Photos and life...and watermelon

Nothing too exciting going on lately. We were able to visit with Grandma and cousins and uncles and aunt over Labor Day weekend. But did I take pictures? Nope. I did grab the camera on a few occasions lately, though. Here are some highlights.

Lawnmower! Good for 30 minutes of entertainment.

We're learning the letters of our names. It hasn't rained, so these have been around for two weeks.

Mommy, you ride in the back. I will drive you.

Riding on the "tractor" is fun!

And our annual watermelon video...

Father's Day fun and fail

Lest you think life with our dear little fellow is all bliss and frolicking through fields of wildflowers...we had the oddest thing happen. Up 'til now, little man did not that the music truck that went by also doled out delightful ice creams. In our new neighborhood, we don't have a regular ride-by, as we have probably pulled the average age of the neighbors down to a sprightly 58 with our presence. We would hear one on the main road outside the neighborhood a lot, but I thought it would be cruel to tell him it was a truck full of treats that was not going to come to our house. So I just called it the music truck.

On Father's Day, we decided to take a trip over to Shepard's favorite local park, the "waterfall park." It's Glencairn Gardens about two miles away.

This kid really loves him some fountains.

It was a nice evening, and we had been strolling around the park for the better part of an hour when we heard the "music truck." Shepard was intrigued and trying to see where it was coming from. We made it up to the top deck of the balcony area and there it was!

We decided to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and spring for an ice cream for him. Thus, he'd know the secret of the music truck. It doles out magical, sugary goodness.

 We asked him several times what kind of ice cream he'd like. Fruity, chocolate, popsicle? He wouldn't answer...a common occurrence, frankly. He often pretends to ignore our questions as a means of control. Given his usual preferences, I opted for a chocolate-coated ice cream bar for him after explaining that Mommy was going to choose if he didn't. He still didn't.

 We unwrapped it and gave it to him. He nearly knocked it out of my hands. "NO! YUCKY! NO CHOCOLATE!"

What? When have you ever turned down chocolate? "I DON'T WANT ANY!"

Really? I explained that it would start to melt in the heat if he didn't eat it or at least try it. Then Daddy and I took a turn each at taking a bite and telling him how yummy it was. The thing was melting, y'all! We spent several minutes trying to convince our child TO EAT ICE CREAM.

He proceeded to melt too. Loudly. For a long time. Turns out he wanted fruity. When I threw the melty messy rest of it away, he really put on a show for the mosquitoes and park patrons.

Well, I don't read minds. I'm not sure how long it's going to take him to figure that out. His attempts at control and forced mind-reading are not going to end well. And I'm really thinking he's not getting any more ice cream truck surprises anytime soon either.

Just one of those nights, I guess. I didn't get pictures of the meltdown because my camera battery died (darn it!). But after all this fun and a delightful evening...yep. Meltdown. Ah, life with a preschooler. The mood changes on a dime. Or in this case, on a $2 ice cream. God love him.

Lessons from the Potty

We are about 80% potty-trained. Well, I should say Daddy and Mommy are 100% trained, and Shepard is 80% trained. He does almost all of his #1s and a fair amount of his #2s in the correct place at the correct time.
He was his usual strong-willed self throughout the process, and I'm sooo thankful for his preschool teachers who had lots of patience and helped us immensely with tips and tricks...and changed a LOT of wet/poopy underwear. There has been a ton of laundry at our house as well. But, it seems that the message has gotten through. Mostly through. There has been lots of candy and some big prizes and an entire weekend of watching Elmo's potty video over and and over and over and over...

Especially this little rap about the toilet paper factory. I might be able to do this from memory now:




Catchy, huh?

Here are a few tips that I should share, since they were no where in any book, online article or Elmo video.

1. Y'all. CROCS. Or any variation thereof. Sooo handy to clean and dry when accidents happen. Plus, he can take them off and put them on by himself. Just rinse those things off or even run them through the washer...but they made the accident-zone a much better place.

2. Move an entire clean-up and supply system to the bathroom. This might be a no-brainer for some of you, but I was unprepared for messy clean-up the first few times. In the drawer right next to the potty, we have: gloves, wipes, pull-ups, clean underwear, arm & hammer odor-shield bags and disinfecting/cleaning wipes and some potty-time books to read. Stock it daily. There is a reason I didn't do cloth diapers. But, I can say that my poop-tolerance is fairly high now. No gagging or screaming or crying.

3. Make toilet paper a line-item on your budget. Bless him. He just can't pull off two squares. He has to pull 11 and then swirl them around in the water. We're working on it. Until then, cha-ching! Compounded more when your puppy finds the long, dangling end of the paper on the ground and completely unwinds the roll before you find him. Yes, puppy. I need to post about that, don't I? We just believe in potty training and manner-training lots of creatures at once.

4. Some basics that we did that you can find in other resources: start talking about it early. We got several fun books (this and this) at the 2-year-old mark. Boys apparently take longer and start later. His school encouraged us to use ONLY underwear (no pull-ups) during waking hours so he could get used to the feeling of wet. Make it fun, and don't dwell on accidents. We used stickers and candy as rewards and he got to go pick out a "poopy prize" after he pooped in the potty the first time. Let them watch you, particularly see the same-sex parent (if possible) go to the bathroom to allay any fears and to help them see everything in action. We had to wait on him a little to actually let me put ON the underwear, but it was helpful that we had been talking about it and practicing a little for about 8 months.

I'm still cute when I covered in poop.

5. Elmo video and book are great. Be sure to look through the book and practice the songs before you bust it out with your kid, though. YOU are the singer...it's basically a back-up track with words printed. Be ready to sing the songs A LOT while he/she sits on the potty.

5. One thing I read AFTER we had transitioned to underwear (so too late for me) was to place the child on the potty while they were making a poop, even if they were wearing a diaper. It just made the association of sitting up there while doing that. Of course, I'm pretty sure Shepard would have balked at that and jumped down...but it's worth trying.

6. There is hope. As with every stage of development that seems to take FOREVER, I just tell myself, "well, I can assume he won't still be wearing a diaper or (insert baby behavior here) when he goes to college..." Now, instead of sending home three or four sets of wet/yucky clothes at the end of the day, I'm usually getting NONE or one. And I'm getting a raise to the tune of $30/month that we spent on diapers. #Winning.

Next up: nighttime training. He woke up dry this morning and tinkled first thing. So, who knows? Also, I have put a little portable potty in his room so he doesn't have to go wandering down the hall in the middle of the night. Anybody have some pull-ups coupons? Or good ideas?

Summertime staycation!

We had a bit of a summer staycation after the birthday hub-bub was over. Several days of playing and hanging out at home and around the area. It was wonderful! Shepard had some watermelon last night. Yummo! More watermelon...

I think he likes it. :)

Teasers

Here are some pics of when Gigi and Pops visited a few weeks ago. There will be a video coming soon as well. Shepard LOVES the playground. He's pretty fearless. I have to man the openings, or I think he'd try to jump from 6' up!

Here are some recent pics of Shepard eating chocolate pudding at home. MESSSSSYYYY! Pudding-beard.

He really likes to get stuff like this on his hands and then "wipe" them on his hair. That's my favorite, really. Sigh. Such a little boy!

Mr. Fussy Britches ~By Shepard

Every day the world is making more sense. I'm starting to use some words and the teachers and mommy and daddy can understand. They still don't really understand when I just open my mouth and see how loud I can be. I wish they did. I'm very good at using my lungs and making high-pitched noises. I have been practicing it a lot but it's really because my mouth hurts a lot because I am getting giant teeth all over the place. Sometimes I find myself making my loud noises and crying and they don't know what I want at all. It will be nice when I learn some words for ouch and thirsty. Sometimes Mommy calls me "Mr. Fussy Britches." I just want to do what I want to do. What's so wrong about that?
I am really good at sleeping all night though. I have been sleeping between 11-14 hours a night lately with barely a wake-up. I am growing a lot lately, so I have to sleep a lot. Plus I run around all day at school, and we go outside twice a day and I get to swing and slide and play. I nap at school, too, on my monkey mat. It's soft and nice to sleep on.
I went to the doctor today for my check-up. Guess what? I have grown TWO WHOLE INCHES in the last three months! I am 34" tall and offically off the percentile chart. The computer told mommy I was 98.8th percentile and the doctor said 100th. I am already getting too big for some of my 18 month stuff and wearing 2T. The doctor also said I had long feet, but they go with my height. I like my feet. They carry me all kinds of places. I am starting to climb on things like the ottoman, hearth, sofa and pretty much anything I can. Mommy is always right behind me in case I don't make it. I weighed 23 lbs. and 14 oz. so I'm in the 41st percentile for weight. I will probably look a lot like my dad. Tall and handsome. They told us how big my head is, but I can't remember it right now. I'll have Mommy look it up and write it on here soon. She is good at recording that stuff so we can make sure I'm growing right.
I still really love pizza and lasagna, and love to eat my broccoli, cauliflower and carrots with a little cheese sauce. I also love PB-banana sandwiches and yogurt and cheesesticks. I eat fruit every day. Lately, I like to see my food hit the floor or see if I can drop it on the dog as he hovers below the high chair. It I'm a good shot, I can get a cheerio right on his head! Mommy keeps telling me, "NO THROW!" but she must not know how much fun it is for me to hold up the food and drop it. It always falls the same way. But bananas look different on the floor, and noodles are fun too.
That's all for now. My Grandma's coming over tonight, so I will be happy to see her. We will have fun this weekend...and remember my Papa. It's been a year since he went to heaven. We miss him a lot. I wish I could have known him and he could see how big I'm getting. I will have Mommy send a note to heaven and make sure he knows we love him.
I have to go nap now. Writing makes me sleepy.

I scream. You scream!

Our church small groups had a get-together for the southside groups. There was an ice cream truck and big horses and miniature horses! And lots of my favorite people. Here's a sampling of the day's events...(remember, you can always click on a photo to see it full-sized)

Lots o' kiddos here...

Oooh. Ice cream. and Gigi!

Gigi and Pops are spoiling me.

No really, this is the life!

Miniature horses too!

Robots and horses

The gang's all here.

Walker, eater, dancer

I left Shepard in the care of non-Mommies for the first time this weekend. And what does he decide to do?!?!? WALK. I mean, really take 7-8 steps in a row without falling. Geez. Poor Jerod tried all day to capture the walk on video, to no avail. One of his attempts though ended up being some fun times with Grandma and Gloria Estefan. Yes, you heard me. Gloria Estefan.

I still haven't captured the walk, but you can enjoy the play, the dance and the eating of the swim trunks.


We are also experimenting with table foods. I try something new on him pretty much every day. His favorites right now are broccoli, grilled chicken (!), cheerios, mozzarella, pizza, and pasta with tomato sauce. Tonight we had yellow rice and black beans. I wasn't sure he would eat it at all. And then he started double-fisting it!



In terms of milestones, yesterday (Monday) was his first day in his new pre-toddler class at school. He will learn basic signs, more finger-food-eating and generally get his play on. We even got a certificate of graduation. We will miss Ms. Pebbles, Tasha and Veronica. Ms. Pebbles was with him since he was 10 weeks old. Sigh. Growing up is hard on mommies.