Category Archives: 3 year olds

18,799 words, stitches out, expander in

3 year olds, daddy, Jonah, Katie, writing November 13, 2014 Leave a comment

So my word count for NaNoWriMo2014 is at 18,799 and it’s feeling so good. I wasn’t sure my characters were going to get off their butts and do anything but tonight they did. So exciting.

Jonah got his stitches out of his toe.  His temper tantrum from 10 days ago left him with 4 stitches in his big toe. It was gross, bloody and black.  He screamed like a crazy person getting those things in but of course, daddy took him to have them removed and NOT ONE TEAR was shed.

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I love the irony that he was wearing a shirt that says “Mom’s Happy Camper” when in fact if mom had taken him he would not have been a happy camper.  Go dad go.

Katie had to have an expander put in at the orthodontist today.  She’s getting the fun of spacers, impressions, appliances all at the ripe old age of 9.  Bless her.  But the experts (who never heard her high-pitch crying baby screech) say her mouth is too small and room must be made.

She did well with it today. It’s making her talk a little funny and she doesn’t appreciate when I laugh at her so I’m trying not to do that. Hey, don’t judge, I had braces for 3 years, I know it sucks. We keep telling her she’ll get used to it. Hopefully she will.

NaNoWriMo2014, four stitches and Halloween

3 year olds, children, writing November 1, 2014 Leave a comment

What in the world is NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month (it happens every November) and I am participating this year for the first time!

I’m excited, nervous, determined and intimidated but I’m doing it.

It’s about time I stop talking about writing a book and start writing it.

I had planned on using yesterday, October 31st to move a desk to my room and get a little nook set up so I can have an official work space, however, Jonah decided a trip to Children’s hospital ER would be a better way to spend the first 5 hours of our day.

He is three so nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that he does should surprise me.  I’ve been through this 4 times before, 5 if you count when I lived with my 3 year old brother who tried to die several times but is a living, breathing 23 year old right now.

He comes into the kitchen, while I was trying to finish my coffee and read a message from a fellow mom/writer I’ve recently met.  He had on footy pajamas and decided it would be a good idea to go outside in the wet and cold and jump on the trampoline, which I tried to discourage by saying no, but as I said, he’s three.

He decided to go out anyway, except he couldn’t get the door to open.  He got angry, I was laughing inside thinking “curses! Thwarted by the door again!”  When I made no move to leave my coffee and open the door for him to do something I already said he couldn’t do he grabbed a heavy kitchen bar stool and threw it down to, I assume, make the level of his anger evident. However, he dropped it on his big toe.

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The ER visit was fun.  It took 4 adults holding him down to get the 4 stitches he needed.  After the wrestling, screaming match the nurses and “child specialists” brought him a popsicle and left so we could wait on paperwork for the next 20 minutes.  I was sweating and stressed and needed the down time before lugging him back out of the ER and down the street to the ER parking lot which has moved further away since the we were there for his burned hand a few months ago.  I thought it was interesting that he got offered his choice of popsicle but nobody asked me what kind of coffee and chocolate I would like after such a disturbing experience.

We made it home by midafternoon and the weather started to get uglier.  My kids had costumes and they weren’t very happy about the fact that it was 45 degrees and starting to rain.  We invited a couple of friends down for pizza and trick-or-treating anyway.

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It was cold and wet and the 10 pounds of candy I bought didn’t get passed out.  Halloween 2014, the first one in our new house and new neighborhood is in the books.

on why I’m too busy to blog

3 year olds, baby, Foster, gratitude, humor, Jonah, Katie, Parker, priorities, siblings, Toddlers February 9, 2013 1 Comment
I’m too busy to blog because…

…my three year old needs to wear his underwear backwards every day.
“There’s more room that way” he explains.

And because…

…my 1 year old insists on getting this messy every time he eats.
You would think that was ice cream not all natural vanilla yogurt!

And because…

 
…I’m watching a little girl I know learn to be a good mommy.
 
 
And because…
 
 
…I’m going with this guy to his Blue and Gold Banquet.
 
And because…

 
…I’m helping her get ready for the big dance!
 
 
And because…
 
 
 …I’m dancing with some of the coolest cats in town.
 
 

30 days of thanks: day 4

3 year olds, gratitude, Parker October 26, 2012 Comments: 3

Today I’m thankful for having a three year old in my house.  We haven’t ever sent a preschooler of ours to daycare, so I get to cherish every day of learning and growing.

 
I’m thankful I get to hear him say, “I like you Mommy. And I love you too Mommy.”
 
 

it’s my poop and i’ll put it where i want to…

3 year olds, humor, Parker, potty-training July 27, 2012 Comments: 3

What makes potty training so delightful? Such a wonderful, sweet bonding time with your toddler/preschooler? It’s the dialogue.

Open, honest dialogue that takes place constantly through their waking hours, and even into their sleeping hours.

I wrote a post back in March where I mentioned starting to potty-train Parker. Ha. Well, that lasted about 2 and half days and now here it is July. He’s officially 3 so I’m feelin’ the pressure. Not just from other people who’s kids were potty-trained in 4 days by 2 years of age. No, from everyone around him who I know has to be subjected to big kid sized poop in a diaper. Lovely.

So anyway, the dialogue…

Parker: “Good morning Mommy!”

Me: “Good morning Parker, do you have to pee-pee? Did you pee in your pull-up? Let’s go try and use the potty.”

Parker: “NOOOOOOO!!!!!! (screaming and howling and buckling his knees as I try to lead him there)

After getting to the bathroom:

Parker: “I want to pee-pee like this. I want to stand up. I’m big.”

Me: “Ok, just be…” (too late) “…careful…”

Parker: “Uh-oh”

Me: “It’s ok, we’ll clean it up.”

Approximately 10 minutes after breakfast:

Me: “Parker, if you have to go poop you tell Mommy. Don’t go poop in your underwear. Poop goes in the potty.”

Parker: “OK! My poop is not coming out.”

Me: “Parker where does your poop go?”

Parker: “In the potty!”

Me: “That’s right so you tell Mommy. You don’t want to get poop on your Thomas underwear.”

As I finish the dishes and clean up Jonah I hear from the other room:

Katie: “Mommeeeeee!!!!!! Parker STINKS!!!!”

Me: “Parker come here! Did you poop in your underwear?”

Parker: “I have to go potty.”

Me: “Did you poop in your underwear?”

Parker: “Yes I did.”

Great. And so it goes, day after day. See how close we are becoming?

Parker’s 3

3 year olds, blessings, Parker July 17, 2012 1 Comment

We went super simple this year with an afternoon, backyard party. Family, friends, chocolate cupcakes (Parker’s only request), ice cream and water play. Parker is a hilarious little kid. You never know what he’s going to say next. Last week at VBS he told the workers that we don’t have a washing machine and I wash all our clothes by hand. Yep, that’s me – supermom of the year! He’s a sweet, cuddly little boy a good part of the time. Then there’s the times where he’s trying to figure out his place in the world, and that means lots of screaming and crying and tantrum throwing. Each time we have a child go through this stage we think “this one is the worst at this age” but he’s not, he’s just Parker. And I am just so thankful that he is healthy, smart and adorable.

Number 3 is 3

3 year olds, memories, Theodore September 8, 2010 Comments: 2
Theodore saying the blessing before we ate at his party.

A couple of weeks ago, August 21st to be exact, my 3rd baby turned 3 years old.  Theodore Reece is quite the character.  After having a boy and then a girl it was so neat to have another boy, and I thought I had it all figured out.  Well, I was wrong. Theodore is the sweetest, funniest little guy but he has also been my most challenging baby yet! He started out not sleeping well, then not nursing well, then not walking until 16 and a half months old, etc etc. I could go on and on about how different he has been from our first two children, but I would hate to sound as if I am complaining.  Because even though he has been the most challenging, he has also been the funniest, the one who wants to cuddle, the bravest, the most determined.  We gave him such a big name, even though he weighed the least at birth. And he’s really living up to it.  I can’t imagine him being anyone else. I am so thankful for every crazy, stubborn thing he does. I know there are families who don’t get to celebrate their child’s 3rd birthday and so I thank God for him everyday.
Blowing out the #3 candle!
“Cheese”
And this is how you will usually find him…Daniel Boone hat,
camouflage boots (3 sizes too big),
enjoying an ice cream cone outside.

Katie playing with Reed

3 year olds, Katie December 8, 2008 Comments: 2

The other day when I was babysitting my friend’s 5 month old, Katie decided he would like to hear a story. She sat down beside him and “read” the book Big Brother, Little Brother. It was funny because we’ve read it so many times and the pictures are so wonderful that she could really tell the story well. I know Reed didn’t care about that but he sure enjoyed the one-on-one attention she was giving him. He kept craning his neck to look at her. She’ll be a great babysitter someday!

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Katie’s chicken and dumplings

3 year olds, Katie December 1, 2008 Leave a comment

Here is Katie helping cook chicken and dumplings on her birthday. It seems to me that little girls are drawn to cooking. She would help make anything in the kitchen and at 3 yrs. old would stick around for hours. She really is a joy to have help too, because she will listen carefully to instructions and not just jump ahead. I am so thankful that God blessed me with a daughter. My life would be much different without this person in it.

Coloring

3 year olds, Katie November 21, 2008 1 Comment

Katie stayed at the table for an hour this morning coloring her Strawberry Shortcake coloring book. She’s 3 so her idea of coloring is picking one color and coloring every inch of the page. I think she went through half the book but she sure enjoyed herself. She will sit still for just about any arts and crafts or coloring or Play-Doh activity, any other time, like story time, tv time, dinner time she wiggles and squirms. The most consistent thing in her behavior is that she rarely EVER stops talking. Playing alone or with others or whenever, she is always talking. Now that her whining is tapering off it’s actually a very endearing quality. Although, I say to her quite often “shhh, mommy has to think for a second!”

 

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