We are a non-religious family, but thanks to Baba, Tim has ready access to a wide selection of Christmas books featuring the story of Jesus' birth. (I'm glad of this; religious or not, the story of Jesus IS the reason we have Christmas to celebrate. Might as well be honest!) His current fave is Margaret Laurence's version, which is really quite lovely.
Baba also brought Tim a Little Peoples crêche (aka Manger Scene) and gave it to him while we were away in Montreal. Because Tim knows the Christmas story quite well from the books, I suggested tonight that we act out the Christmas story using the Little People. When the Wise Men arrived, I asked Tim what they brought for Baby Jesus.
"Peasants."
When pressed for specifics, Tim informed me that the three wise men brought peasants consisting of myrrh, gold, and ice cream.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
An overnight sensation
Tim is all about surprises. We wait and wait, worry, find ourselves on the cusp of giving up hope, then Voila! Mr. Expert shows up.
So it was with talking.
Now it's happened again with peeing on the toilet. Yesterday, I could not have coaxed Tim onto the toilet or potty even with M&M's. (And if he submitted to sitting on it, there was no expulsion of liquid whatsoever.) Today, I could barely pry him away from the toilet, and every time he sat on it (or stood over it), he managed to squeeze out enough droplets to justify squealing "I peed! I peed on the big white toilet/little green potty!"
It started with a morning with Dad, naked and post-shower. Somehow, he managed to announce before he actually peed, that he had to go. (Unprecedented.) Dad brought him to the toilet, and he just stood before it, aimed, and shot. Perfect, and was rewarded with M&M's.
FFWD to Mom suggesting trying it again. He tried to replicate his experience with dad by running upstairs... but nothing would come out. He was so frustrated! What is going on? I suggested that there may not be enough water in his tummy, and we should try again after lunch. Dude was chomping a the bit and when I finally suggested it might be a good time, he opted for sitting on the Diego seat on the downstairs toilet. When the water poured forth, he simply beamed with pride. High five's and M&M's all around!
The rest of the day was a bit of a snowball. He was keen to try his skills on the virgin Little Green Potty in the living room, and nailed it on the first try. During supper, he got up, ran to the living room on his own, and when I peeked in, there he was, standing over the potty aiming right into the hole. Bulls-eye! M&M's be damned, success was intoxicating and being allowed to empty the potty into the big toilet reward enough. Tim spent the rest of supper with his pants around his ankles, running back and forth between the potty and the toilet. Tim, wanna watch TV? NO! I WANT TO PEE IN THE TOILET!
I made the mistake of telling him that first thing in the morning he could try to POO in the toilet. The prospect was apparently as exciting as that of a visit from Santa Claus because he was so excited it took a good 45 minutes to fall asleep.
Can't wait 'til morning! Bring on that shit!
So it was with talking.
Now it's happened again with peeing on the toilet. Yesterday, I could not have coaxed Tim onto the toilet or potty even with M&M's. (And if he submitted to sitting on it, there was no expulsion of liquid whatsoever.) Today, I could barely pry him away from the toilet, and every time he sat on it (or stood over it), he managed to squeeze out enough droplets to justify squealing "I peed! I peed on the big white toilet/little green potty!"
It started with a morning with Dad, naked and post-shower. Somehow, he managed to announce before he actually peed, that he had to go. (Unprecedented.) Dad brought him to the toilet, and he just stood before it, aimed, and shot. Perfect, and was rewarded with M&M's.
FFWD to Mom suggesting trying it again. He tried to replicate his experience with dad by running upstairs... but nothing would come out. He was so frustrated! What is going on? I suggested that there may not be enough water in his tummy, and we should try again after lunch. Dude was chomping a the bit and when I finally suggested it might be a good time, he opted for sitting on the Diego seat on the downstairs toilet. When the water poured forth, he simply beamed with pride. High five's and M&M's all around!
The rest of the day was a bit of a snowball. He was keen to try his skills on the virgin Little Green Potty in the living room, and nailed it on the first try. During supper, he got up, ran to the living room on his own, and when I peeked in, there he was, standing over the potty aiming right into the hole. Bulls-eye! M&M's be damned, success was intoxicating and being allowed to empty the potty into the big toilet reward enough. Tim spent the rest of supper with his pants around his ankles, running back and forth between the potty and the toilet. Tim, wanna watch TV? NO! I WANT TO PEE IN THE TOILET!
I made the mistake of telling him that first thing in the morning he could try to POO in the toilet. The prospect was apparently as exciting as that of a visit from Santa Claus because he was so excited it took a good 45 minutes to fall asleep.
Can't wait 'til morning! Bring on that shit!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A very quiet afternoon
The big kids are at school. Tim's napping. I'm all finished my work, lunch, and surfing. The house is relatively tidy (after having company for dinner last night), and I can't think of anything good to blog about.
I have nothing to do.
Which means, I'd better come up with a to-do list for rare moments like this! When I'm busy, it feels like there's a mile-long backlog... It can't have just disappeared.
I guess I have something to do now...
I have nothing to do.
Which means, I'd better come up with a to-do list for rare moments like this! When I'm busy, it feels like there's a mile-long backlog... It can't have just disappeared.
I guess I have something to do now...
Saturday, November 12, 2011
He grows up, and he grows up
This morning, Tim and I were in the kitchen. He was eating a yo-yo-baby [yogurt], and I was making coffee. Apropos of nothing, he tells me: "Mommy ha' a bum and Mommy ha' a wawa [vulva]. And Tim ha' a bum and Tim ha' a penis."
I agreed with his observation, and he added for good measure "Tim ha' a bellybutton, and Mommy ha' a bellybutton."
It's all coming together for our little man.
It's been a month of growth for him, that's for sure. First, he discovered Halloween. Although for months he had talked about dressing up as a pirate, he refused to don the costume when the day came. It took seeing other kids his age arriving at the door in disguise and GETTING CANDY for their efforts that finally convinced him. Ben came with us for the first couple houses then split, but by then Tim had caught the bug. He was running ahead of me up to doors, trick-r-treating, gank-you'ing, and Aaarrr'ing like nobody's business. And the haul was worth it.
Tim seemed empowered by his embrace of Halloween. A few days later, Baba and Doe [Joe] arrived. They last time they saw Tim, he only spoke about ten words. After showing of his sentences to them, he took his vocab to the next level, and began speaking in paragraphs, making detailed observations about the world around him using as many ideas and adjectives as possible.
After a couple of days of visiting, it was time for The Vacation. In which Mommy and Daddy go away for four nights and Tim has his vacation at home with Baba. This is a big step - the first time we've been away for more than 24 hours.
Mr. Big Boy Tim stepped up and enjoyed himself immensely. Other than a few sad moments from which Baba was able to readily distract him, he was completely happy spending time with Baba, away from mom and dad. Since we've returned we've noticed that he's even more independent and mature than when we left. And, he likes presents.
I agreed with his observation, and he added for good measure "Tim ha' a bellybutton, and Mommy ha' a bellybutton."
It's all coming together for our little man.
It's been a month of growth for him, that's for sure. First, he discovered Halloween. Although for months he had talked about dressing up as a pirate, he refused to don the costume when the day came. It took seeing other kids his age arriving at the door in disguise and GETTING CANDY for their efforts that finally convinced him. Ben came with us for the first couple houses then split, but by then Tim had caught the bug. He was running ahead of me up to doors, trick-r-treating, gank-you'ing, and Aaarrr'ing like nobody's business. And the haul was worth it.
Tim seemed empowered by his embrace of Halloween. A few days later, Baba and Doe [Joe] arrived. They last time they saw Tim, he only spoke about ten words. After showing of his sentences to them, he took his vocab to the next level, and began speaking in paragraphs, making detailed observations about the world around him using as many ideas and adjectives as possible.
After a couple of days of visiting, it was time for The Vacation. In which Mommy and Daddy go away for four nights and Tim has his vacation at home with Baba. This is a big step - the first time we've been away for more than 24 hours.
Mr. Big Boy Tim stepped up and enjoyed himself immensely. Other than a few sad moments from which Baba was able to readily distract him, he was completely happy spending time with Baba, away from mom and dad. Since we've returned we've noticed that he's even more independent and mature than when we left. And, he likes presents.
 |
| Inseparable from his new liday owinj tadalome [little orange telephone], that we brought him back from our vacation in Montreal. |
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