I have neglected this blog. My job sucks the life out of me. My second job is awesome, but time consuming, and after I get home from everything, I just want to spend time with this guy.
I see him for a few waking hours a day, but he is more amazing and wonderful all the time. It's not easy being a parent, and there are some tough times, for sure, but for the most part, peanut is a joy, a wonderful human, and full of life.
Some highlights of 3-4:
preschool
tap class
fully potty trained, even through the night
tree climbing
awesome hair
dinosaur obsession living large
name writing counting to 20
Thanks for visiting. I want to write more, and more often. Just have to get off my duff and into the process again.
today, i don't even know what it was an answer to at the time, Peanut answered a suggestion or a question (i think it was, lets get your diaper changed) with the phrase :
"not right now."
He's been using a lot of phrases lately, in fact, and the first use always catches me in a flutter of pride and excitement, as it should. I don't know much about language devel
opment, but I do know that I love when he tries to say new things.
That's all true, and the hyper parent in me is thinking where did he learn that phrase and does it indicate that we are too dismissive? Do we make him wait too long when he shouldn't have to? I do know that sometimes he makes a crazy request or suggestion, like wants to go visit his bff in the middle of the night, and we say not right now. Then he says 'tmorrow?'
Halloween was sick house here, but the previous week there was a neighborhood parade and trick or treating in the stores in our hood. Peanut had a blast. There was a marching band. He LOVES marching bands. Sadly, we got the tail end of the band and he wanted to follow them where they were going. He stood watching them saying, "bay? Bay? C'mon? Bye!!"
Isn't he sweet? You should see him at 9PM. It has come the time in the peanut's life which sleep has become quite a challenge. Once asleep, he stays asleep. But getting there is a fight. No, a Fight. A big fight with a capital F. At naps, we wear him to sleep, and we do this for the night-time too, sometimes. But he wants to fight fight fight. Tear off my glasses, scream bloody murder, flail, cry. And this is with me singing him gentle lullabyes or to the gentle sounds of Baby Tad.
On the up side, he's proving to be a very physically active kid. He can climb most things in our house, and he knows how to use one thing (like a bucket) to boost himself up to climb on something else (a bookshelf). SO I guess that means he's smart and knows how things work.
he climbed up this slide about 45 times
He likes to stand on odd things, like a bucket or a laundry basket turned upside down. Also his potty.
Oh, speaking of the potty, and TMI moment...He actually did #2 in the potty last week. Kind of not on purpose...but still. It was awesome. Since we cloth diaper, I have lots of moments in which I feel completely grossed out by poop. I look forward to at least having the poop happen in the potty.
Being in a 2 mom household means that we split lots of chores. But being generally more butch than J and also being a different kind of worker than she is, I am in charge of all things gross. I do the diapers, I scoop the litter box. I train the dog. I walk the dog and pick up the poop. I clean up pewk from said dog, cat and baby (if I'm home when it happens). I do all the rodent, dead bird in the yard, spider killing duties. Some nights, I feel pretty grossed out. But I'm glad we cloth diaper. I'm glad we have pets (though i wish the cat would stop peeing on the darn floor.
Not sure where I'm going with this. Oh well. We've been pretty busy and are gearing up for vacation. I love vacation, but my mother who is generally unsupportive of my happiness doesn't and I anticipate some turmoil. This will be especially true since the vacation is with J's family. We go to a cabin on a lake in northern MN every year. I end up feeling a world of guilt for going every year, but enjoy myself while there. We're driving. It's about 10 hours. 8 to St Paul and another 2 the next day to the lake we stay on.
Last year my mom gave me a hard time about it and I just am not looking forward to that. This is one thing that I know peanut will look forward to and treasure as he gets older. a week of family time with many cousins and his grandpa and his moms.peanut at the lake last year with mommy
This post is all over the place. Anyone have any ideas about family balancing acts?
Finally, it's pride weekend here this weekend and I unfortunately have to work. But I'm proud of my life and I'm proud of my family that makes me a better person every single day! Speaking of pride...one thing I'm doing for pride is trying to discover new gay family blogs. I stumbled upon this one called It's Daddies Plural and found they are having a giveaway. Check it out! And I found them through John and Steve are having a Baby. They have a great post on a bunch of gay families in honor of pride. One of my favorite bloggers is there, which is how I found John and Steve. It really pays to surf surf surf!
So peanut (no pun intended) is peeing on purpose when he has his diaper off. He sometimes doesn't, but he usually does, and sometimes it's clear that it's come as a surprise to him. But the boy likes to pee. When he has his diaper on, he does the sign for potty too, but it's not always clear that he's referring to his own potty, the act of going or having gone, or just trying to converse about the potty. I think he gets that his moms think the potty is cool.
Every day when I get home from work I take the dog outside to..."go Potty." So within moments of walking in the door, Peanut starts walking to the back of the house shaking his hand in the air way above his head, and then he points to the dog. Potty, Winnie. Potty, Dog. So of course he's brilliant...i mean, he is right? These are sentences in sign...so smart!
But back to the peeing on purpose he does...he totally does. Not in a potty, since we don't have one yet, but he does it on the rug in his bedroom. Or on his changing pad. Always standing up. We need to groom his techniques but the spirit is there for sure.
Today begins the 10 day countdown to the peanut's first birthday. We are having a party on the 21st, but his birthday is the 20th.
I'll admit I'm a bit in awe at the cliche that is this year. The speed of it. The specialness of it. The fact that I had no idea how much I'd love him. Even as the "other mother" i am staunchly protective of, physically attached to, and completely in love with this little guy. I can't even imagine how j must feel. I see him and i just want to take him up into my arms, just like the first time I ever saw him. (back then, i was amazed he was so big too....how did that fit inside my tiny girl?)
Last night I was feeding the peanut yogurt. He was eating cheerios too, off his tray. Then he reached out for me to give him the yogurt bowl. It was close to bath time, so I figured it would be ok. Well that kid used his spoon to scoop up the yogurt and put it in his mouth. Not neatly or anything, but I was impressed. Since I'd be the first to admit that while I grew up with a little one in the house, I don't know much about child development, every time he does something new I think he's the most advanced amazing baby ever.
peanut reading oranges are not the only fruit
