What happens if....

I don't?

That would be Colby's most favorite question right now. He asks it about 20 times a day..."What happens if I don't wash my hands? What happens if I don't hang my coat up? What happens if I don't be quiet? What happens if I don't drink my milk? What happens if I don't brush my teeth?" (His teacher actually said this is a very good thing...he's weighing his options and thinking about cause and effect...not just following along because he's told.)

I find that sometimes, when I have patience, I take the time to tell him why it's important to do certain things. Such as "It's important to brush your teeth to remove the plaque that can cause cavities". However, on a day when I have a shorter fuse, I may give an answer such as "It's important to brush your teeth because if you don't your teeth will fall out and you'll never eat goldfish again". The second route is actually much more effective.

I did go into a little too much detail when we were discussing the importance of holding hands. For a very long time, Colby would not hold my hand....ever. We had a discussion about strangers and how if he didn't hold my hand in a crowded place, a stranger could take him. One question led to another, and I found myself describing in detail a stranger's house. Colby asked lots of questions: "Is there poo poo inside a stranger's house? Does it smell bad? Is there yucky food? Is there a yucky bed?" Before I knew it, I had created the image of a "yucky house" that I'm sure has been the cause of most of his nightmares. Now, when we drive around, he will say "Is that a yucky house? Is that where a stranger lives?" I've learned that there's a fine line between instilling a little healthy fear in your child and scaring the sh*t out of them.

On another note, here's a little video of Miller taken during the snowstorm.

Another milestone

Last night, Colby spent his very first night in his big boy bed! This is quite an accomplishment, as he has tried a couple of other times to sleep there, but he would wake up in the middle of the night screaming to go back into his crib.

Last night, as we were reading his favorite book "David", there was a picture of David being tucked in his bed by his mom. This must have looked pretty good to Colby, because he told me he was ready to sleep in his bed. Reluctantly, I put him in there, expecting for him to scream in the middle of the night.

He did cry once for me to fix the covers, but after that, he slept through the entire night and appeared in our room at 7am. (this getting out of bed by himself business will be interesting)

As a treat this morning, Lee gave him his first glass of orange juice at breakfast. It was a hit, as Colby declared:

"I WEAWY WEAWY WIKE IT!" (those r's and l's are tricky)

HOORAY!!!

Quiet time

Colby is now doing quiet time in his room for one hour each day, and it's going ok. Some days are great, others are not, but we're making slow progress. We have tried several timers, toddler clocks, etc, and returned them all because Colby didn't like them, the colors, the sounds, etc.

Then, Lee came up with the best idea yet- we tape a piece of colored tape to the minute hand of Colby's clock, and another piece of colored tape on the clock to show him where the minute hand needs to end up (after one hour). Did that make sense? Colby understands that the two pieces of tape need to be lined up, and that means the hour is up.

Well, today, he came skipping into my room after about 15 minutes of quiet time. "Mommy, Mommy! Come see the clock! Quiet time is over!" I walked into his room, and sure enough, the little stinker moved the minute hand of the clock to show it had been one hour. We are in sooooo much trouble with this one.

One last story before Colby's (and my) quiet time is up. Colby was looking closely at Lee last night and said "Daddy, why you got stripes on your forehead?" Lee laughed, and Colby now knows about wrinkles.

Snow pictures

We are in the midst of another blizzard. The winds are so strong outside that we cannot even get together with our neighbors. Lee is going on day 3 of no work, and hopefully he'll be out tomorrow, too. (If I'm trapped inside, I'd rather have him here with me!)

These are pictures after our last snowfall of 29 inches and does not include what is currently falling on top of it.

Our back deck


We have a small foot path leading to the car.


It took many many MANY hours of shoveling to get to this point.


Our street (again, before our current snow). I fear the kids will never have school again.


Heading out for sledding and to a friend's house.


Whheeee! No need to find a sledding hill; the middle of the street works fine.


Miller watched from the stroller before her turn with daddy.


I can't move my legs!


And this is what's going on inside.

Make it stop!!!!

We received 29 inches of snow over the weekend, and that was on top of 6 inches that were on the ground. Today is Tuesday and much to his frustration, Lee's work is still closed. The roads are horrible. If that's not enough, they are calling for 12-15 more inches of snow tonight. Our entire city is paralyzed already and you cannot see pavement anywhere, even where they have plowed. I cannot imagine what will happen with an additional foot of snow. I vaguely remember the days when I used to take Colby to preschool....ah, that was the good life.

Thankfully, we have some wonderful neighbors, and we've taken turn hosting a playgroup each morning. It's me and 3 other moms, and we are all good friends and spend most of the morning laughing (or we might cry). The only downside is that they all have 3 year old girls...and Colby usually starts to push their buttons after about an hour. He is the master at figuring out someone's weakness and subtly honing in on them. One little girl in particular has a pretty bad temper, and Colby thoroughly enjoys getting a rise out of her. That usually leads to at least one time out before we give up all together and then head home.

I will hopefully post some snow pictures in the next day or two...something tells me I'm not going anywhere.

Bracing ourselves

We received 2 feet of snow in December, and I thought that was the most I would ever see in my lifetime, at least here. I was wrong...they are calling for up to 3 feet of snow this weekend. If it happens, it will surely be the biggest snowstorm we have ever seen. I am thankful we have a generator, a stocked fridge, and nice neighbors. Wish us luck!

The latest

Things are rolling right along, and Colby continues to torture us daily with his crying during "quiet time", eventually waking up Miller so that I have two crying children on my hands. I guess we could give up on quiet time, but we are still holding out that somehow it will stick. Please, oh please, let it stick.

Miller is very into jewelry these days. She puts them on herself, and moderation means nothing to her.


Camera smile...


Colby is still very VERY focused on his music. Not just the guitar...he also enjoys playing the piano while singing into his microphone. I would guess that he plays with his toy microphone about 1-2 hours per day.


Last but not least, thank you so much Nana and Grandducky for the adorable Valentine's Day shirts! As you can see, they are just the perfect size! (Colby is in a 5...and Miller in a 4!!!)


It's amazing what he'll do for a gummy bear.