We try to use positive reinforcement in our parenting toolbox, especially for things we want the Pumpkin to do but don't want to force for whatever reason. When she sleeps through the night in her own bed by herself, as she did last night, we always praise her for it.
This morning after the Pumpkin woke up, I was in her room with her and we had the following conversation (as best as I can recall), which was very enlightening:
Pumpkin: I did a good job sleeping! I slept in my bed all night. But I lost my daddy [he lies with her until she falls asleep and then comes back into our room]. He went in Mommy and Daddy's room. And Mommy is in Mommy and Daddy's room.
caramama: Daddy went back into Mommy and Daddy's room to sleep in his own bed, right? Like you sleep in your bed?
Pumpkin: Yeah. Daddy sleeps in his bed and Mommy sleeps in his bed [she still confuses her male/female pronouns]. And then I come in to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed, too! And then we all sleep in your bed!
So, it seems that she wants to be sleeping with everyone else. She didn't mention the Pookie, but he still sleeps in there with us, as does the dog and often the cat. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, she feels like she "lost" or can't find her Daddy, so she comes to find him and the rest of the family in Mommy and Daddy's bed. It only logically follows that she should then sleep with us in there too.
I just can't argue with it. Someday, but not when she clearly is just missing us and doesn't want to be sleeping alone. We'll continue with the positive reinforcement for now, but we aren't going to push her out of the family bed.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Question of the Week - Costumes for Halloween
Things are crazy busy for me right now, but since I love Halloween so much I had to post the question again.
This week's question of the week is:
What are your kids (and/or yourself) dressing up as for Halloween?
The Pumpkin received a Disney Belle doll recently, and she completely loves it! And before the doll, she kept saying she wanted to be a queen for Halloween. So I bought her a Belle costume. It's just the dress, so I'll have to figure something out to put over her sneakers and a necklace. I'm going to let her wear the tiara I wore at my wedding as her crown.
For the Pookie, we have this outfit that looks like a little vasity jacket with pants. I'm going to put that on, leave it open and put on a onesie that says "Captain Adorable" on underneath. I''m really excited that I came up with this idea, and I can't wait to see if it looks as cute as I think it will!
We had our party this year, so hubby and I both dressed up for that. Londo was The Grim Rapper, wearing a black robe over baggy jeans and white Air Jordans, carrying a scythe and wearing a lot of bling. I was The Wicked Witch of the West Si-ide, and I wore jeans, a white fitted tank, red boots, huge hoop earrings and other bling, with a crooked witch's hat and black cape. I think we looked pretty cool!
How about you guys? What are the kiddos this year? Are you dressing up?
This week's question of the week is:
What are your kids (and/or yourself) dressing up as for Halloween?
The Pumpkin received a Disney Belle doll recently, and she completely loves it! And before the doll, she kept saying she wanted to be a queen for Halloween. So I bought her a Belle costume. It's just the dress, so I'll have to figure something out to put over her sneakers and a necklace. I'm going to let her wear the tiara I wore at my wedding as her crown.
For the Pookie, we have this outfit that looks like a little vasity jacket with pants. I'm going to put that on, leave it open and put on a onesie that says "Captain Adorable" on underneath. I''m really excited that I came up with this idea, and I can't wait to see if it looks as cute as I think it will!
We had our party this year, so hubby and I both dressed up for that. Londo was The Grim Rapper, wearing a black robe over baggy jeans and white Air Jordans, carrying a scythe and wearing a lot of bling. I was The Wicked Witch of the West Si-ide, and I wore jeans, a white fitted tank, red boots, huge hoop earrings and other bling, with a crooked witch's hat and black cape. I think we looked pretty cool!
How about you guys? What are the kiddos this year? Are you dressing up?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Caro Figlio- Working on Your Skillz
My little smile guy, you are 19 weeks old... 4.5 months old. I honestly cannot believe it. Time truly does fly. (Or as I like to say, the days pass quickly even though the nights last so long.)
We can all see just how badly you want to start doing things. Physical things! Verbal things! You are almost ready to start doing so much. It is frustrating for you, but you keep at them. Even when you are upset and fussing, you keep trying. But so often you have a look of concentration on your face as you try. Very cute.
All that work is starting to pay off. Just yesterday, you rolled over! I had you lying on your tummy in the cosleeper while I washed up. I heard you grunting and looked over to find you on your back! That wasn't how I left you! So I put you back on your tummy and watched as you did it again! Very cute.
You are so close to rolling from your back to your stomach, too. You are really close. You get all the way over, except one arm is under you and it keeps getting in the way. You don't know what to do with it yet, and you end up rolling back onto your back. Very cute.
I remember your sister at the same period, and I figure it's just something baby's have to work out. Where to put their body parts when they are doing stuff, and how to move them to get them to the right places. But you keep trying, and it's really cute to watch. Especially because sometimes you make these big grunty noises like you are doing karate and revving up before you try to get yourself over. Very cute.
When we do tummy time, your strong neck holds your head up for a really long time. You look this way and that, at the different toys that are around you. You look like you are doing the modified cobra pose, and any yoga master would be jealous. You also are starting to wiggle your body a bit, like you are in the beginning stages of figuring out how to work those limbs to start crawling. Very cute.
When we put you in the bouncy seat or in the swing, you try so hard to sit up. In fact, we are about to put away the bouncy seat, because it just seems to frustrate you. You don't want to be lying back! You want to sit up! You even grab at your pant legs and try to pull yourself up. You are good at pulling up to mostly a sitting position (especially using an adult's hands), but you can't stay up on your own yet. You wobble around like a drunken baby. Very cute.
When you are lying on your back, you love to grab your feet. If you have socks on, you grab the toes of those suckers and pull with all your little might. You roll around like a turtle on his back. You also turn to grab things either when you are lying down or sitting up. You are very grabby lately! The other night at dinner while you were sitting on my lap, you reached over to my plate and grabbed a handful of peas. It was my fault for not having the dinner plate farther away, but you made a mess! And most things are ending up in your mouth. Very cute.
I can see that you really want to be sitting up and playing with toys. You just aren't quite there yet. But you are feeling them, holding them, making noises with them, and really starting to check them out. This morning, your big sister put her baby doll in your arms, and you held onto it. You then tried to put its head in your mouth like a little zombie baby eating brains. (It reminded me of when your sister used to slobber on your dad's head when he bent over to kiss her belly and we'd call her zombie baby.) It was a perfect move for Halloween time. Very cute.
You are cooing and making babbling sounds all the time. I heard you say "mum" the other day. I don't kid myself that you were trying to say "mama," but I'm excited because it was the first babbling with M that I've heard you do. Mostly you make "Ooooo" and "Ahhhh" noises. In the last couple of weeks, you've really ramped up all the babbling. Very cute--except at 5:00 in the morning when you want to talk for a half hour or more, keeping me awake.
You smile and laugh all the time. I just look at you sometimes and you smile or giggle. You love it when I shake your legs or belly side to side and show me by letting out big chuckles. When you are grabbing your feet, I tickle your thighs and you laugh. I also love to make you laugh by coming in slowly and then kissing your jaw line. I kiss from one side of your face to the other, and you laugh the whole time. Very cute.
I that establishes that you are a very cute baby. You are growing so fast, and I'm enjoying every adorable minute of it.
Ti amo,
Mama
We can all see just how badly you want to start doing things. Physical things! Verbal things! You are almost ready to start doing so much. It is frustrating for you, but you keep at them. Even when you are upset and fussing, you keep trying. But so often you have a look of concentration on your face as you try. Very cute.
All that work is starting to pay off. Just yesterday, you rolled over! I had you lying on your tummy in the cosleeper while I washed up. I heard you grunting and looked over to find you on your back! That wasn't how I left you! So I put you back on your tummy and watched as you did it again! Very cute.
You are so close to rolling from your back to your stomach, too. You are really close. You get all the way over, except one arm is under you and it keeps getting in the way. You don't know what to do with it yet, and you end up rolling back onto your back. Very cute.
I remember your sister at the same period, and I figure it's just something baby's have to work out. Where to put their body parts when they are doing stuff, and how to move them to get them to the right places. But you keep trying, and it's really cute to watch. Especially because sometimes you make these big grunty noises like you are doing karate and revving up before you try to get yourself over. Very cute.
When we do tummy time, your strong neck holds your head up for a really long time. You look this way and that, at the different toys that are around you. You look like you are doing the modified cobra pose, and any yoga master would be jealous. You also are starting to wiggle your body a bit, like you are in the beginning stages of figuring out how to work those limbs to start crawling. Very cute.
When we put you in the bouncy seat or in the swing, you try so hard to sit up. In fact, we are about to put away the bouncy seat, because it just seems to frustrate you. You don't want to be lying back! You want to sit up! You even grab at your pant legs and try to pull yourself up. You are good at pulling up to mostly a sitting position (especially using an adult's hands), but you can't stay up on your own yet. You wobble around like a drunken baby. Very cute.
When you are lying on your back, you love to grab your feet. If you have socks on, you grab the toes of those suckers and pull with all your little might. You roll around like a turtle on his back. You also turn to grab things either when you are lying down or sitting up. You are very grabby lately! The other night at dinner while you were sitting on my lap, you reached over to my plate and grabbed a handful of peas. It was my fault for not having the dinner plate farther away, but you made a mess! And most things are ending up in your mouth. Very cute.
I can see that you really want to be sitting up and playing with toys. You just aren't quite there yet. But you are feeling them, holding them, making noises with them, and really starting to check them out. This morning, your big sister put her baby doll in your arms, and you held onto it. You then tried to put its head in your mouth like a little zombie baby eating brains. (It reminded me of when your sister used to slobber on your dad's head when he bent over to kiss her belly and we'd call her zombie baby.) It was a perfect move for Halloween time. Very cute.
You are cooing and making babbling sounds all the time. I heard you say "mum" the other day. I don't kid myself that you were trying to say "mama," but I'm excited because it was the first babbling with M that I've heard you do. Mostly you make "Ooooo" and "Ahhhh" noises. In the last couple of weeks, you've really ramped up all the babbling. Very cute--except at 5:00 in the morning when you want to talk for a half hour or more, keeping me awake.
You smile and laugh all the time. I just look at you sometimes and you smile or giggle. You love it when I shake your legs or belly side to side and show me by letting out big chuckles. When you are grabbing your feet, I tickle your thighs and you laugh. I also love to make you laugh by coming in slowly and then kissing your jaw line. I kiss from one side of your face to the other, and you laugh the whole time. Very cute.
I that establishes that you are a very cute baby. You are growing so fast, and I'm enjoying every adorable minute of it.
Ti amo,
Mama
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Pre-School is Pretty Cool
The Pumpkin has been going to pre-school for almost two months now, and things are going really well! She seems to love the environment, the activity, the other kids and the teachers. Drop-offs did indeed get easier, and now she just calls out, "Bye, Mommy!" as she goes off to play and I leave.
(Of course now I've totally jinxed it, just like I did when I wrote about how the Pookie was doing pretty well with sleep... RIGHT BEFORE THE FOUR MONTH SLEEP REGRESSIONS!! What was I thinking? It's all a mess now, and I'm exhaustedagain still.)
Over the last week or two, I've been working to refine our morning routines. Ideally, I need to wake up at 6:30 to start getting ready hopefully before the kiddos wake up. Unfortunately, the Pookie is in a sleep regression (see paragraph above) and I'm not able to get up at 6:30. I generally get up when the Pumpkin comes in the room in the morning, generally after 7:00. In fact, if it's before 7:00, I tell her she has to lie quietly until after 7:00, and that actually works!!! But then it's all rush rush rush to get myself ready for work, the Pumpkin ready for school and the baby entertained and his bottles ready for the nanny. We're getting better, and I have hopes that soon we'll even leave as early as I really need to so I can get to work at a reasonable time!
She's not napping at school. She was occasionally in the first month, but then we switched her to the next group which has late 2 year olds and early 3 year olds. Apparently she's not the only one not napping, unlike the first group with younger 2 year olds. But we are okay with this. We long ago gave up on naps on the weekend, and we learned that it is easier to get her to bed at night. So now we've moved up her bedtime and she goes to sleep pretty quickly and easily. It's a nice change for all of us!
She comes home with art projects all the time. When I ask her on our drive in what she thinks she's going to do at school today, she happily exclaims, "I'll do art!" We do some art at home, like coloring or Playdoh or those markers that only draw on special paper. Though I love arts and crafts, it seems like such an effort to set up and clean up the more messy projects. But she gets to do it as school, so that's okay.
Yesterday, I went with her on her first field trip! It was to a farm where we got to pet animals, take a hayride and pick out pumpkins. It was a lot of fun, but it was especially neat for me to see how she interacts with her friends at school. As far as I can tell, she gets along with everyone. She makes silly noises with one boy, holds hands with another girl, runs off with another boy and generally plays with whomever is by her. Londo and I are pretty much the same way, but it's neat to see that she is as well. The mom of the girl who was holding hands with my girl is going to invite us over for a play date, and I'm so excited, partly because it means a new friend for me too!
So we are having a good experience with school so far. Of course I worried about her starting school, but the Pumpkin has adjusted beautifully. It was definitely the right move to make for her.
(Of course now I've totally jinxed it, just like I did when I wrote about how the Pookie was doing pretty well with sleep... RIGHT BEFORE THE FOUR MONTH SLEEP REGRESSIONS!! What was I thinking? It's all a mess now, and I'm exhausted
Over the last week or two, I've been working to refine our morning routines. Ideally, I need to wake up at 6:30 to start getting ready hopefully before the kiddos wake up. Unfortunately, the Pookie is in a sleep regression (see paragraph above) and I'm not able to get up at 6:30. I generally get up when the Pumpkin comes in the room in the morning, generally after 7:00. In fact, if it's before 7:00, I tell her she has to lie quietly until after 7:00, and that actually works!!! But then it's all rush rush rush to get myself ready for work, the Pumpkin ready for school and the baby entertained and his bottles ready for the nanny. We're getting better, and I have hopes that soon we'll even leave as early as I really need to so I can get to work at a reasonable time!
She's not napping at school. She was occasionally in the first month, but then we switched her to the next group which has late 2 year olds and early 3 year olds. Apparently she's not the only one not napping, unlike the first group with younger 2 year olds. But we are okay with this. We long ago gave up on naps on the weekend, and we learned that it is easier to get her to bed at night. So now we've moved up her bedtime and she goes to sleep pretty quickly and easily. It's a nice change for all of us!
She comes home with art projects all the time. When I ask her on our drive in what she thinks she's going to do at school today, she happily exclaims, "I'll do art!" We do some art at home, like coloring or Playdoh or those markers that only draw on special paper. Though I love arts and crafts, it seems like such an effort to set up and clean up the more messy projects. But she gets to do it as school, so that's okay.
Yesterday, I went with her on her first field trip! It was to a farm where we got to pet animals, take a hayride and pick out pumpkins. It was a lot of fun, but it was especially neat for me to see how she interacts with her friends at school. As far as I can tell, she gets along with everyone. She makes silly noises with one boy, holds hands with another girl, runs off with another boy and generally plays with whomever is by her. Londo and I are pretty much the same way, but it's neat to see that she is as well. The mom of the girl who was holding hands with my girl is going to invite us over for a play date, and I'm so excited, partly because it means a new friend for me too!
So we are having a good experience with school so far. Of course I worried about her starting school, but the Pumpkin has adjusted beautifully. It was definitely the right move to make for her.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Question of the Week - Driving You Crazy
The DC area is notorious for its traffic. It's horrible, and there is no time of day or night that you can be assured of no traffic. Sunday late afternoon, we ran into traffic on the Beltway after going to the Redskins game. (A whole day that Londo and I went out without any kids! That was the first time since the Pookie was born! It was awesome... except that the Redskins suck.)
But it's not even the traffic jams that drive me crazy. I can deal with city driving, highway driving and when parkways turn into parking lots. It's really the crappy drivers in the neighborhoods that make me want to road rage (don't worry, I don't actually road rage).
This week's question of the week is:
What is it about driving/drivers/cars on the road that drives you crazy?
For me, it's the crappy drivers who have this sense of entitlement. They are somewhere between selfish and oblivious. You know the ones. The ones who always assume they have the right of way, even if they don't. The ones who don't bother to read the clearly posted signs or obey basic traffic laws.
I don't mind the speeders, the slow drivers or even the aggressive drivers, just so long as they are aware of what is around them and not obliviously assuming the world revolves around them. If you want to speed, do it safely without riding up my bumper and get on your way. If you want to drive slow, get into the RIGHT lane and let people pass you. If you want to slip into the just-barely-a-car-length spot in front of me, do it without making me slam on my brakes or worry about my safety and the safety of those in my car (I'VE GOT CHILDREN!).
But if you want to do a rolling stop and then keep going through the four-way stop without waiting for your turn? I will honk loudly. If you do not know how to use the traffic circle and don't bother to read the signs CLEARLY STATING to YIELD to the traffic in the circle? I will honk and perhaps gesture rudely. If you are parked on a road and open your car door just as I or other cars are passing you? I will likely yell at you, and you better hope that my window isn't down. And if you speed down a road where children (especially my children) are playing? I will want to do all sorts of things that I won't. Because of the children.
How about you? What drives you nuts about other drivers? Aren't there just too many things to name?
But it's not even the traffic jams that drive me crazy. I can deal with city driving, highway driving and when parkways turn into parking lots. It's really the crappy drivers in the neighborhoods that make me want to road rage (don't worry, I don't actually road rage).
This week's question of the week is:
What is it about driving/drivers/cars on the road that drives you crazy?
For me, it's the crappy drivers who have this sense of entitlement. They are somewhere between selfish and oblivious. You know the ones. The ones who always assume they have the right of way, even if they don't. The ones who don't bother to read the clearly posted signs or obey basic traffic laws.
I don't mind the speeders, the slow drivers or even the aggressive drivers, just so long as they are aware of what is around them and not obliviously assuming the world revolves around them. If you want to speed, do it safely without riding up my bumper and get on your way. If you want to drive slow, get into the RIGHT lane and let people pass you. If you want to slip into the just-barely-a-car-length spot in front of me, do it without making me slam on my brakes or worry about my safety and the safety of those in my car (I'VE GOT CHILDREN!).
But if you want to do a rolling stop and then keep going through the four-way stop without waiting for your turn? I will honk loudly. If you do not know how to use the traffic circle and don't bother to read the signs CLEARLY STATING to YIELD to the traffic in the circle? I will honk and perhaps gesture rudely. If you are parked on a road and open your car door just as I or other cars are passing you? I will likely yell at you, and you better hope that my window isn't down. And if you speed down a road where children (especially my children) are playing? I will want to do all sorts of things that I won't. Because of the children.
How about you? What drives you nuts about other drivers? Aren't there just too many things to name?
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