Kiss It

All of a sudden if Nathaniel hurts himself he asks for you to "kiss it"…"mommy kiss it".  It seems like such a silly thing, but I just LOVE when he asks this (not so much that he hurt himself obviously).  With his little toddler voice and cute look it is just something I can't help but get a little gushy over.  

The other day I hurt my finger.  I looked over at him and said 'Nate will you kiss it' and he did :) 

Actually, this brings me to another subject.  He is giving good night kisses again.  Woo Hoo.  He goes through little stages and he wasn't really giving kisses for awhile.  Now he will.  I guess it coincides with the boo boo kisses.  

We have another kisser in the family - Kona.  The first thing she does when we get home is go straight to Nate and give him kisses.  Now it might be out of love or it might be trying to taste if he had a snack in the car - I can't be sure.  This usually happens in the garage.  I let Kona out of the house as I walk around the car to get Nate out of his carseat.  Nathaniel kind of chuckles, but then looks for me to wipe his arm off on.  He isn't a fan of the slobber I guess.  Regardless, it is kind of a sweet daily routine.  

A Case of the Repeats

I don't remember when it started.  A month ago, 2 months ago, 2 weeks ago… but Nathaniel will take something you just said and repeat it about 20 times.  It is especially funny when it is 'Daddy go pee pee' in the middle of a restaurant.  You just never know which phrase he is going to latch onto and repeat.  I went to get cough drops the other day and I heard 'Mommy get cough drops to stop coughing' in every aisle of CVS.  Or it could be reminding Mocha that he has been bad 'Mocha chewed red seven' (yep our UNO cards are missing a seven now).  

You really start to watch what you are saying just in case it is the phrase that he repeats.  haha.  I wonder why he does this?  He is stringing together more and more words to make sentences.  Maybe by repeating what we say it helps him learn how sentences work.  Sometimes he repeats stuff until you repeat it back correctly.  But that is a different case of the repeats.  You can tell because once you repeat it right he stops.  He doesn't stop if he is just repeating what you said. 

The best repeat so far has been when I saw some fur on a pair of boots.  I said fur is gross.  We were in Target.  He repeated 'Fur is gross' over and over again.  He was like my own personal animal advocate :)  It was Target and not real fur, but I'll take it.  

Now I'm going to start putting this super power to good use.  I'm going to start saying things like 'Mommy is really cool' or 'Daddy is a big nerd' or 'Mommy just stole a million dollars' and see if anyone is listening!

My Whole Life

...is about potty training.  Were you wondering that?  Probably.  Is that all she talks about?  That is all I've lived, talked about, etc for 2 weeks.  I'm pretty sure I even gave Kevin a sticker when he went :)

What else has been happening..hhhmmm... I don't know.

Nathaniel does this cute thing when you say something wrong.  He goes 'Nooooo' in a really cute voice.  For instance if he says something and I say, "You want a banana?'  he says 'Noooo' Or  "Is Mocha a cat?""Noooo"

He also impressed someone the other day when they asked him if he knew what shape this was... he said 'Octagon' hahaha.  I could not believe it.  There were a few octagons in his special potty stickers.  Who knew he was listening!

Let's see that is about all ...other than I have to listen to this one music cd in the car over and over and over again.  I really need some new kid cds.  He LOVES singing.  

Potty Training - Week 2

Week 2 is/was a roller coaster ride.  The week started out horrible.  I was losing confidence quickly.  Maybe he just isn't ready?  I was in a pretty negative mood in general because I have this little cold and I think it fueled my doubts.  He just didn't seem interested in it anymore.  He was making a few mistakes and generally just was cranky when I'd ask him if he had to go.  The inconsistency was getting to me.

Then at night after he went to bed I'd sit back and think about it and realize he really didn't do that bad at all, all day.  I was definitely being too hard on him (and prob myself).  

I decided to take a day off of potty training and reenergize the whole process.  We went on a half day outlet mall trip with a friend.  I used a pull-up and decided not to stress about it.  I was considering it a day off from potty training and whatever happened, happened.  Starting the next day I'd use candy as a reward instead of a sticker and try to be as positive as possible again.

Well, funny thing happened at the mall.  He was perfect all day.  I just stopped at each bathroom and gave him a chance to try.  He went!  Even on the big potty.  I could tell he was holding it at times because there was so much (I know TMI), but this was such great news.

He has had several GREAT days now.  He likes the candy incentive too (Reese's pieces).  Also, I say 'keep your pants dry' or 'let's do a dry pants check' and he takes to that a little better.  I think the biggest thing I've learned is that 'you know when you know'.  Meaning I haven't been stressing out about it, I haven't had to remind him 1000 times, something is clicking and working.  Woo Hoo.  

Now, he has been fickle about the big potty.  Sometimes he will use one when we are out (I have a little fold out thing that goes over it), but sometimes he won't at all.  Not sure why this is happening yet.  One of our next things will be to make him feel comfortable somehow using the bigger toilet.  The good news though is even if he doesn't use the big potty he uses his froggy potty that I bring along in the car.  It works and keeps his streak of no mistakes alive :)

I'm sure week 3 he will regress or something and some new problem will surface.  But, I'm in a much better place than I was at the beginning of the week.  The little dude just may have it!  I always tell him 'Mommy is so proud of you', he repeats it, I repeat it.  I really mean it, I'm proud of that little sucker.  

Potty Training Week 1

What was I thinking? Seriously, what was I thinking?  Why did I listen to my inner voice repeating 'Don't miss the window, don't miss the window'?!? Ok, that sounds pretty dramatic, but I'm not sure I've done anything that requires this much endurance.  I should probably train to run a marathon now ;)

So I started off the week with a 3 day intense bootcamp-like potty training event.  You know where you lock yourself in a room for 3 days and the only thing you do is teach that kid to pee (well and poo) in a froggy potty.  Can you picture this?  Nate (with pretty much just a shirt on for 3 days to increase his odds of figuring it out), me in comfy clothes, 2 VERY bored dogs towels all over the rug, one huge waterproof blanket for us to play on, an endless supply of water/juice to make the kid go a lot, the timer on an iPhone to remind him at certain intervals and lots of toys to make the hours fly by (thank goodness for cartoons too).  To say we had cabin fever at the end of the 3 days is an understatement.  I didn't realize how antsy of a person I am until I'm stuck in a room.  

Now you probably wonder, 'was it worth it'.  A definite YES.  I think he *got it* by the end of 3 days.  When I say *got it* I don't mean he is off wearing underwear all day with no accidents.  I just mean he can tell when he has to go and somewhat alerts me on occasion.  The 3 day bootcamp really is a jumping off point I think.  It is kind of like how a catalyst works in a chemical reaction.  It gets you to that next step quicker and easier.  

On Day 3 I actually had him wearing cotton underwear instead of nothing and I cut back on the water/juice.  Trying to gauge what a normal day might be like.  I don't have anything to compare his success or failure with, but I feel like it went great.  I've heard of nightmare stories of pee puddles everywhere.  I didn't even need to wash a towel in those 3 days.  A few wipe ups, but nothing major.    

The next few days we stayed at home mostly except a few short outings.  Oh man was I nervous to leave the house.  I just envisioned that all of our efforts would be out the window instantly.  I mean the kid gives me 2 seconds to no warning and I'm pretty sure bathrooms just aren't that close all the time haha.  Plus, Nathaniel hadn't used a normal toilet only his froggy potty so I brought the froggy potty anywhere we went.  This isn't always convienent to carry around.  I didn't want to slow down the progress though.  Go with what works, right?  Plus, I got some great advice that by doing that it helps keep it front of mind (thanks Kiera for helping me out so much).  I didn't want to rush the big toilet either.  I have heard a few stories where the kids used the big toilet when they aren't prepared and it scared them.  Then it takes a while to get them to try it again.  

We didn't have any accidents while we were out.  He actually used the froggy potty a few times while we were out either in the store bathroom or the car.  He did really well.  We had a few accidents here or there at home, but overall I still feel like week one went pretty well.  If he had an accident it was usually outside while he was playing or when he was just a little tired.  I think he was getting tired of hearing me nagging and saying 'Do you have to use the potty? yes or no? just as much as I was tired of saying it.  The pressure the pressure!!

I'd be lying if I didn't say I got frustrated on occasion.  It is more exhausting than I thought it would be, I have had a little cold and a touch of cabin fever too.  There was one *poo incident* that I wish I could have handled better.  I, of course, didn't yell or anything, but was a little more abrupt than I normally am and he got a little sad.  Nathaniel is pretty sensitive and I know that, I felt horrible.  On the happy flip side, we used a sticker chart which he filled up pretty quick with successes and loved.  We did lots of fun potty celebration dances too.  Some family members got called so that he could share his good news.  He was so proud to tell them he went pee in the potty.  

Week 1 was over and while I have no clue exactly how 'potty trained' Nathaniel was, I do know we were headed in the right direction.  With some renewed energy from the weekend because of Kevin's help we headed into Potty Training Week 2. 

Florida Birthday Trip Part 3 - The Beach

I know, it has taken me so long to actually write about this vacation that it is almost time for another!  I'll make it quick.  

We left Orlando and headed for Destin, FL. a.k.a. the Emerald Coast.  This is where most people that live in Nashville (that I know anyway) go on beach vacations.  Destin is the Rocky Point and San Diego of Arizona (although not quite as close distance wise).  The first time I had been to Destin was on my road trip from Arizona to Florida when we moved there in 2006 (OMG it has been that long, crazy).  My sister and I stopped briefly to look at the white sand beaches.  We let Mako and Kona out to run around on the beach and then got back on the road.  It was way to quick now that I have seen how beautiful it is.  We should have stayed there for the night :)

We rented a one bedroom condo right on Miramar beach.  Our patio overlooked the ocean.  It was gorgeous.  It was a very short walk down the stairs and on to the beach.  We got there later in the afternoon on Thurs.  It was enough time to enjoy an evening trip to stroll along the beach.  

This was Nathaniel's first time at the ocean and in sand.  The time of year was perfect.  It was off season so there were hardly any people around.  I LOVE that.  We set Nate down on the sand and he wouldn't move... haha.  He wanted nothing to do with walking in that weird stuff.  He did enjoy playing in it though.  He scooped and dumped sand into his pail.  The water rushing on to his legs left him a bit speechless too.  He did not know what to think about what was happening, but he loved the little birds that kept coming up.  Those beach birds with the skinny tall legs are always so cute.  

We headed out to a beachside restaurant.  We sat at a table outside overlooking the ocean.  Nathaniel was very good all dinner and ate a lot of my black bean side dish.  It was really a nice relaxing evening.  We basically hung out at the beach all day Friday (with small trips around town to check things out).  Nathaniel's attention span even on the beach is at most 1/2 hour so we just went with the flow.  It was another nice relaxing day.  Once Nate was asleep Kevin and I just had a beer on the porch enjoying the sound of the waves.  We headed home the next morning :(

Nathaniel called the condo our 'new house' and he still brings it up.  He says 'Go new house' He actually cried the other day when he was talking about the 'beach' and 'sand' and 'new house' - he ran to the garage door and said 'go new house' and when we said we can't go there he was upset.  I guess we need to buy a beach house *hint hint*  

He never really got the gist of walking in the sand so I think we need another longer trip soon!  *hint hint* again.  

We took a 2 year old to 3 different places in 9 days and we survived.  That sounds like a shirt or badge or something. The sleeping issue was really the only downfall.  He hasn't ever slept anywhere but his crib in well over a year.  He doesn't sleep in a pack n play anymore without a tantrum so that leaves a regular bed.  Well, that meant one of us had to sleep with him until he fell asleep or he would have never stayed put.  Plus, the worry of him falling off in the middle of the night (which he did once the first night at Disney.  I heard Kevin go 'Oh No' and there was Nate on the floor.  Nate managed to squiggle all the way to the bottom of the bed and off the end.  We were prepared with pool noodle borders and everything, but he found the hole).  So besides a pretty restless sleep most of the nights it was a great vacation.  

That wasn't very quick was it... owell.  Here are some of my favorite pics.

See how open the beach was when we were there.
That is Kevin and Nate

This looks like a magazine ad haha, pointing at some
fictictious thing.

Sunset 

That was our balcony

sunrise

Pee Pee in the Froggy Potty

Yep, that is what happened today (and what Nathaniel calls it).  I like to keep this blog to record milestones and this seems like a good one to put in the archives.  We bought 2 potty books, a little frog potty and talk about it here and there to get him used to the idea.  He has sat on the kid potty fully clothed and says pee pee, but that has been it.  I just wanted him to be familiar with things.  Well today after listening to a potty book and then watching Kevin demonstrate (advice everyone seems to believe in) he just did it.  Now, who knows if this is a fluke day or if this is the start of potty training.  

I'm definitely not ready, but maybe he is...  I mean I don't want to miss the rumored *window*  The rumor is there is some small window of time where they are more open to potty training and if you miss this glorious window you are doomed and Nate won't be potty trained until he is 15 or something.  Yikes.    And I need to get reward charts and gifts and cheerios for him to aim at and bells and whistles and a marching band on deck for when he goes pee pee.  Maybe I'll even make a shirt for myself that says 'Ask me what my son did today' (you know for encouragement and stuff) ;)

stay tuned.... 

Halloween 2013

It was hard picking out a Halloween outfit this year.  Last year we just picked out something cute and he wore it.  This year he is slightly more opinionated.  Not so much about what he wants to wear, but what he won't wear.  He isn't sure what Halloween or a costume is so he obviously didn't tell us what he'd like to wear.  But, we do know he doesn't like to wear hats or things on his face so this limits costume choices A LOT.  We walked down a few costume aisles, but he mostly wanted to play with the Christmas lights and pumpkins.  Pretty much zero interest in costumes.  And yes I said Christmas lights.  I can't believe while I was getting Halloween candy I could see Christmas displays for sale.  Crazy how early things come nowadays.  Actually, we went to look at discounted Halloween stuff on Nov 1st at Target and there was Christmas music playing - I couldn't believe it - it was a little weird.  

Ok, so I digressed... back on topic.  Kevin and I tried to think of some costumes, but didn't really have any interesting or exciting ideas.  I think my top three ended up being, Captain Kirk, a lego and a golfer.  I found a cute golfer hat and so we just went with that.  I know I know I said he won't wear things on his head so why in the heck did I pick golfer based on a HAT.  I guess I'm crazy.

I couldn't find any knickers or plaid pants that matched the hat or the sweater vest I already had.  I decided I'd try my hand at making a pair of pants.  I have never made a pair of pants.  I figured plan B could always be he wears his Halloween themed shirt if the pants were ridiculous.  I couldn't make it easy so I decided to make the pants a patchwork type pant.  This meant sewing 72 squares together to make the material for the pants.  It was quicker than I thought.  Plus, I took a ton of shortcuts.  In the end they actually looked like pants and fit him.  Woo Hoo.  

I hope you enjoy the Tiny Cheesy golfer.  And NO the hat did not stay on very long, but it was sure cute when it was.  

Hat coming off :)

Mr. Confident

The little guy is starting to get a lot more gutsy.  He is still quite shy in groups, but he has really been coming out of his shell.  Usually in music and library class the kids go up and grab an instrument to play.  Nathaniel always grabs my hand and I go with him.  WELL, just recently he has been putting the instruments back all by himself.  This is huge for him.  He always runs back to me all proud.  Getting the instruments is still 50/50.  The other kids kind of cut in front of him and bump him and he isn't quite confident enough just to go for it.  He does though sometimes and that is a start.  

Also, in the library, stores, etc. he is exploring a little farther away from me.  This is both good and bad.  It's good that he is exploring, but now I have to watch him a little more haha.  Sometimes independence is a double edge sword.  

I don't mean to make him sound too shy.  He tends to be more shy when there is a lot of commotion and people.  He really warms up quickly to people once he knows them for a bit.  He likes to give out hugs and leaves, rocks, sticks... anything he can find laying around.  Once he warms up to people suddenly I'm pretty much ignored.  I don't get rocks or sticks unless I'm alone with him... :)

Mr. Confident or Mr. Independent is coming into his own.  I wonder to myself why was I ever worried he'd be too shy.... I think it is so easy to worry about things and wonder if you aren't doing enough.  Is he around enough people, am I exposing him to enough external stimuli, am I teaching him enough, talking to him enough, yada yada yada.  It seems sort of ridiculous sometimes since he is 2.  So far by giving him some space and time, he finds his way without me doing anything really.  

I must admit listening to him sing the songs he learns in class is so fun.  He is really enjoying music right now.  I'm not sure the people around me in the grocery store appreciate hearing 'Sho fly don't follow me' 20 times, but I've decided not to care haha.  I let Mr. Confident sing his heart out :) we do live in Music city after all!