Our evening routine is so routine as to be laughable. Kieran hardly fights going to bed, but once he's settled in, even if he is dog tired, he will get up, open the door and lay at the top of the steps until we come get him and put him back in bed. It's the second "good night" that's the real one - and we all know it. Sometimes it takes him 15 minutes to get up and open the door. Sometimes only 5. Either way it pauses whatever we're doing and refocuses us on Kieran.
I've been carpooling with a dad in the neighborhood who broke his foot and needed a better way to get back and forth than the Metro. He and I can get a bit carried away on the adult talk and Kieran has finally gotten more vocal about attention (which I'm actually happy about but know I will come to regret) from me. We'll be chatting and I'll hear Kieran tell me about the alligator at school that bit him and I'll stop, tell him "Well, I hope you told the alligator how you felt." Kieran then proceeds to tell us for a few minutes how it was "not nice" and "I told alligator, I don't like it!". He then gets quiet again. This interruption is welcome and fun. His sense of whimsy is just developing and I have no issues feeding it.
He's been very mommy centric this week. Every morning he crawls into bed, lays next to me for a little bit and then quietly tells me "get up". He whispers, so as to not wake Ken. This morning I was hoping to get a bit more sleep. I asked if Ken could take him downstairs. He said "no, mommy do it". *sigh* I guess I'll sleep in eventually. Maybe when he's a teenager. Or in college.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Baseball Boy
He just started getting interested in baseball so we bought this inflatable bat, ball and tee set. He hasn't even see the tee yet but he LOVES to play baseball.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Terrible 2s... 6 more months to go
Kieran officially turns 2 1/2 tomorrow. Wow. So amazingly fast. Everyone says it but, just, wow.
And the hits just keep on coming... I mean that literally. Kieran has been hitting me, generally lashing out when he's pissed at something I am telling him he cannot do (or should do). Most of the time he's fine but then, all of a sudden, Mohammed Ali shows up where my adorable child once stood. So, time out on the sofa and I leave the room. This should be the end of it, right?
Oh, no. My child FOLLOWS me into the next room and raises his arm to hit me again. When I dodge him and he falls on his ass, I try very hard not to laugh or make any noise of triumph as I scoop him up and dump him back on the sofa to finish his time out, crying or not. I have a feeling that I am either not doing something right (I'm going to be doing some research this weekend) or that many toddlers go through a stage like this and I just have to stay the course. For now, staying the course it is. Suggestions welcome.
And the hits just keep on coming... I mean that literally. Kieran has been hitting me, generally lashing out when he's pissed at something I am telling him he cannot do (or should do). Most of the time he's fine but then, all of a sudden, Mohammed Ali shows up where my adorable child once stood. So, time out on the sofa and I leave the room. This should be the end of it, right?
Oh, no. My child FOLLOWS me into the next room and raises his arm to hit me again. When I dodge him and he falls on his ass, I try very hard not to laugh or make any noise of triumph as I scoop him up and dump him back on the sofa to finish his time out, crying or not. I have a feeling that I am either not doing something right (I'm going to be doing some research this weekend) or that many toddlers go through a stage like this and I just have to stay the course. For now, staying the course it is. Suggestions welcome.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Making Memories
Our long weekend was fantastic, if a bit hectic. Kieran had a lot of new experiences, a couple of late nights and a ton of fun.
Friday we went to see Joshua and Beth (who we went to college with) and their son, Justin who is one. Many of their friends have kids around the same age. Kieran was nearly the oldest kid there (with the exception of Katherine, who is also 2). He had a great time running around the yard, playing in the baby pools and just snacking the day away. Shannon took some wonderful photos (see below of Kieran and Katherine). We didn't leave until close to bedtime so he got to sleep late that night.
Saturday we kicked around the city and basically killed time until the fireworks. I will say one of the benefits of living in the city is being able to walk around and decide last minute exactly where you'll go see the fireworks. After braving the inner harbor (wow that was a mistake) to get some dessert we skipped the more popular Federal Hill Park for Riverside, which is only a block and a half away from home. So we grabbed a blanket and settled down at 9 and entertained Kieran for half an hour. Ken and I laid on the blanket, Kieran snugged down between us, completely captivated by the fireworks. Ken said that this will probably be one of Kieran's memories when he's older. It'll certainly be a cherished memory of mine. While he's seen fireworks before he remembed just how much he loved them. As I laid him in bed (at 10) he asked "One more time fireworks?" I felt bad that I didn't have the power to give him more.
Sunday we celebrated my grandfather's 95th birthday. Mom and I had been calling a few places the past few weeks that could accomodate our large party in a private room. She said that Poppop's (aka Opa) face light up when she mentioned crepes, so Cafe du Paris it was. The restaurant is usually closed on Sundays but they opened up for us. It was a good time and the food was nice. Kieran loved seeing everyone - Uncle Charles, Uncle Drew, G'Ma, Oma, Opa, Uncle Andy, Aunt Wendy, Zack, Becca, Pete, Renate (and her friend Fred), and mom's friend Carol. We were quite the crowd. That was the big excitement for the day (that and running into a table). After that we came home, let him nap until late, played in the house and that was that.
Overall, he had two days where he got to bed very late this past weekend. Did that mean that he slept late? Of course not! But this morning, when it was time for school, getting ready and whatnot, he slept until we woke him up at nearly 7. All weekend long it was 6. In the morning. When he's older and reads through this blog he's going to realize just how much I love him, since mornings and I generally don't get along well.
Friday we went to see Joshua and Beth (who we went to college with) and their son, Justin who is one. Many of their friends have kids around the same age. Kieran was nearly the oldest kid there (with the exception of Katherine, who is also 2). He had a great time running around the yard, playing in the baby pools and just snacking the day away. Shannon took some wonderful photos (see below of Kieran and Katherine). We didn't leave until close to bedtime so he got to sleep late that night.
Saturday we kicked around the city and basically killed time until the fireworks. I will say one of the benefits of living in the city is being able to walk around and decide last minute exactly where you'll go see the fireworks. After braving the inner harbor (wow that was a mistake) to get some dessert we skipped the more popular Federal Hill Park for Riverside, which is only a block and a half away from home. So we grabbed a blanket and settled down at 9 and entertained Kieran for half an hour. Ken and I laid on the blanket, Kieran snugged down between us, completely captivated by the fireworks. Ken said that this will probably be one of Kieran's memories when he's older. It'll certainly be a cherished memory of mine. While he's seen fireworks before he remembed just how much he loved them. As I laid him in bed (at 10) he asked "One more time fireworks?" I felt bad that I didn't have the power to give him more.
Sunday we celebrated my grandfather's 95th birthday. Mom and I had been calling a few places the past few weeks that could accomodate our large party in a private room. She said that Poppop's (aka Opa) face light up when she mentioned crepes, so Cafe du Paris it was. The restaurant is usually closed on Sundays but they opened up for us. It was a good time and the food was nice. Kieran loved seeing everyone - Uncle Charles, Uncle Drew, G'Ma, Oma, Opa, Uncle Andy, Aunt Wendy, Zack, Becca, Pete, Renate (and her friend Fred), and mom's friend Carol. We were quite the crowd. That was the big excitement for the day (that and running into a table). After that we came home, let him nap until late, played in the house and that was that.
Overall, he had two days where he got to bed very late this past weekend. Did that mean that he slept late? Of course not! But this morning, when it was time for school, getting ready and whatnot, he slept until we woke him up at nearly 7. All weekend long it was 6. In the morning. When he's older and reads through this blog he's going to realize just how much I love him, since mornings and I generally don't get along well.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Poop Machine
So, after I posted that he's been having big issues with the pooping he goes and poops regularly for about 3 days in a row. We still ordered the book, but I also discovered these Fiberful fruit strips and he's been eating one of those per day, which may be what's finally helping him do it.
He also loves that we hoot and holler when he poops. The other day he asked Ken to cheer after he'd gone potty (Ken is a bit louder than me). So far we haven't had to bribe him but I will if it comes to that.
Miss Francine at school asked me about something he's been doing for a bit, which is climbing up on the toilet to pee. He used to stand and lean across the potty to go, but he was having issues because he's a bit on the petite side, so he started climbing up on the toilet, putting his knees down and leaning over so he could go "standing up" like a big boy and not need to sit down to pee. It's damn funny to watch but I do expect one of these days he's going to slip and fall in, then it won't be so funny.
He also loves that we hoot and holler when he poops. The other day he asked Ken to cheer after he'd gone potty (Ken is a bit louder than me). So far we haven't had to bribe him but I will if it comes to that.
Miss Francine at school asked me about something he's been doing for a bit, which is climbing up on the toilet to pee. He used to stand and lean across the potty to go, but he was having issues because he's a bit on the petite side, so he started climbing up on the toilet, putting his knees down and leaning over so he could go "standing up" like a big boy and not need to sit down to pee. It's damn funny to watch but I do expect one of these days he's going to slip and fall in, then it won't be so funny.
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