Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
5 Things He Learned In 5 Weeks
We've been a family again for about a week now and there are some noticeable changes in James.
For better or worse, he has learned a lot this summer, and not from us. His great grandparents have been actively involved as they basically took care of him for the 5 weeks we didn't have a home.
Here is what we've observed:
1) He can and will twist the top off the bottle of anything that can be twisted open. From bubble solution to bouillon cubes, if it comes with a lid that can be unscrewed then he can get in to it. I now understand why there is such a thing as child proof caps.
2) All door knobs are fair game. All of them. We have 1 cover to use to keep him from being able to open a door and have had to place it on my niece's door. He just wants to go in there and see her. And take her bottles of lotion. Which is a problem due to item 1 on this list.
3) Climbing up on things has accelerated. He has figured out all the beds, and likes to be up there with us all the time. It's cute, but it scares my husband. Apparently he walked out of the room to get a roll of toilet paper for our bathroom, walked back in 20 seconds later, and was greeted by James sitting in the middle of our king size bed smiling at him. This may not end well.
4) Going up and down steps is something he wants to do all the time. And he prefers to attempt it alone. He won't fight you taking his hand, but he gives this dirty look as if to say that he was doing fine without you. This goes for steps in and out of buildings as well as the slide at the park and indoor pool.
5) Getting up in the glider/rocker and swinging his body in order to get movement is the greatest source of giggles ever. They taught him "rock the baby" and so or glider has been moved from a corner of one room out to the living room so he can sit himself in it. It's not an everyday thing, but I think it's a little safer than climbing on our bed. For now.
Leaps and bounds. He is learning and growing in leaps and bounds.
For better or worse, he has learned a lot this summer, and not from us. His great grandparents have been actively involved as they basically took care of him for the 5 weeks we didn't have a home.
Here is what we've observed:
1) He can and will twist the top off the bottle of anything that can be twisted open. From bubble solution to bouillon cubes, if it comes with a lid that can be unscrewed then he can get in to it. I now understand why there is such a thing as child proof caps.
2) All door knobs are fair game. All of them. We have 1 cover to use to keep him from being able to open a door and have had to place it on my niece's door. He just wants to go in there and see her. And take her bottles of lotion. Which is a problem due to item 1 on this list.
3) Climbing up on things has accelerated. He has figured out all the beds, and likes to be up there with us all the time. It's cute, but it scares my husband. Apparently he walked out of the room to get a roll of toilet paper for our bathroom, walked back in 20 seconds later, and was greeted by James sitting in the middle of our king size bed smiling at him. This may not end well.
4) Going up and down steps is something he wants to do all the time. And he prefers to attempt it alone. He won't fight you taking his hand, but he gives this dirty look as if to say that he was doing fine without you. This goes for steps in and out of buildings as well as the slide at the park and indoor pool.
5) Getting up in the glider/rocker and swinging his body in order to get movement is the greatest source of giggles ever. They taught him "rock the baby" and so or glider has been moved from a corner of one room out to the living room so he can sit himself in it. It's not an everyday thing, but I think it's a little safer than climbing on our bed. For now.
Leaps and bounds. He is learning and growing in leaps and bounds.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
They Grow So Fast
James came home Tuesday after his nap.
I honestly think that once he saw his things it took all of 2 minutes to decide he was not going anywhere. When his great-grandparents left he had no problems closing the door for them.
Getting him out to do some shopping was a little harder, but we made it.
The big thing about his homecoming was that we moved him to a toddler bed immediately. After 5 weeks of sleeping in a playpen I think that he was ready for anything.
And once again he made it so easy.
No crying, no falling out of bed, no playing with toys. He went right to sleep that night, and we started a new routine for ourselves.
We always close the door when James is put to bed. For naps we leave it closed the entire time he is asleep, and open it at the end of nap time only. At night it is closed until we go to bed and then we have always opened it to allow for circulation through the night.
He is loving his new freedom, and has learned a lot in the last month, so our fear was that he would wander into the kitchen and start going through everything if we kept sleeping.
So we bought a baby gate.
On the way to our room we stop, open his door, make sure he is covered, and then leave and put the gate in his doorway.
Two nights down and no problems. He gets up and immediately plays with his things.
In fact the first morning we were awakened by his playing on his keyboard.
The other piece we were hoping for was that he would be comfortable getting in and out of bed.
Yesterday morning we watched him playing in his bed quietly with toys after breakfast. I think he has finally found a nice place to sit.
Of course he is also doing things that made us laugh and wonder if he was growing up TOO soon.
Remember how I said he is loving his new freedom?
He really has full reign of the place, and we make an effort to place things out of reach so he doesn't hurt himself.
Not having the majority of his toys for 5 weeks means that he is examining everything and loving things he had minimal interest before.
So when I walked in to his room yesterday and saw him sitting in his bed all I could was smile.
James had taken his Leap Top, a toy laptop, in to bed to play with. It's something he has seen us all do, even my niece.
What I wasn't expecting to see were the 2 bottles of baby lotion in the bed next to him.
Lotion and a laptop. My husband burst out laughing and said all he was missing was a box of tissues.
I honestly think that once he saw his things it took all of 2 minutes to decide he was not going anywhere. When his great-grandparents left he had no problems closing the door for them.
Getting him out to do some shopping was a little harder, but we made it.
The big thing about his homecoming was that we moved him to a toddler bed immediately. After 5 weeks of sleeping in a playpen I think that he was ready for anything.
And once again he made it so easy.
No crying, no falling out of bed, no playing with toys. He went right to sleep that night, and we started a new routine for ourselves.
We always close the door when James is put to bed. For naps we leave it closed the entire time he is asleep, and open it at the end of nap time only. At night it is closed until we go to bed and then we have always opened it to allow for circulation through the night.
He is loving his new freedom, and has learned a lot in the last month, so our fear was that he would wander into the kitchen and start going through everything if we kept sleeping.
So we bought a baby gate.
On the way to our room we stop, open his door, make sure he is covered, and then leave and put the gate in his doorway.
Two nights down and no problems. He gets up and immediately plays with his things.
In fact the first morning we were awakened by his playing on his keyboard.
The other piece we were hoping for was that he would be comfortable getting in and out of bed.
Yesterday morning we watched him playing in his bed quietly with toys after breakfast. I think he has finally found a nice place to sit.
Of course he is also doing things that made us laugh and wonder if he was growing up TOO soon.
Remember how I said he is loving his new freedom?
He really has full reign of the place, and we make an effort to place things out of reach so he doesn't hurt himself.
Not having the majority of his toys for 5 weeks means that he is examining everything and loving things he had minimal interest before.
So when I walked in to his room yesterday and saw him sitting in his bed all I could was smile.
James had taken his Leap Top, a toy laptop, in to bed to play with. It's something he has seen us all do, even my niece.
What I wasn't expecting to see were the 2 bottles of baby lotion in the bed next to him.
Lotion and a laptop. My husband burst out laughing and said all he was missing was a box of tissues.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
The One Where The Door Is Slammed In My Face
The carpet installers arrived Friday.
With only enough carpet for the 3 bedrooms. Leaving the hallway, dining room, and living room still a concrete mess with carpet tacks along the edge.
Needless to say that James has not come home as planned.
We visit him nightly. Either we play there or go to a park or the mall or swimming. Something to get him out and spend time with us.
He has come to call their place home. He gets excited when we pull up to the house.
The first few nights he wasn't completely okay with us leaving.
It's gotten better. Now he kisses us good bye. His great grandma has taught him to give big hugs, and he shares those with us.
We stand at the door and blow kisses as he giggles.
Then he slams the door in our faces because he is done with us.
This has been the worst (almost) 4 weeks ever.
With only enough carpet for the 3 bedrooms. Leaving the hallway, dining room, and living room still a concrete mess with carpet tacks along the edge.
Needless to say that James has not come home as planned.
We visit him nightly. Either we play there or go to a park or the mall or swimming. Something to get him out and spend time with us.
He has come to call their place home. He gets excited when we pull up to the house.
The first few nights he wasn't completely okay with us leaving.
It's gotten better. Now he kisses us good bye. His great grandma has taught him to give big hugs, and he shares those with us.
We stand at the door and blow kisses as he giggles.
Then he slams the door in our faces because he is done with us.
This has been the worst (almost) 4 weeks ever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)