School party

Colby has a Summer birthday, so his class had a small celebration for the kids that have Summer birthdays. And by celebration, I mean cupcakes. What else?

Colby and his friend Jack (in the orange), Wesley (in the red), and Lori in the background (in the pink)


Colby and his friend Giacomo....shooting something. Now that Jack needs "space", Giacomo is his new favorite bud.


View of the class


Miller joined in on the cupcake action, and she knew exactly what to do. She ate the frosting first, and then polished off the whole thing at lightening speed.


Out of a class of twelve 3 and 4 year olds, Miller was the second to finish her cupcake. She then walked over and started taking pinches off of Wesley's cupcake. I'm just going to blame it on the curse.

Colby and his teacher Miss Marnie


The whole party confused Colby, and he went around telling everyone at school that it was his birthday. Since he was already a bit confused, Lee and I thought it would be a good opportunity to give him an early birthday present. Truth be told, we've been dying to give him his new bike, which we bought him a few months ago and have been hiding in the basement. He's really a bit too big for his other bike, and he fell in love with this one at a bike store a few months ago.

Camera smile!


He is so excited about it and is already following in his daddy's bike obsessed footsteps.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy mothers day to Nan, Nana, Miller, and all the moms out there!

It's been a great day so far...I had coffee and cards in bed, a workout at the gym while Lee took the kids grocery shopping, and then we all went out to brunch. (When the food arrived to our table, Miller yelled out enthusiastically "OKAY!!" The girl loves to eat) Tonight, Lee's making dinner and we're having fillet mignon on the grill.

Actually, aside from the cards and brunch, that's not too far off from a typical Sunday. Lee usually brings me coffee (and my laptop) in bed, and I usually go to the gym while he grocery shops. Lee actually enjoys grocery shopping (unlike myself), and he prefers to do so with at least one, but usually both, kids in tow. He also usually grills dinner for us on Sunday nights. I married the right guy!

I thought today would be a good day to reflect on the recent events with Miller and Colby. I had Colby's parent-teacher conference two days ago, and it was fantastic to hear that he is doing very well and has made a lot of progress since the beginning of the year. His teacher really understands (and likes) him, and she's very good with boys, so I am so thankful he was in her class this year. He's right on target with everything, including recognizing and spelling his name. She assured me that he does not have any attention concerns, and in fact, it is very hard to distract him from something he has his mind set on.

The main thing he needs to work on is accepting "no" from his peers and giving them personal space. (not shocking information) His teacher said that because of his age, his brain literally does not hear "no" or "stop", and he's just so social (and willful) that he sometimes tires people out. (We have the same issue at home with him accepting and hearing "no" from Miller) He's still buddy-buddy with his friend Jack, but the teacher said that even Jack needs to come up for air and have a break from Colby. Colby doesn't understand that and will come home and tell me that Jack is not his friend anymore, but he doesn't seem too upset about it. So basically, he's just an extrovert who hasn't figured out social norms...pretty normal stuff.

He's also very drawn to the girls in the class, and at the beginning of the year, he did not understand how to engage them in play. Instead, he would walk up to them and take something to get their attention. Or, he would just stand there and stare at them. The teacher was laughing, saying the girls probably thought he was some kind of weirdo...and rightfully so. But now, he will walk up to them and ask if he can play or ask for a turn.

He and Jack are going to be separated next year because his teacher thinks they would drive another teacher crazy, so it will be interesting to see how things go and who his next "best friend" will be. (Hopefully someone who does not hit and bite.) His teacher is also making sure he gets a very good teacher next year, one who has a lot of experience with strong willed boys. She said his placement into the right class is crucial for his success. Thank goodness we have someone looking out for us.

Colby is going into his third week of his "big boy" swim lessons, where mom does not get into the water. (hallelujah!) He is doing very well and we are so proud of him. He doesn't like the cold water very much, and sometimes has a hard time getting in, so we get there early so that we can get used to the water before class. He is now doing everything the teacher asks, and is close to putting his head under the water. I'm going to keep him in swim lessons twice a week all Summer long, and I cannot wait to see how he progresses.

Here he is in his swimming attire....and the new face he makes when he sees a camera.

So it's really best if we capture him in his natural state (even if that means pizza sauce all over his face)

Colby is also very into riding his bike, and he takes it out to ride almost every afternoon. He's been riding a two-wheeled bike with training wheels since he was 2 1/2, so he's getting pretty good. We have a new bigger bike to give him on his birthday, so I can't wait to see how excited he'll be about that.

I know I complain a lot about the issues we've had with Colby, but he's such a good hearted, sweet, outgoing, and funny boy. I am hoping that as he approaches his 4th year, we can work out some of these issues and things will be a bit smoother between him and his sister. (A lot of people would say "he" and his sister there, but that would be gramatically incorrect...a little pet peeve of mine. Thanks mom.)

Miller is really coming into her own, and she's an absolute joy to be around. Her favorite thing to do is go to the playground, and she's obsessed with swinging. I was obsessed with swinging as well (and well past the age where it was cool), so I assume this is something that will stick with her. When we are in the car, she will often say "Go go playground, go swing!". And when she's on the swing, she will yell "Go higher!". She also loves jewelry, both necklaces and bracelets.

Showing off her new bracelets...

However, she not only adorns herself with jewelry...one of her recent quirks is that she loves to put underwear around her head. If you come and visit, be careful where you leave them...she is not picky.

(I'll put a picture here when I catch her in the act again)

She is also really into puzzles, and she does not seem to tire of them. She will work on her puzzles by herself and do them over and over again. (Colby never did anything so stationary) It's really quite amazing to see how different they are.

Working on her puzzles...

Busting out her favorite shapes puzzle...


And just for fun, modeling some new summer fashions.

Miller starts her swim class this week, so we took her to the indoor pool for the first time yesterday. It's been a year since she's seen a pool, so I'm assuming she does not remember. Again, it was such a different experience than what I'm used to because the girl is fearless. She walked straight into the water and headed to the deep end without batting an eye. She jumped off the side to me over and over and would say "more jump!" She did get her head under once, and then said "I don't want it" but was ready to jump again.

Wow, so that was a lot. It's busy here...and chaotic...and not always peaceful...but we know we are so blessed with our two wonderful children. I couldn't ask for more on Mother's day.

One year from now....

Will Colby still be peeing (a little) in his pants 6 times a day?
Will he still scream and fight every time we tell him to go potty?
Will he still scream and fight every time we tell him to wash his hands?
Will he still be going #2 in a diaper?
Will he still wake up with wet pajamas every morning from going so much during the night?
Will he still be tormenting his sister for fun?

If someone would just tell me the answers to these questions are "no", and they very likely could be (I hope), I could sleep a lot easier right now. We might have the only child on the planet who will actually be going to school in diapers. I could deal with that if he would just be nice to his sister!!!

I told the teacher at school that he's been wetting his pants and itching himself a lot, so she recommended we call the pediatrician. They asked us to come in and get him tested for a UTI. Well, he doesn't have one, but he did thoroughly enjoy peeing in a cup.

His teacher said to me "He's extremely willful, and he's intense...I could have told you two years ago you'd have problems with potty training because that's a control issue."

We have a new plan now. The plan is to take ALL the pressure off and completely stop talking about potty training. If he wets his pants, we'll change his underwear....and that's it. No talking, no forcing him to use the potty. We'll see how this goes.

Other than these issues going on, he really is a very sweet boy...just a tad challenging right now!

Richmond trip

Colby is doing better, but ooooh boy, this kids needs to start using the potty. Unfortunately, the withholding makes that impossible....we just need him to "go", and at this point, we give him a prize if he goes in a diaper! When we are out in public and he has to go, he must have complete privacy. That makes things very difficult...you would not believe the lengths we have gone to to clear out a private space for him. I am so over it.

Anyhoo, here are the pictures from our trip to Richmond!

This was Colby and Miller's belated Christmas present from Nan and Pop, and boy was it a hit!


Why she's trusting him to drive her around I'm not sure.


Colby LOVES hanging out with his cousins. He gets their names confused, and one day he said "I like the one with hair circles. Why he gots hair circles?"


The one with hair circles is a lot of fun.


We met at the park with my friend Mindy and her twins...


Played on the slides...(Miller has a scab on her nose from a face plant)


And threw bread to the ducks.


Meagan came over and helped with meal time...


But mostly, we just hung out with family...


And everyone had a drink or two....you're never too old!

Not again...

We had a great visit to Richmond last weekend, and Colby had a blast with his cousins, but I haven't posted pictures because Colby has had the flu all week. Or, what I thought was the flu. He's been laying around saying his stomach hurts and not eating.

Unfortunately, Lee and I figured out it's not the flu. No, it's much worse....Colby is withholding again. That explains the stomach pain that comes and goes, the laying around, and the not eating. It took us months of hard work and medication to get over it last time, so this is not good at all.

He's been home from school all week, and right now, he's laying on my bed crying. He said he wants a bandaid on his bottom. He's in pain but afraid to go....and it just gets worse each day.

Hopefully, I'll have some better news to report in a few days. I really hope this does not become the terrible issue it was last time.

**update....after an invasive and unpleasant intervention on my part, Colby was able to go (a little bit) and went to school late. Unfortunately, he missed his 3 year old class photo, which was this morning. I am so sad about that...he loves his class and his teacher this year.

Boy this post was a downer, huh!

Easter in pictures

We started out the weekend before Easter by dyeing eggs.


Poor Miller watched longingly from below.






The Easter bunny brought lots of necklaces for Miller...


And lots of Toy Story stuff for Colby.


The Toy story stickers and books are a hit.


And yes, he's wearing Christmas pajamas. They fit and they aren't too hot...I'm ok with it, even on Easter.


Overcome with emotion.


There's no such thing as too many necklaces.


Always generous, she's giving one to Colby.


The Easter bunny encourages good dental hygiene. Nothing like mixed messages.


How long does it take to get to the center of a peep?


About .03 seconds.


MUST.HAVE.MORE.PEEPS.


*It should be noted that Colby only liked one thing in his Easter basket- his chocolate rabbit. He would lick the other types of candy and then spit them out. Miller ate every morsel she could get her little hands on and begged for more. The poor girl has a wicked sweet tooth that's going to curse her for life. (and I know exactly where she got it)

Swimming

Today I took Colby to the indoor pool to practice his swimming skills. One thing we are working on is jumping to me from the side without holding my hands the whole time. He only likes to jump if he's holding my hands first, so we've been practicing at home off the bed. I had high expectations when we got to the pool, but he was still scared to jump without holding my hands.

I wasn't going to give up! I know I cannot force him to do anything, so I suggested we go jump off the side in the baby pool. We started in one foot of water, and he jumped to me without holding my hands. (that is not a soft landing) Slowly....very slowly, we made our way around the edge of the pool, getting deeper and deeper. One hour later, Colby was jumping off the side to me, no hands, in the deep end. He even told me to get further away so he could jump further! Towards the end, I was letting his head go under a little, and he went completely under about 5 times. He's working on holding his breath and not drinking or snorting the water, and he was very proud of himself. I am so happy he is making progress!!

Afterwards, when we got out of the water, we were both freezing from staying in the water so long. Normally, we are warm before we got to the locker room (which they keep at a very cold temperature), so I knew it would be an unpleasant experience. When we walked in, we were both so cold it was torturous. Colby asked me to get him dressed first, and we were both shaking as I was getting his clothes out. In a desperate and worried voice he said "I'm going to be cold forever and ever!" I've been laughing about that all day- I felt the same way and I think Colby was truly worried he would never be warm again.

After we both got dressed and warm, he asked if he could have a "prize" for his accomplishments, so I told him we'd go by McDonalds for a happy meal and a milkshake. He could not contain his excitement, and screamed to everyone in the locker room "I'M GETTING A PRIZE!! I'M GETTING A PRIZE!!!!"

Life with a 3 year old is certainly never dull.