Potty successes!

Ethan is finally starting to get the hang of this potty training thing... Tonight, for instance, he was in the bath and started passing gas, then looked up at me with this sort of pensive, thoughtful expression, as if waiting for something. I asked him, "Do you have to go poo-poo?" He replied, "Umm..." So I told him, "Why don't you try to go on the potty?" and lifted him up onto the seat. About 30 seconds later, he said "Mom, I did it." And he was right! I praised him to the skies, and he even got on the phone to tell Daddy what he'd just accomplished. He was so excited! He even got to wipe, and flush, and wash his hands just like a big boy. His big reward? Going through the car wash with Daddy tomorrow.

Later, he spoke on the phone with his aunt Fie (Stefanie) and told her the story as well. Then, after putting him to bed, he called me in three more times to help him get up and go potty on the toilet. He's so excited about it now, and I'm so proud of his efforts. Next step is that we'll have to make the bathroom more accessible so that he can get in there and do his thing whenever he needs to, with or without mommy being right there. I can't believe he's growing up so fast!

Independence Days

Ethan is really yearning to establish his autonomy and independence lately. He wants to feed himself, using his own silverware, and pour his own drink into his cup. And back out of it, and then repeat until most of it is all over the table or floor. He wants to keep his pajamas on all day and wear them to daycare, and has major issues with us wanting to change his clothes-- unless we can point out that they're dirty and need to be cleaned, at which point he'll lift up his arms and allow us to remove the offending article. He's getting very particular about having things happen in a particular order and style, such as me holding my arms around him at just the right angle, and resting my hands in one special way on his legs when he's sitting in my lap.

This is just the beginning... it means that he's growing up and turning into a boy. He wants to learn how to do everything himself because he needs to, as part of the process of becoming a self-sufficient person. It's sweet, and sad, and a little bit frustrating for both of us, but I just hope he lets me hold him and snuggle for a bit longer... I miss my baby boy already, even though he's just starting to grow up and away from me. *sniff* This motherhood thing is harder than I thought.

Meltdown

Monday was a rough day for Ethan... he started off with a day at daycare that was apparently pretty chaotic and "exuberant," to say the least, thanks to the antics of four 2-year-old boys. The daycare provider said they always act up when it's windy or stormy, and the weather was pretty crazy that day. Unfortunately, this lead to a major meltdown that started the minute I picked him up and lasted until around 6:30. It was terrible! I'd never seen him throw a tantrum that lasted that long. Usually they're more like a minute or two, and then he either gets distracted or calms down, and it's over. This time it just kept coming in waves of tears, screaming, tossing his arms and legs around, and just generally being defiant, resistant, and refusing to cooperate at all. I kept wondering who had kidnapped and brainwashed my child, it was that out of character for him.

He finally started to calm down when I started washing the dishes, and he said "Help you?" while dragging his stool over to the sink. I slowly transitioned myself out of the space and left him in front of the kitchen sink to play in the water, pouring cups of soapy bubbles back and forth over a large bowl, and it seemed to work as a calming activity. After about fifteen minutes of self-play, he looked up and said "Pizza?"-- his new code word for "I'm hungry and want to eat." We ate some dinner together, took a nice bath, and he finally went to sleep. I felt like passing out too, it was such an exhausting evening with him! The next day, Tuesday, was the exact opposite. He was helpful, obedient, calm, brightly curious, laughing and engaged with me and other people around us (we went to the store), and just generally more like my son than the day before. It was so nice to get that time with him; it made up for our not-so-good Monday. I guess the "terrible twos" are here now, but I hope we can find some ways to mitigate the negative episodes so that we can all survive this sane, happy, and positive. God give me strength! ;)

Big Boy :)

I can't believe how "old" my gorgeous baby boy seems to be getting. He is truly talking a mile a minute now; he has so many words in his vocabulary that I can't really count them. The only problem is, I'm starting to lose the reference points I used to have for his speech. For example, I used to know that he was talking about his favorite UmiZoomi episode about the dump truck who tried to stop UmiCar from winning the race by various dirty tricks (raising the bridge, dumping sand on UmiCar, spilling slippery bubbles on the ground, etc.). He'd tell me the story over and over again and because I knew the sequence of actions already, it helped me to figure out what he was trying to say. Now that he's in daycare, he has a completely new set of experiences throughout the days that I'm not privy to, and it's starting to get a little more difficult to understand his conversations. Guess that means I'll just have to try a little harder!

At least I know one thing he won't stop talking about.... TRUCKS!

Potty Training: The Beginning

This week we will begin potty training for Ethan. And by we, I mean me, of course. My lovely parents and family bought us the Potty Scotty toilet training system, the same one featured on Dr.Phil. It claims to help you potty train your child in as little as one day to two weeks, with follow-up/maintenance lasting for awhile after that. They recognize that kids will continue to have night-time accidents for awhile, as only 66% of 2-year-olds are completely dry throughout the night, but they do state that your child should be able to be mostly dry all day long with their system.



I'm trying to start the potty training now, while I'm still off work and at home with Ethan, so that he can mostly have a grasp on it when I finally do start work and he has to be in daycare. I think it would just be a lot easier if we took care of the bulk of the training now, while I can be there working with him for several hours out of each day. I know it's going to be full of challenges and I'll have to really exercise my patience and understanding, but I'm actually looking forward to it. It's kind of exciting to think that he's going to be learning yet another key to self-reliance. My baby really *is* growing up!

Time Out

It has begun: The days of the dreaded (but often effective) Time Out. So far, our discipline has been fairly minimal, and limited primarily to removing items that he wants or removing him from the scene of potential disaster. I've been reading some toddler discipline books and online advice columns, though, and decided to give Time Outs a try. I know there are probably thousands of parents out there who swear by it, but I also know that many of us resort to Time Outs for all of our disciplinary needs, and it gets way over-used. I didn't want to be one of those "You want a Time Out? Do ya? Huh?" types, so I avoided it as long as possible.

Now that there is a distinct possibility that I might be getting a new job and putting Ethan into a child care facility, I need to help him get up to speed with his social skills. And one of the most important skills is learning how to navigate the daycare setting, with all of its rules and special procedures to help keep order amidst the potential chaos. Being able to control your own impulsiveness is something that everyone can benefit from knowing, and Ethan could certainly use the help in that arena. Yesterday we had two Time Outs, and he did so well during each one. He sat still in his Time Out spot against the wall in the main corridor, and sat there the whole two minutes. Both times! Today, when he got his first Time Out, he started saying "I sorry, mom" about 30 seconds in. What a doll! And then he helped clean up the food he dumped out earlier.

Hmm... maybe this Time Out thing *is* all it's cracked up to be.

Sleeper

So, Ethan passed the first test: He slept through the night in his modified crib! Sure, he had some rough moments trying to just fall asleep, but he eventually calmed himself down-- without me in the room, mind you-- and spent the rest of the night sleeping like a... like a... well, sleeping soundly in his crib. In the morning, I awoke to the usual "Mom? Mom?" calls, but this time they were right outside my door. I opened it to see my little boy standing there with his pillow, looking refreshed and awake and happy as a clam. Success!

Monday night, too, he acted a little hyper when I first put him in the crib-bed, which worried me a little about his ability to fall asleep. After about ten minutes of saying "It's time to sleep" and preventing him from climbing out of the crib, I realized I was fighting a losing battle. I didn't want every night to be a struggle and to be one where I had to stand guard at the crib doors, as it were, because the minute I leave the room he can climb out anyway. It's better to let him get comfortable with going to sleep on his own, instead of having to be a jailer or soothing him for as long as it takes to fall asleep. I said goodnight and walked out, expecting him to follow at any moment, but he didn't. I heard him climb out of the crib and walk around the room a little, but then I heard him climb right back in, and presto! Asleep in minutes. How awesome is that?

Bed Time

We lowered one side of Ethan's crib recently, and now he is starting to climb in and out on his own. This is a somewhat scary development, in terms of how it may affect our ability-- and his!-- to sleep through a whole night ever again. Or for a long time, at least.

So far, nap time today was a bit difficult at first. He couldn't stay in his room inside the crib or even on his toddler bed for more than five minutes. After about half an hour of trying to keep him in there, we just let him come out and join us on the couch, where we were watching the version of "A Christmas Carol" starring Jim Carrey. He lasted about 20 minutes before conking out in between us, so we transferred him to the crib, where he spent the next couple of hours in blissful sleep. Tonight, he got a very late start on bedtime, so you'd think he'd be even more ready to pass out, but no. The opposite, in fact, was true. He kept playing and trying to get me to interact with him in the crib, so after about twenty minutes of that I decided to just kiss him goodnight and shut the door. It has been about ten minutes now, and he hasn't escaped. Guess I should go check on him and see how he's doing... but maybe I'll give it a few more minutes first. We'll see tomorrow how he did through the night!

Cribbin' It

I think Ethan might be ready to move from his crib to the little toddler bed that's set up in his room. In preparation for the move, we've sort of removed the long side of his crib that faces out into the room-- the side that normally lifts up and down. It's sort of like this...


... except that Joel removed that bottom metal bracket so that the entire "movable" side now rests on the ground. This leaves about a foot or so of slats above the mattress level to keep Ethan from rolling out of the crib, but also allows him to start getting him accustomed to a new sleep situation. Since we just started him in the modified crib this week, I'm going to let him get used to it for a few more days before springing any more changes on him. But maybe, just maybe, he can start taking naps in his toddler bed next week. And guess what else? We've already started the beginning, initial, preparatory, baby steps in potty training. So many changes, coming at us so quickly!

Grandma!

Ethan finally did it-- he said "Grandma" yesterday. For a long time now, he's been calling my mom "mah-maw," which is getting the basic vowel sounds right but replacing the "gr" part with "m" (like mama). When he says it, he makes his voice all breathy, as if he's gently speaking it in an abundance of tenderness and love... it's the sweetest thing ever. But now he's starting to say it a little more clearly, which is even better! He seems to still be a bit slower than expected on his speech and language development, though by no means does that translate to unintelligent or slow in other areas. His gross and fine motor skills are unbelievable, but I do admit that I'm still a tiny bit concerned about the fact that he's just not speaking well right now. I'm going to really focus on this right now, and try to help him develop his vocabulary and communication skills... I'd better find the time now, before I end up going back to work!

Drinking Buddy

He did it! Ethan actually drank from a regular cup, using both hands, and didn't spill a single drop. Okay, maybe one drop-- but not much more than that! He was so excited about it, too; he kept stopping to tilt the cup away from his mouth and start laughing and smiling. I think he really wanted to clap his hands, but figured out that they were a little busy with the whole holding-the-cup thing at the time. It was so awesome... my baby is turning into a little boy! Not only is he talking up a storm, and really starting to get the hang of communication and so on, but he is now eating sandwiches and pizza slices and burritos without having them cut up into little pieces first, and this whole drinking out of a regular cup thing has really got me speechless. Doesn't stop me from blogging about it, of course...

But seriously, folks; isn't that amazing? He has been using those straw cups for so long now (8 months??) and refusing to do the tip-up sippy cup that I despaired of him ever moving on to the next step. And how am I supposed to brag on the playground if we can't compare our kids developmental stages? Sheesh! On a side note, I can't stand doing that. Can't we just love our kids the way they are, and stop comparing them to one another? He's perfect the way he is, at whatever stage he's currently exploring, and I'm fine with that. So there!

Mile a Minute

Ethan's vocabulary has really exploded in the past few weeks. It's so exciting to watch these new words just appear while he's chattering to us... The other day, for instance, he was listening to and watching a big garbage truck do its business nearby, and looked up at me with this intense expression of interest on his face. I said "Truck," and immediately he repeated it, perfectly-- "truck." I was so shocked! He said it several more times, and each time he got the pronunciation down perfectly. It's not like when he says "vacuum"-- which he says A LOT-- and gives us the Ethan version with "back-you"... with truck, he fully pronounced the t-r combo. Pretty impressive, at least to his mama.

He's also begun saying "outside," and "uh-oh," and "dog" (instead of just saying "woof" when he sees one). He says "juice" and lately has been handing me the cup when he's done, rather than chucking it across the room... most of the time, that is. One of my favorite words he picked up lately, though, has got to be "stuck." He loves it, and will purposely get things jammed into places they don't belong just so he can say it. He'll take his little vacuum cord and shove it into his chair latch over and over again, just so he has the opportunity to say "stuck, stuck, stuck" over and over. It's hilarious! I'm really glad that he's finally catching on to the communication thing, because it means that we're starting to be able to really understand each other now. What a simple, beautiful thing that is. :)

Shower Power

Ethan loves the bath. And the shower. And the faucet, the hose, the water table, and the pool play area. Pretty much anything to do with water, really. He's a merman in disguise! And did I mention that he also loves to brush his teeth? Here he is, figuring out how to balance oh-so-carefully his toothbrush while opening up the toothpaste...


Getting the toothbrush a little wet with the gentle stream from the showerhead...


Putting on his toothpaste (not really; he hadn't quite learned how to squeeze out the tube at this point, but since then he has-- so we sadly had to take it away in order to prevent him from sucking down the entire tube all at once)...


And, finally, it goes straight in the chomper-- success!


Is this kid brilliant, or what? Now, if only I can keep him this interested in dental hygiene for the rest of his life...

Using Utensils

Ethan is already starting to use his spoon and fork. I don't even care if we're on track, a little late, or whatever-- I'm just so happy for him, that he's starting to learn some skills to be self-sufficient! It must feel pretty empowering to him. Check it out!

Not even watching where the spoon's going...


Most of it actually made it inside his mouth, shockingly enough.


Isn't that amazing? I'm so proud of him!

Eating Like a Pro

Kielbasa, apples, mangoes, cheese, and juice. A feast for a king, or even a lucky toddler.


And...... it's a goooooaaaaaalllll!!!


It's actually a big step for him to be able to use two fingers and his thumb to lift the food to his mouth. For a long time, he had to use his entire hand to grasp items, then sort of shove his hand against his open mouth and just wiggle it around until whatever he had a hold of fell inside. Hopefully. So this is definitely progress!



Look at that smile-- he's so proud of himself. Or maybe he was just watching something funny on Yo Gabba Gabba, I'm not sure. Either way, he really enjoys feeding himself, and is starting to get very decisive about doing it on his own. Growing up fast, my little man!

Ethan updates, May '10

Last week we hit some milestones with Ethan. First, he finally ate a grilled cheese sandwich. I'm not sure why it took so long for him to get into sandwiches, but he's finally becoming receptive to eating peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, and he even ate a "veggie" sandwich I made out of soft-cooked carrots and toasted, buttered pita bread. So it looks like he's starting to broaden his food horizons. Thank goodness! He also ate eggs for the first time since he was born; this is more of a miracle than you think. It's not that I haven't tried to feed him eggs, don't get me wrong; it's that he has spit them out every time I put them in his mouth. This time, he actually chewed and swallowed, and asked for more. Hallelujah!

In addition to that, he started really using his fork and spoon this past week. It's neat to watch him work out how to scoop and lift and get the food to his mouth without losing all of it along the way. He's doing pretty well, but of course has moments of deciding to chuck it all on the floor, or splash it on the table, or just stick his entire hand in the food and squish it around. Just testing his limits and seeing how far he can manipulate the world around him, I guess.

Along with those advances in meal-taking, he has also really conquered "bye-bye" and says it all the time now, not just when prompted. He says it at the end of TV shows, when one of us is going to go take a shower, when his dad walks out and ties his Converse... sometimes he even says it just to let us know he wants to go outside and play. Being able to communicate with him is such a blessing, and I'm glad we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

In other news, he is starting to be able to walk again, though with a limp, and seems to be in much less pain after twisting his leg going down the slide on the 13th. I'm so glad to see him trying to walk again, because it was tough to see him wince in pain every time he put any weight on his ankle. Poor thing; it must have been so frustrating to have his movement hampered like that, and be unable to walk around like he's been used to doing for so long now. At least he's on the mend now, though. I never thought I'd say I can't wait for him to be running around the house again, but there you have it!

Talk To Me

Ethan is starting to talk more and more every day. And by talk, I mean babble. His vocabulary, besides high pitched squeals and random sounds, currently consists of the following words:

- Mama
- Dada
- Down
- Up (but he says it "puh")
- Bye-bye
- No (more like, nononono...)
- Duck
- Bah (it means "bath," okay?)
- Woof
- Quack (well, it's closer to "kah" if you want to get specific)

And.... that's about the gist of it. He can say "more" in sign language, but not verbally, so does that count? Joel and I are starting to wonder if he's taking his sweet time in the language department, because he's got about ten words at sixteen months old. The expectation for an eighteen month old is fifteen to eighteen words, so... let's get a move on, kid! No, but seriously, I'm sure there are things we can do to help him add to his vocabulary. I just ordered the "Teach Me To Talk" DVD with strategies for helping your toddler learn to speak, and hopefully we can start working on that soon. You know, right before I leave to go work 12 hours a day. (sigh)

Of course, there's always non-verbal communication to help us get through the next year or two!