andrew's haircut

yesterday, after church, i was trying to give andrew a haircut(just w/scissors) to thin out his hair for the summer. it didn't turn out quite how i wanted, and i had to go back w/the clippers and even everything out(it's now about 1/4" thick). he's got a few spots where it's very obvious where i goofed. good thing it'll grow back in a month or so and that he doesn't have a lumpy head.

cloud nine!

collin is starting to ask to sit on the toilet! he was too scared last year(even 2 ft above the toilet was too close). yesterday he sat on the toilet 5 times!!!! i think part of it is due to being backed up--that part's still not all that pleasant to deal with, next week will be going on almost 3 full weeks.

he is also asking to see "elmo go potty," a sesame street movie i picked up a target a few months ago, for what feels like a million times per day.

the only potential downsides of this potty-training experience i see right now are: 1) he's backed up, so he doesn't get satisfaction of a job well done after sitting on the toilet several minutes, and 2) his timing is off, and so he's basically telling me he wants to go sit on the toilet after his diaper is already wet. but who cares? he's at least sitting, interested in a wall chart we have in the bathroom of all the steps(go to bathroom, sit awhile, toilet paper, flush, wash & dry hands), and most important, he knows he needs to tell me & be in the bathroom!

my main goal was to have him out of daytime diapers by christmas, and although this past new years, it seemed so far away of a goal, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel. i can so see this happening way before christmas.

more updates of the kids & recent pics to come soon.

Look before you sit..

that's the lesson I learned this weekend. I sat (without looking) on one of the kids' stacking cups. I meant to sit on the floor to play w/the kids. Ended up pinching a nerve on my tailbone. Ouch. Hard to sit, hard to stand. I saw the general practitioner today and told there's nothing to do but take loads of Advil(6 a day, the max allowed) don't sit for long periods of time and if something flares it up, stop immediately. If it's bruised it'll hurt for 6 weeks, if broken, closer to a year. They didn't do x-rays, so I'll know which it is in 6 weeks.

my little escape artist

i put andrew down in his crib for a nap, while we had friends helping out w/yardwork. he was fussy. he usually does that 5 minutes, then stops. after more than 5 min, i go check on him & do it again till he's asleep. well, he was still crying so i go check on him, his bedroom door was open, the crib & his room empty. he had apparently climbed out of the crib, and decided to run to the garage so he could go outside and play. guess he won't be in a crib much longer. i have no clue how we'll do this. collin's on a flat futon mattress on the floor. we used it for both he & ivy after they moved out of a crib. i worried they'd roll off a mattress or something. now i'm going to have to retrain andrew, especially when he realizes he can get up out of a new bed all on his own.

dr. stuff

the dr. visit went okay. the office is a lot nicer than our last pediatrician's. not sure i like the dr. we saw though. the kids were all restless & hungry. collin wanted up on the exam table. i let him. better than playing w/the window blinds. so, he was playing w/the mirror behind it and a little baby scale when the doctor came in, a very older gentleman. (rebecca..this was dr. w. )

he kept telling me to make sure collin wasn't going to jump off, of course when i was wrestling a cranky andrew in my arms. nice. then he kept saying stuff like "you're not listening, maybe you didn't understand", etc. and finally said i needed to hold collin on my lap. yeah..nice judging my parenting there while i have 3 restless kids, and oh by the way, i'm temporarily single parenting. collin was fine, and not jumping. i don't know, you'd think if he's a pediatrician, he's seen this 100x's over of having restless kids in a not very big room. i know i am not the only one whose kids are restless & cranky at the dr. office. so..i don't know from this that i like him better than the old pediatrician we just left.

the good news is he did listen to what i had to say & my concerns (a MAJOR thing i was looking for in a new doctor for the kids) and i got the referral without having to take tom w/me (another very good thing!). so, the approval came in very quickly to see the specialist. i guess they are more motivated then the old pediatrician's office(usually it'd take a week, and i'd have to be the one to call to check on status). this new office called me early yesterday about the authorization approval, about 48 hours after our appointment. so, now we're able to see the specialist, which turns out we got in the end of this month..much sooner than i was originally anticipating(i was told last month that it was a 2 month wait). and perfect timing. collin's really backed up.

one week left..

until tom is back! yay! i could really use a nap.

can't remember if i've mentioned it or not, but collin has decided that he likes the kids' little table better than his high chair. this week, it has almost been like pulling teeth trying to get that kid to sit down & eat. he tried to pull an "ivy" the other night. it had been a really busy day for us (dr. office, collin's school, post office, voting, grocery shopping, therapy, and playing at enrichment night). i had given him ample opportunities to eat after he got home from school. anyway, he didn't eat much. so, at bedtime after we sang songs & read a small board book or two, collin said "eat snack". i took him to the kitchen and then he just really wanted to play w/his toys in the living room. i put him back in his room, and the next morning, he had a HUGE breakfast! ivy always did this when she was little(still does sometimes), saying she was hungry--conveniently right at bedtime. most of the time, it was just so she could stay up later.

andrew's getting his 3rd molar. not so fun. he also tried to pull a fast one on me last night. i usually get him out of his crib in the morning, after he turns on his mobile music. well, a couple minutes after i put him down last night, he turned on his mobile music! boy..they learn young to manipulate! he went back down w/a stuffed animal and he didn't try turning on the music again until this morning. he has also learned how to climb to the top of the couch. great.