Yeah, so we may be entering that phase of childhood. Nicholas has taken to being clingy to Mommy, pushing me away, refusing to be nice to me, and so on.
No biggie, in the grand scheme of things (though I make sure that I convey to him that it doesn't make me happy). But yeah, somebody's been Mr. Possessive this week.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
The Torturous Threes
Multiple people warned me that 3 is harder than 2 and I believed them, but I still didn't expect this. Nicholas has had an attitude basically since his third birthday, and it just keeps getting worse and worse.
Here we are four weeks later and it has gotten to the point that when we had already taken away every privilege and toy we could think of and he was still laughing at us and refusing to listen, we pulled out the pack n' play, effectively taking away his big boy bed, his prized possession.
It is going to be a long year.
Here we are four weeks later and it has gotten to the point that when we had already taken away every privilege and toy we could think of and he was still laughing at us and refusing to listen, we pulled out the pack n' play, effectively taking away his big boy bed, his prized possession.
It is going to be a long year.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Swim Lessons
Not surprisingly, Nicholas is loving swim lessons and doing pretty well. He is starting to relax more and so did much better yesterday than on Tuesday. It is much easier to scoop with your hands when you aren't clutching the teacher's arm with a death grip.
I'm glad we're doing this, but it is a logistical pain. I only have to leave work about 45 minutes early, but by the time we make it home Nicholas and I are both exhausted. The swimming wears him out obviously. What does me in seems to be the combination of sitting in the extreme heat and humidity of the indoor pool area and just dealing with getting him showered and redressed in the locker room and everything cleaned up.
I'll try to take pictures next week, but the lessons are in the indoor pool, which makes it tricky.
I'm glad we're doing this, but it is a logistical pain. I only have to leave work about 45 minutes early, but by the time we make it home Nicholas and I are both exhausted. The swimming wears him out obviously. What does me in seems to be the combination of sitting in the extreme heat and humidity of the indoor pool area and just dealing with getting him showered and redressed in the locker room and everything cleaned up.
I'll try to take pictures next week, but the lessons are in the indoor pool, which makes it tricky.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Band-aids Rock
All parents know the magical healing power of band-aids, but band-aids are currently my favorite invention. And, yes, that means operation "no more thumb" is going well so far. In fact, this weekend when I forgot to put a new one one after one fell off, he didn't even try to suck his thumb, even in the car and while watching tv, two times that the thumb usually goes in by instinct. I'm not declaring victory yet, but I am hopeful. Of course, once he remembered he was missing a band-aid, he insisted on getting a new one. But I am so proud of him for working on this and being so willing to go along with it.
On a completely unrelated note, he starts swim lessons tomorrow evening and he is ecstatic!
On a completely unrelated note, he starts swim lessons tomorrow evening and he is ecstatic!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Big Boy Bed!
The bed was delivered this morning, after Nicholas slept one night in a sleeping bag. He talked about the bed this morning when he woke up, and it was the first thing he mentioned when I arrived at school to pick him up. Needless to say, he was excited to get home:
Think he likes it?
He went right to sleep tonight, even with how excited and wired he was.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the full bed just after it was set up:
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| From 2012 June |
Think he likes it?
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| From 2012 June |
He went right to sleep tonight, even with how excited and wired he was.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the full bed just after it was set up:
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| From 2012 June |
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Bye Bye Baby
I'm feeling a little nostalgic. We took apart Nicholas' crib tonight in anticipation of the delivery truck arriving with his new bed in the morning. That also means that I am washing and packing crib linens and the baby blankets that were stored in the drawers under the crib. And as I fold the quilt I made for "Peanut," I can't help but tear up a little bit.
Meanwhile my not-so-little boy is in a sleeping bag on his floor, with a Toy Story band-aid on his thumb, sound asleep now after 10 minutes of clapping in excited anticipation about the arrival of his "big boy bed."
How is it possible to feel so sad putting away his infant things when the months of his infancy were so hard and I wouldn't trade them for the preschool phases for money?
Meanwhile my not-so-little boy is in a sleeping bag on his floor, with a Toy Story band-aid on his thumb, sound asleep now after 10 minutes of clapping in excited anticipation about the arrival of his "big boy bed."
How is it possible to feel so sad putting away his infant things when the months of his infancy were so hard and I wouldn't trade them for the preschool phases for money?
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
First Visit to the Dentist
The frequency of "firsts" has gone down dramatically, but we had one today: first visit to the dentist!
He did an amazingly great job with the cleaning--opening wide, letting her do all the steps with good humor, and kneeling up to be able to "swish and spit" into the sink. It helped that we had the most kid-friendly hygienist ever. Not only was she nice to him and explained everything she was doing in kid-friendly terms (for scraping off plaque she said she was taking the germs off), but she also had kids sunglasses for him to wear so he wasn't staring into the bright light and made a balloon out of one of the gloves and decorated it with a Sharpie with his help. And then she let him choose his flavor of toothpaste (he chose grape), which he thought was super exciting.
By the time the dentist came in for the exam he was a little antsy (he thought it was over I think when the hygienist left) and so was less obliging with opening really wide and sitting still, but for 3 years old and it being the dentist's office, he was great.
More importantly, the report: his teeth themselves are in great shape and the dentist was happy with spacing and cleanliness. The problem, however, is his bite. We knew he had an overbite. Joe had one too and our old pediatrician had seen it long ago, said it was genetic, and we should just start saving for braces. But the dentist noticed that not only was there an overbite, but it was getting shaped into an arc, which is from sucking his thumb so forcefully and so frequently. His bottom front two teeth are also bending into a "v" to accommodate his thumb. So we have our orders: minimize use of the sippy cup, try to get thumb sucking to only when falling asleep by the next checkup, and try to eliminate thumb sucking entirely by his 4th birthday.
The first of those is easy because the sippy cup was our own laziness, not his ability or willingness. The thumb, however, is a different matter. Nicholas and I had a conversation and he understood and was really sad. But then promptly decided that he was going to comfort himself by sucking his thumb. And any time I asked him to take his thumb out while we were driving today, he just yelled at me to "Stop!"
When we got home this evening I decided to try a trick I read about somewhere--putting a band-aid on his thumb so sucking it wouldn't feel good. In fact, he and I each wore a band-aid on our thumbs so we could do it together. He did pretty well for awhile. But once the novelty of the Toy Story band-aid wore off and he got sleepy, he just took it off. So I resorted to bribes. If he wakes up in the morning and the band-aid is still on he gets "special Sunday breakfast," which is waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.
He fell asleep with seemingly no problem and I've had the monitor on high so I can hear if there is sucking and he has stirred a few times with no sign of the thumb. So he clearly can be fine without the thumb. The trick is going to be keeping him from it by force or bribes long enough to break the habit.
 |
| From 2012 June |
By the time the dentist came in for the exam he was a little antsy (he thought it was over I think when the hygienist left) and so was less obliging with opening really wide and sitting still, but for 3 years old and it being the dentist's office, he was great.
More importantly, the report: his teeth themselves are in great shape and the dentist was happy with spacing and cleanliness. The problem, however, is his bite. We knew he had an overbite. Joe had one too and our old pediatrician had seen it long ago, said it was genetic, and we should just start saving for braces. But the dentist noticed that not only was there an overbite, but it was getting shaped into an arc, which is from sucking his thumb so forcefully and so frequently. His bottom front two teeth are also bending into a "v" to accommodate his thumb. So we have our orders: minimize use of the sippy cup, try to get thumb sucking to only when falling asleep by the next checkup, and try to eliminate thumb sucking entirely by his 4th birthday.
The first of those is easy because the sippy cup was our own laziness, not his ability or willingness. The thumb, however, is a different matter. Nicholas and I had a conversation and he understood and was really sad. But then promptly decided that he was going to comfort himself by sucking his thumb. And any time I asked him to take his thumb out while we were driving today, he just yelled at me to "Stop!"
When we got home this evening I decided to try a trick I read about somewhere--putting a band-aid on his thumb so sucking it wouldn't feel good. In fact, he and I each wore a band-aid on our thumbs so we could do it together. He did pretty well for awhile. But once the novelty of the Toy Story band-aid wore off and he got sleepy, he just took it off. So I resorted to bribes. If he wakes up in the morning and the band-aid is still on he gets "special Sunday breakfast," which is waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.
He fell asleep with seemingly no problem and I've had the monitor on high so I can hear if there is sucking and he has stirred a few times with no sign of the thumb. So he clearly can be fine without the thumb. The trick is going to be keeping him from it by force or bribes long enough to break the habit.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Routes and Routines
Nicholas and I have been doing well this week, with most things anyway.
But he doesn't like the way I drive. Not the manner in which I drive, that is, but the route. You see, "Mommy doesn't go this way!"
Sigh. The mornings have been fine. But apparently I don't drive home properly because I take a slightly different route to get off campus and onto the main drag home. The first day, this caused confusion. The second, consternation. This morning on the way to school, Nicholas ordered me to "drive down the big hill" when I pick him up because that's the way Mommy does it.
I suppose I should have known we'd end up with a backseat driver. Oh well. Mommy can drive home on Monday!
But he doesn't like the way I drive. Not the manner in which I drive, that is, but the route. You see, "Mommy doesn't go this way!"
Sigh. The mornings have been fine. But apparently I don't drive home properly because I take a slightly different route to get off campus and onto the main drag home. The first day, this caused confusion. The second, consternation. This morning on the way to school, Nicholas ordered me to "drive down the big hill" when I pick him up because that's the way Mommy does it.
I suppose I should have known we'd end up with a backseat driver. Oh well. Mommy can drive home on Monday!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Solar Invocations
It's been a New England weather kind of week: rainy with a chance of rain, punctuated by brief teases of sunlight.
Nicholas may have had enough of this: he woke up this morning singing two songs: "Rain, Rain, Go Way," and "Oh, Mr. Sun."
Don't know how long it'll last (the apocryphal Mark Twain quotation applies here: "If you don't like the New England weather, just wait ten minutes"), but so far we've had sun and clouds but no rain. Sure hope he gets to play outside today.
Nicholas may have had enough of this: he woke up this morning singing two songs: "Rain, Rain, Go Way," and "Oh, Mr. Sun."
Don't know how long it'll last (the apocryphal Mark Twain quotation applies here: "If you don't like the New England weather, just wait ten minutes"), but so far we've had sun and clouds but no rain. Sure hope he gets to play outside today.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
A Musician Is Born
Nicholas and I spent the weekend in New York (second time in two weeks, yes, I know) to celebrate the retirement of the middle school and high school band director, who taught me for seven years (including clarinet lessons), as well as all three of my brothers. At least one of us was in his program from 1991 to 2010. So it was important for all of us to be there, and everyone made it in.
The ceremony included a student-alumni concert of a few pieces (including a Sousa march, a staple of our bands), so Saturday morning we all pulled out our instruments to practice a little. Nicholas thought it was rather loud (he described Uncle Patrick's first tuba note as sounding like a dinosaur). And he kept calling my clarinet a flute. Ahem.
Anyway, then he wanted to try all the instruments, and he didn't do half bad (cue photos).
Uncle Brian talked to him about the finer points of the trombone slide:
And his technique was pretty good, as it turns out.
He also got to try the trumpet, thanks to Uncle Mike:
(He also played the tuba briefly, but I apparently got no photos of it.)
And finally, of course, the requisite video, to prove that he really got the hang of playing a brass instrument.
The ceremony included a student-alumni concert of a few pieces (including a Sousa march, a staple of our bands), so Saturday morning we all pulled out our instruments to practice a little. Nicholas thought it was rather loud (he described Uncle Patrick's first tuba note as sounding like a dinosaur). And he kept calling my clarinet a flute. Ahem.
Anyway, then he wanted to try all the instruments, and he didn't do half bad (cue photos).
Uncle Brian talked to him about the finer points of the trombone slide:
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| From 2012 June |
And his technique was pretty good, as it turns out.
 |
| From 2012 June |
He also got to try the trumpet, thanks to Uncle Mike:
 |
| From 2012 June |
(He also played the tuba briefly, but I apparently got no photos of it.)
And finally, of course, the requisite video, to prove that he really got the hang of playing a brass instrument.
 |
| From 2012 June |
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