The Good, The Bad, The Sobbing

Even though Lauren's first day of preschool was short, it went fairly well. She was shy most of the time, but did play a bit and even managed to talk to a few of the other kids. This evening, she even told mommy she wanted to go back to the school.

The bad was on the way back to daycare. I made the mistake of saying when she got back, it would be lunch time and, probably, a nap. She immediately realized that outside play time had passed and she wasn't there for it. That started a host of issues. She began to cry, which makes her clingy, which forced me to carry her downstairs at daycare. That then caused Eric to catch a glimpse of me, so I had to hold him for a little while. So, she's crying, he's crying, and the daycare provider is doing their best to help me. In the end, I just handed Eric off and ran out.

Hopefully, this transition will get better in time. I just need to remember to keep my big mouth shut.

Going Insane

Waiting for one thing is nerve wracking enough. Waiting for two will drive me downright batty. Today is Lauren's first day of pre-school. It's a really short day to serve as a Meet & Greet. Class starts at 10:30. It's no 9:40. I want to leave now, but that sets the arrival time about 30 minutes too soon. Don't want to look like a freak the first day. I really need to save that for the 2nd day.

Also, we recently ordered a new camera to replace our now dead-as-a-doornail Canon A80. The package requires someone to sign for it. UPS tried to deliver it yesterday but no one was home. If they come in the next 20 minutes, we'll be here to sign for it. We do have a backup plan (disposable cameras were on sale for $2 at Meijer), but it would be nice to make the first pictures on the new camera Lauren's 1st day of school.

Guh! This wait is killing me.

A Close One Averted

Tragedy almost struck early in this trip. While driving to Ocean City, Debbie came to the horrific realization that our camera had gone to the great pixel screen in the sky. The LCD on our Canon had been acting up, but we were always able to take pictures. This time, though, we couldn't even take pictures. Debbie was inconsolable. This great family time would not have any photos to remember. Plans were made to run to Walmart to get a new one when my mom made an astounding announcement. My parents, the people who recently developed a roll of film that took it's first picture at Christmas 1997, recently bought a new digital camera. Not only that, but they actually remembered to bring it with them! Our trip was saved. And thanks to that good news, Debbie was able to take a video of Lauren's very first wipe out in the ocean. [Quicktime needed to see video]

A Day of Firsts

A ton of milestones were reached today:

• Lauren's first round of miniature golf.
• Lauren getting knocked down by a wave for the first time.
• Eric walking into the ocean for the first time (immediately followed by his first retreat from said ocean).
• Lauren's first trek into the ocean with daddy.

Ocean City is a ton of fun, as usual. We got hit with some thunderstorms yesterday, but tons of sun today made for a good beach day.

Growing up too fast

It is amazing how fast the kids grow up.
In a matter of a few months, Eric went from crawling to running; gummy smile to 10 teeth; eating baby food to demanding my steaks for dinner. He also apparently suffers from PMS. I have no idea how this happens to a 15 month old boy, but it has. He can throw the most extraordinary fits imaginable. These fits usually include flinging his head into something hard. If you're lucky, it's an inanimate object instead of something animate ... like my cheek. What makes this PMS though is not the fit itself, but that in the middle of these fits, he laughs. This weekend, he was laying on the floor screaming like a banshee. As a concerned and caring father, I decided to pretend I was going to step on him. He found this hysterical. Each time I planted my foot on his stomach, he giggled and laughed and guffawed. Each time I removed my foot, he immediately resumed the tirade. No transition. No start up phase. It was Full Laugh - Full Scream - Full Laugh - Full Scream and so on. and I thought Lauren was moody!
Instead of throwing a fit, Lauren almost caused me to throw a fit. This morning, we cuddled on the couch and watch the Weather Channel. It was a great moment that I cherished, because earlier this morning, she did something that was a little too ... adult. Walking from Eric's room to ours, she tripped, got up and exclaimed "Awwww ... DAMMIT!" I froze in my tracks. I didn't know what to say. This was the first cuss word she's ever uttered. I wanted to chastise her, but I also wanted to compliment her on using it correctly. I mean, if one were to exclaim "Awww ... DAMMIT", that would be the time. I did gather my composure and explain that she used a bad word and she shouldn't speak like that. As with any parent, I then did a search of my mental data bank. I was worried that somehow I had taught her this exclamation and was going to pay the price when Debbie found out. I couldn't remember saying this around the kids, so I thought I was safe. Searching for a source, I mentioned the incident to Lauren's daycare provider. Her face said it all. One of the kids at daycare had said this phrase earlier. Phew! No retribution for me. I could safely tell debbie about the incident and not have my beating heart ripped out of my chest and, still beating, displayed for my horror. Now, that still might happen for Debbie's amusement, but at least it wouldn't be for a good reason ... well ... at least not THAT reason. There's reasons a plenty other than that, but I at least I wasn't guilty of teaching our daughter to curse.

Well, not yet anyway.

Want to Feel Old?

First the good news: New X-Files movie coming out July 25th! Current Title is "The X-Files: I Want to Believe".

Now, the bad news: The first X-Files movie was released 10 years ago. TEN!!! WTF!!! The series premiered SIXTEEN YEARS AGO!! Suddenly, I feel the need for a walker.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/16/film.xfiles.title.ap/index.html

The Clock is Ticking, Get to Work.

Do you expect a toddler to ask questions that would task even the most learned scholar would have a hard time answering? I sure don't! And I certainly didn't expect such a question in the car today.
Eric had to go to the doctor's office this evening, so I went there and picked up Lauren to take her home. On the way, we had our usual conversations and song singing. Again, as usual, she expressed that we were going to see Sheba when we got home? That's when she whipped out the big guns.
Lauren: "Daddy, where's Lizzy?"
Me: "Um ... Lizzy died sweetie", I said confused because she's gotten this part of the topic as far as I knew.
L: "Is Lizzy at the dentist?"
M: "No sweetie ... she died."
L: "But where is Lizzy?"
M: "She's in doggie heaven."
L: "Can we go to heaven and get her?"

Here's where I just had to stop. I completely understood her thinking and could not figure out a way to placate the curiosity. She knew I took Lizzy to the doctor's and she also knew people don't stay at the doctor's, so Lizzy had to be somewhere. Lauren wanted to know where that somewhere was and how do we get there. What is a parent to do at this point? I did what I thought best: stall.

Me: "Honey, you're going to have to give daddy a bit on that one. If you still want to know tomorrow, you can ask me then."

Now ... please help. I need to know an answer in 18 hours. Better get on that, the clock is ticking.

Is there a Clapper for this Switch?

Anyone I asked about potty training our daughter had the same thing to say: "When she gets it, it will be like flipping a switch."
In my head, I knew this to be true. It was just really hard to keep that in mind when potty training had gone so slowly. We initially started trying last year, but it seemed to stress her out a lot. She began having severe pains going poop from holding it in. Figuring the stress was just too much, we decided to back off until after Eric was born.
Our second attempts began in late July/early August. We got some training pants and went back to work. Pee pee got picked up very quickly (especially at day care). However, going regularly was still a long way off and pooping on the potty was a pipe dream at this point. Fast forward to November and Lauren's birthday party. A friend of ours approaches and asks if Lauren is used to sitting on the potty by herself. Not to my knowledge, but there she was. Seeing me, she simply states "I don't want to go pee pee in my diaper!". Well new, color me pink!
November was really good for using the potty for peeing, but not a single "movement". Things were going so well that we decided Lauren was ready for underwear. The first underwear tryout went as well as good be expected. She wet herself and realized these new fangled things don't work quite as well as diapers. It was amazing to see her "get it" so quickly. One accident and she knew that she had to be on the potty to go pee. Pooping was still an issue, but my little girl devised a plan. Since we still have her wear diapers when she goes to bed, she would wait until bed time and, no more than five minutes after the diaper goes on, she'd push out a poop. A little annoying, but it was thrilling to see how exciting underwear was to her.
Fast forward to Friday. I come home from work to get this exciting announcement from Lauren: "Daddy! I went poo poo on the potty!!". We were so happy for her and she was so excited too! We got a repeat performance yesterday and more praise was heaped upon her. All of a sudden, she "gets it". I'm waiting to see how the rest of this fairs, but it is such a relief to see how, after all the frustration and self doubt, we didn't emotionally scar our daughter for life. She won't be wearing diapers when she's 13!
If there is one thing I am truly thankful for is the cutoff date for school. If Lauren was born before September, she would have had the opportunity to go to school this year. I simply cannot fathom the stress associated with that. Now, she has a full 9 months to perfect this skill. It truly is a load off our minds (so to speak).

Beep Beep Beep

This morning marked the beginning of yet another era in my life. I had managed to avoid it for the past 14 or 15 years and was damn proud of it. It can no longer be avoided. I have now entered the dreaded "Alarm Clock" Era. That's right, I have to wake up at a pre-scheduled time that doesn't have a "p.m." follow it, something I had managed to avoid in that decade plus.
I can hear the questions now, "That time span puts the start before college. Didn't you set an alarm while in college?" Well, yes, but this time I actually have to get up (you can ask any friends about my legendary snooze ability).
So, what could possibly force me to set an alarm every morning and actually listen to it? Like anything I have to do now a days, it's the kids. Debbie started working again, so she's out the door before 7. That leaves me in charge of the kids and Sheba all morning. If I sleep in, I have to find a way to entertain Eric, Lauren, and Sheba while taking a bath. It ain't happening. If that isn't possible, that means I have to be up and cleaned BEFORE the kids wake up. That means I have to be up before Debbie leaves the house! *AAARRGGH*
I can feel your sympathy emanating through my computer screen now. "Oh you poor thing!" I can hear. "You have to wake up before 7? That's horrible!". So, thank you for your sympathy. I shall pretend that none of it is facetious in any way.

I'm not crying, I'm just washing my eyes

There are times when children do things so upsetting to their parents, the only recourse is to huddle away in a corner, cry, and ponder what went wrong. When confronted with this situation, I'm not saying I cried, but I did huddle in a corner and ponder what mistakes I might have made.
After returning safely home, my in-laws came to visit the next day. Due to schedules and work, we did not get to open their or our presents until the 1st. So, this entire time, there are presents under the tree. There are even some special presents that weren't under the tree before we left for Baltimore. Lauren barely noticed them. Okay, I said, she's having fun playing with grandma and she was used to not touching the presents under the tree. She'll get excited when we start opening. The day arrives and we proudly announce we're going to open presents today. Lauren seems pleased with the idea, but does not reach any sort of fever pitch one can only achieve by injecting adrenaline directly into the bloodstream or by giving a child a cookie. Midway through opening presents and Lauren's done. She's got some toys she likes and she's decided that's enough for today. Ooookaaay, I think to myself. She's just tired and there were a lot of presents (I think grandma robbed a Toys R Us or something). We try again on Thursday and proudly announce it's time to open presents again. Do you know what my darling little angel said? "Not yet, maybe later."

WHAAAAAAAAA?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Not yet?!?!? NOT YET?!?!?! Why not just rip my heart out and perform the Mexican Hat Dance on it? My own daughter ... *sniff* ... showing ... *sob* ... SELF-RESTRAINT!!!! WAAAAA! I'm still at a loss. How could she do this to me? I wanted to open presents and she wouldn't let me!
Well, there's only one thing to do now. Lauren's a lost cause. Time to refocus my efforts on Eric. I'll make him a present opening fiend with no time for things like thank you's and reading the cards if it's the last thing I do.

Stages of Life: Crawl, Chew Food, and Poop

Several milestones have been reached and I've just been too lazy to say anything. Bad daddy!
First, Eric is crawling! The little guy was so close for so long it was getting comical. For a period of about 2 weeks, he would get on all fours, rock back and forth, and then do a face plant on the rug. This was followed by some minimal movement achieved through using his arms to drag himself forward. Finally, he got his legs to work in concert with his arms and Voila! Crawling baby!
Second, we have a tooth! This boy has been drooling so much recently, boats with passengers wearing rain ponchos would travel up the river that lead from his mouth to the drain. Salmon could be seen jumping over his head trying to get upstream. There weren't enough towels to contain the saliva torrent he created (Hmm .. hyberbole much?). It took several midnight - 3 am blood curdling screams, but the bugger broke through and he now has a sharp little tooth. I can't say I've seen it yet because, even though he smiles a ton, he likes to stick his tongue out when doing it, making it a bit hard to see. I have felt it though.
Third, real food ... well ... not real ... he's not eating steaks and hamburgers (though he looks like it). He's already passed the stage 1 foods and easily progressing through the stage 2's. This boy can eat! On the rare occasion when I've fed him, he just opens wide and takes container after container of food. From green beans to vegetable beef, no food is too delicious to ignore.
Finally, potty training. Yes, we're still trying and it's been interesting. Lauren has no problem going pee pee on the potty. She is quite happy about it, though there is the occasional wet diaper still. It's poo poo that is going to be the end of Debbie and I. She steadfastly refuses to go poo poo on the potty. We've tried everything. She's almost run out of reward stickers for having a dry diaper and going pee pee, but the poo poo on the potty stickers have yet to be touched. We've tried being gentle, being stern, telling her to sit on the potty when she gets "the face", just about anything we can think of. She still refuses. We're going to try the "$75 solution" next, and it might work, but it's just a pain to see through to the end. Fortunately, Lauren doesn't have to be fully potty trained until August when she's old enough to go to pre-school, but I would like to be done with this sooner than that. Much sooner. If anyone says potty training a toddler is easy, I may have to do a beat down. Preferably with a bag full of poopy diapers.
So those are the recent milestones for the kids. Hopefully, the wife and I can retain just enough sanity to get through this and then start all over again with Eric. Hooray!

The Two Faces of Eric

Our little Michelin Man as become a real hoot. He's recently figured out there's this thingy in his mouth he can stick out and it makes people laugh. More so when he starts jiggling and wiggling it. So now, a quick glimpse of the pudge ball's face will mirror either the smile of an 85 year old who forgot his dentures or Michael Jordan mid-dunk (see below).

In case of emergency, use for good

Last week brought some unsettling news in to the Twench household. I always knew Lauren was born with an innate power I would have no chance of controlling. I could only hope to train her to use this power for good rather than evil. Unfortunately, the training has to start a lot earlier than I had ever imagined. You see, last week, Lauren's day care provider told us about a little incident that occurred when they were at the park. Lauren has 2 friends about her age, we shall call them Shy & Sensitive and Little Caveboy (both boys). Shy & Sensitive is exactly that, but is starting to come out of his shell. He likes to talk, especially with lauren. Little Caveboy likes to grunt and scream as boys like to do. Lauren used to hang out with Little Caveboy all the time, but lately has gravitated towards Shy & Sensitive. Thus begins "The Incident". At the park, Lauren gave Shy & Sensitive a hug, but not Little Caveboy. If you were Little Caveboy, how would you react? Yup ... a fight ensued between the two. With her blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and slender physique, I knew Lauren would hold tremendous sway over those of the male gender in her surroundings. I just never in my wildest dreams figured we would hit that point at 3 years old.

Happy Birthday Lauren

It's a day late, but I forgot to mention that, yesterday, Lauren turned 3 years old. In the past year, her hair has gone from thin and whispy to longer and little thicker. Her height has reached to over 3 feet. Her vocabulary just grows by leaps and bounds and her pronunciation get clearer every day. She's also gone from an only child to the big sister. What a year.

We Theme Because We Can

As Heather opined, it is quite nice to be able to theme your children's halloween costumes. Here we are about ready to set off on the grand Trick-or-Treat Adventure.

 

Gallery Update

It's Friday afternoon. You don't want to work, do you? Well, here's a nice time waster. PICTURES!!!

Watch the installation of our new windows.
March pictures.
April pictures .
May pictures
Some renovations to Eric's and Lauren's room.
June pictures.
July pictures.
August pictures .
September pictures.
Eric's Baptism.
Pictures from our trip to Greenville, SC, Charlotte, NC, Baltimore, and Ocean City.

Okay, so you may need more than the afternoon.

Eric's 6 Month Update

Eric recently had his 6 month checkup and all I can say is, "What a chunker!"
Height: 28 inches
Weight: 19#13

For some perspective, Lauren reached a weight of around 20 pounds when she was 15 months old. I think I need to start a Debbie Chiropractic Fund soon.

Thus begins the favoritism

"Mom always liked you best!"
Have you or a sibling ever used this phrase? I haven't, but I know my brother has. Because ... well .. mom did like me best. What's not to like? I was the perfect child. Anyway, I digress. Yesterday, I actually did something for which I am ashamed. Eric is getting too big for the infant carrier. He's little feet dangle off the end like some perverse cat toy. Debbie and I both knew it was time for an upgrade. On the other end, Lauren is close to outgrowing her convertible car seat. Her weight is still in Range, but her height is pushing the limits of the 5 point harness. Hmm ... we could buy Eric 2 new convertible car seats at a cost of about $160 each OOOORRR we could move Eric into Lauren's seat and get her a new toddler seat at a cost of about $40 each. Wonder which one we chose? Yes ... Eric, who is using Lauren's infant carrier, will get to reuse Lauren's convertible car seat. Our only saving grace is both were a neutral color so our little boy wasn't gallivanting about in a bright pink with purple flowers infant carrier. The convertible seat too is a nice blue and black, so no issues there. Still, the cycle of hand-me-downs has continued. Just wait til Eric figures out he'll get Lauren's new booster seat too. And this one is pink with purple flowers.
We love you son. No .. really we do.

An Unknown Now Known

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SOME GRAPHIC POTTY DESCRIPTIONS. PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED.
As a parent, my world is constantly shaken by the discovery of here-to-fore unknown aspects of the inner workings of the universe. Case in point, did you know a woman could possibly miss the toilet while sitting down
We're in the middle of potty training right now. Lauren is successfully going pee pee on the potty (having heard 18 stickers since in a little under a month). She does like privacy though, so I stand outside the door while she goes. Lately though, I noticed the seat was getting wet. I figured the only explanation was she wasn't sitting properly, like leaning back to far. Endeavoring to figure out what was going on, I peeked in and saw what was happening. She was sitting correctly on the potty, not leaning back at all. However, she had clenched her legs so tightly that the urine was coming up and out the hoo hah (Yes .. I'm having fun with this okay?!) onto the seat. I was flabbergasted! I didn't think it was even possible for something like that to happen. Ladies? Is this something you knew and were hiding from us men?

Next, she'll want a boyfriend

Lauren is growing up way to fast. This weekend highlighted 3 distinct aspects where I'm not ready for her to be as old as she is.
First, control. We were at a restaurant when Lauren turned and said, "Mommy, I need to go pee pee!". Having heard this before, we had to make sure she knew what she wanted. "Sweetie, did you already go pee pee, or do you want to go to the potty?" "POTTY!" Debbie got up, took Lauren to the potty and, sure enough, the little girl did her business. We had been using the potty at home, but it was more of a sit on it and see if something happens. This was the first time Lauren felt the urge and knew what to do. You should have seen our beaming faces after that little nugget ... well ... stream, in this case, came to light.
Up next, femininity. We decided to attend the annual Sunset Festival our town holds. There were all kinds of things for Lauren to do, including a nail salon offering free nail polish for girls. There must be something innate in females around the world that attract them to cosmetics like a moth to fire. Once Lauren saw what the ladies at the table offered, she had to have it. Even more scary was she knew pretty much what her role in finger nail polishing was. Almost, like some dormant gene activated by the beautification ritual she witnessed on the girl in front of us. I was thinking she would go for a bright pink or a purple nail polish, maybe even a silver. Nope, she went straight for the Boy Toy Red. I was having a hard enough time with my little girl getting her finger nails all gussied up, but this was getting unbearable. Here was my blond haired, blue-eyed, tan little girl getting a shade of finger nail polish that told any 3 year old boy in a 1 mile radius to come hither. When it was time to get a pink monkey tattoo, it, fortunately, went on the arm, but I know the day will come when it won't be on the arm, but the small of the back. When that day comes, I'm locking her in the basement and buying a shotgun.
Third, maturity. For some odd reason, Lauren had taken to sleeping on the floor for the past week or so. Debbie and I did not know what to make of this. Just before bed time, she would request a quilt be laid on the floor. Once done, she would hop onto that instead of her toddler bed. It finally struck us that maybe ... just maybe ... the toddler bed was getting to small for her lean, but tall frame. Maybe it was time she graduated to a real big girl bed.
Finally, empathy. Of course, as parents of the 21st century, the new bed would be required to have netting so she wouldn't fall out and bump her head. I'm not sure why ... maybe due to some repressed trauma I had ... All I remember is sleeping on a bunk bed with a slat about 2 inches high to prevent my plummeting 5 feet to the floor. Sure I had dreams of falling a lot, but every morning, I go up off the floor and felt fine! Anyway, it was my job to put the contraption together last night. Things were going along fine as I assembled and Lauren played. Then, I hit a snag. I could not, even with all my strength, get the final security bar in place so I could secure it with a screw. I did everything I could. It just would not get even close to being in position. I may have let out a few choice words which might have possible entered the ear canal of my daughter where it was possible the drum converted those words into maybe a signal to the brain where it could have registered that maybe daddy was getting a little frustrated. Lauren lifted her attention from her castle, looked at me, and said the following:

It's okay daddy. I know you can do it! You're my daddy!

Like the Grinch on the top of Mount Crumpet, I felt a surge of energy akin to a heart growing 3 sizes that day and I FELT THE STRENGTH OF TEN DADDIES .. PLUS TWO. With that strength, I was able to look that bar in the eye and say, "I CAN DO THIS!" And I did. All because my little girl knew daddy needed some words of encouragement.
See, I can't handle this. She's getting so big already. I don't want to even think of the day she says she has a boyfriend. Eric needs to get big fast so I can use him to beat up any potential suitors. At least that way, I can use the plausible deniability defense when his much bigger father comes to investigate.

Do Toddlers Get PMS?

I know there are women who read this blog, some even give comments that make me feel all funny and tingly. So, for those of the fairer gender who are reading this, I must pose a question: How does a 2 year old get PMS?
Lest you think I'm a bit over the top (and what could possibly make you think that?), let me explain what brought this conundrum about. Yesterday, I made the horrible mistake of not letting Lauren put the keys in the car before we headed to day care. This gaffe was so egregious as to cause immense pain and suffering for the entire drive to day care. All 10 minutes of it. Tears, yells, kicks, etc where in plentiful supply. The drama continued up to and past drop off. It was so bad, a drop-and-run technique was employed to break free from the vise like grip she used around my neck.
Let's cut to this morning where I had the foresight to let Lauren place the keys in the car. Yesterday's screaming, crying hellion transformed into a peaceful, quiet, even pleasant little angel. She took off her shoes, gave me a kiss, and went to see her friends. As I left, she yelled "Goodbye Daddy! I wuv you!!!".
I don't know if I will be able to survive the teenage years if this is what the toddler years are like. I'm just envisioning a similar mood swing, but completed in a compact 15 minute timespan. Oh, and several of those a day. If I don't lose my hair by then, I'm going to rip it out.

Operation Tinkle Tinkle Plop Plop

Wow!! That's all I have to say right now. We are smack dab in the middle of Operation Tinkle Tinkle Plop Plop here at the Brown Household. Since returning from vacation, Lauren has used the potty THREE times to go pee pee!!!!!! She's earned 3 of the 10 stars she needs to get the giant Minnie Mouse!! We're just on cloud nine. We've had her sit on the potty for close to 3 months now with nothing. Then BLAM!!! 3 times in 2 days! Woot! Up next is getting the Plop Plop phase of the operation going. She's a little hesitant about that, but hopefully, she'll figure out it's much better than using a diaper.
It's funny ... when Lauren was born I was a little disappointed she would have to wait until she was almost 5 before going to preschool. Now, I'm ecstatic. If we had to have her potty trained before September of this year, I'm not sure we could have done it. With the cut off date though, she'll have a whole year of potty use under her belt before going to school. I think she'll be just fine.

I'm counting the paychecks now

Eric just had his four month check up and boy, are his stats an eye opener.

Weight: 17 lbs 14 oz
Height: 27 in
Head: 42 cm

That puts him in the 95th, 96th, and 50th percentiles respectively. So, my dreams of having a NFL linebacker for a son seem to be coming to fruition. Fortunately, his head is normal sized so he'll look good and can get the endorsements too :)

Roll Over Beethoven

We knew it was coming. All the signs pointed to this week being the week it happened. Yesterday, for the first time ever, Eric rolled over!!!!! All last week, he had been stuck at his side, not really sure what his arm was supposed to do. Then, last night at around 2045 EDT, he did it. He got to his stomach, lifted his head, and exclaimed: "Ah crap! Is it tummy time already?"
As we all know, once you figure something out, it's much easier to do it again. So, whenever he gets placed on his back, he immediately rolls to his stomach. The one scary part now is he's moving his arms and legs like he wants to crawl. Just think ... a little while longer and I will be the father of 2 mobile children. I think I should renew my Valium prescription.

Watch out for the zombie

Do you remember when our nights began at 10:00 pm? I surely can't. Nowadays, come 22 hundred hours, I'm getting ready to hit the sack. Except for tonight. With the in-laws in town, Debbie and I took the opportunity to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (HPATOOTP for you hep cats out there). The first showing after the kids' bed time was 10:00. We just got back. I can't say I'm looking forward to work tomorrow. I just hope I can fight off the urge to have BRAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNSSSS for lunch.

New Friends

Lauren got to make some new friends today. In no particular order, she met:

• Mr. Thirsty
• Mr. Sunshine
• Mr. Tooth Tickler
• Mr. Tooth Counter
• Miss Angie
• Dr. Niles

Confused? Today was Lauren's first trip ever to the Dentist! Mr. Thirsty is the suction thingie; Mr. Sunshine is that big spotlight; Mr. Tooth Tickler is the brush they use at the end of the cleaning; Mr. Tooth Counter was the little scrapey thing; Miss Angie is the hygienist; and the Dr. Niles is self-explanatory. We had been prepping her for the past week that this day was coming. We practiced big smiles and opening wide and making sure brushing our teeth before bed was part of the night time ritual. All of that paid of incredibly well today. Lauren was full of smiles and opening wides and, in general, was very cooperative with both the hygienist and the dentist. On top of being so cooperative, they were very pleased with how Lauren's teeth looked. Even her chipped tooth looked good.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow because I get to unveil a brand new toy for Lauren: a Power Wheels Corvette! My friend, Tony, gave me a little while ago, but the battery didn't arrive until today. So, if you are in our area, watch out for a good looking blond cruising around the neighborhood in a corvette with the top down. I'm guessing she's going to go until all 6 volts of that bad boy are drained.

Now What Do I Do?

I've worked out what I think is a pretty nice morning routine. She gets up; I get her milk; I retrieve her from her bedroom and bring her to my bedroom; place her in the playpen; turn on the TV; and then I'm free to get ready for the day. For 870 days, this routine has suited me just fine ... until today.
Sometimes during this morning routine, Lauren is not thrilled with the show Disney channel offers. The usual culprit is Handy Manny. She is okay with the show, but it does not receive the complete undevoted attention that a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse does. Apparently, she reached her threshold of Handy Manny while I was in the bathtub. Sometime during toweling off, I hear the sound of fabric rubbing together and a *thump*. An odd sound to be sure, but I thought nothing of it. Then, Lauren walked into the bathroom and said "Hi Daddy!".
That last sentence may not seem that bad but I refer you to our morning routine. When I started this bath, she was in a playpen happily watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. When I ended this bath, she was wandering around on her own. Great! She climbed out of the playpen. And she did it with such skill so as to not hurt herself. What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to trap her now? Guess I'm to turning the playpen upside down and putting a few bricks on top.

An Honest to God Conversation

As a parent, you know your child is maturing. You see it everyday. Little things they couldn't do before they suddenly can do now. As babies, the leaps involve movements: sitting up, grabbing things, crawling, walking, etc. As toddlers, the leaps are more subtle and completely take you by surprise. Now that I'm back at work (a thoroughly depressing subject I may address later), I am back to my routine of calling Debbie as I leave for home. When we last left, Lauren would want to talk to me on the phone, but this usually consisted of her listening to my blabbering like an idiot and then hand the phone back to mommy.
Last night, I made the requisite phone call and Lauren, as she usually does, asked for the phone. This time, perhaps deciding she had had enough of my gibberish, she actually talked to me. Not just words talking, but full sentences that also match the context of the conversation. She tells me a little about her day; how she went to the park, played outside, sang songs, and is now playing with mommy.
Great! It's only 7 more years until she's calling her friends and talking about shopping and fashion and school and ... ugh ... boys. I am so not ready for this.

I'm not ready for this

Read any parenting book and they will warn you not to overwhelm the child with too many new things. I thought this was because the child would rebel after all the change. Turns out I was wrong. As you all know, we moved Lauren to a toddler bed this past week. This transition has gone smoother than my wildest imagination could ever fathom. Even with the babysitter on Thursday, Lauren had no problems staying in the bed until morning.
Tonight brought something for which I was totally unprepared. We went shopping and thus ate dinner at a restaurant. We went to Noodles & Company because we both wanted something light and quick and it fits the bill pretty well. When Debbie started to put Lauren in the high chair, Lauren gave a fit. Knowing this is not really Lauren's M.O., Debbie came up with a reason for the fuss. Lauren decided she had no interest in using the high chair any more and wanted the booster seat. This meant Lauren was now at two major routine changes in the course of 5 days. Here's the rub: She has adjusted, once again, beautifully. I, however, was caught totally unprepared for this second change and am feeling a little overwhlemed. I can't believe she's big enough to use a booster seat at a restaurant! When the hell did this happen?
Here's what is really getting to me though. Lauren is itching to do potty training too. I have no idea how long we can hold off starting this one, but that would be three major routine changes in about 1 month. I'm convinced Lauren would have no problem starting potty training tomorrow. Daddy is a completely different story.

Little girl is growing up

Lauren slept in the toddler bed like she slept in the crib. There were no mumblings or rumblings all night. To make sure Lauren behaved herself after waking up, I made sure to be up before hand. Once up, Lauren was very good. She babbled a bit and played with her stuffed animals. Around the time I heard a a drawer being opened, I figured it was time to check what the little rugrat was up to. Walking in, I found Lauren had pulled out a pair of pajamas to replace the ones she was already wearing. Other than that though, she did great!
Bedtime tonight went even better. I spent less than 20 minutes in her bedroom with no problems. One extra hug was all that was needed to calm her. I just cannot believe how well this is going. At some point, we're going to run into problems with this new bed. For now, I'm just enjoying this smooth sailing!!

My God, what have we done?

I'm scared ... really really scared!!! Tonight, Debbie and I decided it was time. Lauren has been sleeping in cots at daycare for some time now and we need to move her out of the crib soon. We've had a toddler bed for a few months and tonight was the night for Lauren to use it. I didn't really know what to expect. I figured it might be exciting at first, but my hunch was we would have to move her back to the crib for the next few nights. If that happened, we still felt it good to expose her to the toddler bed so she could get used to the idea of not sleeping in the crib. About all I can say now is the transition went better than I could have possibly hoped for.
When we pulled the bed out of the back bedroom, Lauren was very intrigued. She had seen it before and we told her it was a bed, but without a mattress, I don't think it was all that interesting to her. After I moved her mattress from the crib to the bed, Lauren took to it like a fish to water. She got this huge smile and jumped right onto the bed. Thus began our first lesson of sleeping in a bed: Do not jump up and down on the bed. After we finished our bed time routine of story, milk, and brushing of the teeth, it was time to see how well she would use this new contraption. Knowing her propensity for an "active" bed time, I stayed in the room to keep an eye on her. I then gave her the second rule of sleeping in a bed: If you get out of bed, you sleep in the crib. This seemed to work for about 20 minutes. She didn't stay still (sitting up, talking to me, playing with her stuffed animals), but she stayed on the bed. Then it happened, she hoped off the bed and started walking around the room. As I approached her, she ran back to the bed and laid down again. I began clearing things off so I could move the mattress back to the crib (we only have the one), which caused her to fuss.
I don't know if I wussed out here or sent mixed signals. She seemed to understand what I was doing and she didn't like it. She knew what she did to cause it and expressed remorse for it. My gut said to give the bed one more try. I placed everything back on the bed, she climbed in, covered up, and seemed to stay still. After another 10 minutes, I felt good enough to leave the room. I explained to her she was not to get out of the bed, but when morning came, she could call for me and I would get her. At this point I kissed her for the 30th time that night and left the room. I kept the door open only slightly just to see if she would stay. And I stood by that door for another 15 minutes (actually, I was standing in our bedroom watching TV, but I could see the door). I am still shocked at this, but she stayed in her bed. She talked for a little bit and let out those little cries she makes when falling asleep, but she did not leave her bed.
Now, we wait til morning. I've installed a chain on her door so she cannot open it on her own. Despite her tiny hands, Lauren is very good at opening doors and we felt this was the only way to keep her in her bedroom. All I have to do now is wake up at an ungodly hour tomorrow to make sure I am up before her. Prior to this, I would spend about 10-20 minutes in bed after she woke me up while she talked and did her little crib thing. For the next few weeks, I need to make sure I'm up before her to see what she will do during this time. I'll let you know how it goes.