Encore!

You asked for more, so you got it... the pint-sized performer singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep"

Our Little Singer

Reshen singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Happy 3rd Birthday Reshen!

Reshen's 3rd Birthday was November 19! Boy, how our bubby has grown this year:

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Games

This morning on our way to daycare, Reshen suddenly said “Do you see a clue, Mommy?” At first I was wondering what the heck he was talking about, but when I looked in the mirror, I saw him holding his magna doodle, his right hand poised for drawing. I knew exactly what he was doing. “Like Blue’s Clues?” I asked him? “Yeah” he answered with a huge grin. For those who haven’t been inducted into the world of Noggin on TV, Blue’s Clues is a show where the main character (Steve or Joe, depending on what season you’re watching) and the viewer have to find clues (objects with Blue’s (the dog’s) paw prints on them). When a clue is found, Steve/Joe will draw a picture of it in his “handy-dandy” notebook. At the end of the show we piece together the clues and try to figure out what Blue was trying to say.

So we spent the drive looking for clues… really just me shouting out object we passed and Reshen drawing it on his magna doodle. When we got to Pam’s house, we tried to figure out what it all meant… I think I came up with something lame like, “Blue wants us to drive carefully and read all the traffic signs and stop at red lights”. But Reshen was happy with it.

His favorite game at home has been playing with his train station airport… yeah you read that correctly.. it’s an airport that has train tracks passing through it.. what more could a 2-year-old transportation junkie want? So I am always instructed to play with the “guy and the girl” and Reshen controls the airplane and the train. My job is simply to take the people on and off their transportation and make them say things, when I am instructed to. He is very bossy, though, and doesn’t like me to stray too much from his inward script. I hear a lot of “No mommy, they don’t say that.” And heaven forbid I try to bring in another “guy” into the game, or introduce a truck or car instead of the train… It has to be just so… I guess there’s only room for one imagination in Reshen’s play world ;-)

So as you may have read in an earlier post, we’ve had sleeping success, but now we’re at a potty training standstill. I thought we were moving forward a few months ago, as he seemed interested in underwear and went in the potty a handful of times. But he is totally against the potty now. He freaks out if I try to get him to wear underwear, or even those disposable pull-ups. He only wants diapers. Most of the time he won’t even sit on the potty when it’s suggested, and when he does, he doesn’t produce anything and will pee minutes after getting off of it. The other day we were talking about it and Reshen volunteered “Remember when I pooped on the potty one time?” I acted all excited and said “Yes- I am so proud of you for pooping on the potty. Are you going to do it again sometime?” “Nope.” He answered very matter-of-factly. “That’s it.” **Sigh** So we’re laying off of it for awhile. I still question whether he’s even physically ready yet. Perhaps when his body is ready, it will click and he will actually want to do it without all the bribing. We can only hope!

Tales of the Big Boy Bed

Sorry for the long absence from blogging. We had quite a busy summer…I’m sure you’re all wondering what happened with the little man these past few months. Please bear with me while I try to update this blog with all the milestones and memories that we created over the summer. Things might be a bit out of order for the next few posts, as I remember random bits and pieces from the summer… hopefully you wont’ mind that too much.

I’ll start with the biggest milestone first- the Bubby Boo is now sleeping in a big-boy bed! It happened quickly too… one night he has having a rough time going to sleep (meaning not settling down and crying every time I left the room). Finally I left his room out of frustration, which, of course, caused a huge tantrum. Alan and I were listening to his crying from the baby monitor downstairs. I was just about to go back up when the screaming suddenly stopped. We heard some rustling and then a door opened and closed upstairs. We exchanged knowing glances. “He’s out.” Alan said. I waited a moment, expecting to see him coming down the stairs, but nothing… Perhaps it wasn’t the door we heard… maybe just him bumping around in his crib? I went upstairs to investigate and found Reshen standing in the hallway wearing a total guilty expression. I couldn’t help but laugh. It was just so odd to see him out there. “Did you climb out of your crib?” I asked. “Yeah,” he answered, still looking guilty. “Remember what mommy said?” I asked him. “If you climb out of your crib, then you need to use a big boy bed. You can’t sleep in your crib anymore.” It was a rule we had established a month or so before when he began acting like he might climb out. Now I had to follow through. I halfway expected him to start crying, but he actually smiled and said “Yeah. I want to sleep in a big boy bed.”


So for the night we took his crib mattress out of his bed and put it on the floor, surrounded by blankets. I lied down with him and he was out in less than 10 minutes. That night I searched for toddler beds on Craigslist and found one that was selling for only $15. We bought it the very next day. It’s very simple.. just a white, metal bed.. but it works well with the new white nightstand and bookshelves we snagged from Freecycle recently, and it’s the perfect size for him. He was excited at first, but seemed a little nervous to actually fall asleep in it. So for the first couple of weeks I ended up sitting in his room for moral support, I guess, while he fell asleep. At first, this seemed to work fine, and he would fall asleep without a fuss and within 30 minutes, but after awhile the novelty wore off and our new bedtime battles began. I would sometimes be in there all evening making him get back in bed and telling him to settle down and close his eyes. Eventually I decided it was time that he begin to fall asleep by himself again (after all, I knew he could do it as he had been doing just this in his crib before the climbing-out episode). Nice idea, but it didn’t go over well.

I knew it would be difficult to keep him in his bed, but figured if he at least stayed in his room, he would eventually fall asleep. Boy was I wrong. The first few nights he would not even stay in his room. He would creep downstairs repeatedly, with us taking him right back into his room each time. This would go one for a couple hours and then when it was our bedtime, he would keep coming into our room. Eventually (around midnight) I would finally convince him to lie in his bed where he would pass out from exhaustion.


After a handful of nights of this, he actually began staying in his room, BUT he would play until around midnight and then he would be so overtired that he would begin crying inconsolably until I came and helped him into bed. And oh the things he would do in those hours of unsupervised play. Clothes out of drawers, toys everywhere, lights on and off. Alan found him one time completely naked from the waist down but he had three layers on the top (one shirt on correctly, another shirt on halfway, and then a pair of shorts with an arm through one of the legs). We even tried moving his bed into our room one night (after many hours of him not going to sleep), but he just wanted to be in our bed. It felt like we tried everything- night light (but he would keep turning his overhead light on and playing instead), taking away toys (he would just calmly ask if they were going on the “night-night shelf”- didn’t phase him a bit), thought about using a gate on his doorway or rigging his doorknob so that he couldn’t open the door, but decided it would be a fire hazard, and I even tried giving him three cards and every time he got out of bed he had to give me one of them. I told him when he didn’t have any cards left he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed anymore. That only resulted in a tantrum when the last card ran out.. and he still got out of bed. I was really at my wit’s end. You simply can’t make a kid sleep. And short of putting a cage over his bed, I couldn’t make him stay in it either.


But then I had an idea. Perhaps I was going about it all wrong. I was so worried about forcing him to sleep and punishing him for not doing so. What if I instead rewarded him for doing it (or at least trying to do it) instead? I decided to give him a goal to work towards, instead of setting up rules for him to break. First of all, I needed to make staying in his bed a fun and attractive prospect, not something I simply wanted him to do. So we picked up a $20 bed tent from Ikea. It’s great- it has three sides and a top, but is open on one side so that he can still easily get in and out and it’s not too dark (which he was worried about). It just makes a nice, cozy canopy. He’s very happy with it. But we made a rule. If he gets out of his bed at nighttime, then his tent goes back to the store (because the tent is only for big boys who stay in their beds, of course). I thought for sure he would test me and make me keep my word… but the second he acted like he was getting out of bed, all I had to do was remind him of the warning and he hopped back in it as quick as could be. So we conquered problem one. At least he was in his room and in his bed.


Next came solving problem two.. him wanting me in the room. Cry-it-out simply does not work with Reshen. This kid can cry for hours and hours and the longer he goes the more hysterical he gets. It’s simply too stressful and counterproductive. So I had think of another option. I decided that I would propose checking on him often until he fell asleep. So I gave him a pile of books and said I would check on him and explained that I could hear him when he talked and that if he needed me, he could just call me, and that I would come back and give him a hug and a kiss and pat his back a lot of times before he went to sleep. I told him that Mommy had to get ready for bed to, so I couldn’t stay in there a long time. Surprisingly he accepted this. Maybe it was the novelty of the tent? The first night, I only waited 2 minutes before I checked on him, so that he knew I really was going to. Then I waited 5 minutes, then 7, and so on. I was shocked when he eventually fell asleep that all by himself without any crying or getting out of bed! Each night I would stretch out the time between “check-ins” Now I go in there after 10 minutes or so, and the next time 20 minutes, etc. Sometimes he calls me in sooner and I always go… I don’t want to loose the trust and most of the time it’s because he needs water or a diaper change or something.


So the bed tent and check-ins were keeping him in bed and helping him fall asleep for the time being, but I worried that he would soon get bored and revert back to his old ways, so I needed a long-term goal for him to work towards. I made a chart and told him that every morning he could put a sticker on it if he had fallen asleep by himself and stayed asleep all night. When every box had a sticker in it, he would earn a special trip somewhere. He picked the aquarium. It totally worked. Whenever he would start crying or complaining about going to sleep by himself I would just remind him of the aquarium trip and he would agree that he needed to sleep by himself. He was so proud the morning that he put the last sticker on and was so excited the day that we went. He even told the ticket lady “I sleep all by myself!”


I know our system isn’t perfect, and I also know that Reshen might decide one day soon that he’s had enough and put up a fuss, but for now I’m happy and he’s happy. We have our bedtime routine, he hops into bed with lots of books and then we have a few more hugs/kisses with the check-ins… and he falls asleep without the crying and frustration that we were having. It’s been going smoothly for a few weeks now. And he’s also sleeping through the night most nights, so we’re both also more rested. Yay!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Well, technically Trains and Ferry Boats. Like a lot of toddlers, our boy is fascinated with transportation. Firetrucks, airplanes, boats, buses, construction trucks, and of course trains thrill him to no end. And like most parents, we like to please our transportation fanatic.. which is part of the reason the past two weekends have involved a large form of transportation.

Last weekend we took a Ferry boat over to Whidbey Island. Yes, we could have driven there, as there is a bridge.. but our boy loves boats. So we waited in the line, paid the fee, and setteled in for the short 20 minute ride. It was an ideyllic day in the Northwest. Warm, clear blue skies, no wind... just perfect. Really a great day for a ride on the ferry. I was hoping we would see a sea lion, porpoise, or orca, but no such luck this day. That didn't matter. Reshen was enarmored. We even saw the "driver" (the captian) up at his post while we were on the deck. The man saw me pointing up at him and waved back down to Reshen. That made our kiddo's day for sure.



The ride was over way too soon for our guy, and we had to practically bribe him to get off the boat by promising he could ride it again on the way back. Our afternoon on the Island was fun, filled with parks, beaches and playgrounds. But Reshen could only think of the Ferry boat and kept reminding us that we still needed to ride it again. Poor kid was heartbroken when the ride home was over and we had to get off it for good. But we did promise we would ride it again this summer. I'm sure he won't let us forget.

Today we did another fun transportation- just for Reshen. We rode the Monorail. The Seattle Monorail, for those who don't know, is really more for tourists than locals. It spans about a 2 mile stretch of downtown and costs $2 for a one-way trip. I've only ridden the Monorail once... as a tourist before I moved here. Normally we walk or ride the bus (which are free I might add). But... our little man loves trains and talks about the Monrail all the time, since we saw it speed past on the elevated track a few months ago. And it just happened that today was an event called Folklife that happens at Seattle Center (near the Space Needle, and also the Monorail's destination). So, we purposely parked at one end of the Monroail and rode it to the Space Needle... just so the little man could have his train adventure. It was hot and crowded and not exactly cheap... but our little guy sat in wide-eyed fascination and we didn't regret the decision at all.

Folklife, on the other hand, was an annoying disappointment this year. It's a 4 day free festival celebrating music, dance and storytelling. We used to go every year pre-Reshen and I had always enjoyed it in years past. But this year was incredibly crowded. There was barely room to walk, no places to sit, long lines for everything... and people were just so annoying! We did stop at some informal roadside performances, and Reshen enjoyed hearing and watching the live music.. but that's really all we got out of it.. oh and the strawberry shortcake that a local strawberry vendor always sells there was delicious as usual. But I doubt we will be going back again. Fighting through the crowds just isn't enjoyable anymore. And all Reshen could think about, of course, was the monorail and wanting to ride it back home.

Oh and a side note. We saw a lobster at the grocery store today and Reshen said it was Buggy and had to stop and talk to it. We really need to find the kid a toy lobster.

Tidbits

Some random things my boy has said lately:

"Bless you, Mommy." after I sneezed today (no coaxing at all, btw)

"I love you too, Mommy. Have a good night!" He called this to me as I was closing his door at bedtime. How sweet is that?

"Buggy is at the aquarium. I miss my lobster!" What can I say.. he's Buggy obsessed lately. And the silly thing doesn't even exist!

"What you talking about?" to Alan and I when we were talking in the car. When we told him he said. "No. I want to talk about trucks." So of course we did.

"Moooommmmyyy. Where aaarrrreee yoooouuu?" He calls this to me from his crib sometimes.

He has been nodding his head "yes" and shaking his head "no" instead of verbally saying "yes" and "no" lately. It's really cute- they are very deep and deliberate motions.

Oh, and Reshen hasn't been interested in the potty since our success last weekend. Figures. But I know it will happen when he's ready.

Some Potty Success!

We finally had some potty success tonight! Yes, it's true that Reshen has pottied on his chair a few times before already, but this time it was definitely intentional, not just a coincidence that I suspect the other times have been. We were doing our normal before bedtime potty-sit and as usual nothing happened. But as I was giving him a sticker to put on his potty-chart (for sitting on the potty), he suddenly declared that he had to go pee-pee again. I suspected it was just stalling tactic, as he already told me he didn't want to go to bed. But I never want to deter using the potty, so I let him run back into the bathroom. To my surprise, as soon as he sat down a little pee-pee trickled into the bowl! I was ecstatic and praised him up and down. He grinned from ear to ear. He got to have a "potty treat" (chocolate chip) and put a special big sticker on the potty chart. I figured that was it for the evening, but not more than 2 minutes later he said he had to go again, and this time a big stream of pee-pee went into the bowl. He was even more excited about it this time. Of course this meant another chocolate chip and another sticker. He also announced that now he wants to wear pull-ups! I told him that we'll get some at the store tomorrow :-)

Of course, I have no idea if he's going to be as excited about using the potty tomorrow as he was today, but at least it's a real start and now I know he understands the sensation of needing to go and he possibly has a little more control over it than he used to. That's a big step for us! Yay- I'm so proud of my boy :-)

Big Boy Bubby

Reshen asked "why" for the first time last week. He was upset because we weren't driving in the "black car" (the Camry) and finally after telling him what seemed like 100 times that we couldn't drive in the Black car right now he asked "Why?" It stunned me for a second.. just seemed like such an "older" kid thing to say. Really a huge developmental leap in my book. He also used it yesterday when we were talking about the oven being hot. "Why oven hot?" he asked. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of the "Why" questions. I wonder exactly what happens that it finally occurs to them to ask "why". I'm sure he's thought it before, but he is just now vocalizing it. I ask *him* "why" all the time and he's been able to answer me now for a few months (i.e. mostly "why did you do that? why are you crying? etc.). I suppose it finally dawned on him that he could use it too :-) His language development intrigues me to no end.

We had another first recently- the first attempt to climb out of the crib. He had been whining in his crib one evening at bedtime and when I finally went in there, I was shocked to see one leg up and over the crib. Luckily he hadn't hoisted his whole body up yet (his other leg was still on the mattress), but it worries me that he is even thinking about climbing out. I asked him what he was doing and he answered, "Trying get out of crib." At least he's honest. I suppose if he keeps it up we'll have to try a "big boy bed," but it worries me what he'll do to his room if not confined. I'll have to do some *major* toddler proofing for sure.

He's obsessed again with "A Mighty Wind"- the concert at the end of the movie. He gave it a break for several months, but he's back at it again... asking to watch it all the time and singing and playing his guitar along with it.

He's also uber-obsessed with "Choo Choo Soul," and would watch it non-stop on the computer if we let him. He has a specific rotation of video clips he watches- Steam Train, then Bullet Train then Do Your Own Dance. He never wants to watch the Be Polite video though.. he has totally shunned that one.

Reshen has invented a silly word that he knows is funny and uses it whenever he wants to be silly. It's "buggy" or sometimes it sounds more like "boogie"... but whatever he says, it goes for everything. Mommy is "buggy", the cars are "buggy", the food tastes "buggy". You get the drift. He always says it with a silly, expectant grin, knowing that he is funny. I guess his lobster is "Buggy" too. Gotta love this early humor.

And the potty humor is beginning too. A boy all the way, he was trying to make himself pass gas the other day.. and when he did, he would bust out laughing. Nice. Sometimes he also says in his "silly" voice, "I pee pee out my bottom". *sigh* I know this is only the beginning. And I also know maybe I shouldn't laugh. But it's just so bizarre to hear my baby boy saying these things! Wasn't he just learning to coo and blow raspberries yesterday?? And now he's talking about pee and bottoms with delight. It sure doesn't take long to catch on, does it?

He's been talking a lot about monsters lately and having to hide from them. At first I thought maybe he was scared and trying to work through it, so I asked him if monsters were scary. He said "No. They are silly." Well that's good. So we've been chased by lots of silly monsters lately and are constantly having to hide from them- at the park, under the covers, etc.. I taught him to then pretend to jump out at the "monsters" and yell "Boo Monsters!" and scare them away. Figured that if he really was afraid for any reason, it might help to pretend to turn the tables on them :-)

Reshen's feet are finally slimming down. We took him to Stride Rite to get him some new shoes a couple of weeks ago, as he was wearing through the toes of his old pair. I expected him to go up maybe 1 size. He was currently in size 6.5 extra wides, so I thought we'd be getting him 7.5s (with lots of room to grow). Nope. He actually needed 8s! I felt bad that he had been wearing shoes that were too small for him for so long, but honestly he never complained and he was still running and jumping in them just fine. But the good news is that he only needs wides now, not extra wides.. which means we aren't limited to Stride Rite anymore- yay! Don't get me wrong, they have really cute and very well constructed shoes... but they are just so expensive! So we left and went to Payless and got him a cute pair of Champion sneakers- size 8 wide :-) He loves his new shoes and we loved the price- only $15 ;-) I still have to buy him a pair of rain boots, though, and also a pair of sandals for the summer, as I just realized both of his old pairs are only in the 5-6 range. My baby boy is growing!

I'm loving his pretend play lately. He's been doing it for months, but it's becoming more elaborate and abstract lately. Yesterday at the playground we were pretending that Reshen was going to work and Mommy was staying at Pam's house. He would bring me to a spot that was Pam's house and then he would run in this wide circle to "work" and then back towards me and give me a big hug. And then we would talk about our days, like we do in real life. He loved hearing what I "did" at Pam's house and even interjected stuff that he usually does there. Anyways, we did this at least 10 times in a row. And every time I saw him running back towards me, my heart just swelled with love. He just looked so big all of a sudden, and independent... but yet still had those baby cheeks and hugged me so sweet and tight when he finally made it back to my arms. I found myself not wanting to let go each time and trying to get in as many kisses as I could. I almost hated to let him go each time to go back to "work," but then it was so much fun to watch him run in that wide circle and back into my arms. I suppose that is what raising children is about... letting them go to run the world, and hoping that your bond will lure them back for a hug every now and then. I can only hope he will always come back to me with the joy he did at 2 years old.

Buggy the Lobster

Today at preschool they were talking about pets and the teacher asked each of the children what pet they would choose if they could have *any* animal and then what would they name it. She said that most kids wanted the typical pet animals, like cats, dogs, horses etc. Then they got to Reshen.

My boy said he wanted a lobster.

Yes. A lobster.

And he would name it “Buggy.”

My kid is so weird.

But I wouldn't have him any other way ;-)

Reshen Update

Ok, I know it's been a very long time since my last post. What can I say- I just have a difficult time keeping up with all my projects these days. But I have been e-mailing myself little stories and tidbits about Reshen while I work as I think of them, and have finally complied more than enough for a blog post and have put them all together to give you an idea of what the boy has been up to the past couple of months. Warning- this is long, but what do you expect... the little man has been busy growing :-)

Reshen has an interest in reading and writing- meaning he realizes that letters make words. When we're reading he'll point to words and ask "What that say, mommy?" To help him connect the written word to the spoken word, I've been trailing my finger along the words when I read to him and now he does the same. He also "writes" names when he draws, which are up-and-down squiggles, but are very different than his other drawings. He helped me with his valentines this year, by writing his friends' names with very deliberate squiggles in the same spot on every card.

Another leap has been he now draws people with extra components. He makes a big circle for the head/body and little circles inside it for eyes (and sometimes even a nose) and sometimes adds a line for a mouth and circles on the bottom for feet. I was amazed the first time he did this. I assumed this was something that would come later. He also floored me by drawing "big tall trees and wind" once, with lines and circles for the tree and squiggles for the wind.



His medium of choice is the marker- preferably black...although he was banned from them for a short while because he bit the tip off one of them when we weren't looking. "I bite it!" he told Alan, handing him the chewed off tip and smiling at him with black marker all over his face. Good thing it was non-toxic!

For awhile, Reshen had formed an attachment to a small, plastic Minnie Mouse character. I'm not sure why, other than she's in his favorite TV Show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The funniest thing about his attachment, was that he wanted Minnie to sleep in his crib with him. He even requested that I make her a bed, so she had a small blanket set up beside his pillow. When I put him in his crib to go to sleep, he would turn her over on her belly, just like he sleeps and would pat her back like I pat his. Sometimes she would fall out of his crib through the slats in the middle of the night, and if he noticed, he would begin yelling "Oh no, my Minnie fall out! Mommy help you!" Our boy is fickle, though, and no longer loves her like he used to, only a month ago. It was cute while it lasted.

He's been fascinated by the going to sleep process and likes to pretend to put mommy and daddy to sleep. If I yawn or rub my eyes he runs over to me and asks "Mommy tired? I put you to bed." He pretends to pick me up and then pulls me towards a pillow, saying "C'mon Mommy. Lay down." He then goes through all the motions of giving me milk, putting a blanket on me, patting my back, giving me a kiss and then even pretends to close a door. It's really cute. Too bad my pretend nights are short, though, and I can't sneak in a real nap :-)

Reshen has been so affectionate. He still runs up to me with spontaneous hugs and kisses and says "I wuv you" or "You're my best friend." Sometimes if I leave the room and then come back he will come up and hug me and say "I miss you." or "I'm glad you're back!" He is also very good at blowing kisses and we do this when I drop him off at daycare and as I'm leaving his room at bedtime. It's really sweet and makes up for all the times he's not so "soft" with mommy.



He loves to pretend to spray people or pretend get people wet or dirty.
Some things he pretends to do are spraying people with hoses, dumping water on people, throwing salt on people (long story where this came from- I know, it's weird)). He uses funny sound effects and then cackles with delight when you pretend to be surprised and brush yourself off. He understands now that firetrucks have hoses and often pretends to be a firefighter. The other evening after dinner he was in the living room by himself and I heard him making his hose spraying noise. We peeked in there to see him wearing his fire hat and holding a small cord (from the computer) "spraying" all the furniture. Too cute. Alan had to find him his own "hose" to use, though so that he wouldn't destroy our electronics in his hose-spraying-frenzy.

Funny things he says:

- "I be right back" while he holds up one finger and looks at you intently

- "That is turk-noise (turquoise)?" I love it when he says this. He's obsessed with "turk-noise" right now and is always identifying it.

- "I have a good idea" when he thinks of something else he wants to do or play

- "Hmmmm... Let's see." or "Hmmm... Let's think." with a finger on his chin and a thoughtful expression.

- "I don't know." He says this *so* sweetly. I love it.

-"Dat (that) mines (mine)!" I just love how he puts an S on the end of mine. It's really cute :-)

-"I driving Mommy crazy!" What can I say.. he's very observant.

We think Reshen is going through a growth spurt. He can eat *so* much all of a sudden. He ate an entire cheeseburger by himself a couple of weekends ago. It was a small, simple burger but I was shocked that he ate the whole thing. He will also eat a meal and then 30 minutes later comes up to me saying "I hungy (hungry) Mommy. I want food!" It's been a challenge to continue to give him healthy things to snack on, when he asks for food so often. He also goes through spurts where he will sleep a bit later in the mornings (till 7 some days) and is said to be taking really solid, long naps at daycare....although this past week he's been awake before 6 a.m. every day, so I guess he's not consistent about it. Perhaps he will be able to fit into all of his 2T pants soon! Just as long as he grows *up* and not *out* :-)

Reshen is really into Dr. Seuss books- his favorite being Wocket in my Pocket, but he also likes Fox in Socks and Green Eggs and Ham. For a good few weeks we read Wocket in my Pocket almost every night before bed and he can now "read" the entire book outloud himself (ok, so he just memorized it.. but still impressive, right?). It's so cute to hear him say "And I feel quite certain there's a Jertain in my Curtain." Of course, no one else would probably understand him as it's out of context, but I sure do :-) We have discovered the books-on-video at the library... basically they are DVDs that show the pages of the book and have a voice actor reading them. Reshen loves the Dr. Seuss series of these.

Not only can he read books to himself, but he likes to read them to us. He will read a page and then turn it outward and ask "You see that, Mommy?" He must be picking this up from daycare when they have story time :-) He gets into reading frenzies sometimes where he will sit and read every single book that he has (which is *a lot*). It's so cute to see him intently reading surrounded by a huge pile of books.

Speaking of daycare, I'm so happy we found our ours. Pam is just wonderful with him, as are the other young ladies that work there. It warms my heart to see him give his caregivers big hugs in the morning and to see them genuinely love him back. He brings home art projects almost every day and very often when I go to pick him up, they are all sitting and listening to stories, dancing to music, reading their own books or playing outside. His days seems very full and engaging there. We also now have a pool of qualified babysitters that we know and trust, which is a wonderful side benefit.

A few things Reshen has gained from pre-school:

1. How to spell his name. Ask him how you spell "Reshen" and he'll say "R E S H E N" and acts like he's pointing at the letters. He can also pick out his name from other words, and exclaims "Dat (that) my name!"
2. The days of the week. I don't think he gets the concept really, but can recite the days of the week in order and can sing "The days of the week song" in its entirety.
3. He can count to at least 20.
4. He learns songs and stories that aren't from me- like BINGO, The bear went over the mountain and more... it's funny to hear him sing them and reference them and I'm out of the loop!
5. How to play and socialize with other kids- both younger than him and older than him.
6. Manners. OK, I teach this too, but they really push them in daycare.
Yesterday when he was done with dinner he asked "Can I please be excused please?" I about melted it was so sweet. Thank you Pam!
7. He has learned trust and that other people can take care of him- not just mommy and daddy. This is important, especially since we don't live near family and he hasn't had many other people take care of him in his life.

Reshen is still obsessed with trains, but also now likes tractors as well. We got a book about farm machines from the library and for awhile they were the only trucks he cared about. I asked him the other day if he likes dump trucks. He said "no" so then I asked if he liked crane trucks. Again he answered "no." Then he added. "I not like any trucks, Mommy. Just tractors." How silly of me.

He's also really into buses right now, as we went on a bus adventure to downtown Seattle recently. We took the bus from north Seattle and Reshen was wide-eyed the entire trip, taking it all in. We went to see Daddy's work and then to the downtown library, but what he wanted to do most was ride the bus. At the end of the day when the bus ride was over and he was back in the car in his car seat, he began crying to "Ride on bus, see downtown library again!" He still talks about it. Who knew the metro bus full of stinky downtown inhabitants could be so exciting?

But his love of trains still trumps everything else. He now has 5 train sets. Not kidding. They aren't all set up at the same time, but he likes to alternate between them. We often pretend that our car is a Bullet Train and that we are driving on tracks. He sees notices them everywhere- signs, books, commercials... he's got an eye for them, that's for sure. During our Indiana trip, he saw a real steam train at the Children's Museum and got to sit on it. He really thought it was moving and was so excited. They also had a large model display and I really think he could have stayed there all day watching them. Then later that week we went to the train tracks and he got to see a large freight train.. which we are still talking about. We are planning on taking him for a real steam train ride this summer. I just hope he doesn't get scared of the loud whistle and decide he's afraid of them!




Airplanes have also struck his fancy lately.. mostly due to the fact he rode on 4 of them last week for our Indiana trip. He did so well and was excited to sit on his own in his special airplane car seat. He had his "own window" and "own tray" and he kept entertained with new books, DVDs, and special snacks for the most part. He even napped a bit. It was so much easier flying with him in his own sit rather than holding him the entire time like we had done in the past. Anyway, he was interested in the plane. We could see the wing from our seat, but he then asked where the tail was and looked thoughtful when I told him it was behind us and we couldn't see it from our seat. He also enjoyed watching the "crane trucks" as he called them, as they de-iced our airplane in Minneapolis. Big trucks spraying solution all over the planes does make for riveting entertainment I guess. He also asked where the engineer was LOL. I said the driver of the plane is called the pilot. So then he asked where the pilot was and I told him he was up front, driving the plane and maybe we would see him when we got off. He was lucky enough that the pilot actually came down the aisle and gave him a little airplane card and then helped me carry the carseat off the plane. He's still talking about that :-)




We are making some small head-way with potty learning. I made a potty chart where he can put a sticker on everytime he sits on the potty, whether or not he actually does anything on it. If he does actually "potty" then he also gets a chocolate chip and gets to put a special big sticker on the chart. It is more of a form of encouragement and also a visual reminder that there is a potty, as he had totally lost interest for awhile. He usually sits on it now before bedtime. He went pee-pee in it a few weeks ago and we made much fan-fare about it. The next day he wanted that chocolate chip again, or "potty treat" as we call it, and jumped up from the potty announcing that he was ready for it. I asked him if there was pee or poo in the potty and he looked in there and said "no." I explained the terms of the potty treat and he sat back down to try again. He looked like he was concentrating very hard and even strained a bit. He then looked between his legs and exclaimed "It's not working!" LOL I then explained that sometimes you just don't have to go... I did feel kind of bad for the kid, but I have to stick to the rules with this. I still think he doesn't know how to physically control his bowels yet, but I figure maybe he'll at least have the concept down by the time he's physically ready. We're still doing the no-pressure, fun approach. Just keeping the idea going ;-)

Our big boy was recently a ring-bearer in his Aunt Carly and Uncle Chris' wedding. He was utterly *adorable* in his suit. He was such a good boy and walked down the aisle by himself and cooperated for photos and even stole the dance floor during the reception. I'm so proud of my little man.

Well I suppose this is long enough for now. I'll probably think of some more tidbits later and put them in another post.

Goofy Kid

As usual, my Reshen news mostly involves language. This probably is not the most riveting of blog posts to read, but as a mommy I feel great need to capture all of the amusing things he is saying. So here they are, in no particular order...

Reshen: Where the North Pole, Mommy? (while we were driving)
Me: It's far away.
Reshen: North Pole is behind us, Mommy.

I have no idea what suddenly made him think of the North Pole and then decide it was behind us, but he was quite certain about that.

If our boy doesn't become a musician, I believe he might end up in the police force someday. He enjoys telling Alan and I what to do. The other day we were driving when a fire truck came screaming by us. Reshen loves firerucks, so it was no surprise when he exclaimed,

"There goes a firetruck!"

"Yes, a firetruck" we replied. "It was going fast, wasn't it?"

"Watch out for firetruck, Daddy" Reshen suddenly advised. "Be careful."

"Be Careful" seems to be his motto now, although it's usually more directed at us than himself.

Every evening he has to instruct me to be careful with the rocking chair. As soon as I start rocking he will pop up from my shoulder, look me directly in the eye and say

"Be careful, mommy. No hit wall." He will even point at me with toddler authority.

"Ok, I won't hit the wall." I assure him and he will lie back down. Once I start rocking, he will pop up again and look at me very seriously.

"Careful." he advises again. "Go slowly, Mommy. No rock faster."

I have to tell him "OK" one more time, and usually that is enough to satisfy him. Of course, this new concern of his stems from a time when I had to tell *him* not to rock so hard because he was hitting the wall. Obviously he has taken the warning very seriously. What a little goober.

We recently had our first successful evening babysitting (with someone outside of family or close friends). I won tickets to a Seattle Sonics/Sacramento Kings basketball game from my work and so we decided to give it a try. A young woman from Reshen's daycare came over on Sunday evening. We had talked about it for 2 days and Reshen knew she would be putting him to bed. He seemed excited about it, but I was wondering how it would really go over when the time came. We gave her detailed instructions, left her many sheets of paper loaded with emergency contacts and more instructions and eventually left, me turning my cell phone ringer volume to high and vibrate to make sure I wouldn't miss any calls. Around 8p.m. I was half-expecting a call to tell us Reshen was hysterical... but it never came. The game ended and we had actually seen the whole thing, uninterrupted. When we got home it was quiet, our wonderful sitter was calm and the house was still standing and even tidy. She said Reshen didn't cry at all and went right to sleep. Yahoo!! I"m so proud of him for being a brave boy and allowing someone else to put him to sleep for once. When he woke up the next morning and I walked in, he greeted me with an especially enthusiastic "Mommy!" and then said "Mommy be back soon. Mommy watch game." What a smart, sweet boy he is.



Seattle is having an especially snowy cold winter. It hasn't been good for morning commutes, but has been really fun for Reshen. On Monday Reshen's day care was closed because of the weather, so we had some fun snow play outside (his third already this year). He walked around making tracks in the snow. He touched it and tried to walk up a hill. Then he asked to make a snowman. I made one (it was quite pitiful and I actually didn't take a photo), and he declared it needed a nose and a mouth. So we used a carrot for the nose, and found rocks for his eyes. We used sticks for his arms and his mouth. When we were finished, Reshen stood and stared at him for a moment. I could tell he was thinking about something. "Snowman talk." he finally said, looking expectantly at the pile of decorated snow. It was so cute, but I felt bad breaking the news that he wasn't going to come to life like he saw on TV. I tried speaking for the snowman, but it wasn't convincing enough. I'm just not a great voice actor I guess.

As per usual in Seattle, the snow didn't last long and was melted by the next morning. Reshen seemed confused when we walked out the next day and the only thing left was the carrot and sticks. "Carrot nose!" he exclaimed "Where snowman go?"

One of Reshen's favorite restaurants is Red Robin. They have balloons, crayons and french fries.. what's not to like? Last time we went there, they boy was introduced to another attraction of the establishment. A huge "real" Red Robin. I guess on Thursdays some lucky individual dresses up in a Red Robin costume and walks around the restaurant, handing out balloons. I spotted him coming at the same time Reshen did. Suddenly the little man's eyes grew huge and lhe ocked into one of his intense stares as the Robin handed a balloon to a nearby child. I watched Reshen carefully, wondering which direction this was going to go- excitement or horror. The Robin noticed Reshen and came over, holding out his red gloved hand to him. This was the moment of truth. I held my breath. Reshen smiled (just a little) and gave the Robin a high-five. I was impressed. Our boy then announced he wanted a yellow balloon. Who knew. He's scared of a cartoon snowman, but not a "real" huge red bird. Go figure.

His understanding of language continues to grow, including the concept of missing people and things. I guess because sometimes when I pick him up from daycare I say "I missed you today" or sometimes we talk about missing family. Today when we were driving, Reshen was looking for the moon. I told him it was hiding in the clouds. "I miss moon, Mommy." he said. So sweet.

He is also understanding more about other emotions, such as excitement. We went to the Post Office to pick up a package today and I told him it was a present for him. When I went to get him out of the car he patted his chest and said "Getting MY present. I 'cited (excited), Mommy!"

He is such the goof-ball lately, making up his own silly games and cracking himself up. He has a new funny laugh. I call it his Frenchman laugh, as it's a forced "Huh Huh Huh." He uses it when he purposely does something mischievous or silly in his mind. I love watching his humor become more and more refined. Today when I was rocking him at bedtime he sat up, pretended he was holding something and then touched my nose and kind of twisted it.

"Want a big nose, Mommy?" he asked.

"You're giving me a big nose?" I laughed.

"Yeah!" he said. "Want different nose, Mommy?"

How could I resist seeing where this was going?

"Yes," I answered, "Give me a little nose, please." and I acted like I was taking my nose off.

He pretended he was looking for one and then "put" another nose on my nose and acted like he was screwing it on.

"That better, Mommy?" he asked.

We then pretended we were trading noses, which he got a huge kick out of. He was getting a bit riled up so I tried to calm him back down for bedtime. I pretended I was putting eyes on him and said they were his sleepy eyes and he needed them to go to bed. He pretended he was taking them off and putting them in my pocket.

"There go, Mommy" he said, patting my pocket "Reshen no need sleepy eyes. I not tired." Little stinker.

Haircuts and Hot Chocolate

Our little man is looking like a big boy now with a new haircut. It's his second haircut (his first was in August), and we actually sprung for a professional job this time. We took him to Supercuts and were pleased with the results. The stylist was great with him and he sat so still and quiet. He did look just a little worried, but was brave and enjoyed a complimentary sucker afterwards (his first, by the way). I'm always a little sad to see the long hair go, but it was in his eyes and also people were beginning to call him a girl again, so we said "bye-bye" to the long locks...although, I did have her keep the sides and the back a little longer than is traditional... he has kind of a 60s or 70s shaggy look going on now, and I think it's adorable :-)



Not only is he looking like a big boy, he's really talking like one even more. He's using the word "I" a lot more often than he used to, so his sentences are sounding more complete. Yesterday I called him a "goober" and he said "No. I not a goober. I'm Reshen!" I know he's used "I" before, but he was still referring to himself in the third person a lot, often saying"Reshen do it,"etc. It just struck me this weekend how often he now talks in the first person and just how "together" his sentences are suddenly sounding.

I realized the other day that I need to be more accurate with my words, as Reshen takes everything literally. I noticed that his diaper seemed a bit full this weekend, so said outloud "Hmmm... I think you need another diaper." Meaning, he needed a clean diaper. "No, mommy. " He said. "Need just one." Too funny. He was right, though. He only needs one diaper at a time. :-)



The boy has been melting mommy's heart lately with exceptionally sweet displays of affection. Out of the blue he will throw his arms around me and announce "I love you, mommy" in his sugary voice. When we rock before bedtime he will suddenly sit up, cup my cheeks with both of his pudgy toddler hands, stare intently into my eyes, smile, say "Hi Mommy" and then kiss me square on the lips. I suppose these "mommy and Reshen love sessions" make up for all those screaming fits in the grocery store and 5 a.m. wakings.

As a child I recall my parents wondering how my sister and I could swim happily swim in the frigid Lake Michigan waters. We somehow just didn't feel, or perhaps simply didn't mind, the cold... and I wondered back then what the big deal was... why didn't my parents want to swim too? Now I understand. No, Reshen and I weren't swimming in January. But we were playing outside in the unusually cold Seattle winter weather. It was probably in the 30s and a bit breezy. I know, it could be worse, but I'm not used to these temperatures and I was freezing. Reshen, on the other hand, was happy as a clam. We walked completely around the block. We pushed the cross-walk button and went over to Walgreens. We walked home and then went next door to the park. We looked at bugs, stirred puddles with sticks and collected pine cones. He had such a great time. But did I mention I was freezing? I tolerated it, of course, because I love my little boy and it's not often we see a clear, sunny *weekend* day in January. So I shivered and indulged him and eventually coaxed him back inside with the promise of hot chocolate. Mommy knows how to make the boy happy :-)

Words

This Sunday we took advantage of the winter sunshine and went downtown. I'm not sure which Reshen enjoyed more- the tasty hot donuts we got at Pike's Place or the Monorail train he saw speeding above us. "Train up there!" he exclaimed about the Monorail and stretched his little arms up as high as he could, "Can't reach it!" He also seemed to enjoy the bustle of Pike's Place, the plethora of vegetables, flowers, seafood and souvenirs lining the hallway, the variety of people, the occasional street performer and the hidden nooks and crannies of the market. We brought his stroller, but he wanted to walk the entire way- even up a huge hill. He had so much fun, we had a bit of trouble getting him back into the car when we were finished.

Reshen continues to have adventures with his "guys." He has two that are named "Michael" and "Sonia Lee" (no he didn't name them, they came that way). The other day he gave me "Michael" and went to search for "Sonia Lee" for himself. He was having trouble finding her and came over to me, knelt down and looked directly at the guy in my hand. "Where Sonia Lee, Michael?" he asked the plastic figure in a very serious voice. Trying to contain my laughter I spoke for Michael, suggesting that we all go look for her together. Sometimes I wonder how much of Reshen's interaction with his "guys" is pretend and how much he really believes they are real.

Reshen has discovered one of my favorite children's shows, Little Bear. The artwork is by Maurice Sendak (you know, artist of Where the Wild Things Are), and the stories are simple and slow paced.. unlike some of the flashy, hyperactive children's shows of today. I've liked it for years and even bought a Little Bear plush animal when it was on clearance probably 5 years ago, long before Reshen was thought of.. hoping to share it with my child someday. How sweet it is to snuggle with him on the couch as he clutches his stuffed Little Bear and we enjoy our show together.

Reshen loves to talk with me as we drive to and from daycare. He's intensely aware of his surroundings and likes to tell me what he sees. The other day a huge flock of birds engulfed the sky. "Look at that!" he exclaimed "Lots of birds! Birds on house! Birds in tree!" Eventually we passed them and I asked him if he could see anymore birds "Just one, Mommy." he answered. I looked in the mirror and he was holding up a finger on one hand and pointing out the window at one lone bird with the other. What a smarty-pants. :-)

He also likes to pass the time by playing a game where you ask a question, such as "What has wheels?" and then go through the objects that have them or don't have them. Example:

Me: Does a bus have wheels?
Reshen: Yes, bus have wheels!
Me: Does a tree have wheels?
Reshen: Noooo. Tree no have wheels. That silly. (pause) What else have wheels?

This game can go on and on.

"Mama talk." he often requests, as if he can't get enough of my words. He likes me to read to him, to make the "guys" talk, to just chat with him about our day. It's very sweet. I'm sure someday it will be "Mom be quiet" or something to that effect, so for now I'll talk to my little man for as long as he likes. :-)

Busy Times

We've had a busy month! Reshen has been doing great, growing and learning. He's talking so much and saying funny "grown-up" things. Some that caught me off-guard just recently are:

- "I think so" when I asked him a question

- "Oh yeah" when I remind him of something

- "Remember that?" when he's recalling a past event

- "Hmmm, let's see." When he's thinking about something

- "Oh, so cute!" about babies.

- "That (was/is) so funny!" Followed by a forced hearty laugh

He seems able to express almost anything he needs to now. I think he talks fairly clearly for his age (as I understand almost everything he says), but find myself having to sometimes translate for him to others- so maybe he is still a bit "dutchy."

He knows a lot of colors now- blue, green, orange, yellow, red, pink, black, purple and his new favorite- turquoise (or "turk-noise" as he calls it :-)

He is really into trains and loves to read about them, watch them on TV, and play with them. He's into both Geotrax and Thomas the Tank Engine. He has two Geotrax episodes on DVD and has watched them so often he now recites lines from the show and acts out scenes on his train set. "Slow down, Eric!" he says and makes the train fall off the track. He makes his "guys"
wait at the station and has the train stop and makes the guys get on and off. Yesterday the train was running out of batteries and he told me it was "going slowly." He also loves the music of Choo Choo Soul and enjoys getting on the computer (with our help of course) and watching their music videos. In fact, he has now begun singing their theme song when he pretends that *he* is a train. Yesterday he decided that a pattern on the floor at Macy's looked like a train track and immediately he became a train and had to "chugga-chugga-choo-choo" around it.

Speaking of pretending, he pretends to be many things these days. The newest is a water hose. He makes a funny sound-effect (sounds like "ppssshhhhh") and waves his hand around. Then he laughs and exclaims that whatever he was aiming at is now all wet. If he sprays me I have to pretend to dry off (yes, I said *have* to- he orders me to if I don't automatically). Other animals/objects he pretends to be:

-chicken popping out of an egg
-cat (he has the cutest meow)
-dog
-lion
-monster
-monkey
-fire truck
-airplane

His other favorite thing to play besides trains his with his "guys". He has a variety of them- from Fisher Price Little People, to GeoTrax figures, to toddler-friendly Superhero action figures. He makes them "live" in a toy house that Santa brought him for Christmas and acts out day-to-day life. They eat food in the kitchen, wash their hands, go potty, take showers (funny, because he actually takes baths, not showers), play with toys, read books, play outside, etc.. Of course, he enjoys it most if mommy or daddy play along and we have the same scenario everytime:

Reshen: "Want come inside?"

Me: "Sure, I'd love to come inside"

Reshen: "Hungry. Want, ummmm, applesauce!"

Me: "You want some applesauce? Sure I'll make you some."

(pretend my "guy" is making applesauce.) "Here you go, guy."

Reshen: "Thank you." (pretends his guy is eating it). "Bleh!" (pretends his guy is spitting it out) Laughs hysterically.

Then we move our guys into the "living room," then into the "bathroom,"etc.. and play out the normal scenarios there. It's very cute, but can also get a little monotonous for an adult- when you've already played it 10 times that day. ;-)

He also pretends with his Fisher Price animals that came with a zoo set. He has designated the seal as the mommy, the lion as the daddy and the x-ray fish as the kid (himself probably). He is always the fish and then he makes me be "mommy seal" or "daddy lion" or sometimes both :-) They "walk" around the room and go on adventures to the library, zoo, restaurant and Costco :-)

He's still a big music fan. Still loves the traditional nursery rhymes songs and action songs, Raffi, and songs from A Mighty Wind. He got a little guitar from his Gramma for Christmas and likes to play it while daddy plays the Guitar Hero video game. He also likes to play drums and is also a
very enthusiastic dancer (his moves mostly involve spinning and jumping).

Health-wise he's doing pretty great too. At his 2-year check-up in November he was 29.5 lbs and close to 34" tall. That put him around the 50% percentile for both height and weight. He's in 24 months to 2T clothes for shirts and mostly 24 months for pants (although he can wear some 2T pants if they are on the shorter side). He seems to be long waisted/short legged, like his daddy. ;-) He is also in size 6.5 extra wide shoes.

Illness-wise, we've still been pretty lucky to avoid anything too terrible. He's had a number of colds and one long ear infection so far this fall/winter, but other than that nothing too bad. That was the same last year too- just colds and ear infections, but none of that nasty flu, bronchitis and other viruses that went around. Wish us luck that we'll avoid all that again this year! Knocking on wood so hard my knuckles are bleeding!

He's still the early riser- 6:30 seeming refreshingly late for him. He normally is asleep around 8, although I do try to get him down earlier, seeing that he wakes up early no matter what time he goes to bed. So on average he sleeps from 8pm-6am (although this week it has been like 5:30
a.m.). He takes one nap at daycare, and I think he sleeps around 1.5 hours. At home on the weekends, he always seems tired and crabby in the morning, so sometimes he'll take a 30 minute morning nap and then another 1 hour or 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon. He resists sleeping on and off (although that is not really new), but now is tricky about it. Sometimes he'll tell me his mouth hurts. If I say he's fine, then he says his ears hurt. If I again say he's fine, he then tells me he has a poopy diaper. He's such the little stinker, because he knows those are all things that have previously gotten him out of his crib.

He is becoming increasingly a "2-year-old" in the behavioral sense. We've had some issues with him running away while in public. He now gets a warning when we're in a store and if he continues he gets strapped into the cart or stroller (which he hates). He's become more defiant at home, yelling "No!" if he objects to something and/or collapsing on the floor crying. We do warnings and then time-outs at home. It seems our discipline is going to have to get a little stricter than it has been... he is getting older and able to handle more rules and consequences now I suppose. All-in-all, though, he is still a fairly compliant kid for the most part. The bad behavior is mostly triggered when he's tired, bored, hungry or overwhelmed, so I try to keep ahead of those!

The potty is still an on-again/off-again interest. 2 days ago he announced out of the blue that he wanted to sit on it and read books. We did just that and he actually peed in it. That was the third time he's successfully used it since July. He didn't seem too impressed, though, nor did he the other times. He hasn't even sat on it since. We're still taking it slow.. just letting him use it when he wants. I still don't think he's really ready for any real "training" yet. I don't think he has the physical control and doesn't usually tell us before he has to go. I honestly don't mind the diapers too much so it's really no big deal for me to wait until he's ready.

He's beginning to become afraid of things. Some things we now know he is scared of:

- The crow in the Fox in Socks book

- Halloween gorilla masks

- Jim Carey as The Grinch

- A scene in the movie "The Snowman"

He is only mildly afraid of the crow.. in fact sometimes he actually wantsto see it. But he is very afraid of the rest of them (cries and clings to me). Poor little man.

We had a fun Holiday season. Reshen enjoyed Christmas- he got the idea of Santa and giving and getting presents. Between his birthday and Christmas, he got to open a lot of presents and knew exactly what to do when he saw a wrapped gift. It was fun to share the Holiday with him this year and watch his wonder at the lights, music, snow and general atmosphere of the season.

So in summary, our guy is doing great! A happy, healthy and very active 2-year-old. We are truly blessed :-)