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.

Progress

Last summer, we had Colby enrolled in music, soccer, and swim lessons. All were pretty much a bust- he ran wild in soccer and music, and he was terrified of swimming after accidentally going under the water. He did enjoy almost two years of music classes before he started misbehaving by turning on and off the light switches, running around, etc. Since last July, he had no activities at all (other than school) until about two months ago.

I'm very proud to report that things are looking up and we are back in activities again. Colby has been doing gymnastics for about two months, and he's been doing great (with the exception of the very first class, when he tested every limit and rule...we almost did not go back). He loves the balance beam and the vault, and especially loves jumping onto the crash mats.

He had his first soccer class this morning with Lee, and he did great! He followed the directions, stretched, dribbled, and kicked. We are also doing a "parent and me" swim class to get him prepared for level one lessons (without a parent) starting in a few weeks. He's doing great in the lessons- he gets into the water without crying now (major progress), blows bubbles, gets most of his face wet, jumps off of the side to me, and does the kicking drills. He still does not put his head under the water, so hopefully that will be the next step. The key for him is to wear goggles because he hates getting his eyes wet (even in the bath tub) so that is really helping him feel comfortable.

I have both Colby and Miller signed up again for music this Spring (Miller is currently going by herself when Colby is in school), so hopefully Colby will follow the trend and behave. So all together, Colby will be doing swim lessons, music, gymnastics, and soccer on the days when he is not in school. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

Miller is also making amazing progress with her language. She has said her first sentences: "I want it" and "I don't want it". She uses "I don't want it" the most, especially referring to other people she sees, fearing they might pick her up, get too close, or try to change her diaper. (She still cries in protest at almost every diaper change) She also communicates her needs very well. This morning, she came up to me and said "Help". I said "Help with what?" and she said "coat". She was inside with her coat on and she was too hot. Miller's favorite thing to do is jump, and she's been doing it very well since before she was 18 months old. She is definitely very physical and I cannot wait to get her into sports, especially swimming. It's just hard to find the time right now because Colby needs the swim lessons more, so he takes priority at the moment.

With all this progress going on, I guess it's only natural for something to go in the other direction. (TMI warning) Unfortunately, that something is potty training. Colby is going on day 7 of pooping a little in his underwear. Not a real poop, which he still does in a diaper, just a small nugget. I usually discover it by smelling a not so pleasant aroma, or finding the nugget on his bed when I change his clothes. (I warned you) We've even found one in our closet...I don't know how long it was there and I don't want to know. We have no idea why he's doing this because it seems like it's on purpose....it takes a lot of control to do that on a daily basis! Hopefully this is just a phase and he won't go to college with skid marks. He's also peeing in his underwear a little several times a day. Apparently, that's how he knows he needs to use the potty.

On that note, I'm headed to mom's night out in an hour, and we are going to the circus tomorrow with Colby (We're getting a sitter for Miller because I know she wouldn't sit through it). I can't wait!

Easter bunny visit 2010

Whew, things have been rough around here. Colby is going through a phase...at least I hope it's a phase, and it's not a pleasant one. Instead of asking "what if I don't?"...he just doesn't. Doesn't listen, doesn't wash his hands, doesn't do most of what we ask him to do. It usually comes down to a threat to get him to do anything. In addition, he's been really rough with Miller. (Miller is sporting her first black eye...we didn't see it happen, but we have our suspicions) We have really had to crack down on the punishment, and Colby has been going to time out or up to his room several times a day. It's exhausting.

Part of the problem might be a new friendship Colby has at school. His new "very best friend" is a little boy named Jack. To put it nicely, Jack has issues. Jack is the boy who has bitten Colby twice this year, and was almost kicked out of school. Apparently, they have made up, and now they are inseparable. I love it that Colby has a good friend, but I wish he were a better influence. (We have had one playdate with Jack, and when he was here, he hit Miller in the face because she touched him. I don't think we are going to have more playdates any time soon!) Also, I'm sad to say that Colby doesn't run to me anymore when I pick him up from school. In fact, like the two previous years, he runs away from me. I know this is a sign that he likes school, but it's still embarrassing to be the only mom who has to chase her child to get him to leave. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Even though Colby is rough with Miller, she loves him sooo much. She calls him "Buh-bee" and worships he ground he walks on. Whenever she goes down for her nap, she yells out "Bye-bye Buh-bee!" and waves her hand frantically. When we go to pick him up from school, she runs to his door, looks through the window, and yells "See Buh-bee!" Oh wait, first she walks up to the moms standing outside of the classroom and initiates a high five with all of them. She's such a funny little girl.

Colby is still in full Buzz Lightyear mode. We got him a Buzz costume (more like a bodysuit) and some wings, and he likes to fly through the yard. (or house)


Miller has no problem climbing up the play structure by herself and going down the slide.


She is still very into her jewelry. More is more.


Today we got dressed up for our annual visit to the Easter bunny.

Miller was very suspicious as to why Colby was holding her hand, but she went along with it.


He can be sweet when he wants to be. (Miller is still not totally buying it)






One smile, no tears, both looking forward, and holding hands....AMAZING!

Willie Bob 2.0

It's no secret that Colby desires to be a rock star, so we recently bought him overalls and a hat so that he could look more like his favorite guitarist, Willie Bob from Rocknoceros.

He likes to be in full Willie Bob attire when playing and singing at home.


We took him to a Rocknoceros concert this weekend, and he was so excited to wear his new outfit. He chatted with Willie Bob before the show...


And then it was all business.


Colby did not miss a beat.


Miller missed quite a few, but she made up for it in goldfish and puffs. (not necessarily mine)


After the show, the band let Colby get up on stage. He was in HEAVEN.




Colby took over Willie Bob's guitar, so they switched for a while...


and sang some songs together.





Luckily, we got quite a bit of the concert on video. I have too much footage to post, so here are just a few segments.





Listen carefully to what they are saying in this one. Lee was actually taking this video of Miller (who doesn't know any of these people she's sitting with) and they started talking about Colby. Earlier in the show, they nicknamed him "Willie Bob 2.0" and joked that he was a new and improved upgrade. They joked about it throughout the concert, but this was the only snippet we got on video.


This is what Miller likes to do at concerts. She finds people with food and cozies up to them.