Saturday, August 7, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Dexter is 22 Months Old!
Gah! I only get to use "months" one more time, then I will have to say he's 2!
He's still such a phenomenal kid. Age-appropriate toddler tantrums aside, he is so much fun to be around and makes us laugh about 20 times/day. He's crazy smart and is a crazy good climber and runner and ball-kicker. Lately, he's been checking in with us just to make sure we're OK and sharing his blanket at bedtime. ("Mom, blanket? Mom, blanket?") And he (almost) always says he's sorry if he's physically hurt you (intentionally or accidentally).
Poor kid's had quite a few time-outs this month, and they will surely continue to increase in frequency. But then you can't help but squeeze him and give him a big ol' kiss. (And he'll give you one back - "mmmmmmmm-aaaah!")
Teeth: Still 16. :)
Language: Things are getting a tiny bit clearer here. Bob the Builder is now "Bah-Beeya" instead of just "Beeya," for example. And we're just getting better at understanding him, since we know that "GAH-ga-gah" is "bicycle" and "Gah-ga-GAH-ga" is "motorcycle." It's all in the inflection, really. ;)
Sleep: Not horrible, but not great. He has been waking some during the night lately - night terrors, etc. One morning last week, he woke up at 4:00 and didn't make it back to sleep until 6:30. But mostly, the issue is still with getting him to sleep. That is finally getting a little bit better, with a few dramatic exceptions. I do keep wondering how long we can continue to devote two hours to Dexter's bedtime routine EVERY night.
Food: Like many toddlers, Dexter is way too busy running and playing to bother with eating. But every few days, he makes up for it by downing more than a dozen mini pancakes, or eating 2 bananas before school and then eating his full breakfast there, too. Fruit is still his favorite thing. If you fill his dinner plate with a nice ratio of fruit, proteins, starches, and vegetables, he'll eat all of the fruit and get 3 or 4 refills on it before he bothers touching the proteins. He does like rice, though, and will eat vegetables. But he LOVES fruit. Not sure what we will do in the winter, when we don't have an abundant supply of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, kiwi, and cantaloupe in addition to the standard apple/banana/orange triad.
Potty: Some progress here, though we're still a long way from real interest or anything resembling consistency. He likes the idea of sitting on the potty. For a minute (if that). But he also isn't bothered at all if he is wet or poopy. Baby steps.
Tricks:iPhone ! Not sure if this is a trick or a toy or what, but we've downloaded several educational toddler/preschooler games to our iPhones, and Dexter is CONSTANTLY asking to play them. His favorite is "monkeys" (this was the first thing he said when he woke up this morning). He's actually really good at the puzzles. For a while, he would restart the game if the "memory" one came up, but now he (usually) at least tries it.
He's also started playing one where you have to put the letters in order to make a word. He's pretty good at this, too. If I'm being honest, though, there is an extra visual cue that helps a lot, and the letters snap into place awfully easily. But he's still seeing letters and hearing their name and seeing words spelled out, so that's good. I think it might be helping with his vocabulary, too, since it shows a "tractor" and a "plow" and a "lawnmower," where Dexter would like to just call all of those things "lawnmower."
Dislikes: When his little brother plays with his toys. We were warned that jealousy would rear its ugly head once Desmond got mobile. I was hoping it wouldn't happen, but it has. As previously mentioned, Dexter also dislikes bedtime. Let's throw diaper changes into the mix, too. And hair-washing. Yikes.
Likes: LAWNMOWERS! He really really really loves lawnmowers. Still. This one might stick around for a while. You should have seen how quickly he, heartbroken, got dressed and put his shoes on the last time he saw Dennis outside mowing without him! He also likes his little brother. As much as he doesn't want Desmond playing with his toys, he's also eager to give Des his bottle or pacifier or pureed avocados.
He also sometimes finds a toy and decides that Desmond MUST have it rightthisminute. He also says "Baby's turn!" when we are taking turns doing fun things like jumping around.
He's still such a phenomenal kid. Age-appropriate toddler tantrums aside, he is so much fun to be around and makes us laugh about 20 times/day. He's crazy smart and is a crazy good climber and runner and ball-kicker. Lately, he's been checking in with us just to make sure we're OK and sharing his blanket at bedtime. ("Mom, blanket? Mom, blanket?") And he (almost) always says he's sorry if he's physically hurt you (intentionally or accidentally).
Poor kid's had quite a few time-outs this month, and they will surely continue to increase in frequency. But then you can't help but squeeze him and give him a big ol' kiss. (And he'll give you one back - "mmmmmmmm-aaaah!")
Teeth: Still 16. :)
Language: Things are getting a tiny bit clearer here. Bob the Builder is now "Bah-Beeya" instead of just "Beeya," for example. And we're just getting better at understanding him, since we know that "GAH-ga-gah" is "bicycle" and "Gah-ga-GAH-ga" is "motorcycle." It's all in the inflection, really. ;)
Sleep: Not horrible, but not great. He has been waking some during the night lately - night terrors, etc. One morning last week, he woke up at 4:00 and didn't make it back to sleep until 6:30. But mostly, the issue is still with getting him to sleep. That is finally getting a little bit better, with a few dramatic exceptions. I do keep wondering how long we can continue to devote two hours to Dexter's bedtime routine EVERY night.
Food: Like many toddlers, Dexter is way too busy running and playing to bother with eating. But every few days, he makes up for it by downing more than a dozen mini pancakes, or eating 2 bananas before school and then eating his full breakfast there, too. Fruit is still his favorite thing. If you fill his dinner plate with a nice ratio of fruit, proteins, starches, and vegetables, he'll eat all of the fruit and get 3 or 4 refills on it before he bothers touching the proteins. He does like rice, though, and will eat vegetables. But he LOVES fruit. Not sure what we will do in the winter, when we don't have an abundant supply of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, kiwi, and cantaloupe in addition to the standard apple/banana/orange triad.
Potty: Some progress here, though we're still a long way from real interest or anything resembling consistency. He likes the idea of sitting on the potty. For a minute (if that). But he also isn't bothered at all if he is wet or poopy. Baby steps.
Tricks:
He's also started playing one where you have to put the letters in order to make a word. He's pretty good at this, too. If I'm being honest, though, there is an extra visual cue that helps a lot, and the letters snap into place awfully easily. But he's still seeing letters and hearing their name and seeing words spelled out, so that's good. I think it might be helping with his vocabulary, too, since it shows a "tractor" and a "plow" and a "lawnmower," where Dexter would like to just call all of those things "lawnmower."
Dislikes: When his little brother plays with his toys. We were warned that jealousy would rear its ugly head once Desmond got mobile. I was hoping it wouldn't happen, but it has. As previously mentioned, Dexter also dislikes bedtime. Let's throw diaper changes into the mix, too. And hair-washing. Yikes.
Likes: LAWNMOWERS! He really really really loves lawnmowers. Still. This one might stick around for a while. You should have seen how quickly he, heartbroken, got dressed and put his shoes on the last time he saw Dennis outside mowing without him! He also likes his little brother. As much as he doesn't want Desmond playing with his toys, he's also eager to give Des his bottle or pacifier or pureed avocados.
He also sometimes finds a toy and decides that Desmond MUST have it rightthisminute. He also says "Baby's turn!" when we are taking turns doing fun things like jumping around.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Potty Peeing Story
YAY! Dexter peed in the potty! All on his own!!
After his initial success at daycare over a month ago, we've had no more success stories. He's sat on the potty several times, sometimes for 20 or 30 minutes, but nothing.
This morning, he woke up screaming at 4:00. I went in his room to calm him down and ended up dozing in there while he flopped around from 4:00 - 5:30.
At 5:30, he rolled over and said "Puh-Pah-Yee?" Which means, I think "Pee Potty?" So we walked to the potty in his and Desmond's bathroom, and I put him on the potty. He fussed and said "Tah-Yah Pah-Yee?" Which means "Turtle Potty," his child-sized toilet ring that is designed to look like a turtle and fit on the adult potty seat. But it was on the potty in the half bath.
So we walked down to the half bath, and I sat him on his turtle potty. And he pointed to it and said "Off!" So I took the turtle potty off of that toilet seat and sat him on the adult toilet seat. He fussed and said "No!"
Then he got down, picked up the turtle potty from off the floor, and marched back to the other bathroom, where I put the turtle ring on the toilet in there. I sat him on it, and he almost immediately peed in the potty.
I was too exhausted and dumbfounded to give him all of the adulation he deserved, but I did manage to get out a big "YAY!" and "Good job peeing on the potty!" And we went to tell Dad, even though it was 5:30 in the morning.
Dexter seemed to feel this was a nonevent, though (or he was just too exhausted himself to realize what he did), and all he wanted to do was play "monkees" on Dad's iPhone. (We figured he'd earned the privilege.)
YAY Dexter!
After his initial success at daycare over a month ago, we've had no more success stories. He's sat on the potty several times, sometimes for 20 or 30 minutes, but nothing.
This morning, he woke up screaming at 4:00. I went in his room to calm him down and ended up dozing in there while he flopped around from 4:00 - 5:30.
At 5:30, he rolled over and said "Puh-Pah-Yee?" Which means, I think "Pee Potty?" So we walked to the potty in his and Desmond's bathroom, and I put him on the potty. He fussed and said "Tah-Yah Pah-Yee?" Which means "Turtle Potty," his child-sized toilet ring that is designed to look like a turtle and fit on the adult potty seat. But it was on the potty in the half bath.
So we walked down to the half bath, and I sat him on his turtle potty. And he pointed to it and said "Off!" So I took the turtle potty off of that toilet seat and sat him on the adult toilet seat. He fussed and said "No!"
Then he got down, picked up the turtle potty from off the floor, and marched back to the other bathroom, where I put the turtle ring on the toilet in there. I sat him on it, and he almost immediately peed in the potty.
I was too exhausted and dumbfounded to give him all of the adulation he deserved, but I did manage to get out a big "YAY!" and "Good job peeing on the potty!" And we went to tell Dad, even though it was 5:30 in the morning.
Dexter seemed to feel this was a nonevent, though (or he was just too exhausted himself to realize what he did), and all he wanted to do was play "monkees" on Dad's iPhone. (We figured he'd earned the privilege.)
YAY Dexter!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Dexter is 21 Months Old!
He got to spend part of the day playing at Tootsie and Pop's. (naked, in the sprinkler)
Teeth: The fourth canine finally came through, and Dexter officially has sixteen teeth. I keep waiting for the next set of molars, but no signs yet. I am grateful for this.
Words & Signs: He doesn't bother with signs much, except for the occasional "more" and "please." He's too busy talking. Most of the time, we can understand what he's saying, usually becasue we have the benefit of context. "Toothbrush" and "bubbles" sound nearly identical, for example, so it helps to be able to see if he's pointing toward the toothbrush or a bubble. "Mess" is very clear, though, and he does like to let us know when there is one. It's pretty hilarious.
Sleep: It still takes Dexter nearly an hour to fall asleep most nights. I've given up on an early bedtime and just let him stay up until 10:30 or 11 to make sure he's REALLY tired. I mean come on, why spend an hour fighting him in his room when we can spend an hour playing and then 10 minutes going to sleep? This works most of the time, especially if he gets to play outside in the heat. I have no idea what we will do when winter comes. Perhaps it will be the push we need to move to Miami.
Food: After, oh, about 10 months, bananas seem to have lost their amazingness. He'll still eat them, but he's just as happy without them. I think it helps, too, that it's summer and there's a ton of other fruit around. Mostly, I think he'd just eat a solid diet of fruit if we let him. He loves pancakes and "sisup" - one morning he ate twenty two mni pancakes. That isn't the norm, but still - wow.
Potty: After our very exciting first-pee-on-the-potty event, we've had zero repeats.We try to get him on there, but who wants to sit on the potty when you could be outside riding a lawnmower? Really, now. No, he just doesn't have the patience for it. Nor does he care too much. He has, on two occasions, told someone, "I pooped." This is a good sign, but again, there hasn't been very much of this kind of activity. Mostly, we just tell him "you should pee on the potty" when we catch him peeing in the bathtub or other times he's running around diaperless.
Tricks: He's still crazy good at gross motor. Ball kicking, climbing, running, jumping, all that jazz. Really, it's crazy.
He's added black, brown, and white to his color-naming repertoire. And he knows a TON of shapes. In fact, I think he knew more last month than I gave him credit for. (Turns out that "SHA-shasha" is really "triangle." Who knew?) Kid even knows "hexagon" and "crescent." He can also recognize a few letters. This is still quite hit or miss, but it's exciting to get started on that kind of thing.
Books: Definitely some new favorites here. Dexter has recently become enamored with lawnmowers. And by "lawnmowers," I mean pretty much any motorized thing with 4 wheels that isn't a car or a truck. Tractor = lawnmower. Concrete mixer = lawnmower. Scooter at Target = lawnmower. Anyway, he has a few books that qualify as "lawnmower" books, including "Tremendous Tractors" and "Dazzling Diggers," which pretty much get read every night. (Thanks, Nulks!)
Other Fun: In keeping with the lawnmower theme, a new favorite show is Bob the Builder, known affectionately in our house as "Bee-ya!" As in, he loves it so much that we actually find ourselves actively limiting his television watching. At least he's still willing to turn it off to go outside.
Teeth: The fourth canine finally came through, and Dexter officially has sixteen teeth. I keep waiting for the next set of molars, but no signs yet. I am grateful for this.
Words & Signs: He doesn't bother with signs much, except for the occasional "more" and "please." He's too busy talking. Most of the time, we can understand what he's saying, usually becasue we have the benefit of context. "Toothbrush" and "bubbles" sound nearly identical, for example, so it helps to be able to see if he's pointing toward the toothbrush or a bubble. "Mess" is very clear, though, and he does like to let us know when there is one. It's pretty hilarious.
Sleep: It still takes Dexter nearly an hour to fall asleep most nights. I've given up on an early bedtime and just let him stay up until 10:30 or 11 to make sure he's REALLY tired. I mean come on, why spend an hour fighting him in his room when we can spend an hour playing and then 10 minutes going to sleep? This works most of the time, especially if he gets to play outside in the heat. I have no idea what we will do when winter comes. Perhaps it will be the push we need to move to Miami.
Food: After, oh, about 10 months, bananas seem to have lost their amazingness. He'll still eat them, but he's just as happy without them. I think it helps, too, that it's summer and there's a ton of other fruit around. Mostly, I think he'd just eat a solid diet of fruit if we let him. He loves pancakes and "sisup" - one morning he ate twenty two mni pancakes. That isn't the norm, but still - wow.
Potty: After our very exciting first-pee-on-the-potty event, we've had zero repeats.We try to get him on there, but who wants to sit on the potty when you could be outside riding a lawnmower? Really, now. No, he just doesn't have the patience for it. Nor does he care too much. He has, on two occasions, told someone, "I pooped." This is a good sign, but again, there hasn't been very much of this kind of activity. Mostly, we just tell him "you should pee on the potty" when we catch him peeing in the bathtub or other times he's running around diaperless.
Tricks: He's still crazy good at gross motor. Ball kicking, climbing, running, jumping, all that jazz. Really, it's crazy.
He's added black, brown, and white to his color-naming repertoire. And he knows a TON of shapes. In fact, I think he knew more last month than I gave him credit for. (Turns out that "SHA-shasha" is really "triangle." Who knew?) Kid even knows "hexagon" and "crescent." He can also recognize a few letters. This is still quite hit or miss, but it's exciting to get started on that kind of thing.
Books: Definitely some new favorites here. Dexter has recently become enamored with lawnmowers. And by "lawnmowers," I mean pretty much any motorized thing with 4 wheels that isn't a car or a truck. Tractor = lawnmower. Concrete mixer = lawnmower. Scooter at Target = lawnmower. Anyway, he has a few books that qualify as "lawnmower" books, including "Tremendous Tractors" and "Dazzling Diggers," which pretty much get read every night. (Thanks, Nulks!)
Other Fun: In keeping with the lawnmower theme, a new favorite show is Bob the Builder, known affectionately in our house as "Bee-ya!" As in, he loves it so much that we actually find ourselves actively limiting his television watching. At least he's still willing to turn it off to go outside.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Dexter peed on the potty!
At daycare, so we missed it.
Still cause for excitement, of course, and it gives me some hope that there will be a day when my house doesn't smell like diapers.
I'm really surprised, too, because his reaction when we put him on the potty at home is pretty much sheer terror. (This is true for his little potty on the floor, the "big" potty with the child seat attached, and the "big" potty without the child seat where we just hold him on there.)
(Not to be outdone, Desmond decided to pee on his Dad tonight. Fun times.)
Still cause for excitement, of course, and it gives me some hope that there will be a day when my house doesn't smell like diapers.
I'm really surprised, too, because his reaction when we put him on the potty at home is pretty much sheer terror. (This is true for his little potty on the floor, the "big" potty with the child seat attached, and the "big" potty without the child seat where we just hold him on there.)
(Not to be outdone, Desmond decided to pee on his Dad tonight. Fun times.)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Mutual Admiration Society
People ask me all the time how Dexter is acclimating to being a big brother. Truly, he's been really great since day one. In the beginning, he was always giving Desmond his pacifier (whether he wanted it or not), sharing toys, being gentle, all of that good stuff.
Now that Desmond is older, Dexter is still a great big brother, and Desmond is appreciating it a lot. As often as not, I'll look over to see Dexter giving Desmond a big hug for no reason. And, since they face each other in the car, they are often making goofy grins at one another and giggling back there. All Dexter has to do is smile or laugh at Desmond, and he'll smile or laugh right back. (And the reverse is usually true, too.)
I resolve to remember these times vividly and am glad to have these videos to refer to, because I know later I'll be doubting it ever happened.
Now that Desmond is older, Dexter is still a great big brother, and Desmond is appreciating it a lot. As often as not, I'll look over to see Dexter giving Desmond a big hug for no reason. And, since they face each other in the car, they are often making goofy grins at one another and giggling back there. All Dexter has to do is smile or laugh at Desmond, and he'll smile or laugh right back. (And the reverse is usually true, too.)
I resolve to remember these times vividly and am glad to have these videos to refer to, because I know later I'll be doubting it ever happened.
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