Bedtime or Potty Training?

Daniel has been doing pretty well staying in his bed during naps and bedtime.  However, we usually have 2-3 rounds of bathroom breaks before he will fall asleep.  We hear, “Mommy (or Daddy) pee pee, poo poo.”  And, he has either just gone in his diaper or he will go in his little potty – every time!  I think he’s going to potty train himself.   

Then, the last couple of nights he's willed himself to stay awake - outlasting Nicholas.  At least, he spent most of the time reading a book.  Also, I sometimes find him on the floor, instead of his bed.  I don't care where he sleeps as long as he stays in his room and goes to bed.  I'm sure he'll be back to his normal bedtime routine once the novelty wears off.

Sleeping on the floor at nap today

Both boys are growing up and changing so much.  As I mentioned before, Nicholas is really concerned about getting stronger and having bigger muscles.  It is bittersweet to watch him grow up.  He is still a little boy in so many ways, but has the desire to be older.  I asked him how old he thinks he is – in his mind.  He said, “A teenager.”  You should see him at church.  He has plenty of friends his own age.  However, he’s always stopping to talk to members of the youth group and giving them high fives.  I only hope that one day that he is as nice to the younger kids as the teenagers are to him.

Nicholas and Daniel are playing pretty well together lately.  Nicholas has been building them swords and guns out of legos.  They both go around fighting bad guys.  Daniel will often come over to me and say, “Wite bad byche” (Translation:  Fight bad guys).  The other day Nicholas was letting Daniel sit on his back.  The next thing I knew, Nicholas was going from laying to standing with Daniel on his back.  This was part of his weight training. 

Then, I asked them to pose for pictures.  That was not that easy when they both were feeling silly. 

Pretty cute

The last of the normal poses.

Daniel refused to open his eyes.

Fake smile

More eye closing

Nicholas wrapped up tennis this week.  I think he ended up liking it better than he thought he would.  He was asking some of the kids if they were going to sign up again next summer.  He said that he probably would too.

Posing with his teachers

Finally, we were able to have an early dinner today with G.G.  We don’t get to go out with her as much as we would like.  Daniel was playing the shy card and stayed close to me.  Nicholas was a big helper though.  He helped my grandma to the car.  He also went up and paid for the food when were done eating.  Finally, he took over Evan’s job (since he was at work) and walked my grandma to her house.  He is becoming quite the gentleman. 

G.G. and Nicholas

Eating dessert

Well we’re about ready to celebrate another birthday.  Someone in our house is about to be very old.  ;)  We’re excited to celebrate Evan this weekend!

And, He’s Out of There!

Daniel has always been our little climber.  He climbs on the furniture.  He’s up and down the stairs with ease.  We were sure he was a candidate for an early toddler bed.  However, he only tried an escape from his crib a few times and never repeatedly.  Once we told him to stay in, he stayed in.  Well, that time has ended!

This morning he was calling for me to come get him out.  Apparently, I didn’t come fast enough because the next thing I knew he was walking down the stairs.  And, then there was nap time.  He attempted three escapes before finally succumbing to sleep.  When he woke up, he didn’t wait for me to get him out again.  He was down the stairs as fast as he could.

Please enjoy the following re-enactment.  Sorry about the photo quality on some of them.  I didn't have my camera on the right setting.

Are you ready?

Here I go!

Almost done!

Because Daniel is a habitual night waker, we knew we couldn’t keep it as a crib.  One bad climb at 1:00 in the morning wouldn’t be pretty.  So, we converted his crib into a toddler bed.  He was so excited.  He jumped in his bed.  Then, he jumped off of his bed. 

I love my new bed!

I have a feeling we’re going to have an eventful evening trying to get him to stay in bed.  Then, I’ll have to work on him in the morning.  I like my alone time until at least 7:00 AM.  He is going to have to learn the rule, “Wait until Mommy or Daddy come and get you.”

So, another exciting phase begins.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes before he knows the drill.

These Boys Rock!

What a week!  We avoided all of the rain we had earlier in the week and Nicholas was able to have both of his tennis lessons.  I think he is enjoying it, but he says it is not his favorite sport.  It is good for his hand-eye-coordination though.  Our goal is to let him try different sports.  If he finds one he really likes, he can play that more.  If not, at least he is active.

While Nicholas plays tennis, Daniel goes around and finds every rock in the park.  I think I’m going to bring him a bucket to put them in.  We never keep any of them.  I figure he can find them all over again next time.  I’m not sure what Daniel thinks about this summer.  He and I spend a lot of time taking Nicholas to his activities.  He’s probably wondering when it is his turn.  In fact, I told him to watch Nicholas hit the ball.  He replied, “Gando (translation:  Daniel)”.  

Admiring his rock collection

My parents often pick Nicholas up for our church’s Wednesday night activities.  Daniel is starting to show his displeasure in being left home.  He actually cried in my mom’s arms this week.  In two years, when he’s old enough, he’ll go too.

This week the men in our family also enjoyed some ice cream (I took a little of Daniel’s).  The weather was a little rainy, so Evan ran out and brought it home.  I think it hit the spot!

Loaded with M & Ms

So was his!

Chocolate peanut butter (minus a bite or two from me)

Lately, Nicholas has become more preoccupied with becoming stronger.  He likes to lift things, including his brother.  He can’t wait for the day when he can start lifting weights.  He wanted me to count how many push-ups he could do.  Since Daniel is always watching, he joined in too.

On Friday we spent the day with Nana.  She and the boys dropped me off to be my sister’s model at her school for an eyebrow wax.  She did a great job and I was ready for the rest of the afternoon.  We had lunch at Chick-fil-@.  It was “Dress like a Cow” Day, but we didn’t prepare this year.  We’ll have to plan ahead for next year.

The boys also had fun throwing rocks into the local river.  We did have a small mishap where Daniel was throwing a big rock and Nicholas walked into its path.  He lost a small chunk of skin in his head, but after a few minutes he was okay.

After a few errands, we checked out a local splash pad.  Nicholas had fun running around.  Daniel, however, was a little unsure.  He had one fountain that he kind of enjoyed.  He kept his distance from all the other ones.

These water guns were on sale at T@rget!

Brave enough to run through

Finally, we capped it off with a little ice cream.  Needless to say, we had a very full day.  It was nice though.  Evan is training someone at work this week, so his work days have been extra-long.  It was nice to have someone to help entertain the boys.

We're looking forward to spending time with Evan in the coming days though.  More tennis and rock collecting are on the horizon.

My Son, the Chef

Nicholas had a great week at his cooking camp.  They were able to make 3-4 recipes every morning.  I rarely saw any of the finished product when I came to pick him up.  Usually, the last thing they made was coming out of the oven and that’s the only thing I or Daniel got to try.  The nice thing was that I didn't have to feed Nicholas lunch on any of the camp days.  In fact, he ate a lot less the rest of the day too. 

Here are just some of the recipes he made:

Pancakes (with cinnamon, sprinkles, and chocolate chips)

Potato pancakes

Mashed potatoes

Chocolate muffins

Spanish rice

Chocolate covered “insects” (pretzels)

He also made his own recipe book.  Since he likes cooking so much, I’m going to have him go back again in the future.  I wouldn't mind him taking over a meal or two as his skills improve.

The Chef

Daniel and I tried to keep busy.  The first day we stayed around the cooking school.  We ran some errands.  We also tried a class at Gymb*ree.  Nicholas had his third birthday party there, but we haven’t been back since.  Daniel really enjoyed himself!   They basically let his age group play with a few games and songs scattered throughout the forty five minutes.  Daniel’s favorite part was probably the bubbles.  He talked about them the rest of the day.

Here comes the bubbles!

"Bubbles!"

No fear!

The other days we were “on call” for a meeting at the library.  It didn't happen, so we ended up just playing at home until it was time to pick up Nicholas.  Unfortunately, his naps got messed up and most were had in the car.

Waiting to pick up Nicholas

Thursday afternoon we headed to Nana and Poppy’s in the afternoon.  Nicholas slept over that night.  It was a late night since they went to see the fireworks.  It seems to be an annual tradition for him.  Daniel may get his chance to sleepover next month.

We celebrated the 4^th of July at my cousin’s house.  My boys (and Evan) really enjoy swimming in her pool.  Daniel was getting pretty brave.  In the pool you can sit on the one side.  He was jumping off this “seat” into the water regardless of if someone was ready to catch him.  He will be having his swimming lessons at the beginning of next summer for sure!

Happy 4th of July!

Nicholas is definitely comfortable in the water.  He probably would have spent the whole afternoon in the pool if he could. 

Both boys were whipped by the time we came home.  Daniel fell asleep in the car and didn't wake up until 6:30 this morning.  Nicholas also got about 12 hours of sleep!  

I also do not want to fail to mention that Nicholas has been home for five years now!  It seems like much longer.  He doesn't remember life without us and I would have to say life without him is a distant memory for us too. 

Finally, next up on Nicholas’ summer agenda is tennis!  He has never played, but he’s ready to give it a try. 

Explosion

I don't think it has been any secret that I have been worried about Daniel's language skills.  At his 2-year check up he had about 40 words, although not all of them were understood by others.  In his defense, he is a super busy guy with exceptional fine and gross motor skills.  Second, he has a very chatty older brother who often speaks for him.

Well, something has happened in the last week or so and Daniel has much more to say.  He's repeating words (which he often refused to do before).  He's putting two words together more often.  He's making us laugh too.

On Monday he brought me his sandals.  I asked him where he was going.  His answer - "work".  He hears us say that about Evan all the time, so I guess he wanted to go there too.

The other night he called out, "Daddy, pee pee, poo poo" when he dirtied his diaper at bed time (Don't you love the Daddy part?).  I was worried that potty training would be hard because he couldn't tell us anything.  I think we're good now.

Just a few of the words he's added recently:

run
read book
milk (not just the sign)
hand (often asking us to hold his)
bag
bubble
oink
duck
hug
rock
Poppy (my dad was waiting for this one!)

He may not answer all of our questions when asked, but he's definitely calmed all of my fears.  If the amount of "singing" he does at bed time is any indication of how much talking he will do, we're in for another chatty boy!