To Sleep - Or...?

We were woken from a sound sleep this morning by a sharp cry of Ma-MA! from the next bedroom. It was 6am, and Daniel was rarin' to go.

What the heck???

I've been enjoying being relatively free of sleep disturbances. Sure, there's the usual toddler stalling and complaining about bedtime. And he sometimes takes his time actually falling asleep. But once he's out, we've usually blissfully counted the dreamland hours 'til morning. Some days I wouldn't hear from him until 7:30, 8:00 even 9:00am. Where in the world did this come from?

Getting up so early means that by the time the afternoon nap rolls around, he's pretty tired. If we skip the nap, he crashes at suppertime which makes bedtime a real bear.

Any thoughts on adjusting the sleep habits of a 2.5 year old would be much appreciated. My pillow thanks you in advance.

NASCAR - Toddler Style

Uncle Andy gifted us with a set of NASCAR cars this past Christmas. Matchbox-sized, they are plastered with all sorts of advertising, just like the real thing. As well as the usual driving them around the house and carrying them everywhere, Daniel has turned them into an amazing memory game of sorts.

In the month-plus since Christmas, Daniel has handed me a car and said "cheese." When I looked down, I saw that it was the car with KRAFT emblazoned on its' tiny hood. The car with the AOL advertising has become the " 'puter car." And he was getting supremely mad/frustrated with me the other day when he wanted his "Em Car!" and I couldn't find it. In a "Mommy light bulb moment" I suddenly realized he was talking about the M&Ms car that he had been carrying around all the previous day. He has also handed me the same car and said "chocolate." After I was done getting knocked off my feet at each of these incidents, I reasoned that while we were unwrapping presents at Christmas I think I was explaining what each of the little cars had written on them. And he remembered.

I had better be pretty careful to mean it the next time I promise him cookies or something.

Malaise

I've been catching glimpses of myself in the mirror lately and noticing the little wrinkle between my eyebrows. No, I'm not contemplating botox - it's just indicative of my recent mood.

Is it the cold? We aren't in the negative double-digits that my parents woke up to the other day. It still makes me want to hibernate, however. Creeping PMS? Sigh, gotta love being a girl sometimes...

Starting to wonder if I need to place a moratorium on how much news I watch / read for a bit. I certainly want to stay informed, but lately it seems as though the airwaves are full of dead children, thrown from bridges or overpasses, walked into traffic. I'm not much of one for the cult of celebrity, but like so many I was shocked to hear of the death of actor Heath Ledger... only 28 years old. I think I will always think of him as the honor-bound son clashing with his father (Mel Gibson) about going to war in The Patriot. And I can't help but think of his two-year-old daughter Matilda, just a bit younger than my Daniel, who will now grow up without her father.

This too, shall pass. It is still cold today, but the sunshine helps. H took the kiddo outside yesterday for a run-around, and he got cold enough that I hope it will convince him to try the boots (and mittens, and hat...). And off I go to jump into my day...

Pick Your Battles

I know they say that picking your battles is the best strategy where it pertains to the Toddler Battle of the Wills. Running for the street? Sorta non-negotiable no-no. Wear the "digger shirt" for how many days in a row? Well, not as big a deal, I suppose...

It gets more complicated as the temperature drops, however. Daniel flat-out refuses to wear boots. Snow and slush are making life interesting at the moment. Mittens - nope. Hat, once in a great while. I cheat and get a sweatshirt with a hood on him occasionally. Turn my back and I sometimes find him trying to get the coat off as well. It doesn't seem to matter what the temperature is. And indoors, all foot-gear must be off, even if the bare toes are little ice cubes... Any ideas? This kid may not see the light of day until Spring!

Liftoff, we have Liftoff!

Houston - we have a problem.

We've kept our baby monitor, even though the boy is almost 2 1/2 years old. I like that I can hear pretty clearly that he is starting to stir in the mornings, and it lets me sneak in a shower before he's fully awake. Today, as I was starting to dry off I suddenly heard frantic crying and the baby pushed through the bedroom door to greet me.

Oops. Guess we've figured out how to get out of the crib! He was fine, as he was soon jumping on our bed, but now I'm left asking myself what to do... Did this shake him enough that he's not going to give it a try for awhile? Or is he going to try flipping over the rail at the first opportunity? Do we convert to the toddler bed finally? I admit - we've been holding on to the ability to "corral" him a little bit at night. And H just pointed out a problem - this kid sleeps in about a hundred positions a night. Sometimes I can hear him rolling up against or kicking the crib sides in his sleep. Once we convert the crib, what's to keep him from rolling right out? Ah me... Do bed rails fit on toddler beds? Off to investigate...

Not again...

I'm doing laps in Toddler Rerun Purgatory... Daniel discovered Cars this past Christmas. He got the DVD, some books, some of the little cars to push around, etc. It's actually a very cute, well-done movie. But I have officially lost track of how many times we have now watched it.

And the cold that Never Officially Went Away is resurfacing. I was up from about 3am this morning: coughing, coughing, coughing...

Mix this liberally with a toddler who has yet to figure out how to blow his nose (and said stuffy nose is driving him in-sane!) and I'm starting to fray a little bit at the edges. I'm glad that the stuffy nose is all he seems to be sick with, but help!!

Contact Me

Name:

Email:

Message:

Thankful Thursday

I am not a winter person. As a kid, I did and loved it all: ice skating, sledding, cross-country skiing... Now I can tolerate the snow up until Christmas. I loves me a White Christmas. After that, as far as I am concerned it can all go away. Not a cold-weather person, no-sirree!

I am thankful for the January thaw we've been experiencing here in New England. Isn't it amazing the shift in perspective? When it has been bitterly cold, and is suddenly in the 50s it's hard to resist running around in light jackets, coats unzipped, etc. In the summer, when we've all been melting, if the temperature suddenly hit where we've been lately I would be quaking and protesting: I'm cold! I wish there were an easy way to regulate one's internal thermostat. If anyone has a recommendation, please pass it along!

As Daniel still protests items like hats, boots, mittens - it has been a welcome respite there as well. I'm also enjoying the sunshine tremendously. We've been known to get whomped with snow as late as April, so I'm determined to get it while it lasts!

The Cupcake Conspiracy

I am becoming convinced that H must have whispered in the ear of both my Mom and one of my bestest buds. Not only did I get for Christmas The Cupcake Deck - a set of 25 cards with mouth watering photos, and luscious cupcake recipes - but also a silicone muffin tin and a set of silicone baking cups.

My waistline may be protesting, but I'm relishing the thought of baking again. And I'm sure that Daniel will love the funky sprinkles (stars, moons, dolphins...) that Pamela included too.

Wordsmith

Daniel notices increasingly complex things, and strings together more and more complete sentences lately. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but it boggles my mind when I think of this precious little kid who used to just sit and eat (and let's be honest, pee and poop) and giggle while I whiled away the hours playing peek-a-boo with him.

Now I walk into his bedroom in the morning, and I get: Where's Dada? And upon first inspection of his new sneakers: These have lights? (No - couldn't find the light-up Cars sneakers - like his old ones - anywhere, dang-it!). We also had our first argument over lunch. Where before the question was just: Will he or won't he eat it? Yesterday he tried requesting cookies for lunch and was pretty upset when they weren't forthcoming. It's kinda fun to feel these explanations and responses more recognizably flowing between us... and he's finally sitting a (teensy) bit longer where reading books are concerned.

For us grownups, I'm always amused when lists come out like the list of banned words and phrases from Lake Superior State University. And on the addictive games front: Free Rice. A vocabulary game, for each word you get right 20 grains of rice are donated through the United Nations to help end world hunger. Give it a try!

Happy New Year!

"I discovered I always have choices, and sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude."
— Judith M. Knowlton, U.S. author

I have never been much of a person for New Year's Resolutions. Items would tend to be too vague, and thus too hard to follow... or so specific and binding that I would beat myself up as soon as I "broke" them. Pondering this, I decided that if I could work on one thing this year, I would like for it to be cultivating and appreciating and living the attitude of gratitude in my life.

The "hows" of this are probably yet to come. But for a habitual worrier like myself, a shift in focus can shine a new glow on 2008. I have much to be grateful for... How about you? Come glow with me in the new year!