Naptime Drama

I feel like a horrible mommy! Killian used to be a great sleeper until I took away his pacifiers last friday, now he's fighting me tooth and nail! I'm tempted to give back the paci's but then we'll have to do this all over again! Ugh! The picture above is K after he laid down on a pile of his teddy bears by the back door and said "Night night"!

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Daddy Day!

John and Killian were so cute this morning I had to post pictures! Mom (AKA Gramma) if you're reading this, Killian only wants to play with the penguin water fountain when it's not a fountain. John attached the hose to it and Killian threw a fit - guess that's another toddler faux pas!

Cold Turkey Pacifier Removal

I've never allowed Killian to have free-reign with his pacifier, its always been for bedtime/naps only. But lately he's been really fighting to keep it after he wakes up and I thought it would be best to get rid of it before it really becomes a problem. John (my DH) is camping @ an SCA event this weekend, so I figured it would be a good time to try something that might keep everybody up at night. Killian successfully slept through the night and is currently napping with no pacifier! Bedtime was pretty easy, naptime was another story! He wasn't having it and I wasn't giving in, so we were at a standstill. I tried everything to get him to stay in his bed and take a nap, and he thwarted all of my attempts. I took a minute, prayed to God that Killian would calm down and that I would regain some patience, then I went back in with my secret weapon - head rubs. After about a minute he was out like a light! Woohoo! Hopefully we'll have continued success and he'll be good to go for school on Tuesday!

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Rock-a-bye Baby

I recently discovered that if I start singing rock-a-bye baby, Killian will come running and give me a hug. God I love that kid!
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Toddler Faux Pas Contest Entries/Winner!!!

These were the top 4 entries (ok, the ONLY entries!) in the Toddler Faux Pas Contest:

#4 BLUEBERRIES from Heather
This entry is actually a repost from Heather's blog http://mommylettersforj.blogspot.com/2009/04/blueberries.html/ It's a really cute video of her son upset because he's out of blueberries. I've never seen a toddler so in touch with his feelings. Good faux pas, but it just wasn't a big enough melt-down to win the prize!

#3 KETCHUP from Renee
It is a faux pas to try to convince your toddler that ketchup does not taste good on apples. Your toddler will look at you like you are insane because ketchup tastes good on EVERYTHING. At least that's what my daughter thought when she was a toddler--and still thinks now that she's almost three :)

#2 NAKED POTTY TRAINING by Tracy http://littleluckyme.blogspot.com/
Never try to discipline your toddler when you're trying the let-run-around-naked-to-see-if-we-can-potty-train-you routine. It's bad news. I tried it today and got peed on with a full bladder juice and water from a little girl that insisted she couldn't go just minutes before. Followed by an "oops, mommy, potty!" 5 minutes later under the dining room table, and an informative "oops, poo poo!" minutes after that. Grr, potty training, why must you be so elusive?

#1 HAND-ME-DOWN from Dixie
Never hand down the 3 years old's dress that she has outgrown to the 18 month old unless you are 100 % positive that she has no memory of ever wearing it herself.
Don't do this with any article of clothing for that matter. You will hear screams of "Mine" and wails of protest reverberate throughout the house, and after you remove the outgrown article of clothing to restore the peace, the 3 year old will insist on wearing the ill-fitting item for the next several days.

After running these by my review board (AKA, my friend Megan), Dixie and her hand-me-down dress faux pas won hands down. Thanks for the submissions, ladies!

Tub Poo - Guest Post!

Thanks to Crystal at Lessons in the Little Stuff for this guest post:

TUB POO

My darling bambino had her first tub poo this morning. If you have children, I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. It took nearly a year...I was beginning to think that my astoundingly intellectual child was going to skip the tub poo phase altogether. I dreaded the day of finding that first floating [insert your favorite kiddie word for poo here]. But alas. Today was the day. The bath was finished. The tub was drained. I turned my back for a minute to throw my hair into a ponytail (multi-tasking is my middle name). Looking back, I remember the little grunts but I must have mistaken them for the effort it takes her to bend over with her chubby little pot belly as she grabs a toy. When I turned back to snatch her out of the tub, the sight that met me was horrifying. Not only was the poo there, but tiny tot was tenatively beginning to play with it. Oh, the horror! The disgust! How I gagged as I grabbed her and began scrubbing her little hands to rid them of any traces of that disgraceful...poo. She looked at me in bewilderment as I tried to keep my breakfast down. After all, mama...it's just poo. And look at how squishy it is!So, as it turns out, my child is not above tub poo. The dreaded day has arrived. And from here on out, I am forced to keep my eyes peeled for any signs of unexpected visitors. Sigh.You just gotta love being a mom.

Painting!

Toddler Rule #156,225,338: Do not offer paint, until you know where the painting supplies are. Crayons are not an accessible substitute!
I love his painting face:

Abused Toddler: "No Green Pillowcase!!!"

Killian is accustomed to sleeping on the pirate bedding set (shown above). After a peesplosion this morning, all of his bedding had to be washed and wasn't dry before nap time. Warning, the action I'm about to describe may be offensive to toddlers, do not attempt this at home. I made the mistake of thinking that any pillowcase would do, and put the green pillowcase shown above on the pillow and placed it on his bed. Killian, deeply offended by this action, launched a screaming, kicking, sobbing fit and threw the horrible pillow off the bed! Granted, I agree with his decorating taste, but COME ON, it's just a pillowcase!

Goldfish In A Cardboard Tube - NOOOOO!!!!!!

Killian was "helping" me cook last night by sitting in his high chair while I tried to distract him. He LOVES the children's cookware I bought at Ikea this weekend (pictures above). Here's a link: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20130166
I made the mistake of first giving him the empty tube (in the picture above), then taking it back and putting goldfish in it. You would think I strangled Elmo! Which isn't a bad idea now that I think about it.
I had to switch hair dressers last night and the new lady asked me if Killian was potty trained yet. The boy isn't even 2 years old, he shows zero interest in using the potty for anything other than playing in the water. Should we be potty training at this point?
I am attempting to potty train our new puppy. Killian is fascinated with her bodily functions. The other day I caught him playing in a pee puddle and had to do the thing where you pick up the toddler and attempt to hold them as far away as possible, then try to start a bath without letting them touch anything. It's not easy! He also tries to touch her poo outside whenever he gets the chance. I can't wait to tell him about this when he's older! =)
Only 1 person has submitted their toddler faux pas as of this morning, so you still have a really good chance of winning that $5 Amazon gift card! Send your favorite toddler faux pas to cynthiaedelaney@gmail.com before 5/15/09 to enter!
Have a good one!
-Cynthia