MayJune05 Babies - So much to do at 2!

[MayJune05Moms]

Welcome to the May/June 2005 Parenting thread!

To join, please submit a post to this thread with the following information:

Me: AGE (including real 1st name is optional)
DH: AGE ( " " " " " )
Married: Date
DD/DS: Birthdate (can include multiple stats here if you have more than one child - if you prefer)
Baby's Stats: Weight & Height (at Birth)
any other information provided is also optional. :)



Please post any requests for a change in roster info in RED. Thanks!

YOUR THREAD MODERATORS ARE DISNEYGIRL and ALIENHOST


----------------------------------------------------------

45 members, WOW!!! :D

ahavnes
Me: Alicia (31)
DH: Scott (32)
Married: 2/21/04
DD: Gabrielle Kathleen (Abbey)
Born: 5/29/05 (7lbs 9oz, 20.5 inches, 5:11pm)

alienhost
Me: 36
DH: 42
Married: 8/02
DD: Katherine 4/27/05

allyray231
Me: Allyson, 32
DH: Brad, 31
Married: 11/23/02
DS: Aiden Harrison, June 10, 2005

Aunt Liv
Me: Olivia, 30
DH: Adam, 33
Married: September 2, 2000
DD: Maia Sophie, 5/14/05

BAM 9-21-02
Me - 26
DH - 25
Married 9-21-02
DD - Emma Mary
Born 6-12-05
Weight 7lbs 6oz
Height 20 3/4 inches

BridalLace
Me: Heather, 35
DH: Cristian, 34
Married: 7/6/02
DD: Elodie Cristine, born May 7, 2005
8 lbs 2 oz; 19.5"

BTB
ME: 28
DH: 29
Married: June 29, 2002
DD: Evelyn Christine, born April 13, 2005

Carissa
Me: Carissa, 27
DH: Eric, 26
Married: August 17th, 2002
DD: Grace Elizabeth May 15th, 2005
6lbs. 3oz 12:34 p.m. 18"

christy1010
Me: Christy, 37
DH: Curt, 36
Married: 10/10/98
DD: Sarah Elizabeth 5/21/05 5:39pm
7lbs 10oz 20inches

Chylynn
Me: Chylynn (29)
DH: Dave (31)
Married: September 22, 2001
DD: Rebecca Ainsley, Born April 2nd, 2005

cynder
ME: 31
DH: 31
Married: May 25 2002
DS: Samuel Basil May 19, 2005

Dally
ME: 36
DH: 39
Married: August 18, 2002
DD: Annalie, May 12, 2005

December27JJB
Me: Jessica
DH: Joshua
Married: December 27, 2003
DD: Parker Alexandria 6/13/05

diedra1027
Me: Diedra, 31
DH: Blake, 34
Married: August 24, 2001
DD: Avery Jene born May 5, 2005

DisneyGirl
ME: Jenn, 30
DH: E, 30
Married: June 15,2002
DS: 9/30/03
DD: Nikki 5/10/05

Dreshny
Me: Roseanne, 32
DH: Daniel, 32
Married: 9/30/01
DS: Asher Isaiah 5/31/05

happy1nuv
Me: 30
DH: 31
Married: 8/21/02
DS: Nic - 5/18/05

HedgeGirl
Me: Shann, 31
DH: 34
Married: Aug 17, 2002
DS Brady: June 22, 2005
Brady's Stats: At birth 6 lb, 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches

hub1176
Me: Kate 28
DH: Bruce 33
Married 7/20/02
DD: Rhiley Beatrice, June 1, 2005

IrishEyes
Me: 33
DH: 34
Married: April 26, 2002
DS: Brody, born 5/25/05

Jessiesmama
Me: 34
DH: 35
Married: June 8, 2003
DD: Jessica Alexa
DOB: June 8, 2005
Time:8:29pm
Weight:8 lbs 3 oz
Length:21 1/2 inches

jmvan74
ME: 33
DH: 30
Married: July 24th, 2004
DS: born June 13th, 2005

jrdhbunny
Me: 34
DH: 37
Married: 7/26/03
DS: James Edward, 4/26/05

kelseyledare
Me: 27
DH: 36
DD: Ava Victoria
6/10/2005 10:59 AM
6 lb 6 oz, 20 in

KGif
Me - Kelly 32
DH - Mike 36
Married May 3, 2003
DS, Jack, born May 16, 2005; 7 lbs 13 oz; 21 inches

kimthebride
Me: Kim, 31
DH: Tom, 31
Married: 10/18/03
DS: Thomas Ryan, June 3, 2005

kphillips4
Me: Kimberly (26)
DH: Chris (29)
Married: 3/13/2004
DD:06/17/2005
Baby's Stats: 7pds. 9 ounces and 20 inches long

ladybug0525
ME: Judie
DH: Jason
DS: Jack Campbell born 5/16/05
Married: 05/25/02

lattee22
Me: lattee22, Jaime, 29
DH: Brian, 27
Married: September 21, 2001
DD: Noelle, born May 2, 2005
Baby's Stats: 8lbs., 3 oz., 20 inches

LIZNKEITH
Me: Liz, 28
DH: Keith, 37
Married: July 28, 2001
DD: Caroline Elizabeth, June 15th
Baby's Stats: 6lbs 13 oz, 20.5 inches

Misty911
Me: Misty, 28
DH: Patrick, 30
SD: Trisha, 9
DS: Caleb, 21 months Born Dec. 23, 2003 8lb 9oz 22" Long
DD: Emily, 5 Months Born May 9, 2005 6lb 13oz 19" Long

Mrs.Chappy
Me:29
DH:29
DS: Benjamin born 6-8-05
7.15 oz 20.5 inches.

Natrat80
me-Natalie 25
DH-Keri 26
Married 05.25.02
DD: Addison Grace, born 06.14.05
6 lbs 6 oz 18 1/2 inches

njnewyearsbride
Me: 32
DH: 32
Married: 12/31/03
DD: Hazel - 5/26/05
7lbs 4.8oz 21.5"

Pam27
me: Pam 28
DH: Ryan 27
Married: July 27, 2001
DD: Taylor Louise January 10, 2002
DS: Colin George May 4, 2005

portlandbride
Me: Brandi, 33
DH: Preston, 32
Married: September 16, 2001
DD: Brynn Pamela, May 12, 2005

psusna
Me: Becky, 30
DH: Doug, 33
Married: 9/22/01
DS: Jackson (5/3/05)
Stats: Birth--7lb. 7oz., 21"

rancherswife
Me: Kim 26
Dh: Brett 26
Ds: Landon Joseph 6/4/05 7lbs. 4 oz. 21 1/4 inches

Sasha
Me: Sasha, 31
DH: Greg, 36
Married: Nov. 3, 2001
DD: Sarah Elise, born May 16, 2005

September2002
Me: Carolyne, 34
DH: 32
Married: September 7, 2002
DD: Samantha, born December 19, 2003
DD: Grace, born June 2, 2005

Sherah
Me: 25
DH: 26
Married: 12/5/03
DS: Arik, 5-11-05

tgray99
Me: Tara 30
DH: 29
Married: 11/15/03
DD: Aidan Christine - 5/09/05
8lbs 3oz 20"

tgr68
Me: 26
DH: 27
Married: 6/1/02
DD: Shylah Ryann
Born: 6/18/05 (8lbs 0.8oz, 19 inches, 10:44am)

traciann
Me: Traci (30)
DH: Timothy (35)
Married: 11.23.02
DD: Mary Kate 4.26.05

usafwife
Me: 29
DH: 40
Married: 4/17/04
DD: Sarah Olivia
born 6/28/05
8 lbs, 7 oz.

wendstress
Me: Wendy, 29
DH: Jon, 34
Married: 4/28/01
DS: James Jack, born May 10, 2005

WinterBride1253
Me: 31
DH: 31
Married: 12/6/03
DS: Cole Robert, June 15, 2005

[MayJune05Moms]

Birthdays listed by date, and their Mommies... :)


4/2/05
Rebecca Ainsley...Chylynn

4/13/05
Evelyn Christine...BTB

4/26/05
Mary Kate...traciann
James Edward...jrdhbunny

4/27/05
Katherine...alienhost

----------------------------------------------------------
5/2/05
Noelle...lattee22

5/3/05
Will...Jenyfer9
Jackson...psusna

5/4/05
Colin George...Pam27

5/5/05
Avery Jene...diedra1027

5/7/05
Elodie Cristine...BridalLace

5/9/05
Aidan Christine...tgray99

5/10/05
Nicole Elizabeth...DisneyGirl
James Jack...wendstress

5/11/05
Arik...Sherah

5/12/05
Annalie...Dally
Brynn Pamela...portlandbride

5/14/05
Maia Sophie...Aunt Liv

5/15/05
Grace Elizabeth...Carissa

5/16/05
Sarah Elise...Sasha
Jack Campbell...ladybug0525
Jack...KGif

5/18/05
Dominic Jeffrey (Nic)...happy1nuv

5/19/05
Samuel Basil...cynder

5/21/05
Douglas...Ferris
Sarah Elizabeth...christy1010

5/25/05
Brody...IrishEyes

5/26/05
Hazel...njnewyearsbride

5/29/05
Gabrielle Kathleen (Abbey)...ahavnes

5/31/05
Asher Isaiah...Dreshny


---------------------------------------------------------------

6/1/05
Rhiley Beatrice...hub1176
Peter James...yooper

6/2/05
Grace...September2002

6/3/05
Thomas Ryan...kimthebride

6/4/05
Landon Joseph...rancherswife

6/8/05
Benjamin...Mrs.Chappy
Jessica Alexa...Jessiesmama

6/9/05
Ethan...golfer_girl

6/10/05
Aiden Harrison...allray231
Ava Victoria...kelseyledare
Madison Hannah and Logan Mackenzie...sabrinag

6/12/05
Emma Mary...BAM 9-21-02

6/13/05
Parker Alexandria...December27JJB
Collin Todd...jmvan74

6/14/05
Addison Grace...Natrat80

6/15/05
Caroline Elizabeth...LIZNKEITH
Cole Robert...WinterBride1253

6/17/05
Haley...kphillips4

6/18/05
Shylah Ryann...tgr68

6/22/05
Brady...HedgeGirl

6/28/05
Sarah Olivia...usafwife

[MayJune05Moms]

2 year stats!

ahavnes
Abbey:
Weight- 29 lbs (55%)
Height- 35.5 inches (75%...does that sound right? I think she is taller than about 95% of girls her age.)

Alienhost
Katherine
Weight: 22 lbs 2ozs
Height 33 1/2 inches

allyray231
Aiden:
weight: 25lbs 3 oz
height: 35 inches

Aunt Liv
Maia
Weight - 25lbs 14oz (50th percentile)
Height - 34.5" (75th percentile)

christy1010
Sarah:
Weight: 21Lbs 5oz 3%
Height: 31 inches 5%

Chylynn
Rebecca:
Weight: 28 lbs
Height: 34 inches

cynder
Sam:
Weight - 23.5 lbs (3%)
Height - 32.5 inches (5%)

DisneyGirl
Nikki:
Weight: 29 LBS
Height: 33.25 inches

Dreshny
Asher:
Weight: 24.4 lbs (9%)
Height: 33 1/2 inches (36%)

happy1nuv
Nic:
Weight: 25 lbs (50th %)
Height: 36" (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 19 1/4" (75%)

IrishEyes
Brody:
Weight: 32 lbs
Height: 38 inches

Jessiesmama
Jessie:
Weight: 22 lbs 14 oz (6th percentile)
Height: 33 inches

jmvan74
Collin:
Weight: 28lbs 7oz.
Height: 36 inches (WOW!)

jrdhbunny
James:
Weight: 25 lbs 14 ounces (25%)
Height: 35" (75%)
Head Circum: 19.5 (50%)

KGif
Jack:
Weight: 33 lbs
Height: 35 1/2 inches

kimthebride
Thomas:
weight: 29.5 lbs
height: 34.5" tall (but his legs were bent, so this is wrong )

LIZNKEITH
Caroline:
Weight: 25 pounds, 2 ounces
Length: 33 inches

njnewyearsbride
Hazel:
weight: 28.5 lbs
height: 36"

portlandbride
Brynn
Weight: 26.6 lbs.
Height: 36 inches

psusna
Jackson:
Weight: 34.2 lbs (>95%)
Height: 39" (>95%)
Head Circum: 20 3/8 (90%)

rancherswife
Landon:
weight: 28lbs.
height: 34 1/2 inches

Sasha
Sarah:
Weight: 27lbs
Height: 36.5 inches (Sorry, but I really think it's more like 36")

tgr68
Shylah:
Height: 33 inches (25th percentile)
Weight: 26 lbs (50th percentile)
HC: 20 inches

tgray99
Aidan:
Weight: 29 lbs (80th %-tile)
Height: 34" (50th %-tile)
Head: 18" (90th %-tile)

wendstress
James:
Weight - 32 lbs (85%)
Height - 34 inches (33%)

[MayJune05Moms]

Repeat Offenders:

Congratulations to these Mommies and their newest additions:

Misty911
Joshua Holden on March 31, 2006

hub1176
Mia Angeline 7lbs 4ounces 20 inches long at 9:50 July 31st.

jennylou
Eleanor (Nora) Grace 7 lbs 9 oz, 20.25" August 10th

portlandbride
Addison September 24, 2006 at 8:28 pm.
7 lbs. 9 ounces; 19 3/4 inches long.

Carissa
Jonah Eric December 7, 2006 at 10:04 am
6 lbs 14 oz; 20 inches long

jmvan74
Brady Newell 9:31 on Jan 17, 2007
7lbs 14oz and 21 inches long

usafwife
Alexander Thomas 1:39 PM on January 19, 2007
7lbs 6 ozs and 19 1/4 inches long

njnewyearsbride
North Phelps 12:20PM on February 23, 2007
10 lbs 1oz and 22 inches long

rancherswife
Reece Carter 4:03 p.m. on February 26, 2007
7lbs. and 20 1/2 inches long

ladybug0525
Cooper Joseph born on March 14, 2007
9 lb 8 oz and 20 1/2 inches long

happy1inuv
Joseph Charles 4:14pm on March 23, 2007
8 lbs 2 oz and 20 3/4 inches long

diedra1027
Ian Charles 9:42am on March 29, 2007
8 lbs 2 oz, 19.5" long

wendstress
Alexander Jon April 2, 2007
8 lbs 6 oz, 20 1/4 inches long

kimthebride
Ava Siena 5:16am on April 17, 2007
6lbs and 15oz, 20 inches long

DisneyGirl
Kevin Ryan on August 29, 2007

Aunt Liv
Amelia Celine on October 10, 2007
4lbs 10oz, and 18" long
--------------------------------------------------------

Currently Expecting:

LIZNKEITH
EDD: 1/12/08

jrdhbunny
EDD: 3/22/08

ferris
EDD: 3/23/08

tgr68
EDD: 3/27/08

bridalLace
EDD: 4/ /08

IrishEyes
EDD: 5/4/08

Mrs Chappy
EDD: 5/11/08

[MayJune05Moms]

Thread Histories: these links are now working! yeah! :D

MayJune05Moms Thread Archive (CC Threads):

MayJune05 Babies - We're All Turning 2! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31813)
MayJune05 Babies - Our Little Ones are Almost 2! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29366)
MayJune05 Babies - Passing the 18 month mark! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27434)
Walking, Talking, Getting into Everything! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25186)
Toddlers Already?! (CC-Vol VII) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23037)
Happy Birthday to You! (CC-Vol VI) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19988)
Almost 1 Year Old!(CC-Vol V) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17367)
Counting Down to Birthday #1!(CC - Vol IV) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13352)
Nearing the 6 Month Milestone!(CC - Vol III) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9575)
NEW! May/June '05 Parenting Thread - OPEN FOR POSTING!(CC - Vol II) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5147)
MayJune05Mommies (CC - Vol I) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=664)

May 2005 Thread Archives
Vol VI - 45 Peas in a Pod!! (Vol VI) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=489050&tstart=50)

Vol V - 45 Peas in a Pod! (Vol V) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=484869&tstart=50)

Vol IV - 45 Peas in a Pod! (Vol IV) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=479932&tstart=75)

Vol III - 42 Peas in a Pod, Due 5/05! (Vol III) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=477234&tstart=75)

Vol II - 42 Peas in a Pod, Due 5/05! (Vol II) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=473349&tstart=75)

Vol I - PG & Due in May 05! (Vol I) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=469446&tstart=75)

June 2005 Thread Archives
3rd trimester - Junebugs 2005: Welcome Sierra, Matthew, Liam, Parker, Sarah, Dean, & Kevin! (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=486105&tstart=0)

2nd trimester - Junebugs: The Next Generation! The Second Tri... 12 Boys, 13 Girls and 8 Surprises (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=477403&tstart=120)

1st trimester - Junebugs: The Next Generation! *32* due in June 2005 (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=471862&tstart=165)

[MayJune05Moms]

saving....

[MayJune05Moms]

saving just in case

[MayJune05Moms]

Hi Ladies, we are open for posting! I haven't checked all the links, let me know if you find any that aren't working.

Thanks Tgray for the title suggestion!

-alienhost

[allyray231]

woohoo!

[alienhost]

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO AVA and AIDEN!!!!!

jrdhbunny what adorable pics of you and your DS!

kim I hope T is doing better and sorry you had to postpone the party, what a bummer!

usafwife I hope you get the insurance and car stuff settled soon, what a hassle.

Father's Day I picked up a few items for DD to give him. I need for her to make him a card. I'm not sure what he wants to do on Sunday - we will probably keep it low key.

not much is new here. DD has had a cough for over a week now, no fever or other symptoms except an occasional runny nose - I was thinking it was allergies. She mostly coughs when lying down (at night, naptime, when she wakes up) Any other ideas on what it could be? I suppose I should call the ped's office and ask but she really doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

[jrdhbunny]

Yay for a new thread! Thanks!

[portlandbride]

Thanks for the new thread!

Could you please change some stats for me?

My DH age: 32


Two year stats:
Brynn
Weight: 26.6 lbs.
Height: 36 inches

Thanks!

[Dreshny]

Yay for a new thread!

[MayJune05Moms]

Thread updated!

Disney

[tgray99]

Aww...I was hopin' for the poo tossin' title. ;) Just kidding.

QOTD: So lets talk about free and fun things for 2 year olds to do during the summer because weekends are murder around here trying to figure out what to do with her and keep her occupied and me from losing my mind.

[HedgeGirl]

Great new thread. Thank you threadmistresses.

QOTD: Great idea tgray. We've done some of the these ideas and others are just my brainstorming or things I've read about in books (I also coordinate art playdates for my playgroup once a month so there are ideas I've collected for that). I love First Art: Art Experiences for Ones and Toddlers by Maryanne Kohl for "art" projects.
- Watering plants (one of Brady's favorite things to do)
- Painting with water (they can paint the sidewalk, deck, rocks, whatever)
- Bucket of water and some cups. They can splash and pour to their heart's content. Add some ice cubes to vary things up.
- Painting (watercolors have been a recent hit here, dot painting with bingo markers or they sell them premade at some places, finger painting with food or paint)
- Walks (collect rocks, i spy, do a hunt for things different colors)
- Obstacle course?
- Tent (use a table and blankets or an actual tent; could be inside or out)
- Bubbles (different sizes, add food coloring and catch the bubbles on paper)
- Library
- Check out if there are any free or discounted days at local zoos or children's museums
- Cooking projects (make lemonade, cookies, bread sculptures, whatever)
- Berry picking
- Tour the parks in your city and neighboring cities (find new favorites)
- Pick a letter of the day, number of the day or shape of the day. Point it out when you see it, do art on a cutout that shape, etc.

[psusna]

Thanks for the new thread! Can I update my stats?

DH age: 33
Remove both occupations (they are changing)

Guess who wanted to sleep in his big boy bed tonight?!?!?!?!? Currently, the BBB consists of a box spring and mattress on the floor in a room (former guest room being turned into BBR) under going a facelift. He didn't care, though. He asked to sleep there so we had to let him give it a go. We'll see what happens....... I'm actually kind of glad that it worked out this way because he can get accustomed to the bed on the floor before we expand his crib. I hadn't planned to move him for another month, but he's so excited about his BIG ROOM that I don't really care :)

We were in the car this evening coming home from dinner and he sneezed. He goes "God bless you, me" -- too stinking cute.

Tgray: totally agree with everything on HedgeGirl's list. Also, check out this blog Two Straight Lines (twostraightlines.typepad.com) -- she just posted her entire summer of activities, many of which are free/low cost/easy. See the entry entitled "Camp Russell" -- great blog.

[tgray99]

Wow, those are some great ideas, thanks y'all!

[cynder]

Hey y'all! Happy birthday to anyone I missed.

Umm...I am no longer 29. We're both (gulp) 31!

I had a nice toddler free weekend while DH tended to DS. The house was a mess but it looks like they had a good time, there was eating, and there were no time outs! Woohoo! I know this won't last but last week was HARD for me.

DS is starting to talk in sentences. He still gets words in the wrong order and he stumbles over saying things but it is so weird to say all this ....stuff! We also moved to a new room in daycare and the transition is going well so far.

HedgeGirl All excellent suggestions! The only other one I would add is Farmer markets on Sundays. It is my fav thing to do and to just sit and eat fresh food and people watch. We went 2 wks ago but DS wanted to go in the farmers' trucks!!

tgray Love the avatar!

[jmvan74]

Holy New Thread, Batman! I was not expecting to find this! Thanks for the updates. :p

Great ideas hedge!

My little boy is 2!! Where has the time gone! He refuses to tell me he's 2. :rolleyes: When I ask him how old he is, he just laughs.

psusna: Collin says "bless you," too. It's so funny b/c he'll say it even if someone coughs. :)

[psusna]

Happy Birthday Collin!!and anyone else that I missed along the way.

BBB night 1 -- success! DH laid with him until he fell asleep (DS' request) and we didn't hear a peep out of him until 5:40. He seems pretty sleepy today so I'm not sure how much actual sleeping was accomplished vs. moving all over the bed, etc. He gives a resounding YES if you ask him if he liked sleeping there and if he wants to do it again tonight. Guess we better get it in gear and get the room painted, decorated, etc.

In other major news for our house, he took NO PACI at nap yesterday! He is transitioning up to a new room at school and his new teacher told him one time "No pacis, this is the big boy room" and he laid down and went to sleep!

Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-changes......

Tgray: One other thought I had was that DS is big into farms now. Perhaps there are farmers in the area who have a "day at the farm" type program or would even just show you around if you showed up at the fence! I'm sure there's cotton and peanut and maybe some vidalia farms down there.....

[Chylynn]

Wow, a new thread!

Happy Birthday, Collin!

psusna -Way to go for your son to transition so easily into his BBB! And no paci at naptime! Wow, lots of changes in your house! We converted Rebecca's crib a few months ago and it was a no go, so it went back to a crib about a week after transition. We still need to get on gear about ditching the paci!

Outdoor activities -Great list! Maybe add chalk? It is a new favorite in our house! Also, hopscotch! Although my Rebecca only wants pool, park, pool, park, pool, park...you get the picture! Her hair is almost white blond from the sun and she has tan lines even with wearing SPF 55. It is crazy how much we are outside now! And, down in Florida, it is so hot and muggy, so we are drinking water like crazy. I never was much of an outdoors person until DD came around!

[Sasha]

Thanks for the new thread!

Happy Birthday, Collin!

Chylynn - LOL, Sarah is sporting a major tanline too. It is so friggin hot in the afternoons and all Sarah wants to do is be outside!

psusna - Woo-hoo, sounds great with all the positive changes!

Tgray - LMAO, I love your avatar. :D

Outdoor activities - Wow, great suggestions. Another thing we recently discovered here are some of the county parks have water parks within them. They are pretty low cost and you can bring your own food, drinks, etc.

Which leads me to another activitiy-related question - what kinds of arts & crafts to do let your child do? We mostly stick to crayons at home, but I know at daycare, Sarah does all sorts of art and crafts projects (although I seriously wonder if she really does as much as they say she does ;) ). I tried playdough once and she tried to eat it, so I've had that on hold. Please share your art projects!

[MayJune05Moms]

thread updated to here :)

-alienhost

[LIZNKEITH]

Wow...this thread came out of thin air. I didn't even realize it was time! I have to say, I'm a little disappointed we didn't go with Tara's title suggestion. ;)

Can you please change my EDD to January 12th, 2008? Yip, I had my u/s on Friday and I'm a whole 2 weeks ahead of where I thought I was. :D

Arts & Crafts
Mostly just crayons. At school she'll do finger painting. I did see that Color Wonders makes finger paints too. I've been debating getting her a set for her birthday. I know one of my friends is getting her play-doh for her birthday too. I don't know whether to be fearful or excited.

psusna,
Ack! Can you send Jackson down here to give Caroline lessons on sleeping sans paci? That thing has got to go! We've got her down to only taking it when she sleeps, but she demands it before we put her down. I'm scared...

[kelseyledare]

Thanks for the new thread...


Happy Birthday, Collin!!

Outdoors: Yup, Ava's got tan lines, too, just from her daily afternoons outside at daycare. And I know they're putting the sunscreen on her since you can usually find some in her hair, LOL. We're trying to incorporate some evening walks, watering flowers, etc, after dinner. I agree with everyone else- it's just too stinking hot when the sun's still up.

Arts & Crafts: We've got the Color Wonder finger paints and tried them awhile back. Not good. She kept mashing her fingers into the paint when it only needs a light touch and just really didn't understand. I think she was used to old-fashioned paints from daycare. I've thought about getting some of those (water-based ones), putting her in old clothes in the backyard and letting her paint on cardboard or large sheets of paper. She likes her Color Wonder markers those and we've also used the washable markers at Great-Grandma's house (the colors are more vibrant).

Pacis: We're down to naps and bedtime at home, too. She hasn't used it at daycare for over a year. No nope of easily ditching it here, though. She always asks/demands a paci.

[DisneyGirl]

arts & Crafts I let her play with crayons, color wonder: markers, paints, finger paints, colored pencils, molding clay, play-doh. Pretty much anything craft related we use.

[wendstress]

de-pacifying - we never used one here, but some friends said they just started cutting small holes in the bottom of the pacis over the course of several weeks until their daughter couldn't hold onto them anymore. They said it worked for them!

Night Terrors - Another night of hysterical crying, last night. I'm starting to think night terrors, since he didn't even wake up during the episode. Anyone else experience this???

On the plus side, Alex (10 weeks now) slept from 9 PM until 7 AM!!!!

[diedra1027]

Happy Birthday, Collin!

Arts & Crafts - We pretty much stick to chalk and colored pencils.

Outdoors - Avery also has tan lines going (and we're in Seattle where there hasn't been *that* much opportunity to get a tan yet!!). Another suggestion for summer activities is to check out local community centers or the city park system, if you have those. Our community center has affordable toddler activities like dance or art classes. We went on a walk through our local park (HUGE park, BTW) and we noticed that they have weekly nature related activities for toddlers and parents.

[ahavnes]

Happy B-day Collin!

Arts & Crafts- Abbey still eats her crayons and markers. It's ridiculous. :rolleyes: For now we're sticking to the Aquadoodle and the Magnadoodle.

Outdoors- I think Abbey would live out there if we let her. ;) She even has sandal tan lines from when I forgot to lotion her up last week. :p

[kimthebride]

Thomas Update
Thanks ladies for asking about him. It's been almost a week, and he's doing much better. Still a little cranky (I'm thinking sore throat), but every day he's a little better. We rescheduled his bday party for the 16th (yea, 2 weeks after his actual day, lol!), so let's all hope *I* can stay healthy so we don't have to cancel again. :rolleyes:

Arts & Crafts
We do stickers, crayons, etc but we have wall to wall carpeting so we don't do too much messy stuff here. i bought finger paints but DH gave me The Look when I showed him (ummm...we are trying to sell the place, so maybe this wasnt a good purchase :o ). Maybe I'll find a way to squeeze the 3 of us into the master bathroom and let him paint while in the tub??

Outdoor Activities
Man, i wish we had a yard! :(
But for now its walks, the park, playground, sidewalk chalk, bubbles...

Okay, off to nap since the A/C guys just left and I am fighting off the cold...

[alienhost]

I was checking the birthday roster - lots coming up!

Happy Birthday to Parker and Collin!

cheap/free activities I believe there is a thread in the toddler section. Let me see if I can find it...

here is one on indoor activities (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9171&highlight=free) (when it is blazing hot out) and cheap activities (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33508&highlight=outdoor+activities)

Hedgegirl that's a great list, going to save a copy for my reference.

We do a lot of exploring outdoors in our yard - looking for bugs, picking/sniffing flowers, rolling around on the grass. You could do a mini-scavenger hunt - finding flowers, rocks, leaves, sticks etc.

Definitely check out your local library - many have passes to museums and zoos that you can use for free.

I second the idea of checking your local parks and recreation departments. Many have activties on the weekend - like the DPW did "Touch the trucks" or other similar things.

Arts and Crafts Inside we only do crayons, playdough and stickers.

Outside I do washable markers (she gets it all over her hands/arms and drew all over her shirt when I turned my back - but it did wash off) and chalk. I bought some water colors to use outside too. I'm toying with some other projects like sand art or paints.

At her weekly group, she has done some projects with glue - basically squeezing it out on paper and crinkling colored tissue paper and sticking it on.

psusna wow lots of new things going on in your household!

kim I'm glad T is feeling better. I hope you and Ava avoid all sicknesses too.

[jmvan74]

Looking at the first page, I need my stats changed, tooo.... Ooops..
I'm 33 and DH is 30.:o

[Jessiesmama]

Can you change some stats for me too?
Me: 34 (tomorrow)
DH: 35

2 Year WBV
Weight: 22 lbs 14 oz (6th percentile)
Height: 33 inches

Happy Birthday to all of the b-day boys and girls!!!

[happy1nuv]

great new thread...thanks! ":)

[tgray99]

They went with one of my suggestions...just not the poo tossing one. Shucks. ;)

Anyone get the Parenthacks emails? They have some really cool ideas and solutions. I got this hack today and loved it...thought I'd share it with y'all:

When kidlets want to pour their own milk or juice at our house but cannot be trusted not to spill, we open up the dishwasher and let her use the flat door surface as a table to pour on.. If she spills, no big deal, it can just be closed and the next time I run the dishwasher, it is cleaned up for me. Another benefit is that it is the right height for the kidlet, so they have an easier time balancing the milk or juice container over the cup.

Pretty neat, huh? I'm going to try it sometime!

[tgr68]

Checking in & subscribing!!

Free Toddler Entertainment~I was hunting this down just the other day. I bookmarked one site, but I'll have to wait to post the link when I get back to my computer.

Happy Birthday, Collin!!

Outdoors~Sadly, it's been pouring rain here for a few days, so no outside play for us. :(

Tgray~Cool suggestion! Thanks for sharing!

Okay, gotta get out the door for church!

[tgray99]

1) I officially hate Capri Suns...Aidan LOVES to squeeze them out and get juice all over everything. My right leg and shorts are sticky now. :rolleyes:

2) The dishwasher door thing works perfectly as a water table! I gave Aidan 2 bowls full of water and some plastic spoons so she could "cook" and she was completely occupied while I got dinner ready. SO easy to clean up afterwards! Two toddler thumbs way up on this one!

[MayJune05Moms]

changes through here made...

Sorry, Tgray I didn't use the poo title, I used your second suggestion instead. I figured maybe we should stay away from the "toilet humor" since we deal with it all the time! ;)

-alienhost

[ahavnes]

Tara- Aidan didn't try to move the bowls or carry them around the kitchen? I'm afraid that would be Abbey's first action. :o

[diedra1027]

1) I officially hate Capri Suns...Aidan LOVES to squeeze them out and get juice all over everything. My right leg and shorts are sticky now. :rolleyes:Do you have any of the cheapy sippy cups laying around? We set the juice box inside a sippy cup (without the top on)...problem solved. Actually any wide mouth, hard plastic cup should suffice as long as the little trouble makers don't just pull the juice box out and sqeeze away.

[tgray99]

Tara- Aidan didn't try to move the bowls or carry them around the kitchen? I'm afraid that would be Abbey's first action. :o
Nope. But she plays on a water table at day care and knows she isn't allowed to carry it around.

Do you have any of the cheapy sippy cups laying around? We set the juice box inside a sippy cup (without the top on)...problem solved. Actually any wide mouth, hard plastic cup should suffice as long as the little trouble makers don't just pull the juice box out and sqeeze away.
What a great idea!! I'm doing that tomorrow. Thanks!

[psusna]

Tara: Great tip about the dishwasher! Thanks for sharing.

Kim: Glad Thomas is doing better, and I hope you and Ava don't catch his bug.

BBB night 2 -- YIPPEE!!! We had to go wake him at 6:30 today :) I laid with him for 5 minutes last night and then he was out. Fingers crossed for continued ease of sleep. I think he just loves having all of the extra space (full size bed) to roll around!

[happy1nuv]

Never woulda thought of the dishwasher thing, but that is GENIUS!!!!

[rancherswife]

waaaay far behind....

thanks for the new thread!

Happy b-day to those i missed, and jessiesmama!

dishwasher: I try and keep him out of the thing! He climbs into it and bounces on the door daily, it's a constant battle when we're in the kitchen! Cool idea though!

[Sasha]

Dishwasher - Sounds like a great idea in theory to me, but Sarah generally thinks the dishwasher is a jungle gym and often tries to climb on it. :rolleyes: So, not sure how it would pan out in our house!

[tgray99]

I put a towel down for her to kneel on and catch spills and then gave her the bowls of water and spoons to "cook" with. It never even occurred to her to climb on it (she likes to do that too) or pull the drawers out. She was way too interested in her own stuff and asking for more water.

[Dreshny]

Dishwasher: Of course, this presupposes I have a dishwasher (I don't!) ;)

[psusna]

Liz: I forgot to mention earlier that the biggest help in dropping the paci during the day, naps included, is that his new room at school is a paci-free zone. No pacis! She told me that she only had to tell him one time and he didn't put up a fuss. He even tells me now "no pacis at nap" or "no pacis in big boy room" or "Ms. Samina no pacis in room". Maybe Caroline's next room will be the same way and give her a jumpstart.... Hope you and bebe #2 are feeling well this week!

[cynder]

DS is not a climber but he totally loves climbing the dishwasher so it's a no zone right now. But I love the water table idea so I'll have to try that angle!!!

We are all about straw cups right now. OBSESSED. So I am using it as an incentive for good eating. I am about to get sneaky and try V8 and SunnyD's veggie juice. Anyone try these?? DS is not allowed fruit juice since he eats enough of it but I am all for veggie juice !:)

[alienhost]

Vacation Sleeping Arrangements for Crib Sleeping kids I know this was discussed a while back but I can't find it. DD is still in a crib (and should be for a while longer). We are going on vacation and spending 2 weeks in a condo. DD will have her own room. I'm now worried that the pack n play is too small for her (although she does curl up to sleep). She is 33.5 inches long. I need to open it up and see. What have others done on vacation/trips? I really think she needs to be contained, especially when sleeping in a strange place. Is anyone still using a PNP? TIA!

dishwasher that's a cool idea, but I think DD will still get the water all over the kitchen floor. :)

[LIZNKEITH]

Dishwasher,
That's a great idea! However, Caroline sounds like some of the other kids in here in that she thinks it is only for climbing. I'm willing to try everything once though.

psusna,
Congrats on another successful night! I really thought the transition to a BGB would be harder as well, but she's done very well with it. Thanks for the tip on the paci. We've tried to tell her before she doesn't need a paci anymore since she is a big girl. She just looks at us with glazed over eyes and repeats "I want paci" slowly and melodically until we eventually break down and stuff one in her mouth. ;)

Veggie Juice
Our Ped actually suggested when she was about 12 months old that we offer her V-8 Splash since veggies were hit or miss. She didn't like it at the time and eventually started eating veggies again. But now that she is on strike again, maybe I should try to reintroduce it.

[LIZNKEITH]

We cross-posted, Alienhost.

Sleeping arrangements
Caroline is a bit shorter, but the PNP still works good for us on trips. Like you said, she curls up/tucks legs under her tummy when she sleeps so it's not really an issue. Rather than reinvest in something else, I would bust it out and give it a shot a night or two before you leave. See how she does with it.

[MayJune05Moms]

LizNKeith - I updated your EDD, sorry, I missed it last night.

Kim - I was looking over the RO thread and realized I don't have Ava's length at birth, I know you listed it but I must not have updated it. Sorry about that! Post it again and I'll add it.

-alienhost

[Sasha]

Alien - That was me who previously posted about that issue. I would say at K's length, she should be fine in the PNP. I used it in Feb. when Sarah was probably 34-35 inches and it was ok. LOL, however once again I am dealing with the same issue as we'll be at my mom's next month, and I really think my tall 36" girl may need something else! Ugh, I am so dreading dealing with this.

Veggie Juice - I tried giving Sarah some of the V-8 Fusion Light a few weeks ago but she wouldn't drink it. The bottle is still sitting in my fridge and I would like to try again, I think it's a great way to get veggies in them.

[kimthebride]

Travelling With Toddlers
We're going to Martha's Vineyard for a week next month, and we're bring 2 PnPs (one for each kid). Thomas' will have the crib tent on it to keep him from escaping - he still uses this on his crib at home. He's long, but rarely ever lays fully spread out flat when sleeping.

Oh Threadmistress!
Ava was 20" at birth. :) Thanks for keeping on top of things - I never look!

[psusna]

Not so big after all....guess who is back in his "little bed" tonight? For some reason he wanted in that crib tonight -- no questions asked. So, he's back in the "little bed". DH and I both think that he was over tired tonight and just wanted something comfortable and familiar. We are fine with it and won't force the BBB on him. Just glad we didn't take the crib down....

Do you think we did the right thing?!

[tgray99]

So Aidan is sick. I had to go up to the PX this evening to get new tires on my car and she proceeded to barf all over me while in line at Burger King. I had to go to the bathroom, wash her off, me off, my shirt off and then go buy both of us new shirts. Not fun.

[ahavnes]

Tara- Oh man! Aidan sure has a knack for getting you dirty. I hope she is feeling better soon. :)

Psusna- I think you did the right thing with letting him sleep in the crib again. But then again, I am definitely not the expert, since I can hardly get Abbey to sleep through the night! :o

Liz- Oh my gosh...Abbey gets that same glazed look in her eye and says "Neeeeed paci!" It's a hard habit to break. We call it "baby crack" around here. ;)

[Chylynn]

Tara -man, does Aidan take aim on you all the time? You poor thing! I hope she is feeling better soon.

Psusna -Yes, I think you did the right thing letting him sleep in his crib again. He will let you know when he is ready to be in the BBB 100%.

Liz and Alicia -Total baby crack in our house! We were at Gymboree this past week for open gym and R kept pointing to a baby's paci in their mouth. I was afraid she might try to steal it!

Happy second birthday, Caroline!

[jmvan74]

veggie Juice: I give Collin about 4oz of V-8 fusion a day. I water it down and he loves it. always asks for more juice. It's the only vegtable besides tomatoe sauce I can get in him. :rolleyes:

travel bed: We still use the PNP. Collin is 36" long.

tgray: Ugghh. Poor baby and mommy.

psusna: We haven't transitioned to a BBB, but I think you did the right thing. It's normal for toddlers to backslide when it comes to being a "big kid." No worries. :)

2 year WCV
Weight: 28lbs 7oz.
Height: 36 inches (WOW!)

I guess I have a tall, skinny boy. This would make him 6ft at adult height if that formula rings true. We'll see about that. LOL!

Happy Birthday Caroline!

[psusna]

Happy Belated Birthday Addie!
Happy Birthday Caroline!

BBB: Thanks for the votes of confidence, girls. It felt like the right thing to do, like we shouldn't force him to sleep in a big bed in a strange room if he wasn't totally ready. So we are going to keep working on the big room and let him sleep there when he is interested, saving expanding his crib to a bed until the last thing.

Tgray: Ugh, not again! I hope she is doing better today.

Veggie Juice: Never tried it. The kid eats veggies frozen, steamed, mashed, etc. I am curious, though -- if you started veggies/fruit first when they were transitioning to solids, is that the category they prefer? We started DS with veggies first (peas, I remember it well) and he has a heavy bent for veggies over fruit.

Travel Bed: Still in a PnP with DS curled up in a ball in the corner.

Today is "Doughnuts with Dad" at DS' school and they were both so excited this morning! DH missed it last year b/c he was traveling so he was extra happy to volunteer to drive him to school today :)

[allyray231]

Happy birthday to anyone I missed!

[Sasha]

Happy 2nd Birthday, Caroline!

Tgray - Ugh, that stinks she is sick again. Man, Aidan sure has a knack for getting sick on you!

psusna - I think you did the right thing, don't want to push the BBB and make him upset about it.

Veggie vs. Fruit - We did veggie first, sweet potatoes, and she definitely prefers fruit over veggies. I have to be creative with veggies!

Hmm, seeing all these other long kiddos still using PnP is giving me hope that it is still an option for our trip next month. My mom bought this inflatable sleeping bag type thing, but I just know Sarah won't stay put, with the strange surroundings and all...maybe PNP is still the way to go, since she usually does curl up.

[allyray231]

Happy 2nd Birthday, Caroline!

Veggies=no Fruit=yes :)

We still use PNP

[jmvan74]

[B]Veggie vs. Fruit - We did veggie first, sweet potatoes, and she definitely prefers fruit over veggies. I have to be creative with veggies!



Same here.:)

[tgray99]

She's all better today. Not sure if it was a little bug or something she ate but no fever and back to her old self :) Thanks for all your kind wishes and sympathies for getting barfed on. :o

[Dreshny]

Happy birthday Caroline!

I have Asher's WCV today. Should be interesting to see how he's grown.

[ahavnes]

Happy B_day Caroline!

I am so excited! I have Fridays off from work all summer. I can't wait to spend the day at the pool, wearing Abbey out! :)

Tara- Sounds like Aidan is a puker like Abbey. Abbey does that a lot (where she'll puke once or twice and then be fine. Maybe it's payback for the m/s she caused me! ;))

[cynder]

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Veggie vs fruit We started with peas and sweet potatoe and now he avoid them like the plague. I know with him it is not taste but the texture. He can suss out a pea not matter how good I hide it. I hated veggies growing up so who knows. As long as I can sneak things, I am cool. Going to try V8 watered down this weekend.

PnP We used it recently with no issues.

[Chylynn]

Veggie vs fruit -Started with pears and she eats veggies as well as fruits. She does like fruit over veggis, but honestly, who doesn't? Fruit is sweeter than veggis and is almost like a dessert.

Father's Day -So, what are you all doing for Father's Day? I'm letting Dave sleep in Saturday and Sunday, and after Church on Sunday, Rebecca and I are making brunch for him and inlaws.

-Crab eggs benedict
-hashbrown potatos
-fresh fruit
-mimosas
-coffee/cappucinco

Anything else I should add?

We bought a Daddy's Girl Book, a Flipbook (I sent a video of Dave and Rebecca at the beach last year and they turned it into a flipbook- so cool!), Seinfeld Season 8, Barbra Streisand 2006 Concert CD, wine preserver, and now I think I am going to buy a hammock for him since ours broke.

[happy1nuv]

roseanne ~ how do you live without a dishwasher?!? I spent a year in hoboken (stupid girl didn't BUY but rented...argh!) ... without a dishwasher and I will NEVER AGAIN live anywhere without one!

[jmvan74]

Father's Day: Honestly, we aren't doing anything. He got a new grill last weekend and that was his gift. I bought him a card from the boys and I'll give him a bag of Milky Ways...his favorite. There's no way I'm letting him sleep in. :o I need all the help I can get on the weekends. Especially since we are having Collin's bday party on saturday.

[Dreshny]

roseanne ~ how do you live without a dishwasher?!? I spent a year in hoboken (stupid girl didn't BUY but rented...argh!) ... without a dishwasher and I will NEVER AGAIN live anywhere without one!

LOL! I actually don't know what I'm missing because I've never had a dishwasher--my parents didn't have one, either.

Asher's Well-Peanut visit:
Height: 33 1/2 inches (36%)
Weight: 24.4 lbs (9%)

He had a Hep A shot and a blood draw for iron and lead.

[MayJune05Moms]

stats updated through here....

enjoy the weekend!
-alienhost

[jrdhbunny]

Happy Birthday Caroline!

dishwasher- Nope, we don't have one either. In fact, it's been over 10 years since I've had one of those fancy contraptions. :p

tgray- Oh no! Glad Aidan is feeling better!

kim- Good luck with the birthday party tomorrow! Hope the 3rd time is the charm!

travel/pnp- We're one of the unlucky ones that do not have luck with the pnp. DS sleeps in the bed with us.

It looks like we're going to make an offer on a house. I'm so nervous/excited! It's a real mess inside- I have no idea why anyone would show their house in that condition, plus it hasn't been updated in 26 years. Most of the stuff seems to be cosmetic (except the roof, but luckily for us DH's dad is a roofer!) so we're hoping that they'll take our admittedly low offer because we'd never be able to afford to fix it up otherwise.
The other side to this is that I'm going to have to go back to work. It's somewhat of a relief actually because we're struggling financially and this will give us some security. My main concern is DS- I have NO idea how he'll react to daycare. He's only really been with me or DH on a regular basis, not counting a few hours here or there. I'm off to the WOHM group to get some advice/stories but if anyone has anything they want to share here- I'd love to hear it.

Oh and DH just had a birthday:
DH=37

[alienhost]

Happy Birthday Caroline!
Happy Belated Birthday Addie!

PNP thanks for all the input ladies. I'm going to take it out this weekend and see how she fits in it but I'm thinking we should be able to use it next month.

veggies vs fruit we did veggies first (sweet potato, I think). She prefers fruit but is a decent veggie eater, she loves peas.

veggie juice I haven't tried it for her, she doesn't like any fruit juices so I can't imagine she would drink it. I'm going to try to get her to drink smoothies this summer, maybe I can make them with the V8 frusion as an ingredient.

[allyray231]

we never had one in queens either.

[usafwife]

Happy Birthday to those I missed!
Happy Birthday, Caroline!!

alien ~ Thank you. It's been a major hassle to say the least.

Arts & Crafts ~ Just crayons/colored pencils here. I'm not brave enough to let her have markers just yet.

Roseanne and jrdh ~ You aren't the only ones without a dishwasher. I miss mine and hope to get one soon. I'm sick of always having to wash every dish myself (although DH will wash some dishes every so often but not really dinner dishes).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Vehicle shopping ~ I can honestly say that I hate vehicle shopping. We've looked at vehicles until I'm blue in the face. Although I think as of last night we finally found one that we can live with. It's a van and we will see how well we like it. If don't then come tax time we will go back to the SUV (DH already said we'd do this and he'd forgo getting his newer truck...although I know we need a larger truck (one that had at least 3 doors). I'll check back in later.

[ahavnes]

Dishwashwer- We didn't have one in our house in Miami. I thought it would be a huge deal, but you really get used to it. Granted, that was before I had a child and started manufacturing dirty dishes. ;)

Veggies/Fruit- We started with Sweet Potato and squash. Abbey likes fruit and veggies both. It's protein that's a battle...unless it's milk of cheese, which she could live on.

jrdhbunny- Good luck on the house!

[tgray99]

Veggies/Fruit- We started with Sweet Potato and squash. Abbey likes fruit and veggies both. It's protein that's a battle...unless it's milk of cheese, which she could live on.

Ditto for Aidan...although, occasionally she'll eat a couple of chicken nuggets.

[LIZNKEITH]

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone. I still can't believe she is TWO!

fruit vs. veggies
Started with veggies first. She prefers fruit over veggies, but does still eat a fair amount of veggies. She loves green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob (not regular corn though!)..

2 Year Stats:
Weight- 25 pounds, 2 ounces
Length- 33 inches

[rancherswife]

I am so freakin' behind it's crazy! Still have two more pages to read...But I wanna take a nap, we've been so damn busy this past week/weekend. Hopefully I can catch up this evening. :)

[jrdhbunny]

Hope all the DHs had wonderful Fathers Days!

Well, no house for us. I'm sad, but relieved at the same time. It was in much worse shape that we had thought- that's what we get for bringing an active 2 year old with us on the first visit. :rolleyes: We've decided to wait until next spring to start looking again so we have a little time to get in better shape financially.

Memo- We're having some serious sleeping issues here. Getting DS down for his nap and bedtime sucks; he begs me for "one more song" or "one more story" over and over, and when I finally leave, he calls for me or cries for at least 20 minutes. Last night it was almost an hour. On top of that, no matter when he goes to sleep, he's up at 6:30 a.m. Thank goodness tomorrow night is our MOMS Club banquet- I so need a break.

[tgray99]

Memo: Aidan has really been fighting sleep too. I'm wondering if I need to push back her bed time. She used to get really fussy and cranky if I kept her up past 7. I might try that tonight.

[christy1010]

Well I finally found time to post! I have been reading along, it is just so hard to find time to post with working, chasing an active two year old, keeping house, trying to find time for me!

It is so hard for me to wrap my head around having a two year old! I do enjoy this stage though, she is so funny and learning like crazy!

Happy Belated Birthday's to all the kids and mommies I have missed in my abscence from posting

2 year stats:
Height: 31 inches 5%
Weight 21Lbs 5oz 3%

PPlease change DH age to 35

Sarah's second birthday party was not what I had hoped for. She ended up getting a virus two nights before her party and was in the emergency room. I could not cancel her party because my dad came from CA to meet Sarah for the 1st time and my Aunt came from TX. All the family ended up sick except for me. My Aunt stayed an additional two days because she was sick. DH was sick on the day of the party!

Sarah is currently sick with a sinus infection. Poor kid, I can't seem to keep her well.

I had a horrible Mother's Day. DH choose not to acknowledge the day at all! I choose to make a big deal out of Father's Day maybe in hopes of making him feel guilty.

I have a question and need some advice. Sarah is in daycare 30 hours a week, I am really good at observing bed time. My question is that next week I am helping with Vacation Bible School and may have to take DD with me which means that we won't get home until after her 8pm bedtime and probably won't get her into bed until almost 9pm. Does anyone think three days of change will hurt her sleeping schedule?

Need to get going! Little angel is up from a three hour nap!

[ahavnes]

Memo- MAJOE sleep issues here also. I have temporarily given up. Abbey, you win. Mommy will just take a nap with you. Daddy can handle bed time. :cool:

Liz and tgr- Adorable pictures!

Christy- I wouldn't think that a few days of messed up bed time will hurt too much. Abbey is a terrible sleeper, but even when we do break our rigid 8:30 pm bedtime, she usually is just fine. Good luck!

[rancherswife]

memo: Oh lord, please don't tell me there's one of those damn things going around!!! What am I talking about...that thing comes through our house at least once a week. It was pure heaven last night, both babes STTN, I didn't even have to lay down and nap with them this afternoon. ;) Surely won't happen again tonight, I'm just not that lucky. The biggest problem right now is Landon, not Reece, if you can believe that!

swim lessons: So, Landon had his first private swim lesson today. First ten minutes were pure hell for him, melting completely down (as I fully expected!) then it got quiet and when I looked out the window, he was blowing bubbles and kicking his legs. He's got nine more days of it, so I hope he begins to like it more and more each day!

veggies vs. fruit: We started Landon out on veggies, but he's a major fruit eater....loves fruit, will eat veggies, but prefers fruit!

[HedgeGirl]

Christy Sorry to hear Sarah has been sick (and the rest of your family too). I'd agree that a few days away from the schedule will probably not have long term effects.

Memo: Yep, we get requests for more books or potty or "Mommy put Brady to sleep" He definitely seems to know that if he says potty we are more likely to give in for that. Tonight was particularly bad.

Advice: I've got a question/dilemma and I'd be interesting to hear how others deal with similar situations. Lately, DS has been having a hard time with classes. He insists on going home and me getting him out of there. I've been trying to figure out what triggers it and address that (we've got a range of culprits from being tired, hungry, wanting to be outside running around, being insecure around new people and kids and a big case of mommy clingyness). I totally understand and respect that this is a phase common to this age and that I'm not alone (though hearing that more would help too :)) My question is, how much do you "push" your kids to stick it out when they aren't comfortable in a given situation? Or do you respect their voice and leave? What kind of results to you get? Does it turn into a power struggle? Any books you've found helpful on this topic?

[psusna]

Struggling...........

I've gotta tell 'ya, girls, this is HARD. DS is really struggling with the little/big thing right now in a major way. He has chosen to sleep in his big bed the past two nights (fell out last night, put himself back in), and done great. The problem, however, is at school. He moved up last week to the "old two's" room with 5 of his friends. He knows both teachers in there, likes the room, etc. The past two mornings he has refused to go into the room -- flat out fits of screaming. When we leave the hosue in the morning he is excited, happy, fine, but the closer we get to school the quieter he gets and by the time we reach his room he's just a wreck. I think that the issue may be that there is no paci in this room and the teacher is hard core about it -- no transition, just cold turkey. He's done fine without it, but I think that he is afraid the teacher is going to take something else away from him (blanket, etc.). I honestly think he is scared of her and wants back in his old class. I don't know what to do -- you can really see him struggling and it makes me ache for him. I don't know how to help him anymore than I am. We talk about what he does at school and how much fun he has and his great friends and his nice teachers who help him, etc. He loves school when he's not there. Maybe it's just too much change at once -- in fact, I was sure he would want back in the little bed last night, but nope. Any ideas?!?!?!?

Hedge: see above -- we are in a similar boat and he does the wanting to leave early thing from his MyGym on Saturday's too. Typically he wants to leave if they are doing something he doesn't care for or if his two buddies aren't there. I notice it more when he's tired than any other time. He just starts with the "mommy up" -- "mommy home". We go over in a quiet corner and just watch the kids for a bit, and he usually comes around. I don't want to leave and take him home b/c then he knows it works -- I just take him to the side and we watch. When he's ready to participate again (Circle Time), he does so. Gosh, this toddler thing is HARD!!! Hang in there!!

Ranchers: Wow! Landon is going to be quite the fish, I think :)

JRDH: I'm sorry about the house. When the right house comes along, it will be yours!

Memo: Nnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

Liz/Tgr: Great parties!

[LIZNKEITH]

jrdh,
Sorry things didn't work out with the house, but it sounds like it was for the best. You certainly don't want to get in over your head with repairs.

Christy,
Poor Sarah!! I hope she feels better soon! I agree with the other, changing the routine for a few days probably won't throw her off. She'll be so wiped out from a busy day, I wouldn't be surprised if she even zonks out in the car. Maybe bring her PJ's with you and change her in to the before you leave the church. That was if she does fall asleep in the car, you can quickly transfer her to her bed without disrupting her too much.

Thanks, ahavnes & psusna!!

Hedge,
Is there any way you can arrange smaller GTG's with a couple of the kids from his class so that he sees some familiar faces every week? Sounds like you've done a good job of ruling out the usual suspects.

psusna,
Oh, that is breaking my heart!! I know Caroline had a rough patch when she transitioned from the infant room to the beginner room. Poor DH, he's the one who does drop offs and there were many days he'd have to leave her screaming because she could not be consoled. I think it was a combination of new faces/new teachers/new routine. She finally got used to it within a week or two and grew to LOVE her teacher. I really thinks it's just a matter of him getting used to it. Maybe send an extra lovely with him to school?

Memo
Caroline may have been the one who started circulating this memo. We had an awful stretch of sleep a couple of weeks ago, but (knock on wood) she's done much better the past week.

[Sasha]

psusna - Does the teacher tell you if he is ok shortly after you leave him in the AM or does it continue through the day? If you could swing it with work, could you hang out there with him for a bit when you drop him off to give him some level of comfort, and also check things out for yourself? I hope that after a week or so he gets comfortable, and if not, maybe you should talk to the center director.

Hedge - I second the advice that psusna gave. If Sarah get shy or clingy in a new situation, I just tend to either hold her hand or go to a quieter place and we just watch, until she feels more comfortable.

Memo - Our memo has been reading something like this: "Prolong bedtime as long as possible, even tell them you need to go potty - they will definitely let you stay up longer for that! Finally give in to getting in crib, but stay awake until at least 9:30PM, singing songs to them over the monitor. Wake up time has now been moved up an hour to 6-6:30AM." Actually, she slept until 7:15 (normal time for her) the past two days, so I am praying that part of the memo has ceased!

So that talk of veggies we were just having....for those of you who have success with veggies, do you have any tricks or recipes you can share? For example, I can get Sarah to eat squash by using the frozen cooked squash and adding a small amount cinnamon and brown sugar to it. Anyone else care to play?

[allyray231]

my skinny boy

2 year WBV
25lbs 3 oz
35 inches

tall and skinny. he for the Hep A shot and there is some confuision about his final dose of his Pneumococcal dose. I guess he is suppose to have 4 now and he has only had 3 so I called my old ped just to check. So we will probably get that later and also have to do his blood draw for lead and iron.

[usafwife]

Happy Belated Birthday, Shylah!!

Our new vehicle is a major hit with DD. She loves that she can walk to her seat. We bought a DVD system for it and it's been a MAJOR hit. She stayed awake while making errands last night.

[allyray231]

usa what did you guys get? we are looking for a new car

[psusna]

Liz & Sasha: Thanks for the words of support about DS’ struggle. I think I will take your advice, Sasha, and monitor the situation this week and then speak to the director if it lingers. It’s nothing his teacher is doing wrong at all, she is great and I’m excited for DS to be with her – it’s just I want to make sure that he is not being forced into being “big” if he’s not totally ready. He is such a sensitive boy when it comes to emotions and change, he always has been. He knows his routine, he likes his routine, he expects his routine. I just want to make sure that he’s not being forced to act/behave/participate in a manner that he just might not be ready for just yet (and by forced I mean by the way the class is structured, etc.). He does calm down shortly after I leave and does great when his best best friends arrive. Good ideas, girls – I appreciate the thoughts!!

USAF: Congrats on the new car!! How exciting for you and the family :) DVD in the car is a lifesaver somedays. Enjoy!

Veggies: Lately DS has been eating them straight from the freezer. I think it feels good on his teething gums. I do put cinnamon on sweet potatoes, and he enjoys garlic on things like green beans, etc. He does NOT like cheese on his veggies.

[DisneyGirl]

USA Congrats on getting a new car...what did you guys end up getting?

DVD player: I have one in my minivan and I never turned the thing on before..LOL

[tgray99]

Two Year WBV
Weight: 29 lbs (80th %-tile)
Height: 34" (50th %-tile)
Head: 18" (90th %-tile)

She got the HEP A booster.

[usafwife]

ally, psusna, Disney ~ We ended up getting a Chevy Venture.

[kimthebride]

I've only been able to peek in now & again this week, but am wondering: has anyone else gone from having a GREAT sleeper/napper to wondering WTF is going on?
- wanting earlier naps
- either doing an hour less or 2 hours longer...but no rhyme or reason as to why in either case
- random crying or playing or yelling at night
- instead of calling out for us to get him in the morning, just sitting there leaning against the wall of the crib quietly (sulking??)
Its just perplexing me & DH!

[wendstress]

I've only been able to peek in now & again this week, but am wondering: has anyone else gone from having a GREAT sleeper/napper to wondering WTF is going on?
- wanting earlier naps
- either doing an hour less or 2 hours longer...but no rhyme or reason as to why in either case
- random crying or playing or yelling at night
- instead of calling out for us to get him in the morning, just sitting there leaning against the wall of the crib quietly (sulking??)
Its just perplexing me & DH!


Yes....

-Sleeping much longer.
-Will fall asleep in the car at 10 AM if we're out and about (but he'd never ask to sleep earlier)
-Bed-time has again become the low point of my day. Listening to "Where'd Mommy go? I want Mommy!" for 20 minutes is taking it's toll.....

-------------------------

Ladies, I'm feeling like crap right now. I spanked James out of pure frustration....something I know I shouldn't do. I'm not against spanking if it is warranted (life or death situation, or repeated and deliberate disobedience (timeouts are my first avenue) is my criteria).

He bit my finger really hard around 6:30PM. It caught me totally by suprise and I actually screamed. He cried because I was so upset. We talked about not biting and he said he was sorry and wouldn't bite again. 7:15 PM I was holding him and he bit my shoulder. I sat down on the couch and popped him 3 times.... I should have taken a deep breath and done a time out. But I didn't.

Ugh. Time to go to bed. Thanks for letting my confess my sins :rolleyes:

[jrdhbunny]

Sleeping- Yeah- today was a low point. Yesterday we had a 2+ hour nap and an easy bedtime so I thought we were back on track. Well, DS was up at 3:30 a.m. calling for me; that lasted about 45 minutes. Then he was up for the day at 5:45 a.m. I'm thinking- wow, he's going to take a heck of a nap and he did, but the other way- clocking in at just over 1/2 hour. :mad: Tonight he actually fell asleep in my lap while I was reading, but I have no guesses as to how long he'll sleep.

wendstress- I know how you feel. A while back I smacked James very lightly on the thigh when he had a temper tantrum during a diaper change (almost vaulting over the side of the changing table, kicking me, getting poop everywhere) and thanks to his fair skin it left a mark :(:(:( . It faded fairly quickly but I cried about it for the rest of the day.

[rancherswife]

sleep: What is with these kids. Never in my life would I have guessed that at 2 he'd not be sleeping through the night and not be stuck to a certain sleep pattern. His naps are much like the rest of you are describing. Some days an hour less, some two hours more...it's a totally random thing, bed time has been pushed back to 9 or later, it is hard this time of year with it still being light outside though, so I'll give him that. If we're in the car for longer than 20 mins. in the morning, he's asleep, which totally screws his "real" nap up later on...ughhh!!!! WHY??? I do however, take comfort in knowing they're all doing it though...well...most of them! ;)

spanking/frustration: I've had a couple of these incidents happen as well. And you feel like complete ass after you do it. Beat yourself up over it the rest of the day...yeah....totally been there. Being a parent of a toddler is freakin' hard work!!!

[njnewyearsbride]

dropping off 2 year stats -- didnt realize we had a new thread!

2 year stats
height - 36"
weight 28.5 lbs

[diedra1027]

Sleep - Same problems here...except the naps. At night she's been goofing off for an hour or more before finally settling in - last night I even had to take some stuff out of her room to get her to stop messing around. We're also getting the diversion attempts - when it's time for bed she says she's hungry...and conversely, when it's time for dinner she says she's tired :rolleyes:. I guessing things will improve when it's not light out so late!

Spanking/Frustration - I think we've all done things we're no so proud of. I'm often thankful that Avery's not going to be able to remember a whole lot about this time in her life!

[tgr68]

New thread and I'm already a week behind. :rolleyes:

Free/Cheap and Fun Things~sidewalk chalk ($5 for a huge pail), library, reading, fridge magnets ($1 at Dollar Store), water hose, etc.

Arts & Crafts~Mostly coloring around here. At storytime though, she makes animal pictures using pre-cut construction paper and glue, finger print characters, hats out of folded & cut paper, etc. She just got some playdough for her birthday though, so we may be busting that out soon!

Outdoors/Tan Lines~None here! We are super-vigilant about the sunscreen with DD since I burn so easily, and we're not sure whose skin she got. She loves being outside though. Her favorite things are her slide and our trampoline.

Travel~We always tote along the PNP, but lately I've been looking into one of these (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5640590) for her.

Veggies vs. Fruit~She usually eats fruit with breakfast and veggies with dinner. Lunch we try to switch it back and forth, but DH tends to give her fruit more often.

Father's Day~I got DH a thing of cologne since he had run out and this picture (http://www.dropshots.com/photos/32398/20070614/094759.jpg) in a frame.

Thank you all for the compliments on DDs party! :D

Sleep~Luckily the memo hasn't gotten passed to us. (Knock on wood.)

Spanking~Yep. There have been times that I've swatted her out of frustration/in the heat of the moment. Yeah, I've felt like crap. When that happens though, I always go back and apologize to her.

Last night we had a pretty scary half hour or so. I went in to check on DD and put her on the potty, and she was just burning up. I took her temp and it read 104.5!! :eek: DH and I got her some Motrin and gave her a quick spongebath with a cool washcloth to get her temp down. After about a half hour, her temp dropped to 102, and this morning it dropped even further to 100. Fortunately her WCV was scheduled for this morning.

2 Year WCV Stats
Height: 33 inches (25th percentile)
Weight: 26 lbs (50th percentile)
HC: 20 inches

The appt went really well. Dr said that she is hitting all of her milestones and even some advanced skills, so I'm pleased. As far as the fever goes, dr said to just keep an eye on things and gave us an antibiotic prescription just in case.

[happy1nuv]

shyness ~ totally over here. like, really bad. we dont leave, but we will hold/cuddle/etc. to get him through....

more later since the crank is up

[cynder]

wendstress We all have low points. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's hard to take a timeout for yourself when something like that happens. DS outright kicked me totally on purpose the other and giggled about it. I came real close to wanting to do something to make him realize how angry and serious I was. Then I thought how spanking or causing physical pain was going to make him stop causing me physical pain. But man, when you are in the moment, all rationality goes out the window. The giggling is what drove me over the top!! They know just how to push it at the wrong time. I am weird about spanking. My mom spanked and pinched me and both my sister and I have bad memories of it.

Sleep DS is trying all sorts of stalling tactics and just breaks down into tears when i put him down lately. DH and I have both been working like dogs so I think it's starting to affect him in a weird way. I need life to slow down.

[MayJune05Moms]

I believe I've made all changes through here...

-alienhost

[alienhost]

lots to catch up on!

Happy Belated Birthday to Shylah and any others I might have missed..

sleeping or lack thereof DD has been struggling the past few weeks but I was afraid to mention it. At night she wakes up calling for me and then when I go in she freaks out when I try to leave. I've been sleeping on the double bed in her room until she falls asleep and sneaking out (this is happening around 1 AM). This continued for 2-3 days. Now it is on and off every couple of days or so she wakes up and I have to lie down in her room. I REALLY don't want to get into the habit of sleeping in her room though. I tried a nightlight thinking she was scared of the dark. After 2 nights of it on she asked me to turn it off. Naps have been better this week (knock on wood) but a week or so ago my normal 2 hour napper was napping for 45 minutes and then miserable the rest of the day. If she falls asleep in the car just before lunch/naptime, we are doomed since she wakes up and doesn't want to go down. I hope everyone dealing with lousy sleep is coping OK.

Father's Day it was nice and relaxing, I made breakfast then we went for a long walk to a new playground. Of course it was the hotest day so far here. We had ice cream afterwards and walked back home (DD actually fell asleep in the stroller, which she hasn't done since she was an infant). We relaxed the rest of the day and DD swam in her pool.

christy1010 I'm sorry that S was so sick on her birthday, no fun! I hope she is better soon.

psusna is J feeling better about school? I hope this week is better.

wendstress Don't beat yourself up, I think we all have moments that we aren't proud of, motherhood is hard.

[jmvan74]

sleep: It is definitely off. He gets whiney for bed early and he's usually in bed by 7pm already. He's been waking up a ton for no apparent reason. So frustrating. Luckily, he puts himself back to sleep eventually, but is tired in the morning b/c he wants to get up an hour early, too. Baaah. Maybe it's a growth spurt of some sort. I hear him singing and talking to himself, so maybe he's practicing his verbal skills.;)

Spanking: Been there too. :o Hugs.

[usafwife]

sleep ~ DD will wake up in the night, scream/cry for a few seconds, turn over and then go back to sleep. I've started letting her sleep with a stuffed animal/blanket because it helps her when she wakes up in the night to have something to grab on to and go back to sleep.

Travel ~ Depending upon the rooms we stay in, she either sleeps in the other bed or on the sofa/loveseat in the other room. We do take her travel mat (similar to what tgr68 posted) that we bought last September while my mom was in the hospital.

spanking/frustration ~ I've been there but usually only spank as a last resort/serious offense. We've been using the word 'no' for a while so she knows when we say it what it means. She is kicking more and I have lightly spanked/tapped her for kicking me in my incision area before (it made me double over in pain when she did it). DH got on to her for it as well. She's good about coming up to us (or anyone) and asking us if we are okay (after coughing, sneezing, DS burping, saying ouch, etc). We are also using timeouts and the 1,2,3 system.

[tgray99]

Discipline: I use redirection, time-out (Thinkin' Chair), 1-2-3 (but actually go get her when I get to 3...unlike my dad did with us) and occasionally I'll swat her hiney (which is diapered so I doubt it even phases her). I also will get my face very close to hers to make sure she's looking at me and making eye contact when I tell her what she should or shouldn't be doing.

Freaked Out: Aidan let go of my hand in the Chick-Fil-A parking lot yesterday and ran away from me. I have never been so scared. Luckily there weren't any cars coming but, dang, it happened so quick! Scary stuff.

[psusna]

Alien: He had a great day yesterday! He got two stickers for being a good helper, was a good sharing partner, etc. She put a very nice note on his paper and told me again today how good he was. She said he got angry a few times and she could see him working to control his frustration. However, he didn't want me to leave again today. I stayed until his friend Mason got there (20 minutes!) and then he was totally ok with me going. I think I know what his issue may be but I have no clue how to solve it....

Sleep: We are going for night 3 in a row in the BBB. We'll see what happens there...

Frustration/Spanking: Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

[Sasha]

Frustration/Spanking - I will admit that I took a little swat at her tush a few weeks ago when I was at my wits end. She was repeatedly kicking me and laughing while doing it and I just couldnt' take it anymore. Not my finest hour. I don't want to spank her and we use TOs when she acts up....but that one was particularly bad! :o

Sleeping - Totally fighting going to sleep at night. Once she does, she is STTN, but man, getting her to go to sleep has been a chore. At least she is waking up closer to her normal time again, as opposed the 6AM wake up call we were getting last week.

[DisneyGirl]

Frustration/Spanking: Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

Yeah, same here.

[rancherswife]

I love the true confessions...it's good for us girls... ;)

[kimthebride]

Spanking
Since we have no good "time out" place or room for a chair, I have had to physically hold him down in a sitting position in the corner after doing something worthy of a time-out or spank....it feels terrible to do that!

Though mostly we just inform him that boarding school is always an option. :D

[allyray231]

kim we use a doorway for timeout.

[kimthebride]

How? (I am sleep-deprived an not quite picturing how this would work....)

[diedra1027]

Freaked Out: Aidan let go of my hand in the Chick-Fil-A parking lot yesterday and ran away from me. I have never been so scared. Luckily there weren't any cars coming but, dang, it happened so quick! Scary stuff. YIKES!! Yesterday evening Avery was 'helping' Daddy water the front lawn. He apparantly wasn't watching close enough because he turned around and she was gone...he caught up with her a block and a half away (GULP!! and :mad: ). I refuse to let go of her in a parking lot, but she's run off from our house three times now. So So Scary!

[Chylynn]

Diedra _OMG! Thank goodness Avery was okay. I would have killed my husband.

tgray -Phew, thank goodness no cars were coming. It does happen fast.

Potty Training -We are on day 4 of potty training and DD is doing pretty good. She has the pooping in the potty pretty well, but we have 1-2 PP accidents daily. She just doesn't have the muscle yet to hold it to get to the potty and if we do not move fast enough, she has an accident. We did the PT in One Day method and I am pretty impressed how fast she picked up on it. I think in about two weeks we will be free from accidents for the most part. Once we get her PT full-time, we will work on removing the paci....

Hope everyone else is doing well!

[tgray99]

I've read that this is the age where toddlers can get backed over with the car, wander out of the house and other dangerous things because they're mobile and have no concept of fear or danger. Scary stuff!

[psusna]

Fly by post....

Does anyone have recommendations for books to read to/with our kids about sharing? Also, do you remember those Little Miss and Little Mr. books by Roger Hargreaves (sp?) from when we were tykes? Do you think our kids are still too young for those books?

BBL. Hi to all!

[kimthebride]

Also, do you remember those Little Miss and Little Mr. books by Roger Hargreaves (sp?) from when we were tykes? Do you think our kids are still too young for those books?

I had the ENTIRE collection as a kid, so began collecting the Little Mr. ones when T was born. I have almost all of them. I tried reading them to him when he was about 1 and he just ate the pages :rolleyes: , but now he's more interested.

I got a lot of them on eBay, but they also make a great grandparent gift! I'm asking my mom for the Little Miss ones for Ava this Xmas. :)


Sharing? WTF is sharing??! :confused:

[rancherswife]

Since we have no good "time out" place or room for a chair, I have had to physically hold him down in a sitting position in the corner after doing something worthy of a time-out or spank....it feels terrible to do that!


Oh yes...we've done this a time or two ourselves....those are the times I've been head butted, etc. from the screaming fits that continue while he's in my arms. Good times! :)

sharing: Yeah, he's not so good at that, I find that NO child at this age is good at sharing! ;)

Holy shit diedra, that would have surely given me a heart attack! You poor thing. :(

[tgray99]

Sharing: At this age and cognitive developmental stage, toddlers aren't built to share...it's not in them...neither is playing with other kids...they're still at the parallel play stage. Which isn't to say that I don't ask her to share when she's with other kids, I just know that it isn't something that she should know.

[psusna]

Tgray & Diedra: Holy moley! I'm glad that your little ones are ok. Man, what a wake up call to keep on keeping on with the hand holding.

Kim: Thanks for the info on the books. I LOVED them when I was little and my 2nd grade reading teacher had a whole unit dedicated to them with a little playhouse she made with life-sized Little Mr's. I'll check out eBay. Thanks!

Sharing: I brought up sharing b/c he has been way posessive of his things lately. While I agree with Tgray, I still think it can't hurt to talk about sharing or read books that show sharing, etc. He's been getting into trouble at school b/c he's taking toys or swatting at someone trying to take his toy, etc.

BBB Update: (knock on wood) He's been in the BBB for 5 nights now and done fabulos!! We are slowly finishing his room and he seems to love it, as do we.

[ahavnes]

Sharing-Abbey is actually really good at sharing. Maybe it makes up for her crappy sleep habits, lol. We actually have to "tone down" the sharing sometimes b/c she'll follow kids around, insisting that they take what she is offering. :)

Spanking- I think all of us in this thread are good parents. We're all well-read on parenting topics and we try our hardest to raise our children with their best interests in mind. Obviously...that's why we're on here asking each other for advice! ;) However, we're all human. Like everyone else, I've spanked Abbey a time or two and have beaten myself up for it. It sucks, but I just try to remember that I'm doing the best I can...and that she won't remember it likely. Haha. Not that it phases her anyway. The one time I really spanked her was at the vet's office and she just turned around and spanked me while saying "bad Mama" and laughing. :rolleyes:

Diedra- That is really scary! I would have killed DH also! :cool:

Chylynn- Glad the PT is going well!

[rancherswife]

Not that it phases her anyway.

LOL! So true w/ Landon too. He gets a kick out of it. That's why I find other avenues (i.e. TO's, holding him down on my lap, etc) because he just laughs whenever I've tried the spanking thing...ughh! And you know the "powder room" incident! ;)

[Sasha]

Sharing - Sarah is like Abbey, she is actually pretty good about sharing and will go out of her way to share something with another child. We have to make up for the temper tantrums somehow, right? ;)

Diedra & Tgray - So scary, glad both girls are ok! I had a similiar incident when we were on vacation last month and I thought DH was watching Sarah, he thought I was, and she walked off to the other side of the tiki bar...I have never been so terrified in my life. Really need to keep your eyes on them at all times.

Has anyone else seen a major decrease in appetite lately? Sarah is hardly eating her breakfast and dinner this week - although her teacher said she is eating her normal lunch at daycare. And, she will only eat ravioli for dinner right now, although barely any of it. Every night, she asks for pasta. Do I just keep giving into her or when do I put my foot down and say she has to eat something else?

[psusna]

Appetite: YES! Major decrease. He eats all of his breakfast at school, most of his lunch and then barely any dinner. Last night's dinner was 1/2 of a dinner roll and a cup of applesauce. The night before it was 2 pieces of cheese, a spoon of rice, and 4 blueberries. I have asked him both nights if he wants something different to eat and he said no both times. I've started giving him a vitamin before bed, which he loves and can't understand why he can't have more than one!

[cynder]

Sharing This really irked me a few months ago but I have learned to be okay with it. I guess they are like dogs - need to pee to declare what is theirs! :) We have some book called The Red Ribbon that someone gave us that is kind of nice to show sharing. We just talk about it a lot, make him share , etc. Now he shares but he wants it back right away. Fine!

Appetite: We had a hunger strike last week, hunger feast this week, and then today refusal of the one solid meal - breakfast. For the 500th time, I give up. Sasha, I would make what she if she is asking for it. Just look for ways to sneak things in. I have been taking yellow Annie's Mac and cheese and adding all sorts of purees. So when he refuses carrots, I shovel in some mac with pureed carrots and smile to myself.

[ahavnes]

Appetite- TOTAL decrease! She barely eats anything these days. Glad to know we're not alone.

[DisneyGirl]

Appetite Thanks to who ever brought this up because i was starting to wondering if something was wrong with Nikki. She hardly eats anything.

[kimthebride]

Appetite
Thomas used to eat a CRAZY amount of food - I didn't even understand biologically how it would fit in his stomach.
Anyway, now he's back & forth. He was just grazing, eating very little all of May so at his 2 year WBV DH & I asked the Ped about it. He looked at us and all seriously said "He's two now. He makes his own decisions." I guess eating/not eating is a big control issue, so when they realize they can make decisions and control situations regarding food (you can't actually FORCE a kid to eat...) they get all over it for a while. Annoying, but normal and okay.
Ped said he was healthy and active and did put something in his belly every day (peeing/pooping normally too) so don't worry about it.
He is starting to come around now. He went from simply refusing to eat, to now insisting he sit in a regular chair at the end of the table and have his food on a partitioned tray. If he gets his wish, he'll sit there like a good boy and eat.

[tgr68]

Appetite~YES! I thought it was just because of the fever she's had the last few days. Last night, she refused mac & cheese, which she normal devours before I can even fill her sippy.

[jmvan74]

appetite: Count us in the decrease camp... I can't even count on him finishing his breakfast anymore. The only thing he will always eat is fruit. :rolleyes: Better than candy.

[Chylynn]

appetite decrease -Yes! We just deal with it as it comes, because her appetite eventually comes back. It is hard, though!

[diedra1027]

Running Away - Ladies, I wish I could say that DH got an earful from me for Avery's latest running adventure, but I was too shocked to say much. Plus, he was white as a sheet as he was telling me what happened--he freaked himself out enough!!

Appetite - Don't think we've seen a decrease, but she eats so little to begin with it's hard to tell ;).

[alienhost]

diedra and Tgray wow scary ladies, I'm glad your little ones are OK. Things happen so fast it is insane.

sharing A social worker told me that they don't really master sharing until 4. That's a long way to go if it's true. DD will share on her terms - if she feels like giving you something she will. She talks about sharing though. If someone takes something from her she says "no, share!". I'm not sure if she is saying this person isn't sharing or if she is telling the kid to share. Funny story though - the other day, 3 of them were playing and each had their own bowl of goldfish crackers. One kid beelined towards her bowl (which she left sitting on a table) and she ran after him yelling "no, no, no, no touch the bowl!"

appetite I think it has decreased here too.

[jrdhbunny]

Running away- Oh gosh, it is about the scariest thing that has happened to me in my life! (I can't remember if I had posted about it when it happened, but DS got out of the house and was halfway down the block before I caught up with him.) Those little buggers are quick!

Appetite- DS is still eating pretty much the same as always, in fact, probably more. But he wins no prizes because it's still the baby food. :rolleyes:

Sharing- James loves to share his drinks with us, and he's pretty good about sharing his toys with other kids. But I think it's just his personality because it's more that he won't fight for it, KWIM? He did have a tussle with a friend at playgroup over a riding toy and the other kid won. Luckily there was no tantrum, he just tried to find another thing to play with.

[rancherswife]

appetite: MAJOR decrease w/ Landon too. He will almost go all day w/ hardly anything, then he'll eat a good meal. OR, if he doesn't go all day w/ out...he'll snack a *little* throughout the day, and just make a mess while we eat dinner.

[tgray99]

Appetite: Aidan has barely been eating much at dinner. Although yesterday she ate spinach...I was shocked. Even asked for more!

[usafwife]

Running Away ~ DD has walked off while I was trying to get her in the vehicle at home before. Not really that much of a problem since we live out in the middle of nowhere but if the idiots up north decide to use our road (which they don't have permission to do but use it anyway...long story) they go up it like 90 to nothing. I'm seriously considering buying one of those 'caution: children at play' signs and putting it up on the road to caution them about slowing down. Probably wouldn't do me any good though they'd still use it like a freeway. I also don't want her to get in the habit of thinking she can just run away/take off whenever. I've also started locking the screen door (doesn't make DH happy when he comes home from work) to keep her inside. It will work until she figures out how to lock it (and if she seems me lock it that will be the end of her not knowing).

Appetite ~ Definitely been decreased. Somedays she hardly eats anything. I can always count on her to eat cheese though. She's been eating a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches. And she loves the mexican rice I make. She used to eat chicken but it's hit or miss (and mostly miss) lately. She won't eat beef of any kind right now.

Sharing ~ It's hit or miss as well. Sometimes she'll share and other times she won't. Her cousin who is going to be 5 will take something away from her and she'll go try and grab it and a fight/struggle will take place. She is one strong little girl and won't let anyone walk all over her. She definitely stands up for herself. We've went to the park a few times and she will take turns sliding down the slide when there are other kids around. I don't know how well she shares while she's in the nursery at church. No one ever says anything so hopefully it isn't a problem (or I'd hope they would say something). She loves to share her food with DS though. I have to remind her that he can't eat what she's eating just yet. Sometimes she is okay with that and other times it makes her upset (especially around nap time).

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Photo montages ~ Anyone know how to make a CD with pictures on it and set it to music? I'm wanting to do one for DD's birthday party but I'm not exactly sure how to make it. And I'm not sure what songs to use. Anyone have any ideas?

[tgr68]

Photo Montages~I know that on Shutterfly you can make one. Creative Memories also has some software that will allow you to make a video montage. I'm not sure though if you could burn it to DVD.

Running Away~With all these kids running away, have any of you considered purchasing one of those child harnesses? The old ones looked horribly like leases, but the new ones just look like little backpacks. I never thought I'd consider actually using one, but I cannot count the amount of times she has taken off in the store yelling "mom, chase me"!

[tgray99]

Go to OneTrue Media. Here's the website (http://www.onetruemedia.com/). That's where I made Aidan's photo montage for father's day last year.

[LIZNKEITH]

running away
You don't know how relieved I am to read these stories! We had a horrible experience about 2 months ago. Caroline had poured a drink in my purse damaging my nearly new cell phone. So, Keith and I set off to T-Mobile to discuss our options. I told him to keep an eye on her while I talked to the lady. She'd kind of play close by though so he kept joining in the conversation and asking questions. Suddenly I looked up and she was GONE! My heart was in my throat while we ran frantically around the store looking for her. No sign. We went to the back of the store where there were several offices. No Caroline. I ran outside to look around the building to see if somehow she had gotten out. No sign of her. I am *freaking out* by this time. The girl had grabbed the store keys and decided to check some of the locked offices in the back. There she was, playing in a locked office, lights off, door closed. I swear, I lost 10 years off my life (and probably 5 years off our marriage).

Sharing
Not good either. It's a problem that's really just developed in the past month or two.

appetite
Some days good, but more often than not it's been a struggle to get her to eat. It never ceases to amaze me how toddlers can maintain their energy level with the little amount of food they consume.

[DisneyGirl]

running away wow, all thoses stories are so scary. Thankfully Nikki has never done that to me.

[ahavnes]

Appetite Question- Can we talk seriously about this appetite decrease? I am starting to wonder if maybe I should take Abbey to the doctor. She seems energetic and is happy, but I just don't understand how she can be growing on just the small amount of food she consumes each day. Yesterday she had maybe 1/2 a pancake, 5 blueberries and milk for breakfast; peaches and a half a tortilla for lunch, and yogurt with raisins for dinner. That's it!!! Granted, she had some sippys of milk too, but still. Is that normal...even for a 2-year-old? I ask b/c I really don't want to take her to the ped if their just going to tell me it's normal toddler behavior. :confused:

[DisneyGirl]

AliciaNikki like Abbey eats almost NOTHING all day long. I have even(gasp) offered her cookies, bownies anything just so she eats something and she still refuses to eat even them. Not sure if its normal or not, but should be interesting to see what others say.

[allyray231]

OK is my kid the only one that is eating MORE?

[Sasha]

Alicia - Sarah has had some days like that too. Is there anything that is a sure-fire food that you can offer? I know that if I give Sarah pasta mixed with veggies for dinner, she'll eat more of that than anything else I could offer. On Saturday, Sarah ate like 2 mini pancakes and a couple spoonfuls of applesauce for breakfast, a few bites of peanut butter and a couple grapes for lunch, a little bit of my smoothie for a snack and then like 4 bites of pizza and a couple spoonfuls of cooked squash for dinner. I'm guessing this is pretty normal.

[LIZNKEITH]

Alicia,
That loogs comparable to a Caroline menu. The important thing is she still seems to be eating healthy foods (albeit, if even in small amounts), so she's probably getting adequate nutrition. I read something once (can't remember where), that a toddlers portions are roughly 1/3 an adults. While her dinner looks pretty small, her other two meals seem to scale. FWIW, Dinner is usually our most difficult meal, too. Sometimes we're lucky if we can get her to take 3 bites.

[diedra1027]

Liz - Your running story takes the cake...I think I got an ulcer just reading about that little adventure! Avery has run and hid from me in a store before, but nothing like what Caroline did.

Ally - Avery had been eating more than usual until I dared to comment here that we haven't seen an appetite decrease. :rolleyes:

For the last few days, she's eaten next to nothing. She's been a little feverish and I think the last of the molars are breaking through, so that might have something to do with it. Yesterday she sampled and refused what I made for breakfast, then took an early nap (10-12), we woke her up to go to a party and while there she ate maybe 4 animal crackers, maybe a cup of milk, and a few other treats. I am constantly surprised at the energy output for such minimal input!

Sharing - Were in the same boat as the rest of you. Avery 'knows' what it means to share, but it is always your turn to share with her ;).

[cynder]

ahavnes I have 3 friends who swear that their toddlers survive on air. This weekend cousin in law's 3 yr was with us and he ate way less than DS which is normal for him but he's huge. He's in the 90% for height. Abbey's eating is fine and is actually more than DS normally eats. Really.

Speaking of DS, he was so busy playing with cousin that he ate a ton, pooped a ton and is now suffering from diaper rash for a change. If it's not one thing, it's the other.