A Few Photos Before We Go!

We're heading off to SC in 12 hours or so... I'm SO EXCITED! We're going to spend a few days in Columbia, then head off to Isle of Palms with Dan's clan for a week. Hooray!

Not sure how much blogging I'll do while we're gone, so here are some photos of James playing "Toy Story" style to entertain you in the meantime:

I especially love how Ginger is peeking in from the side of the frame here!

Baby is riding on Thomas!

"Nap" "Mat"

Ever since school has gotten out (well, and even on weekends during school), James has wanted to nap on a mat on the floor. Because, you know, that's how he rolls at school. Well, not so much here. I stick him in the crib. There have been a few times we've given it a try, but usually he keeps rolling/playing all around the floor, and winds up in the crib.

Today he really wanted the floor again and even set up a "mat" for himself. It is a down throw blanket from the living room. After the first potty break, I did fold the blanket to make it less lumpy & bumpy and more mat-like.

He's there now. "Napping" on his "mat." And by "napping" I mean, singing and playing. He just finished a lovely rendition of the hello song from music class. Instead of names he was saying body parts, "Hello, eyes, it's good to see you. Hello, hands, it's good to see you too." Cuteness. Now there is some heavy drama going on between Thomas and Scarloey (trains, of course). "Thomas is off the track! Scarloey, come save him!"

OK, I just heard this: "What are you doing? I'm sleeping."

Bottom line-- he's still on his mat. And these antics are par for the course in the crib, so.... I'm not interfering.

Yet.

BIG Adventure

So, Dan was off from work today, and we wanted to do something fun. It was WAY too hot for the Bronx or Central Park Zoos. Even too hot to go to the beach. Maybe we'd just hang by the wading pool in our backyard all morning...

When the thunderstorm hit during breakfast, Dan came up with a CRAZY plan! Let's go to the movies! Toy Story 3. He billed it to James as "like TV but really, really big." James got excited, so we decided to go for it.

We knew it was risky, but we figured the 9:30 AM show was likely to be pretty empty. It was. We got there early enough for James to explore the theater and go potty. We also decided to splurge on some popcorn, "like the man in the yellow hat" (James kept comparing his experience to that of Curious George from his book).

We got into our seats just before the previews started. I think there were two or three other groups in the theater with us. James sat in his own seat between us and was mesmerized during the previews. He sat there wide-eyed, eating popcorn. So cute!

Toy Story 3, for those of you who haven't yet seen it, begins with a train scene. And Mr. Potato Head was there. "Great!" I thought, "He's going to love this!" Well... not so much. He got really worked up, "What's the train doing?!" He started crying, so I started walking out with him, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the screen. We stood by the side/exit path for a bit, and he then was ready to sit again.

There were a few other emotional outbursts. If things got at all tense on screen, James got upset. He gets upset with crashes (even when it's in a book we're reading). Dan took him for a walk at one point, then they came back and sat near the doorway. They also got up during the scary climax, but they did make it back for the ending. There were also a few times when James wanted whatever was on the screen. (This has happened with television as well; he wants something on the screen and gets upset.)

During the credits we pointed out the window at the back of the theater, and again James felt connected to George (who explored the camera room in his story). So we finished on a good note. Yea!

We came home and James was so exhausted, he fell asleep eating lunch! He then napped three hours. We figured that the experience had exhausted him, but it turned out he woke up with a fever. Uh oh.

Here's hoping he gets a restful sleep (with no movie-induced bad dreams) tonight and feels better tomorrow.

Oh! One more thing-- Toy Story 3 is GREAT!!!! (I cried.)

Who Needs a Fancy New Kitchen?

This is a beautiful kitchen playset brought to you by our friends at Pottery Barn Kids. While James does have a playmate who has this set, he himself does not.

Does that stop Chef James from cooking up a storm? Absolutely not!

James's Favorites

James's new favorite game is "And Who's That?" It is played thusly: James sits himself on the floor alongside/atop a laminated poster of the presidents (yes, you discover things like this around the house when your mommy is a teacher). Usually beginning with Mr. George Washington, James points and says, "And who's that?" and goes sequentially through the poster (which, because it's about 9 years old stops at #43). He now knows many himself, and can provide the last name of several more after I say just their first name. He particularly likes James Polk, Rutherford Hayes, Martin van Buren, and Ulysses Grant. In fact, he was saying "Ulysses Grant. Ulysses Grant. Rutherford Hayes," as he was falling asleep this afternoon. So funny. He'll often say, "And he was president, too!" after I provide a name. Or he'll comment on some feature in the portrait, "There's a chair." Each time we get to Andrew Jackson, he says "What is she doing?" Yep, she.

James is still quite enjoying his "music class music." He's learned a lot of the songs this week. Yesterday he was singing "The Bellybutton Song" and "Busy Bees" while we were out and about. It was super cute because he was just singing in this quiet voice, just for himself, but I happened to hear. Love. He had a great time back in class yesterday morning as well. He was getting more comfortable and spent less time observing from the back of the room. Yea!

James has rediscovered What's Wrong Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton. He now calls it, "The Pig Book" and likes to "read" it to himself. Whether I read it or he does, he always says, "Those are James's cookies!" when we get to the part, "Did tiny green elephants with wings oh-so-blue, fly off with the cookies and leave none for you?" and he "eats" (leans over and pretends to chomp and chew) the cookies. Today we were at the library (VERY fun!), and another mom was reading the book to her daughter. She was reading it quietly in a different rhythm than we do here, but James stopped what he was doing, looked over at them then up at me and said, "The Pig Book!"

He still LOOOOOVVVVESSS his Thomas trains. He plays with them every. single. day. Without fail. Now he makes up little stories as he plays. I particularly love it when one of the trains calls out to another, "Percy! Where are you?!"

James likes painting and coloring.

The letter A. James loves it. He finds it everywhere and says, "That's the vowel A," or "There's the vowel A!" (like it was lost and he'd found it).

Hiding under the dining room table is James's coping mechanism. If he's corrected or scolded, he goes there. Or if we want to do something like put sunblock or shoes or clothes on him. Or really if we want to do anything that he doesn't (eat, leave the house, bathe,...) Lately, he's gone to the rocking chair in his room as well.

Toilet paper is a newfound but much adored "favorite" of James. He loves to unroll it, then roll it back up. Delightful. (Oh-- and since I know you want to know-- he's doing GREAT! Pooped on the potty successfully all week! Wakes up dry every morning and nap! Keeps those underpants clean and dry! He even sat on a "big" potty when we were out yesterday!)

Day Three Update

Well, the third and "final" day of the Three Day Potty Training is complete, and I'd say James is "trained."

James continued to do very well all day. Not so many "dud" visits to the ol' potty. AND NO WET UNDIES ALL DAY LONG!!!!! He stayed dry overnight and at naptime, too.

During bathtime, James stood up and said, "Potty" then got out of the water, sat on his potty, and peed. How do you like that? Not even peeing in the tub!

Our only issue (other than the poop) is that James loves to say, "I need to go potty. I have to use the potty," when he's supposed to be going to sleep for either nap or bedtime. Irritating. We go a few times, then once he stops producing, we start ignoring.

I'm sure everyone is tired of reading about the potty training! Tomorrow we plan to venture out, so at long last we'll have other news to report (although I cannot promise not to mention how James does in other potty environs...).

Happy Independence Day!

We're celebrating James's independence today.

He woke up dry again this morning (woo! hoo!) and kept those undies completely dry ALL morning! We did have a pooping incident (Daddy was taking care of the dishwasher, and I was out running; from what I hear James went running for the bathroom), but apart from that, James has had nary a drop outside of the potty!

ROCK STAR!!!

Day 2 Wrap Up

Things have gone pretty well today. Daddy is presently putting James to bed, and hopefully we'll have another dry night!

James did wake from his nap dry this afternoon, and had a great evening. His accident count for yesterday was 9 (and that includes even the tiny little wet spots on the undies), and I think today's is 4 (including the poop that was really Mommy & Daddy's fault for not coming fast enough). Rock on!

Inspired by a crafty friend, we've been painting each day (I hope/plan to try more ambitious projects soon). Today's theme was patriotic in honor of the holiday weekend.

I think James's work is quite nice!

He truly enjoys painting. In fact, while it was my suggestion yesterday, he asked to do it today. He even helped clean up afterwards.

While potty training, we've also been doing all kinds of out of the ordinary things (for us, anyway) like offering James juice boxes (at least this one is a nice fruit & veggie blend),

and letting him double fist popsicles!

We are so proud of and having so much fun with our big boy!

Mid-day update

Poop.

Ok, well, it was a case of "The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf'." Or rather, "The Boy Who Cried 'Potty'."

It is naptime. Which is going about as well as yesterday's naptime except at least this time Dan is here.

We've given up on the "mat" although James has not.

He keeps crying "Potty!" because he knows it is the surefire way to get out of the crib (OH! By the bye, he woke up DRY this morning!!! Woo Hoo!).

Well, after a few trips with diminishing amounts of production, we started ignoring his pleas.

Then he started to sound a bit more earnest.

Dan went in, but not soon enough.

He'd pooped his pants.

Oh well.

Dan did carry James to the bathroom and emptied the underpants into the lil' potty, and we made a pretty big deal.

But we're disappointed that we missed our golden opportunity for actual pooping on the potty.

Hopefully he'll at least get a little nap in...

News from the Front

So James threw away his last three diapers this morning (yes, we were literally down to three!), and donned a lovely pair of Percy the train underpants.

He kept them dry for just over an hour.

We had a few small accidents followed by a more substantial miss that ended in the potty.

That little bit that made it into the potty was enough to get him on board. We called Daddy to share the success.

Soon afterwards he yelled out, "Potty! Potty!" and off we ran to the bathroom.

Hooray! Underpants dry! Pee in the potty! A prideful phone call was made to Nana & Pops.

This led to many trips with varying degrees of output. James and I would get so excited with the more substantial pees; he'd proclaim, "I'm proud! I'm so proud!"

He also quite enjoyed dumping the little pot into the toilet. And helping himself to "paper towels" or "wipes" (a.k.a. toilet tissue).

Even when there was no output at all.

It would go something like this:

"Potty!"

We run to the bathroom.

James sits on the potty (usually forgetting to pull down his underpants until I intervene).

James stands up announcing, "Look at that poop in there!" (There is nothing in there.)

James helps himself to lots of t.p.-- "You need a paper towel to wipe."

"You need to dump it."

Flush.

And naptime was rather exhausting for Mommy. James proclaimed that he didn't want to sleep in his crib but rather on the floor (like school). I decided that would be fine as it would be easier to clean a blanket/the floor than to strip his crib in the event of an accident. Well, he wouldn't be still. So after a while that landed him in the crib. He got upset then announced, "Potty, Mommy!" We went to the bathroom where he managed some amount of output. Then the whole sequence would repeat. After an hour or so, I called naptime over.

Apart from the naptime mess, we spent our day indoors having all kinds of fun. There was dancing, painting, and making banana bread. We watched the mailman, caught sight of an ambulance, and spotted a garbage truck out the big window. And, of course, there was much playing with trains and trucks.

All in all, it was a good day. Most accidents were in the morning, and he really seems to be excited about being such a big boy. No poop since the final diaper provided its service, however. We'll have to see how that goes...

And he's just getting in bed for the night now (he's already had one productive trip to the potty during storytime-- hooray!), so hopefully sleeping won't be too traumatic. (Unlike many of our friends, we've decided to carry on with real underpants rather than using "night night undies" a.k.a. Pull-Ups.)

Last Diaper

So, this is it! The last diaper. After breakfast (which is oatmeal, you know, for the fiber), James will say bye-bye to diapers. Stay tuned....

Happy Vacation!

So today is the actual first day of real summer for us. James and I are both home! Yippeee!

I did quite enjoy having a few days to run errands (it is SO much easier/faster to shop without a super curious tot in tow) and tidy/organize the house while James finished "school." Here's a photo of James heading out yesterday morning. His teachers were really sweet and gave him lots of hugs when I picked him up yesterday. His head teacher had made a little yearbook for him with pictures from throughout the year. Love it! I think James knew it was his last day until September. He didn't want to leave; I had to read him all of his favorite books in the library!

We started our music class yesterday morning, and James is currently OBSESSED with the CD. He especially LOVES the song "Ants in my Pants" which is really silly. He cracks up and says, "It's so funny!" Now during the actual class, James was hanging out at the back of the room. A bit bashful and taking it all in (quite like his start in yoga in Charleston in April). Whenever Sean, our teacher, would bring out the instruments, however, James was all in! Loved that! He also really liked it when Sean was "silly and funny" at the end of the last song (he sang it in a punk fashion-- quite entertaining). In James's defense, he was running on fumes after not having gotten much sleep the night before. We had the end of year party for his class Tuesday evening, which we left after 8, so he didn't actually fall asleep until 10! I think next week will be completely different now that he knows what's going on (and since he's been listening to "the music class music" NON-STOP!).

Potty training festivities were going to begin today, but have been postponed due to extremely BEAUTIFUL weather outside. We started the day with LOTS of singing and dancing to the aforementioned "Music Class Music" followed by a run (including a stop for bagels, of course). Then it was off to the park
where Daddy met us for a picnic lunch.


James is "napping" right now (a.k.a. playing in his crib, refusing to sleep).

We'll now plan to begin either tomorrow or Saturday. Dan is off Monday & Tuesday, so we're considering delaying the start until Saturday so that we'd both be here to do it for four days together.

I was asked recently if James is ready. Well, we've been talking it up to him a bit recently. Here's our first exchange:

Me: "You know, you're going to be a big boy and start wearing underpants soon."

JML: "No. No underpants. Diapers."

Me: "Big boys wear underpants. Babies wear diapers."

JML: "No, boys wear diapers."

Great. He seems to be coming around now though. Today Dan told him that we were going to have lots of fun this weekend learning to use the potty, and he didn't protest. So we'll see...