(his new goofy face, saved only for the camera. And maybe he will need his first haircut before he turns two?)
Sleep is still all over the place around here. There were a few weeks after Thanksgiving when T was sleeping in until HEAVENLY hours such as 6:30 and 7 after falling asleep without a peep at 7:30. But that was pretty short lived and ended with the Christmas chaotics, since he refused to go to bed before 9 pm (about 1.5 hours later than his usual time) and demanded to wake at his favorite 5:00 hour again. Sigh. I think the absurd number of toys calling his name from the other room had a big part in this little set back with sleep. But alas! We bought him a Tot Clock for Christmas, hoping it would be a magical rescuer. People do swear by this thing although I was suspicious that it might be too good to be true, we figured it would be a great Christmas gift for the entire family. The first night we explained that the blue light means 'night-night' and when the clock turns yellow it's time to wake up and get 'down' from the crib. He totally got it right away and started begging for the light to turn yellow after explaining this concept just once. He woke that next morning at 5 am and I heard him saying 'Lellow' over and over, like he was talking to his clock and willing it to change over from the blue light. After a few more nights of this, he seems to finally understand that he needs to just go back to bed when it's a blue light, and not try to talk the clock into a different color, because we have the light set to change to yellow at 6 am---not his beloved 5am. But really, I think my child is just destined to be an early riser. The clock is cute and he gets really excited about telling me the difference between colors, but I'm not sure it's our magical fix.
(video of him and his clock)
He even got kind of manipulative one morning when he was yelling about how the clock was still blue, and he wanted it to be yellow. I was laying in my bed awake just listening to him talk it out when I heard him start saying, 'Mama, pee pee!' and then 'brrrrrr!'. Meaning, he wanted to go pee on the potty and he was cold. I mean, come on---how does the kid know that potty training and making sure he isn't too cold in our frigid house are two things that will ALWAYS get me out of bed? Little stinker didn't even pee on the potty that morning and I don't even think he was all that cold. At least he is consistent with his 3 hour naps each day---that is sort of a lifesaver for the sleep category.
What he is lacking in sleeping power, Truman surely makes up for it in the potty training department right now. He's back to 'caring' again and asks me to go pee pee throughout the day. One of our days off together, he went on the potty seven whole times! And had about two wet diapers all day long. Pretty amazing turn around from the days he would just tell me after he'd already gone and then refuse to let me change his diaper. I'm still not pushing full-on potty training just yet, with a new baby coming and a new house on it's way, too. Just doesn't seem fair to the boy to work so hard at something and then likely experience a regression later on, when it's still pretty early to push the issue. But anyway, he is loving pee on the potty, then dumping it into the real toilet and saying 'bye-bye' to the pee. This boy is all about routine and he's digging the pee pee ritual for now. I've even switched him back to cloth diapers at night, now, when before he would just pee through diapers that were even double stuffed no problem. Now we do just fine with a double stuffed diaper, including one hemp insert, and he usually has a big pee in the mornings to helps save that diaper a little bit.
He still really hates changing his diaper though, and the crocodile roll he used to do at about one year old has turned into wrestling a freaking tiger. This kid is strong and stubborn and does NOT like to take a time-out from playing to have his butt wiped. I really hate pinning him down and trying to distract him with toys and crazy songs and mommy acting completely deranged but come on, Truman---life is rough as a toddler when you have nasty poop on your skin. It has to be changed, and there is no room for negotiation. I tried to tell him if he'd just poop in the potty we could get rid of all diapers but I think he was too busy screaming 'NO' to really hear me. Very rough life, indeed.
Truman is getting more and more vocal with a growing vocabulary each week, although he definitely still has some 'Truman-ism' words that only we understand. For instance, his beloved trucks are actually called 'Gwahs' in case you were wondering. And the dog is 'Ga-Ga', as in Lady Ga Ga of course. He will pair two words together but still prefers the one worded sentence for now. We are working on him using his words more often and not relying on the grunt and point to tell us what he wants---and sure enough, when we tell him to use words he will remember how to say what he means. But the boy sure does love a good grunt and point.
He is a typical toddler with his eating habits right now, still digging a food one day and despising it the next. He'd snack all day long and will chug milk if I let him. This month he has been really into blackberries and blueberries, which is awesome and healthy, although it makes for disgusting dirty diapers (which only make the tiger-wrestling even more fun). I have noticed he's doing a better job at actually sitting still at the table long enough to consume a decent amount of calories. He really enjoyed my lasagna I made the other night which made me feel like the best chef in the world, since he usually pushes 'real' food away and settles for a bunch of random stuff instead (like a yogurt, half of a banana, a few berries, and some cheese---a dinner of champions, obviously). I think he likes the social aspect of eating meals with us as a family, too, and maybe he's finally understanding that this is what we do---we eat together, and we wait to run around like crazy people until after dinner. Go figure.
(iPhone pic of our boy in jammies that are dangerously tight, slamming his banana smoothie before bed)
Truman loves Henry (Ga Ga) more than anything and gets irritated with me if I put Henry in his crate for a short time out (after the dog inhales obscene amounts of people food that Truman is purposefully dropping on our floors for entertainment). They really stick up for each other and it's adorable to see a boy love his doggie so much. He loves his garbage truck he got for Christmas more than anything in the entire universe, but the basketball hoop is a close second. Still with the trucks and trash cans and dumping, but not so much obsessed with temporary tattoos anymore. Meaning, he will settle for one new tat per week instead of daily additions. Progress, people! He's just starting to allow oral hygiene and doesn't seem to mind me brushing his teeth twice a day now---whereas before it was a total nightmare, involving him sucking off all the toothpaste and biting the brush until I just gave up my efforts. I'm sure his future dentists will be happy we are turning the corner on that one.
He is still blowing us away with his athletic abilities, slamming dunks and hitting golf balls and kicking soccer balls all over our house. I think he is really focused on gross motor skills right now much more than verbal skills or, ahem, sleeping skills.
(a video of mister Michael Jordan)
And he does love to read his books and lately it's been all about Truman reading to mommy or daddy while he sits in the rocking chair alone. And we've gotten into the heart-warming habit of me singing to Truman while rocking him before bed. Seeing his big eyes staring up into mine, happy to hear me make up words to random songs in a horrible pitch, are just about the most rewarding event of my day. I hope he'll oblige me for a little while longer with this routine.
(another iPhone pic---my big boy with a milk mustache)
He loves to point to my belly and say, 'oh! baby!' and then give it a hug (melt me now) and I honestly think Truman will be a great big brother. He's just so loving and careful and observant that I'm hoping the transition is easy on him in a few more months. But for now I will happily cuddle my baby boy and enjoy being a mom to one while I can. He still likes to refer to himself as a baby, crawling across the floor at times, and he wants us to tuck him into his crib with a blanket each night, saying 'baby!'. I guess I won't worry about this too much until it's an actual problem...
(most amazing Christmas gift ever, made by my mom. She melted old crayons, poured them into empty glue sticks, wrapped the outside with colored scrapbooking paper, and made this little holster for him to wear. Amazingness)
On our way to two years old....not sure how this happened, but I certainly cannot complain!
That video of him and the clock is so adorable! Dave and I both watched it. Your kid is such a character, Julia. And I can't believe he's pushing 2 already, either!
ReplyDeleteI have heard about the tot clock. I'm willing to try it. Landon has been waking up between 5 and 5:30 lately and it is KILLING me. I can't deal with it. I tell him that he does not get out of bed before the sun comes up but he doesn't care. It's an awful start to the day when he comes in crying for us to wake up.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe Truman is doing so well with the potty training! We didn't start Landon until 27 months. Of course, part of that was because the new baby was due and we didn't want to rock the boat too much at that time. But I think we'll start Brigham much earlier. He keeps going into the potty with Landon and pretending to sit. Then he says "poop" and "pee" at the appropriate times! He is learning it all from his big brother with no effort (yay, parent laziness!).
I'm glad you had a good Christmas!
No way is that your baby. SLOW DOWN Truman!!!
ReplyDeleteKeep working with the tot clock - it probably took a good month or so before we got some good results from it. It works well now and usually keeps him in bed till 5:30 on weekdays. I just need to try pushing his wakeup back on weekends. I love that gift from you mom - I need to make one of those!
ReplyDeleteTruman is awesome :) I love that he negotiates with the clock! And seriously, the drama over diaper changes is just ridiculous. I don't think they ever truly understand that is just..... life. They eventually just potty train. But I always wonder - we do this every day, many times a day - WHY the drama? And will it ever click that this is just a given?? Sadly, no. Of course she only does that with us too :)
ReplyDeleteThat is TOO FUNNY about him trying to will his tot clock into changing to "Lellow". I seriously cannot believe how big Truman is getting, and tall!
ReplyDelete