Naptime Adventures!

There are some days, after the fact, I have decided nap time just wasn't worth it.
Case in point:

One day when I put the boys down for naps. I heard them playing and gave them a little bit ... when I went in I found the floor completely covered with 200 diapers and 1 container of 100 wipes emptied and all over the floor and the empty boxes in Dominic's crib. I was thankful the other 8 containers of 100 count wipes hadn't been completely emptied yet (they were in the process of working in one of them)
Another day when I put the boys down for naps, I just thought they were sleeping. Later when I came in to check on them I found Jordan on his bed with the sheets off and tearing pieces off his mattress topper.
On yet another day I found some cans of storage (that had been in a box under Jordan's bed) with their labels removed. 6 of them were about the same weight. But only 3 contained the same thing and now I don't know which is which.
All of this happened in November 2010. I quickly decided that Jordan could do without a nap.

Bless his heart, there are some days he is just so exhausted. One day I found him crashed on the couch. We have put nap time back in every once in a while depending on how Jordan is doing. I am pleased to say nothing else has happened (knock on wood)

Potty Training.

When we have gone in for checkups and the Doctor has asked us how the potty training is going. To which we respond, "it's not". Our Pediatrician has reassured us that she has yet to see a kid go to Kindergarten not potty trained. There have been times I have wondered if Jordan will be the first. He has wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.
After Halloween and getting all the candy, I had a stroke of inspiration. I told Jordan the candy was for big boys. Immediately he wanted to go and use the potty. It has been one interesting ride ever since.
I haven't had to change a poopy diaper/pull-up since (I am jumping up and down for joy).
Of course Jordan is proud of his accomplishment and we have to go and see he was a big boy. I have found him standing over the toilet saying "bye-bye, see you later" as he flushes.
I have witnessed a boy with serious bladder control. One day we were shopping. We went to 3 stores (one right after the other) and we had to make 3 potty breaks. We took him to the restroom right before we left one store and as soon as we walked into the next store he had to go. He actually did go potty all three times. By the 3rd time, Dominic was saying he needed to go use the potty too. We took him after Jordan got back and would just stand there. As soon as you tried to take his diaper off he would tell you "no".
This has also been the time I have dreaded ... Jordan having free access to the bathroom. So far I have had soap all over, from the sink to the floor to all over Jordan (head to toe). Jordan getting into his sister's toothpaste and eating it.
There are days that Jordan informs me he will be a big boy tomorrow. After completely soaking his pull-up, he ends up with a bare bum and we end up with no accidents.
One day when he had a bare bum, I found him backing his bottom up to the space heater to warm it up (good thing our space heater is cool to the touch).
Of course, he also likes to show his sister his bare bum and she doesn't appreciate it at all!
Progress is being made. We actually have had a few accident free days! Woohoo.

Halloween 2010

Dominic's first year trick or treating.
Since Halloween fell on Sunday we went with a friend to a neighborhood that decided to celebrate Halloween on Saturday.
For some reason my brain was a little slow and I was scrambling to get costumes. I had been looking around for a little while but I didn't want to spend the money. We found some "football jerseys" for the boys and Constance had decided she wanted to be a cowgirl. Dominic decided he wasn't about to cooperate and didn't end up wearing his little jersey.
The weather was a little cool. Things went well for a little while, then Dominic started to get a little tired. Mike took him and went and got his truck and followed us. One by one the kids got tired and jumped in the back of the truck. I kept asking Jordan if he was done and he kept telling me he "no". He was having too much fun getting the candy. We finally told the kids we were done. It was late enough and they had enough candy.
They had a lot of fun.

Catch UP!

It has been a while since I have updated the blog and I am going to see if I can get it all caught up. So here we go!

Bless His Little Heart!

This could prove to be very interesting.
For the last couple of weeks every time we are headed out Jordan doesn't want to walk. Whether we are going to the van or getting out of the van, he asks to be held.
I didn't realize what was going on really until yesterday.
The boys and I went with Grandma to do a little shopping. Maybe it wasn't the best idea since it was nap time. I figured it wouldn't be too bad and all in all the boys were good. When we were headed to the van to leave, Jordan started freaking out. There was a nice little breeze and it was blowing leaves around on the pavement.

Normal for this time of year ... After all it is Fall.
I was holding Dominic's hand and Grandma was holding Jordan's. Jordan couldn't get away from the leaves fast enough. He started screaming and trying to get his little legs up. I showed him they were leaves, you can step on them, you can crunch them ...
He couldn't get in the van fast enough.
Now I understand why he has been acting the way he has for the last several weeks.

He will not walk through the grass ... too many leaves. When he walks on the driveway or sidewalk he is very careful about where he walks (the less leaves the better). Heaven help you if the wind starts blowing! This morning it did and he wrapped his little legs around mine so tight and started screaming. When he finally calmed down enough to walk to the door, he kept saying crunch, crunch, crunch all the way to the door. He was so pleased when he got there. He proudly told me "I did it Mommy!"
Bless his little heart!

The Fun Never Ends!

Jordan and Dominic are my little helpers. Sometimes the help is not appreciated nearly as much as other times.

One day Jordan decided to help me by taking Dominic's diaper off ... Dominic wasn't just wet either. Thankfully the mess wasn't spread all over.

Jordan has informed me he is "helping" when he comes over to the computer and starts pushing buttons or when he starts pushing down on my hands so I start pushing buttons. Dominic has decided it is funny to come and push buttons. When I tell him no ... he starts laughing and tries to push more buttons.

I let Jordan help me make stromboli. Everytime I looked he he was either eating the meat or the cheese off the dough. Other times he was spreading the flour all over his head or arms or all over the floor.

Both boys have discovered the vacuums. They love to help. I have a turn too. They just don't seem to get everything clean ... but they sure do try. They get very upset when I tell them we are done. Of course, it also makes their days when I get the vacuums out. They have also discoverd the extensions and decided to use them as swords. They quickly discovered they don't like it nearly as much when they actually get hit with them.

I heard the boys laughing the other night and went in their room only to discover Dominic on top of Jordan. They were both laughing so hard. It took Jordan a little while to get out from under Dominic (Dominic wasn't about to let him up) and get back in his own bed. This pattern repeated itself several times. I love to hear my boys laughing and playing so well together. I just wish it wasn't when they were supposed to be going to sleep.

A simple trip to the grocery store ... right. I turned my head for a minute to look at something and when I looked back I find Jordan putting hand soap on his head. He informed me he was washing himself. Of course, he also had soap all over his clothes and his legs and his arms. Needless to say he got a bath when we got home. I didn't need to add any soap ... just water.

Jordan has decided it is funny to lick me. Where does he get this from?? The other day he was standing behind me and he started to lick me and then told me "yum". When I asked him to stop ... he just busted up laughing. A couple of days later he decided it was funny to put my hair in his mouth.

Jordan is learning jumping on a bunkbed is not such a good idea. Of course, you would think one time of hitting your head on the bottom of the top bunk would do it. He seems to feel the need to do it over and over. He still gets the same results ... a sore head.

I am amazed at the ingenuity of a little guy. After I have tucked both boys in bed for the night I have gone back in to discover both boys in the crib under the pop-up tent. Jordan even had to sneak out of his room to get the tent one time. The first time I turned the light on and Jordan was under the tent ... he froze. I guess he was hoping I wouldn't notice he was there. Even though he was holding perfectly still and being very quiet ... I did notice.

After playing outside all afternoon ... Dominic decided he still wasn't dirty enough. He proceeded to rub the dirt all over himself like you would lotion. The bath water was nice and filthy after my boys were done.

Jordan has decided it isn't enough for me to just clean his hands and wipe his face after he is done eating. He likes to stick his tongue out too so I can clean it.

Jordan has started waking up before 6am the last several mornings. One morning he started playing with one of the loud toys. Another morning he climbed in bed with his little brother. Another morning he was on the couch and had turned the TV on. Yet another morning I heard him in the Living Room and had him come in my room. It was almost time for my alarm to go off so I had him climb up in bed with me and we snuggled until it was time for me to get up. I know it won't be that early when Daylight Savings Time ends ... but that is still a long way off. I really do enjoy my sleep and hope this doesn't last.

Michigan

Ready or not here we come!

The last time we went to Michigan was 2 years ago, Jordan was not quite 18 months old. During that visit, Jordan learned to walk. He got tired of not being able to keep up with Malia's twins. It was a wonderful visit, the kids had so much fun playing together. The drive home ... not so much. Jordan got a 15 minute nap here and there ... and when he wasn't sleeping (which was most of the time) he was screaming. He screamed the entire way home to TN ... about 9 hours. After that we decided we were not going to venture very far from home for a while.

Last October, we made a last minute trip to Idaho ... driving of course. (Succors for punishment!) Dominic had been added to our family and Mike's family still hadn't met Jordan. So on Constance's fall break we headed west, a little scared at how well the kids would do on such a long trip. We were pleasantly surprised.

With the successful trip to Idaho last year ... we decided we wanted to go to Michigan. I really wanted to spend more time with my sister. It was a wonderful trip. We left a little later than we had hoped, Mike had a few lawns he had to finish mowing that morning. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling well either. I wasn't about to postpone though. The kids did great. Constance remembered how much she "loves" going through Ohio ... We arrived late Friday night.

The kids had so much fun playing together. We rarely saw any of them ... they were so busy playing. Once I found Dominic going down the stairs into the basement and decided it was much better for me not to see him going up and down the stairs (thankfully he didn't have any falls -- we don't have stairs at home). The boys played with the twins ... Constance had fun with cousins.

Park
We took the kids to the park one afternoon. Of course we went during the hottest part of the day. I kept reminding myself and Constance that it could be much worse, we could be in Tennessee where the Temps were 100, with the heat index it felt like 115. We took some snacks and Mike and I went and got a couple pizzas and we had a picnic. The kids had so much fun. Dominic went down a pretty big slide for the first time ... he wasn't too sure if he liked it or not. He then decided to climb up as high as he could (which wasn't very high) and slide down and say "weeee". Jordan just ran all over. It was fun trying to keep up with him.
Divide and conquer ... I realized this was exactly why I don't take the boys to the park by myself. Constance and Sam went off with sisters, Whitney and Anna and played.

Holocaust Memorial
My sister had told me about this place before and told me I really needed to go. So we made plans. I gave Constance the option ... it is a lot to take in even for an adult. She decided to stay home with the younger cousins. Kaylin babysat for us and we went. I am so glad I went. I just wish I had had more time. There is so much information I didn't have nearly enough time. We were able to listen to a Holocaust survivor. From the numbers of lives lost to all those who had the courage to stand up and help ... It was ... heartbreaking ... inspiring ... humbling. Definitely a lot can and should be learned from the past.

Detroit Zoo
We planned carefully the day we were going to go to the zoo. It wasn't supposed to be too warm ... 84. When the day came, we got a good start and arrived shortly after the zoo opened. We headed to the back to see if the animals were up and moving about. Dominic got to see a real Tiger (his favorite animal) ... he was so excited. It ended up being the hottest day... in the 90s. We let the kids play in the water (the frogs spit water) for a little while. Jordan tried to climb a fence and Dominic tried to go under a fence once ... They weren't successful. (Thankfully) The poor prairie dogs wouldn't have been the same if they had. Jordan and Dominic were both excited when we rode the train. Jordan kept talking about the train for days after. We ended up spending 5 1/2 hours at the zoo (a record for us). We were all worn out by the end and ready to go home. It was so much fun.

Jordan learned he shouldn't put his head between the posts of the banister. He got it in ok ... getting it out ... a little bit harder. Bless his little heart he can get himself in some interesting situations.

The trip home wasn't too bad. Dominic fussed a bit more ... he was so tired and he couldn't get comfortable and was only able to sleep for 15-20 minutes at a time.

We have been blessed with a wonderful family and are so thankful for the time we have to spend with all of them.