Henry Mercer - Age 3

A long overdue update on this adorable child. 

I want to remember to ask him these questions every year - but already I was 3 weeks late. 

Age 3 – 12/16/12

1. What is your favorite color?      brown
2. What is your favorite toy?        some trucks  

3. What is your favorite fruit?      vegetables
4. What is your favorite TV show?           Curious George
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  cottage cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit?    maybe purple
7. What is your favorite game?      soccer
8. What is your favorite snack?     fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal?    an elephant
10. What is your favorite song?     nothing
11. What is your favorite book?     God Gave us Christmas
12. Who is your best friend?         Daddy/God/Mommy (three separate answers for the 3 times I asked him throughout the day - hehe! )
13. What is your favorite cereal?   Captain Crunch
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play with the sword sticks
15. What is your favorite drink?    Juice

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?   some books and some buddies
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?    some pizza
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?       some dinosaur cake
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?             Maybe a sword fight 

This kid is so cool - he just cracks me up. 

He loves swords and guys and doing this crazy deep, spooky laugh.  He loves dinosaurs and Ice Age movies.  

And last night when he kissed me and hugged me before he went to bed, he said, "Love you mom, you a good girl."  

Melt my heart! 

 

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The Potty Training Chronicles: Day 12

Due to a stubborn little boy not wanting to wear a Pull-Up (seriously, I don't know where he gets this from! ha) - Henry had his first outing in big boy underwear tonight.

He made it through an hour long shopping trip to Kohl's, and dinner at Logan's with no accidents!  Not to mention the 25 minute car ride there and back home!

And due to the gross condition of Kohl's men's bathrooms (per my husband) - he also learned to pee standing up, and insisted on standing again when I took him at Logan's.

So ... does this mean he's potty trained now?  Knowing that there are accidents to be had for all toddlers/preschoolers every now and again - when do you officially deem them "trained"? 

And you all told me to wait 3 more months ;) 

The Potty Training Chronicles: Day 10

Ooooh pretty paintings!

Last night I was at a friend's house and my lovely and amazing mom watched my boys for me.  While I was packing up to leave, I look down at my Ipod and notice I have a message.  The alert read like this:

"Ummm... Henry just pooped"  -- that's all I could read on the alert menu.

So, I start filling in the blank ... on the floor? On the couch? All over everything?!?

But no, the full message read,:

"Ummm... Henry just pooped on the potty."

Another milestone!!

He also had zero accidents at daycare yesterday!

And, he peed on a public toilet today.

I know - all this poop and pee talk is exhilerating isn't it?!?
Such a proud mama!  We're on a roll over here! 

I like to eat M&M's after my brother uses the potty!!

The Potty Training Chronicles: Day 6

Progress! Finally Progress!! :)

Henry has been more than happy to sit on the potty - but has produced nothing for us the last two days of wearing big boy undies all day.  Many accidents.

The first milestone we can check off the list was today when he ran to the potty.  He didn't make it in time, but he knew what he was running for!

The second milestone is that while sitting on the potty after nap today, he pee'd in the potty.  So happy and proud of him!

I know it's going to be a long road ahead, but I'm confident he's capable of this!

The Potty Training Chronicles: Day 4

Henry has had big boy underwear on for 30 minutes.

After 5 minutes, he peed in them.

After 10 minutes, he pooped in them.

This is fun.

We've been consistent about sitting on the potty with out a diaper (when we are home) for the last 2 days.  He always tries to push out something - so he usually just farts.

So, I think the next couple of days we'll be staying home and seeing if we can get some pee on the potty.

I guess this is called the "Go for the Gold" method - straight to undies, and putting him on the potty every 20 minutes.

The Potty Training Chronicles: Day 3

The preparation for training has been easy so far.  Sitting on the potty and reading books.  Easy and Henry enjoys it.

Tonight was the first night I took his diaper off right before bed and we sat down and read his book on the potty, bare bum-ed.  He tried to go so hard - that he sharted.  That's right - a fart and the tiniest bit of poop came out.  It was enough for us to wipe up and flush though.  A victory in my book.  A reason to celebrate and have Henry call his dad and tell him on the phone before bedtime.  Henry even said, "Woot Woot!"  (I've been teaching him to say that - it's adorable.  And hilarious.)

Let's hope the excitement continues through the weekend - he's going to pick out his own big boy underwear!!

The Potty Training Chronicles - Part 1

Well friends, since there are about 4 weeks left of my lovely summer vacation - I've decided I may as well give potty trianing a go.  I'd like to be able to do it while we're home together - but if we try for this week and things get crazy - I have no problem backing off and giving the brunt of the work to daycare (haha, sorry Amy!) this fall.

Hmm... am I trainable??

Since none of my friends have had any pearls of wisdom on the topic (except for these golden nuggets: "Wait for him to be ready" and "Wait until he's 3")  - I've decided to go with my pediatricians plan.  I've never heard of anyone potty training like this, and I love experiments, so let's try it - shall we? 

Prerequisites:  Make sure Henry is "ready"  - I don't know what this means.  Sometimes he tells me he's poopy - which for him means pee and poop.  Sometimes he doesn't.  I tend to think he's pretty smart though, so I think he'll catch on quickly.  I think since my pedi told me he was smart enough to start back at his 2 year appointment (a mere 8 months ago) - he should be good to go now. 

Here's the method that our pedi swears by - claiming to even have discussed it with intellectuals from Harvard, where people actually pay for their children to attend potty training class.  (must be nice)

Step 1:  After every meal and snack, sit on the potty while fully clothes and read 1 story.  When that story is done, get up and continue about your day.  Do this for 1-3 days.

Step 2: After every meal and snack, sit on the potty with pants off but diaper still on - and read 1 story.

Step 3:  Same, but with diaper off.

And apparently - voila - your child gets trained. 

Sounds lovely doesn't it?

Please don't think I'm naive enough to think it's going to be this easy peasy light and breezy.  But, the consistency of sitting after every meal/snack is supposed to help train the bladder and make Henry more comfortable, so in all it may help with the entire potty training process - so we're going to give it try.  Plus, his dad goes to the bathroom after every meal, so it just makes sense.  (sorry for the tmi, but it's true!)

Today is Day 1.  So far, so easy :)

I can do it!! (how do I rotate in blogger??)

Henry Mercer - 2 1/2 years...

This little boy makes me laugh.  All.  Day.  Long.

My favorite Henry saying right now is, "Sorry - sorry guys.  No like that game."

I assume because I walk around saying "Nope, sorry!" all day to Henry and Owen - that's where he's picked up on this lovely phrase.  Everything is "Sorry, Mommy - I get 2 candies."  or "Sorry Oden - that's my toy."

He still calls Owen "Oden" (because that's what we call him) - and I love it. 

He still runs and dances with his one arm up higher than the other.  His favorite song to dance to right now is "Starships" by Nicki Minaj.

Henry loves to sing - right now his favorite is Old MacDonald, which sounds like, " Ah madonall hanna farm ...  ee ay ee ay ooooooooo.  An onna farm hanna -- cow!!  ee ay ee ay oooooooo.  mooo mooo here, mooo moo here, moo moo dere moo moo, Ah madonall hanna farm ee ay ee ay ooooooooooooo " 

Still loves to eat anything cheesy and hates all vegetables.  Though I did get him to eat the tiniest bit of broccoli tonight. 

Henry also likes to try to read his bedtime stories aloud with me.  It's adorable.

Henry can count to 12.  He can sing his abc's (lmnop = oooo p ).  He can recognize most of the letters, and also a few sounds.  If he sees a B he says, "Letter B.  Buh Buh B"

He's a little OCD about having things just the right way.  He absolutely needs to be wearing his socks all the time. 

And now for the photo frenzy!

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.   - Psalms 23:6

Owen Roger - 10 Months Old

It sure is true that the 2nd one gets jipped when it comes to baby books, blog updates, weekly photos, etc. Especially when they're so close in age!! And if their mommy works a full time job.

Anyway - here's some Owen stuff!

WAKE TIME
He's awake for about 2 1/2 hours in between his naps. He goes a long 4-5 hour stretch at the end of the day, depending on how well he napped during the day.

Formula
Owen is offered 4 6oz bottles a day. He averages maybe 18-20 oz a day. I'm going to start mixing in milk soon. The debate on the table is: Vit. D? Or 2%. Thoughts?

Solids
Here piggy piggy. I remember Henry doing this as well -- Owen will keep eating all night long. And then when he gets down to play, he'll puke because he over ate. He's eating a lot of our table food now, and it's becoming a struggle to get the good baby food (fruit/veggies) in because he wants our food!!

6:30 - 6 oz bottle
8:00 - 6 oz jar of fruit, toast
9:00 - nap
10:00 - 6 oz bottle
11:30 - 4 oz yogurt, 4 oz fruit, table food
1:00 - nap
3:00 - bottle
4:00 - snack (usually crunchies or puffies)
5:15 - 4 oz meat/veggie, 4 oz veggie, table food
7:15 - 6 oz bottle, bed

NAPS
Owen is doing great at going to sleep. While he usually falls asleep in his 5 minute rock routine, if I have to lay him down awake, he usually goes right to sleep.

NIGHTTIME SLEEP
For the most part, Owen sleeps from about 7:30pm until 6:30 when I wake him up. Weekends he'll sleep until 7 or 7:30. Allergies, sicknesses, and teething have been disrupting this a couple of nights a week. And if he's wide awake - he will not go back to sleep without a bottle. I know he doesn't need it, he knows he doesn't need it - but he gets it because I'm tired and what else can you do at 3:00am?

OMM
Owen no longer goes to OMM therapy - his head is looking pretty good.

Milestones
He has 2 bottom teeth, and the top gums are just opening up.
He can pull himself up and walk around furniture, and loves walking if you hold his hands.
He's a speed demon crawler.
Just last night, there were several instances where he chased after me, whining, and said "mama".

I have been horrible at taking his weekly monkey photos. I know I've missed the last two weeks. I sure hope I remember this week, poor guy.

It is so funny to watch Henry and Owen begin to have meaningful interactions. They are starting to play together - and torture each other. It's awesome :)

We interrupt this children's blog for some mommy time!

56 days into 2012, and I've yet to blog. This should tell you two things.

1.) Bad blogger

2.) Busy momma

Before I take the time to update on my babes - I'm going to hog their blog with a little mommy update. Ok, maybe a long mommy update.

Resolution #1 - Lose Baby Weight = Check!

Since Dec. 28th (when I started my "myfitnesspal" account) - I've lost 11 pounds. To what do I credit this success? Let me list it for you!

This list is not meant to be a "how-to" - but rather a reminder for myself if I ever lose track and the weight starts creeping up again. Let's be realistic - this will happen.

1. Move your body. Apparently that whole "exercise is good" idea is true. However, more importantly, you have to find something you love to do. I have always loved dancing. In fact, the skinniest I've ever been in my adult life - was when I was in college and dancing the night away 2-3 nights a week. Which brings us to my next helpful tip.

2. Zumba! Where else can a grown, married woman shake what her mama gave her and drop it like it's hot without judgement?

3. Even if it's just for 3 minutes, get a work out in. I cannot Zumba my full set-list everyday. But, if I can quick practice a song while cooking dinner and my boys are playing nicely - that's 3 minutes of cardio and my heart rate stays up for a little while. Do that 2-3 times a night, and hey - that's enough work out to help!

4. Schedule 1 butt kicking workout time a week. I know that the 2 hours I teach Zumba on Thursdays gives my metabolism a jump-kick for the weekend ahead.

5. Now to the hardest part, food. My first step was portion control. Example: 2 pieces of pizza instead of 4. Yes, I was starving for 2 weeks. And very grumpy. But once your stomach adjusts, life is good again. I promise! (do not start this attempt when you're about to get your monthly visitor. that's just setting yourself up for failure)

6. Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones. I replaced my daily lunches that were leftovers from the dinner before (so basically, dinner for lunch) - with these frozen meals. I usually add a yogurt or applesauce in there too. Healthiest option? No. But it works for me.

7. Do not deny yourself your cravings. Again, that's set yourself up for failure. Just eat less. 3 broccoli balls instead of 8.

8. Diet Soda. Self-explanatory.

9. Last but not least - try on your skinny jeans once a week. At first you will be motivated to get into them again - and each week when you can fit a bit more (first a calf, then a thigh, then one butt cheek, ... you get the picture) you'll feel better. I did this with my size 12's - which I can now wear comfortably. Since I have purchased two jeans at a super great deal - but they were all out of my size - so I bought the size smaller. When they were delivered in November, I could barely fit one leg in. Now I can put them all the way on - but still can't zip/button.

Next mommy update - I will be wearing those jeans!