Potty training with the frog potty

 Potty Training.  The big moment has arrived!  It has begun. I am so NOT ready! 

Aden is asking to use the potty (without prompting from me)!  Due to no effort on our part, the bumbling parents, the child is doing what he is supposed to!  All I can say is, “Thank You Daycare”!  That’s the good part.  The other part of this new adventure in parenting is that I am overwhelmed with sadness at how quickly he is growing up.  This is one of the biggest challenges as a parent that I have been dreading.

I was completely floored when he asked to use the potty earlier last week after waking up with a wet diaper.  The second time, whoa, this was momentous!  Success!  He sat on the potty and did what he was supposed to! A proud moment in parenthood!  But alas, that was last week and this week we haven’t had as much progress. 

I feel like the babysitter here, just hoping the kid knows what to do because I sure don’t.  I’ve read everything there is to read about potty-training methods but somehow spending a whole weekend with a naked child forcing him to sit on the potty every twenty minutes doesn’t seem like a great way to teach a kid.

Where do we go from here?  I’ve been trying to take the wait and see approach.  Aden is extremely independent and I know that forcing him will mean disaster.  I don’t want to rush the process but it was definitely a lot easier teaching him to eat solid foods.

All of this leads up to the TERRIBLE TWOs!  I’ve tried to prepare Kevin and myself for what could possibly come.  This past year has just been such a pleasure and probably one of the easiest we will ever have.  I sincerely hope not but I hope our sweet child doesn’t turn into a clinging, raving lunatic monster that no one wants to be around.  I think that will make for a couple of raving lunatic parents and I don’t think that is a good scene.

~Life as Mom

Aden is getting the hang of presents.  We’ve been practising.  We did his picture with Santa sometime in the past couple of weeks.  I honestly couldn’t tell you when as the past month has been a blur.  I’m so glad I have next week off.  I hope I can get some rest!

~Life as Mom

We’ve worked so hard to babyproof the house that Aden has free range to wander.  And now?  He can’t touch the tree and it’s right in his play area! 

The main thought was to have everything put up while Aden was at Grandma’s or something like that, but we had to put it up while he was with us.  That in itself was so cute!  He wanted to help put ornaments on the tree.  Mostly he’s good at taking them off the tree.  I’m so worried he will pull the tree over in his overzealous attempts at removing the “child-safe” ornaments.  He REALLY enjoyed all the boxes!   OH BOY, WERE THOSE FUN!

Our tree looks half done because we only decorated about half-way down, just out of his reach.  You can tell he really enjoys the tree though.  Everytime he sees it he goes “oooahh.”  He gets so excited!

Last night we put up Aden’s special tree in his room.  This is his personal tree that I will let him decorate anyway he wants each year.  Last year and this year was my choice, of course!  Last year I did a baby boy blue them….it was so adorable!  This year I did a toys in Toyland theme with a Nutcracker as the topper!  So cute!  I’ll be dreading the day when he wants an Incredible Hulk theme. Ugh!

~Life as Mom

1. Bed time has suddenly become earlier.  Aden must be wearing himself out during the day.

2. He doesn’t like anything taken away from him.  Take away the dangerous fork or that knife that could stab you and let the screaming commence.

3. He is interacting on a level of basic conversational level.  He is acknowledging what you are saying and trying to respond either by making noise or by touching you.

4. Last night I was reading Aden his ABC book and I asked him to point out two different animals for me.  First it was a tiger and then it was a fish and then it was a dog.  He got the tiger right, didn’t know the fish and got the dog right.  You could just see the gears in his head moving as he was trying to figure out what it was I was saying and what it was in front of him that sounded familiar.

Aden is now increasingly fast and mobile.  He follows us around the house.  We have done a decent job of babyproofing, but we find that when we cannot chase him we put him in his playyard.  Which of course he hates because; dammit Mom!, he wants to be movin’!

We find that at night we are spending more time with him which is good.  I don’t do the dishes or laundry and just sit on the floor with Aden.  We play with his toys and last night we played ball.  We tossed a beach ball around.  He loved that.   Which would children’s services find worse I wonder?  A kitchen full of dirty dishes or  an unhappy child in a playpen?  Aden  does seem to sleep better at night when we have given him lots of attention.

I polled friends on what they do to keep their kids busy.  Granted their kids are a little bit older than Aden.

This is what works for my child:

1) coloring, 2) singing abc’s and other nursery rhymes, 3) playing with Elmo, 4) playing with letters, 5) playing outside and if these don’t work I feed her.

As for toddler activities, here is my list.

1. Play dough!
2. Magnadoodle
3. Coloring
4. Stickers
5. Play with water-Use whatever you have in the kitchen, put a towel down inside if it’s too hot to go outside
6. Play with oatmeal or rice-Again, good for a hot or rainy day, use a big towel or table cloth
7. Blocks
8. Practice walking and holding hands (down to the mailbox and back)
9. Play outside (ride-on toy, truck, ball, and climber)
10. Newest activity-Throw pennies in the fountain near Gator Dockside or the wishing well at the mall (near Macy’s)

Here are some ideas that I’ve used to keep my toddler busy sometimes, although normally she’s attached to my hip so I get to participate too:

• Make a house with windows out of the big box that her car seat came in
• Let her drop clothes pins into a milk jug
• Put ice cubes in a Ziploc bag
• Table a paper towel role to the side of a table and let her drop legos, balls, or smaller toys through the chute
• Make ramp out of a piece of cardboard and push toy cars down the ramp
• Fill one large bowl with ice and one large bowl with water a little soap and let her use measuring cups to transfer the ice cubes back and forth (outside activity)
• Outdoor soup – put some water in a bucket and help her add different outside things like leaves and twigs to the outdoor soup and stir with a big spoon
• Put a little ketchup and a little mustard in a double Ziploc bag and let her squish the two colors together
• Big Lego pieces are great to play with
• Babycenter.com has some great ideas too on stuff to do with your baby/toddler

My toddler stays busy by:
1)  watching Baby Einstein videos
2) reading
3) playing with her toys and stuffed animals
4) playing with the tupperware in the kitchen cabinets and drawers
5) going to the park, Publix, the mall, or over to grandma’s
6) following mommy and daddy around

I’m so lucky to have friends who are ahead of me in this arena!  What do you do to keep your toddler busy, happy, healthy and learning?

~Life as Mom

We will be in Lake Mary this weekend and wanted to make a quick trip to Orlando on Sunday.  Downtown Disney is great for this purpose because you don’t have to pay an entrance fee therefore if you can’t stay all day you don’t feel as if you have wasted your money.  You get the Disney experience without the Disney price.  Don’t get me wrong you still spend money!  Who can resist all the wonderful Disney things you can buy since it is just a giant outdoor Disney mall.

As I prepare for the weekend I realize that traveling with Aden will be different than in the past.  Even a trip as recently as our beach trip, Aden wasn’t moving around too much.  Now he is a little crawling motor that can’t be turned off.  How does one prepare for that?

I have my travel strategy planned, a couple of outfits per day, lots of diapers and some toys.  I need to add to that his favorite Baby Einstein movies, the portable DVD player, his favorite spoon, stroller, hats, swimsuits, and what else?  I’ve studied these travel tips and this travel blog, DeliciousBaby.

Everything I have read has said to be prepared.  I have to prepare for him actually being awake while we are driving.  Hmmm, what games can you play with a 10-month old that can’t move?  Peek-a-Boo comes to mind.  I think I’ll bring our puppet too, but Aden has been kinda scared of him lately.  Perhaps bubbles?

How do you entertain a crawling baby in a hotel room?  Why play with toys when he can explore the room.  I hope they have their own pack and plays as we don’t intend to bring ours.

We love traveling and hopefully with a little forethought this and future trips with Aden will go smoothly.

~Life as Mom

Receiving this wonderful gift prompted me to look for matching bowls and plates and I found this wonderful wood toy company online called Heirloom Wooden Toys. They have tons of wonderfully natural wooden toys for all ages.

I especially liked that they had kitchen sets that weren’t too girly.  Even a wooden tea set that could be used for boys.  Recently we were at a friend’s house and they had a little kitchen for their girl and Aden loved playing with all the food and pulling out the drawers.  I am glad I could find a more gender-neutral one.  They also have puppet theaters which I think we are going to have to get for Christmas!  Aden’s birthday is coming up too and I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m going to get him.  I think this will be my new go-to website.

~Life as Mom

Since about 1997 I have had my Eastpak bag. I have to say my book bag helped me get my education. During my college days it carried my books for class, on my hiking trips it kept my trailmix handy, when I went to the beach it held the sun screen and towels, it kept the bugs out while camping but I never thought it would hold diapers. Alas, last weekend the primary diaper bag was in my wife’s car and she had gone to get her hair cut and it looks great by the way. Now with the primary bag unavailable and my honey do errands mounting I had to take action. I asked myself what could I use for a diaper bag. My conclusion immediately came to my old school bag. So I found it in the closet and as I took the camping gear out of my old Eastpak I had to laugh out loud. Never in a million years did I think my Eastpak would become a diaper bag. If you would have walked up to me in college and said hey that bag is going to carry diapers one day I would have said no way. That moment was another reinforcement that life has changed for old Dad here.  Well the Eastpak did not even flinch, it took on the baby essentials (diapers, whipes, distilled water, bottle, powdered formula, two toys, q-tips, and first aid kit) and we headed out into the wild blue yonder. Aden always does well while out in the car and we got the job done. Did I mention my wife’s new hair due looks great…

Well the Eastpak has always held up and I think it is going to be with me for many more years. In all the time I have had the bag there have been no zipper string mess and no repairs needed to it. I added a University of Florida Gator logo to the bag to give it some bling and some personality. Thanks Eastpak for a great bag.

~Life as Dad

I try not to get caught up in the toy mania that is Toys R Us.  Believe me I wish we could buy Aden every toy on the market.  Sometimes I feel like I am depriving him of valuable entertainment and possible learning experiences without the latest and greatest toy.  Is that the reality or just the marketing?

Will he be a happy and self-satisfied adult having known he hasn’t had the latest Vtech?  Will he still learn all the things he needs to in order to be a functioning student?  I don’t know, but I do know when the wailing begins these are my go-to toys.

1.  Pool Noodle

As stated in a previous post, the pool noodle is about the best thing going for a young toddler’s confidence.  Aden thinks he is the strongest little man when he lifts it.

2. Wooden spoons

I love wooden spoons.  I wish I had more of them as I like cooking with them.  The feel of a wooden spoon in my hand is different than a plastic or metal spoon.  Somehow I always feel as if the food will taste better if I use a wooden spoon.  Aden has taken over the two wooden spoons that I have and I believe those are his favorite teethers.

3. Activity table

As soon as Aden starting crawling, he started pulling up.  Although this is the more expensive of his toys it is definitely one that is worth getting as he loves it.  When we first brought it home, he stood at it for hours.  He even uses it as a walker since he can push it across the room.

4. Plastic cup from Sonny’s BBQ

On a whim I kept a child’s cup from Sonny’s.  I thought when Aden got older we would need cups.  When he got into the plasticeware cupboard he pulled this out and kept it with him.  It is one of his favorite teethers.  He is always rolling it around chasing after it.  And the great thing is that it washes easily.

5. Balls

Just recently we have put balls into Aden’s toybox.  He has a big one that he can lift with both of his hands.  A bunch of small ones that he can fit in one hand and a medium size squishy one that he loves to bite and carry around in his mouth.  I love that he can fetch now.

6. Keys

What kid doesn’t like keys.

7. Plasticware cabinet

I read somewhere that making one cabinet child-friendly with objects they could pull out will entertain them.  What a brilliant idea.  Aden thinks he is hot stuff because he is getting into something and can throw plastic lids all over.  He likes the fact that he is with me too and can see me when I am in the kitchen.

8. Stuffed giraffe music box

This was a shower gift and a crib staple.  It was the first toy that Aden recognized and was able to put his little arms around.  The long neck of the giraffe has been squeezed a lot.

9. Plastic egg

For Easter I bought some plastic eggs for a $1 thinking that Aden would be into them in a couple of years.  It was love from first egg.  We now have to have an egg with us wherever we go.  I keep them in the diaper bags too.  It is the perfect toy to fit in his little hand.  He feels safe when he is holding his egg.  Best $1 investment ever.

10. Remote controls

Sometimes I think the toy manufacturers make everything colorful and shiny for the parents because everyone knows a baby will head towards the plain black remote everytime.  Without fail.  How is that for product testing?

~Life as Mom

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At least he is a happy sumo wrestler, at least until he gets hungry or tired.  He is starting to show attachment which I secretly love because I never thought he would know me as his mom.  I always think he sees me as the babysitter and his babysitter as his primary caretaker.  He is always so happy to see her.  God DAMN it.

He can sit up and play by himself with his toys.  He can’t pull himself up yet but he can do an awesome stomach crunch!  He can now roll over from his front to back!  Only because he hates being on his stomach so much.  He is now wanting to touch and mouth everything in sight.  He can recognize his daddy for sure!  He said Ba Ba last week although we don’t know if it means bottle, binky or something else.  I fed him sweet potatoes last night and he ate them like a pro.  The little sumo-wrestler can do some damage to the teether cookies too.

~M