Rules are Rules

My boys rough house. I grew up with a sister and we didn't do much of that so this is foreign territory for me. Landon has had his share of visits to time out for moving past rough housing and pushing or hitting his brother. Jordan is an "in your face" kind of kid but it's not ok for them to try to hurt one another. Today I was in the kitchen preparing lunch and heard Landon cry, a real cry, an I'm hurt cry. I went to check and Landon came to me really upset. I cuddles him for a bit before he could settle enough to tell me what happened. Jordan hit him on the cheek with a wooden fire truck. For Landon's benefit, I told Jordan that it's not ok to hit and that he hurt Landon. He grinned reminding me that he doesn't understand. It was too late to address it at that point but I wanted Landon to see me address Jordan like I do him. Landon told me that Jordan should sit in time out. I explained that he doesn't understand but Landon insisted and suggested the high chair to keep him still. Ok, I will go with it. So, I sat Jordan in his seat and told him why he was in time out. Landon wasn't done. "Mommy, the timer," he said. Of course.. So today, Jordan had his first time out and enjoyed every moment of it.

A Weekend Away..

Well, we did it! Jimmy and I took our first adult trip away from the kids ever! We did leave Jordan with my mom when we went to the Cystinosis conference in April, but this was the first time both of us, away from both kids, who actually knew that we were away... They did great with my mom and a HUGE thank you to my mom for watching them. Landon's medical needs can be overwhelming to someone who doesn't do it every day, but my mom took care of it all without a problem. It's so nice to know that we can do this and not worry. Taking care of Landon's medical needs involves eye drops 4 times per day, formula through his G tube 4 times per day including once at 2:00am and add onto that entertaining a 3 and 1 year old for an entire weekend in a home that is not your own. And, we came home to a clean house and laundry done. She is a rock star! The weekend was great! We went with some great friends and Jimmy's brother and his wife. Great company, casinos, a fancy dinner, adult beverages, beautiful Niagara Falls, and sleeping in until late morning made it a very pleasant weekend! The weather was cold, cold, cold and felt colder than even the coldest days that we have had here in Pittsburgh lately- maybe it was because we spent a bit more time outdoors than we did when it was cold here. I kept thinking, though, how much Landon (because it doesn't take a whole lots to get Jordan excited yet) would have loved certain things- lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, the sight of the falls...). We agreed that it will be worth a short visit this summer with the boys. =)

When Did This Happen?

Over the past few weeks I have had the conversation, with several different mom's, about how incredible it is that our babies are no longer babies- they are big kids. Landon's birthday in April, his 4th birthday, seems to be the first in which he just cannot, cannot be seen as a baby anymore. Technically this is his 3rd year in preschool (first year was the Mommy and Me class) but I still didn't really consider him a preschooler. He was a toddler in my eyes. But 4- he is a preschooler with one more year of preschool left before I put him on the bus and send him off to kindergarten from 8:30am (when he steps on the bus) until 4:15pm (when he steps off the bus). I'm taking deep breaths as I type that... I had my first parent/teacher conference last week. I got lots of great feedback. He doesn't like to clean up tries to weasel out of it like he does at home sometimes, but that's certainly something we can work on. He also plays helpless at times but his teacher is on to him and he tells her everything that goes on it home. I guess we can't get away with much. He knows all of his shapes, he knows of all his colors, he is trying to write his name, he's working on using scissors... He is potty trained and does everything required completely on his own. He is very friendly and very social. He has some good buddies that he plays well with and makes attempts to play with a cute little girl in his class but she hasn't taken the bait yet =). "He's a pleasure and we just love him." Those are certainly words that I appreciate hearing as a parent. His teacher had him last year so went through a whole lots of transitions with him. When he started in her class, at not even 2 1/2 years old, he refused to let me leave and cried hysterically when I left him (to the point that he threw up one day and I almost had to take him home). He barely ate anything at all and the few bites he did take, he would pocket and she would have to have him spit it out. Now, he runs in the room barely saying bye to me and she said he often asks for seconds of his snack. She also mentioned that he enjoys showing off his belly and G tube every so often and the other kids are quite intrigued by it. When the kids have their senses and body parts lesson, I am going to go to his class and talk to them about what his G tube is and why he has it. And what really moved me to post this was this evening-- it seems like all of a sudden he wants to be so independent and he actually is able to do the things that he says he wants to. Our toilet is high so his little potty sits on the floor of our bathroom so he can go independently. He wanted to use the big potty so asked me to go in with him. I watched as he pulled his pants down and put the seat on top of our toilet. I moved the stool, that he uses to wash his hands, over to the toilet and asked if he can climb up and sit down himself. He grinned and did it without must hesitation. He was so proud. He went potty (including #2 which made me happy because he tends to save poop for when I put a diaper on him at nap time- he actually hasn't pooped on the potty in months) and then pulled toilet paper off and wanted to wipe himself. He really did a good job. He flushed the toilet, put the lid down, moved his stool over to the sink and washed his hands. Then when it came time to brush his teeth he wanted to get his tooth brush on his own (I had to move it to a place where he can reach) and took a stab at brushing his teeth by himself with help from me to be sure he did it well enough. Then he rinsed the brush off and put it back. I really love this age for so many reasons- he has a great imagination, is so eager to learn and is so much fun. But I have been in this role of being a mom of a baby, then two babies. Being the mom of a preschooler seems so odd and unfamiliar although exciting and fun. The conversations we have and the things that he understands are so strange and incredible. I just have found myself wondering a lot of the past few weeks- when did all of this happen?