Mom Remembers

February 2010 GOAL:  My initial goal was to introduce Soren to the toilet and make it a fun place to sit.  I have to admit that I also hoped that we would have some fortunate "accidents" that would lead to potty training success. STRATEGY:  My plan was to sit Soren on the toilet once a day and read him a couple of stories.  If he peed, I was planning to give him a candy. THE BAD NEWS:  The candy totally backfired.  The one time that he peed on the toilet, I gave him a candy and he had a full-on tantrum begging for more.  If I ever told him "When you pee on the potty, you can have a candy", he would begin screaming for the treat and be unable to focus on the toilet training. THE GOOD NEWS:  Soren was not afraid of sitting on the big toilet.  He actually really enjoyed it (when I was reading stories and not pimping rewards) and started asking to sit there any time his butt was bare. J June 2010 GOAL:  My goal was to potty train Soren within the month of June

We went to the park yesterday.  It was a beautiful day, surprisingly breezy for August but with plenty of sun in the sky.  I pushed the boys on the swing set for about half an hour.  Soren begged me to push harder and higher; Carl giggled with surprise at even the slightest bump. Another boy sat on the swing next to Soren for a few minutes, then ran off to play on the playground.  Intrigued, Soren didn't throw his usual tantrum when I helped him down and encouraged him to follow.  He ran to the equipment and didn't look back. I gathered up Carl and we sat on a bench in the shade, watching Soren play.  I was surprised by how energetically and competently Soren approached the unfamiliar environment.  I realised, watching him master it, that he is still growing stronger and more able every day.  Even though I have long stopped tracking his gross motor developments, he is still developing.  He is learning to use his body and his energy and he is getting good at it. I found ou

Today my baby is one whole year old!  This is what we did to celebrate: 1. We had Danishes for breakfast.  OK, I didn't have one; I don't like them.  But Mother Johnson brought some from her hotel and the boys devoured them. 2. I measured Carl.  He weighs almost 18 pounds and is 29 inches long.  That means he has gained 10 pounds this year and grown 8 inches. 3. I dressed Carl in bran-new clothes.  He had a onesie from Grandma (Berg) that said "MY FIRST BIRTHDAY".  I figured he had better wear it today or it wouldn't see much use. 4. We went to the park and I pushed Carl on the swings for as long as he wanted. 5. He ate sweet potatoes (a favorite) and had a cup of milk--cow's milk!--for lunch. 6. He watched the end of a movie with Mother Johnson and I after his nap. 7. He played in the sandbox. 8. We walked half a mile to the pizza parlor and then had pizza for dinner when we got home. 9. Soren and I opened his presents for him while he playe

SOREN:  Turtles! More turtles!  Dinoco's all mine!  Boo hoo! I think so tough.  Dinoco's all mine!  How does the cat say meow, meow ? Meow! Meow!  What does the dog say? Ruff! Ruff!  What does the rabbit say? Eh! What's up doc?  Dinoco's all mine!  You drawing pictures.  Hey, Breeze! Are you sleeping? This is a blanket.  Hey, Mommy! Are you drawing? ME: Yes. SOREN: Are you drawing an eighteen wheeler? ME: No. SOREN:  Hey! Hey! Mommy! I can draw an eighteen wheeler! Mommy, are you drawing words? ME: Yes. SOREN: Boo hoo! I think so tough.  Carl is sad.  I can open door. I want to play outside.  I sing the ABC song.

Every day, before I tuck Carl into bed, we play a little game.  It's a kind of peek-a-boo inspired by a dog intelligence test.  Scott told me you can tell how smart a dog is by how quickly they can get out from under a blanket.  He also told me that Buffy (his parents' old dog) couldn't pass this test. In our version of the game, Carl lies down in his crib and I wave a blanket over his head.  Then I drop it, covering his whole body.  He kicks and squirms and pulls until he uncovers his eyes, at which point he always laughs hysterically.  Sometimes I make it very easy, so the blanket is barely covering his face and he can easily kick it off with his legs.  Other times it's harder, like when it isn't covering his legs at all and he starts by pulling it the wrong way. We both get a big kick out of this game and we play it three times before every nap.  Then the dinosaurs kiss him goodnight and I leave.

Carl's Favorite Books : Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! Quick as a Cricket Goodnight Moon There's a Wocket in My Pocket The Napping House Where's My Cow? Soren's Favorite Books : Bread and Jam for Frances Bedtime for Frances The First Thousand Words in Chinese Dinosaur Roar! How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? The Dangerous Alphabet Fox in Socks Yertle the Turtle Green Eggs and Ham (known to him as Brother Lurch and the Mormon Church ) I Love you Stinky-Face Patrick's Dinosaurs Where the Wild Things Are Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb

Carl can throw a ball!  I mean, he can really chuck it! Here's what happened: We were all sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine in our backyard.  Soren was drawing "eighteen wheelers" with his sidewalk chalk and Carl was whining about having to sit on the grass.  (Ew, nature.)  I was reading The Economist playing idly with a pair of small plastic balls that chime when you move them. Hoping to cheer up Carl, I tossed one of the balls into his lap.  He picked it up and over-handed it back to me. Maybe this doesn't seem like a shocking event but I was really really surprised.  I didn't think he had the coordination for anything like that and I definitely hadn't expected it to go as far as it did.  It probably travelled about 2 feet, which doesn't sound like much but it's almost as far as Soren can throw stuff (and he is much further off the ground).  I passed the ball back to Carl and he threw it again, this time laughing at my exaggerated ex

Soren loves the side-walk chalk his Nan bought him last month.  Every night, I spray away dozens and dozens of chalk "eighteen wheelers", preparing the ground for new drawings.  Every morning, he rushes out to the backyard and, in a few minutes, restores those old drawings with fresh scribbles.  Usually, that means more "eighteen wheelers". About a week ago, I found that, instead of his usual trucks, he had written his name.  I took this photo of it: Apparently, Soren can recognise and reproduce his name. He has been attempting to write letters for the past couple of months but they have, until now, been mostly unreadable.  Now, not only are the letters readable, they are also part of whole words.  He can write SOREN and CARL, although he doesn't cross the A. And DAD, again without the A crossed. He does this without any prompting from me and without a model to look at.  I never taught him this.  He just learned it by watching and wanting.

SOREN:  I want another cookie! ME:  OK. SCOTT:  You know what happens when you give a mouse a cookie ... ME:  They want a glass of milk? SCOTT:  No.  They want another freaking cookie. SOREN:  I want a freaking cookie!

Carl can, apparently, climb the stairs now.   He's been eyeing the stairs in our house for the past few days.  Ever since figuring out how to pull himself up to standing, he's been excited about using the bottom step to pull up on.  But he hadn't shown any interest in actually going up the stairs until this morning. We were playing with chalk in the backyard.  At first Carl was content to sit on the ground and pound dots into the pavement.  After a few minutes, he got bored and started crawling around looking for something more entertaining.  That's when he noticed it: the sippy cup.  It was at the top of the stairs leading to the house.  Sippy cups are interesting and usually contain deliciously sweet apple juice.  He headed for it--right up the stairs! I was nervous about him experimenting on the stone steps but he sure wasn't.  He was confident and determined.  It took a while but each step got easier until he was grasping that cup.  Oh, sweet satisfaction!

Goals for Soren: * focus on one set of toys in 15-minute increments during free play * read the scriptures in Chinese with Scott each night * learn to stay out of Mom and Dad's room unless invited Goals for Carl: * focus on one set of toys in 10-minute increments during port-a-crib time * play in the backyard for 20 minutes every day * read longer books (not board books) at naptime Goals for Carolyn: * practice composition at 8 pm every night * read the scriptures daily * do hair every day Goals for Mom: * make one-on-one playtime inviolable * respond to Carl's babble * complete three 1/2-hour chore blocks each day

Carl loves to play I-Drop-It-You-Pick-It-Up.  I'm sure you know the game.  It's a baby standard.  The baby is up high somewhere (in your arms, on the couch, in a high chair ) and dangles some object (a pen, a ball, a piece of food ) over the empty air.  He drops it and you pick it up, giving it back to him and restarting the game. I have no patience for this game.  But Scott does and Carl loves him for it.