We are taking the plunge. Since our guest room is about twice the size of other rooms and has it's own bathroom, we've decided to move Thornton and Holden to the same room. Thornton has moved to a "big boy" bed (aka twin sized) and Holden is moving to the toddler bed.
The day of painting was good - Jason and I had LOTS of help. We ruined only one shirt. So, overall, success. Much excitement in the day - jumping on beds, and general boy-ish glee. Thornton took to the new room really well; Holden, not so much. We hit him with too much, moving rooms and taking the crib to the toddler bed. After the 3rd time we put him back in the toddler bed, we decided to put him back in his own crib. We'll convert the toddler back to the crib and give him some time to adjust to the room before taking off the crib rails.
Pictures to follow.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Remind me... It's Just a Phase!?!
Thornton has reached the “terrible threes”, I’ve decided. Frankly, I think they had the “terrible twos” incorrectly named. Two wasn’t that bad, but 6 weeks short of our 3rd birthday, I have a sassy, button-pushing, limit stretching child on my hands. Of course, this is between moments of gentleness and giving and “mama, I love you”, so don’t think I’m complaining. I can mostly deal with the sassy, what I am having a challenge with is the aggression. My question is mostly to mammas of boys (I think). How are you reacting to aggressive behavior and at what point are you calming them down? I think it’s mostly just boy stuff: kicking and punching the air for no apparent reason, jumping off pretty much anything he can climb up, and making “roar” sounds….sometimes roars also have teeth bared with aggressive “pretend biting” (not actually biting though). While it sounds sorta benign on paper, it can get pretty intense (and annoying). I “time-out” when we act out on our brother, or mamma or anyone else, but what about the other stuff? I’m just trying to balance letting him “be a boy” (clueless here) with stuff I do need to correct. We’re doing tons of outside play, and opportunity to burn energy, but his seems limitless! Phase? Let it go? Geez… BOYS!!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Discipline and Consequences
I don’t want to start a huge thing around this, but I have to tell you that we finally instituted “the spank”(….play horror music here). I struggled with the idea at first, but I have to say that it is a remarkable tool when used effectively. Here’s how we do it (mostly).
I say (calmly), Thornton, this is not acceptable behavior. If you cannot change X behavior, I’m going to pop your bottom. You get one more warning.
Then, the second time, I say, Thornton I said you cannot X, but you can Y. Do you want to Y, or do you want me to pop your bottom? This is your last warning. Next time I’m going to pop your bottom.
Then, if he does it again (which at this point is typically just doing it to get a reaction), then I pop one time on the bottom and said “I said no”.
Now, I say this: when we started this process, he was still wearing a diaper. It was shock value more than anything. Now that he’s older, the one pop may actually feel like something, but again, it hurts mostly his feelings. I found that I hardly ever have to pop him now that he understand the routine. I also use the countdown “1…..2……”then 3 with the spanking if I can’t get him to do something: come here in a store, do what he’s supposed to do, etc. Now I find I just have to count to 1 and I can (usually) get what I need.
I say this on discipline: go with what is right for you and your family. I know that one thing doesn’t always work for every family (or even every child in a family), but I can say that as a mom, you are most equipped to figure out what WILL work. It’s a tough and constantly changing challenge.
I say (calmly), Thornton, this is not acceptable behavior. If you cannot change X behavior, I’m going to pop your bottom. You get one more warning.
Then, the second time, I say, Thornton I said you cannot X, but you can Y. Do you want to Y, or do you want me to pop your bottom? This is your last warning. Next time I’m going to pop your bottom.
Then, if he does it again (which at this point is typically just doing it to get a reaction), then I pop one time on the bottom and said “I said no”.
Now, I say this: when we started this process, he was still wearing a diaper. It was shock value more than anything. Now that he’s older, the one pop may actually feel like something, but again, it hurts mostly his feelings. I found that I hardly ever have to pop him now that he understand the routine. I also use the countdown “1…..2……”then 3 with the spanking if I can’t get him to do something: come here in a store, do what he’s supposed to do, etc. Now I find I just have to count to 1 and I can (usually) get what I need.
I say this on discipline: go with what is right for you and your family. I know that one thing doesn’t always work for every family (or even every child in a family), but I can say that as a mom, you are most equipped to figure out what WILL work. It’s a tough and constantly changing challenge.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Jason and Thornton are in the shower this past weekend and I hear Thornton exclaim to his father: "Daddy, you're penis is BIG"! I hear absolute silence, then this response from my husband "Why yes... yes it is son". I'm about to bust out laughing when the next line gets me more. "My penis is little"... at which point Jason responds: "that's because you are little, Thornton. When you get big, your're penis will also get big". Thornton simply nods his head at this sage advise. I almost laugh out loud, but realize this is a VERY serious matter, so I only snicker silently.
Holden - the new walker
Here are the stats on the big boy:
At 15 months, he's now a full walker. He crawled a lot more than Thornton did. That made Holden much stronger when he actually started walking. Thornton was more shakey, but he took his first steps right before his first year's birthday. Holden took his first steps at about 14 months, but he is now practically running at 15 months. Just two weeks ago, he went from walking between furniture, to walking around the entire house unassisted. Amazing!
Holden is my super happy boy. He has such a naturally happy disposition. He always has a smile on his face and is almost always laughing or smiling. He can say "mama", "dada", "up" (which is really just "puh") and "dat"... we say "dat" while pointing at things quite a lot. He's curious about EVERYTHING and wants to see lots of stuff. While he is a generally very happy child, Holden is starting to develop quite the little temper! If you say "no", and he really wanted something, he'll throw his little body down on the ground (knees first), then drop down on his tummy with head to the floor and start crying. It's the most hysterical sight. You almost can hear the drama cry "WHYYYYY?????"
Holden has 5 teeth to his name now: 2 on top and 3 on bottom. The 5th just came in about 2-3 weeks ago. My happy boy went away for a bit thru that sad part.... so did my good sleeper. On average during a tooth cutting, we spend about 2-3 weeks with broken sleep, a snotty nose and a poor appetite. He makes up for it later in the eating department, though.
Holden is not a picky eater (neither is Thornton), but the boys do have different tastes. Holden is a huge egg lover, which his Grandaddy loves (Thornton has never liked them much), and one of Holden's favorites is smoked salmon. He'll eat an entire slice of smoked salmon before I can finish cutting it up. He loves most fruits, but isn't really into blueberries right now... not sure why. I think it may be the skin. For the most part, Holden doesn't like skin on his fruit. He also doesn't really like oranges or pineapple. I think that's the texture of those as well. He'll eat all veggies including kale, loves garbanzo beans (both boys eat them for snacks) and will down an entire piece of steak a la wonderful in less than a minute! He comes from good stock on that one!
My littlest boy is a sweet one. He's starting to love books - reading "Little Duck the Finger Puppet Book" is one that really makes him laugh. He loves turning the pages (best page turner around), and especially loves the last line "...little duck can play with YOU!" when little duck tickles him under his chin. His giggle is the best thing going!
Holden is also my dancer. He reacts so much more to music than his big brother did at the same age. Dance parties occur in the kitchen most nights, and Holden can really shake a tailfeather. His dance is mostly bouncing and clapping for onesself. Good to know he has great self esteem at this point!
At 15 months, he's now a full walker. He crawled a lot more than Thornton did. That made Holden much stronger when he actually started walking. Thornton was more shakey, but he took his first steps right before his first year's birthday. Holden took his first steps at about 14 months, but he is now practically running at 15 months. Just two weeks ago, he went from walking between furniture, to walking around the entire house unassisted. Amazing!
Holden is my super happy boy. He has such a naturally happy disposition. He always has a smile on his face and is almost always laughing or smiling. He can say "mama", "dada", "up" (which is really just "puh") and "dat"... we say "dat" while pointing at things quite a lot. He's curious about EVERYTHING and wants to see lots of stuff. While he is a generally very happy child, Holden is starting to develop quite the little temper! If you say "no", and he really wanted something, he'll throw his little body down on the ground (knees first), then drop down on his tummy with head to the floor and start crying. It's the most hysterical sight. You almost can hear the drama cry "WHYYYYY?????"
Holden has 5 teeth to his name now: 2 on top and 3 on bottom. The 5th just came in about 2-3 weeks ago. My happy boy went away for a bit thru that sad part.... so did my good sleeper. On average during a tooth cutting, we spend about 2-3 weeks with broken sleep, a snotty nose and a poor appetite. He makes up for it later in the eating department, though.
Holden is not a picky eater (neither is Thornton), but the boys do have different tastes. Holden is a huge egg lover, which his Grandaddy loves (Thornton has never liked them much), and one of Holden's favorites is smoked salmon. He'll eat an entire slice of smoked salmon before I can finish cutting it up. He loves most fruits, but isn't really into blueberries right now... not sure why. I think it may be the skin. For the most part, Holden doesn't like skin on his fruit. He also doesn't really like oranges or pineapple. I think that's the texture of those as well. He'll eat all veggies including kale, loves garbanzo beans (both boys eat them for snacks) and will down an entire piece of steak a la wonderful in less than a minute! He comes from good stock on that one!
My littlest boy is a sweet one. He's starting to love books - reading "Little Duck the Finger Puppet Book" is one that really makes him laugh. He loves turning the pages (best page turner around), and especially loves the last line "...little duck can play with YOU!" when little duck tickles him under his chin. His giggle is the best thing going!
Holden is also my dancer. He reacts so much more to music than his big brother did at the same age. Dance parties occur in the kitchen most nights, and Holden can really shake a tailfeather. His dance is mostly bouncing and clapping for onesself. Good to know he has great self esteem at this point!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
How work can rule your life
See, here's what happens... you have these great intensions of keeping up a family blog filled with the awesome things going on in your life, then ZAP! Work comes along, and all you do is work, sleep, and spend about 10 minutes with the children if you're lucky enough to catch them awake.
That's been our lives since about... December. Now, I'm fortunate to have a WONDERFUL husband who has been completely supportive and has not complained about the following: 1) taking total and complete care of children day and night while their mother is gone or 2) not seeing the aforementioned mother except a brief kiss goodnight, good morning or good-bye. Now, THAT makes for a very lucky mommy!
Happily, though, the work schedule has died down, and life is back to normal. Blogging is possible again, and there are some super funny things to report. Holden is huge! He marked the big 1 year milestone and is now a big-time walker. I'll do a full report on him soon. Thornton is talking about everything on his mind, which makes for some pretty funny stories. More to come on that as well!
That's been our lives since about... December. Now, I'm fortunate to have a WONDERFUL husband who has been completely supportive and has not complained about the following: 1) taking total and complete care of children day and night while their mother is gone or 2) not seeing the aforementioned mother except a brief kiss goodnight, good morning or good-bye. Now, THAT makes for a very lucky mommy!
Happily, though, the work schedule has died down, and life is back to normal. Blogging is possible again, and there are some super funny things to report. Holden is huge! He marked the big 1 year milestone and is now a big-time walker. I'll do a full report on him soon. Thornton is talking about everything on his mind, which makes for some pretty funny stories. More to come on that as well!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Confessions of a Mother
We mama's tend to feel too much guilt, and a lot of times, we work so hard to be perfect. After my conversations this weekend with fellow Decatur moms, I want to remind mamas that others out there are doing the following things:
1. I spank. I have a 2 year-old who is willful and timeout doesn'talways work. Not to mention, I don't have time with a 1 year old to constantly do timeout. A quick pop to the diapered bottom does the trick. His feelings hurt more than his butt.
2. My children eat off the floor. I feel better about this afterthe NYT article, but I swear, I should put the plate on the floor and just get it over with. My floors are not clean, and even if they were, they'd still find the dirty cheerio.
3. Sometimes, I want to walk away from it all. One is holding yourleg screaming, the other is repeating "I need a snacky" over and over, and you're just trying to get dinner on the table. You know you've had the thought, and it's ok. Paraphrased from a goodfriend "sometimes it just isn't that fun to be home", and it's true sometimes. Those are tempered with times of absolute happiness, and you wouldn't trade your life for the world. That is the balance that exists.
4. I need me time. I am a full time working mom, and I feel guilty every time I do it, but by God, I sometimes just need a pedicure or a cup of coffee with friends. Exercise, does not count in this category, because I hate doing it.
5. We use TV - and it works. If I need 30 extra minutes at 6am before Holden gets up, or I need to make dinner, or I just need toget him out of my hair, I turn on the TV. I watched TV, and I'm fine.
6. Quickies aren't cutting it anymore. Let's set the recordstraight, a quickie at this stage in the game is for him, not you. Remember those days of an afternoon delight, or a lazy morning kissing? Where did THOSE go? At night, I'm exhausted, in the morning we have chaos around us. I do miss those lazy days.
7. I have lost my temper with my child and have said or done things I instantly felt bad about... more than once. 'nuf said.
8. I do what works. I don't have time to sort thru the data, or be wishy-washy in my decisions. I've found what works, and I run with it. So far, no one has been seriously injured, so I guess we're doing ok.
So, that's me. It may not be you, but it is some of you. I wanted you guys to know that if you're doing these things, you're not alone, and you absolutely shouldn't feel guilty.
1. I spank. I have a 2 year-old who is willful and timeout doesn'talways work. Not to mention, I don't have time with a 1 year old to constantly do timeout. A quick pop to the diapered bottom does the trick. His feelings hurt more than his butt.
2. My children eat off the floor. I feel better about this afterthe NYT article, but I swear, I should put the plate on the floor and just get it over with. My floors are not clean, and even if they were, they'd still find the dirty cheerio.
3. Sometimes, I want to walk away from it all. One is holding yourleg screaming, the other is repeating "I need a snacky" over and over, and you're just trying to get dinner on the table. You know you've had the thought, and it's ok. Paraphrased from a goodfriend "sometimes it just isn't that fun to be home", and it's true sometimes. Those are tempered with times of absolute happiness, and you wouldn't trade your life for the world. That is the balance that exists.
4. I need me time. I am a full time working mom, and I feel guilty every time I do it, but by God, I sometimes just need a pedicure or a cup of coffee with friends. Exercise, does not count in this category, because I hate doing it.
5. We use TV - and it works. If I need 30 extra minutes at 6am before Holden gets up, or I need to make dinner, or I just need toget him out of my hair, I turn on the TV. I watched TV, and I'm fine.
6. Quickies aren't cutting it anymore. Let's set the recordstraight, a quickie at this stage in the game is for him, not you. Remember those days of an afternoon delight, or a lazy morning kissing? Where did THOSE go? At night, I'm exhausted, in the morning we have chaos around us. I do miss those lazy days.
7. I have lost my temper with my child and have said or done things I instantly felt bad about... more than once. 'nuf said.
8. I do what works. I don't have time to sort thru the data, or be wishy-washy in my decisions. I've found what works, and I run with it. So far, no one has been seriously injured, so I guess we're doing ok.
So, that's me. It may not be you, but it is some of you. I wanted you guys to know that if you're doing these things, you're not alone, and you absolutely shouldn't feel guilty.
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