Mr. Manipulator

Tyler is no dummy! Earlier this week he got a Lego car out of a cereal box. He hasn't put the car down all week. It is pretty neat. Here is what it looks like when it is put together.

And, here it is taken apart. Tyler advised us last night that it is "more cooler" because it comes apart. This morning he was begging for cereal which is odd because we usually have a nice breakfast weekend mornings. Finally Dan relented and went to pour him a bowl. Well, turns out our boy knew that we finished up a box yesterday and we had to open another box today with another car in it! He is just too smart! Daddy is mean, though, and wouldn't dig through the cereal to get the car. Tyler will have to wait another day... unless he turns on the charm and I give in.

Last night we had dinner at home for reasons I won't get in to. Normally Friday nights we either order in or go out. Very rarely do we have a home cooked meal at the end of the week. So, Dan decided it would be nice to go out for dessert and coffee... yummy! This is a rare treat! When we got to the restaurant Tyler saw a picture of chocolate silk pie with chocolate curls on top. Right away he knew that is what he wanted. Normally Tyler and I would share a dessert, but I didn't want silk pie and I didn't want to disappoint him... he was so excited! Tyler got a piece of dessert all to himself. And he made a mess! You can't really see it in this picture, but he got chocolate all over himself and his shirt. I know how he got chocolate on his elbow, but I can't figure out how he got it on the back of his left shoulder. I was sitting there the whole time and I swear he didn't lay down in the pie!

I don't think I've ever seen anyone enjoy a dessert as much as Tyler enjoyed that pie. The whole restaurant knew he was loving it. To watch his joy was worth the sugar high we had to deal with later.

On the way home last night Tyler was drinking his milk and he started to cough. Dan asked him if it went down the wrong tube and Tyler said "yes, it went down the juice hole." I thought that was funny.

Here is Ryan hanging out in his sweatsuit last night. I'll get to why this is special in the next picture...

Look! This picture was taken yesterday morning! That means that Ryan wore the same outfit all day! Woo Hoo! Earlier this week I sacrificed a onesie. It was so disgusting! (Do you see the car in Tyler's hand... when I say he hasn't put it down all week I really mean it!)

Yes, these outfits match... and no, I didn't do it. This was Grandma and Grandpa C's coordination!

Here is Ryan sacked out Thursday night. This is what he looks like every evening. Actually, this is what he looks like right now. This kid can sleep!

So sweet!

I'm throwing this picture in because I love it. Doesn't this outfit make his legs look really long? What a cutie. Dan calls his hair the "rooster tail" because it sticks up in the middle of his head like a mohawk. Poor Ryan!

Baptism

Today we celebrated Ryan's baptism during mass and it was a beautiful ceremony. Our church really does a nice job. I was pleased that the same priest baptised Ryan as did Tyler. I don't know why that is important to me, but it was.

We got their early to ensure we got prime seats and took a couple of pictures before mass began. Here's Ryan laying down in the pew. He was really good throughout the day. But then again, he's usually a very good baby.


There were two babies baptised today. Here we are in front of the whole congregation. Unfortunately the church now has the mom hold the baby. I thought it used to be the Godmother?? He's a heavy boy! I definitely should have scheduled this a couple of months ago and saved my back! It's a good thing we got a large gown. It was almost too small for him around the middle. I can't wait for his 4 month appointment to see what he weighs. I think he's going to be 18 or 19 pounds. He has no neck or ankles and it looks like there are rubber bands around his wrists. He's so round and cuddly!

Doesn't it look like the babies are looking at each other in this picture?

Ryan was ready for a nap by the time the priest poured the water on his forehead and he actually fell asleep while it happened! I think he found it soothing. He slowly drifted off.

These pictures are a bit out of order, but it is not easy to change so I'm leaving it alone. Here we are before the ceremony. Check out the rubber band wrist...

After the ceremony, every child is invited to make the sign of the cross on the baby's forehead with oil. With Tyler I wasn't expecting it and he was only 9 days old so I was really worried about germs, but this time I enjoyed it... except for the little boy with boogies hanging so far out his nose that I was afraid he was going to drip on Ryan... yuck! Tyler eventually came up, but he didn't touch either baby. I'll have to remember to ask him why tomorrow.

We are honored to have Aunt Deb and Uncle Dave as Ryan's Godparents! We are truly blessed to have a wonderful family.

After church we all came back to our house for lunch. Thankfully Alisa came yesterday and helped me prepare everything. There is no way I could have done it by myself. I hope she's available for our next event!

Today was a really long day, but well worth it. We spent the day with family and good friends. What could be better... except more family!

He Did It!

I cannot believe my life has come to this. Tyler used the potty standing up and I am so excited!

Our potty training experience with Tyler has been challenging at best. Tyler is a stubborn boy and he does things his own way in his own time. Our first challenge was to wean him off of the diaper during the day. Tyler wanted none of it because it was much easier for him to go whenever he needed to. I was extremely frustrated because I knew he understood what he needed to do and was convinced he was having accidents on purpose so I'd put the diaper back on him. It was quite the battle of wills.

One day last spring Tyler had been testing my patience all day. Dan was out that night so it was just me. Eventually I put Tyler in time out because he wasn't listening, but also because I needed to step away. When his time was over I went into the kitchen and knew something was up when he said needed more time. It didn't take long to realize that he had an accident... both kinds. There was a puddle on the floor and his pants were hanging low. That put me over the edge so I went back into the living room telling Tyler he needed to stay in the kitchen. I left him there for about 10 minutes. I then stripped his clothes off of him and made him clean up his own mess before forcing him into the bath.

I felt like the worst mom in the world that night after putting Tyler to bed. But, since that day we've only had a few accidents during nap time. I guess sitting in his own mess was what Tyler needed.

Our next challenge has been to get Tyler to go standing up. Last spring he was doing so with no issues and had been for several weeks by the time we went to visit Aunt Sara in May. It was there that it became a problem. I didn't know it at the time, but I traumatized Tyler during that visit. I was in the bathroom while Tyler was using the potty. He started to spray the garbage can and I shrieked in surprise. Usually his aim was really good. As I was cleaning up I told Tyler that he needs to have better aim.

From then on Tyler would only use the potty sitting down. This isn't a big deal except when we're out. I'm told that sitting down in a mens bathroom is not a good idea and it's not ideal in most womens bathrooms either. After a month or so of Tyler refusing to go standing up Dan had a talk with him and Tyler finally admitted what the problem was. He told Dan that "Momma said I don't aim so good. I peed on Aunt Sara's garbage can." The poor kid! Once again, I feel like a terrible mom.

Since then we've tried everything to get him to try standing up again. I even tried bribing him with M&Ms. But, when that didn't work I ate the M&Ms myself. You can't let good chocolate go to waste!

Fast forward to tonight. Standing up to go potty has not been a topic in our house for months, but for some reason Tyler did it tonight totally on his own. He was so proud of himself. Dan and I were pretty excited as well. When the excitement settled down, Tyler came up to me and asked where the M&Ms were. Terrible mom strikes again! (It was almost as bad as the day Tyler found his artwork in the garbage... ugh) So I went to the candy bowl praying that there were some M&Ms left over from Halloween... no such luck. I grabbed some Hershey Kisses and asked Tyler if he would like some of those. He said no, he liked M&Ms. Go ahead and twist that knife a little bit more Ty... Dan was enjoying this immensely. Luckily we had some smarties and Tyler was happy with those. Phew! Crisis averted.

Here's Tyler with his reward. And tomorrow I'll be getting him some M&Ms too!

All About Ryan

We had another first this week... bath time with Daddy! It went really well. I was in the living room with Tyler listening to Dan narrate the experience (too funny) and I heard Ryan laugh. I decided that wasn't fair so I had to join him and take some pictures. I'm sure Dan appreciated that.

Getting the backside clean is not easy! Picture holding on to slippery soap! In the end all was well. There was no crying from either party.

In the morning I try and take pictures of Ryan in his outfits because I never know if he is going to fit in it again and chances are he won't be wearing it when he comes home. I did the same thing with Tyler so some day I'll have to get those picture out and post them.

Here Ryan is in his outerwear. Unfortunately he grew out of it this week. I thought it was a duck, but Dan calls it "the chicken." Either way it is too cute and so cuddly soft. I'm sad he can't wear it anymore:(

Here's Ryan showing off his "Balance Work/Life" shirt in a snazzy sweatsuit by Bum. This picture was taken last week.

Here he is sacked out in one of Tyler's favorite outfits. I love these little pants, but he will wear them no more...

This was Ryan's look on Monday. The overalls still fit, but the shirt is a bit short. It's hard work getting over that belly!

Most mornings Tyler has to get in the picture as well. Here he is "cooperating" as usual!

Check out the belly in this picture! He's a thick kid. I can't wait to see how much he weighs at his 4 month appointment on March 13th!

I pulled this 9 month outfit out on Tuesday thinking it was going to hang on him. Nope! It fits just right. If I had waited another two weeks he might not have been able to wear it at all!

This was the look Ryan sported yesterday. It was another favorite when Tyler was little.

I like this picture. Can you guess who he's watching?

Here's Ryan right now. His belly is full and he's comfy in his pajama bag.

We're so lucky! Stay posted for baptism mania next week!

Kids Fest

We all survived my first week back to work with no major issues. Ryan is eating and napping well at school. He's getting a lot of attention and his teachers are being really good about my frequent calls. I love it when they tell me all the little details! Tyler has adjusted back to full-time. He really has done well this last week.

Dan and I are a little shell-shocked as we anticipate week 2. I get up at 5:15am and Dan gets up at 5:45am. We're each responsible for getting ourselves and a kid ready. We have to hustle to get out of the house by 7:00am. Then we do something similar in the evening. Basically we're both on the move from 5:15am until 8:00pm every day. Yuck!

The local PBS station sponsored a Kids Fest and breakfast with the characters yesterday. A few weeks ago Tyler started earning stickers so that he could attend. He could earn two stickers each day for getting ready in the morning and to bed each night without a fuss. He needed 20 stickers total and did well after the first few days. I was a little worried in the beginning that he wouldn't get there! But, he pulled it off and even since filling the chart he continues to do well.

Here are the boys yesterday morning. Tyler could hardly contain himself. He couldn't wait to get to the breakfast.

Tyler got to meet all sorts of characters from some of his favorite cartoons. Here he is with Martha Speaks.

Supposedly this is a new character named Raggs... I think. We haven't seen this show yet.

Tyler was very excited to see Super Why, but we had a tough time getting a picture. Daddy and Ryan had to get in the picture to persuade Tyler.

Here's Tyler with Caillou.

And Sabretooth. Tyler has no idea who Sabretooth is since his parents have no interest in hockey, but he was more than happy to visit with a big tiger.

Curious George is still a special friend in our house. He was the only stuffed animal that Tyler really loved.

Finally, here is Tyler with Sid the Science Kid. Each character came around to every table to see each child personally. They did a really nice job. Poor Tyler didn't understand the concept and it really tested his patience, but I was so proud of him. He sat in his chair on his knees watching the characters move around the room with a huge smile on his face as he waited for his turn.

Kids Fest was also nice, but not really good for pictures. They had lots of tables set up with crafts and activities. They also had some play areas that Tyler enjoyed.

Ryan had no idea what was going on, but he was a good sport. I'm sure we'll be back in a few years...

God is Everywhere

Don't you hate it when they're right?? It's happening to me more and more lately with Tyler. I think I'm going to be in trouble by the time he hits kindergarten!

We were in church this morning and Tyler was sitting on my lap. He wasn't happy about being there and was making it known. Here's what happened:
Tyler: Why do we have to go to church?
Mom: So we can spend time with God.
Tyler: Why?
Mom: Because he wants to see you.
Tyler: He sees me everywhere so I don't need to go to church for him to see me.
Mom: You're right Tyler, he is everywhere.

Thankfully he didn't pursue this conversation any further because I was out of answers. He just leaned back and let me hold him for a few minutes.

It always surprises me when he thinks through his answers using previous knowledge and comes up with something very logical. He's got a lot of common sense. I've got to remember that even though he's "only 4," you can't put anything past him.