What I Am Doing: Recounting my day and relaxing for a little while before I begin previously listed tasks for tonight. Ever the procrastinator.
Highs & Lows of Our Day
High: Waking up at 7 (well, I'd rather wake up a little later, but read on) to Alex crying, and realizing he'd slept 10 1/2 hours in his crib.
Low: Giving Alex his morning breastfeeding session and realizing he wasn't going back to sleep. I was holding out hope until I noticed his eyes were as wide as quarters. Not the least bit drowsy looking at all. And after he was done nursing, he sat up, clapped, and started playing with toys. Yes, very cute, but Mommy could have used just another half hour of sleep.
High: Our visit with Nani this morning. The boys love her. Both of them greeted her with hugs & kisses. These aren't from today, but should give you an idea of the boys' love for their great-grandmother. And her love for them, of course.
Nani is Jeff's grandmother. When I've mentioned to Jacob that we're going to visit her, he says, "Nani will be so happy!" They eat up the attention & affection she doles out and vice versa. Tricia, Daniel, Lainey, & Emma (Daniel's friend) were also there. Tricia took a super cute picture of Alex & Lainey together.
Low: Seeing Jacob get his feelings hurt. :( It really is harder on the mommy than it is on the child. I wanted to cry. He bounced back & is over it, though. No worries.
High: Having the opportunity to run a few errands by myself! Nan (my mom) graciously agreed to watch the boys for me during my mini shopping spree. In the first store, I found myself rushing, speed walking with my cart and hurriedly glancing at items on the shelves. Then I realized...I can take my time! And so I did.
High: The reason for above shopping trip! I picked up Alex's birthday present & party supplies today. I know he'll love his gift. And I found a few cute things to go along with his football themed party. (Football was chosen b/c he does love throwing the football with his daddy & brother. And 2 members of this household- 1 in particular- are very excited that football season is near.)
Low: Does someone want to volunteer to potty train my son? We were making such good progress. He was doing fantastic with peeing on the potty. Sometimes he'd even run to the potty on his own without telling me he needed to go. And now I feel like we've regressed. Sigh. And why won't he poop on the potty? I put him in Time Out this evening for pushing his brother. After his 3 minutes were up, I walked to the corner & found him squatting. Uh oh. A classic sign that pooping is taking place.
Me: "Jacob, are you peeing or pooping?"
Jacob: (puts his hand to his chin as if he were seriously pondering the question.) "Hmmm...I don't know."
Me: "Jacob...are you pooping?"
Jacob: "Go back in there, Mommy." (and points to the kitchen) "I in Time Out for 2 more minutes."
Sure enough, he had pooped. I hate potty training.
Low: And speaking of bad moments with potty training, tonight we had a HUGE miscommunication. Today at Toys R Us, I bought Jacob a toy I knew he'd love. I decided to use it as incentive to get him to poop on the potty. He has been wanting a pirate sword he saw at Target, but I just know that plastic weapon is a ticket to many Time Outs for hitting walls, pets, or little brothers. So I found a foam sword that was perfect. After his bath tonight, he was acting kind of funny, grabbing at his diaper. He'd peed right before his bath, but I asked him if he needed to go. Every time I asked, he said no. Then he tells me he's going upstairs.
Me: "OK, but don't go upstairs and pee or poop in your diaper."
Jacob: "OK."
Me: "If you need to pee or poop, tell Mommy or Daddy, and we'll go on the potty. If you pee and poop on the potty, you can have a surprise Mommy bought for you."
Jacob: (big smile) "What surprise?"
Me: "I guess you'll find out if you poop on the potty."
Five minutes later, he comes to the top of the stairs, and says, "I peed!"
But he was still wearing his diaper. Sure enough, he did pee. But not on the potty.
"I have my surprise now?"
Um, that's not really the way it works.
We explained that he needed to pee or poop IN the potty to get his surprise.
Jacob: "I need to go pee pee!"
Me: "Buddy, you JUST peed in your diaper."
So Jeff takes him just in case he has to poop. He sits there, grunts, and after 2 seconds, says, "Alllll done! Now I get my surprise!"
You can imagine the hissy fit & tears that erupted after that misunderstanding. So the darn foam sword is in the back of my car, just waiting for him to poop in the potty.
High: Swimming with Jacob in Nan's & Pop Pop's pool today. He was wearing arm floaties and was so excited to show off his swimming skills.
"Look, mommy! Watch!" And he began kicking his legs underwater, moving his arms, and holding his chin up high, with his mouth tightly closed to prevent any water from coming in. When he forgot to do this, and water did trickle in, he promptly spat it out. I was impressed! And when I raved about his performance, the happiness & pride on his face was unmistakable. I wish I'd had my camera with me today, but here are a few very recent pool pics of the boys enjoying their swimming time with Nan & Pop Pop.
Notice the blurry spots from the water on my lens. Good aim, Jacob.
He jumped off the side of the pool into my arms, and I think he wanted to do it "Again!" a total of about 40 times. With his arms around me, and his head resting on my shoulder, he also let me hold him in the pool. It was a nice moment with my big boy.
High: Unpacking a box and finding some old t-shirts I used to wear all the time. I'm wearing one of my old favorites now. It used to be Jeff's almost 20 years ago & boy, is it comfy. It reads:
Hard Rock Cafe
Baghdad
Closed Due To Strong Desert Storm
I love my bummy t-shirts. I'm sure Jeff appreciates his wife wearing them too. :)
Low: After months of begging, I finally relented and told Jeff he could trim Alex's hair before his birthday. That happened tonight. Alex's adorable curly cue in the back of his head is gone. I cried.
But he still looks cute. Very dignified & grown up now. Maybe the curly cue will grow back.
High: My 9:00 p.m. shower in peace.
Low: The spider I found in the shower as I was stepping in. Should I just get in, watch the spider closely, never take my eyes off of it, and avoid it during the entire shower? But what if it's a jumping spider & it lands on me? Decision made. Dispose of the intruder. I stood there with the tissues for 2 minutes, staring at it. Then I grabbed a large manila envelope, waited until it climbed on, ran down the stairs, hoping it wouldn't crawl over to my hand, and carried it outside. I know- I'm ridiculous. I'm sure he's already found his way back into the house and is looking for the shower again. :)
High: Alex is out like a light in his crib, and has been since 8:30. Jacob fell asleep by 8:45 in his bed, but he'll make his way into ours sometime before morning. Now that we've taught Alex to sleep in his own bed, I suppose it's time to work on Jacob staying in his. (This didn't start until we moved into the apartment. At the old house, it was a rare occasion for him to come to our bed.) I don't mind that he sleeps half the night in our bed. It's actually kind of nice to wake up and find him snuggling with me.
Have I procrastinated long enough? Time to prepare for our big day tomorrow. I'm hoping for a day with lots of highs, cooperative kids during our travels, and maybe, just maybe, some poop in the potty. Is that too much to ask?
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