At school Zach has been toilet training. The words they use for going to the bathroom are success and bowel movement (bm for short).
Zach has obviously picked up on these phrases and uses them.
For instance, he'll follow me into the bathroom and will ask "Are you going to have success?" and then gets excited when I do. He'll do this with everyone. One time we were out with friends at a restaurant and our friend Kate took Zach with her so he could walk around some. They went into the bathroom and he was playing with the stall door handle when he turned around and yelled, "YOU HAD SUCCESS!" It's very funny!
Also, if I ask him if he has a poopy diaper he say to me, "No, I have a bm." Like, hello mom, you used the wrong word.
Toilet training is going well for him. He does have success on the toilet and will stay dry sometimes but he's not to the point yet where he tells me that he has to go.
I wish that would come quickly because I'm ready for him to be out of diapers. Of course, I'm not ready for the accidents that come along with first learning to wear underwear. :)
I'm hoping before or by the time he's three he'll be completely toilet trained or, fingers crossed, before then!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Accidents Happen
This isn't the first time Zach has gotten hurt. There's been little bumps and bruises. He's a boy so it's bound to happen. I think he's continuing the tradition of his Uncle Ben who got the nickname "Bloody Ben" when he was younger because of all the times he got hurt.
Sunday night Zach was running in our room and his foot caught Jeff's dresser which caused him to fall and land on the bed frame. He started crying and being his mom I rushed in and grabbed him from Jeff (it was instinct :)). I got an ice pack and put it on as much as I could. At least the bump came out right away which we were thankful for but still scary because it was right by his right eye. Praying we don't ever have to make an ER run in his life!
This is Sunday night.
By Tuesday night the bump had done down but bruising had begun to grow.
Wednesday - the bruise above the eye is darker and it's become a black eye.
He's been a tough little guy through it all. I ask if it hurts and he says "No, it's better."
Sunday night Zach was running in our room and his foot caught Jeff's dresser which caused him to fall and land on the bed frame. He started crying and being his mom I rushed in and grabbed him from Jeff (it was instinct :)). I got an ice pack and put it on as much as I could. At least the bump came out right away which we were thankful for but still scary because it was right by his right eye. Praying we don't ever have to make an ER run in his life!
This is Sunday night.
By Tuesday night the bump had done down but bruising had begun to grow.
Wednesday - the bruise above the eye is darker and it's become a black eye.
Thursday - still there!
He's been a tough little guy through it all. I ask if it hurts and he says "No, it's better."
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Manners
I love hearing Zach say thank you, excuse me, please, etc. He is a very polite child and I take pride in that. I want him to be brought up using his manners and never forgetting to. Of course, he follows by example so I have to remember to do the same. :) And when he repeats everything I say, I REALLY have to use my manners!
Still a work in progress, both of us!
Still a work in progress, both of us!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Sinner, Saved by Grace
We all have bad days. Who doesn't?
As a 2 1/2 year old there are multiple times in a day that Zach might get in trouble. He's still young. He's still learning. He reacts differently to each situation. Sometimes he might cry. Sometimes he might do nothing. Sometimes he might throw a fit.
Even as a 26 year old I want to cry (or throw a fit) when I have a bad day. :)
Where am I going with this?
On Sunday Zach was just not winning. He'd had a fun sleepover at Nana and Papa's on Saturday night and we saw him the next day at church. He was happy and full of energy.
After church it seemed to go downhill. Sure, he was tired because of interrupted sleep because of Papa's snoring. :) But even after his nap he still was very emotional.
We came home that night and he'd had enough. I sat down to do a puzzle with him and he kept ruining it so I told him that I wasn't going to keep putting it back together if he wasn't going to help.
Bring on the tears. More like a torrential storm of waterworks. The poor boy. You'd think his whole world was being torn apart.
I tried to change the subject and move on to dinner. That's a whole different post in itself, but needless to say, he wasn't having it either.
Finally at 6:15 I took him into his room and rocked. As his mom I knew he needed sleep and was just overtired. Lucky him he got his needed 12 hours of sleep.
Recently I was told that I would be moving classrooms so instead of teaching pre-k I now teach preschool 3 - 3 and 4 year olds. I'm not thrilled. I love my pre-ks! (See, this change could make me cry.) :)
Anyway, that one good thing about being in this new classroom is that Zach's room is right over the cubbies so I can hear everything that goes on. This is a good and bad thing. Good because I get to see him multiple times during the day. Bad because I hear when he is doing something he shouldn't or isn't listening.
For example, Zach almost bit one of his classmates today. This has never happened before and when his teacher told me I was surprised but knew it might happen sometime. She told me so I could talk with him, which I have now several times, and then reminded me that it's going to be tough. Tough because, like I said, I will hear her correcting him and I told her to go ahead since she is his teacher and he's there to learn. I know he's getting his molars, but that's also not an excuse for trying to bite another person. After tonight I hope I've drilled "No biting" into his brain. :)
So all this to say, he's a little sinner. :) But we all are. And we continue to be. The difference between me and him at this point in time is that I understand being saved by grace and asking for forgiveness. Until he's old enough to grasp that, he'll continue to sin and learn the consequences, but my job as his parent is to make sure he understands why he can't do whatever it is that he did wrong and tell him Jesus doesn't like it. Then when he gets older I'll be able to go into more detail.
I don't want this post to be all about what Zachary does wrong, because of course he's going to, he's still learning and he's a little boy. He does a lot right too. I don't want it to seem like I'm constantly reprimanding him. I don't. I let him be a child and enjoy his childhood. Zach's a very independent little boy. Who isn't at his age? He wants to do everything by himself, no help. Lately he'll say "Me. Me. Me." Meaning, I want to do it, you back off. And if we want to keep the peace we'll let him do it because he has to learn and that's fine. Those bad days just peek their head in sometimes.
So here's a positive note to end on - ever since last Wednesday, Zach has gone potty on the toilet multiple times! Whenever we're home and I change his diaper he says "Gotta go on the potty!" And he has success! (that's what they call it at school) I'm so proud of him. He'll still have wet diapers but still goes on the potty. It's a big step in the right direction and we celebrate every time! :)
As a 2 1/2 year old there are multiple times in a day that Zach might get in trouble. He's still young. He's still learning. He reacts differently to each situation. Sometimes he might cry. Sometimes he might do nothing. Sometimes he might throw a fit.
Even as a 26 year old I want to cry (or throw a fit) when I have a bad day. :)
Where am I going with this?
On Sunday Zach was just not winning. He'd had a fun sleepover at Nana and Papa's on Saturday night and we saw him the next day at church. He was happy and full of energy.
After church it seemed to go downhill. Sure, he was tired because of interrupted sleep because of Papa's snoring. :) But even after his nap he still was very emotional.
We came home that night and he'd had enough. I sat down to do a puzzle with him and he kept ruining it so I told him that I wasn't going to keep putting it back together if he wasn't going to help.
Bring on the tears. More like a torrential storm of waterworks. The poor boy. You'd think his whole world was being torn apart.
I tried to change the subject and move on to dinner. That's a whole different post in itself, but needless to say, he wasn't having it either.
Finally at 6:15 I took him into his room and rocked. As his mom I knew he needed sleep and was just overtired. Lucky him he got his needed 12 hours of sleep.
Recently I was told that I would be moving classrooms so instead of teaching pre-k I now teach preschool 3 - 3 and 4 year olds. I'm not thrilled. I love my pre-ks! (See, this change could make me cry.) :)
Anyway, that one good thing about being in this new classroom is that Zach's room is right over the cubbies so I can hear everything that goes on. This is a good and bad thing. Good because I get to see him multiple times during the day. Bad because I hear when he is doing something he shouldn't or isn't listening.
For example, Zach almost bit one of his classmates today. This has never happened before and when his teacher told me I was surprised but knew it might happen sometime. She told me so I could talk with him, which I have now several times, and then reminded me that it's going to be tough. Tough because, like I said, I will hear her correcting him and I told her to go ahead since she is his teacher and he's there to learn. I know he's getting his molars, but that's also not an excuse for trying to bite another person. After tonight I hope I've drilled "No biting" into his brain. :)
So all this to say, he's a little sinner. :) But we all are. And we continue to be. The difference between me and him at this point in time is that I understand being saved by grace and asking for forgiveness. Until he's old enough to grasp that, he'll continue to sin and learn the consequences, but my job as his parent is to make sure he understands why he can't do whatever it is that he did wrong and tell him Jesus doesn't like it. Then when he gets older I'll be able to go into more detail.
I don't want this post to be all about what Zachary does wrong, because of course he's going to, he's still learning and he's a little boy. He does a lot right too. I don't want it to seem like I'm constantly reprimanding him. I don't. I let him be a child and enjoy his childhood. Zach's a very independent little boy. Who isn't at his age? He wants to do everything by himself, no help. Lately he'll say "Me. Me. Me." Meaning, I want to do it, you back off. And if we want to keep the peace we'll let him do it because he has to learn and that's fine. Those bad days just peek their head in sometimes.
So here's a positive note to end on - ever since last Wednesday, Zach has gone potty on the toilet multiple times! Whenever we're home and I change his diaper he says "Gotta go on the potty!" And he has success! (that's what they call it at school) I'm so proud of him. He'll still have wet diapers but still goes on the potty. It's a big step in the right direction and we celebrate every time! :)
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Things He Says
*"Hold my hand, Mama" - Occassionally during breakfast and dinner. Not too sure why, but I like it anyway.
*"Do airplane and drop-off." -This also happens occassionally when he wouldn't eat his breakfast so I reverted back to baby ways and picking up his fork with food on it, making the airplane sound and saying drop-off when I got to his mouth. It works, he laughs and eats, so I'll do it for now.
*"There's a bus (tractor, airplane), Mama. Do you see it?" -Anytime we're out and about."
*"Shank you, Mama!" (Yep, "shank" because he has trouble with some th words.) -When I vacuum, give him a bath, change his diaper, etc. It's very cute!
*"I have a bm" (bowel movement) or "I'm wet." -The first is funny to hear him say because before he would say he had poo-poos. At school they use the term bowel movement or bm for short and he's gotten used to saying that.
*"Hold you." -I love when he says this because he wants me to hold him. Sometimes for no reason or because he's scared of something.
*"Zach do it." -Anytime he wants to do something himself, which is very often these days. Mr. Independent.
*"Watch Thomas" -When we're in the car.
*"Want some" -When he sees Jeff's deoderant and wants to put it on so we pretend.
*"It's a big one!" -When he sees a truck, tractor, etc.
*"Rocking chair." -At bedtime.
*"Got to pray" -At bedtime.
*Love you." -Anytime he feels like it!
*"Do airplane and drop-off." -This also happens occassionally when he wouldn't eat his breakfast so I reverted back to baby ways and picking up his fork with food on it, making the airplane sound and saying drop-off when I got to his mouth. It works, he laughs and eats, so I'll do it for now.
*"There's a bus (tractor, airplane), Mama. Do you see it?" -Anytime we're out and about."
*"Shank you, Mama!" (Yep, "shank" because he has trouble with some th words.) -When I vacuum, give him a bath, change his diaper, etc. It's very cute!
*"I have a bm" (bowel movement) or "I'm wet." -The first is funny to hear him say because before he would say he had poo-poos. At school they use the term bowel movement or bm for short and he's gotten used to saying that.
*"Hold you." -I love when he says this because he wants me to hold him. Sometimes for no reason or because he's scared of something.
*"Zach do it." -Anytime he wants to do something himself, which is very often these days. Mr. Independent.
*"Watch Thomas" -When we're in the car.
*"Want some" -When he sees Jeff's deoderant and wants to put it on so we pretend.
*"It's a big one!" -When he sees a truck, tractor, etc.
*"Rocking chair." -At bedtime.
*"Got to pray" -At bedtime.
*Love you." -Anytime he feels like it!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
A Few Things
*The other day I had to stop at Target (what's new, right? :)), and since it was raining I carried Zach in. We passed a guy smoking and Zach says, "Whats that smell." I whispered in his ear, (because I knew he would repeat what I said in a whisper) "That's a cigarette. Yucky." And he did repeat it, quietly. Phew!
*I dropped Zach off in his class and then went to put my stuff away and pick up my class. To get to my classroom, I passed Zach again. I stopped to give him a hug, told him to have a great day and he says, "I need a kiss!" I gave him a kiss then he says, "High five!" and we high fived. He cracks me up!
*He now knows how to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in its entirety and I love listening to him!
*I dropped Zach off in his class and then went to put my stuff away and pick up my class. To get to my classroom, I passed Zach again. I stopped to give him a hug, told him to have a great day and he says, "I need a kiss!" I gave him a kiss then he says, "High five!" and we high fived. He cracks me up!
*He now knows how to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in its entirety and I love listening to him!
Monday, August 6, 2012
School
When I would think about putting Zachary into a daycare I was very adament about the fact that I would not. This was my thought even before he was born. I just didn't want that for him and wanted to wait on having him somewhere until it was time for him to go to kindergarten. Looking back, I had the wrong idea about daycares, thinking it was just a babysitting service, which it is, but at my work it's much more because there is a program we follow with activities and learning.
After Zach was born, I had the greatest opportunity to be home with him for the first three months, but then I knew I needed to begin the dreaded job search. Once I found one, which is my current place of employment now, we were blessed to have Jeff's mom watch Zach for a year and a half. I know some days weren't easy, but it saved a lot of heartache for me knowing that he was safe and in a loving environment with family I trusted.
Fast forward to last December when it came time for Laura to step back. It was getting to be too much with two toddlers running around. That's when we looked into Zach coming to my work. Yes, I worked in a daycare/preschool but didn't want to bring him with me at first for different reasons.
It turns out that this was the best option. I prayed about it for weeks and finally realized it was the right decision. If I didn't want him to be watched by anyone else then what more perfect place for him than to come to work with me AND learn?! I knew he would be in a safe place and with teachers I trusted.
I remember that first day dropping him off...I told myself not to cry because I knew he would. And he did. I remember hearing him through the wall and it broke my heart. But I knew he would be okay. It was just a new environment and he had to get used to it. Pluse I knew that his teacher, my friend Lori, would take great care of him because she told me she would and she's a wonderful teacher.
It only took a month or so for him to get used to the routine. When I would go in to pick him up at the end of the day he'd run up to me and say "Mama!" I was so happy that he was happy to see me. And he knew that he would always see me at the end of the day.
After about three months of being there I noticed a change in Zach. It was a small one at first and has gradually gotten bigger. He talks more. He talks in sentences. He uses manners. He knows how to work nicely. His vocabulary has expanded so much! He has learned so much from being in the classroom since 18 months. He looks forward to going to school and loves everything they do. Even on the weekends he says "I go to school" and I remind him that in a couple days we will.
I'm so happy with where he's at developmentally. I know he's happy too. He loves seeing his friends and teachers. I love seeing him throughout the day and knowing he's happy. It makes me rest easy knowing that we're in the same building and he's with me at work.
I'm also so happy with his character and the loving boy he is. When I walk in to pick him up at the end of the day he goes around and gives each friend a hug and a kiss. Then he'll wave and say bye. He truly does care for the others.
Yes, I would love to be a stay at home mom. Maybe someday. But right now, Zach and I are both where God wants us to be and I'm okay with that. :)
After Zach was born, I had the greatest opportunity to be home with him for the first three months, but then I knew I needed to begin the dreaded job search. Once I found one, which is my current place of employment now, we were blessed to have Jeff's mom watch Zach for a year and a half. I know some days weren't easy, but it saved a lot of heartache for me knowing that he was safe and in a loving environment with family I trusted.
Fast forward to last December when it came time for Laura to step back. It was getting to be too much with two toddlers running around. That's when we looked into Zach coming to my work. Yes, I worked in a daycare/preschool but didn't want to bring him with me at first for different reasons.
It turns out that this was the best option. I prayed about it for weeks and finally realized it was the right decision. If I didn't want him to be watched by anyone else then what more perfect place for him than to come to work with me AND learn?! I knew he would be in a safe place and with teachers I trusted.
I remember that first day dropping him off...I told myself not to cry because I knew he would. And he did. I remember hearing him through the wall and it broke my heart. But I knew he would be okay. It was just a new environment and he had to get used to it. Pluse I knew that his teacher, my friend Lori, would take great care of him because she told me she would and she's a wonderful teacher.
It only took a month or so for him to get used to the routine. When I would go in to pick him up at the end of the day he'd run up to me and say "Mama!" I was so happy that he was happy to see me. And he knew that he would always see me at the end of the day.
After about three months of being there I noticed a change in Zach. It was a small one at first and has gradually gotten bigger. He talks more. He talks in sentences. He uses manners. He knows how to work nicely. His vocabulary has expanded so much! He has learned so much from being in the classroom since 18 months. He looks forward to going to school and loves everything they do. Even on the weekends he says "I go to school" and I remind him that in a couple days we will.
I'm so happy with where he's at developmentally. I know he's happy too. He loves seeing his friends and teachers. I love seeing him throughout the day and knowing he's happy. It makes me rest easy knowing that we're in the same building and he's with me at work.
I'm also so happy with his character and the loving boy he is. When I walk in to pick him up at the end of the day he goes around and gives each friend a hug and a kiss. Then he'll wave and say bye. He truly does care for the others.
Yes, I would love to be a stay at home mom. Maybe someday. But right now, Zach and I are both where God wants us to be and I'm okay with that. :)
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