Moses is not yet completely diaper-free, but we sure are close! Yesterday he started telling me when he needed to go pee, as opposed to me putting him on the potty every half-hour as a preventative measure, and most of the time he made it to the potty without having an accident. In fact, his only pee accident occurred on the bathroom floor, which he considerately took the initiative to wipe up himself. Moses has yet to intentionally poop on the potty, though, and I have a feeling this might come a little later, as it did with the twins. Case in point: yesterday Moses came running to me and said, "I need a napkin." As that all-too-familiar stench wafted up to my nose, I asked him why he needed a napkin, and he urgently reiterated his request. I gave him a napkin and then followed him out towards the porch, where he instructed me to stay at the door. "No, Mommy, you stay there. I will clean it. You stay there, ok?" I of course ignored his instructions, but I admire his independent nature and thought it was sweet that he had good intentions to clean it himself.
This afternoon, when it was time to take the twins to preschool, I felt confident enough to have Moses leave the house without a diaper, and sure enough, after we dropped his brothers off and got back to the car, Moses told me "I need to pee at Tauxemont". He had peed on the potty at Tauxemont for the first time on Monday, and I guess he wanted to do it again. Rather than walk back into the school, I rummaged through the trash heap that inevitably spawns on the floor of our car and had him pee in an empty Deer Park bottle. Moses was thoroughly amused by the novelty of this new waste receptacle. I then decided to go do some shopping in Old Town, so I put him in a diaper since I thought he might fall asleep while in the stroller. Of course he stayed awake for the duration of our outing, but while we were out and about he did tell me that he needed to go pee even though he was wearing a diaper. I told him to go ahead and pee in his diaper since we were nowhere near a bathroom. Then that evening, to cap off a day of profound potty progress, Moses peed at the potty standing up "like a big boy" for the first time. Needless to say, I am so impressed that our 2-year-and-3-month-old is almost diaper-free!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Turning Water into Blood & Reining in Mommy
Yesterday was our second annual pool opening. After the cover was removed and the water cleared, one of the first things Moses did was dramatically touch the tip of a stick into the pool water and boldly declare, "I turn the water [insert dramatic pause] into blood!" Suffice it to say, Moses has been watching the movie featuring his namesake quite a lot lately.
Today, as we were walking across the field after the twins' T-Ball practice, Moses grabbed at the two long drawstrings attached to my hoodie and said, "Let me hold the reins! You a horse, Mommy!" Where does he learn this stuff? Mind you, he's only 2 years and 3 months old. This kid is something else!
Today, as we were walking across the field after the twins' T-Ball practice, Moses grabbed at the two long drawstrings attached to my hoodie and said, "Let me hold the reins! You a horse, Mommy!" Where does he learn this stuff? Mind you, he's only 2 years and 3 months old. This kid is something else!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Celebrating Differences
I know I've previously mentioned how different Moses is from the twins, but sometimes they're so different that it's hard to believe they're even related. And I'm not even talking about their physical appearances.
First off, Moses craves fruits and veggies, while the twins crave carbs. Last night I made oven-fried chicken, broccoli, rice, and corn on the cob for dinner. Joshua ate his meal in the following order: Rice, chicken, corn, broccoli. Moses ate his meal in the exact opposite order: broccoli, corn, chicken, rice. Then, Moses of course asked for second and third helpings of broccoli and corn.
The twins never expressed much interest in playing team sports and are only participating in their T-Ball league because I made the executive decision to sign them up without asking their opinion on the matter. The hope that they will get something tasty to eat afterwards is the light at the end of their T-Ball tunnel, and they tend to run faster to the car after their games than they do around the bases. In fact, Caleb refused to participate in their first game of the season, and instead sat on the sidelines crying and moping. The consequence of his behavior was that he stayed at home with me and ate salad for dinner while Joe took Joshua and Moses to Roy Roger's after the game. Needless to say, he has been participating in the games ever since then. I suspect that Moses will never need such coercion, as he regularly practices "hustling" around imaginary bases and hitting balls with his big foam bat. To the twins' credit, now that they've gotten the hang of the basic rules of the game, their game play has markedly improved. Joshua still moves more like a tortoise than a hare when he's rounding the bases, but who knows, maybe that's because there are no "outs" in T-Ball... or maybe it's because we don't greet him at each base with a forkful of macaroni and cheese... or maybe it's because T-Ball isn't played underwater. The other day Joshua told me he didn't want to play T-Ball, he just wanted to go swimming. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all.
Potty training Moses has been a breeze compared to the nightmarish experience of potty training the twins. The twins were ridiculously stubborn and for the longest time they screamed bloody murder whenever I put them on the toilet. Moses, on the other hand, has been happily sitting on the potty from the get-go. He fully understands what he's supposed to do and will try his best to muster a pee, but if he doesn't need to go, he simply tells me, "the pee is not coming out" and he gets down and tries again later. There's none of the stressful emotionally draining turmoil that characterized the twins' potty training ordeal. Yesterday Moses only had one accident all afternoon and evening, and he's over a year younger than the twins were when they finally potty trained. He's at the point now where if he begins to pee in his pants, he'll realize it and stop, come tell me, and finish the job on the toilet. So, he isn't fully trained, but I am confident that he will be much earlier than his brothers were.
Don't get me wrong, I love my twins and I've been delighted to see them learn and excel in matters of eternal significance. Their teacher recently looked me in the eye and told me how lucky I am to have such nice, sweet boys. I'm confident that luck had nothing to do with how well they've turned out, but never mind that. I'm just thankful that they were our firstborn and that we didn't know any better that a lot of what they put us through was simply ridiculous!
And now for a few quotes:
Moses: "Mommy, where is you in the Bible?"
Me: "I'm not in the Bible. Moses, Joshua, Caleb, and Joe are in the Bible, but not Katie."
Joshua: "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Mommy!"
Moses, after hearing the story of Jesus turning water into wine: "Me don't drink wine."
Moses: "I need to go inside get some water. I be careful, OK?"
Moses, while looking at a picture of his backside and being asked whose butt it is: "That's my butt!"
Joshua: "Daddy! If you eat Cheerios with milk it could make you a giant!"
To give you some context, a few days before we told Joshua that drinking lots of milk would make him grow big and tall like a giant. Now, Joshua is very concerned about becoming a giant like Goliath, has cut back on his own milk consumption, and has been encouraging others to do the same.
First off, Moses craves fruits and veggies, while the twins crave carbs. Last night I made oven-fried chicken, broccoli, rice, and corn on the cob for dinner. Joshua ate his meal in the following order: Rice, chicken, corn, broccoli. Moses ate his meal in the exact opposite order: broccoli, corn, chicken, rice. Then, Moses of course asked for second and third helpings of broccoli and corn.
The twins never expressed much interest in playing team sports and are only participating in their T-Ball league because I made the executive decision to sign them up without asking their opinion on the matter. The hope that they will get something tasty to eat afterwards is the light at the end of their T-Ball tunnel, and they tend to run faster to the car after their games than they do around the bases. In fact, Caleb refused to participate in their first game of the season, and instead sat on the sidelines crying and moping. The consequence of his behavior was that he stayed at home with me and ate salad for dinner while Joe took Joshua and Moses to Roy Roger's after the game. Needless to say, he has been participating in the games ever since then. I suspect that Moses will never need such coercion, as he regularly practices "hustling" around imaginary bases and hitting balls with his big foam bat. To the twins' credit, now that they've gotten the hang of the basic rules of the game, their game play has markedly improved. Joshua still moves more like a tortoise than a hare when he's rounding the bases, but who knows, maybe that's because there are no "outs" in T-Ball... or maybe it's because we don't greet him at each base with a forkful of macaroni and cheese... or maybe it's because T-Ball isn't played underwater. The other day Joshua told me he didn't want to play T-Ball, he just wanted to go swimming. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all.
Potty training Moses has been a breeze compared to the nightmarish experience of potty training the twins. The twins were ridiculously stubborn and for the longest time they screamed bloody murder whenever I put them on the toilet. Moses, on the other hand, has been happily sitting on the potty from the get-go. He fully understands what he's supposed to do and will try his best to muster a pee, but if he doesn't need to go, he simply tells me, "the pee is not coming out" and he gets down and tries again later. There's none of the stressful emotionally draining turmoil that characterized the twins' potty training ordeal. Yesterday Moses only had one accident all afternoon and evening, and he's over a year younger than the twins were when they finally potty trained. He's at the point now where if he begins to pee in his pants, he'll realize it and stop, come tell me, and finish the job on the toilet. So, he isn't fully trained, but I am confident that he will be much earlier than his brothers were.
Don't get me wrong, I love my twins and I've been delighted to see them learn and excel in matters of eternal significance. Their teacher recently looked me in the eye and told me how lucky I am to have such nice, sweet boys. I'm confident that luck had nothing to do with how well they've turned out, but never mind that. I'm just thankful that they were our firstborn and that we didn't know any better that a lot of what they put us through was simply ridiculous!
And now for a few quotes:
Moses: "Mommy, where is you in the Bible?"
Me: "I'm not in the Bible. Moses, Joshua, Caleb, and Joe are in the Bible, but not Katie."
Joshua: "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Mommy!"
Moses, after hearing the story of Jesus turning water into wine: "Me don't drink wine."
Moses: "I need to go inside get some water. I be careful, OK?"
Moses, while looking at a picture of his backside and being asked whose butt it is: "That's my butt!"
Joshua: "Daddy! If you eat Cheerios with milk it could make you a giant!"
To give you some context, a few days before we told Joshua that drinking lots of milk would make him grow big and tall like a giant. Now, Joshua is very concerned about becoming a giant like Goliath, has cut back on his own milk consumption, and has been encouraging others to do the same.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Guns and Swords and Slings, Oh My!
The twins are 5 and a half! It's hard to believe they are going to "graduate" from preschool in two weeks and will begin Kindergarten in the Fall.
Lately, all three boys have become fascinated with weapons. For the longest time, we didn't have any toy guns and so they'd turn coat hangers, toy drills, and drinking straws into guns. Then they were given water guns as a birthday party favor, and most recently they acquired some foam swords. Moses' newest catch phrase is, "Stand back!" which he sternly utters while flourishing his weapon of choice with his feet planted far apart and his brow in a furrow. I have no idea where he learns this stuff! The twins like to hold their guns while riding in the car with the windows rolled down, keeping their eyes peeled for imaginary bad guys hiding in the trees or flying overhead.
The boys have also recently started playing "David and Goliath". They like to hold their swords upside down and pretend that it's David's sling, with the handle being the pouch that holds stone. In all of their weaponry play, they always want to be the "good guys", so they tend to fight over who gets to be David. They've become very interested in their children's Bible, and the twins can actually read many of the words by sounding them out. One of their favorite stories is "Joshua and the Spies" which begins: "After Moses died, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites". Without fail, Moses always interrupts and vehemently asserts, "Hey! I not died!" They also enjoy watching Hanna Barbera's "The Greatest Adventure Stories from the Bible" movies, which I also watched when I was a child. The premise of this series is that a trio of modern-day archaeologists (Derek, Margo, and Moki) travel back in time to witness Bible stories unfold before their eyes. The other day, Joshua had the Bible open in his lap while he was watching one of these movies. After scouring the pages of the Bible, he sighed and said, "Derek and Moki are not in the Bible."
And now, a few quotes:
Moses: "I combing my hair. I a girl now."
Me: "No, you're still a boy. You'll always be a boy."
Moses: "Moses is a boy. Mommy is a girl."
Joshua: "I think we need to get a new car. This car is getting really, really old. I think we should get a Jeep."
Joshua: "Thank you, Mommy. You're being a really good girl for getting me a cookie."
Joshua: "He ate a lot of grass!"
Caleb: "She! Pinky is a she, Joshua."
Joshua: "Oh, you're right, I'm so sorry, Caleb. It was my fault. Pinky is a girl."
Lately, all three boys have become fascinated with weapons. For the longest time, we didn't have any toy guns and so they'd turn coat hangers, toy drills, and drinking straws into guns. Then they were given water guns as a birthday party favor, and most recently they acquired some foam swords. Moses' newest catch phrase is, "Stand back!" which he sternly utters while flourishing his weapon of choice with his feet planted far apart and his brow in a furrow. I have no idea where he learns this stuff! The twins like to hold their guns while riding in the car with the windows rolled down, keeping their eyes peeled for imaginary bad guys hiding in the trees or flying overhead.
The boys have also recently started playing "David and Goliath". They like to hold their swords upside down and pretend that it's David's sling, with the handle being the pouch that holds stone. In all of their weaponry play, they always want to be the "good guys", so they tend to fight over who gets to be David. They've become very interested in their children's Bible, and the twins can actually read many of the words by sounding them out. One of their favorite stories is "Joshua and the Spies" which begins: "After Moses died, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites". Without fail, Moses always interrupts and vehemently asserts, "Hey! I not died!" They also enjoy watching Hanna Barbera's "The Greatest Adventure Stories from the Bible" movies, which I also watched when I was a child. The premise of this series is that a trio of modern-day archaeologists (Derek, Margo, and Moki) travel back in time to witness Bible stories unfold before their eyes. The other day, Joshua had the Bible open in his lap while he was watching one of these movies. After scouring the pages of the Bible, he sighed and said, "Derek and Moki are not in the Bible."
And now, a few quotes:
Moses: "I combing my hair. I a girl now."
Me: "No, you're still a boy. You'll always be a boy."
Moses: "Moses is a boy. Mommy is a girl."
Joshua: "I think we need to get a new car. This car is getting really, really old. I think we should get a Jeep."
Joshua: "Thank you, Mommy. You're being a really good girl for getting me a cookie."
Joshua: "He ate a lot of grass!"
Caleb: "She! Pinky is a she, Joshua."
Joshua: "Oh, you're right, I'm so sorry, Caleb. It was my fault. Pinky is a girl."
Monday, May 2, 2011
Milk and Gogi Burps
Here are a bunch of quotes I've been collecting over the past couple months...
Moses, talking about Mario after a recent visit to Granny and Babo's house during which he watched Daddy play a lot of Mario: "Mommy, does Mario fly? Moses no fly. Only Mario fly. Is star Mario friend? Mario has moustache."
Moses, lamenting the contents of his new piggy bank: "I don't have nothing!"
Joshua: "I want to dream. When you dream, you get to have a cloud next to your head."
Caleb, while pulling my hair up: "Mommy, you look kind of like a goat."
Moses, while wearing Joe's eyeglasses: "I look like a woman."
Moses, while watching a movie about the Easter story: "I don't want the bad guys to get Jesus! I want Jesus to get the bad guys!"
Joshua: "Don't worry, baby, we will take care of the bad guys."
Moses, looking concerned: "Mommy, why is this door open?"
Me: "I opened it to let the smoke escape. Why, do you want to close it?"
Moses: "Yeah, because I don't want Daddy to go somewhere!"
Moses: "My leg got hurt. I want Mommy to kiss it."
Moses, announcing Mimi's arrival: "Mommy, your mom's here!"
Caleb, reading a street sign: "It's King Street!"
Moses: "Just like King Jesus!"
Joshua, while playing with his long uncut hair: "Oh no, am I going to turn into a girl?"
Joshua: "I burped! My burp smelled good because it had milk and gogi in it."
Moses, talking about Mario after a recent visit to Granny and Babo's house during which he watched Daddy play a lot of Mario: "Mommy, does Mario fly? Moses no fly. Only Mario fly. Is star Mario friend? Mario has moustache."
Moses, lamenting the contents of his new piggy bank: "I don't have nothing!"
Joshua: "I want to dream. When you dream, you get to have a cloud next to your head."
Caleb, while pulling my hair up: "Mommy, you look kind of like a goat."
Moses, while wearing Joe's eyeglasses: "I look like a woman."
Moses, while watching a movie about the Easter story: "I don't want the bad guys to get Jesus! I want Jesus to get the bad guys!"
Joshua: "Don't worry, baby, we will take care of the bad guys."
Moses, looking concerned: "Mommy, why is this door open?"
Me: "I opened it to let the smoke escape. Why, do you want to close it?"
Moses: "Yeah, because I don't want Daddy to go somewhere!"
Moses: "My leg got hurt. I want Mommy to kiss it."
Moses, announcing Mimi's arrival: "Mommy, your mom's here!"
Caleb, reading a street sign: "It's King Street!"
Moses: "Just like King Jesus!"
Joshua, while playing with his long uncut hair: "Oh no, am I going to turn into a girl?"
Joshua: "I burped! My burp smelled good because it had milk and gogi in it."
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