we really like. We hopefully will know something mid week.

Big Changes

Thomas is fast approaching 3 years old. It's hard to believe! He's so grown up in so many ways...and such a little one in so many others.

We made a hard decision. I am returning to work full time outside of the home. It's been wonderful being at home with him these last few years, but contract work from home just isn't cutting it - financially or emotionally. So, it's back to work I go.

I will be joining a college prep independent school here in town. I will be a Middle School Counselor and Upper School Academic Coach. It's a very similar job to what I did before with a very different population of children. It's a new job for them - and so an exciting opportunity for me to help create this role. At the same time, I admit that I re-enter the "outside the house" workforce with some anxiety about leaving my little one. I think he will transition to it more easily than me!

For this school year we will leave Thomas in his current preschool. My new job has agreed to a flexible schedule for me so I can take him to school Tues, Wed and Thurs. We are interviewing nannies right now to be with Thomas the rest of the time.

Wish us luck!

First Week at School

...and he's thrilled to be back!

On the first day his teacher said, "He's so personable and he's so happy here."

What a difference from this time last year where I had to peel the crying child off my leg. This time there were no tears and much happiness. Just this week, he has made applesauce, baked bread, painted with watercolors and he ate a whole bowl of brown rice (yes, his school considers brown rice a snack).

A happy time indeed.

The Cat in The Hat!

PBS has a new show called "The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That". The premier was today, at the Zoo, with a chance to meet The Cat himself!! We weren't able to hang out and talk as much as we would've liked, but we did all enjoy meeting him. Thomas was absolutely adorable about the whole thing!

Evidence of feeling better

Kept food down past 24 hours ... ate a good breakfast, the weather is better than it has been for a while, so we went to the park! The poor boy was practically begging to get out and play!

My favorite part is that he runs all the way up then stops to get the footwork right.

In this one he actually makes the run worth it ...

Much Better

Doing much better....slept through the night.....energy and appetite better than last couple of days....

whew.

Barf Day 2

Convinced we were out of the woods, ready to hit the road.

Nope. Breakfast all over his pajamas. He also told us "I don't feel very good." When asked what hurts he said, "All my parts."

Poor thing.

Of course right now he is totally fine throwing balls and running his mouth - a typical Saturday :)

NNNNOOOOOOOO

5:00 AM he's coughing. Turns out we can hear it so well because he's asleep on our floor.

We all wake up and he gags.

We all run to the bathroom and he vomits.

We all go back to our own beds and we silly parents hope it was a fluke.

He's great waking up and eats toast.

We get dressed to go to meet and greet at his school.

We go to the bathroom before we leave.

He vomits.

Sigh.......guess it wasn't a fluke.

Here's hoping lunch stays down.

Why?

But why is my foot not big enough for this shoe?

Why you don't want me to throw (fill in the blank here)?

But why?

Why?

Why?

He also repeats what we say with a question mark at the end.

My oatmeal is ready? We have to get in the car? Your head just exploded?

Why?

Overheard Today

Tom: Hi Thomas. How was your day?

Thomas: Good. Thanks for asking.

Do you see why it's hard to reconcile when he's flailing around about a dinosaur bowl?

Another Health Quiz

Q. If a babysitter gets a cold will Thomas wake up in the morning sneezing?

A. Ah-choo.

As soon as Tom gets home I'm headed to the CVS to replenish our Kleenex and saline stockpile.

D-R-A-M-A

It's not just for little girls!

I got the wrong bowl for oatmeal this morning.

Based on the sounds he made and the tears he cried, you would have assumed that there was a large animal chewing on his leg or that there was some manner of needle poking his eye.

Nope.

Next time I guess I'll use the dinosaur bowl.

Back to the old buddies.

After months of hanging out in the box (waiting in the wings), Bentley and Otter have recently gotten called back. The difference: Now they are being shown how to do things. "Pay attention! This is how we drink juice, Bentley and Otter." They are still allowed to share the juice, of course.

They have also been instructed how to remove clothes and put on new ones and how to play with trains. Now, if Thomas could just independently go to the bathroom and fix his own oatmeal we might be in business on these early weekend mornings!

Fun times in the kitchen

We're learning to be very careful with our directions ...

No we didn't tell him to get naked. It was after lunch, almost time to get ready for nap time. Tara told him, "Pretty soon you'll need to go and get undressed so I can put on your pajamas for nap." He showed up in the dining room NAKED! Then he asked if he could just play naked for a little while. Of course, Tara grabbed her camera - cause ... how cute is that?!

Predator

Thomas loves Abby, our summer babysitter. Today he was directing her to go hide and told her that he would come find her because he is a predator. Yes, he actually said predator.

In other news, the TV and his favorite snack of Pirate's Booty are being held hostage. They are released 2 times a day if he stays in his bed and doesn't get up until the lamp comes on. Much more sleep is happening around here!

Working

Thomas ran in today and said, "Mommy I'm so glad to see you. You've been gone forever."

He was at the park with the babysitter for an hour while I worked in my office.

Drama anyone?

Is Summer Over?

It certainly feels too hot for summer to be ending! Tom is headed back to school for pre planning tomorrow, the babysitter arrives at 9:00 and Thomas is less snotty (in all ways) than he has been.

The pressure washing and staining of the deck has been a horrid process but hopefully will be done today (unless Tom kills the guy doing it). Trust me when I tell you it will be justifiable homicide.

We went to a birthday party yesterday and compared notes with some friends about the demonic possession of our children. Turns out almost 3 years old is WWWWAAAAAYYYY worse than almost 2 years old. Thomas must have heard our plotting and planning to deal with them. He went to bed easily and early and made it almost to 7 this morning. Hmmm......

A Quiz

Q: If a child in another class gets sick, can Thomas catch it?

A: Of Course.

We knew he was gifted.

Any guesses on how long it takes before the ear infection kicks in?

The next day

We talked with Thomas about no temper tantrums at bed and no getting up until tomorrow. He went to bed early and easily. We congratulated ourselves for solving the problem.

At 6:42 AM today we levitated out of bed from the screams and cries coming from across the house.

Tom found Thomas in his bathroom, toilet seat set up, pull ups and pajama bottoms at his ankles, poop and pee all over the floor. Apparently he forgot he can't quite get on there by himself.

When I asked what happened Thomas said, "I was running out of time!"

We encouraged him to feel free to get us if he needed help getting on the toilet in the morning.

We reminded ourselves that in parenting "problem" is a moving (and sometimes messy) target.

C-R-A-Z-Y

The boy is killing us sometimes! He has been fighting bedtime lately. When he naps, he can't fall asleep until too late, then he's overtired and wakes up earlier than normal. When he doesn't nap, he's no good in the late afternoon, but sleeps better at night. Sigh...

Yesterday was a good nap day. Last night, however, we had the mother of all tantrums. He was literally running in circles screaming, opening and then slamming his door. We would just walk him to his bed without talking, hoping that it would end soon. Finally he got quiet. I could hear him in his room and he wasn't in bed. I thought he was making a point that he wasn't in his bed so I left him and thought I could just pick him up off the floor when we went to bed.

Well, I was wrong. All of a sudden he starts screaming again and his door opens. There he is - NAKED screaming, "I'm a naked boy I'm a naked boy." He is running in circles, screaming, crying, snot and tears everywhere and he has on NO CLOTHES.

We go in his room, retrieve his pajamas from the laundry basket (at least he's neat when he goes psycho), wipe his face, put back on those pajamas and he gets in bed. Nobody speaks at all. He doesn't get up again and he doesn't cry any more.

C-R-A-Z-Y

AM visits

6:15 AM "I want to sleep in your bed." (looking very cute with bed head and his Mr. Rabbit).

Carried him to bathroom then back to bed.

6:45 AM "I have to go pee pee." (looking less cute)

Tom takes him to the bathroom for his morning poop (why can't this get later?)

7:05 AM "Good morning! My lamp is on." (looking even less cute as I cover my head with my pillow and moan)

On a positive note, our house was deep cleaned today and it is fan-tab-u-lous! Worth every penny!

Teeth

Dear 2 year molars,

Really? Still? He's almost 3, give us a break. The first one broke through in May and is still growing. The second one broke through today. Why the delay? Let's do this - 2 more to go. You make him crazy. He sleeps worse than normal. He peed on the rug yesterday. He woke us up at 6:15 this morning to go poop. That was, however, better than running in at 7:05 yesterday with it all in his pull up. Who knows if it's your fault, but if it's not yours, I'll have to examine my parenting and frankly, I'm just not going there right now.

So, here's the deal. I'm done with this. Do you understand? D.O.N.E. DONE. I would like my sweet boy back. I want him to take a decent nap today, wake up happy, play nicely, go to bed without drama, sleep without drama and get up at a reasonable time with beginning with a 7. I hope you are hearing the theme - no more drama. If I wanted drama I would watch soap operas, not toddler teeth.

Thank you in advance for your immediate compliance,

Thomas' Mommy

HOT

It is soooooo hot. Poor Thomas barely sees outside unless he is being hurried to the car. We ran to the grocery store a few minutes ago and I was really worried about him - his face was red and the AC just couldn't cool the car down. No more errands for us in the late afternoon!

We found a great babysitter to help me out in the mornings when Thomas' summer camp ends. She's very sweet, loves to play and thinks Thomas is "awesome".

I wonder what she would have said later, when instead of napping, he played with his stuffed animals and then had to go to the bathroom - TWICE?

Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk

...and did I mention Thomas keeps talking?

Today after nap we had to run to Grant Park to pick up our CSA box. As we are driving down the street we pass his school. He starts talking about how he needs to see his friends. I say, "Yes, you'll be there again for camp tomorrow. Who do you want to see?" He replies, "Ian. He is my friend. He has a lot of words, just like myself."

Then at dinner he is playing with his fork on the edge of his bowl. I remind him that we are using nice manners at the table and a fork is for eating not for playing. To this he says, "Yes, but I need to make a lever with my fork."

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Reflections on Growing Up

Thomas went back to school today for the last 3 weeks of summer camp. He was happy to go and marched right to his room greeting everyone on the way. It was bittersweet I have to admit. I am glad he is back in school...he needs some time away from me and I definitely need some time to work and do some other things away from him! However, it's always hard to turn him over to someone else :)

Thinking about this time last summer he was clutching my leg begging me not to leave him at that wretched summer camp. Now, I have to remind him to give me a hug and a kiss before he runs into his classroom. I am thrilled that he loves school- I really like his school and think that he is just blossoming there. I am also thrilled that he is becoming such an independent little person. He is curious, engaged and we all know the boy can talk.

Tom and I were talking with a friend a couple of weeks ago and it hit us that our kids are getting to the age where they are actually going to start remembering things. I guess we better try not to give him too many memories to share with his future therapist - hahahahaha!

More evidence of a lack of fear of water. This while I was away, somewhat ironically in the desert city of Las Vegas. The boy "looooves waaattteeeerr"!

Bedtime

Mommy, "Yes, you need the sheet and this blanket. It will keep you warm and cozy."

Thomas, "Right. And it will be protection from the predators so they can't eat me."

Hmmmmmm......

3:51 AM

Picture it.

3:51 AM. House is dark and quiet. Everyone sleeps peacefully.

The silence is broken by the pitter patter of little feet startling the two adults awake.

A door opens quickly further confusing the exhausted adults.

"Thomas, what's wrong?"

"Mommy, I have to pee!"

Ahhhh.....another parenting joy revealed.

More Beach!

Don't you wish you had some of this kind of joy?!

Its bright out here!

The soundtrack is squeeling laughter!

He was later singing ... "I LOOOVE THE WAAATEERR!"

Stuck 'til the tide comes back in ... just eat fish for lunch!

Practicing the beach dude look!

This whole day was supposed to be rained out! We saw an unexpected opening in the radar after breakfast and decided to go, assuming we might only get a half hour or so ... 2 and a half hours!! came back for lunch and nap ... maybe the pool after?

Video from the beach soon!

The Crab Trap

Crab Legs!

Early beach pix!

These are some of the early ones ... We'll keep trying to get some shots at the water ... He's loving it so much it is hard to keep up with him and get a good pic. Stay tuned.

Like a Fish!

Thomas loves the ocean! He runs straight into it with no fear....causing intense fear from the 2 adults chasing him :)

We are having a great time at Amelia Island - beach in the morning, home for lunch and nap then adventures in the afternoon. Today we are planning a drive up the island to some little shops and maybe an ice cream cone.

"I want to go in the water and jump waves!"

Last Saturday was Zander's 3rd birthday party ... and they had cupcakes!!! For those who don't know, Thomas loves cupcakes, and hates having stuff on his face! Apparently, he's beginning to prioritize.

We've been trying to teach Thomas that when it's morning and you need to go to the potty, it's fine to come get Mommy and Daddy. But.....he's so rule bound and knows you don't get out of bed....well, let's just say it's a learning process! We've tried to explain that when it's daylight that means it is day time and it is okay to get out of the bed.

Today, we made a lot of noise in the kitchen so he would know we were up. He comes running into the kitchen and threw himself in my arms saying, "Yyyyyaaaaaaayyyyyyy, it's daytime!!!" Then he said, "but that's not so easy to see in my bedroom." Oops.

HAHAHAHAHA

Happy Father's Day

Muffins made for Daddy. Phone Call to Pop. Haircut for Thomas and Daddy. Lunch at Five Guys. Muffin for snack. Skype to Granddaddy.Afternoon in the kiddie pool in the backyard.


Happy Father's Day Indeed!

More Curb Appeal

I think the project manager of Curb Appeal might try to take Thomas home with her. We ate lunch with the crew today (they like our table and umbrella). He charmed them all again, but he sat next to Kimberly and kept her laughing. We've been with them all week on and off and they all know his name, his school, his birthday, the fact that the US soccer team was robbed of the winning goal today and that we don't talk with food in our mouths.

Too fun!

Curb Appeal

Thomas loved having Curb Appeal at our house today. He chatted with everyone this morning and kept asking each person, "What are you doing?" He proudly announced in the car on the way to school that after camp we would live in a brand new house. Well......not exactly new, but definitely improved! Great mini makeover from Curb Appeal.

Georgia Aquarium

He loved it!

The things he says

I'm working on the computer while Thomas is eating breakfast this morning.

Thomas: "Can you take my picture and let me see it?"
Me: "No Baby, my computer doesn't have a camera."
Thomas: "Daddy's computer has a camera."
Me: "That's true."
Thomas: "After my nap when Daddy comes home, maybe we can compare."
Me: "Do you know what you mean by compare?"
Thomas: "Yes, we put them side to side and look. Compare."


Clearly a genius :)

Summer Camp

Thomas started summer camp yesterday. The theme is summer around the world and these 2 weeks are about Italy. He made pizza yesterday and today played bocce in the park. What a life!

Still doing great with the potty training. The only thing is that when you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and you are 2, that means you need help from a parent. Great - another reason for him to not sleep - HAHAHAHAHAHA

Recent videos

"5 Little Monkeys, swinging in the trees
teasing Mr. alligator 'You can't catch me!'
Along came Mr. Alligator, quiet as can be
and snapped that monkey right out of that tree!"
Learned this at school - just started singing it to us one day.


One of the Curious George episodes that he likes has some character, vexed with George, yelling "MonKEY". Thomas clearly think this, along with Daddy's reaction, very funny!

All boy

Will post some pictures soon hopefully!

A description for you to picture.....

Little boy playing in the dirt, scooping sand, throwing it in the air, baseball cap on backwards. He's covered in bug spray because of the mosquitoes, so said dirt is stuck to him all over. He has also had an accident because he can't stop playing long enough to go to the bathroom. Huge grin on his very cute face.

Turns out the easiest thing was to just dunk him in the bathtub - and it wasn't even noon yet!

And.......at the park yesterday there was no bathroom. Tom can't stop telling people his little boy peed in the trees!

Successful Outing

We went to the zoo today - accident free! Of course, I was so paranoid we went to every bathroom we passed :) He thought it was great fun and used almost all of them - hahahahaha

Busy Still!

Doing well - Thomas is out of school for a couple of weeks and is keeping all of us busy. We had a nice visit with Gammie and Pop and he kept them laughing. My guess is they will be listening for the sound of running feet at 7:00 in the morning. Bittersweet when they aren't there - LOL!

Potty training still going well. Accidents here or there, but overall he's doing great. We've been out and about a little more this weekend and he did well. This week we'll branch out to a few more places to see how he does.

I don't know about you, but I'm really glad for the A/C today - 92 last I checked!

A Successful Training Weekend!

After all day Friday in Big Boy Underpants, Saturday morning went pretty well. He even Pooped in the Potty! Then we went to a friend's 2 yr old birthday party. He proudly announced to most any one who would listen that he Peed in the Potty (at someone else's house). Sunday went really really well! He went through the whole day in underpants, with only one accident before nap! And even that one was not terribly bad. After dinner, he Pooped in the Potty again (after telling us he was ready!!) and had one more little accident. Then just before bath he proudly modeled his Bert & Ernie underwear for Tara's parents. All in all - he's doing really well with it. We'll see ...

Something Funny this Way Comes

Thomas (or someone) has a funny sense of humor. On our first full day of no diapers, he didn't nap. Fortunately, he just stayed in his bed and tried to sleep for 2 hours. Needless to say, it took no time at all for him to go to sleep tonight.

Gotta go finish laundry - no diapers means lots of accidents.

Potty day 1

Today was Thomas' last day of school - we had a fun little picnic lunch with his class to celebrate. He has 2 weeks off before summer camp begins. Perfect time for potty training right?

We have been using pull ups for the last few days because he asked for them. This afternoon we put him in underwear for the first time. In 3 hours he used the potty about 4 times, had 2 accidents and asked to go 1 time. Who knew a little kid could pee so much?

All in all a successful day....his favorite thing to do is use the potty, go find Tom and say, "Daddy, I used the potty again, can you go crazy now?" Then, "Mommy, can you go crazy with us?" After that, there's much cheering and spinning and general chaos.

Whatever works.

POTTY

He's doing great.....excited, willing and could pretty much go on command today. We got some pull ups (at his request) on the way to school today. We used those today since he's still in school until tomorrow and he was thrilled! After nap tomorrow we will put him in the big boy underpants he helped pick out. We have two weeks until summer camp.

The fun begins........

Just like Jack!

We are headed to a garden birthday party this afternoon, so yesterday Thomas and I went to Lowe's to buy the little girl a present. We found a pretty pink bucket that is a daisy growing kit. It was really cute and we agreed to buy that. Well, actually, here's how the first conversation went.

Me: What should we get Elle for her birthday?
Thomas: A truck.
Me: I don't think Elle likes trucks.
Thomas: Hmmmm.......a digger?
Me: I don't think Elle likes trucks and diggers.
Thomas: .....(quiet)......(quiet)....... (He just remained speechless and confused that she wouldn't want a truck or digger for her birthday).

Back at Lowe's.....

As we were getting the bucket to put in our cart he noticed a green one with a beanstalk and asked, "What's that?" I told him it was a beanstalk. His eyes got really big and he said, "Just Like Jack?" Yep.....Jack and the Beanstalk!

I'm sure you can guess the ending.

We are growing a beanstalk at our house.

Don't even get me started on the watermelon in the cup.

I know I'm biased, but......

Several of our playgroup have now had baby #2...and they are all itty bitty. Because of that, it's hard to go to the park, etc. for them right now. Fortunately, one person has a great backyard, a fence and a ton of outdoor toys and she had us all over this afternoon.

They are in the "mine mine mine" stage and so you never know what might happen. They also all love to talk now and so they are hilarious when they jabber to each other.

Off we go to meet our friends. First, I had to wake Thomas up from his nap because he was sleeping so much (!), then he was so pleasant about it (!), then he peed in the potty (4th day after nap!), then he didn't complain about sunscreen (!), then we got there and he was one of only two who never whined or had any kind of tantrum.....

I know I'm biased, but still......a pretty great kid!

Shhhhhhh

About a year ago I was worried that Thomas didn't have enough words. Today, I said, "Shhhhh.....Mommy can't answer any more questions right now. I ran out of words."

Last night at dinner I found I still remember what we learned in our prenatal class about choking children. Thomas ate too many cucumbers too fast and choked. He went right back to eating after I turned him upside down, got the food out of his mouth and squeezed him until the rest came up. After my hands stopped shaking I could eat too.

It's an adventure!

Outside

We have been loving this weather! The pollen has not been kind to Thomas these last few days, but hopefully the rain that is coming will give us a little bit of a break. He has learned new tricks



Made up new games



And worked on the family "farm"



He continues to love his school and his teachers. We are said that he only has 3 weeks left...but, he'll be going to their summer camp with some of his little buddies so we are sure he'll be happy.

Reading Books

Thomas wanted to read some books before bath time tonight. After Tom read him several, we all sat down together and asked Thomas to read us the last one (Curious George and the Bunny). He proceeded to "read" every single page correctly....we giggled the whole time - too cute!

Brilliance!

Visitors, Fun, Spring Break, Oh My

It's been a busy few weeks! Lila came to visit, Thomas made a terrarium at school, we had Spring Break, and his new haircut makes him look more and more like a little boy. He continues to be funny and demanding and affectionate and smart. A pretty winning combination we think!