Headaches...

Anyone who reads my blog will not be surprised to hear that Half-pint has bumped his head quite hard EVERY Wednesday for the past three weeks! I'm not sure why it's only been Wednesdays, but that seems to be the day to bonk his head. The first time, he tripped while we were out shopping and hit the side of his head very hard on the floor. (See post 36 Hours...)

The next time was the following week, again on our Wednesday errands. All week Half-pint had been talking about not liking hitting his head. I don't blame him. He was really careful to stay with me, but as we were leaving the library, he ran ahead to push the handicap automatic door button (I had Quarter-pint in the stroller). As he ran, he tripped again and smacked his forehead on the wall beneath the door button. Again, it was REALLY loud. The library staff was quickly at our side, and after a few minutes it was apparent that it sounded worse that it really was. No huge goose egg bump this time-thankfully, just a slightly raised red spot. As we waited for ice from the librarians, Half-pint said through his tears "Mom, we have ice at home!" He knows the drill!

Today we didn't do all of our usual Wednesday errands, so I thought we were home free, but this afternoon, he jumped off the stool in the bathroom and somehow (I didn't actually see it happen) hit his head on the bathroom door knob. He immediately fell to the floor crying loudly (at least loud enough to wake up his sleeping brother). As I did the now very familiar inspection of his most recent badge of honor, I noticed the bruise beginning to form, and a small cut on his ear. Again, we got the ice pack and snuggled on the couch until he began to wiggle. I know that he's tired of smacking his head. It's tough being a kid!!!

Quarter-pint has a huge bruise on his forehead also!

Climber...

My Half-pint is very much like most kids his age-he's quite tech. savoy; especially because he can't read. When Daddy brought home a universal remote to control the TV, DVD, CD, and the like, Half-pint had the basics figured out more quickly than we did. Before he was two, he would turn on the TV, the DVD player and Amp.; then open a DVD case and not only put the disc in the player, but also turn it on! The only hitch was if the TV wasn't set on the correct setting to watch DVDs. We quickly learned through the sacrifice of a few DVD discs that we needed to keep the discs out of his reach. I devised an ingenious plan...ingenious until recently when Half-pint got smarter than me. We took all the DVDs out of their cases and put all the discs into a large CD book, which now lives on the top shelf above all the AV equipment (it's really part of the fireplace mantle). Well, it was inevitable...I keep catching Half-pint pushing tall things in front of the mantle so he can reach the CD book. At first it was the high chair-the high chair which happens to be on wheels! Then a few days ago, I caught him doing this... Those are the cushions and ottoman from the living room couch and chair set. He is resourceful. In order to pull this stunt off, he had to move all three (quite large compared to his body size) pieces from the other room, and then stack them, and then climb to the top. What a kid! (Quarter-pint looks almost as happy as Half-pint!)

Adventures at the Grocery Store...

So, since I've been working with Half-pint on potty training, we had a discussion on the way to the grocery store about the store having a potty, in case he needs it. He wanted to know where the potty was located. As we entered the store, we headed straight to the bathroom. Half-pint checked it out, then quickly ran out. I called to him to wait fro me, but by the time I got out of the bathroom with Quarter-pint, Half-pint was no where to be found. I knew that he had run back and forth between the women's and men's restrooms a few days earlier; so I called into the men's room, with no answer. After checking the store outside the bathroom and calling into the men's room a few times, I asked a man leaving the restroom if there was a little boy there, but he said no. Aaauugh! Where was he??? At least I knew where he wasn't! A store employee was coming out the women's room and suggested I have him paged at the service desk. Page a three year-old??? That just didn't seem like a great idea. I told her I would check the bakery (free cookies) and if I didn't find him I would head back to the service desk. I was very relieved to find Half-pint at the bakery! He wasn't eating a free cookie though...I caught him taking a big bite of a doughnut and then putting it back on the shelf!!! Thankfully the particular tray only had one other doughnut on it. By the time I caught up with him he had eaten nearly half the doughnut. I quickly scooped him up and put in the in shopping cart. Then I gathered up the half-eaten doughnut (so I could pay for it) and gave Quarter-pint a free cookie. Half-pint wanted one, but I told him no, he made a bad choice by not staying with me. We talked a little about not running and how worried I was because I couldn't find him. He was really mad that he didn't get a cookie. He cried and wailed that his belly was rumbly, but I didn't give in. He cried and carried on until we left the store. He didn't get a free cookie, and he didn't get to ride the horse; both grocery store traditions. Poor kid; made a bad choice! (I didn't let him eat the rest of the doughnut either-I'm soo mean!) He must have been totally tuckered out because he fell asleep in the 5 minute drive from the grocery store home.

36 Hours...

Wow, I don't even know where to begin...how about potty training. I decided to hit potty training hard this week (what was I thinking???). Half-pint is closer to 4 than to 3 and not being potty trained is starting to get in the way of other things I want to do with him (like preschool, classes/sports, etc.). It's about time he has a little more structure-like preschool-and he's been driving me crazy. I found a preschool very close to our house, and with very high recommendations-which still has openings (even after the year has begun), but he needs to be potty trained (or course). I visited with the teacher and we even went over there so he could check it out. He was excited. So, hence the potty training begins. The first two days were really encouraging....then we had today. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Yesterday the kids were running all around the house, making HUGE messes every time I turned around. Thankfully Half-pint had his first day back for speech therapy, so we had to get out of the house. Half-pint did a great job with the potty while we were out. I was really impressed with him! Between a couple of errands, Quarter-pint was screaming in his car seat-he thought he was starving. I was trying to feed him Goldfish while I was driving (he sits behind me and still faces backwards). After a couple of horribly failed attempts to feed him, Half-pint piped up "Mom! Gibe me the Doldpish! I feed Baby!" Sure enough, they can reach each other when both stretch they arms towards each other. Half-pint finished feeding Quarter-pint the "doldpish" and ate quite a few himself. Thank goodness for his help!

During the last errand of the afternoon, Half-pint tripped while he was trying to come back to me and hit his head really hard on the store floor. I had people come for isles around to say it was really loud. Poor kid! He immediately had a HUGE goose-egg on the side of his head. We quickly got to the car where I called his doctor to get a reminder (yep-reminder) of the signs for concussion. Thankfully, he recovered really well-no concussion that I can tell. He even kept his pants dry when he hit his head! What a kid!!!

Shortly after we got home, Quarter-pint was screaming in pain from the other room. I went running in to find him standing at the coffee table, hands on his face-covered in blood! This was our most bloody event to date, so I was a little shaken. I quickly scooped him up and as far as I can figure he bumped his face on the coffee table and cut the inside AND outside of his lip with his teeth. He stopped crying pretty quickly after I got to him and the bleeding stopped pretty fast, so I figured it wasn't too bad of an injury. I think the cut on the inside of his mouth was worse than the one on the outside and both looked much better today.

I couldn't wait to see what today had in store for me. I should have stayed in bed. Half-pint had a HORRIBLE potty day today. I hope both of us can survive this trial! In between all the potty accidents (I'm not sure all of them were accidents), Quarter-pint pulled an end table (I think it's really called a "phone table") over on himself. Thankfully he wasn't hurt! He also emptied the pantry cracker shelf onto the floor again. Yesterday he dumped the crouton box upside down, ate some of the croutons off the floor, then got really mad when he stepped on the crumbs. After dinner I had had it. I retreated to the office to try to get some work done on the computer. Half-pint came in and told me he peed outside. What??? I didn't even know he had been outside! After a few questions, I figured he had wet his pants-again. Then he pulled me to the front door, went onto the front porch to a wet spot and proudly said "See Mom! I peed right here!" Sure enough, there was a good sized wet spot right in the front of the front porch! What am I going to do with him???

Check-up...

Quarter-pint had his 1 year well check today. I was a little curious about how he would measured up because I know that he's been thinning out over the past few months. Here's the info: Height: 29.5 inches (50 %ile), Weight: 21 lbs, 2 oz (25 %ile), and Head Circumference: 48.2 cm (90 %ile). That's right, 25 %ile for weight-for a kid we call "Chubs"! We figure he's pretty active (the only time he sits still is in his high chair or when he's asleep), but we'll keep a close watch on his weight at his next well check. Otherwise, she said he's perfect. Perfect, yep, that's the doctor's word, not mine. Quarter-pint is also working on his molars (lucky us!, I think all of them are working their way up through his gums). That would explain his random grouchiness lately. Half-pint didn't like it when his brother had to get four shots. Quarter-pint handled it pretty well-he only cried for a few minutes.

Bathroom Fun...

This is what happens when it's just a little too quiet for just a little too long! When I finally checked on the boys, Half-pint said to me:

"Don't worry Mom, I got a new one!"

Thankfully he was smart enough to put the new roll of toilet paper high enough to be out of Quarter-pint's reach. It was a blessing that the roll of toilet paper they did completely unroll was about three-quarters gone!

"Bruders"...

I never get tired of watching the tender moments between my boys. I am continually amazed at their relationship. They love to be together. Quarter-pint is a beggar, especially when he sees anyone else eating or drinking. I think it's probably because he isn't big enough to get anything himself. This morning, Half-pint was eating some pudding: "banilla, it's my favorite!" he always tells me. Quarter-pint realized that his brother was eating and quickly made his way to Half-pint's chair and started to beg: "Ah, Ah, Ah."

"Mom, Baby trying to get me!"

I expected more protest from Half-pint, but I quickly realized that Half-pint had decided to share. I was touched by the simple act of sharing. Half-pint was feeding Quarter-pint his pudding! Half-pint took a bite and then gave a bite to Quarter-pint. Even when Quarter-pint got distracted when I showed up with the camera, Half-pint called him back with "Baby, want more?" When the pudding cup was gone, Half-pint gently told his brother it was gone and then turned to me and said:
"Momma, I share with my Baby Bruder!"

I'm sure some of Half-pint's actions were driven by the desire to "be bigger" and to feed his brother like Momma and Daddy do, but he kept feeding until his pudding cup was empty and he loved every minute of it!

Happy Birthday...

Today is Quarter-pint's FIRST Birthday! We celebrated yesterday with all the family in town. As I was trying to get ready for the party, Quarter-pint was into everything: the dvds, the lazy-susan with all the tupperware, even the toaster-upside down spilling crumbs on the clean floor! I was really happy to have Daddy come home from his meeting long before the party was to begin! Quarter-pint was happy as usual to hang out and play with all his cousins, and most of his aunts and uncles. He just bounced around between everyone. When it came to cake time he wouldn't let go of the lighter and then he tried to grab the flame on his lone candle-knocking the candle over.

He was fairly dainty and neat with his chocolate cake. I was a little disappointed, and when I tried again tonight, he only did a little better. Oh well! He gets pretty messy at time eating regular foods, so I kind of expected a more messy first birthday.

Independence...

This afternoon, while I was putting Quarter-pint down for a nap, Half-pint was supposed to be in his room for "quiet time". I heard him sneak down the stairs. When I got to the kitchen, I found him with a cereal straw in his mouth, a cup of milk on the table, the pantry and fridge wide open (with chairs in front of both) and spilled milk on the table. There was also a very soaked napkin in a heap next to the milk spill. As far as I can figure out, Half-pint got the cereal straws out of the pantry, then opened the fridge and used a chair to get the milk from the top shelf. Then he proceeded to pour milk in his cup and on the table. He really hasn't had much practice pouring milk. Then I think he got one napkin to clean up the spilled milk, but one was obviously not enough. Oh...at least I didn't get mad, I simply cleaned up the spilled milk and sent him back to his room for the rest of "quiet time".

Protector...

I couldn't help but take these pictures of Half-pint. He was protecting me from "Monters" What a kid!

Project...

A few days ago (I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog) I was working on a project. Half-pint pulled out his box of "kid kraft" supplies and said he wanted to do a project also. He pulled out "eberthing I need" to make his project. First he drew a picture of Sally-the neighbor dog. Next, he drew a picture of me. Now, I'm not sure how accurate of a portrait is it, but I think it's great because it's only been recently that eyes, nose, mouth, etc. have actually been inside of the head. He's making some real progress. Although I think my hair is really a reflection of Quarter-pint's hair. After he finished drawing, and gluing and putting a heart on my cheek, he said:
"Mom, what your name?"
"Mom."
"How you spell it?"
"M-O-M"
"Okay, like this?"
Now, check out the letters inside the circles in the bottom right corner of the picture. I was shocked and amazed! He hasn't really ever tried to write his letters or even know what all the letters look like. Wow!