Coloring with thought

Charlie's coloring has changed. At 2 1/2, what used to be just a few scribbles with very little pressure has turned into intentional coloring. He now tries to color the picture, not just the whole paper. Also, there is rhyme and reason to the colors he chooses.

In the picture he colored of The Wiggles, he chose the right colors for each member of the band. Very exciting!

Chicka Chicka Lapbook

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom, will there be enough room?

Today we completed our lapbook. Through out the week we read the book aloud everyday and worked on recognizing our own 1st initial, counting/sequencing, and just a simple basic intro to the preschool routine.

The pictures above are of Charlie's lapbook, the boys will be taking theirs home today. On the front is a picture reflecting the theme of the book and each boy glued on the various pieces to assemble the coconut tree. Inside there are pockets for upper and lowercase letters, an accordion mini-book of their name that they assembled (with help), and a pocket with coconut tree cards that they can work on putting in order per number of coconuts in the tree. As you can see they also enjoyed gluing foam letters all over the inside as well. All are very proud of their finished product.

Welcome Austin & Justin

The boys are here and Charlie couldn't be happier. Austin and Justin started daycare today.

Austin (3 1/2) has had a terrible time at his old sitters but has had a GREAT day here today. I was expecting to see some of the rough to handle behavior that I saw when Mom first came to visit (tantrums, screaming, hitting, out of control energy) but it lasted all of 1 minute while Mom was telling him he couldn't play outside until later. Together we got him inside and he immediately calmed down after I explained that we needed to wait until Mom left and we changed into bathing suit. He set off to play in the housekeeping area and was fine. Justin (2 1/2) came right in this morning and set off to play with the trains and had no problem starting our day.

Around 9:00 we cleaned up, hit the bathroom and changed into bathing suits. My plan for today was to just tucker them out and set up the boundaries and routine they needed to learn and hopefully they will nap after lunch, something they haven't been able to get the boys to do. We brought out snack and juice and played in the water and yard until 10:45.

All three boys got along great. Austin was very well behaved and when he did take toys or the likes, he readily handed them back when told to, apologized and waited his turn. Not a tantrum in sight. Justin definately tried to push the limits, testing what would be allowed or not. He did have to sit for a "time out" after not listening 1 too many times but seemed better after that. Just a typical 2 yr old behavior. Charlie shared his toys very well, as usual, and really enjoyed having friends to play in the pool with.

I herded 3 wet and muddy boys to the porch, stripped them, dried them, and sent them into the house. I think the AC shocked all their little bodies, they were very giggly. We all did the "potty" thing, got dressed and played cars.

During lunch, I established the sleeping arrangements for the boys so they would know the drill....Charlie upstairs in his bed, Austin on the couch, and Justin on the cot. Everybody seemed agreeable to the plan.

After they were each done eating and washed up, both Austin and Justin went directly to where they were to sleep and settled in. It was GREAT! So all three are sleeping, I've enjoyed a peaceful lunch and have had time to sit and relax here at the computer...and I was expecting a rough day.

Summer's coming ....

Today Charlie and I dragged the pool out from winter storage and gave it a thorough cleaning. Puddle jumping is a fine art he seems to be mastering very well. Its amazing how far water can splash.

After previously mentioned washing, the pool was filled just high enough to fully cover the drain hole and plug. I wanted to make sure it was in good working order before summer temps arrived this coming weekend.

A 2 yr old boy, ankle deep water, grass & dirt, and water shoes make for lots of fun but a very gross wading pool very quickly LOL

Charlie the Conductor

Charlie is back on the the "potty train" and sitting in the conductor's seat again. Since it's going to be such a nice day today, and there is no other kiddos around, he's going pantless. Except of course when we head outside to play. Wouldn't it be a wonder to have this over and done with before the new crew starts Monday for daycare. One can dream, right?

Stuttering .....

Truckkkk, outsideddd, housessss and so it goes. Charlie has been stuttering so much lately its unbelievable. Of course, being his very original self, his stutter is at the end of his words, LOLLLL. At least it makes it easier to wait out what he's saying ;-)

Better luck next time .....

Well, Charlie is better off in Pull-ups. I have learned, that with all his recent cognitive/language growth, the physical growth has taken a rest, which is very normal. The results being, he WANTS to wear "big boy" pants, does run in to go when he feels a lrg urge to go, goes almost always when asked to go .... but still pees almost constantly in small amounts all day long. Which means he's emotionally and mentally ready to be potty trained but physically doesn't have the bladder control yet to not have accidents all day. Having wet pants was getting him upset.

So we're going back to pull-ups so he can still go potty all the time when he needs to but not have wet pants and be all upset all the time. For now, we'll watch for the change when Charlie starts to show signs of new motor skills growth and hope that he can then learn to control his bladder ..... and maybe give our heads a rest from the constant questions, talking, singing, reading and counting that he's doing now LOL.

Big boy pants !!!!

Today starts the big "potty" weekend. Charlie has been using the potty very regularly but also wets in his pull-ups. Since Chuck is going away for the weekend, we went out last night to do a few last minute errands. One of those errands was picking out "big boy" pants with Charlie. He picked out Elmo ones with sports themes on them all. Mom also picked up the Gerber extra think padded ones that were on clearance.

With no other distractions planned or errands to do I wanted to start with the big boy pants this weekend. Once up, Charlie and I talked about no more diapers and then he picked out the soccer underwear to wear. He has had 1 accident so far and used the potty 3 times .... and its only 9:40 am. Its going to be a long day but we'll survive LOL

Wish me/him luck.

So this is Charlie

He turned 2 in February and he hasn't stopped jabbering since. From the moment he rises until the moment he goes to sleep he is always talking or singing. He's goofy, smart and quite a charmer.

Its been sooo many years since his sisters were that little that I have forgotten all the simple and amazing discoveries that happen when you're 2.

Today he came up to me all in a fluster and excited to show me the lines in his palms. Yep, that's what I said, palms. We then compared my palms to his and traced the lines and creases in our palms. That's just one little example. There are so many moments like this in our days, days filled with new discoveries and adventures.

So everyone, raise a palm, and cheer for the simple things in life.