So, after throwing a HUGE fit about going to bed one night, we finally find Xsound asleep with a clock next to his head. Guess he decided it was finally "time" to go to sleep (even though the clock had no battery and he can't tell time anyway).
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
{Almost} Wordless Wednesday -- "Time" to Sleep
So, after throwing a HUGE fit about going to bed one night, we finally find Xsound asleep with a clock next to his head. Guess he decided it was finally "time" to go to sleep (even though the clock had no battery and he can't tell time anyway).
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Swim Lessons
Xavier and Wes started swim lessons this month at the YMCA. They are in the same class which i thought would be best since I knew swim lessons would be met with some resistance.
Oh my!
Xavier is pretty afraid of the water if it's not zero entry -- even when he can touch. Wesley used to be fine, but I think he's being influenced by X's attitude toward water.
Do you like the boots and the sock and flip flops?? They dressed themselves for their lessons that day.
They have had 3 lessons so far, and they've come a long way already. The first week Wes only got in the pool for about 3 minutes of a 40 minute lesson. Xavier cried the entire time and kept asking me if swim lessons were over.
Their poor teacher, Miss Kathy, is so sweet and patient with them. She's got some really good techniques for helping them too, so I'm trying to take mental notes as I watch her. I've given Miss Kathy license to push the boys a little even if they protest.
The second week Wes was in the water much more. And Xavier still cried and tried to run away :)
Last week both boys started to turn a corner. She got them out in the water more and Wes was even swimming unassisted (with a float belt). He really started to enjoy the lessons. Xavier did what she asked but was still unsure.
I have high hopes that they will at least LIKE the water by the end of the 7 week lessons.
Oh my!
Xavier is pretty afraid of the water if it's not zero entry -- even when he can touch. Wesley used to be fine, but I think he's being influenced by X's attitude toward water.
Do you like the boots and the sock and flip flops?? They dressed themselves for their lessons that day.
They have had 3 lessons so far, and they've come a long way already. The first week Wes only got in the pool for about 3 minutes of a 40 minute lesson. Xavier cried the entire time and kept asking me if swim lessons were over.
Their poor teacher, Miss Kathy, is so sweet and patient with them. She's got some really good techniques for helping them too, so I'm trying to take mental notes as I watch her. I've given Miss Kathy license to push the boys a little even if they protest.
The second week Wes was in the water much more. And Xavier still cried and tried to run away :)
Last week both boys started to turn a corner. She got them out in the water more and Wes was even swimming unassisted (with a float belt). He really started to enjoy the lessons. Xavier did what she asked but was still unsure.
I have high hopes that they will at least LIKE the water by the end of the 7 week lessons.
Monday, January 28, 2013
I Love Toy Trains
They boys are train fanatics (if you can't tell from other posts). They love real trains, toy trains, wooden trains, remote control trains. You name it, they love it.
Lately they've been obsessed with a DVD series called "I LOVE TOY TRAINS". It's pretty corny in my opinion, but they can't get enough of it. We got them from the library. The boys would carry these DVDs everywhere and even sleep with the cases. Xavier would go so far as to take pictures of the DVD cases with my phone just so he could have another place to look at toy train movies.
Santa brought a train table and Geotrax remote control train. It's been a big hit! So of course when I was told about a model train show coming to town we were in!
Gma Tina and I took Xavier and Wesley to the train show. They had a blast and just went from one thing to the next in awe and amazement.
The show had a mix of plastic "kid friendly" toy sets, as well as some pretty high dollar model trains. They even had a free Thomas the Train that the kids could take a short ride on.
The boys walked their way through and I think they ate their weight in popcorn while watching all the trains run.
There were several different sections set up to "play" trains as well.
It's a little fuzzy, but I took a picture of this man who was the quintessential old man who was SERIOUS about his model trains. Love the outfit, HA!!
A fun time was had by everyone. Thanks Gma Tina for coming to the show with us. And thanks Gma Debbie for watching Elliott so we didn't have to chase after him all afternoon :)
Lately they've been obsessed with a DVD series called "I LOVE TOY TRAINS". It's pretty corny in my opinion, but they can't get enough of it. We got them from the library. The boys would carry these DVDs everywhere and even sleep with the cases. Xavier would go so far as to take pictures of the DVD cases with my phone just so he could have another place to look at toy train movies.
Santa brought a train table and Geotrax remote control train. It's been a big hit! So of course when I was told about a model train show coming to town we were in!
Gma Tina and I took Xavier and Wesley to the train show. They had a blast and just went from one thing to the next in awe and amazement.
The boys walked their way through and I think they ate their weight in popcorn while watching all the trains run.
There were several different sections set up to "play" trains as well.
It's a little fuzzy, but I took a picture of this man who was the quintessential old man who was SERIOUS about his model trains. Love the outfit, HA!!
Bye Bye Bink-Bink...Bink-Bink Bye Bye
(Warning -- long post about a pacifier...but it was a MAJOR part of life so I want to remember this story)
When Wesley turned 3 it was time for the pacifier (bink-bink) to go. We did it cold turkey with Xavier the same way.
About a month or two before he turned 3, we started talking about how 3 year olds didn't need bink-binks anymore. This time it was great because we even got Xavier in on our project to convince Wes to give up the bink! We talked about how when Wes turned 3 he would get to send his bink-binks to "the babies" who needed them, just like Xavier had done.
Walter and I were bracing ourselves as the day drew closer. We knew it was going to be hard. Wesley was waaayyy more attached to his bink bink than X (which we didn't think was possible....we were wrong!) and would have been content to have it in his mouth all day long. It was such a sense of comfort for him to have his "bink bink and deb-debs" (debs is his lovie). He wanted it in the car, around the house, and even got to the point where he would go get them to watch tv. He was a bink bink junkie!
Part of me thought, who cares, why take it from him?? But the other part was keenly aware that he was using the bink-bink as his only way to cope with life. If he didn't have it, he had no clue how to cope with a situation that wasn't 100% going his way. I started to feel like he really needed to develop some ways to work through his emotions. AND I was darn sick of looking for that thing all over the house when he couldn't find it and was freaking out!
We came across a cute video of Elmo saying goodbye to his binky. Xavier thought it was great, but Wes wasn't quite sure. I think reality was setting in :)
On his birthday, we did the farewell to the bink-bink and Wes didn't protest at all.
He took one last suck, and mommy took one last picture with it.
It was a little snowy morning and he headed out with his envelope to the mailbox.
In return for the bink-bink, "the babies" gave Wesley a green locomotive and a red milk tank car for his train set later that day.
So at first things didn't go well. And I really thought Wes was going to stop napping completely. He just could not settle down when it was time to sleep. He was just so hyper without the sucking. I thought that with the bink bink gone, he would turn to DebDebs even more for comfort. But, the complete opposite happened. All of the sudden he was done with DebDebs too. He totally shunned that thing. Left it in his bed all day, sometimes didn't even want it in the bed when he went to sleep. I was SHOCKED, and a little heartbroken for poor DebDebs that was getting the cold shoulder.
Almost a month after we bid goodbye to bink bink, I'm happy to say that Wesley is doing much better. He's napping again, although not every day, and he's fallen back in love with DebDebs after about a week hiatus. We still have a rougher time getting him to settle down at night, but he's in a stubborn phase too. For the first week, every time we put Wes to sleep he would say "Mommy, I need something...something small and green." (meaning his bink bink). I would gently remind him that we sent bink bink to the babies because he was 3 and didn't need them anymore. Now he doesn't even ask about it at all. Occasionally he'll say "when I was little like Elliott I used to have a binkbink." But that's about it.
I for one am glad that he took DebDebs back. He's just to cute and soft to give up! And apparently he makes a great sleeping hat :)
We are so proud of you Wes for giving up the bink-bink!!!
When Wesley turned 3 it was time for the pacifier (bink-bink) to go. We did it cold turkey with Xavier the same way.
About a month or two before he turned 3, we started talking about how 3 year olds didn't need bink-binks anymore. This time it was great because we even got Xavier in on our project to convince Wes to give up the bink! We talked about how when Wes turned 3 he would get to send his bink-binks to "the babies" who needed them, just like Xavier had done.
Walter and I were bracing ourselves as the day drew closer. We knew it was going to be hard. Wesley was waaayyy more attached to his bink bink than X (which we didn't think was possible....we were wrong!) and would have been content to have it in his mouth all day long. It was such a sense of comfort for him to have his "bink bink and deb-debs" (debs is his lovie). He wanted it in the car, around the house, and even got to the point where he would go get them to watch tv. He was a bink bink junkie!
Part of me thought, who cares, why take it from him?? But the other part was keenly aware that he was using the bink-bink as his only way to cope with life. If he didn't have it, he had no clue how to cope with a situation that wasn't 100% going his way. I started to feel like he really needed to develop some ways to work through his emotions. AND I was darn sick of looking for that thing all over the house when he couldn't find it and was freaking out!
We came across a cute video of Elmo saying goodbye to his binky. Xavier thought it was great, but Wes wasn't quite sure. I think reality was setting in :)
On his birthday, we did the farewell to the bink-bink and Wes didn't protest at all.
He took one last suck, and mommy took one last picture with it.
Then he put the bink bink in an envelope. I tried to get him to decorate it with stickers and markers, but he wasn't interested.
It was a little snowy morning and he headed out with his envelope to the mailbox.
In return for the bink-bink, "the babies" gave Wesley a green locomotive and a red milk tank car for his train set later that day.
So at first things didn't go well. And I really thought Wes was going to stop napping completely. He just could not settle down when it was time to sleep. He was just so hyper without the sucking. I thought that with the bink bink gone, he would turn to DebDebs even more for comfort. But, the complete opposite happened. All of the sudden he was done with DebDebs too. He totally shunned that thing. Left it in his bed all day, sometimes didn't even want it in the bed when he went to sleep. I was SHOCKED, and a little heartbroken for poor DebDebs that was getting the cold shoulder.
Almost a month after we bid goodbye to bink bink, I'm happy to say that Wesley is doing much better. He's napping again, although not every day, and he's fallen back in love with DebDebs after about a week hiatus. We still have a rougher time getting him to settle down at night, but he's in a stubborn phase too. For the first week, every time we put Wes to sleep he would say "Mommy, I need something...something small and green." (meaning his bink bink). I would gently remind him that we sent bink bink to the babies because he was 3 and didn't need them anymore. Now he doesn't even ask about it at all. Occasionally he'll say "when I was little like Elliott I used to have a binkbink." But that's about it.
I for one am glad that he took DebDebs back. He's just to cute and soft to give up! And apparently he makes a great sleeping hat :)
We are so proud of you Wes for giving up the bink-bink!!!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
18 Months - Elliott
I'm afraid to even look back and see when the last time it was that I did an Elliott developmental update. Whoops! But I'm here now so let's get started......
Elliott turned 18 months on Jan 16th.
Sooo strange to me to think that this is the age that Wes was when Elliott was born. I still see Elliott as so much of a baby that it's crazy to think that I was having another baby when Wesley was this age.
E baby is roughly 26 1/2 lbs, wears size 5 diaper, 18-24m or 2T clothing, and size 6 shoes.
He is our longest baby to stay rear facing. The others were dying to turn around at a year. But since Elliott has Xavier to look at in the back seat, he's totally cool with it. We plan to keep him there for awhile. (I've been learning so much more about crash test and spinal development and that it really is sooo much better for them!)
Elliott has a love affair with his "taggie and bink-bink". They are his 2 best friends and must go everywhere with him. He's content to set them aside and play, but when he needs comfort, those are his go-to items!
Elliott goes to bed around 7-7:30pm and sleeps roughly 11 hours. He's usually great about going to bed. Just needs a few snuggles, his taggie and bink bink, and he will lay right down in his crib. E takes an afternoon nap for about 1.5-2 hours.
Some of E's favorite foods lately are pancakes, sausage, blueberries, strawberries, cereal, chicken nugs, ravioli, applesauce, milk, granola bars, and fruit/veggie smoothies. He doesn't like cheese, which I'm surprised about. He's getting picky with vegetables and already knows chocolate is yummy!
If I was a good mom I would know exactly how many teeth he has, but, well, I don't. I'd guess about 10-12 right now. Whenever he's getting ready to cut a tooth he goes into a terrible sleep pattern for several days.
Elliott's vocabulary has really taken off in the past month or so. I couldn't even count how many words he has. And he's usually willing to give it a try when you ask him "can you say ____" Along with understandable words, Elliott will also just stare at you, point, and purposefully babble. Then he'll give you the "why don't you understand me -- I just told you exactly what I want -- are you an idiot??" look. Fun times! He points to lots of stuff or semi-drags you to what he wants if he doesn't know how to verbalize it. I've never been successful with sign language with my kids (just because I didn't put in enough practice with it) so I'm thankful they speak well enough pretty early. He called Wes, "Sessa" because he can't say a W sound. Wesley does NOT like this for some reason. I've tried to explain that he's still learning, but Wes is quick to remind Elliott "My name not Sessa, it's Wessa!!!"
E can go up and DOWN the stairs on his own now. For the longest time he would go up, but refused to go down. He would just stand at the top and scream at you. Glad that's over! So we don't have to use the gate on the basement anymore which is awesome!!!!
A total flirt, Elliott likes to flash his smile and his baby blues at total strangers. He can be such a happy baby. He's uncertain in new surroundings, but if you don't push it, he warms up fairly quickly on his own. He goes to childcare at the YMCA, church. and at bible study. He still LOVES to be held and likes to work his magic in childcare rooms to get the ladies to just sit and hold him. Elliott is a total snuggle bunny. While he can be sweet as pie, Elliott also has quite the temper if he doesn't get his way. We've already had many laying on the floor screaming tantrums from this boy. He also likes to throw things when he's mad. Watch out -- ha!
Elliott is already trying to keep up with his big brothers. He's learned some of their mischievous ways too. He runs around the house chasing Xavier and Wesley. He wants to play with the big kid toys but knows his place in the pecking order :)
We are so blessed to have Elliott in our little family. We love you Skoogy Bear!!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
"Real" Haircuts
Recently I took Xavier and Wes for their first "real" (not by mommy") haircuts. They did so well and really liked it. Guess I'll have to let them get one by the pros every 5 years or so.
While I do like how the haircuts turned out, it confirmed for me that I'm not doing that terrible of a job cutting their hair on my own. And I watched the ladies so I could get a few tips. Mama's not made of money so this won't be a regular occurance :)
Afterward I tried to get a picture of their new styles, but they were more interested in just being goofy.
While I do like how the haircuts turned out, it confirmed for me that I'm not doing that terrible of a job cutting their hair on my own. And I watched the ladies so I could get a few tips. Mama's not made of money so this won't be a regular occurance :)
Afterward I tried to get a picture of their new styles, but they were more interested in just being goofy.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Wesley is 3
Happy 3rd Birthday Wesley!!!!
You, sweet boy, were SOOOO excited to turn 3. We started the morning with birthday pancakes
And ended the day with Birthday Cake. You requested a Red Milk Tank car, but mommy was able to persuade you into having a green Milk Tank Car because red frosting is soooo difficult to get right.
You love race cars and anything to do with trains. You have quite the imagination when playing and love to run around singing and pretending to fly things through the air.
You can be soooo silly -- with your expressions as well as your words.
Wesley you have a wonderful smile that can light up a room and warm our hearts.
Do not be fooled though. You are STUBBORN to the core. When you get something in your mind you dig your heels in like no other child I've known. (see below -- you fell asleep for nap in the doorway to your room after you threw a fit about not wanting to be in your bed and take a nap. Oh my!)
Happy Birthday Munch!
You, sweet boy, were SOOOO excited to turn 3. We started the morning with birthday pancakes
And ended the day with Birthday Cake. You requested a Red Milk Tank car, but mommy was able to persuade you into having a green Milk Tank Car because red frosting is soooo difficult to get right.
Wes you have such a unique personality. You can be fun loving and challenging practically all in the same moment. You are determined to do things yourself quite often. Even if it doesn't work out like you'd planned (see below -- Wes vs Smoothie)
You love race cars and anything to do with trains. You have quite the imagination when playing and love to run around singing and pretending to fly things through the air.
You can be soooo silly -- with your expressions as well as your words.
Wesley you have a wonderful smile that can light up a room and warm our hearts.
Do not be fooled though. You are STUBBORN to the core. When you get something in your mind you dig your heels in like no other child I've known. (see below -- you fell asleep for nap in the doorway to your room after you threw a fit about not wanting to be in your bed and take a nap. Oh my!)
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