The big boy bed, round 2

It’s official – Kale is in his very own big boy twin sized bed. I tell you what, had I known that he would go to bed without any issues we would have done this last month when we took down his crib! I had noticed that at bed time he kept wanting to crawl in bed with Nolan, so maybe we should have picked up on that. Adam asked him this morning if he liked sleeping in his new bed and he shook his head yes and said “uh huh”! The boys thought it was so much fun to jump off the mattress on to the floor, as the mattress isn’t in a bed frame yet. I put up the bed rail in hopes they would stop, but it actually made it more fun for them, as Kale backed up, ran toward the railing and jumped over it on to the bed. I think gymnastics might the best thing for him!

Nolan has been especially funny lately. He asked me the other morning if he could smell my coffee. I told him yes, he smelled it and said “Mmmm, it’s perfect”. The day before that he was pushing a toy train around the house saying “Chug chug chug on the board!”. He is also really in to having conversations with Kale. When leaving daycare earlier this week he said “Mom, I’m going to tell Kale we’re going this way.” I said okay, and he told Kale “Kale (except he pronounces it Kal), we’re going this way.” And then Kale nods his head and says “ok”. Last night Nolan pulled out every toy from all 3 toy bins looking for his motorcycle. He didn’t find it, so I asked him to put away all the toys. He started whining and complaining, so I told him he could ask Kale to help him. “Kal, can you help me put away the toys?” Kale responded yes and all the toys were picked up with just a little help from me. Kale won’t always be so agreeable to requests like this, so I hope Nolan is enjoying it!

We celebrated our godson’s baptism last Sunday. It was a great day. The only thing that didn’t go well is when Adam and I walked up for the ceremony, as the boys wouldn’t just sit in the pew. They decided to come with us. Nolan started crying so Adam had to hold him the whole time, while Kale stood in front of me holding a bible. That didn’t last long, and pretty soon he was trying to sneak up the stairs on to the alter. I grabbed him to hold him but he wasn’t having it and proceeded to drop the bible with a loud noise, so I passed him off to Grandma Ellen. Luckily Aunt Anna had some fruit snacks so he didn’t keep freaking out! Looking back we should have planned that better! The boys napped liked rock stars at Erica and Dave’s, so we got to fit in extra visiting time. When we finally got home we pulled the sprinkler out for them to run through. Nolan thought it was so much fun, and he kept telling us “Mom/Dad, watch me run away from the water!” Kale wasn’t quite as excited, so he pulled out other toys to play with. 

The boys had fun celebrating Adam's birthday when we got home, especially when we sang happy birthday and finally got to the cake!

This weekend we are going on our first official camping trip. It is going to be hot, but that’s just how it is with camping! We have 3 fans to plug in, so hopefully there will be a little breeze to help keep it cooler. Our plan is to spend lots of time at the beach and playground to tire out the kids. Last night before bed I asked Nolan what his favorite part of the day was. He said his usual, “playing at Jane’s house, playing outside in the sandbox”, and then added “camping in our camper”. I asked him if he was excited and he said yes. I hope it stays that way when he realizes how hot it’s going to be! It’s funny, whenever we talk about how hot is it is he corrects us and says “It’s not hot, it’s warm.”

It's potty time, round two!

Kale has started to show some interest in potty training over the last few weeks.  He'll walk in to the living room or kitchen and start to pull his pants down.  He doesn't quite have the patience to sit for long periods of time on the potty, but he likes to give it a good try.  Kale woke up from his nap at daycare today with a dry diaper.  Jane asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty.  He said "uh huh", ran in to the bathroom, sat on the potty and went.  Jane said his eyes got really big because he was so surprised! He got a special treat as a reward and was super excited.  Before bath tonight I took his diaper off and it was dry.  I asked him if he wanted to go potty and he again said "uh huh", sat down, and a few minutes later he went.  I was so surprised because I didn't think he would actually do it!  Nolan and I were so excited for him, and Kale was excited because he got an M&M.  I'm sure this isn't something that will be real consistent yet, but it's a step in the right direction.  What a great ending to the day!

Bedtime

Bedtime is getting easier with Kale, finally! Toward the end of last week he was only crying for about 5 minutes, and then putting himself to bed. Adam gave it a shot on Sunday night, and Kale of course went right to bed without a fuss! I think he has my number:) Adam left for another out of town trip on Monday, so it was just me to put Kale to bed again on Monday. I was so excited that he went right down, no fuss, at his usual bedtime of 6:50! He fussed a little last night, but not bad. I think we have finally figured this thing out. Unfortunately he’s been waking up super early, first on Tuesday morning because of the storms (4:20 am), and then today again at 4:15. I laid on the floor in his room until 4:45 to see if he would go back to sleep. He didn’t, so I decided to shut the door again and let him figure it out. After about 10 minutes of crying he did, and didn’t wake up until 6:30. Nolan was in the living room when I came upstairs after getting ready this morning. His pj pants were inside out, backwards and a bit sideways, so I asked him if he went to the bathroom. He replied “Yes, I went potty all by myself!” This is the kind of independence I could get used to! On Monday morning he surprised me by putting toothpaste on his and Kale’s toothbrushes for me. Nolan went through a bit of tough spell right after he turned 3, but he has sure turned a corner in the last few weeks and is back to his old self! I’m thankful for that every day as we deal with Kale’s tantrums and stubbornness!


Adam was able to get on an earlier flight last Friday, so I took the kids to dinner at Perkins and then surprised them by taking them to the softball fields for Adam’s game. We drove in the parking lot and Nolan saw the truck right away and asked if it was daddy’s truck. I told him I wasn’t sure, so when he and Kale saw Adam they were super excited! Adam hung out with his friends Friday night, so I was thankful the rain cleared up so I could take the kids to see him play softball again on Saturday morning. We spent Father’s day doing some yard work, hitting the beach before the storms, napping (I napped both days!) and then enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner. The icing on the cake was Kale going to bed without a fuss!

Yesterday when I picked the boys up at daycare Kale said “Hi mom, how are you?” It’s amazing how he’s talking in sentences. He and Nolan have conversations now that are very funny. They don’t always make sense, but they sure try!

The Ringbearer

We had a lot of fun at the wedding last weekend.  Nolan did great in rehearsal, with a little help from some fruit snacks and the best man, Brian.  We were so hopeful he would walk down the aisle, but he just couldn't do it.  Pictures were at 11:30, which interrupted his lunch of a chicken nuggets happy meal.  It was so sad when we had to get him dressed for the pictures, because he told us "all I want to do is eat my happy meal."  After pictures he finished his lunch and then he took a nap on Adam for about an hour and 15 minutes - not quite long enough to get him excited to participate!  The good news is he rallied, and again with a little help from fruit snacks given to him by the best man he stood up there with the wedding party for the vows, the closing prayer and even walked out of the church, holding his cousin Claire's hand!  The best part of the whole thing was when he leaned over before going up for the final prayer, and he let out a loud toot.  Everyone in the first 3 pews heard it, and then looked at the groomsmen.  We all got a good laugh out of it!  The reception was fun, and the highlight for Nolan was running back and forth between our table and the stage.  Both Adam and I remember going to weddings when we were much, much younger and just wanting to run around and dance.  Nolan didn't really get to dance, because it got to be too late for him.  One of the highlights for me was dancing with him to our first mother/son dance.  It was so crazy to look at the groom with his mom and realize that in a blink of an eye they grow up!  I'm sure the next time I do that dance with him I won't be holding him! 

The hotel had a great age appropriate pool area, so we spent an hour or two every day swimming with the boys.  There was a small slide that went in to the bigger pool that was a huge hit with them.  Nolan went first and was a little hesitant, but warmed up after his first ride down.  Kale, on the other hand, got up to the top and slid right down without hardly stopping!  The good news was that the pool was only 3 1/2 feet deep, so Adam could stand at the end and catch them.  There was a kiddie pool area with a big mushroom thing that the boys liked, too.  Kale was a little unsteady on his feet at times, and when he would fall over face first he wouldn't be able to get up on his own.  It only had a foot of water, but it was just enough to be dangerous for him.  Needless to say we kept a close eye on him!  The boys got their energy both days by eating their way through the continental breakfast.  Nolan was a huge fan of the syrup for his waffles, so much so that he drank it straight from the little cup.  It was just like out of the movie Elf - does syrup have sugar?  Then yes!

Our good friends and their kids joined us for the weekend to watch Kale for us on Saturday for the wedding.  Of course he was perfect for them!  He ate well, swam hard and went to sleep pretty easily.  That was a very different experience than putting him to bed on Friday night.  He screamed his head off for me for about 20 minutes before Adam came in and got him down.  I swear that kid is trying to break me down bit by bit by not going to sleep good!  I guess I should be thankful he does for other people, so we can continue to ask for help with babysitting!

Adam has been gone all week at an out of state client.  Before he left we figured out how to use Skype so he can see the kids.  It seems to be working great and the kids love seeing him.  It's great to hear Nolan say "look at me, Dad", and for Adam to actually be able to watch him!  Kale has been giving me a run for my money again with his bedtime routine.  On Monday it took me 45 minutes, Tuesday it was an hour and half of screaming and flailing, and yesterday it was about 25 minutes.  He figured out how to scale the baby gate I was putting up in front of his door, so I've resorted to shutting his door to let him cry it out.  It didn't work well the first night because he threw around a whole bunch of stuff in his room - which meant I had to go in there with him.  When I finally did get him to sleep I had to crawl out of the room backwards on my hands and knees.  I'm sure I looked ridiculous!  Last night it worked better, as he only banged on the door and screamed for about 8 minutes before putting himself to sleep.  I hate to have to do that, but I'm at my wits end.  As I hold him and he screams I try and remind myself that he's not going to let me rock him forever, so I need to try and enjoy the moment - even if he's screaming at me!

Kale is picking up more and more things we say.  His latest is "oh oh spaghettio's", which he learned at daycare.  He and Nolan are becoming really great play partners, but Kale is also figuring which buttons to push on Nolan to irritate him.  Nolan is pretty patient with him, but when he isn't look out!  We also discovered that Kale LOVES chocolate milk.  We also discovered it gives him a pretty big energy rush!

I took the boys to the eye dr. today for Kale's 6 month check up.  Nolan was excited and did really, really well.  When I dropped him off at Jane's he told her "the dr. looked at my eyeballs today!"  I don't know what it is, but Nolan really truly likes going to the dr.  Kale even sat still, which was a miracle.  There aren't any concerns with either of them, so that means we just need to follow up with our regular visits.  Hopefully this will be the last we see of a specialist!

  

We were surprised on Monday to get a phone call from Paulette and Ryan to tell us our new niece was born early - only by 5 days!  Adalyn Mary is super cute, and I've already gotten to see her twice.  Nolan and Kale weren't all that interested.  I take that back, Kale was interested in me as soon as I started holding her!  We've welcomed 2 nieces and 1 nephew since the end of March.  Our familes are getting so big!

Ready, aim and fire!

Nolan is trying to refine his standing up to go to the bathroom skills. I will most likely not be the person to help him with this after a few failed attempts last week. It is much more complicated than one would think! On the up side our bathroom is really clean on a regular basis!


Nolan’s latest and greatest comments include “trust me” and “you won’t be disappointed”. This weekend he is the ring bearer in a wedding. We’re keeping our expectations low at this point, in hopes that he’ll totally exceed them and walk down the aisle with no problem!

Adam and I are at our wits end with Kale and the not so good bedtime ritual he’s started. We just started reading a book to help us with our spirited child. The good news is that Nolan sleeps through all of it. The bad news is Kale’s crying isn’t slowing down. I let him go 12 minutes last night and he didn’t miss a beat. Luckily he was still sleeping by 7:30. I know he’ll eventually outgrow it, but it’s pretty painful when you’re in the moment.