Hindsight is 20/20

Today was a day of poor parenting decisions. Too bad we couldn't have a do-over...

This morning was playgroup at Mill Lake. I decided to let Keziah nap in the morning and go a bit later and meet the other moms for a picnic lunch. I spent the morning getting things ready - making a special lunch for me and Micah, slathering us both in sunscreen, and getting together all the paraphanelia that is needed for such an excursion. We got to the park and Micah ran down the hill ahead of me in excitement, and then proceeded to wipe out once he reached the sidewalk, badly skinning one knee. He wailed, of course, but calmed down when I coaxed him onto the swings.
But 20 minutes later when it was time to sit down and eat, he actually looked at his knee and saw that it was bleeding. This brought on a fresh set of tears and he was still upset even after I hastily applied a band-aid. And he never really recovered. He complained and whined through the whole picnic, refusing to get off my lap even while I was trying to feed Keziah her bottle. I couldn't help but feel frustrated when I saw all the other kids sitting so well with their moms, eating their sandwiches and not whining.
Then the next tragedy was the peanut butter and honey that escaped his sandwich and was now sticking to his fingers - oh the agony!! We abandoned the sandwich eating and tried some of the other snacks, but when Micah saw the cookies that one of the moms was offering, he needed one. While all the other moms made their kids wait to take a cookie until they were done their other food, I gave in and let Micah have his right away to avoid a scene - though I did it somewhat sheepishly.
By this point I had threatened several times that we were going to go home if Micah didn't stop whining, but inside I kind of knew that I wasn't really planning on following through with it. We had barely gotten there and after all the prep that morning I really didn't want to go. But, in hindsight I wish I would've packed everything up right then and there.
It's hard enough to be firm with him at home when there's nobody around to see him wail, but in those situations when I'm not sure how he's going to react, it's pure fear that makes me cave to his whining...
I left feeling more frustrated with myself than anything.

Then this evening when Erik came home we had the ridiculous idea to head to Wal-mart after supper. It was a disaster right from the start. Micah whined to get out of the cart the whole time and Keziah was cranky as she usually is at this time of the night and I had forgotten her soother so that only made things worse. It took us longer than we thought and it was past their bedtimes by the time we got home. As we were coming in the house Micah tripped and fell onto his already-sore knee. He was almost inconsolable and he's still crying in his bed now at 9:30...

Ugh. One of those days.

This shot of Micah smiling was a rare sight today. Micah hates drinking water, but I spent about an hour trying to get him to drink this half-cup and told him he couldn't watch TV until he finished it. It wasn't easy but it worked!

Keziah and I had a nice quiet moment outside this afternoon while Micah was napping and I got some more super-cute pictures of her that I couldn't resist adding. I was only going to post a couple but there were just too many cute ones to choose from...

I've been able to bring out all of her really summery outfits this week with the hot weather we're having. I love this baby doll top from Old Navy...

Mmmm, that camera looks tasty...

Yep, I know I'm cute :)

Testing Testing...

Whew, I can't believe it's been 5 days since I last blogged. I just haven't had the desire for some reason. Micah was such a handful last week and I was feeling overwhelmed with the task of correcting some of his not-so-good behaviour. There was the whining when we were visiting friends and the out-of-control running through the stores when we went to the mall and the endless testing - "if mom says I can't hit Keziah, how firmly can I pat her before it's considered hitting??" I know he's only 2 and a half, but I was starting to think that some of his "bad-ness" was irreversible...

But he seems more like his regular self this week. For starters, he's finally over his cold, which was probably the biggest culprit. And we are REALLY working on the whining. I've seen a noticeable difference in the way he asks for things this past week. Erik and I have been talking lots about our parenting techniques lately which is good. It's easy to feel like I'm the no-nonsense mom and he's the fun dad. And up until now we haven't really had a specific technique of parenting and I think it was time that we decide together how we were going to approach this new phase of rebellion and whining.


We are getting into some HOT weather here finally and yesterday I hauled out Micah's wading pool so he could play in the water while Keziah watched in her exersaucer. I managed to catch a video of Micah making a big splash:

Photo Shoot

Too much whine

Here's a picture that basically sums up how life has been around here this week:

Micah got me out of bed begging for oatmeal and then didn't touch it. Grrr.

Him & Keziah are both still sick so I'm sure that's contributing to the extra tears around here. I feel like the sickness never seems to end! I've been hearing lots of moms saying that lately - is it just the time of year?

Anyway, I'm not sure when it happened but Micah has turned into a really whiny toddler. I look around and see other people's kids and I can't help but feel that Micah is whinier than most. He's not an easy-going, happy-go-lucky kind of kid. Rather, he's impatient, emotional and easily frustrated. According the personality profiles in The Baby Whisperer, Micah's what you might call a "touchy" child - over-sensitive and highly reactive. Now, I have to stop here and tell you all that I love Micah to pieces. He isn't always unhappy and he brings us SO much joy. But I want him to learn to be a patient and caring person. How do I teach him that the world does NOT revolve around him? Or am I asking too much from a 2-year-old?

Something that really bothers me is the fact that Micah is almost 2 and a half and he's still not staying in the church nursery without Erik or I there. He can be really clingy and if he loses sight of us he freaks out. This actually saddens me more than anything because he seems insecure and fearful. I want him to be confident and unafraid. I want to see him play more with other kids. And then I feel guilty because I think I should be able to do something about it. Oh, the things we worry about as parents...

But just to make sure you don't think our week was ALL bad, here are some pictures of the kids enjoying a sunny May evening. One of Kelly's posts last week reminded me of a hammock-swing that I've had in storage for awhile. I decided to haul it out and hang it up since I figured the kids would like it...

Half a year!

First of all, I have to say that I'm really liking this private blog thing! I didn't know if I would, but I do! I have been overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised by the emails from MANY of you who read this blog faithfully but hadn't yet made yourselves known. So, that part's been really fun! And even though I don't know if it will change how or what I write, there's a peace of mind in knowing exactly who my readers are :)

We just came out of a rather dismal long weekend. The weather was cold and rainy (thank goodness we weren't camping!) and all of us were sick at one point or another. It seemed to manifest itself in different ways for each of us and I was the least affected, but it made for a pretty low-key weekend. We did manage to get some things done around the house again though which is always nice!

Potty-training is going mostly good. Peeing on the potty has been a breeze and we are pretty much accident free. I have ventured out of the house with Micah twice now when he's just been in underwear so that says a lot about how he's doing. Doing the ol' #2 seems to be the tricky part. Yesterday he managed to make it to the potty but he still gets quite upset over the whole ordeal!


The above picture is from the other day when I tried to coax Micah to stay on the potty by setting up the laptop and turning Hermie on. (Take note of the new floor, paint and baseboards in our bathroom - our place is starting to look like it's finished!)

Now, for a reason to celebrate... Our baby girl is half a year old today!


The most significant change this last month was in Keziah's sleeping. I worked on teaching her to sleep better & longer - cutting out night feedings and those extra wakings for her soother. We haven't completely cut out the soother but she is no longer waking me up every hour at night to replace it, so I'm OK with that! She is able to settle herself back to sleep without it in the night. There have been a couple of times when I've put her down without it only to go in later and see she's found one in the crib and put it in herself! Fine by me! I think I'll let her hang onto it for a few more months and then take it away completely by cutting of the tip.


Now she goes from about 7 pm to 7 am without a feed and often without waking at all! Yet even though her night-sleeping is going so well she is still a weird napper. I've always had trouble keeping her napping for the proper length. She is an incredibly light sleeper. I put a fan on in her room and yet I still find myself tip-toeing past her room when she's asleep. And if Micah wakes up in the night crying she will for sure wake up too.

Here she is the other day when I woke her up from a nap. Nobody likes a bright flash in their face when they're sound asleep!


I've started supplementing with formula a little more as I'm sometimes unsure about my milk supply, especially in the evening. I could probably build it back up if I tried hard enough, but I don't really mind. I'm not ready to cut out breastfeeding entirely, but this may be the start of a very slow weaning process. Keziah is a very distracted feeder and almost impossible to nurse without dead quiet, so public feedings are just easier with a bottle. She is eating 2 servings of cereal a day now (rice and oats) and I've added the odd serving of sweet potatoes into the mix this past week. It's definitely taken her longer to get into solids than it did for Micah. She is only now starting to get excited when she sees the spoon approaching her mouth :)


As for her developmental milestones, Keziah finally started rolling over a few weeks ago. She mostly does tummy to back but has also done the reverse once or twice. She's not interested in standing at all and never straightens her legs when you hold her up on your lap. I'm not sure if this is lack of leg muscle or just lack of interest... She's also sitting more and more now. Not super stable yet, but getting there! Even though I put down blankets on our new laminate it still feels like our floor is a lot more unforgiving than carpet! And speaking of sitting, I think our bumbo-sitting days may be coming to a close. When I put her in it now she arches her back enough that she almost pops right out!



I can't say that Keziah has been a very contented baby in the last month. She has actually been a lot more fussy than I remember Micah being at this age. I'm not sure what to attribute it to other than teething. The tooth I mentioned over a month ago has not budged from its position directly beneath her gums. I imagine it doesn't feel too pleasant and I hope that it breaks through soon!



Keziah is happiest when she first wakes up. She rarely cries in those moments, but just starts talking - sometimes loudly. Erik says some of her sounds remind him of a barking poodle. I'd have to agree. I'll try to record her sometime so you can hear it for yourselves :) But, yes, she can be quite vocal. Sometimes even in the middle of the night I'll hear her squealing and squawking away before she drifts off again.

OK, this post has been long enough! Time to sign off for the day and tend to my still-sick kids... I hope you're all having a fantastic week so far :)

Welcome!

Hi there - if you're reading this, it means you have received the email invitation that I sent and have navigated your way to our new private blog! After much thought, I decided to make our blog an invite-only blog and you are some of the priviledged to be invited - ha ha :)

Just a side note to my fellow bloggers - if your blog is linked to our blog you will have to change the address in your template. It is: www.littletoewsies.blogspot.com The old address will no longer bring you here.

I'm glad to see you here! More family updates to come...

Potty Update

It's officially day #3 of potty-training and things are still going well. We've had a few accidents, but for the most part Micah is peeing on the potty every time! He has been pretty good at telling me when he needs to go, but sometimes I have to remind him. I put him down for his nap both days with only underwear and he stayed totally dry. He didn't even have to pee when he got up. We convinced him to wear a pull-up for night though and both mornings he's woken up wet. But, I think we've got a really good start and I'm not expecting dry nights for awhile.

Going #2 has been another story though. The first day he went in his underwear - twice. I talked to him a lot about it after that, promising a little chocolate bar for when he could go in the potty. So, yesterday afternoon he told me he needed to go but every time he sat on the potty he would just cry. He tried several times and I could tell that he wanted to do it, but was too scared to or something. So, he held it in. Then this morning I could see he was quite uncomfortable because he really needed to go. He kept getting up on the potty to try (bless his little heart!) but then he would just come right off and cry. This went on for an hour and a half (it felt a LOT longer and I thought he was never going to let it out!) and then finally I think he couldn't hold it in any longer and he finally went in the potty!! (Though he cried through the process!) Who knew this could be so exciting! I made a really big deal about it and we celebrated with a chocolate bar and a sit in the hot tub and a phone call to Daddy. I think Micah was thoroughly proud :) Hopefully the next time won't be such a drawn-out process!

It's begun!

Today is the first official day of potty-training and things are going surprisingly well so far! We have had multiple successes today with only one accident!

I waited until after breakfast to change Micah out of his diaper and put on his training underwear. After that I gave him lots to drink and started putting him on the potty every 20 minutes. Nothing happened for the first few times and then suddenly, on his own initiative, Micah informed me that he had to GO! So, we ran to the potty and sure enough, he did! Since then he's told me almost every time except for once when he was busy playing. Could it really be THIS easy??

Micah with his very first sticker!

He actually got SO into this potty thing that he was asking to go every few minutes for awhile this morning - and he went a little bit every time. I started wondering if he was doing this on purpose since each time he would get a mini-celebration including smarties and a sticker for his Dora potty chart. Is it normal for them to want to go that often? I tried to occupy him with some other things so that he wouldn't ask to go constantly, and so that when he DID go it would be a substantial amount. I'm going to run out of stickers and smarties at this rate!

I'm not sure how naptime will go. I showed him the pull-ups I had bought for sleeping and he cried because he didn't want to wear them. I guess they look a little too much like diapers. So, I put on his plastic bedsheet and put him down in his underwear. I don't think I would be brave enough to do this if it wasn't for what Erik's mom told me yesterday. She said that when she potty-trained Erik he refused to wear a diaper for sleeping. So, she didn't put one on him and he stayed totally dry. I'm a little doubtful, but I'll let you know if we have the same success with Micah...

I had to snap one last picture of Micah in diapers last night. Good-bye saggy diapers!!

In other news, Keziah is practicing her sitting these days. I still stay pretty close when she's sitting but she's going for longer stretches all the time...


Mother's Day gifts - flowers, candy and a girly Starbucks travel mug. Erik purposely got me one that he wouldn't be tempted to use for himself. So thoughtful :)

Bubbles!

2nd time's a charm?

This week Erik and Nathan started on a brand new house! This is house #2 for just the two of them. Erik is really excited about this one since he feels much more confident about what he's doing. And it helps that the sun is finally shining around here. They've been working on this same street in south Abbotsford for the last few houses. The United States is literally on the other side of that big pile of dirt!

Micah and I haven't been able to get enough of the sunshine this week. Yesterday afternoon I took the kids to the park across the street and I was pleasantly surprised that Micah is able to manage the ladder all by himself now. It was nice to just sit back in the sun and watch him play while Keziah napped in the stroller...


My newly pedicured feet... This was my very first pedicure and I really enjoyed it (Amber had me a little worried after her experience :)

Micah making discoveries on a sunny afternoon...

Micah really surprised us last night at the supper table. Out of the blue he said "I have to go pee!" I didn't really believe him and since he was in his highchair and in the middle of supper I wasn't jumping to bring him to the bathroom. But he was pretty insistent and kind of crying and I really didn't want to discourage his interest in the potty. So I brought him to the bathroom and he was kind of crying and squirming while I got him ready. And then, wonder of wonders, he actually DID have to pee! He giggled the whole time and started asking for smarties before he was even finished (we've all been prepping him!) Where did this come from??

I've been meaning to blog about this next potty-training phase. It's something that's been looming in front of me for a LONG time already... This will actually be the second attempt at training after I had a go at it last summer (you can read about our potty adventures here and here). It was going nowhere fast, so I decided to wait until this June to try again - by then he would be 2 and a half, I wouldn't be dealing with a newborn, and the weather would be warm enough to let him run around outside without a diaper :) But now I'm wondering if I should start now... I just don't feel quite prepared for it!

My plan was to stay at home for a whole week to dedicate myself to training (as per my sister's advice). But what do I do if I'm busy with Keziah or something when he suddenly has to go? I guess I literally need to drop everything I'm doing if I want this to work right? How often should I put him on the potty? Should I limit liquids to certain times of the day? Any advice from you experienced potty-trainers is more than welcome!

And, just to clarify, Micah hasn't asked to go on the potty since last night, but I know by his full diapers that he's not just holding it in :P So, I guess he's just being selective about when he wants to!

Anyway, that's all I have to say today, but I couldn't post without including a couple of pictures of my other child - ha ha. Here's Keziah being her cute little self...

Swiper No Swiping!

I'm amazed at the things Micah picks up - some good, some not so good. He surprised us in Edmonton one night when he grabbed a toy from Keziah, threw it across the hotel room and said, "You'll never get this now, Sweetheart!"

It's admittedly cute and funny, but we've heard a similar phrase from him a few more times since then (accompanied by the toy-stealing) and I just couldn't figure out where he would've heard this.

Well, it all came together for me when we were watching Dora the Explorer this morning. Swiper the fox swiped something from Dora and Boots and said, "You'll never get this now!" Who knew Dora could have such a bad influence...

Our Trip in Pictures

Stopping for a break in Mount Robson park.

Throwing rocks with Daddy... (Micah talked about this for the rest of the trip!)

Taking a lunch break in Hinton, AB.

Ready for bed in our hotel.

World Waterpark at West Edmonton Mall - those high staircases freak me out more than the waterslides...

Micah having fun!

Micah in full concentration while we waited for our meal at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

Galaxy Land...

Other mall attractions...



Time to go home... Thank goodness for Hermie!

Stopping for a quick picture of Mount Robson (highest peak in Canada) while both kids were asleep in the car.

Hitting 200,000 kms with our car - but getting the camera out one kilometre too late :)


Despite a disrupted routine, lack of sleep, a little game of musical hotel rooms and some car trouble on the last leg home, we had an awesome time! Erik and I were already talking about planning our second annual family trip to the West Edmonton mall :)