Blogging on the Go

Nothing really to say here, except that I can now blog from my phone. Which pretty much makes my blog like Facebook, except I can't play "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" on my blog.


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How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Part 3)

It had been my intention to enroll TLB in swimming lessons last summer, but tubes got in the way.  This summer, after a clean bill of health from TLB's ENT, I started shopping for swim instructors.  By "shopping" I really mean soliciting my Facebook friends for advice.

What my son didn't need was a "Mommy & Me" water class.   He was already comfortable in the water.  That was part of the problem.  He had absolutely no fear.   I ruled out the Y's toddler swim class, and other similar courses around town.

Ultimately, I decided on Waterlilly Swim School, which teaches Infant Swim Self Rescue.   As soon as I heard about this, I knew this was the program I wanted.  Unfortunately, as it was already well into June by the time we were able to start lessons, there was a considerable wait to get into classes.   In the meanwhile, we enrolled in another swim class just to pass time, and at the end of the class the instructor informed me that that was pretty much all she'd be able to do with him until he was older.  I knew better, but I let it go.   TLB had had fun for a couple weeks.

Finally, I got email notification that TLB would be able to begin his ISR classes.   It wasn't at the time I'd initially wanted, but I was able to make it work.

The first class was a briefing of what was to be expected, and a short time in the pool with the instructor to get TLB acclimated to the pool and the environment.   Ms. Gretchen informed me that sometimes the children get upset during their training, and that the best thing I could do was be positive and encouraging.  I assured her that I'm not the sort of mom who freaks out when her kid cries, and that I wouldn't interfere with the lessons.

Throughout the first week of lessons, Ms. Gretchen assured me that TLB was doing really well, but I was convinced he could do better -- or at least do what he was doing without all the typical two year old whining, crying and complaining about stuff he doesn't want to do.   Don't get me wrong, TLB loved to swim.   He just didn't want to float.  And in ISR, floating is kind of key.

So I resorted to bribery.  My son will do pretty much anything for a lollipop (poop on the potty, for example), so I informed him that if he did everything Ms. Gretchen asked him to do without crying, he could have a lollipop.   We made lots of progress that lesson.

For a long while, I had underestimated my son's ability to understand because of his limited vocabulary -- in my mind, only the stuff that came out was the stuff that went in, kind like that old Far Side comic about what we say to dogs and what they hear.  I have since come to realize that my son is not a dog (you'd think the banana episode would have tipped me off), and that he understands much more than he's able to say.  So I began coaching him.   It began with little pep-talks on the drive to swim school, but it gradually began to work its way into my "encouragement" during his lessons -- to the point that the mom of the child who followed TLB's lesson remarked, "Look how smart he is.  He's actually listening to you."

I don't know whether is was Ms. Gretchen's excellent instruction, my mad coaching skillz, or that my kid may be "Son of Poseidon" (according to Uncle Roland), but by the end of TLB's second week of lessons, Ms. Gretchen was convinced he was going to set a record for completing the course.  I don't know whether he actually did or not.  I do know that, according to the website, the average child takes about 35 lessons to complete it, and TLB did it in 16 (plus two days of testing and resetting).

Here is a link to a video Ms. Gretchen made of TLB's last few days of swim lessons (including one picture of a kid who isn't TLB). I tried to embed it, but for some reason it only wanted to embed half the frame.  Yes, he's swimming in his underwear for much of it, as his "reset" lesson was done at the spur of the moment after his winter clothes test and I hadn't brought his trunks.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=f13d78f3aae28203149c3b&skin_id=1603&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Part 2)

Shortly before my summer break started, my husband and I purchased annual passes for Walt Disney World.   Their monthly payment program made it possible for us financially, and as we live only a couple hours away from the Happiest Place on Earth, we are likely to visit frequently.

TLB visited all four Disney parks this summer.   Although he had been to Walt Disney World at 6 months old, he was really more like a piece of baggage than a visitor at that point. I don't mean "baggage" in the negative, relationship issue sort of way.   It's just that we carried him around, but the trip wasn't really for him.

This time, it was all about him.   It was the first time he could really take in the experience and enjoy it.   In a way, it was a first time for me, too.   I've been to Walt Disney World literally hundreds of times, but this was my first real time experiencing it with my child.   The whole experience was different than any Disney experience I remember.

With a toddler, you do different things.  

You stand in line for character visits. 

You watch the parades, instead of using parade times to take advantage of slightly shorter ride lines.  

You ride Dumbo and the Carousel instead of roller coasters.   

You stay two nights in a hotel instead of making it a day trip, so your kid can spend midday napping in a dark, air-conditioned room.  

And you somehow manage to have the most magical time of your life.

Our trip to the Magic Kingdom was my favorite, because we experienced so much that was new.   We ate breakfast at the Cape May Cafe at the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and were visited by Goofy, Minnie and Donald.   We stood in line at the park to visit Daisy, Pluto, Mickey and Minnie.   We danced at the "Move It! Shake It!  Dance Party" on Main Street and again at Chip, Dale and Stitch's dance party in Tomorrowland.   We let TLB stay up past his bedtime to see the Main Street Electrical Parade, but left before the fireworks.

It was our first Disney trip in over a decade that we didn't spend an evening at EPCOT to see IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.   This is tradition for our family, as my dad was the manager of the production team that built the barge that carries the Earth globe.   We did see the show when we visited over Memorial Day weekend, but TLB was terrified by it (to be fair, it does start off rather loud, fiery and violent).  So we gave it a miss this time -- we'll pick up the tradition when he's a little older.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Part 1)

Right around the time my son turned 2 in April, the manager of his day care asked me what I wanted to do about potty training. There were a couple of little girls in his class about the same age whose mothers were interested in getting them started. She advised that I buy some Pull-Ups so they could start TLB on the system of being set on the classroom potty at regular intervals.

Nobody who has read my previous posts should be surprised that I've done some reading on potty training. My parents tease me frequently about my "information overload" approach to parenting. Yet when I called my mother to ask her opinion on the potty thing, she asked me, quite seriously, "Well, what have you read about that?" What I'd read was that boys generally potty train a little later than girls (average age of 39 months, according to Toddler 411, which I highly recommend to ANY new parent), that potty training was a matter of the child wanting to be clean, and that when a child was ready, it could be done in a day. I'd also read that Pull-Ups weren't particularly conducive to potty training, as they didn't let the child feel when he was wet.

Based on this information, I decided not to start potty training during the school year. I didn't want to start a prolonged process that might be frustrating to my kid who may or may not be ready. When he was ready, he'd be able to tell me or whatever caregive he was with when he needed to go, instead of being reminded on a schedule.

I would be home with him in June, so that seemed an ideal time to give the potty thing a go. We could spend as much time as necessary focusing on the task at hand, and I could do things my own way. I was totally prepared for him to not be ready, in which case I'd just put potty training back on the shelf for a later date.

We started on a Friday morning. I announced to him that starting right then, he would be wearing underpants like a big boy. I had Toy Story and Yo Gabba Gabba briefs ready, and he got to pick which ones he wanted to wear. He picked the ones with Woody. He was very excited to be wearing Big Boy Pants.

"I got Woody!" he cried, pointing to his briefs.

This could be a problem, I thought, but let it go.

I brought the potty out into the living room, told him that when he needed to pee-pee he should tell me and I'd help him go on the potty, and we settled in for a morning of Fresh Beat Band and Winnie the Pooh.

Within the hour, TLB suddenly made the crotch-grabbing proclamation that he was wet. One pair of undies down. Deciding that "big boy undies" on Day 1 might end up being rather laundry intensive, I stripped him naked, put the potty next to my recliner, and reminded him that if he needed to pee-pee, he needed to come sit.

A couple hours went by. Nothing. Then shortly before naptime, he ran to me and sat. And he peed. In the potty. Just like that.

There was much rejoicing.

During naptime, he wore special "naptime undies" (aka Pull-Ups, because sleep-time is a totally different animal that we'll tackle later), but when he woke up it was back down to nothing. By the end of the night we'd had two more successful pees, both announced by him. He had one accident as well, but I figured we'd come out ahead.

The next day, we launched into the same routine -- buck naked in the living room, potty at the ready for whenever he needed to go. There were no accidents that day, and all potty times were decided by him. It was a great day.

And that was pretty much it. Just like the book said, TLB was potty trained in a day -- on #1, anyway, which was to be expected. Poop was, and still is, a different matter. But for the most part, TLB saves it for his "special naptime undies," so it doesn't interfere with anything. Day care, dance lessons, swim lessons, Walt Disney World -- TLB takes them on like a big boy, complete with big boy pants.

And Mommy and Daddy are saving a ton of money, now that they no longer have to buy diapers.

Mommy Wanderings (or: Holy Crap! This Kid's Almost Two!)

I’m trying to figure out just where in the world the last year went. Last April when TLB had his first birthday, we had a small, understated celebration -- TLB, my husband and I went to dinner with my parents, TLB’s Godparents, and Uncle Roland. He was still a baby then. He barely walked, talked even less, and didn’t like the icing on his cake. It was a fun celebration, but it was hardly momentous.

Now, inexplicably, TLB is about to turn TWO. All of a sudden, it seems, I have a little boy living in my house. Not only does he walk and talk and eat cake, he jumps, dances, sings, plays drums, slides down slides and rides horses. He names colors and shapes, and counts to ten in English, Spanish and Korean (French is a work in progress). He eats with utensils, colors with crayons, throws and kicks balls, says “please” and “thank you,” and insists on doing so many things himself. Where did this kid come from?

He had his two year check-up the other day, and the nurse bombarded me with questions about his development. Can he climb stairs? Can he jump? Can he stack blocks? Can he speak fifty words? My first thought was, “Should I be counting words?” My second was, “Well, I imagine so. Thirty of them are numbers.” Then, “The kid says ‘trombone,’ ‘dinosaur,’ ‘tortoise’ and ‘avocado.’ I really think he’s doing okay, vocabulary-wise.” What I SAID was, “Yes.” I saved my bragging for this blog.

Of course, TLB’s rapidly approaching two-ness isn’t ALL manners and singing and dancing. He can go from “Wow, if I’d known it would be this awesome I would have had kids years ago” to “Oh, so this is why people shake babies” in a matter of seconds. Don’t want to wear those pants (“WANNA PANTS!”). Those raisins don’t have yogurt on them (“NO! WHITE RAISINS!”). I want to put my pajamas on myself (“MY DO IT!”). Any of those scenarios can melt down into an episode of body-flinging, arm-swinging, incoherent screaming. I do my best to keep my cool and get through it in a gentle, reasonable manner. I don’t always succeed, but I feel like I deserve an A for effort. Or maybe an A minus. A solid B plus at the least.

Still, those episodes are few and far between. They happen, sure, but I understand why they happen. Really, the “Terrible Twos” aren’t so terrible. They’re just occasionally frustrating.

Sometimes, I feel worse about my behavior than his – those times when I start talking through clenched teeth and muttering words that aren’t in my everyday Teacher Vocabulary. I get angry, when I know it’s not really his fault. After all, he’s not old enough to know better, but I am.

There are moments, and lots of them, when I wonder if I’m doing things right. After all, I’ve never really been around toddlers. I have no frame of reference. I don’t know what’s normal and what’s bratty. I’m just kind of fumbling through motherhood and hoping for the best. Parenting is hard!

And I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This kid – this dancing, singing, dinosaur-loving little boy – really, really is a gift. I’m not sure what I did to deserve such an awesome gift, but I thank God every day for him.