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.

time flies

where to even begin about the past couple weeks? andrew now has 2 molars. another one broke all the way thru. in the meantime, he is still cutting 3 teeth(the other bottom molar, and 2 on the top--right before the molars, on each side). andrew is very mr. independent now. turning on his mobile music(only the music part's attached) on his crib 1st thing in the morning when he wakes up, not letting anyone spoon(or fork) feed him, and of course everything has to be his way and he will let you know when it's not his way. ladies & gentleman, the terrible twos have begun(at 15 months, 9 months early).

last thursday, we went on a field trip with both of the classes at collin's preschool. we went to a stawberry festival(for free!!) in downtown garden grove. it was set up as a mini carnival/amusement park. he went on all the fast rides, and really enjoyed himself. the staff & i weren't sure how collin would do. he had a hard time riding on a small train at a fellow student's b-day party at the school a couple months ago. ivy was disappointed that she didn't see many strawberries, but she and collin got a free strawberry shortcake stuffed doll before we left. ivy only got one because one of the kids in collin's class didn't come on the field trip.

collin's picked up a new phrase: "go ahead". i'm sure that one's from school. he's also picking up ABC recognition & can now sight recognize most of his ABC's. collin has also learned to *mostly* pedal his tricycle, instead of sitting down and walking it. he's (hopefully just temporarily) stopped all attempts at drawing anything remotely circular. he had just been doing that very intensely(on his own) the past couple months. today i'm meeting with his speech therapist to see if anything needs to be adjusted with his communication goals.

ivy has started 2 classes: ice skating(early saturday mornings) & karate(monday afternoons). i think she's liking both. tom teases her that by the time the classes are over, she will be able to do karate moves while ice skating.

me..not a whole lot. feeling a little burned out, while trying to go with the flow of our ever changing schedules. collin & andrew kept getting up an hour early for several days. they're finally back on schedule, but last night andrew had inconsolable crying for almost an hour, even after a diaper change & motrin for his teething.

speaking of changing schedules, tom's flying to north carolina this weekend for his 2 week summer drill for the coast guard reserves. luckily, he's going to be able to call a lot. he did get father's day off(everyone else doesn't). he asked about a month ago, but didn't hear back till yesterday. i made sure he mentioned the primary program & the fact that collin has autism. he's also got a scheduled rocket launch that morning.

we've also got stake conference this weekend. thankfully, tom's arranged babysitting for me tomorrow night for the adult session. not sure how sunday will work(since the primary won't be open at the stake center), maybe a double stroller for the boys?

by the time we'll be back into the swing of things(after tom gets back), one of my sisters will be visiting us. that should be fun.