20 posts tagged “3 years 1 month”

No time lately to get down all the fun things T is saying. Wish I could dedicate some more time to the blog, the making sure there aren't any typos, to reading what other bloggers are saying, but alas no. What am I doing? I have no idea, though I was up until after midnight last night looking through photos for a project for T's school. I didn't help that I fell asleep with T until 9, then had to go back in there for at least a half hour (20 minutes, 40?) at some point.

T is being mostly a little charmer these days. He is trying very hard, most times, to be very good. Of course until he isn't. His vocabulary is also growing immensely. I learned this past weekend that a three-year-old's vocabulary triples. I believe it! Although, wouldn't you know, I now can't remember any of his new words.

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Last weekend we went to the first of the fifty million fall consignment sales I have mapped out to go to. I had down two for last Saturday but decided in the end to only to hit one. I lured T there with the promise of toys. Why I am not sure as I really don't want to fill his room with plastic junk and he really doesn't need any more toys. But there it was I said we could go look for toys. In my mind that meant Legos, though realistically I knew that by 1/2-price day there would not be any Legos left.

Will the police take me away?

Not only were there not any Legos, but there weren't many toys at all at this sale. None the less we ended up with an electric guitar ($1.50) and a remote control car ($3) - both plastic of course. They have not been played with since Saturday afternoon, but T has already told me, in great distress, that he doesn't want to give any of the toys away. I am not allowed to send them to his cousins either. I put this bit of panic into his heart as B complained that the guitar only played one song with slight variations. I said, "We can easily sell it at another sale. And by the way we should probably clear out more of T's toys." Oh my was the boy concerend. The fiasco that was lending some old toys to our neighbor is all too fresh in his mind and he yelled right away, "You can't sell it! I don't want to sell it!" He has reapeated this line at least twice more in the following days, concerend that I will sneak in at night and pilfer his toys. So far I have kept my paws off, but I have thought about spiriting them away...

Other sale finds? We scored a car seat bag for airline travel for $3, a great pair of GAP footed PJ's, a Hilfiger sweater vest, and a GAP cotton cardigan. I forget how much the clothing was each peice, but grand total for everything we purchsed was just over $14.

thrift shop find

I continued the used shopping while T napped. I found four books for him at an 'antique' store next to the awards store I went to for B (for the conference, best paper, etc). A Little Golden Book about Smokey the Bear, a picture dictionary, Three Billy Goats Gruff, and an early reader story that I don't recall. He was happy for them and had me read them all to him when I got home. The Smokey Bear one is a little distressing however - why Smokey never saw his mother again and where she went caused hours, and I do mean hours, of why-questions. I also picked up a pretty twin bed sheet at a thrift shop that I plan to make into either sleep pants or a cute night gown. I am feel empowered by so many blogs and hope to pull it off before too long (never mind the piles of other projects I have lined up!!)

Saying hi to Curious George

Beween this last shopping and the consignment sale T and I went to a little 'festival' at one of our favorite local kids shops. They had Curious George there (T really thought this giant costumed thing might be the real George, though he was curious as to why it talked, and probably why it talked with an old lady Southern twang saying things like, "Now isn't he a charmer! That red hair - so precious!"), a clown who did face painting and balloon animals, food, and a children's yoga class. We partook of it all of course.

I was very interested in the food. Jack's Harvest had out samples (yummy butternut squash), and the very excting for me, Pam from Cooking for Monkeys was making smoothies and selling bento boxes. The smoothies were fantastic and T drank his up in a flash. He never guessed he had just drunk broccoli, sweet potato, and bunch of other good for him stuff. Becuse I have been very intergued by the whole bento thing and couldn't resist, T and I came home with a cute yellow bento with a boy and a cat on the top. I can't wait to pack something in it for him!

Tired boy with Hulk arm

I'm taking far too long on this post and must wrap it up... Further weekend happenings, B went to Sam's Club and came home with yet more plastic fun for the boy - some Tonka pickup trucks with trailers. I looked at T and said, "You are one lucky, lucky boy!" He started at me blankly. "Do you know how lucky you are?" I asked. "No." came his honest reply before he asked me to go play with him.

Monday when I picked T up from school he flew into my arms with a huge smile and eager delight. "Mommy, lets go to a store with lots and lots of toys!!" "Hmm, I was thinking we could make cookies." "Yeah! Cookies! We're going to make cookies!" he said to all his teachers and several freinds. "Let's go make cookies mommy!" and he dragged me out of his preschool room. Good to know a little sugar* can combat tons of plastic. ;-)

* or maple syrup and applesauce.

Yesterday was a good and bad potty day for T. He went pee-pee great when he arrived at school according to B. However when I picked him up he was not wearing the clothes he had gone to school in. His teacher Miss Donna said he had just wet himself. She sounded, I think for his benefit, a little annoyed/disappointed. She said he was in the bathroom but he decided to go in his underwear and not the potty.

We went to one of the local farmer's markets where upon leaving T asked to be put in a diaper. I lied and told him I didn't have one with me that he would need to go at the library - our next stop. He asked to go home, but I said that wasn't possible. He said he didn't have to go and could wait (he'd been holding his poop for hours until diaper time for a couple of weeks.)

At the library I took him into the bath kicking and screaming that he didn't have to go. He did, he sat on the potty and peed, but said he didn't have to poop. We were both happy he had peed and all seemed well. He told me he had pooped on the potty at school so we should go for ice cream. I said we could once we got our new books. I tried to hurry.

I realized too late that T had gone off on his own for too long. He was on the far side of the small room. I had thought he was looking at books, as he had brought me several from there, but no, he was having some private time - stinky private time. We spent time in the bath again (not as bad as it could be, but still a public rest room so enough to make me a little queasy and rushing for the hand sanitizer upon leaving.) The trip to ice cream negated by the underwear I took home in a bag, we went home.

In a blurb from ET-online about the movie premier The World's Greatest Dad, Robin Williams is quoted as saying:

As a father, I'm not the world's great dad but I'm a work in progress. My kids are extraordinary. Did they go through rough times? Yeah, but you come out the other side and I go 'God, they're so amazing.' I'm so blessed, I'm so grateful for them."

This morning with T was one of those rough times. T had to have some times outs. He seems to think he can hit, bite, scratch, or throw things when he is upset. When we want him to get dressed before he plays rather than after and "when [he] is ready," he gets more than a little defiant. He was not a Mr Smiley this morning, though he slept in my arms for about an hour plus (5:30 am or thereabout and I was too tired to do more than blurrily carry him to the rocker and settle in.)

He started out OK actually. We snuggled well in the rocking chair and when I re-awoke I put him in his bed where he settled in. Shortly however he toddled into our room and I hoisted him on to the bed to snuggle with B. They looked adorable. As I was brushing my teeth T decided he was hungry. He was cute and happy and he ate biscuits with honey. When I got out of the shower and told him he needed to get dressed before anymore play the 'trying three's" began; lots of tears and unhappiness. Somewhere by the end I was no longer quite the bad guy - a position then owned by B - but my little one was clinging to me with the worn out exhaustion of his years.

I hope this afternoon will be much better cause T really is an extraordinary child and such a blessing to us. This morning Mr Nathan told him he was innovative, and last night B and I were laughing about some of his quirks and his cheerfulness. Recently T has been using the phrase, "Watch this, I'm going to do something special!" and then he will walk across the room, or bounce in his chair, or some other thing that one might ordinarily think mundane, until you think about how it has to be learned, about how many muscles and brain activity it requires.

To come back from my tangent, I love T so much, and B and I are very blessed and grateful to have him in our lives.

Why do you love your body?
Sponsored by Body by Victoria® from Victoria's Secret.

I love my body for giving me my son. I love that my body is strong (though not as much now). I love that my body and my presence can make my son feel loved and secure.*

I dislike that my body isn't cooperating at the moment with producing another child when I know it can do it. I dislike that I have let my body go and can't seem to turn around my ways to make it better.

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* Tonight T wanted me to rock him after books. We rocked for 2 1/2 songs then I put him in his bed and rubbed his back. I repeatedly tried to close his eyes, and stop his fidgeting. He asked me to climb in bed with him. I did saying I would only do it for a little while. "I want you to stay for a long while." I fell alseep with him and woke 45 minutes later.

Last night T woke up around 3 or 4, luckily he wanted B and they sat in the rocking chair while T ate most of a breakfast bar and had some water. He wanted me to bring him milk but I refused, something he questioned me about this morning. "Do you remember me asking for milk last night mommy?" "Yes, honey I do." "Why didn't you bring me any?" "Because you had water and that was enough. You need to eat your dinner at dinner."

T has not been eating much at dinner time, then wants something to eat just at lights out, and then sometimes in the middle of the night or right as he wakes up - early. it is getting very annoying. We usually give him a breakfast bar - organic whole grain bar with fruit - but I wonder that he is not getting enough other nutrients (We should own stock in this bar company as we go through a lot of the bars.) For those that might comment that we shouldn't give him anything, I agree to a point, but when we don't he wakes up more often and complains of being hungry. He also gets very cranky.

Today, when he got up, he let out a yelp, but when I went in and brought him back to our bed he was all smiles. Very much a Mr. Smiley. He said that wasn't his name though.

This morning was T's three-year well-child pediatrician's appointment (I waited too long to make the appointment and this was the first available that we could do.) He got a green light all around.  The stats:

Weight: 35.7 lbs - 75% (in shirt and shorts with socks and underwear)
Height: 39 1/4" - 90%
BMI: 16.2 - 54%
BP: 88/56 (sitting in my lap and a little unsure)

Our Pediatrician said his skin looked beautiful and mentioned it looked like we did a good job with the sunscreen. She said we should switch to a heavier duty bug spray however as it is obvious the mosquitoes find T very, very tasty. We talked about sleep - she said he gets a really good amount - and about his getting to sleep.  She listened carefully to his breathing as he is still congested, and we were both impressed with how well he did taking deep breaths for her. It was pretty cute how he took the breath and lifted his shoulders. T's tonsils are still enlarged from his cold, but she feels that we will see and hear a diminishing of symptoms over the next days/weeks and that we should wait before putting him back on antibiotics. With T's love of books and wanting to hear the stories she thought it a good chance he would be an early reader.

I came home today and closed the kitchen door. B and T had been home at least a half hour. I heard scrambling, then running feet, then before we made eye contact, "Mommmmmeee!" and T bowled me over with a huge hug and some kisses (yes, he gives wonderful kisses now.) It was a such a fabulous home coming!

I noticed right away that T was wearing the shorts from his school cubby and a shirt that wasn't his. "You got changed at school today," I said. T looked at me very seriously, but with a glint in his eye, "I went pee pee in my underwear, and I had to change. I didn't have a shirt in my cubby so Miss Jeanie borrowed this shirt from Toddler 2." "But you have shirts in the bag, Miss Jeanie must not have looked." "This shirt is from Toddler 2, we had to borrow it. Do we have to give it back now?"

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T has been doing well with potty training. There have been some accidents, the one at school today, and two yesterday at home, but otherwise he has kept his underwear dry for nine days! We have been so proud of him! He is really getting the hang of holding it in, as well as getting his shorts and underwear down and up. He is also quite good at asking, "Am I wearing a diaper?" That statement often means he needs to poop, and he would rather hold poop in than go on the potty. He did that while we were at the beach. Three of the days he went poop right after books and settling down for nap. It was more than a little frustrating. On a positive note however he is not resisting wearing the underwear at other times. Spiderman, Batman, and Lightening McQueen underwear here we come!

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T helped me cook dinner tonight. He was quite interested in helping and quite good about being careful around the hot pot. We made Cajun shrimp and rice with T pouring lemon juice and hot sauce on the shrimp, grinding pepper over it, adding spices to the pot, as well as green onions. T ate two handfuls of sliced green onions. I think he was hungry.

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Yesterday my sister Natalie visited. She is in town for a conference and stayed with us for dinner and the night. She brought a birthday gift of more Duplo Legos that T was excited about. They plopped down on the floor right near the front door and started building. T had a great time with her. We all played That's not your blue ball (a chase game) and hide and seek. T and Natalie counted while B and I hid. T even climbed into her lap for to read him a bedtime story. After a hug he slid off her lap and sat near by saying that he didn't fit her lap very well but that he fit mine perfectly. :-)

Speaking of the lap area... T loves to hide under things and finds my skirts to be a great place to hide. Recently and twice he has popped under my skirt in the back and said, "Mommy, I see your teenage bottom!"