Crazy Holidays Part II

I apologize for the interruption. Now that everyone is asleep I figure I can finish this update. One thing that has worn off somewhat after just about two months is the Polar Express DVD. We used to watch it about every other day unless he had a snow day from school then for my sanity we may have watched it on back-to-back days. He did not get any Polar Express stuff for Christmas thankfully as we already have the train out year round.

A nice thing is that he wants to go back to school and to me that is great because it could be the other way, like when I started Kindergarten, hanging on a leg screaming that he doesn't want to go. Apparently I turned out OK but I wish I would have known that then I could have saved that screaming for something of importance like more games for my Wii.

The Boy now has a new phrase while he plays, "Bam-O!" and sometimes you here a variation when he gets a little upset of "Bam it!"

The Girl did soemthing for a first time between the posts today, she sat up all by herself. As the Boy would say, "Awesome!" It caught me by surprise as she is really trying to crawl and does the army crawl now, she propped up like she was gonna crawl on her hands and knees, then she pulled the knees in closer and got her bottom down and rolled up to a sitting position. She looked as surprised as me.

This will be the last post of the year and as I look back through some of the pictures and stories it is amazing how far the kids have come and it has been only a year (or less for the Girl).

Crazy Holidays

Well it has been sometime since my last post, although, I have an excuse the holidays have been a little crazy. Besides last minute gift getting, preparations and placzak (We actually just finished the third one today) one baby and one crazy four year old who is very excited about the holidays. The Boy who now says he loves the holidays, but who wouldn't among all the presents and good food (to him that means candy). Everyone had a great Christmas even the 7 month old girl who enjoyed trying to eat the wrapping paper. Here is a picture from one of the Christmas gatherings of the two cousins separated by about 3 weeks:

"Hey Nice Outfit!"

The Boy enjoyed his Christmas as he received many nice gifts. He bounces from one thing to the other still as the newness of them all has yet to ware off. We even got him a game for the Wii, Cars, but he really mostly likes to watch me play it which who could complain about that. Which brings me to photo number two, the double decker DDR showdown:
The best part were the moves with two feet as the kids got a kick out of that. I will post more later as the Girl is deciding to interrupt me once again.

Marbles

The boy is currently learning to read words and spell them. He does quite a good job and has taken quite the initiative in wanting to do this, which is great. At this point you may ask, "Why is this titled 'Marbles'?" Well we were in a picture book looking at some of the stuff as it is a find the item type book like "Where's Waldo?" but much easier and is from Blue's Clues. As we are going through the book one of the pages had marbles to find. The Boy quickly pointed out the marbles and the following conversation followed (be sure to read this aloud, especially if you are at work):

Boy: Dad, Look at the mar-balls.
Dad: I see them, they are called marbles.
Boy: Yeah MAR-BALLS.
Dad: It is not mar-balls, it is marbles.
Boy: They are Mar-BALLS.
Mom: Marbles not mar-balls.
Boy: Well they are Balls.
Dad: Yes they are, but it is pronounced marbles.
Dad: (Slyly turned the page and went on with something else)

I don't think the Boy got the subtle difference in pronunciation, but to his credit they certainly are balls.

I am going to take away your food!

The boy has been listening quite well lately. When he is misbehaving or not listening I tell him if he doesn't listen, cooperate, etc., that I am going to take away one of his trains. Well the other day as my wife and I were eating dinner and talking, he tried to interrupt. I told him to wait until we were done, but he proceeded with the following: " You are not listening to me. If you don't listen I am going to take away your (long pause) Food!" After a moment of laughter I had to tell him that wasn't nice but then realized I should have told him to go ahead and try, although that would have come back to haunt me.

On another note he has started this new hand motion when he talks, as if he is trying to sell me something. It is like a soft karate chop (very hard to describe). The other day he was talking about something being "unbreakable" and he used this motion with both hands (kind of like Tony Little on the Infomercials) . We were cracking up, so those of you who see the Boy you need to watch for this as he does this is all seriousness when he is talking.

Finally, he has started watching the Food Network with me when he gets up from his nap. For those that know me know I love to cook. When he has what I think is great idea is to have a kitchen studio in the living room like on TV to cook and do a cooking show in. Those studios are awesome and they always have everything you need. Although his big concern is what we are making... cookies, brownies, etc. I asked him what is in the kitchen and he said with "Ingredients! Some flour, eggs and chocolate and you mix it up to make brownies!" All this while using his new hand motion. I sure hope Santa reads this before Christmas, a new kitchen would be nice.

...Continued on The Girl

Yes getting her back to sleep can take a couple of days if you were wondering were I have been. She is doing quite well. She is eating and eating, sometimes I think it is a competition between her and the Boy although she would win because he would talk and mess around all through dinner. SHe got her first experience of snow the other day, I really don't know what she thought but she didn't seem to mind as she didn't cry. She is really trying to crawl, I think the biggest carrot for her is her brother's stuff. If anything of his is on the ground she is after it right away and she gets there quick, one way or the other. Christmas should be exciting, all that paper to grab, she can't wait.

The Girl

I realize I post a lot about the Boy but not as much about the Girl. Well, she does not do as much as her brother. She does a lot just not like her brother, mostly eating, sleeping and pooping. Well she is doing quite well. She is eating well, sometimes a little messy but good nonetheless. She is always trying to crawl but hasn't gotten the hang of it yet so she still rolls everywhere. She can turn corners while rolling somehow. She is currently napping, or was as every time I try to do something she wakes up or doesn't let me do much. Well as I said she was napping... To be Continued...

To call or not to call Santa

As we are rapidly approaching Christmas one of the greatest deterrents is available again, the Santa Call. The fear that mention of this brings as the Boy now understands that Santa only brings presents to good little boys and girls, not that he is bad, but sometimes he needs a reminder.

He is very excited about Christmas, but he may be even more excited about Christmas Eve as he is awaiting the arrival of the Polar Express. I will be on watch all night as I fear he will get up in the middle of the night and head outside. I know kids have great imaginations but he seems all to prepared for this adventure. If I had the money needed I would rent a trolley car, dress up as the conductor and take him to someplace where he could see Santa in the middle of the night, surely this would blow his mind but it would also cause for a very grumpy and tired Christmas day. Now we only have to get through the next 21-22 days and of course he will want Christmas to happen again on the 26th.

The Great Move

Being tired of having toys all around the house, we decided to make a change. We now have dedicated one room in our house as the playroom and have reclaimed our living room. I wasn't sure how this would work out, but The Boy absolutely loves it. He has all his toys in one place, now the trick will be keeping them in that one room. It is also nice to have a living room back in action, granted there are still some baby things for the Girl who is 6 months old in there, but have the trains, cars, trucks, etc. out of sight is sure nice. Plus when The Boy saw the new playroom he had one thing to say, "Cool! Wow!" All he had to do is add one line from one of our favorite movies, "Whoopee! It's a zeppelin!" (I let you figure out the movie.)

I Hate Poop

This is more frustration than anything, especially with the girl. I hate poop! I hate it when she poops all the time. I hate it when she doesn't poop for a couple of days because of a diet change. I am tired of wiping bottoms. The boy is still struggling with our final part of potty training. I will just be happy when I only have to deal with my own poop.

(just a bit of venting, there is a much better post below).

The Polar Express

Anyone that knows my the boy knows he absolutely loves this movie. First time he ever watched it he was scared of it, as soon as it was over he said, "Let's watch it again!" He was not happy when we said no. Since then it is a year round discussion about the Polar Express. We got him the Lionel set and I even made him some tickets replicating the one in the movie. Last year a short while after Christmas we told him we had to put the movie away as it is a Christmas movie, the boy was not happy. Needless to say the closer it got to December the more intense he got as he knew Christmas was in December. This year it got brought out earlier as I needed a moment of sanity, I don't think I ever saw him so still for that long. He moves more when he sleeps. This has awakened a whole new sense of the Polar Express and his sense of adventure. We not only play the Polar express (act out scenes) we had an interesting discussion this past weekend. The first was on our way to church, we live near some railroad tracks and some are real close to the church, he says, "I don't see it." I ask, "See What?" and he responds, "The Polar Express". I burst out laughing but it got better when we were at church we had to go look down the tracks to be sure it wasn't coming before we could go in, and then we had to check again after we came out.

Although I think I am going to be on watch 24 hours on Christmas Eve, especially 5 minutes before midnight. The boy was telling us that on Christmas Eve he was going to go downstairs in his PJ's and outside to ride the Polar Express all by himself. I thought it was funny, but I also reminded him to make sure he tells us he is going on the Polar Express before he leaves.

We also bought the 3D version they are now selling, he has yet to see that as we don't know how he would handle the glasses but in the least we will have to watch at least the regular one on the bigger TV in the basement in the movie theater darkness with the surround sound at least once this year.

Boys are Tough, Girls are Fragile

With my son we have been trying to teach him that his baby sister is fragile so he doesn't mash her into pieces. He is actually quite good with her but being a 4 yr old boy he needs to be reminded from time to time to be careful. Well the other day he was talking about his baby sister and said the following:

The Boy: Girls are fragile.
Me: Are boys fragile?
The Boy: No, boys aren't fragile. Boys are tough.
Me: So you are a tough boy?
The Boy: Boys are tough because they don't cry about boo-boos.

The rest was me laughing about the tough boys and their boo-boos.

Halloween

Here are a couple of pictures of the boy and the girl on Halloween:

Building

My son has come to start building things. He would build some stuff previously but he has almost gone into full-on construction mode. He is building the Three Little Pig Houses, building his own house or club house as he sometimes calls it. So at times suddenly he starts stacking boxes and building something, he is quite good and he is very proud of his structures.

He made his first trip to Chucky Cheese. It was a birthday party for one of his classmates and will therefore be known as another birthday place. He did get to meet Chucky and that was pretty cool, although he was a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff there. And on another note what kid doesn't like pizza and didn't want any cake, that is how I knew he was overwhelmed. We both had a good time though.

The Girl is growing up, she rolls all over the place is trying hard to figure out crawling and is constantly spitting out here rice cereal and oatmeal. She still smiles all the time which is nice especially on those tough days. She is very excited about the holidays and all the excitement it brings.

Pumpkin Farm

Around this time of year we take our annual trip to the pumpkin farm where they not only have pumpkins, they have cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and bunnies. It is a lot of fun, very inexpensive and the Boy loves it. See the picture collage below:

Parents Night Out

The Wife and I had a weekend night out to go to an out of town wedding. We both looked forward to it as it was a night with no kids. We had a good time, but some of you will be shocked to hear this, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the occasional kid free night or night out, this one just felt different. Maybe I am just getting older or maybe the hotel bed was just that uncomfortable but it was just different than the plain excitement about being away from the kids for a night. It was nice, and the drive was great with all the leaves changing colors and the rolling hills we were driving through, but when you don't recognize the music and there are far more 20-somethings than you are used to seeing you just know times have changed. I guess at some point, as one of my friends and I are learning about bar food, you can't always have fun like you were used to doing. Although I am not giving up, it is always my rule of trying it twice to make sure it was the bar food and not just a strange occurrence, and I will fight it everyday.

Happy Birthday

The Boy is now four years old. This was the event of the week. He couldn't stop talking about it beforehand. As soon as it turned October it was very important to him because it was the month of his birthday. He talked about the specific day and couldn't wait. He loved his birthday, I made him a Thomas cake and he even blew out the candles all by himself.He got lots of cool stuff and was very happy for a party to be about him for a change, as we have had other birthdays and two baptisms all in a short period of time. Now he is four and is very proud of the fact, I think mostly because four is easier on the hands than three (make a three holding your pinking with your thumb, now try a four simply folding in the the thumb).

Now it is all about being good for Santa until Christmas as Daddy has Santa on speed dial.

D'oohhh

A phrase I have taught the Boy, "D'oohh!" It is different from Homer Simpson, a little more drawn out. He learned this from me as I learned quickly to use a little groan to avert me from saying something I shouldn't say. Well today as I was dropping him off at pre-school there is always a teacher at the pre-school door and there is currently a substitute teacher at his school. We pull up so he can get out and go to school and he says, "D'ooohhh! Mrs. A again!" in a very upset tone. Granted he still ran up to school through the door on his way to his room.

It's a Cacophony

I think I just heard the Internet being bombarded with people looking up cacophony. I wouldn't know either except for Pinky Dinky Doo (I heard the internet whirring again). This is a word my son uses frequently, and thus comes a story.

Today my son took a long nap, about 3 hours (yay for me). I was listening to him on the monitor when I hear the noise, from the neighbors behind me, dogs barking. This is a sound that we have been consistently hearing starting anywhere from 5:30 am to 8:00 am when they leave them out when they go to work. Granted it is pitch black and the slightest things or even the darkness set them off. Back to the story, I start to hear the Boy russle around in the sheets when he suddenly says, "It's a cacophony! Dogs stop barking, I am trying to sleep!" followed by a sigh. Being somewhat annoyed by the dogs I could help but laugh.

At some point I challenge each of you to use this word that TV (yes I said TV) taught the Boy (and me for that matter) and he uses it appropriately while he is not quite yet four years old. I guess not all TV is bad TV.

Today was a tough one

Today was a tough day for me. The Boy had a doctor's appointment today for his usual physical and the like for school. He has had issues at the doctor's office before, mostly because I think he is scared, although he has been doing a bit better, I was worried about today. As he gets older he realizes more of what is gong on, but he doesn't understand that shots help you stay healthy and yes they may hurt a bit. He was actually outstanding for about 3/4 of the visit, he then turned into the cared boy again and didn't want to let the doctor check his ears, but this must be done, so I had o hold him which gets harder each time, not only physically but also emotionally for me. I love the Boy so much and only want the best for him and never want anything to happen to him. Well we got through that and he saw once again that it wasn't that bad. The issue now was one thing left, the flu shot! I psyched him up as best I could told him one more thing and to be his best and he said he would, I was really quite surprised. He was fine until we had to get him on the table and he then knew what was coming and fought it. Yes it hurt and he was scared and crying once again, all because he doesn't understand (not that I expect him to). It just kills me that we have to go through this because this my boy. Well after a long tough ride home we got home and he got a prize and we made some darn good chocolate chip cookies. He is fine with it now but it is just so hard for me, and especially this visit because I know I have to do all this again with the Girl.

Forgetting Sometimes He is only 3

Sometimes with my son I forget he is only 3, very soon to be 4. It is an easy mistake to make with him as he is as tall if not taller than most of his preschool classmates which are 4 going on 5, plus he doesn't have any baby fat. In addition, he is doing very well with his numbers and letters, just today his teacher told me he is beyond where he should be with his numbers as he can recognize his numbers beyond 20 along with knowing his letters very well. We have even started working on spelling words with him. (I know it sounds braggy, I am just a proud daddy is all, and maybe a little braggy.)

Apparently the boy is tasty as well, and I am sure it has nothing to do with the chocolate chip pancakes he is eating:

Spoke to soon

I know better. I am too superstitious to say stuff like I did in my last post. Not sooner than I hit "publish post" did the worm turn. The next day my son turned back to his old ways. So in effect what I am hoping here is that since I am writing this I am hoping that it will reverse the reversal and I will never speak of it again. He really is a good boy, just becoming very independent and wants to do things his way, although in the meantime he may just make me carry through on jumping out of the basement window.

A Change in Attitude

I am astounded by the sudden change in attitude. My son has went from tantrum at every turn no matter what I said, even if it were "Do you want a cupcake?" Suddenly this week he has been more polite and nice to me than usual. Not that he is bad but I am the parent so he must test the limits every time. When suddenly a couple of days ago his attitude has changed dramatically where he is listening more and being more attentive. Now I know this will change in the near future but I wish I could bottle it.

I am still not allowed to walk him into school, I wanted to ask his teacher a question the other day and he just wanted me out of there. I guess it is his world and Daddy is not allowed. He loves school which is good, he wishes he could stay all week and so do I sometimes, well except for the nice boy I have around this week.

My little daughter is doing quite well and seems to be doing a lot more these days. She loves to do raspberries, stick out her tongue, and lay on her belly and play or look around to see what is going on. The only thing I need is for my son to dance around and she will giggle herself silly as she loves her brother and if he is dancing around it is non-stop baby laughing.

The New Dinner Game & Other Updates

Eating meals for my son has become an adventure again. He will throw tantrums when it becomes mealtime, without fail about 10-30 minutes before Lunch or Dinner he will ask for a snack. We tell him no it is almost dinner time and he flips out. With that we introduced a new tactic in the dinner time fight, 10 pennies! He starts off the meal with 10 pennies, every time he gets up, whines, cries, or gets too distracted from eating he loses a penny. I have even stretched it to cover the tantrum he starts to throw when i tell him it is dinner time. So far we have had some success, although I have a feeling that he will catch on and this will become unimportant to him and we will go back to brawling over dinner time. The funny part is when he eats he eats and he eats a lot. I know it is an independence thing but it sure gets frustrating.

My daughter is doing well, she is growing, eating, sleeping and pooping, so I guess everything in babyland is going well. She is starting to sit up on her own a bit and she is becoming more vocal as the days go on. Just the other day I swear she said, "New shoes, new handbag!" She has also started the rice cereal, which my son thinks is neat although he thinks she is eating "Life" cereal. She definitely loves her brother when he is around and doing stuff she just smiles and laughs to no end.

Last night my son went with his mommy and me to a football game, he was very excited and had a great time although I don't think he really understood a lot of what was going on, but he did know that our team lost.

What my son learns at preschool

As many of you know my son likes to make up games but this one I am not so sure. He either learned it at preschool or he made it up. My theory is he learned it at preschool and then realized he shouldn't be telling me about it so he made up something else.

Son: "Lets play dice!"
Daddy: "Dice?!"
Son: "Yeah, dice. We have to get some coins."

Well needless to say I was curious. There were no dice in the version he should me so that is why I think he didn't tell me the whole truth. SO I'll be watching the little man to see what kind of watches he wears, the clothes he picks out or any of the latest Thomas the Trains with bling.

The Things the Boy Says

When children express themselves you never know whether you will be able to hold in the laughter. When we leave my parents house I usually honk the horn at them. Today after I honk the horn at them my sons says "Don't honk at my people!" My son has people, I guess I will have to call his people to see what he wants for lunch from now on.

One of my favorite things is that sometimes he talks like the great Jedi Master Yoda. He re-arranges his sentences, for example "Brown, My favorite color is." He has since outgrown this trait, although sometimes it still happens. Wait until he starts watching Star Wars, maybe then he will start levitating and moving things with his mind.

4 Months

The Two Cousins

Can't Leave out the Boy

Eating and eating

I usually have a problem getting the boy to eat, but today he was eating and eating. As my wife says "School agrees with him." He even stated "I am eating all the food, but we have more." I guess he is growing again which means he is on his way to the seven foot mark. School has started well for him and five days a week is sure nice for me as well. Our little girl is growing and growing and we will have her 4 month information soon to see where she is at. Although today she tried to finish me off by not sleeping, crying at any moment I moved more than a foot away and pooping whenever I decided to try to make the cookie dough truffles. For any of you that read this don't be alarmed she didn't help with the truffles she just merely watched and whined. I guess it is hard to keep chocolate away from any girls.

The First Day

Today was the first day of school. He couldn't wait, either could I. I took him all the way in today as I wanted to be sure he knew where he was going. We got there I took him in and gave him a hug and I got this simple yet effective response, " OK, you can leave now!" as he turned away and found something to do. I hope it is always that easy, maybe next week I will get him his own apartment.

School Time

Well it is that time of year - SCHOOL TIME!! I am very excited as I will be down to one kid for a few hours each weekday excluding Holidays. My on is very excited to be going back to school as well. We had an open house day to go in and find your cubby and meet your teachers and stuff (yes he is still in preschool), he couldn't even wait for that as he told me "You can just drop me off, you don't need to go in with me." I am guessing school is his domain and he doesn't want my interference. In the end I guess it is a win-win for both of us. To get ready for school we went to Kohl's this weekend with both kids to get some clothes for him for school, thankfully there was a sale as both kids were a bit fussy we got three or four shirts, shoes, socks, a couple pairs of shorts, and about 6 or 7 pairs of pants for him paid and all in about a half hour. It was the most efficient/crazy shopping trip I think I have ever been on. Now we just have to see what fits him and doesn't so we can figure out what needs to go back because there is nothing like trying to try on clothes on a fidgeting not real happy or cooperative 3 3/4 year old. Monday will be a great day we all get a little something we want.

Our little girl is growing up very fast she rolls over to her stomach and back to her back now, she loves to play with her phone (baby rattle) that was given to her, and she is showing some real girl traits as in having a hard time deciding what she wants. For example, you hold her and she is not happy, you set her down and she isn't happy, you see if she is hungry and she isn't, you check her diaper, you try her swing, and it keeps going sometimes. I think she is trying to exert her power over us boys but we will not have it, we will just make her start playing with trucks and trains and she will have to turn to the right side of the world. She will have her 4 month appointment soon so I will update her information then as I try to find my sons to see how the children compare.

A few pictures

I think she is ready to be on the covers of some magazines:

Can't take a picture of one without taking a picture of the other:

Thisis where the children try to take over:

True Love

Well the potty training is getting a bit better I suppose. My son actually made a mad dash to the bathroom to try to put the stink (what we call poop) in the potty. He almost made it. I was quickly right behind trying to help him get his pants off to try to get on the potty. In the process of getting his pants off I felt his true love for me as he pooped on my hand, this freaked me out a bit and I almost flung the poop into the hallway. I maintained my composure and tried to get him cleaned up and on the potty, and from there it was him freaking out about poop on him while I try to wipe it up and then him freaking out about the poop on my arm and being afraid of me getting it on him. Well all-in-all it was close, he almost got there, and here is rooting for next time that he gets to the potty on time and he only shows me his love with his hugs and kisses.

The Vote Game

We have introduced democracy to our household. Sometimes when we want to do something and my son does not he has a fit, so to try to avoid this I introduced voting. For example, my wife and I like to watch Wheel of Fortune (yes I know it is for old people) and he always says "No, I don't want to watch Wheel of Fortune!" so I said, "Lets take a vote of who wants to watch Wheel of Fortune. (To my Wife) Do you want to watch Wheel of Fortune?" She says "Yes." (To my son) "Do you want to watch Wheel of Fortune?" He responded the first time with "No!" and then I ask myself "Do you want to watch Wheel of Fortune?" I respond to myself "Yes." SO the result is settled and he agrees because it is two to one so we watch Wheel of Fortune. Since then it has become a game and a tool, we take votes on things now and then and the power block of Mommy and Daddy have always won, although now he votes with us as he wants to be on the winning side of the vote. It certainly has made some things easier and he thinks it is fun, and it should be more fun when he starts to lobby one of us to buy our vote to get something he wants because I am up for donations.

On a side note the poll is about half over and I see I have a wide readership of 8 people, almost double digits which I think is pretty impressive. I would like to thank my wife for saying that I will not end up in the looney bin but am a bit surprised at the rest of you anonymous voters that say I already belong.

Some news...

Well not major news but some news none-the-less. First my bright and beautiful daughter is really trying hard to roll-over, today she went both ways with the exception of getting her arm out of the way she made it all the way over. Well on her way to walking and her first pair of heels. My son was playing with his aqua doodle this morning and drew some pictures, first he drew a smiley face with lots of hair and then said, "It's a picture of me." He then had to sign his work, he wrote his name even though one letter was backwards but he did a great job. Now we just have to work on the signature so when he becomes a hall of fame hockey player or international track star he can sign all those autographs.

The next step in potty training

For a while now we have been trying to get my son to put his stink (what we call poop) in the potty. He usually would just wait for nap time or nighttime to get a diaper on. We took that luxury away and are going cold turkey to no more diapers. He is doing ok, although we just started he has made through a nap dry, and last night he was wet once in the middle of the night and then this morning. I am hoping he realizes what needs to be done.

A couple of pics of my girl & her brother

Aww Nuts! & "Turn off the TV Dad!"

My son invented a new game today, "Aww Nuts!" It involves three poker chips with numbers on one side and stickers on the other. The simple basis of the game is to toss it and hope it lands with a number up, otherwise you say "Aww Nuts!" and tap yourself in the forehead in a Homer-esque way. I just hope we weren't playing for real money as I will be seeing a guy with a baseball bat in my near future.

When it is bedtime my wife takes my son up to bed while I stay down with our daughter. When they are upstairs I usually turn the TV on and turn the volume off initially so he doesn't hear it. Well the other day when I turned it on, he simply heard the click of the TV over everything else. Suddenly I hear from upstairs, "Turn off the TV Dad!" I was stunned. So after some quick thinking, I say "OK," and then quietly followed up with a "click". Then I hear a very nice "Thank You!" So every now and then I have to pretend to turn it off.

Ants in my pants

My son was running around the other day. I asked him if had to go potty, he quickly said "No!" So as he is wiggling and running around, I asked the all important question, "Do you have ants in your pants?" He said, "No." Then he proceeded to check in his pants to make sure there were not any ants. First he looked and didn't see any, but he jumped up and ran to the bathroom turned on the light and checked again and confirmed that there were no ants in his pants. I asked "Are you sure you don't have ants in your pants?" He quickly looked again and then dropped his pants to his ankles and said, "See! No Ants!"

The agony of leaving

My son loves to go and do things, go to people's houses, to the mall, places to play, etc. He has a great time and loves every minute but the last. As any typical three year old he never wants to leave and most times he says he wants to sleep there. Today we went over to a friend's house that has three boys (one 5, one 4, and one six months). He played with the two older boys and their dad outside in the pool and sprinkler while my daughter and I stayed in with the 6 month old and his mom. He had a blast and for anyone following his eating habits he had what is now called a "ham dog" (basically rolled up deli ham on a hot dog bun), I was stunned because he usually will not eat things like that. Maybe we can now try turkey dogs, roast beef dogs, etc. Well when it was time to go I heard the usual complaints of I don't want to, I want to stay, I want to sleep here. I know he was having fun but it was past his nap time and he was getting tired. He was seriously mad at me, but it turned out OK, I guess he is just like his Dad that never wants to leave a casino.

Meal Time Turnaround

Well after much struggle and dismay to get my son to eat meals at appropriate times or without a fight, things have begun to change. I am superstitious and fear this will end that change but I am willing to post it anyways. He has been agreeable and actually started eating quicker than his usual 30 minute marathons to eat a few chicken nuggets and snap peas. I am grateful as my daughter has been wanting to eat at the same time so he is left in the kitchen while I feed her.

On the other hand, when it comes to wanting something he usually asks right when I need to help my daughter as she is fussaling or needs a change or needs to eat. I guess I will have to deal with that until the two of them move out.

Picture Post

I know some of you wanted to see pictures of the kids so here is a post full of pictures:

A quick little update to the band-aid story. My son was at my parents house and Busia took him to the park, before they left my son asked, "Should we take the band-aids?"

The kids work in tandem

My wife has just went back to work and I am home with the two children, beyond the other parts of life and home-ownership causing distraction, it hasn't been too bad. I have learned one aspect in these first few days of 1 vs. 2, they work in tandem to try to get me to run off screaming. Granted my baby girl is only 10 weeks old at this point she knows what she is doing. If I am doing something with my son, rebuilding his train track or playing a game she fusses. If I am feeding her or trying to get her to relax and go to sleep my 3 year old son wants me to play with him or get something for him. I am currently searching for their manifesto to see what they really want, because as far as I am concerned if they both are good I'll give it to them. I am not sure how I like being outnumbered but the timeout chair is still a great ally in the fight against a pre-schooler. We did have our first trip out this week, a short run to the store where they give lots of samples, which my son liked and well my daughter she just smiled and was along for the ride. It is getting a bit easier but at the same time more tiring as well.

Boo-boos at Busia's

The other day shopping my son saw various Thomas stuff, for example he needed some more toothpaste and saw the Thomas toothpaste and we had to have it. If he is brushing and Thomas helps I am all for the extra money to pay for it. There were some other items we had to get as well, like Mr. Bubble bubble bath. One item I chose to get was some Thomas band-aids for when he gets his next boo-boo and needs a band-aid as character ones are much easier to convince a 3 year old to wear. Well a day or two later he saw them in the cupboard and asked, "why do we need band-aids?" I simply explained that we need band-aids for when he gets boo-boos. He quickly responded, "We should take them to Busia's house."

A Big Update

I have been busy and unexpectedly busy all at the same time. Between doctor's appointments and trying to do some fun family activities before my wife has to go back to work it has been busy around here.

The bathroom I have been talking about a while ago is finally finished. I will take pictures and post a before and after real soon. We have also visited Ikea and added some new furniture which was needed and with slip-covers that are machine washable it seems like a good fit for the two kids, plus we can get new ones relatively cheap to change color/look or replace a severely damaged one.

We have gone to the zoo which my son absolutely loves. We also have gone to a butterfly house which scared my son somewhat as they fly all around and even land on you, he did have fun. We even found time to drop both kids off to go have a quick dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Biaggi's. My son recently got a new bike (two wheeler with training wheels) to replace his tricycle.

Fourth of July we went to my parents house along with some friends and some of Nick's friends to watch a great fireworks show which he really enjoyed so much that at 11:00 pm he still wanted to be outside and play.

This same weekend came the unexpected busy as we had a basement flood, so we are in the process of getting things fixed/replaced/put back to normal. This has taken up a good portion of my time to be able to do other things and such.

"I only had ONE!"

After a week of a fever with my son he is finally getting better. I have no updates on the medicine chart I started some time ago as he is not taking anything new or different than he has.



Being the good parents we are, we don't give our children much candy, we limit it and use it as reward or for a special treat (which also means more for us). When we buy or get stuff we generally used to put it on the stove either behind something or cover it with a towel, I mean who could figure that out. Well my son who is 3 1/2 years old is certainly getting smarter, he knows where we hide it. We had some Resse's Whips (which are awesome). He saw them one day and asked for one, so I gave him one and he really liked that. A day later he was in the kitchen and asked my wife where the candy was, she responded that we all had some and now it is gone. My smart son replied, " I only had ONE."

"I'm sorry I Ruggled."

We had a good day today, we went to the zoo and saw lots of animals. We even ran into some grandparents and cousins to walk around the zoo with. We went to the grandparents and had some pizza and my son was pretty quiet and subdued. For anyone that knows him knows this is highly unusual. Well he seemed to have a bit of a temperature and wasn't eating very much. Me being a great parent tried to get him to eat, anything really just to eat as we had a busy day and he didn't have an afternoon snack. He wanted a blanket in the car as he was cold so I was watching him in the mirror trying to be sure he was OK. We got home and I took him into the kitchen to check his temperature and get him some medicine when it happened...

BLAH!! He ruggled twice in the kitchen. (Ruggle=vomit) After getting him cleaned up and as my wife was cleaning up the floor he came in and said "I'm sorry I ruggled."

He's fussaling

My son is very helpful with his baby sister. When every she starts to cry he says, "He's fussaling!" By he he means she as he is still mastering his pronouns. Plus our two children have a great awareness of not letting either of us eat or get anything done. Every time my wife gets something to eat (breakfast, lunch or dinner) my daughter seems to know and either wakes or starts fussing or wants to eat herself. Then if she is fussing my son will start with "Play with me please." And as soon as my wife is feeding the fussaling and I am playing with the boy, the cat will start with his standard "MEOOOOW!"

Here is a picture of our little angel doing what she does best when she is not fussaling:

Couple of quick stories...

One day when dropping my son off at preschool I noticed he is a flirt. We go in and put his stuff in his cubby. Meanwhile there are some of the girls in his class running around the room. Well first off they are running and with my son this is very important because he doesn't walk anywhere. He goes over near the edge of where they are running and sweetly and slyly says, "Hellooo girls!"

When getting ready for bath or bedtime he likes to throw his clothes down the laundry chute. Well the clothes get a send-off now, for example he will throw his shirt down and say, " Bye-bye shirt see you when you get clean," and when he throws his pants down he says "Bye-bye pants have s good time getting clean."

Our little daughter its doing well, she is ready to start shopping. Sometimes we call her Itty Bitty, but one day going to school my son asked if she would be home when he was done with school and I said "Sure, Itty Bitty will be home" and was promptly corrected, "She is not Itty Bitty!"

Today was a good day too for my daughter as the stump left over from the cord fell off today, my son will be very excited in the morning as he has been waiting for her boo-boo with paper in it to go away.

Is it us or them?

My son, who is at the fun age of 3 1/2, I believe now hates both of us, still loves his baby sister but truly has a great dislike for us. He listens to us like a police officer listens to your story on why you were speeding, he just plain doesn't. He makes the simplest things the biggest struggle that he makes very easy on most others, like going potty or eating his lunch. Some days it seems we can do nothing right for him. People tell us he is just testing us because we are his parents but we are both college graduates, we passed all of our tests. It is hard making the rules, and then trying to enforce them. Well we are making a list so when we are older and he is taking care of us we can give it all back to him.

P.S. He is really a sweet boy, just some days it seems as if there is a little devil around. For those of you that know him I am sure it is hard to believe. I guess it is hard being 3.

Just a little update

With the new baby, I have been busy to say the least but I wanted to at least put an update so everyone knows how we are doing. Mom is doing quite well in her recovery. Our baby girl is just a little angel thus far, sleeping well except for when we wake her to feed her. Big Brother is doing well too. He is adjusting to the new baby but has been very good. I will try to post a couple of pictures of our little girl soon and add her to the title bar at the top.

On what has been going on, my son and I went to see Thomas the Train recently, it was our second time. He loved it and again I will post some pictures when I have a few more minutes than I currently have.

The bump on his head from the coffee table is healing nicely now and no longer looks like a different color of the rainbow every time you see him.

Baby Sister

As I have mentioned a few time throughout the blog we had a baby girl on the way. She is finally here. My son is excited but we are trying to make sure he doesn't get too jealous as newborns need constant care. I am sure he will find a way to work the system. This event did not go off easy either at least my son made sure of that. He was going to be staying at my parents house while we were in the hospital. About an hour before we left he tripped and banged his head on the coffee table, we thought the whole family would be in the hospital at that point, but he was alright. If you look at the picture below you can see some of the damage. All turned out well in the end as we recently arrived home with our new baby daughter.

Why are there cars?

On a drive home my son noticed these posts with little metal horse heads with rings on them and asked, "What are those horses with rings for?" I explained that a long time ago people used to ride horses and they would tie up the horse there so they wouldn't run away while they were inside. The he asked "Where are the horses?" I explained that most people drive cars now so that is why you don't see any horses, and then he had the followup "Why are there cars?" I was now caught in my own trap of explaining something. Then I explained that a long time ago a guy invented the gasoline engine so people could get places quicker. "Is that like a steam engine?" he asked as he is really into trains. "No it is not, it is more like a diesel train engine," I proceeded to explain and that he understood. "So it makes smoke like Diesel when he crashes?" At that point after a lot thinking and explaining I found a way out... "Yes!" He then giggles and says, "Silly Diesel!"

Ice Cream Lip

Before the baby arrives we are trying to have some outings with the three of us, because soon there will be four of us. We decided to go to Handel's (for those of you that don't know they are an awesome ice cream place originating out of Youngstown , Ohio) and get some yummy treats for our tummies. After much debate and looking at the flavors I was ready to order. As I am waiting in line I hear a loud scream from around the corner, I think "Uh-Oh!" My wife emerges around a corner with my son screaming in her arms asking for napkins, there are two things I know at Handel's don't get out of line no matter what and be ready for the great fall. I calmly ask the girl helping me "Can I have some napkins as my son probably just fell on his face?" I get her the napkins and they go around the corner to the table where the screaming stops. I get our Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie waffle cone and Red Sky at Night waffle cone with two spoons and head around the corner, there sits the victim with a smile and fat lip and my wife with spots of kid blood on her shirt and shoulder.

It was now ice cream time. We had smiles after some great ice cream and trying a new flavor. When we ready to go my son said "Can we get in the car and go home now?" We said "Sure." As we are pulling out of the parking lot and making our way my son exclaims fat lip and all, "That was fun!"

The Great Golf Career

After watching some of the Masters tourney this weekend my son has talked a lot about golfing with Daddy. Today we had to dig out his little golf club, ball and hole. After ten minutes of locating the parts and avoiding distractions he was ready to tee off. He took one swing the ball went flying the wrong direction and this is where I knew he would be a great golfer or have a fantastic career. He proceeded to flip the club up in the air and exclaim "I can't golf!" This was in proper form for any great golfer, he has his love-hate relationship with the game down first and that is very important. Watch out Tiger competition is on its way.

Put a Spring in Your Step

Nothing puts a spring in your step like hearing something good about your children from someone else. This morning when I dropped my son off at pre-school the teacher started to talk to me about him. I hardly aver talk to them regarding how he is doing besides the usual progress reports and the occasional chit-chat. My first thought was "What did he do?" She started telling me how bright he was and that he learns and picks up things very quickly. This of course made me very happy. Then I started to tell my wife that his teacher talked to me about him at school, and her response rather worried was "What happened?" I told her the good news and therefore put a spring in her step as well.

Wanting to move out (and other updates)

I am in the midst of track season, the new baby will be here soon, and my son has been all over in daycare or at grandparents' houses. Well the other day my wife was picking him up from my parent's house and naturally he didn't want to leave because the grandparents are much more fun than Mommy or Daddy will ever be. Well after some coaxing and work to get him into the car to go home, he says "I want to live with Busia and Dzia-Dzia." (Busia and Dzia-Dzia are the polish names for Grandma and Grandpa) So we figure we might as well start packing his bags since he is eating more and more he can live there and save us some money on groceries. In addition for the past few days he has been asking a lot to go to Mimi and Papa's (what he calls my wife's parents) all the while they are on vacation. People tell me that is normal behavior for a 3 1/2 year old, but we feed him watch his favorite shows and movies, buy him cool Thomas and Cars clothes, play his favorite game Candy Land (which he is a Master Candy Lander), etc. So grandparents beware he may just end up living with one of you before you know it.

My son also made Daddy proud as he was getting ready for bed and we have a routine where he likes to watch the lottery balls or the lottery show, but it wasn't on as golf was on and he wanted to watch it. Watch it he did as he sat there and loved every minute of it and then proceeded to say, " I am am going to golf with Daddy." I guess I will have to find out if Taylor Made makes sets small enough for a 3 1/2 year old that is about 42 inches tall.

My son has also graduated to a "Bigger boy" seat, otherwise more of a booster with the seat belt. This is very exciting to him and he seems to be more comfortable. The convirtable seat we had he had simply outgrown as it was becoming increasing difficult to get him into it. He is still learning the rules of keeping the seat belt on properly but we just stop the car and fix it when he unbuckles or pulls his arm out which he does not like at all.

Last week we had some nice days and he wanted to go outside and play when we pick him up on our way home. We tell him he has to eat eat all his dinner which makes dinner time quick, but one day it was looking like rain so I was trying to get him to eat dinner quickly but it started to rain, he got very upset, so being the boy that I am I offered to take him out on the patio in the rain and he was all ready for that. We took off our socks and danced around in the rain for a few minutes until he realized he was starting to get wet. We came in dried off and he finished the rest of his dinner.

Last weekend all of our friends came over (well our friends and their kids which are his friends) to play and have fun and boy did they. The kids had a blast playing with the Polar Express to have have races around the house to taking old man naps to get them to settle down (which is the part I think I enjoyed the most). Racing went from running to walking, to hopping, to walking like polar bears. Then there was the fun game of get me as they would come flying around the corner to take me down, but when all else fails a good escape is the claw to the tummy.

Well that should catch everyone up on the past couple of weeks. If you are wondering the bathroom is almost done (I know I have been saying that a lot lately) but the weather is making it difficult to stain and polyurethane the last trim pieces to finish it up so pictures are still on hold. The baby girl is on her way and should be here by the end of the month so watch for updates and pictures soon.

As Requested by the Mrs.

I have been fighting a cold all weekend and my wife wanted me to point out the wonderful dinner she made on Sunday. She made pot roast and gravy, garlic mashed potatoes (or smashed potatoes as my son calls them), white corn, and french bread warm out of the oven. She did a great job, and she slaved in the kitchen for all of 20-25 minutes. You may ask how did she do all that, I would just answer that she is Super-Wife.

Paying His Own Way

My son recently got a wallet from his grandparents. This is very exciting as he puts his money in it and likes to pretend to play store. Well this morning we went to the grocery store and the market. He was very excited to take his wallet with him to buy things. As we are getting ready to checkout he he pulled out his wallet and a dollar. After all the groceries were rung up he handed the cashier the dollar to pay for the groceries, if all the stuff we bought only cost a dollar. He was very proud to have paid for the groceries. Then we proceeded to the market, one of our favorite stores because of the free samples everywhere. He helped me pick out some fruit and bread and then we went to pay and again paid a dollar. At the checkout they asked him if he earned the money, he responded with a yes. Then the cashier asked "What did you do to earn that money?" and he responded "Nothing." with a big grin. So at least he is now paying some of his own way, maybe soon I will be asking him to buy me stuff.

This is boring!!

My son has learned an exciting new word, "BORING." I can only assume he learned from day care of pre-school. He starts playing with a toy or game and then in a somewhat sad voice, "This is boring," or "This game is boring." This was a shock as he said it properly and with such teenager sound behind it. As we say 3 going on 13. My thought is if he acts like a teenager now what will he act like when he is a teenager?

The Prickly Garden

Noggin has some ideas for things to do on sometimes in between shows. One of the recent ones during the winter is to make a prickly garden (cactus garden). My son wanted to make one and my wife was planning it as a weekend project that she could do with him while I was working on the bathroom. Well on one of my days of running around when he is at day care or at school I tried to get the stuff needed. Only had to go to three stores total while returning to one of them to get some stuff that the store with the cacti didn't have. Who would think it would be hard to find cacti in the Ohio/Michigan area while it is cold and there is snow on the ground? My wife and son had there stuff and had fun putting together the prickly garden. It looks very nice, although my son claims it is broken or not working because he doesn't realize the cacti grow very, very slow. Although on the other hand I think he is waiting for Lighting McQueen to come flying in and land on them. I wonder what project we will have to do next...

The Love of School

My son is having a hard time this week with the notion of Spring Break. Not so much because he doesn't get to go to some beach place and party it up, more so that he can't go to school. He asks why he doesn't get to go to school but to him there is no reasonable explanation. We have told him the school is closed, taking a break, there are no teachers there, etc. He just gets upset with us. I mean who else wouldn't want to go to a play where you can play with kids your own age, do messy art where someone else cleans up, have snack time, hear stories and play with all sorts of fun stuff including computers? Sometimes I have thought about enrolling myself, I meet the potty requirements and it seems like a lot fun. I sure hope this isn't a preview of the summer when there is no school and a new baby around the house. I have a feeling the craziness has just begun.

Brownie Helper

My son has really taken to helping me cook, well at least when I am making something yummy! (i.e. cookies, brownies, etc.) He likes to use the Kitchen Aid and actually wasn't scared to turn it on and off today, along with cracking eggs and pouring in ingredients. His favorite job is cleanup as seen below:
Granted then there is extra cleanup that is not so fun, and the hope that I don't find chocolate in parts of the house where chocolate doesn't belong.

Bigger and Bigger

We are soon to have our second child. My son seems to be excited about this event. He often talks about the baby and the stuff for the baby. Just the other day he hugged my wife's belly in an effort to hug the baby. He usually goes on about how the baby is not here yet and it is in mommy's belly. The best line thus far was the other day when my wife got home from work and he exclaims, "You're getting bigger and bigger and BIGGER!!" We all had a good laugh. So soon there will be an additional picture added to the headline and a whole new round of hearing the phrase, "Daddy, I'm stinky!"

FYI - the bathroom is nearly done, I know it seems as if it is taking forever (it does to me too) but I only get to work on it during the weekends. So I will get to more regular updates as well.

Helping in the Kitchen

My son has learned the joy of cooking. Well at least the joy of making yummy things like cookies and brownies. We have made some box treats and he has enjoyed that but today we made some of Daddy's Chocolate Chip Cookies. He likes to use the Kitchen Aid Mixer, he helps put things in, watching the stuff get mixed up, cracking the eggs, and especially tasting the dough/batter and tasting the final results. He isn't real good at cleaning up except for the bowl and spoons used in making the cookies (well cleaning in the sense of licking the bowl). He is yet to turn the mixer on and off for me as it is a bit noisy considering Daddy had to have the big 6 Qt. model. He even likes to tell me the ingredients to put in, although if I made cookies his way, it would be basically Water, Sugar, milk, flour and chocolate chips. I am not sure how it would taste because he has yet to give me the measurements. It is fun having him help considering he has yet to find the messiness and fun you can have with flour.In the end you know you have done good when he comes back in the kitchen with chocolate all over his face and a big smile.

FYI - A medicine was added to the medicine chart.

To my loyal reader or couple of readers, the bathroom remodel is almost finished so I will be back at regular updates soon, maybe even a before and after photo just to prove that I have been remodeling the bathroom.

Wanting Independence

My son has made great strides in trying to be independent, some good if not great. For example, he likes to go potty by himself, he likes to pour the fish crackers by himself and he likes to get things for himself by himself. Although on the other hand he can be determined and quite crafty. This afternoon as I was on a help line asking a question about the new tub in our partially remodeled bathroom, he took it upon himself to go into the basement get his Big Red Car (scooter you sit on from the Wiggles) bring up the stairs and ride it around. He has never ventured into the basement by himself (before you freak out, the basement is finished and is where we store some of the toys he has out grown). I talked to him and explained him he needs a grownup with him and he claims to understand. Then at bedtime tonight we followed the same routine and he did not want to go to bed, he threw himself on the ground exclaiming, "I don't get to make choices." We tried to sympathize but then he proceeded to go potty and brush his teeth by himself to get ready for bed. The truth of the matter is we give him choices to make all the time, I guess the ones we give him are not as important as riding the Big Red Car, which he is way too tall for.

Kid in a Box

I am going to marketing a new product that I am sure will be a great money maker:

Kid in a Box

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates but until the bathroom remodel is done I don't have a lot of time. So onwards with this update... Between holidays, teachers days and snow days, my son has not had much school so not much to report on that front although today he decided to play school (more or less acting like he is going and coming home from school). He is very curious about the bathroom remodel, always asking if it is done. The tub and surround are done and my family is once again clean and hopefully we will be putting the floor in this weekend. My son usually proceeds to tell me that I am doing a good job which is awesome, although I don't know if he knows the difference between good and bad work. On another positive note he is going to the bathroom more and more on his own which is great for everyone. He is also becoming quite the "The Price Is Right" expert along with watching the lottery balls in the evening. Just the other day after the pick 3 and pick 4 he said, "Now it is time for the cash five numbers." Sure enough it was next and in addition he now wants to ask Santa for a lottery ball machine for Christmas.

Hopefully soon I will be back to my regular updates but if you are interested in the "Kid in the Box" let me know.

A Week's Worth

Since I have started remodeling our bathroom I have not had as much time to add anything new so I will do my best to give a week update this time. My son is very excited about the new bathroom as he tells most everyone that it is broken. The whirlpool tub has been sitting in my house int he box for almost a month now and Tuesday it finally gets installed, I don't know who will get to use it first my son, myself (most likely choice), or my wife.

My son has become more interactive as we have introduced some more board games amd we found out he really likes puzzles, his favorite game is still Candy Land. This week he set it all up and wanted to play, I was not feeling well and tried to refuse as I wanted to sit and relax as I was feeling nauseated, but he would have none of it. His words, "Daddy, Please!! Don't be afraid it doesn't hurt." How could I refuse that solid logic, well the cuteness of his request. The other thing that has become important is listening to music and dancing, it should be too long until he realizes that his Daddy has no rhythm and can't dance but for now he doesn't care. Although, I have learned some new moves from him. The favorites right now are the Curious George CD (Jack Johnson) and The Laurie Berkner Band, but I have deiced we need to get some new ones as I can only listen to the same music so many times.

In a historic moment, my son opted not to finish eating his french fries from Wendy's. This is shocking as usually I have to urge him to eat his hamburger which he ate all of but let me finish his fries and there was no complaining on my end.

I hope I am not as delayed in my next blog entry but with only one full bathroom it has to get done first or else the EPA might crack down on our family.

Projects at Home

The title is slightly misleading, this is about projects going on in our house and what my son thinks of them. We are currently working on a bathroom remodel although my son's version is that the bathroom is broken. The tub is in a box in our house and my son keeps asking, "Can we use the new bath now?" I have to explain to him that it isn't done yet. So in the process of getting some estimates it is important to him to point out that the bathroom is broken. Then usally after the people that have been by to give estimates leave he sometimes asks, "Is it done yet?" If only the world really worked that fast sometimes. Just this weekend my dad and I ran some wiring up to the bathroom which my son was well aware of, and when my dad left my son assumed the bathroom was done and said, "Let's go see it." It took a lot of convincing that the bathroom wasn't done yet even though we had been working on stuff all weekend.

When not working on it, we play some board games. My son is now an expert Candy Land champion, i am just waiting for him to say "I'll play you in Candy Land for a dollar." He also enjoys his other games Chutes & Ladders and Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. The funniest part is they always have to be played in that order. Today he even set up Candy Land almost completly for us all to play. I think he has derived such love of that game as I used to like it when I was little and was a great player, although my parents will claim I stacked the deck and cheated my way to many victories but that is just jealousy of a great Candy Land Champion.

The Whys and Whats

One thing that certainly makes life interesting with my son is the Whys and Whats. He likes to ask "Why?" and ask "What is...?" a lot. Today for example, he said "It's raining." I responded, "Yes it is raining." then it starts:

Son: Why is it raining?
Dad: Because the clouds are full of water.
Son: Why are the clouds full of water?
Dad: Because water evorpates from lakes rivers and streams and goes up to the clouds. (I know more info than necessary for a 3 year old)
Son: Why water evaporates?
Dad: (trying to simplify) The sun warms the water and causes it to evaporate.
Son: But it is not sunny?
Dad: Well the sun was somewhere else and evaporated the water there.
Son: Is it behind that building?
Dad: Yes!
Son: Why?
Dad: Because it is cold and raining here and it wants to stay warm. (Ha Ha! I got him now)
Son: Why is it raining?
Dad: (thinking, "why did you have to say the word raining.") Because the clouds are full of water.

I think you get the idea. This can continue on for some time. the fun part is trying to explain things so he will understand, but sometimes explaining the rain requires a more technical explaination which may cause him ridicule later in life when his teacher asks him, "Why does it rain?"

FYI - A medicine was added to the medicine chart.

Fat Tuesday

This Fat Tuesday at its finest, nothing like waking up hand having a paczki!

The doctor's appointment went OK, he still has an ear infection and will begin more medication for it (so there will be an update to the medicine taste chart some time soon, I will try to remember to link to it). I really wish he could just be healthy for a bit, although I know this time of year with pre-school and such it is difficult becuase kids don't understand to wash their hands often and not to touch everything thing they see. Maybe I need to invent a Lysol Cologne for kids, spray it on them before school and keep the germs away. He really doesn't complain about it so it is hard to tell if anything is wrong, either he is really tough or he knows he will have to go the doctor, I am going with the first option being a proud daddy and all.

Day with Daddy

My wife had to go out of town for work, so it was just my son and I all day. This can turn into a difficult day depending on how much he wants to test me, but today was different he was a good boy even with his aerosol treatment and his bath, not even a whimper. I don't know why or what caused this unusual three year old behavior, although it is a refreshing change. He is a good kid, he just likes to test us to no end some days. Tomorrow is a follow up doctor's appointment that I hope goes well so that our lives can get back to somewhat normal.

Medicine... YUCK!

My son still loves his medicine, but I can't figure out why. Yesterday a drop was on the counter so I thought I would see what this actually tastes like, it was awful and I had an aftertaste in my mouth for at least 5 minutes. To him though if I say time for your medicine he comes running without question, the current antibiotic he is on I don't think is flavored but I was truly surprised at how bad it tasted. From now it may become common practice for me to taste some of these just out of plain curiosity to see if any of them actually taste good (really I should say which ones tastot bad). I thought I was missing out and was going to start asking the pharmacy if I could the kid version of some of the medicines that are prescribed to me. I may try to keep a running log that may be updated from time to time, I hope I don't have to update it too often as I don't want my little guy to be sick but I shall keep a rating system here.

Medicine		Taste
Liquid Zythromax		Double Yuck
Childrens Advil (Blue)		Yummy
Amoxicyllin (Pink Raspberry-Strawberry)		Yummy
Omnicef (got the generic of this)		Double Yummy
Children's Robitussin Cough and Cold (Cherry)		Yummy

Updated 3/11/08

A New Day

My son is doing much better. He looks as normal as a 3 year old can look, coughing is down significantly, sleeping well, although he still fights the aerosol machine a bit. He really wants to go outside and it is hard explaining to him he needs to get better first because he already feels better than he did. We are both stir crazy and need to get out but with the cold weather it makes it difficult. Hopefully he will be well enough to go to pre-school on Monday.

Make Daddy Worry Some More

We went to the doctor and for Daddy it was a rough visit. My son is now on an aerosol machine for the next couple of days everey 4 hours to clear up his lungs, along with some other medications to help with his ear infections and his lungs (which the doctor said he could have a touch of pneumonia in one of his lungs). He runs around the house like a crazy child with no cares in the world (as he should) and like he is hardly sick, but it is enough to take the energy right right out of you. One thing that was really fun was trying to explain and get my 3 year old to use the aerosol machine the first time. It was rough, he was scared and I don't blame him but it had to be done so he could start getting better. He had his second treatment before bed and it went a lot better. He kind of fell back a little this morning but before lunch it handled it like a champ and even said, "We do our medicine before bedtime to make me feel better." He is certainly a lot tougher than I think I would have been. I really am starting tto think maybe he was not as bad as it sounds because he has tons of energy and just wants to play. But that kind of visit is enough to make any parent worry.

Does it happen to freak us out?

My son has had an ear infection for a bit and has been on some antibiotics for it, now he may have an ear infection in the other ear and has since developed a nice fever along with some splotchy skin. I know he is sick and we have an appointment at the doctor but does he really need to get the rash/splotching/spottiness to scare the crap out of me. Besides the fever and cough he is acting fine, he is eating and drinking fluids so I am not too worried about that. I am hoping and sure the rash/splotching/spottiness is just associated with whatever bug he has or the fever but why does it happen to freak me out. Hopefully the doctor will be able to keep me sane and convince me not to worry.

What a memory!

I know he is only three years old and has a shorter span to remember but my son seems to remember everything about anything. Granted it is only when he wants. For example, today we were playing and he starts asking about a toy that broke and mysteriously disappeared one night while he was sleeping. This went on almost all day. If he asks about the purple fishing rod again I think I may go crazy. This toy was given to him just over a year ago if I remember right and he played with it some and at some point it broke. That was traumatic enough but he got over it especially when we both looked for it for quite a while and couldn't find it. Well it all came back to him today and we had to look all over again although that didn't satisfy him, it took some major distracting powers to get him to stop asking, "Want to help Daddy fix the CD player?" Sure enough when it is something he can't have he is all over it. Hopefully the purple fishing rod drama has ended and he can move on.

Milestone

I had to share a milestone that just occurred. My son went to the potty all by himself. Didn't say or ask me for help, he just went and did it. From putting the potty seat on the toilet all the way to washing and drying his hands all by myself. We are so proud of him.