Thursday, January 7, 2010

he's so smart


Biased? Perhaps. But just now he said "Amy, my spoon is all foggy with macaroni and cheese!" I think that's brilliant. And the other day he was looking at a picture of himself in the pool with Rich and he said "I want to put my water pants on so I can go swimming in the pool some more!" I think he's a genius for making up words and ways to say things. Isn't he?

We're toilet training in ernest around here and it's more of a challenge than I thought. He doesn't seem to mind peeing and pooping in big boy underwear all over the house. It's like having a little puppy. But I think today we're making some progress. We haven't had an accident yet and he's very excited to get a little animal from his potty treat jar everytime he goes. Yesterday, though, not even 60 seconds after my reminder to make a trip to the potty he pee-ed in his pants. I made the rookie mistake of only buying 6 pairs of big boy underwear so I'm doing laundry all day long to keep up. Anyway, today if it's an accident-free day it means a trip to the ice cream parlor for a big ice cream sundae. I'm really hoping it works out. It's looking good since very soon he'll have his nap (with a pull-up on) and then it's just a couple of hours before Rich is home and we can deem it a success. I do think we'll have that ice cream today.

16 comments:

Unknown said...

Good luck! I betcha you will have that ice cream too....

He is just too cute and I love his perfect little white teeth!

xo,

annie

Anonymous said...

Amy,
I bet you will always remember those cute words. My now 22 yr old was also creative that way. The blowdryer was "a fan stick". When birds would die from hitting their reflection on a glass window, they would land on the deck. She exclaimed "Mom, there's a sleepy chicken on the deck". Gotta love our kids.
Enjoy your ice cream :)
Kim

Mrs. LIAYF said...

Good luck on the potty training! What helped with our son was telling him he had "underwear power" and giving him high-fives anytime he used the potty. We also make a point of telling everyone we know how he's a big boy and he wears underwear now. It makes him really proud!

Love your blog!

the decorated cookie said...

I'm impressed just by the number of words he can string together in a row! So advanced! My 2-year-old calls rice cakes popcorn cookies, which completely sounds right. (We're also working on the potty training, so my fingers crossed for your ice cream.)

Suz said...

Amy,
Jud and I were both teaching other parents potty training and we failed MISERABLY with Katie. She wasn't trained until three! Jud was embarrassed. I thought it was kind of funny. She just didn't care until then, no matter what reward system we created.

Alfredo is very intelligent. The rough standard for language is two word sentences at two, three at three.(Excuse me if you know this!) He is almost poetic in his language...extremely creative. And he has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

I just got my order from Open Sky. Pom Pom makers! You have such fun things!!!

Maija said...

Just and FYI from my experience.....boys aren't ready until they are 3. Don't worry too much- he'll be potty trained by the time he gets to kindergarten!

Sonya --Dime Store Thrift said...

Amy, the ONLY thing that finally worked for us was to have what I refer to as a naked day for my son...we stayed in the house for 2 full days and he was as naked as the day he was born:) And there wasn't ONE ACCIDENT! Something about the underpants were just like diapers or pull ups to him.
After day two, we put all the clothes back on and it was all good there on out. Good luck, potty training is a form of patience:)
Sonya

Aidel Knaidel said...

Hi Amy--My youngest kids (twins) are 19 now, so my memory is a little foggy....but I think I read a book called toilet training in a day (or something like that). It's a little like what Sonya recommends. They wore only shirts and underpants. They got 1 M&M each time they got it right. They had FABULOUS underwear (Disney designs, I think), and they didn't want to mess it up. Hang in there! It's such an individual milestone. My kids would go up to total strangers and say; "I have on underwear!!" Most people got it and said; "Wow! That's great!" We've all been there, I guess.

sassy said...

water pants...I am still laughing! You MUST ask Saucy about training-she is the guru or all potty gurus's! She gave me tips when my little guy was 10 months old and I have not changed a dirty diaper since august! (he is 19 months old right now! Yup- trainned at 1 year-even on planes!) Seriously, talk to Saucy, she taught me potty trainning in a day and it works. Have fun!

Loraine said...

if it becomes too much of a challenge...

who cares???

just wait another month or two and try again.

(in my experience boys take longer than girls ~ and both are easier when they are closer to three years old!)

good luck!!!

Jean A. said...

Here's an idea that worked for me... set an egg timer to ring every 25 minutes. Go EVERYTIME... it becomes a game and he will enjoy hearing the bell... no accidents... and it's very positive!

mo said...

I love it when they put words together to express what they want. My youngest was mad at her brother for saying something she didn't understand and she yelled at him ,"You are a word wronger!" Which ,of course, the whole family thought was so funny. We still us it today a few years later. We tried the trick of putting cheerios in the toilet and telling him to aim for those just so he would use the toilet. One thing I have learned as a parent is that if you can make it a game, they will usually go for it!

deb said...

I am most certainly NOT looking forward to potty training. He is so darling Amy. I love listening to Alfredo stories.

Saucy said...

I agree with Sonya - Naked Day is the way to go! Pour out bowls of salty, salty snacks and turn up the heat in the house. He'll be as thirsty as all getout and he can run around in just his favourite tee shirt.

Offer him lots of nice juices and beverages to wash down the pretzels, goldfish and popcorn. It's like a giant party... put up balloons and set up all his favourite toy friends to play along! They might need potties too so you can make them out of paper cups.

Put the potty right in the middle of the living room, or near where you plan to spend the start of Naked Day. That way, it's right handy when the urge arrives and you can use noisemakers and party hats to celebrate every deposit! Oh, what a wonderful holiday Naked Day was in our house!

I moved the potty nearer and nearer the bathroom as the long (very long) day wore on. Eventually, it was right next to the big potty. Before bed, Buddy announced he had "one more" and ran to fill it up!

The celebration ensued! Including a fake "telephone call" from Spider Man (Uncle Bug using a disguised voice) for congratulations.

It was a glorious day, and we never looked back. Have fun. xoxo

Patty said...

As the mother of four boys - all toilet trained - I highly recommend "naked bribery" too LOL !

They all ran around with no pants and all their hopes and dreams sat within eyesight but out of reach on top of the fridge.

This made for a few slippery days but it's quick !

You go girl !

Sue said...

As a daycare provider I have helped train many Littles. You said he doesn't mind going in his undies....do you have him change them himself?? Sometimes when they are the ones who have to pull off and deal with the wet or yucky ones, they think more about it. My Son (now 15) got lazy about getting to the pot to poo after he had proved he could, so when he messed his pants I would remove the pants and stand him in the tub and rinse his bum with the cold spiggot only. I did not berate him in any way, just reminded him kindly this was how Mommy cleaned pooey bottoms & we would rinse him in the cold water if he messed his pants. He suddenly remembered to make it to the potty on time after that!