Here is the band-aid story that I promised to you in my post on July 31:
One morning in mid-July, Oo woke up and told me she had a bruise on her leg that stung. I took a look and saw a bizarre, dark pink blotch on her thigh that was obviously some sort of bug/spider bite. By lunch time, part of the blotch had developed a small water blister, and by bedtime the blotch was fully blistered—over one inch long and 1/2 inch high... seriously. The next day, I took her to the doctor, who was stumped as to what may have bitten Oo. The theory: perhaps Oo was having an allergic reaction to a bug bite. The prescription: give her Benedryl and wait for the blister to pop.
For the three days that followed, we found ourselves addressing the bug bite and a fever (from 99 to 102) with regular doses of Benadryl and Motrin.
After the blister popped, we used band-aids and Neosporin on the spot. Removing band-aids to put on fresh ones turned out to be the MOST traumatizing part of Oo having this daddy-tarantula bite* on her leg. (* Oo's self diagnosis.) Before I could even touch the old band-aid with so much as my pinkie finger, she would scream and thrash around. Band-aid removal was definitely a two-parent job.
One night Adrian was working very late, and the band-aid task was up to me, alone. In a moment of desperation, I decided to cut the band-aid in half through the pad, so that I could pull it off one half at time. Oo and I thought this was a great plan, and all was calm while I cut the band-aid and pulled the first half off. Immediately after pulling it off, however, there was a dramatic scene of flailing and wailing and dirty "How could you, Mom?" looks. And so it was decided that the other half of that highly waterproof band-aid would stay on her leg "until tomorrow."
THREE DAYS later, enough was enough. Oo's skin is sensitive to adhesives, so that half of band-aid, with its dark dirty edges curling up at the corners, had to go! I armed myself with lots of baby oil (to loosen the adhesive) and Adrian's assistance. The anticipation was too much for Oo. She screamed and kicked; she pleaded for us to leave the band-aid alone. While she was distracted (trying to throw a most spectacular fit), I grabbed the edge of the band-aid and quickly yanked it off.
Her immediate reaction to my cruelty: "WOW!" Followed by a smile and "That wasn't so bad." Oo was relieved and now at ease, but Adrian and I collapsed, doubled over from both emotional exhaustion and laughter.
(Note: Just minutes earlier I posted an old blog entry that I started to write back in June. If you have not already read that entry, scroll down now to read "Better Late Than Never.")
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Better Late Than Never
In June, I downloaded a few photos and wrote only four sentences before I needed to turn the computer off and head home for a visit with my family. Afterward, I forgot all about this blog entry and never posted it.
This morning I finally finished writing the entry. Here it is... originally from early June:
Okay, so this picture has nothing to do with the stuff I'm posting about today, but I just had to share. In my unbiased opinion, it's cute on so many levels.
I need to make this a quick post; this morning we're leaving for a car trip to see my "littlest" brother at Chippie's house and again at Nonny's.
Yesterday we went to the zoo to spend some quality time together. The day was beautiful and perfect for watching animals. Before getting to the zoo, we stopped at a neighborhood carry-out to get bottled water. Oo took a long look at the store and said...
Oo: That place is for DJs.
Me: Yeah? How do you know it's for DJs?
Oo: Because the last time we drove by, there were DJs coming out.
Me: How did you know they were DJs?
Oo: Because they were wearing necklaces and black shirts, and they had their hats on backwards.
(Sounds plausible to me.)
Last summer the zoo had a dinosaur exhibit that scared the pants off of Oo (it had life-sized robotic dinosaurs that growl and spit). But when Oo heard that the exhibit was at the zoo again this summer, she said she HAD TO go see it because it was her FAVORITE thing at the zoo.
At the main zoo gate, we were each inked with a dinosaur stamp on the back of our hands so we'd be permitted into the special exhibit. The stamp was enough to get Oo over-the-edge excited, but T had a different perspective as he stared at the blue dinosaur on his hand...
T: I want dinosaur OUT! It's stuck!
The kids had fun seeing the dinosaurs, but our trip to the zoo was during T's naptime. He's been slowly weaning himself off naps, and we figured that seeing the animals would ward off any sleepiness. Well, we were wrong. As we pulled him around in the wagon he became less and less interested in animals. Soon he was completely crabby and miserable. At the mere mention of monkeys, however, he perked up.
Our zoo is horribly spread out. To see the monkeys, you have to make a long trek uphill. It's quite a schlep, and there are no animals to see on the way. By the time we made it to the monkey house, T had reached his limit. To our dismay, the first few "cages" were monkeyless, and the empty cages sent him flying off the deep end. He threw himself down on the floor—arms flailing, feet kicking—and began screaming, "I NEED monkeys!"
After Adrian and I had a quick chuckle at T's expense, I scooped up T, tucked him under my arm like a football and ran through the monkey house looking for a monkey. Some of the monkeys I showed him were apparently not monkey-ish enough, prompting T to repeatedly scream "NO! Not a monkey!" The picture below documents the glorious moment when we finally found a monkey that was satisfactory.
After the monkey house, we ran back down the hill and all the way back to our car. T fell asleep on the ride home and again once we got him in the house. The pic below perfectly captures his exhaustion.
Lesson learned: Never assume naptime can be intruded upon by anything other than monkeys.
This morning I finally finished writing the entry. Here it is... originally from early June:
Okay, so this picture has nothing to do with the stuff I'm posting about today, but I just had to share. In my unbiased opinion, it's cute on so many levels.
I need to make this a quick post; this morning we're leaving for a car trip to see my "littlest" brother at Chippie's house and again at Nonny's.
Yesterday we went to the zoo to spend some quality time together. The day was beautiful and perfect for watching animals. Before getting to the zoo, we stopped at a neighborhood carry-out to get bottled water. Oo took a long look at the store and said...
Oo: That place is for DJs.
Me: Yeah? How do you know it's for DJs?
Oo: Because the last time we drove by, there were DJs coming out.
Me: How did you know they were DJs?
Oo: Because they were wearing necklaces and black shirts, and they had their hats on backwards.
(Sounds plausible to me.)
Last summer the zoo had a dinosaur exhibit that scared the pants off of Oo (it had life-sized robotic dinosaurs that growl and spit). But when Oo heard that the exhibit was at the zoo again this summer, she said she HAD TO go see it because it was her FAVORITE thing at the zoo.
At the main zoo gate, we were each inked with a dinosaur stamp on the back of our hands so we'd be permitted into the special exhibit. The stamp was enough to get Oo over-the-edge excited, but T had a different perspective as he stared at the blue dinosaur on his hand...
T: I want dinosaur OUT! It's stuck!
The kids had fun seeing the dinosaurs, but our trip to the zoo was during T's naptime. He's been slowly weaning himself off naps, and we figured that seeing the animals would ward off any sleepiness. Well, we were wrong. As we pulled him around in the wagon he became less and less interested in animals. Soon he was completely crabby and miserable. At the mere mention of monkeys, however, he perked up.
Our zoo is horribly spread out. To see the monkeys, you have to make a long trek uphill. It's quite a schlep, and there are no animals to see on the way. By the time we made it to the monkey house, T had reached his limit. To our dismay, the first few "cages" were monkeyless, and the empty cages sent him flying off the deep end. He threw himself down on the floor—arms flailing, feet kicking—and began screaming, "I NEED monkeys!"
After Adrian and I had a quick chuckle at T's expense, I scooped up T, tucked him under my arm like a football and ran through the monkey house looking for a monkey. Some of the monkeys I showed him were apparently not monkey-ish enough, prompting T to repeatedly scream "NO! Not a monkey!" The picture below documents the glorious moment when we finally found a monkey that was satisfactory.
After the monkey house, we ran back down the hill and all the way back to our car. T fell asleep on the ride home and again once we got him in the house. The pic below perfectly captures his exhaustion.
Lesson learned: Never assume naptime can be intruded upon by anything other than monkeys.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Hectic
Our family is visiting with some very dear friends of ours this weekend. I apologize that I have not had time to blog or post pictures in a while. I have some cute pictures that I need to post of the kids hanging out in the backyard this summer. And soon I'll have pictures of Oo and T playing with their friends who we're spending time with this weekend.
Oh... and I need to remember to tell you the band-aid story too. Good stuff.
Oh... and I need to remember to tell you the band-aid story too. Good stuff.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Craving M&Ms
WARNING: If you're not a parent, you may want to skip this post. It's all about potty training. Need I say more?
Well, since our two celebrations on Monday, we have not earned any more M&Ms. It's not for a lack of trying, as T asks (yes, asks!) several times a day to sit on the potty. AND he usually asks to sit just before he has to go — a dry diaper and nasty gas serving as indicators that he has something brewing.
But the poor, little guy is in a quandary. He really, really wants to use the potty, but his body still finds it unnatural and now goes into "lockdown" when his diaper is off. The situation is causing him a great deal of stress (and a lot of tummy aches). This morning, for example, he woke up with a dry diaper but started yelling and throwing things as soon as I suggested using the potty. So I dropped the subject.
T, however, continued to battle. He walked over to his potty and draped his distraught body across the top of it. Then he ran into the living room, threw himself on the floor, and started sobbing, "I can't do it. I can't do it." I told him to use his diaper if he needed to. That idea did not sit well with him and caused him to kick and scream.
I used breakfast as an opportunity to distract him. An hour-long leisurely breakfast and two cups of orange juice later, his diaper was still dry. This time, rather than drape his body across the potty, he was willing to sit and give it a try. We read the book "No More Diapers for Ducky" (a favorite of his) three times. We listened to kids' music. We were very patient. But once his bottom was sore from sitting, he decided to throw in the towel so he could go dance to the music.
He has now been awake for over three-and-a-half hours and is still wearing last night's dry diaper. I foresee a difficult day (and a lot of tummy aches) for us today.
Well, since our two celebrations on Monday, we have not earned any more M&Ms. It's not for a lack of trying, as T asks (yes, asks!) several times a day to sit on the potty. AND he usually asks to sit just before he has to go — a dry diaper and nasty gas serving as indicators that he has something brewing.
But the poor, little guy is in a quandary. He really, really wants to use the potty, but his body still finds it unnatural and now goes into "lockdown" when his diaper is off. The situation is causing him a great deal of stress (and a lot of tummy aches). This morning, for example, he woke up with a dry diaper but started yelling and throwing things as soon as I suggested using the potty. So I dropped the subject.
T, however, continued to battle. He walked over to his potty and draped his distraught body across the top of it. Then he ran into the living room, threw himself on the floor, and started sobbing, "I can't do it. I can't do it." I told him to use his diaper if he needed to. That idea did not sit well with him and caused him to kick and scream.
I used breakfast as an opportunity to distract him. An hour-long leisurely breakfast and two cups of orange juice later, his diaper was still dry. This time, rather than drape his body across the potty, he was willing to sit and give it a try. We read the book "No More Diapers for Ducky" (a favorite of his) three times. We listened to kids' music. We were very patient. But once his bottom was sore from sitting, he decided to throw in the towel so he could go dance to the music.
He has now been awake for over three-and-a-half hours and is still wearing last night's dry diaper. I foresee a difficult day (and a lot of tummy aches) for us today.
Monday, June 29, 2009
M&Ms for Everyone!
We had M&Ms before breakfast today! A celebration of T's first use of the potty. Yeaaaaa!
And then T earned MORE M&Ms for everyone after breakfast, for another, and perhaps more challenging potty first! Yeaaaaa! Yeaaaaa!
(Did you notice... there is ONE "yeaaaaa" for the first potty use, and TWO for the second use? I'll let you figure it out.)
And then T earned MORE M&Ms for everyone after breakfast, for another, and perhaps more challenging potty first! Yeaaaaa! Yeaaaaa!
(Did you notice... there is ONE "yeaaaaa" for the first potty use, and TWO for the second use? I'll let you figure it out.)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Now Serving #4
Since Oo is 4 years old, her favorite number is 4. And because Oo's world must be systematic and organized (which does not necessarily mean "tidy"), EVERYTHING must equal the number 4.
If she's eating baby carrots, she wants to be given exactly 4 carrots. Every bite of those carrots consists of 4 small nibbles before she chews and swallows. If she's filling a cup with water, she holds the cup under the water to the count of 4. If she's eating M&Ms, she'll eat only 4 M&Ms, not 3 and not 5. But if she wants more M&Ms, she wants exactly 4 more. Should I tell her she can only have 2 more, she'll say, "No thank you. Give them to T because he's 2 years old."
She rinses away her toothpaste with 4 sips of water. Before she'll come in the house for dinner, she slides down the slide 4 more times and then must sniff 4 flowers in our yard. She blows 4 kisses to Adrian in the morning, and makes 4 pictures when we're painting. There must be 4 kisses on each boo boo and 4 books read at a time to her.
Oo turns 4 1/2 next week. I was planning on baking her a birthday cake shaped in a half circle to celebrate. But now I'm wondering. If she knows she is 4 1/2, just how much will it complicate matters? Four and a half carrots, bites, sips, M&Ms, slides, flowers, kisses, books... Oy! I need to think this through.
If she's eating baby carrots, she wants to be given exactly 4 carrots. Every bite of those carrots consists of 4 small nibbles before she chews and swallows. If she's filling a cup with water, she holds the cup under the water to the count of 4. If she's eating M&Ms, she'll eat only 4 M&Ms, not 3 and not 5. But if she wants more M&Ms, she wants exactly 4 more. Should I tell her she can only have 2 more, she'll say, "No thank you. Give them to T because he's 2 years old."
She rinses away her toothpaste with 4 sips of water. Before she'll come in the house for dinner, she slides down the slide 4 more times and then must sniff 4 flowers in our yard. She blows 4 kisses to Adrian in the morning, and makes 4 pictures when we're painting. There must be 4 kisses on each boo boo and 4 books read at a time to her.
Oo turns 4 1/2 next week. I was planning on baking her a birthday cake shaped in a half circle to celebrate. But now I'm wondering. If she knows she is 4 1/2, just how much will it complicate matters? Four and a half carrots, bites, sips, M&Ms, slides, flowers, kisses, books... Oy! I need to think this through.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Current Antics
Once again, I have been lagging behind in my blogging. And once again, it was because of Gummy Bear.
Nothing major to report, other than Oo's theater class performance last week, which I have to say was A-DOR-A-BLE. I took video of it, which I want to edit before I post -- most of the footage is of Oo spinning on one foot, trying to make her dress poof out. So until then, here are some pictures:
And now, some little things the kids are currently doing that entertaining us:
- Oo wakes me up every morning. She tip-toes into my room, stands by my bed, and kisses the tip of my nose. If I don't wake up right away, she'll say, "Wake up, Momma" in a quiet sing-songy voice. I've never been much of a morning person... until now.
- T loves to swing. Always has. He loves when we give him big pushes on his baby swing and send him flying high. But he's also attempting to swing on a big-kid swing. He holds on tight... most of the time. It's going to take a while to learn this new skill. He has, however, quickly mastered how to brush dirt out of his hair!
- Now that her hair is longer, Oo has 3 hair style options -- a pony tail, pig tails, or a clip to hold back her bangs. How does she decide which style to wear? In typical Oo fashion, she follows a pattern -- a hair clip one day, a pony tail the next, pig tails after that, and then back to a hair clip on the 4th day.
- If T doesn't like the way he did something, he has a do-over. For example, he was walking down the stairs today. He made it down 3 steps when he suddenly realized that he wasn't holding on to the wall for balance. So he walked back up the 3 steps and made sure he was holding on to the wall (double- and triple-checking himself) before he went back down again.
- (Nicole... If you're reading this post, be sure to skip past this paragraph. Trust me.) Oo is so lovey, and she tells us all day long that she loves us. Similar to the book "Guess How Much I Love You", she says she loves us "as tall as that tree" or "as big as our yard." When she wants to let us know that she loves us "a lot, a lot, a lot," she'll say, "I love you as far as Chicago." (Our good friends moved to Chicago last year. She misses them "a lot, a lot, a lot," and so to her, Chicago is the farthest place on the planet from our home.)
- Now in the "terrible" part of the Twos, T just wants to be taken seriously. He has been practicing his under-the-eyebrow scowl in front of the mirror lately. And he'll randomly walk up to me and declare, "I serious."
- Oo is obsessed with secrets. If she tells me she's pretending to be a fish, for example, she'll say, "Don't tell Daddy! I don't want him to know I'm a fish." But as soon as he walks into the room, she'll say, "I just HAVE TO tell him! I can't resist." She is also quick to rat me out to Adrian if she thinks I did something that he wouldn't approve of. Of course, Adrian thinks this is hilarious.
- T hums all day long. He has quite a repertoire, including some of the obvious songs, like the themes to Sesame Street and Elmo's World. He also like to hum a waltz he heard on a Baby Einstein video.
- When drawing people, Oo starts with their head, followed by a stick-figure body. She then gives them underpants -- which always look like polka-dotted boxers -- and then draws clothes on top of the body and underpants.
- T has started to make his toys talk to each other. A rubber duck will say, "Hi blue fishy" to the fish bathtub toy, and the fish will say, "Hi duckie." Then T will purposely drop the duck onto the floor and say, "Oops, duckie bonk a head... I okay."
- Oo has strayed away from having imaginary friends. But now she has imaginary big sisters and big brothers -- and they are all characters that she has seen on TV.
- T is in a mommy-love phase right now. I get many, many hugs around my legs every day, and if I'm sitting on the floor, he'll tackle me with a hug from behind. He also likes to make sure I'm always near. If he's headed upstairs, down to the basement, or outside with Daddy, he'll say "Mon Mom" (Come on Mom) until I follow him.
- Inspired by a family down the street, the kids have starting "playing" soccer. They both are very good at dribbling a ball up our driveway with their feet, but I have not yet been able to convince them to play in the grass.
- Oo daily begs to play Internet games. Not a fan of computer games, I only let her play for a short time. She used to play on Playhouse Disney's site, but fortunately she now prefers the games on PBS Kids' site, which are far more educational and challenging. T doesn't use the computer yet, but he loves to side right up to Oo and watch her play. And of course, he has to push a few keys on the keyboard when she's playing, which sends her into a fit. "Ugh, little brothers..."
- T is talking more and more every day. He's recently added some phrases to his verbal repertoire that, combined with his toddler pronunciations, are so freakin' cute. To list a few:
"App-pooter seeping" -- Apple computer is sleeping. (turned off)
"Ah pah pan, mo less" -- It's all part of the plan, more or less. (a phrase he regularly hears on Oo's favorite TV show)
"See you wake up" -- I'll see you when I wake up. (what he says before falling asleep for a nap)
And our number one, most-favorite phrase is "I wan pun-bah pear-puns puss-pah!" -- I want a Spongebob Squarepants push-up pop!
That's all for now. But before I sign off, here's a picture of T reading his favorite books, which he can recite from memory: "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"
Nothing major to report, other than Oo's theater class performance last week, which I have to say was A-DOR-A-BLE. I took video of it, which I want to edit before I post -- most of the footage is of Oo spinning on one foot, trying to make her dress poof out. So until then, here are some pictures:
And now, some little things the kids are currently doing that entertaining us:
- Oo wakes me up every morning. She tip-toes into my room, stands by my bed, and kisses the tip of my nose. If I don't wake up right away, she'll say, "Wake up, Momma" in a quiet sing-songy voice. I've never been much of a morning person... until now.
- T loves to swing. Always has. He loves when we give him big pushes on his baby swing and send him flying high. But he's also attempting to swing on a big-kid swing. He holds on tight... most of the time. It's going to take a while to learn this new skill. He has, however, quickly mastered how to brush dirt out of his hair!
- Now that her hair is longer, Oo has 3 hair style options -- a pony tail, pig tails, or a clip to hold back her bangs. How does she decide which style to wear? In typical Oo fashion, she follows a pattern -- a hair clip one day, a pony tail the next, pig tails after that, and then back to a hair clip on the 4th day.
- If T doesn't like the way he did something, he has a do-over. For example, he was walking down the stairs today. He made it down 3 steps when he suddenly realized that he wasn't holding on to the wall for balance. So he walked back up the 3 steps and made sure he was holding on to the wall (double- and triple-checking himself) before he went back down again.
- (Nicole... If you're reading this post, be sure to skip past this paragraph. Trust me.) Oo is so lovey, and she tells us all day long that she loves us. Similar to the book "Guess How Much I Love You", she says she loves us "as tall as that tree" or "as big as our yard." When she wants to let us know that she loves us "a lot, a lot, a lot," she'll say, "I love you as far as Chicago." (Our good friends moved to Chicago last year. She misses them "a lot, a lot, a lot," and so to her, Chicago is the farthest place on the planet from our home.)
- Now in the "terrible" part of the Twos, T just wants to be taken seriously. He has been practicing his under-the-eyebrow scowl in front of the mirror lately. And he'll randomly walk up to me and declare, "I serious."
- Oo is obsessed with secrets. If she tells me she's pretending to be a fish, for example, she'll say, "Don't tell Daddy! I don't want him to know I'm a fish." But as soon as he walks into the room, she'll say, "I just HAVE TO tell him! I can't resist." She is also quick to rat me out to Adrian if she thinks I did something that he wouldn't approve of. Of course, Adrian thinks this is hilarious.
- T hums all day long. He has quite a repertoire, including some of the obvious songs, like the themes to Sesame Street and Elmo's World. He also like to hum a waltz he heard on a Baby Einstein video.
- When drawing people, Oo starts with their head, followed by a stick-figure body. She then gives them underpants -- which always look like polka-dotted boxers -- and then draws clothes on top of the body and underpants.
- T has started to make his toys talk to each other. A rubber duck will say, "Hi blue fishy" to the fish bathtub toy, and the fish will say, "Hi duckie." Then T will purposely drop the duck onto the floor and say, "Oops, duckie bonk a head... I okay."
- Oo has strayed away from having imaginary friends. But now she has imaginary big sisters and big brothers -- and they are all characters that she has seen on TV.
- T is in a mommy-love phase right now. I get many, many hugs around my legs every day, and if I'm sitting on the floor, he'll tackle me with a hug from behind. He also likes to make sure I'm always near. If he's headed upstairs, down to the basement, or outside with Daddy, he'll say "Mon Mom" (Come on Mom) until I follow him.
- Inspired by a family down the street, the kids have starting "playing" soccer. They both are very good at dribbling a ball up our driveway with their feet, but I have not yet been able to convince them to play in the grass.
- Oo daily begs to play Internet games. Not a fan of computer games, I only let her play for a short time. She used to play on Playhouse Disney's site, but fortunately she now prefers the games on PBS Kids' site, which are far more educational and challenging. T doesn't use the computer yet, but he loves to side right up to Oo and watch her play. And of course, he has to push a few keys on the keyboard when she's playing, which sends her into a fit. "Ugh, little brothers..."
- T is talking more and more every day. He's recently added some phrases to his verbal repertoire that, combined with his toddler pronunciations, are so freakin' cute. To list a few:
"App-pooter seeping" -- Apple computer is sleeping. (turned off)
"Ah pah pan, mo less" -- It's all part of the plan, more or less. (a phrase he regularly hears on Oo's favorite TV show)
"See you wake up" -- I'll see you when I wake up. (what he says before falling asleep for a nap)
And our number one, most-favorite phrase is "I wan pun-bah pear-puns puss-pah!" -- I want a Spongebob Squarepants push-up pop!
That's all for now. But before I sign off, here's a picture of T reading his favorite books, which he can recite from memory: "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"
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