My sweet boy is 2!

Well, the title says it all!  Daniel has reached the infamous age of 2 and every day we praise the Lord for what a sweet personality He has given him!  Daniel has had many milestones this year, some of which I will try to post here for your enjoyment and also to aid my memory in the future!

A few days shy of 14 months Daniel lept into walking and has been going strong ever since!  He is a running, climbing, playing boy in every way!  He's always full of delightful energy.

Daniel handles correction generally well (you know what I mean parents - you always have "those" moments).  And he is learning more every day.  We are proud of him and find that often times the issue is more us and our consistency than any fault of his!

Over the year Daniel has become quite the proficient talker!  I always say that he's just like his Daddy in this, a "very articulate" boy.  He says new and large words without any trouble and you can understand pretty much everything that he says.  The only word that I can think of that he says oddly is music.  Strangely enough he started out saying it correctly, but now he says "whiskit" for some reason!?

He understands a good number of abstract concepts.  From early on he has understood the concept of "another one" - when he was younger he would often point out that there was "another one" of a bus or animal and such.  Now he understands the concepts of "later", "tomorrow", "after this" or "after that".  He understands the difference between "big" and "small" - he pointed out to my mom the other evening while playing that he had a big and small fire engine.  He understands the ideas of "missing" something and "forgot" something.  And probably others that I just can't think of right now!

He can say the entire alphabet.  Nope, he doesn't even miss L-M-N-O-P, but we've always said that part very slowly.  :)  And he counts up to eleven.  He will also often identify that there are numbers or letters on certain objects.

Daniel eats very well by himself using silverware and (thank goodness) is a very neat eater.  I'm so grateful to never have needed one of those floor mats!

He's also Mommy's little helper.  For some time now he has greatly enjoyed helping Mommy bake and cook.  His favorite thing to do is "dump in" the ingredients and, of course, sample things as we go!  It brings the greatest delight to my heart when he sees the things that I've (we've) made and his eyes get all big and he says "Oooooooo..." in delight and desire!  He got an John Deere apron and a bunch of cooking pans and utensils for his birthday so I'm anticipating a lot of fun Mommy/son baking time!  In fact, we just made cookies today using his new kitchen stuff!

He is an avid reader and loves to be read to and takes great delight in getting new books.  His favorite book right now is Richard Scary's "Cars and Trucks and Things that Go".  He also loves Clifford books, Dr. Seuss and Boynton books.  He can really sit for quite a long time which is wonderful, but often puts Mommy or Daddy to sleep.

We started potty training when he was 13 months, after months of learning to sit and be patient on the potty he finally got #1 down pat.  And a few months later after resolving some digestive issues #2 is very consistent.  We are super proud of his progress and attribute many of his other successes to some extent to the confidence and independence that potty training has given him.

Daniel has always loved music and dancing and that love has grown over time.  He will dance to anything that has a good beat and he always wants to listen to music.  He enjoys when Mommy and Daddy sing fun songs and since he was about 22 months or so he has started singing along with us when we sing to him.

Daniel recently moved up from the nursery at church to the 2 year old class.  He has done very well with the transition and it has been good for him in many ways.  Potty training has been easier in this class as they're more attuned to that need.  Daniel enjoys the story times very much and has started singing new songs (that we have not taught him) that he has picked up in Sunday School!

Daniel loves Legos and building towers (and of course knocking them down!).  He has recently developed a great love for matchbox cars too.  He's a very independent player and enjoys roaming from one activity to the next.

Daniel is still a snugly boy and I'm holding on to that as long as I can!  He gives hugs and kisses so willingly it is a blessing!  And Mommy and Daddy's kisses still heal everything!  There have been a few occasions recently where he has woken up early from his nap and when I have gone in to soothe him he has fallen asleep in my arms!  I treasure those moments so much!

Daniel knows several Bibles verses now and every so often we try to teach him a new one.  These are the verses that he knows right now:
"Children obey your parents."
"Rejoice always."
"Trust in the Lord"
"Be kind to everyone"

He loves being outside and playing in the yard and he enjoys "helping" Mommy in the garden.  He also really enjoys going to the park and the swings have been a favorite, but lately the slide is the favorite attraction.  Last time I took him the slide was literally the only thing he did the whole time!

He is a technological wonder and is obsessed with any and every gadget he can get his hands on!  Of course isn't that true of all kids of this generation?  He has several old cell phones that are his to play with.  He knows how to unlock Daddy's touch screen phone as well as find the games to play and he always wants to be on the computer.  Thankfully we have been pretty good at keeping him away from the TV and so we haven't had that issue.  He just always wants to look at pictures and videos of himself or other little friends online.  :)

I know that as soon as I publish this post I'm going to think of a million other things I want to put up here...but oh well.  Hope you enjoyed it!

Todder belts

I'm thinking about needing to get Daniel a few belts for this winter.  After going through the clothes I have for this winter I've realized that the pants for some reason run extremely large!  I'm returning several outfits because the pants are so large that there's no way they will fit him this year and maybe not even next year. 

Since we've been potty training Daniel he doesn't need all that extra space in the pants for a diaper.  And then there's also no diaper to hold up the pants.  Our skinny little boy still has plenty of room at the waist in 12 month size pants!  He'll probably need 18 month this winter for the length, but there's no way they're going to stay up.  Hence the need for belts!

Have you ever tried to make belts for your children?  It seems super easy according to these instructions.  But I've got to say that I'm partial to the velcro style of belt, much easier for a young child to get on and off.  The one brand that I've found that looks really user friendly is Myself Belts.  They look pretty easy to make as well.  If I manage to make one I'll post pics with instructions...

"Poooo...."

At the end of August it finally connected with Daniel that pee is supposed to go in the potty and that he has complete control over this action.  Woo hoo!  We've been trying for months to help him make that connection but with little success other than to get him to the point of being comfortable sitting on the potty.

We have been giving him lots of diaper free time lately now to help reinforce peeing in the potty because when he wears training pants he feels covered and thus still feels comfortable going in his pants.  We're super excited about the progress that he has made and are so proud of him! 

Our next challenge in this is to teach him to wear training pants without wetting them, to tell us when he has to go (which he already does very well), and to teach him to poo in the potty.

Today I'm starting to think that he's getting the poo in the potty concept.  Since he started going pee in the potty he has mostly held #2 in and gone during naps etc. when he has a diaper on.  However, today during nap I was in the kitchen and I heard the sound of velcro coming undone - meaning that he managed to unzip his sleepsack and is taking his diaper off.  I jumped up to go to his room and as I walked down the hall I heard his solomn announcement "Pooooo...".

Oh my.

That is really an ominous announcement for a Mommy to hear!  I walked into his room to find him out of the diaper and looking at his work.  HAHA!  I couldn't help but laugh!  Probably not the best response, but really, he was so serious about it! 

I cleaned him up and put him back to bed.  But was summoned two more times by the removal of his diaper (without the gift thankfully!).  After that I put him in bed with a training pant on! 

Perhaps he is getting the point that poo belongs in the potty and he's too big for diapers?  We will see :).

Encouraging Potty Use

Many people use candy or some other type of edible reward for going to the potty. We're no different. We use Craisins as a reward. Daniel doesn't eat candy and so Craisins are a really yummy treat for him. We generally don't give them to him at other times so it remains something special. Tailor the treat to you're kids taste, candy is by no means a necessity!

Since we have just started potty training, Daniel gets a treat for just sitting on the potty. I actually give it to him while he's sitting there to hopefully better make the connection that he only gets it when he sits on the potty. In the future we'll just give it to him when he goes etc. So far he just sits there for a few seconds, 10-20 maybe. So we'll work on increasing that.

We've also been teaching him the sign for potty, holding your fist up in the air and shaking it back and forth. He has actually started doing it some, though he just holds his hand up and shakes it at the wrist, he hasn't figured out how to make the fist yet.

If you've started potty training or have potty trained your children young feel free to post any tips or suggestions in the comments area. I'll try to post some pictures soon of Daniel in his new dipes!

And so it begins...

I've been cloth diapering Daniel for 3 days now and have to say that I am liking it so far. He doesn't seem to be bothered at all by the additional bulk. I've been letting him run around in just the diaper and a shirt and he looks so, so cute with his little diapered bootie. I think he likes being generally less encubmered by clothing too!

It's a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to put on the cloth diapers, my first attempts wer falling off! But I think that I'm getting the hang of it now. The Bummis Super Whisper Wraps are great and the Snappi's are amazing too. I'm so glad that I don't have to use pins! You do have to change the diapers mkore frequently than disposables. Babies are more prone to rashes if you don't b/c a cloth diaper does not wick away the moisture as well as a disposable. So far I'm happy with the switch!

Potty Training here we come!

I've been planning to start potty training Daniel around 1 year old for some time now. Originally I thought that it would work best if he were already walking on his own. However, since he doesn't seem interested in taking more than a few steps right now I've decided to start right in, walking or not.

I placed my order for cloth diapers and accessories today. The theory is that since he's young and has only ever been in disposables we need to teach him what it means to have wetness on your bum. So hence the cloth diapers. I've spent a lot of time talking with my sister-in-law about this and she has had success with this method with her son. And, I don't have any desire to wait until he's older and then be handling potty training as well as the "terrible twos" battle for independence at the same time!

Daniel has had a potty since Christmas and has learned to sit on it. Actually, he sits on it for a minute or so to play with a toy or read a book, and then he uses it as a stepping stool to attempt to climb on to whatever is nearby that he normally can't reach -- such as the papers/books on the table, or the candle atop the toilet. :-D He is a boy after all and climbing is definitely in his genes! {BTW - We love this potty, it is the perfect size for little booties and no frills which means easy to clean and less distraction from the TP, lid, shield etc. while attempting to learn to use it!)

So here is what I've ordered as my starting kit for cloth diapering:

1. 24 Chinese premium prefolds, 4x8x4, bleached white
2. 4 Bummis Super Whisper Wraps (diaper covers)
3. 3 Snappi's (great new invention that eliminates diaper pins!)
4. Diaper pail deodorizers

I found a great website, softclothbunz.com, that has Chinese prefolds on clearance right now so I got a good deal. And if you sign up for their newsletter you get a 10% off coupon code so that offset some of the shipping costs.

I still need to collect a few things such as a diaper pail (i.e. 5 gallon bucket and lid from Dad) and appropriate detergent, but then I hope I will be set to begin this new adventure.

I'll let you know how it goes and how Daniel (and I) respond! Yeah :-)