Date Night with an Exciting Twist

Last night Christian's school hosted another "Parents Night Out." So Jonathan and I dropped off Christian at school with on of his favorite teachers, Miss Mandee, and headed out for an evening of sushi and adult conversation.

We picked him up, and as we were walking out, the conversation went like this:

Mandee, "Oh, and Christian went potty."

Me: "Oh, he said on the potty ... good!"

Mandee: "And he went potty."

Me: "You mean he sat there."

Mandee, "No, he peed."

Me: (silence. She must have the wrong child. Christian will not pee in the potty)

Mandee: "I took them all in there, and he peed."

Me: "My Christian? MY Christian peed in the potty??"

Mandee (with a confused look): "Yes ..."

(I pointed to Christian, thinking maybe she had him confused with another child)

Me: "We've been trying to get him to go potty for months, and he won't ... for ANYBODY. He turned three in November, but can't move up to the thee year old class until he's potty trained."

Mandee: "Well, he peed! And he got all excited because he made bubbles!"

(and then I knew she was right, for Christian gets very happy about bubbles)

Me: "How did you do it?????"

Mandee: "Well, I have a boy myself. So I just stood Christian up right in front of the potty and potty and leaned up against him a little so he'd stand there ... and he did it."

(I just stood there in amazement).

So we praised Christian like crazy!!! It is too bad Mandee didn't know it was his first time, or she could have praised him like crazy, too.

So we got home, and Christian told me "go poo poo on the potty" (which he says from time to time ... just means he'd like to go sit there, which is fine by me!). And he's walking funny towards me ... so I'm assuming maybe he pooped (every once in a while, he'll walk funny when he's poopy).

But I looked down, and his pants were all wet. His pull-up must not have been on properly. So his pants were wet and he didn't like it! YES!!!! YES!!!! We've tried the "hanging out in just underwear" scenario in the past, but when he's gotten wet, he doesn't mind. And now he minds!!!

So today's strategy is to tell him to "pee and make bubbles" and I'll put him in underwear and a pair of pants (to catch most of the urine).

GOOD LUCK TO US! I HOPE WE'RE ON THE PATH TO POTTY TRAINING NOW!

Sleeping Problems

Ah ... naptime/beditme. Used to be so easy. We'd put Christian in bed, read a book or two, stay goodnight and walk out of the room, closing the door behind us.

We didn't know how good we had it.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, Christian's latest thing has to pile everything up on his bed.

Here he is ... with the CHAIR in his bed. I had to point him out with an arrow, or else you'd never see him among all his stuff.

Needless to say, I've taken A LOT of stuff out of his room in the past few days. And he's not even missed it.

Here he is with a jack-in the box that he fell asleep holding:

For several nights, Christian had been getting up and coming to the door after I left (naptime) and after Jonathan left (bedtime). He would just stand in his doorway. Sometimes he'd say something ... other times he'd stand there in silence, waiting for somebody to come back.

For Tuesday's afternoon nap, Christian fell asleep in the doorway! So, I brought out an air filter to run near his head to drown out any noises - like the doorbell, Bella walking by, etc. And he slept there all afternoon - holding onto his toy snake.

He fell asleep in the doorway yesterday, too.

A friend suggested that perhaps bedtimes are so difficult because Christian still naps in the afternoon. However, Christian doesn't have a problem going to bed ... he has a problem with being in the room by himself. Something changed with him recently, and we're not too sure what. The moment Jonathan leaves the room, Christian gets very upset.

I mentioned this situation to a couple of teachers at school, and they suggested that Christian might be feeling insecure all of a sudden ... and commented that he's at an age where children become more aware of the world around them and start to fixate on things and worry. They suggested we try to just make him feel safe and secure.

So what we've been trying for the past three days and nights is to step out of his room for a few minutes, ask him to stay in bed, and tell him we'll be back in just a few minutes. That way, he trusts that mommy or daddy will be back ... and he is safe. We do this several times to assure him we're always available. And we ask him if he wants to door open or shut - and he says open (whereas we've always shut the door).

And I'm happy to report our efforts are working. He's been staying in bed (or, at least in his room - and falling asleep in the doorway in the afternoons).

As a matter of fact, this afternoon, he has finally fallen asleep in his bed.

Wordless Wednesday - February 9, 2011

Muffin Monday, February 7, 2011

Musical Muffin Mondays are now a thing of the past. We're back to just good ol' "Muffin Mondays."

Today, after Christian's dentist appointment (thank goodness we only have those every six months!), Jonathan and Christian ventured out to the airport for some airplane viewing.