What's Playing at the Movies

Chelsey has taken Kyle to the movies a couple of times recently---Night at the Museum, and Monsters and Aliens. A couple of weeks ago, this is what Chelsey found on her calender.

As you can see--in case you weren't aware--Transformers starts on the 24th.

Father's Day Golf!

Kyle and John are going to a Father's Day golf tournament today!!!!!! Yes, that deserves all those explanation marks!

John called me a few days ago from work to tell me about this tournament. Chelsey has commitments at church today, so she's not available. She can golf, but I wouldn't say it's "her thing." John asked me to see if one of the boys would go. If anything, I thought Matt might say yes. He's gone with John and John's friend a few times; he doesn't play, but he likes to drive the cart. Kyle, though, was the one that said, "Sure, I'll go." We asked both of them several times during the past few days, thinking that Matt would change his answer to "yes," and Kyle would give us a big "nah." But it never happened!

I don't think Kyle has ever gone on 18 with John.

Rewind: Golf is John's thing. When the kids were little, we bought the little plastic golf sets for them. With help, they messed with them a little. We also tried miniature golf. Yes, family fun time...it's amazing how something that is supposed to be enjoyable can turn so stressful! ;) We don't do it often, but they now enjoy mini-golf. Now for actually swinging a club, their cooperation level is a bit low, their coordination is also lacking, and their patience...hmm. I know John would love to have them as golf partners; I think we'll get there!

So, I'm guessing Kyle won't be swinging the club today--maybe a couple of swings-- but he'll probably be doing some putting and some driving of the cart. John explained the situation to the ones running the event, so their scores aren't going to be an issue.

I'm just so happy that he wanted to go!!!!!!

Kyle has a way of making me laugh. This morning he exclaimed, "Well, today's the big day!" And I smiled, thinking that he realizes how wonderful it is that he's hanging out with his father, on Father's Day, at the golf course. I should have known better because he says that expression often...EVERY TIME there's a NASCAR race on! So, yeah, when I asked him why, he said, "The NASCAR race starts at 5!" :)

Evan's Discovery

Evan discovered today that his mattress on his toddler bed (formerly his crib) isn't attached to any part of the bed...it can come completely off! How cool is that! AND, if he tries hard enough, he can get his leg stuck between the mattress and the frame (several times) so that I go running to his room to check why he is screaming so loudly! (Although, honestly, I figured it out after the second time.)

Ugh...

Its Gonna Take Time

Day 4 potty training: Actually, a better name would be "getting accustomed to the fact that someday he will be using the toilet on a regular basis." But I guess potty training is much shorter and easier to say.

He's doing fairly well with it. I've decided to use the underwear instead of the pull-ups so that he notices a difference. Of course, diapers/pull-ups are used for sleeping and out of the house trips. I'll also use them for days when we may need to take a break. This isn't anything that I'm thinking has to be accomplished soon; I'll realize

Its gonna take time

A whole lot of precious time

Its gonna take patience and time

(anybody recognize the lyrics? I've been singing them quite frequently throughout this process).

In the beginning, I was met with some resistance to the idea, but now he seems to be starting to "get it." When I ask him if he needs to go, I either get, "No!" or his hand on his stomach as he says,

"Peaz" while trotting towards the bathroom.

Sometimes, if it's been a while and he doesn't respond with either, I make the decision that it's time.

The biggest reward for him is being able to put toilet paper into the toilet---little pieces at a time. He has been accompanying me to the restroom for at least a year now--he's quite insistent on it--I sometimes have to sneak in so he doesn't know I'm in there. During the trips when he is with me, he feels it necessary to get the toilet paper for me. Thanks, but it's usually--okay, never--enough.

Anyway, when he's on the toilet, I let him get a couple of pieces to put in the toilet, and then he's not allowed to have more until he goes. Also, while he's sitting there, I use the power of suggestion. I point and say, "Wow, look, here comes the pee-pee!" He then looks, and makes it come out! And now that I'm doing that, I DO remember saying that with the boys when they were going through potty training.

Now, the number 2's, I don't know how we're going to get that accomplished...his are so loose.

I Think He Can, I Think He Can...

My first day of summer vacation was yesterday! Hooray! I thought I'd feel so wonderful when that day came, but really, I felt completely exhausted all day yesterday--not a way to start vacation. I think it was a combination of just plain winding down, and the fact that the day before when I was cleaning my classroom, the overhead abruptly slid from my hands (I had grabbed it by a compartment that opens--oops) and hit me in the temple...ouch. Really, ouch. There was a little swelling right away, but that went away with some ice, and the bruise/red mark left is very small.

I feel so much better today and ready for the break. Sooo, I decided that today would be the day to start potty training. What!!?? Yeah, we'll see how it goes. I think I've typed these words before---I DON'T REMEMBER POTTY TRAINING THE BOYS. It's so bizarre, because I DO remember potty training Chel--it was right before she turned two. I remember the little potty chair, setting it in the kitchen, and giving her M&M's for rewards. I know the boys were potty trained when they were 3, and that once Matt was trained during the day, he never had an accident during the night, and that when Kyle was around 6 or 7, I told him he wasn't going to wear diapers to bed anymore (even though they were wet every morning), and from that night on, he never wet the bed. But that's it. I'm guessing it wasn't easy, but maybe like childbirth, I've forgotten just how "painful" it was. lol

Day one with Evan:

I put the thick, big boy underwear on him this morning after he woke up around 7:30.

Around 8:30, I started taking him to the bathroom every half an hour. He protested, but the Elmo potty seat helped distract him a bit.

I poured the warm water.

Nothing...until 11:00....he clapped, smiled; I clapped, smiled. And I thought to myself, "Look how long he can stay dry-- 3 and a half hours!" Well, no. First, he didn't drink very much in the morning.

To sum up the next hour, he went pee 3 or 4 times---the first unscheduled time he had taken off the underwear, and I saw him looking down there. As soon as I saw a single drop, I said "no" and rushed him to the toilet. He went a little. He then went a couple more times--a little each time--in big boy underwear. Sigh.

We'll see how it goes. I definitely don't want this summer to become a stressful time. I'm thinking I'll buy some pull-ups to take some of the pressure off of following him around, although I'm fairly certain he won't want to keep those on.

Besides the fact that I'm on summer vacation,

part of my reasoning for doing this is that he doesn't like to keep a diaper on...especially when he goes to bed. I have to put the diaper on, a pair of underwear over that, and then a onesie to keep him from taking it off. And during the day, he'll often take it off right after he wets in it, or like the other day, poops in it.

~~~~~~

It's been absolutely lovely having Chelsey home for the past month. In just a short time, she has taught Evan where his hair, ears, nose, teeth, eyes, belly button, elbows, fingers, knees, toes, and "tooshy" are! After we ask him where they are, he'll point to them and then say them fairly clearly.

His favorite is his tooshy.

He gets on his hands and feet, sticks his tooshy up in the air, and says "tooshy." So funny. Sometimes when we ask, he starts to point to the wrong body part, but then catches himself and corrects himself. Funny again. Yesterday, I grabbed the camera to try to record this, but he had been doing it a while, so his "performance" was a bit week. I'll try again when he's refreshed.

The Magic of Trains

What is it about trains?

When Evan and I went for our walk yesterday, we heard the train coming so we diverted off our usual path to go and see it. He doesn't like loud noises (that's an understatement), but, of course, this was a train--exceptions are made for them!

Evan is 3!

My baby turned 3 last weekend!


One of the many things that I've learned from the older boys is that birthdays are better when they are kept simple!

He DID enjoy the candle...


...and digging into the cake!

We gave him a couple of his presents on his birthday (Saturday), but we didn't have the sand table set up until Monday. I was sure he was just going to love it!


And by looking at the pictures, one might get the impression that he actually did like it. The day we set it up, it was windy and in the 60's, so I didn't add the water...I thought the sand would be enough to start with.

With lots of help from us, he stayed at the table for just a few minutes.

I tried again the next day--this time with water.

He stayed with it a little longer. He thought that maybe if he got in it, it would be a little more fun. I convinced him otherwise.

Trying to wipe off the sand!

Got To Watch Those Homophones

Kyle and Matt's teacher once again invited her students to a sporting event at the high school; this time it was baseball (what a great teacher!). To get to the high school, we travel in the same direction that we would go if we were going shopping at the usual place. Evan was with us, and when we made a turn that wasn't in route with going to the store, he let out a few screams. The boys didn't say much, but of course, they noticed this. I thought I would help them understand why he was doing this--you know, give them a little insight. So I explained that Evan was feeling a little frustrated and nervous because we weren't heading towards the store anymore, and that's where he wants to go. I went on by comparing how he felt to the way they feel when they are somewhere they don't want to be. I don't remember what their response was to that, but basically, they understood.

But then, I may have pushed the whole "insight" thing a bit over the top. I slowly said to myself, yet out loud, "Because---he---has---the---same---genes---as you guys do."

The quick response to this was,

"No, we have shorts on!"

I Heart Faces

Here's my entry for this week's I Heart Faces contest: Laughter.

Evan enjoying an afternoon of kite flying.

Check out some of the other pictures at I Heart Faces by clicking here.

Mother's Day

Acts Strangely

Evan had his very first experience in his adventure into the school system...sigh. He and I went to the preschool on Wednesday so that they could do some casual observation.

As expected, when we pulled into the parking lot, he let out some screams; he doesn't like going to places that he is not familiar with. We made it into the building, and they brought us into a big room that had a few toys. They started to ask me a few questions, but Evan still wasn't too fond of being there. I asked if they had any books with animals or letters; they quickly provided him with some which improved his mood. They also brought in the Leap Frog Alphabet Fridge Magnets, and because that is one of his favorite toys at home, that went over fairly well.

Another activity he enjoyed there was the Play Tent/Ball Pit; that kept him content for quite a while. He did, though, also "enjoy" going to the door and saying, "Ba" (bye) as he lifted his arm gesturing to me that it was time to go. The trampoline--definitely a hit.

Before leaving, we tried to peak into the classrooms, but he didn't think that was a very good idea.

It was a fairly quick visit. It's hard to believe he'll be 3 this month. It makes life so much easier when people ask how old he is now: 2...just 2...no extras such as, "He's almost 3." I don't get as many puzzled looks as I will when I respond with "3." Oh well.

They sent some paperwork home with us for me to fill out. There were two different forms; one was mainly concerning ability, and the other was focused more on his emotional state...kind of tricky. My "favorite" was: Acts strangely....what??? That's a fairly broad statement. What's their definition of "strangely"? Out of the hundred or so answers I circled, that is the one I left blank.

OH!!! I almost forgot...sleeping. Now that Chelsey is home, he has been staying with her during the day. The first 4 nights of her first 4 days home were awful (he wanted to make sure we were aware that his routine had been changed), but then, there was a sudden change, a very wonderful, sudden change; he starting sleeping through. He did this for A WHOLE WEEK! Yeah, the appointment on Wednesday cured him of that silliness...

yawn...

Rain

Home today! Here's why: Lots of water! Our house is completely fine; I can see some puddles in the field behind us, but that's about it. So, we have a 3 day weekend, but really, that's not such a great thing. First, if we're going to have an unexpected day off, Friday would be my last choice of days. Second, we've used all our built in snow days; this one gets tacked on to the end of the year. We're already going to school later than normal because we started later due the construction of the new school not being completed on time. AND, this coming year, we're starting at the regular early mid-August time which equals: a short summer break. I had voted for a later start, not so much because I wanted a longer summer, but more because even before I was a teacher, I disliked having to send the kids back when summer was still going strong! Oh well, I've been given a day off...time to go

enjoy it!