Survivor: Toddler Edition

There are some days where I wonder if I'll ever make it through the 2nd and 3rd years of Nolan's childhood.

I mean....how can a child be so disobedient and angry a lot of the time, while in between, pull a 180 and be clamoring for my attention asking for cuddles. I want to sock the person who ever started spreading the rumor that boys were easier than girls!

News flash.....either sexes are difficult no matter who's kids they are.

Matt and I'll notice we have to guard things which Eliza had no interest in. Things like climbing baby gates, pounding on doors, running toys on the walls, scribbling on walls. The list could go on forever.

Every child develops at their own rate, but I can't help but wonder if my son will ever be bright. Simple things like describing where something is in the room for them to put away or bring to me. Speech articulation is still an issue and we have him set up in March for another evaluation, but this time from the school district.

People say girls are usually ahead of the boys, but when do things level out?

This season of life with my oldest son has made it hard to want to love him. To feel like he is the world to me, and will be successful in life.

Nap time can go either way. We've had 1.5 hours of him screaming and pounding the door sooo hard that I wonder if he'll punch a hole in the darn thing. Simple requests are met with many 'no's' and temper tantrums. He'll bite me when I have to carry him to time out...take a swing at me or his sister while walking by him while on time out. A real Jekyll and Hyde kind of personality and its wearing both Matt and I out. Is a little balance too much to ask for?

I've tried everything I think imaginable as far as tips and tricks go...but this stubbornness is world record worthy.....

Please, please tell me there is light to be found at age 4 and beyond?

To Potty or Not to Potty

**Disclaimer- if hearing about toilet training and the words poop and pee make you at all squeamish...stop reading right here and close this tab immediately. You've been warned**  

I think one of the most nerve wracking things for a parent to go through is toilet training their children. Maybe even deciding when to start. Everyone has their advice and the loads of approaches available online. But of course....

Every child is different....grrrr.

Nolan has been giving us quite the mixed signals about being ready for it. But after finding a dry night diaper, we thought...let's see what happens!

In the last 2 days...I've seen a lot of little boy parts. In starting off as I did with Eliza....its a bare bottom attempt. Nothing to hinder the pee from hitting the target. Leg warmers are fashionable still, right?

And we've had some successes. Even poop after only a day.

Between special stickers and mini M&M candy for successful liquid deposits...its been enough incentive to encourage him to sit on the potty chair. So much in fact, that he's tried to cheat the system with pouring water and juice in the collection bowl and pass it off as his own waste.

Nice try bub....

(I think we'll avoid any apple juice for a while to ensure there are no fraudulent entries)

But the frustrating part thus far is when I put anything on him...he'll pee as if it was a diaper. Even loose shorts. With this being said, I am about to try some pull ups, which I never had to with Eliza. But my couch cushions/pillows will cry foul if I don't do something soon.

For some reason, the middle of the morning is when we have accidents in a row. And of course we are not nap or nighttime training. So now we'll see how long we both last until one of us breaks....

This sucks....

Nolan: Flying Ace!

After attending a birthday party in Canandaigua NY, we decided to check out their local airfield after seeing small planes flying low for landing. It must have been destiny, because one of the pilots had just finished with a ride and was finishing up with the riders who booked a WW2 Warbird experience ride.

Of course, our little aviation enthusiast had to get out of the car and get an up close look. As we were chitchatting about the plane and how for only a mere $250, you could also enjoy the same experience...I mentioned how much our son loved planes and if he could check out the cockpit.  

Low and behold...he obliged and even got to wear the flight cap! Oh how over the moon he was!

Maybe some day....he might just be a real pilot.

Snip Snip!

Since Nolan was about 12 months, I've done the home haircuts for him. Nothing too fancy, but I've gotten better with my skills. But with all the craziness of the birth, recovery and adjustment...I hadn't had the time or patience, and it was becoming very clear that something needed to be done when during church, I swept away his sweaty blonde locks. It had grown a good length, and I guess I wanted to be spoiled and have someone else do it and also pay attention as to how they handled his noggin.

In staying with tradition with Eliza, I dragged my camera along to document his first pro cut. I used my own need of a trim to justify it even more. My buns hadn't seen a salon chair since early Fall!

Overall...he did GREAT for my stylist and stayed put for the most part. All the extra practice at home sure helped make this time around go smoothly.

A Big Boy Quilt

In keeping up with tradition, with Alden on the way, this makes Nolan an official "Big boy" in the family. So this means he gets a new quilt to reflect a new milestone.

I had been saving the main quilt block fabric from a visit back home to San Diego. My mother treated me to a few of her quilting haunts and this called out to me. It really does say boy all over and I liked a little of the art deco flare of the illustration work.

To break up the blocks and pull some color out, the middle and top bar fabric was found from Joanns. This also includes the backing, which I sewed the binding on the inside and then reversed it right side out. The corners ended up rounding each other, but it saved me a lot of hand sewing in the process. Plus...boys won't care ;)

I'm pretty happy with the end result, and frankly, pleased to have finally finished this sucker before I'll have no extra free time after the big kids have gone to bed! If I didn't complete it, I'm sure it would get lost in the craft abyss.

Birthday Boy's Day

That time of year has come upon us once again and Nolan turned two!

We had a very small get together in the evening with a few little boys for company. Lots of running around, cars/train playing and giggles filled out small place. And the parents were able to enjoy each others company too! *win win*

Since they only time I seem to make layer cakes is around family birthdays, I knew early on that a plane cake was n order for our little boy. It was simple for the most part, with using part of his present from us to be the cake toppers. I found a pretty easy from scratch vanilla cake recipe here from pintrest, and it held up pretty good and was light and moist enough for home made cake.

The frosting was a mint vanilla butter cream. It was just a matter of trying to smooth the frosting and placing clouds around. The front Planes logo was left over packaging from the diecast toy, which I think adds a nice easy touch to the front.

This is probably the most low key birthday celebration I've done. With the cold winter and lots of sickness going around, it can be hard for families to commit to coming. Not to mention, things are just super tight for the family budget. But despite that, we were able to pull something together and enjoy our "family" in celebration. Nolan had fun, I didn't have to stress too much (add mad cleaning before hand), and I was able to at least give him a special cake made with love. Eliza still talks about her pony cake from last birthday.

And to think....next time this year we'll have an additional family member to celebrate with!

Sweet Silence

Sometimes, it is worth letting your child two fist lollipops given to them from your doctors visit. Stickers just can't do the same. Besides....he looks pretty cute doing it ;)

Fall Fest @ Fort Ricky

It was a cold Fall Sunday afternoon, but we decided to brave the cloudy, but non existent rain weather and enjoy our last visit to Fort Ricky for the season. Visiting this time of the year means extra fun activities for all.

The kids enjoyed the rolled oats sensory bin

One has to feed the animals of course!

Big sister to the rescue when your little legs are a little too short

Eliza got to enjoy her very first pony ride and enjoyed the monster wheel trikes

The baby goats were the highlight of the visit. Nolan spent most of his time shrieking at any of them in fear and delight. Eliza wanted to hold each and everyone of them.all.the.time! She couldn't get enough of them and would try chasing and nearly tackling them to pull them on her lap.

If you have the crackers they sell, they are ALL your friends for a short while and Nolan got a little lovin in with the babies. Some even tolerated Eliza for a few moments...whether they wanted to or not ;)

We ended the day with a warm bubble bath, waiting for them as soon as we got in the door...compliments of daddy who came home that afternoon from being away for the weekend with a music ministry commitment. 

I think it took the rest of the evening for my backside to recover from the cold.

Growing & Growing

We FINALLY got around to Nolan's well baby visit.

Height: 34" (78th)

Weight: 25 lbs. (37th)

And head...94th! Never, have my children ever reached this size before until today.

It was a doozy of a visit for him, with getting a wart freezed, two shots and fighting a bad yeast rash for awhile. Big sister was extremely upset with the news of shots for her brother. 

All was made better with a toy airplane after. 

Fun on the Beach

Why eat it all when it makes the best art medium

From the Dungeness Cell Phone

Yay for not killing each other!

She could play a rock in any theater production

Um...I new we have weight epidemic....but

A nugget break for my own nuggets

Eliza giving Nolan "pink belly"

Grandparent PJs

Could these kids look any sadder looking into the park pool?

The Discovery Zoo

We had the chance to finally make a visit to Fort Rickey with the kids. This was a first for Nolan getting to be up close to a variety of animals. He'd squeal in delight at just about each one.

My little country girl

Eliza was very fascinated with these ducks. It took a good long while for her to understand that you can't run up to the animals and not everyone wants to be pet.

River Otter

Eliza quickly caught on that the sheep and goats would eat leaves off the tree.

The Peacocks were allowed to roam the grounds as they pleased, even if it was right on top of the table you were snacking on.

Finally, one wasn't skittish to let Nolan check him out.

We spent just a few hours there in the afternoon and ended up getting a season pass for myself and put Eliza on it as my free child and there is no cost for Nolan at the moment. I just have to take the kids there a second time and the membership has paid for itself. It will be a great place to bring a picnic lunch and let the kids get out of the house until the zoo closes at the end of October.

Because it is just outside of where we live, it is a great activity for young ones to enjoy without the high costs of alternative entertainment. Free parking is another plus! 

Color!

Nolan is starting to enjoy crayons...beyond eating them at least. We tape some blank newsprint to the table. This will hold his attention for maybe 15 minutes before he takes interest into what Eliza has. 

Coloring makes ya hungry!