Here We Go Again....

So I just need to say that this whole letting go thing is really really hard. It feels good once you have done it, and even better when you see your baby use his wings on his own....but still hard. I don't believe it will ever not be hard.

We go on our first night away from Grant tomorrow night. I have spent all week freaking out about it. I have made lists, and worried, and basically been a pain in the ass. I absolutely know he will be fine. I just have to force myself to focus on the picture of him playing and running around and not the picture of him helpless and feeling abandoned. Oh yes, that is where I go.

This will help Grant grow up. He will learn that even though it is not done exactly the way mommy and daddy do it, that his needs are still met. And that then mommy and daddy come back and it's all exactly as it should be again. He will also understand that mommy and daddy are not just mommy and daddy. They are Bob and Karen. And that in order for us to be better parents to them, we have to stay Bob and Karen.

So we leave before his second nap tomorrow and will be back sometime after his first the next day. And he will be fine. We will be more then fine. And hopefully the grandparents are not too scarred.

But I am understanding more and more why they are called growing pains....

Curses to You Cailou!

I don't know if you have ever noticed this before, but Cailou's mother bakes. Alot. I do not bake a lot. Every time she bakes something, I KNOW I am going to be asked to bake the same thing. Today she made a cake. So all morning long, Aid asked me to make him a cake like Cailou's mom. Normally I would not just cave to PBS mom pressure, but since I was headed to the store I decided to indulge Aid.

I got a low fat brownie mix and blue icing. Aid had somehow managed to talk me into it being a dinosaur cake. You are shocked, I can tell. He helped me make the cake and him and Grant split the mixer pieces. This is a tradition Grant is all for.

I really thought this was going to earn me the cool mom of the year award. It did not. Because I made a Brontosaurus instead of his favorite, the T-Rex. Which I actually contemplated, but is much harder to draw. He looked at it, and initially exclaimed, "You made a blue dino cake just for me??!" Then he stared at it a bit longer and stuck out his bottom lip. "You should practice drawing a T-Rex so you can make it next time."

"I'm pretty sure that is not what Cailou said to him mommy!!" Why do I even try?



(And no, it is not burnt. Thanks mom for the pan!)

G-Dog

Grant is an all or nothing kind of kid. You play with him, meet his needs at the right time and in the right order, you get this...



If you don't, you get this...



He's expressive, that's for sure.

Acts of Kindness

Aid is a great big brother. I know I have often bragged about it on this blog, but I am just constantly amazed at how he cares for Grant. He will now share his dinosaurs with Grant. Most of the time. This means there are exactly two people who are allowed to touch those. Grant and Sam. That's it. To everyone else they are basically off limits.

But I have wondered how much is for my benefit. I make a big deal about catching every sweet positive moment between the two of them. But he will also make a point to let me know when he is sharing or doing something nice. If nothing else the kid responds to positive reinforcement.

Today on our way into ECFE, I reminded Aid to look out for his little brother and help him if he gets sad. "Sure mama." I didn't really expect him to even notice him quite honestly. Aid loves his classroom, and is gone the moment we walk in the door. But when I came to pick them up the teacher pulled me aside to tell me how impressed she had been with Aiden. She told me that they have their snack time at the end of class. After snack they have quiet reading time until the parents come. Grant was not done eating his snack as the other children went to grab books. Aid apparently went and grabbed (you guessed it, a dino book) but brought it back to the table and proceeded to read it to Grant as he finished his snack.

I teared up a bit as she told me. I just can't get over what a nice kid Aid is. He has his moments, sure, but he is really very caring and empathetic to others. And he genuinely loves his baby brother. And it makes my heart melt.

After Dinner Entertainment

My back is thanking Aid.

Knock Knock

Today Aid told his first knock knock joke. I have no idea where this came from because we don't tell knock knock jokes. But here it is none the less.

Aid: Knock Knock

Us: Who's there?

Aid: Dino!

Us: Dino who?

Aid: Dino T-Rex!!!

Followed by long bouts of laughter. He is obviously pleased with himself. I take it back. I do know where this comes from....

Dare I Say It?

I think we have made some real headway in the potty training department. About a week ago, Aid just decided that he was ready. Well, no. That's not entirely true. Aid asked me for a treat, and in a moment of clarity I said, "You can pick out any treat in the bucket when you go potty."

Bing. Off he went. Immediately. So for the next few days Aid got no snacky snack things unless he used the potty. I am not sure out dentist would love the amount of sugar he has consumed in the last week, but so be it.

He is now either naked during the day or in his underwear if we are going out somewhere. He sleeps in his underwear and for 4 nights now has been completely dry. We have had a couple of accidents trying to make it to the potty right after waking up, but some of that is probably on us and our slow morning response time.

He also has transitioned (nice move honey) the the small attachment potty that sits on the regular toilet. So we have conquered the fear of the big potty!! The last 2 days he has not even told us when he is going. He yells, "I have to go potty!" runs into the bathroom, goes, flushes, and washes his hands.

Our two big motivators for getting rid of all diapers and pull ups (which we have not used but have not technically been banished since we have yet to go anywhere for a substantial length of time ie: over 2 hours) are a dinosaur fossil mountain thing he saw in a magazine and his "animal" preschool, which he has to be potty trained before attending. He is taking it all very seriously. He has even requested dinosaur underwear. And thank you GAP for coming through for me.

So we're on a roll. To say we are proud is an understatement.

Grossness

It was bound to happen. I had been pushing my luck for far too long.

When Aid was a baby we had a game where we transferred things back and forth between our mouths. ie: He would put a toy in his mouth and I would take it from his mouth with mine and so forth. It was a sweet game and no harm ever came from it.

So I was tickled when Grant recently started playing this game. But Aid did not have the tummy issues Grant does, so I should have seen it coming.

We were all sitting at the table. He had a deck of cards. He put a few of them in his mouth and leaned over to give them to me. "Look Bob! Do you remember this?"

And then it happened. Just as I said it, Grant threw up. Into. My. Mouth.

Grossest thing that has happened to me thus far I believe.

I am raising two boys, however...

Boogerfest 2010

There were many conversations that I didn't anticipate having when I became a mother. You don't realize until you are having them that of coarse you would be having them. Who else will teach your son to cover his mouth when he coughs? Or how to wipe after going potty? Or how to pick his nose in a socially acceptable manner?

Aid loves to pick his nose. Loves it. All day long. I would casually say, "Aid, yuck." But honestly thought it was mostly just a little kid thing and he would grow out of it. Until he started eating the boogers. And then I had to step in. You don't always recover from mistakes like that. If Aid picks his nose (and then eats it) in front of the wrong kid....well, we all know how mean kids can be.

I was relieved after discussing this issue with fellow moms, that Aid was not the only nose picker or booger eater in the group. But with preschool on the horizon, some social etiquette lessons are required. So while we have been in full operation potty training mode, we have also been in full operation 'Don't eat your boogers' mode!!

I haven't really been getting anywhere. We talked about germs. How gross it is. How he could get teased. All of it. In one nostril, and out the other.

But tonight, while reading a book, Aid asked for a tissue. He tried to blow his nose. Then he looked up at me with his big brown eyes that have always melted me, and asked me to teach him how to get the boogers out. So I showed him how to put the tissue on his finger, dig around, and try to get them out. And finally he got the booger that had been driving him bananas! And we did a celebratory booger cheer! I mean, we all know how gratifying it can be when you do get the booger. But the thing that really got me, was watching how proud of himself he was. For simply learning how to pick his nose the right way. I really hope we can finally ditch the eating of the boogers.

It's the little things.

Singing Competition

Tonight following dinner, Bob put on a CD and was singing along. Aid now starts "singing" when Bob does. I use the term loosely, and I suspect it is more to aggravate Bob.

Tonight, the song of choice was " You are so strange!" Bellowed at the top of his little lungs.

Hilarious.