Taking Turns

Is not Aiden's strong suit...

Recently we have been struggling with sharing and the word "mine" which I keep telling him is not in fact a real word, the word he means to use is "ours."

Anyway, Steve and I took him bowling on Sunday, and this sharing and taking turns problem was all over the place. First of all, when Mommy and Daddy got special shoes, Aiden was very distraught over not getting some as well and even took his shoes off in an attempt to steal Steve's.

Once we settled the issue of bowling shoes, we had the issue of bowling balls. Even though he picked out his own bowling ball, Aiden insisted on using Mom's or Dad's - which is fine.

Except when it wasn't his turn. Every turn was "Daden's TUUUURN!" as he said. I don't mind letting him bowl for me, we went bowling for his sake anyway, but it was a little hilarious that I lost to both him and Steve.

And it was absolutely adorable watching him watch the ball after he sent it down the lane.

The one thing he did share on Sunday was that vanilla milkshake...

Only because Mommy had pop and he wanted that instead.

"Mine, Mine, Mine."

Busy Body

Literally. Aiden doesn't have time to be the type of busy body that is all up in everyone's business because frankly his business is being busy himself.

On Saturday we met up early with Grandma and Grandpa Deiker (he spent Friday night with them) and had plans to meet up with them again at lunch time so we went to McDonald's for pancakes and play-place shenanigans.

Then we went to the park. Aiden has been OBSESSED with igloos recently - he watches a very bizarre clay-mation series on Netflix called "Pingu" - all about penguins and igloos and the funny things that happen to them. So at the park when he saw the big, dome-shaped monkey bars set, he said, "IGLOO!"

And of course we did some major slipper-sliding.

Aiden and Mommy even raced down some slides together.

And he spent some time on this apparatus which he called a boat.

Part of the appeal of going to the park was to ride his bike, but by the time we headed back he was tired and didn't feel like peddling, so he cheated...

But Kane Buggey wasn't havin it...

So Aiden tuckered himself out some more.

 Here's to wearing down your toddlers with manual labor ;)

Every Little Grain of Rice

I realize I have been falling behind keeping everyone updated on Aiden, I am sorry.

To make up for it, here are some silly pictures.

And a funny video of Aiden eating rice - the only thing on the table he wanted anything to do with when we went out for Chinese last week.

We call this part of life, "the beautiful mess"

Off To A Start

Whether it's good or not, I don't know...

My recent health problems have thrown a monkey wrench into Aiden's potty training plans. Luckily, we have all the time in the world to dirty up those big boy pants, so we will post-pone for a couple days.

Anyway, a week ago I made his potty chart...

All the squares look a bit over whelming but I didn't want to keep making new charts so I was thinking every 20th square would be a "Prize Square"

And, in case you didn't notice, I draw a mean Elmo ;)

And I got a special jar for Aiden's potty treats.

Now everything is set up in the bathroom nice and neat! And wouldn't you know, the treats right there by the potty make all the difference. I am so smart (so far as young, single, first time moms go). He has been going into the bathroom, looking at the treat jar and at the potty and making the connection and asking to go potty so he can have a treat.

Granted he doesn't always have to go potty, but the more he tries, the less accidents we will have when the big boy under pants come into play. And so what if sometimes he gets an extra treat for just getting dressed without throwing a fit...(young, single, first time mom remember - give me a break).

He's showing more and more every day that he is capable of this and I am excited to finally see some big progressive leaps forward!

Just Charming Dahling...

I had a very productive weekend, and by productive, I mean I spent a great deal of my time on Saturday bopping around town and shopping with my best friend Kelly.

Besides being Clinique make-up buddies, I also needed to get to the craft store and Kelly has been telling me about this FABULOUS place in Belmar called Charming Charlie. Just like she said I would, this store made me feel like a little girl!

It's full of hair accessories, purses, shoes, jewelry, etc. All the merchandise is sorted into sections by color (Silver, Gold, Purple, Black, White, Pink, Red, and on and on) then in each section there are rows of hair pieces, earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, all grouped together.

It has a very classy, upscale look and feel with the chandeliers and displays, and it helps that everything is so sparkly, but to my utmost enjoyment and surprise, the average item price ranges $4-9!! 

I was able to walk away with a sizable amount of "princess-ness" in my bag without breaking the bank or feeling bad about spending money on accessories.

It's silly how funny this stuff looks just laying on the jewelry dresser, but oh so fun and flirty when put to good use.

Here's to all the little princesses at heart <3

Post Grad Project: Potty Time

I've been wondering how I might fill my extra time since school is over, and have decided to dedicate myself to getting Aiden potty trained. It's particularly difficult because he spends different days at different places with different people, so there is no way to ensure that everyone will be sticking to my plan or that they will even agree with it enough to try, but he is officially 36 months now so no more excuses.

I mentioned the other day that he just got a whole bunch of new big boy underwear, looks like we will be putting them to use a lot sooner. His teacher at school had recommended just letting him try underwear for a day because diapers enable kids to feel comfortable not using the potty -- I was just super nervous at the idea of sending Aiden to school full well knowing he would have an accident -- who knows how horribly wrong that could go and negatively affect him, but she has a point.

I was also getting advice from a fellow mommy with a boy about Aiden's age who reinforced for me that, yes this is hard and it takes a lot of time and it's really tiring. But she also told me that she quit diapers cold turkey too. This isn't thrilling for someone who has an overly sensitive gag reflex, but I have already been pooped on, peed on, barfed on, etc. how much worse can this be??

I decided that I don't want to start on a school day, but I also want to be able to give it a nice long stretch of my full attention. When I mentioned it to Randalicious, I told him I would start on a day that he didn't have to do all the work but as we got to talking we decided there really isn't a way to make this work unless we start on like Thursday (since Aiden only has school on Monday and Wednesday), so unfortunately, Papa is going to have to handle the first few messes. Luckily, I took advantage of that buy one get one sale on the big boy underwear, so as long as I can keep on top of the laundry we will be okay.

Another new tactic which I have up my sleeve is the Elmo's Potty Time movie. Since Aiden is so focused on movies and tv and being a little "monkey-see, monkey-do" I figured this is worth a shot. Plus the movie talks about how it's okay to have accidents, the fact that everyone goes potty, and of all the reading I have been doing, that positive reinforcement factor seems to be the biggest piece. That's right, there will be no more frustrated, "Did you poop? Why didn't you tell me?" conversations -- from now on, all accidents have to be stress free.

Of course the positive reinforcement has already been playing a big role - Aiden gets a treat every time he uses the potty but from now on I'm going to keep those treats visible and near the potty so that I don't have to  keep saying "Want a treat? Let's go potty" - this way he can just see the treat, right there relatively close to the potty and make the positive association himself.

Last night at Randalicious' house, Aiden was playing with a new Thomas toy and saw one on the box that he really wanted, then actually asked if he could have it. Papa took the initiative and said, "If you can learn to use the big boy potty, I will buy it for you." This kind of reward usually goes with a "potty chart" - in the past I have allowed Aiden to collect stickers on a piece of paper but communication hasn't been great enough that he really understood. Fortunately, with his talking and listening getting so much more fluid, I think we might be ready for one of these charts. I like the Elmo one, because it goes well with the Potty Time movie and I also like the one with the potty picture because it really reinforces the point, but I will probably make one myself that is a combination of the two some how.

 I really like the way the Thomas chart tracks the whole process, I want him to get good at not only using the potty, but also taking his own pants off, flushing when he's done, and getting in a really good habit of washing his hands.

Anyway, the objective of the chart is that he will fill it up and then turn it in to Papa for that Thomas toy he wants.

We're about a week away from starting the whole thing, but wish us luck!

Wordless Thursday

I Was Here

When I leave this world, I'll leave no regretsLeave something to remember, so they won't forget
I was hereI lived, I lovedI was hereI did, I've done, everything that I wantedAnd it was more than I thought it would beI will leave my mark so everyone will knowI was here

I want to say I lived each day, until I dieAnd know that I meant something in, somebody's lifeThe hearts I have touched, will be the proof that I leaveThat I made a difference, and this world will see

I just want them to knowThat I gave my all, did my bestBrought someone to hapinessLeft this world a little better just because
I was here

Our Last Day Off Together

Every year, I am fortunate enough to get off the entire week between Christmas and New Years which Aiden's birthday falls smack dab in the middle of. This year we really took advantage of the time together and did lots of fun stuff. Went to movies, Casa Bonita, played with all of our new toys, watched all of our new movies, cooked together, napped together, and  found all sorts of mischief to get into.

Unfortunately, the time off slipped away far to quickly. Yesterday was our last day home playing together, so we tried to make the most of it.

Started the day off with a delicious waffle breakfast with Randalicious, then off to the barber for a haircut. Since his hair has been getting shaggy, his face looks younger and more round, when I got him all clippered up and outfitted with a faux hawk for going back to school, he looked so much older in his face.

But adorable none the less :)

After his haircut, we did a little shopping. Aiden picked out some big boy underwear which were on sale for "buy one get one half off." I justified the purchase two ways - 1. I have really been pushing the potty recently with positive rewards so I figured with these big boy under pants around maybe the extra motivation would be good. 2. We're going to need them soon anyway, the smallest size is even a bit big for him and he has to be potty trained for the 3-4 year old class at school this year anyway.

After shopping I thought he might take a little snooze on the couch at Randalicious' house so I could get in a little reading, but I ended up snuggling up with him anyway.

Before heading home I made a grocery store run to get us all set for the week, buy stuff for lunch and all the mid week meal necessities, then I had the guys meet me at home. Aiden finally crashed. Since it was almost 7 I thought, maybe I'll just slip his PJs on and get him down early. But when I took his hoodie off, he got pretty mad at me - mad enough not to go back to sleep.

So we ate dinner and played blocks. Aiden showed Papa how to build houses and tunnels, and he used his new craft table which I am LOVING! No more play-doh on the coffee table :)

 Inspecting his handy work.

Luckily, because of the busy day and the short lived evening nap, Aiden settled down early and we got lots of rest. Until he wet the bed around 4 am that is...I think he knew I had to go back to work today ;)

Aiden's Favorite Phrases

"C'mon Mommy" in conjunction with "Stand up," or "Get up."

"Hide-Seek-Please" which is followed by his version of the game in which he hides you himself then counts as follows (while *questionably* closing his eyes) "One, two, ready not!"

"Mommy, up cue" - some how this translates to, "Please carry me mom."

"Nefick" - when he wants to watch Netflix

"Boogers taste good," surprisingly clearly he says this, and then rubs his tummy to follow with, "mmmmmm"

"Please, thank-you, candy." When he feels he deserves a treat.

He has also become quite the backseat driver. He tells me to stop on red and go on green, and sometimes to take such actions when I legally can not. He has figured out which way to go to whomever's house and tells me often that I am going the wrong way, by pointing out the correct route to the destination of HIS choice - and will then cry if I go another way. When speeding up on on-ramps he feels it necessary to say, "Mom, woah!"

When cranky and being tickled he says, "Leave it alone. Enough Mom."

He has a funny way of counting the stairs - that is 1 through 13 then they become W-X-Y-Z

He finds it irresistibly funny when he is spoken to in a British accent about Kipper the Dog and is pretty good at saying, "Tea, toast, Kippah" in his own little accent

Aiden sings. Whatever is on tv or the radio, he tries to sing along. And boy does he get mad if you try to sing with him - this is a one man show!


Anyway, for all this silliness...Aiden is speaking wonderfully and clearly and with 3 and 4 words strung together these days. He is progressing amazingly! I am one happy and entertained mama.

A New Year for Aiden

Aiden spent New Year's Eve with Grandma and Grandpa Deiker this year, and since I had a relatively uneventful evening I went over fairly early to get him on New Year's Day.

He was napping when I got there, so I got to sit and chat with Dottie Deiker (Aiden's Great Grandma) about her New Year's superstitions. Turns out it is good luck to wear something new and to eat creamed herring.

First of all, I have never had creamed herring before, and unless I have a particularly lucky year, I won't be doing so again - Yuck! But trying never hurts right?

And the topic of wearing something new worked it's way back into discussion at dinner hilariously when someone suggested I wear new underwear...to which I said, "You mean clean? Because I do that everyday and no good really ever came of it..."

Anyway, Aiden played with Papa Deiker's Christmas choo-choo set for most of the afternoon.

The Carousel was a Christmas/Birthday gift to him from Dottie.

 

He really likes working the remote.

And he also investigated all small dark spaces with Papa Deiker and Papa Deiker's head lamp - so cute.

Happy New Year!

The Finished Mug

Everyone has been asking how Aiden's little birthday art project turned out...

Pretty darn cute...