Thursday 28 August 2008

Little Tidbits

Caleb is now eating only adult food. He has never been impressed with pureed food, only tolerating it for nourishment, and grabbing a fistful of adult food whenever possible. Then last week he finally refused to eat any more baby food. He clamped his mouth shut, wriggled in his high chair and fussed and screamed through the whole ordeal. In the midst of it all, he yanked on the table cloth to bring Colin's plate of food over to him and hastily chowed down on everything he could get his fingers on. So I guess he's ready for finger food! He loves cereal, veggies and fruit. He's never been a meat boy, but that's a good thing, I guess.

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Colin's toilet training just isn't happening. He really isn't ready for it. Although he doesn't like the wet underwear, he only ever tells us after he's gone. I do my best to get him to sit on the toilet after meals and naps, but I have to admit my own part in this can be sporadic also. (Something to do with another baby demanding my attention also?) I'm moving to use pull-up diapers instead of underwear, as I'm tired of cleaning up all those messes and Colin is showing no sign of understanding his bodily functions. I think it's too early for him yet, but I don't think moving back to diapers is a good idea - I spent too much time re-enforcing the fact that only babies like Caleb wear diapers. So "Diego Underwear" (pull-ups) it is for now.

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Caleb woke up at 8am yesterday and 7:30 am this morning! Probably because of the trip out west, but I'm not complaining, and I'm not working on "getting him back on Toronto time"! He's going to bed later in the evening, which means I sacrifice some of my alone time (or time alone with James) but, for the short term, it's definitely worth it to sleep past 5am!

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Caleb just climbed up the stair from the playroom into the kitchen. I guess using that stair to keep him in one place won't work anymore!

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Colin starts nursery school next Wednesday! I am not ready for my little boy to go off to school! (Some faithful readers of my blog may be wondering what happened in my personal home school debate. Look for an entry on that in the next few days).

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My mother-in-law stayed at my house to watch Colin while Caleb and I were in B.C. She is very very very neat and clean. Very. Downside: I go crazy trying to have the place tidy and clean when she is coming over. Upside: I came back from vacation to a very clean home, and with a few organizing upgrades! She cleared up my kitchen counter with a new "sit-in-the-sink" dish rack, moving the mat of the old dishrack up under the bathroom sink to catch water from the basket of bath toys. Then she used the cutlery cup from the old dishrack to hold a pair of rubber gloves next to the kitchen sink. She found a small tub to hold vinegar/water/dishsoap for Colin's pee-filled underwear and picked up a nighlight for the bathroom to make our night wakings with Caleb easier. My deck looks fabulous just by her rearranging the toys a little. Everywhere her hand is evident seems just a little neater and tidier, and for that I am ever so grateful!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I struggle with the me (or couple) time versus sleep debate too. Funny how you never thought you'd have to choose, but you do :). Though, after my breaking down from lack of sleep (did you know if you sleep less than 2 hour in a row, your body does not get into the productive sleep? Did you know that if you sleep less than 2 hours at a time for months that you will snap and yell at your husband and cry for 45 minutes?) Shea slept sporatically from 9-12, then from 12-2:15, then from 2:30-6:15, then woke up at 8:00 for the day, not by crying, but by laying in his crib, softly cooing to himself. I told him I was SO PROUD of him, hehe. It won't last, it never does, but like you, I'll take it when I can get it, even if it is short-term :).
Potty training can be so hard. But, no healthy 20 year old is in diapers, so don't sweat it :).
I should borrow your mother-in-law, my place is a wreck :). I think if it was done as a commentary on my housekeeping abilities, it would annoy me, but done as a favour: blissful :). My mother-in-law lives in NJ and has not been here since I was pregnant, so no such luck :).
-Heather.

Terri-Ann said...

My big sleep problem is it takes me half an hour to an hour to get to sleep once waking up. Caleb wakes up every three hours for at least half an hour, so once you combine all that, I haven't slept more than an hour and a half in a row in nearly ten months...I felt awful the other day when I came home from Vancouver and instead of leaping into James' arms was crabby and complaining and generally miserable. And then too proud to apologize. I can't wait until this stage is over!

Thanks for the encouragement on toilet training. I'm moving to pull-ups for now - way too tired of cleaning up after underwear all day when he still has no recognition of knowing what it feels like before he goes.

Has your mother-in-law had a chance to meet Shea yet? Must be so hard for her, being so far away from a grandson!

Anonymous said...

Not yet. Shortly after Shea was born, Aaron's stepfather (who is blind) had a stroke, recovered, then got prostate cancer and is in treatment. So she can't come up. And with Aaron's new job, we can't go down (and I am not trying to maneover my way through NJ by myself with Shea, too easy to get into a bad area). Hopefully come January or February when Aaron's job settles a bit, and he has a lot of vacation time, we will get down to see her. Her other grandchildren live in Germany, so she doesn't see them often either. My mom feels so bad for her. She doesn't have a computer, so we can't e-mail her photos either. We mail her some, though :).
-Heather.

Terri-Ann said...

With James' parents in London, Ontario (and mine moving to Australia next year) we have a webcam. I know your mother-in-law doesn't have a computer, but perhaps you could look into an inexpensive one for Christmas for her? Webcams go for as little as $40 now, or less. Actually, I have an old laptop that I could give you - it's just collecting dust in my closet. Of course, your mother-in-law would need to pay for internet, which I don't know if she wants. Anyway, let me know if you're interested in the idea, and I can dig out the laptop and see if it would be compatible with a webcam out there....

Anonymous said...

My brother-in-law offered to get her a computer ages ago for photo-sharing, but I'm not sure why she didn't go for it. I will ask Aaron, though, if she would go for it!! We use the webcam to talk to my niece and nephews (Aaron's sister's children) in Germany. If she can swing basic internet, and you're willing to part with the old laptop, that may well be an option, I'll talk to Aaron and see. Thanks :).
In the meantime, we've suggested she get a hotmail account that she can check at the library, but the problem is her apartment is in the middle of nowhere and her time is spend shuttling Tony around on the bus, so it's difficult for her to get out for something like that, but if she has it in the budget for basic internet, that would be good. Or perhaps my Brother-In-Law could cover that if she won't let him buy her a computer (he is, quite literally, a millionaire. No joke. He spends his money wisely, which is why he is a millionaire, but I imagine he would pay for basic internet if he was willing to pay for a computer, if she will let him. And we can certainly get her a webcam. Much less expensive than trying to mail photos all the time :)). Anyway, I'm just musing to myself, I will ask Aaron and let you know :).
-Heather.

Anonymous said...

Aaron's mom is getting a computer from someone else, but thanks for the offer!!
-Heather.

Anonymous said...

Funnily enough, Aaron's mom just got her computer, hehe :).
-Heather.