Belated Birthday

Well it's been a long time comin'. A month and 3 days in fact. But my little dude turned the big number 2 in May and I'm finally posting the pics. Enjoy! He sure did.

Walkin' with Nan

I took these a while ago when we had our first bout of spring so I thought it was about time I shared 'em.

O sleep, O gentle sleep

Another day, another battle with “The Nap”. My very-near-to-be-two-year-old has decided that when it is Mommy’s time to put him to bed for his nap, he is going to refuse. Refuse by yelling “All done!”, “noooooo”, get a fit of the giggles, ask for the potty, ask for water, milk, juice, a cookie, a book. No, not that book. Another book. The one with Pooh on it.

When he’s finally falling asleep, my other munchkin wakes leaving the toddler thinking that as soon as mommy walks out that door, it’s time to sneak out and pull all the toys off the shelves. (*Note, I did NOT take a picture).

So, after two hours of “Go to sleep” and trying hard not to give into demands for attention, sending him straight back to his bed, I gave up. Seriously, two hours is enough of a waste of my time, Daysha’s and his.

The result was a temper tantrum after a walk and play at the park, and an earlier bedtime than he usually goes. 8:30. Now there are a lot of tots that always go to bed at that time. Mine? It has usually been 10 o’clock. He sleeps in that way, and so does Mommy. I never really cared because I’m a night hawk anyway so a late bedtime for him was fine with me. As long as he got his sleep. But this is now the third time I have had a battle with the naptime. He has always been really good but I am starting to think that A) he’s testing all the skills I have with patience and anger management and B) he might be growing out of his nap.

I have always been in tune with Ethan and have carefully watched when something wasn’t working and we’d change it up so that life would become easier. I’m not all about ridged schedules and routines. I think kids are flexible as they grow so I’m all about making things as easy as I can for everyone involved.

But in all honesty, I don’t know if I should turf this naptime thing just yet. Perhaps I can for a while and see if the earlier bedtime will work for him but in the past when he’s missed his nap and crashed before the usual time, he wakes up more during the night and the next day is an overtired kid. I don’t know if it is best for him to get all his sleep requirements in one stint or keep it broken up over the day with a nap. If that’s the case, I need to find something else to keep him from popping his head in and out of the door.

My options are:
A) Bed time at 9-10, wake at 8-9, nap at 1-2 (what we do now)
B) Bed time at 9-10, wake at 8-9, nap at lunchtime. (would an earlier nap work?)
C) Bed time at 8-9, wake at 7-8, nap at lunchtime. (when’s lunch? Before/after nap?)
D) Bed time at 8-9, wake at (?), no nap. Recipe for crankiness?

And I am sure there are more options I could try too. I realize that pre-preschoolers are programmed to challenge everything an adult lays before them but I’d ideally like to be, at least, a half a step ahead of him. What’s happening now is nothing but a combat and I’m losing. So before I throw in the towel and raise the white flag, what do you think? What age is it reasonable for a toddler to grow out of the need for a nap?

Some technical garb: According to the National Sleep Foundation, babies need 14 to 15 hours of sleep, toddlers need 12 to 14 hours and preschoolers need 11 to 13 hours in each 24-hour period to function at their best. And the more sleep-deprived a child is, the more likely he is to be sleepy and overtired during the day, to change sleeping locations at night, and to have more sleep problems overall. Sleep begets sleep -- it can't be said often enough. --- Ann Douglas, Canadian Living.com

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. ~Charles Caleb Colton

*image is not mine. Stolen from a google search.

Oh! For the love of...

Reading. I've always wanted to encourage a love of reading in my kids. I think they got the message....

Brand New Bike....

We had some spring fun trying out Ethan's new tricycle a week ago, before we had a blizzard. It began to rain and we thought April was bringing showers but instead it brought snow. Anyway, here are some pics, just for some fun spring memories.

Have Patience

“Ethan we’re going for a drive. Can you put on your shoes?”
“Snows”
“You want your snow boots?”
“Uh huh”
“Okay here then.”
“Noooooooo!”
“Don’t you want to put your boots on?”
“Pooh”
“You want your rubber boots?”
“Yesssss.”
“Okay.”
“Shoes.”
“Ethan. Pick a pair. We have to get going.”
“Hat.”
~sigh~
------------------------------------------------------------

“Ethan, would you like a snack?”
“Snacks!”
“Yes?”
“Yesssss.”
“I’ll get you some cheese and crackers, okay?”
“Cheeeeessse!!”
“Go to your highchair, mommy will lift you up.”
“No.”
“No highchair? Do you want a snack?”
“No.”
“Do you want cheese?”
“Aaaaple.”
“You want an apple?”
“Cheese.”
“Do you want an apple and cheese?”
“Juice.”
~sigh~
------------------------------------------------------------

“Ethan, are you pooping?”
“Nooooooo.” (smile)
“Ethan, you need the potty for poop.”
“Potty!”
“Let’s go.”
Sits on potty:
“All done!”
“Ethan, you just sat down. Try to poop.”
“Pee.”
“Okay, then try to pee.”
“All done.”
“No, your not all done. Try again.”
“Potty.”
“Yes, hon. You’re on the potty. Try to poop.”
“Pee”
“Try to pee then.”
“Poop”
“Whatever. Just try.”
“All done!”
~sigh~

Patience

More Homework....

So this was our most recent task and I am not thrilled with it, but I thought I’d post what I attempted to accomplish anyway.

The exercise: to photograph 5 “subjects” with unique family, individual, children, and parent shots.

Well, I had some dilemmas. First, no subjects. Its been difficult scrounging up a group of 5 that would be willing (and patient) that are not busy tending to kids or work. So I thought, well my house is FULL of toys, surely I could find something!

First attempt: The Spuds.

Problem: Very uncooperative. I threatened to deep fry their potato butts but instead Ethan kissed them goodbye and lovingly pulled their arms out.






Second Attempt: The Littles.

Problem #1: Very, very little. I had to crawl all over the ground on my belly, in the rain (thanks Hon for the umbrella!), with the most statuesque group of people. They refused to do anything other than hold up their hands. Who brings a cell phone while they’re getting their picture taking???

Problem #2: A huge giant of a boy, decided that he knew how to pose the Littles better than I and decided to help out. I lost track of who I snapped a picture of and who I didn’t. Oh well, lol, at least the Giant Boy had fun. (so did I!)

An "Egg"cellent Morning

Last Wednesday, Ethan cracked his first egg and my camera was ready to capture every moment. That, and some playful time with his sister.



(Btw, for all those that are natural light fanatics….you know who you are…. the lighting in my house is awful. With only two measly windows in the living area of my home, flash is all that is available. So until I have softboxes set up in every corner and reflectors randomly placed, the harsh flash will have to do. Or, until I learn how to use my bounce flash effectively. Whichever comes first, lol)

I hope you enjoy the pics though!

The Quicker Picker Upper

A little fun with paper towel...

The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck

Alright, so not Jemima but Ethan Puddle-Duck for sure.

I took Ethan and Daysha to the Shrine Circus last week and Ethan really enjoyed the show. Not much love went towards the clowns but seriously, who really loves those red-nosed bozo's? Okay, a lot of kids but not mine. lol.

I thought what a thrilling event to take an almost-two-year-old too. The elephants, the camels, the balloons! But as much as he enjoyed the Circus, it wasn't the event of the day.

I heard the most squeals and giggles when we got home and headed outdoors for a walk. Puddle jumping. Water, water everywhere! He was sooooo happy to put on his boots with "Poo" on them (that's "poo" for Pooh, as in Winnie-the-Pooh) and make a splash! So much fun!!!

Oh Happy Day!

Step right up! Get your tickets!! Be a part of the most incredible rollercoaster of emotions you have ever seen!! Over & under, upside down & right side up.


I thought that seems my blog has sort of become an outlet of negative energy; I would infuse it with something positive. My little boy is feeling better!!! He’s not completely himself but he had some of his playful energy shinning through today as well as an appetite. And after these past few weeks, this is really good news.


This really made me happy today and I’ve needed that. I hope he continues to get better and nothing else comes his way; he’s too little to deal with much else. Hopefully I will conquer my cold and he and I can run around playing without getting short of breath.