Jay Sit Mama Po'y
To which I say "By all means! Let me help you."

Before bed, we tried the potty tonight. No dice after the first attempt, so half nekkid tooth-brushing ensued. I then suggested Jay give it another try. He decided he'd rather use the big potty, so I scooted the stool over and he held onto my arms and tried really hard to make a no. 2. It was all bark and no bite, but in the midst of his earnest efforts, he did manage to get a bit of the no. 1 in the potty, and, again, quite a bit on the seat, stool, and floor. I suspect this is par for the course. I'm actually quite encouraged that he's done a little something on the potty three days straight. Maybe he'll take to the potty more easily than most.

Labels: boys, potty training

- posted by Lenise @ 8:15 PM |

 
Drool
Check out the fireplace photos!!!

Labels: Old Houses

- posted by Lenise @ 11:08 PM |

 
Cool Old House Photo

Labels: Old Houses

- posted by Lenise @ 9:27 PM |

 
Jay Fush Shelf
Well, it's "baby steps", but it's progress. Jay sat on his potty a few times today, and the last time, right before bed, he wet a little in and on his potty chair. I'd say 2-3 mL worth actually accumulated in the pot, but not much more was outside the pot. Paul reported similar results after Jay's bath last night. I wonder if I got the wrong potty, because there's not a whole lot of room for the child's bottom! Maybe it's just a function of there being enough seat for security, but it seems like the size of the opening is making the whole process more challenging than necessary. *Shrug*

I was the "room parent" in Jay's Sunday school class today, and I was encouraged to learn that less than half the kids are fully potty trained, especially given that Jay is among the youngest in the class. So in other words, we're not stressed out about the whole thing. It would be nice if it were coming along more quickly, but Jay's definitely not behind the norm. I fear he HAS gotten significantly more aggressive since becoming a big brother, though, judging from what I saw today. He wasn't hitting or pushing, but he was grabbing toys, and he (regrettably) does all three at home with Isaac. Of course, it may be as simple as this: he's a two-year-old, little brother or no!

Labels: boys, potty training

- posted by Lenise @ 8:05 PM |

 
North Carolina February

Labels: flowers, photos, sunshine

- posted by Lenise @ 6:26 PM |

 
Sunny Day

Labels: boys, photos, sunshine

- posted by Lenise @ 6:16 PM |

 
Happy Dirty Children

Maniacal LarryBoy fan

Dirty W&L baby














Oh yeah? My other car is a fire truck

Labels: boys, photos

- posted by Lenise @ 6:06 PM |

 
Guess the Wonder Pony

John has a new toy. Well, kind of. It's been at our house since before we left for Christmas visits, but it only got assembled yesterday. Jay got to see most of the assembly, since naptime was only long enough for unpacking the box and finding the proper tools. He wanted the horse out of the bag, so I unwrapped the horse (minus the legs- those were wrapped separately), and he enjoyed sitting on that piece while the frame was erected. Eventually, the horse was ready to be ridden as it was meant to be, and I was able to verbally assist Jay in mounting his steed. Jay had a grand time, first rocking, then bouncing, then jumping.
Getting down was a little bit dicier, but Jay managed. Tonight after I got home from work, Jay was riding his horse, and I asked him what his horse's name is. "Guess" is what the answer sounded like. I didn't know whether to guess (Gus?) or what, but he was talking to his Ohio grandparents later in the evening, and when I asked him to tell them his horse's name, he said the same thing. *Shrug* Then, he told me that Isaac should sit on the horse! I guess taking turns eating cake at the bakery paid off. Of course, as soon as Isaac was on the horse: "Jay turn!" Hey, he's two. I'll take it =]
- posted by Gary @ 8:53 PM |

 
The Professor and the Dinosaur

The Professor

The big blue dinosaur

Ucky hands

Happy Valentine's Day!!

- posted by Gary @ 9:38 PM |

 
Sweet Boy
So I emerged from my shower this morning to find my two-year-old covered in hot pink icing from the cupcake left over from our Bible study last night. I had heard the THUD THUD THUD of little feet while the water was still running, and when I noticed that Paul had not yet come downstairs, I had a premonition of the scene which unfolded before my eyes as I entered the living room. There were a few streaks of icing left on the confection, but the boy had clearly eaten the icing off two-handed, and not especially neatly. He was about to bite into the cake when I found him. After telling him he needed to peel back the paper, I realized I should probably encourage him to sit in his seat to finish his treat, so we headed for the dining room. When we got to the booster seat, Jay seemed surprised to discover that "Hands ucky! Wash hands." I told him he should go ahead and eat the cake before he washed. That went over just fine. Pictures will follow...

Also "Jay" sent me a Thomas e-card today. Very sweet, "Jay"! =]
- posted by Lenise @ 1:17 PM |

 
Do Yourself a Favor
And read as much of this guy as you can.
- posted by Lenise @ 11:53 AM |

 
Yay, Boys!!
Isaac has been learning how to clap the last week or so. Jay, of course, sees how excited we get for Isaac and repeatedly points out to us: "Jay clap, too! Good job, Jay!" So then I have to commend his clapping as well. He loves to parrot "Yay, Boys!!"

Tonight, Isaac was leaning on the coffee table when we encouraged him to clap. He thought maybe he could do it one-handed, and when that didn't work, he tried alternating hands. Ho boy, did we laugh at him! But, you know, in a loving way =]
- posted by Lenise @ 10:49 PM |

 
Haven't Done THAT in a While
I just made a bottle for Isaac. He's had plenty, but this is the first one I've ever made for him. I just stopped pumping at work last week, and it seems to have taken its toll on my milk supply. Oh, well! He'll be a year old in a few weeks, so I've done a little better with him than with Jay. Maybe if he gets a nice big bottle before bed, he'll be able to sleep all night. I can dream...
- posted by Lenise @ 3:17 PM |

 
Toddler Bed Success [A]Gain!!
Paul stayed the toddler bed course for nighttime accommodation, and Jay's been doing fine again (at night, anyway). We just have to make sure he's got pants of some sort on when he goes to bed so he doesn't feel so inclined to strip and sprinkle: in his room or anyone else's. Ahem.
- posted by Lenise @ 12:40 PM |

 
Potty Training Buddy
Well, we're easing into the potty training. Jay seems to be excited about his potty and likes sitting on it, like toilet paper and flushing, but just isn't doing really well at being still for more than 30 seconds at a time. So far, he's run around with no diaper on for part of one day, and had three or four accidents* (though he managed to have one in each room of the house with vinyl flooring, so we can't complain too much), but no deposits in the potty. He's talking about the potty fairly often, both in relation to himself and to others. It turns out, you see, that Thomas [the Tank Engine] is also not yet potty trained. Jay is helping him learn, though. Jay helped Thomas use his potty this evening, letting me know that Thomas was going to poop in the potty. For all I know, Thomas is making better progress than Jay, having a more sympathetic instructor.

*Not counting the morning he climbed into our bed, right next to me, and let loose. "Did you by any chance take off your diaper, Jay?"

Edited to add: You should have seen him dangling his little wooden train over the relatively gaping maw of the little potty in expectation. Not every day you see something like that!
- posted by Gary @ 9:20 PM |

 
Picture! [A]gain!!
Isaac finally gets his revenge

Now he needs to return to his regularly scheduled nap

Someone is very excited about having his picture taken

And more than a little pleased to be wearing a Thomas outfit

Sometimes they play nice

- posted by Gary @ 9:10 PM |

 
I Can't Believe It's Back!
I'm pretty sure it was off the market for quite a while. But I guess it was the same time-consuming hassle we went through to get a contract, get an inspection, etc. *Sigh*
- posted by Gary @ 8:55 PM |

 
Hey, Mom and Dad!!
I bet the price will come down if you watch it for a while...
- posted by Gary @ 8:53 PM |

 
For Comparison's Sake
The office, ca. October 2005

- posted by Gary @ 9:39 PM |

 
The Fortnight in Pictures, Part II



- posted by Gary @ 9:32 PM |

 
The Fortnight in Pictures, Part I





- posted by Gary @ 9:22 PM |

 
Bonus
While emptying the playroom, I unearthed the toy wherein Jay had stashed his Thomas engine for the wooden tracks. We were building a track when I noticed the forlorn toy, so I pointed it out to Jay, who had almost certainly forgotten that he had ever had a Thomas engine. He was quite excited.
- posted by Gary @ 9:09 PM |

 
One Saturday in February
Well, Paul didn't have any tunings scheduled today, so I asked him to take us to the mall. There were some gifts we had returned, but weren't able to simply exchange for a different size, and I hadn't had the time to make new selections the day I made the return. My goal for today was to find something for Isaac at Sears. While Paul stayed with Jay at the play area, Isaac and I went shopping. We ended up with a cute corduroy Winnie-the-Pooh blazer and a Thomas the Tank Engine overalls set. I'll have to take photos when he wears them.

So we had lunch at the food court, Jay did some more playing, and then we went to the Target a quarter mile down the road for baby wipes and Isaac PJs (they didn't seem to have any in his size at Sears). The boys fell asleep in the car on the way home, and while Paul sat with them, I decided to take the plunge and re-arrange the playroom. This was a much more invovled process than one would expect, though I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for.

Our futon only just fits in the far end of the room, which has been likened to a bowling alley more than once (I didn't think it would fit, so had it along the long wall). Because of this, it needed to be brought out into the wide end of the room, rotated 90 degrees, and pushed back to the far wall. There is not much more than an inch or two clearance on either side, so EVERYTHING had to be emptied from the narrow half of the room before the futon could be re-oriented. In addition, my desk juts out past the wall in the narrow part of the room by a few inches, so it had to be turned perpendicularly to where it was so the futon could be turned.

I was deep in the process when Paul brought Isaac in. I spent some time with him and tried to leave him with some toys in the living room so I could make some more progress in my quest. The first time he didn't cry, but he did start climbing the stairs. I pulled him back down, gated him off from the stairs, and tried to leave, but this time he DID cry (Paul had left with Jay to get tax forms from the library in the meantime). I ended up popping him in his highchair with half a "Poppop cacker" so I could finish clearing out the narrow end of the room. Dropped a book on my toe while clearing off the bookshelf (it still hurts =-P), but finally had the furniture out of the far end of the room (save the futon).

Of course I continued to discover odds and ends as I pushed the futon towards the office end of the room, most of which I just put up on the seat. When I got to the swinging-around part of the program, things got really interesting. After a lot of squeezing around the futon, pushing my desk, Paul's file cabinet, and his tool chest around (during much of which I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to extricate myself, which at least gave me an excuse to let Isaac cry in his chair for a little while with only verbal reassurances), I finally got the futon's arms between the south and north walls and was able to start the long journey back.

About halfway through pushing the futon back, I replaced the office furniture so I could leave the room and get Isaac out of his chair. I settled him and Jay down in front of a Thomas video, and got the playroom furniture and rug in place before Isaac sought me out again. At this point, my husband reappeared and vaccuumed the rug (it sure needed it, but I was going to be pretty much spent just getting the toys back where they belong, so it's a good thing he did it!).

In any case, as two of my friends had suggested, it really is a much better use of the space, so I really am quite pleased that I finally tackled this chore and subdued it. It makes clean-up a lot easier when toys can be stepped around rather than scaled.
- posted by Gary @ 8:32 PM |

 
Eleven Months Old
Isaac is a month shy of his first birthday today. I can not believe it!! He's definitely got his own personality. Although he finds some silly stuff really hilarious (I lightly bumped my forehead into his tray while he was sitting in the booster seat on a hunch, and hoo yeah, that was funny!!), he's not the most easygoing kid on the block. They called me after Sunday school to come get Isaac, mentioned that he'd been crying pretty much the whole time (I kind of wish they'd called me earlier- I DID have a beeper), and then said: "He's been hanging on our legs. Does he do that to you at home? Doesn't it drive you crazy?" Well, it does make getting anything done a challenge. Did I mention he's out shopping with his daddy this afternoon?

Isaac says "Mama", particularly when he's about to nurse, or when he's awoken in the middle of the night (in between sobs, in the latter case). He seems to be working on "Jay", since I've noticed him making a lot of "Juh"s when his brother is around.

Isaac and Jay play together in their 15' tunnel and they love a game of peek-a-boo and seem to get each other's jokes. Isaac has started fighting back when a certain brother of his takes something he's especially interested in, but usually lets Jay have his way. Sometimes I think Jay's the only one strong enough to pull things away from Isaac, because that boy has quite a grip!

And whenever Isaac has been exasperating the nursery workers so much that they give me a buzz, he gives them a nice big smile once he's got his Mama back. At least he doesn't hold a grudge ;)
- posted by Gary @ 2:35 PM |

 
Po'as Seep Too!
Well, unfortunately, Jay doesn't see the Pack'n'Play as a punishment. So I guess we'll have three beds in the nursery until Jay (or maybe Isaac) decides he wants to sleep in the "boy bed". Jay wanted to bring Thomas (Po'as) and Percy (Peesy) upstairs with him at naptime (his wall stickers- he really likes them!). "Po'as seep... Peesy seep too." And then there was "Po'as payrs [prayers]. Peesy payrs too!" Finally: "A'night Po'as. A'night Peesy."

Jay did get to walk in the snow today, since we had an appointment at church. It took him quite a while to walk down the porch stairs, what with the snowy handrail and all. He wanted to ride his poor little tricycle, which has a broken handle (that's another story), but we were a little bit late so I insisted that he get in the car. By the time we got to church, he was far more interested in the Canada geese trekking through the parking lot than in the snow. They ARE pretty interesting, though...

And I finally figured out why Jay was saying "Papa (grandpa) cackers!" at church. That's just what he calls graham crackers. Graham, grandpa... I'm guessing mine is not the only two-year-old to conflate the two!
- posted by Gary @ 2:14 PM |