A natural

Nathan really is a natural performer. He asked me to "make a movie" of him serving himself a slice of pizza. This is all self directed with no prompting from me!

Wordless Wednesday - Shake your groove thing

Summer Lovin'

Nathan came home 4 years ago this weekend. That summer was one of the hottest I remember. We spent many an hour with them just in a diaper on the nursing pillow, me sweating wherever the cute little bodies touched mine. This summer is setting up to be just the same and I love it!

This picture is his last day in the NICU (Corwyn was allowed to visit). It's one of his first pictures without the NG tube in.

We went to family camp again for our 4th year. The first 3 were overcast or raining, but still fun. The sun and heat this year were amazing. Add to that, they are now 4 and able to enjoy so much more, a bit more independently.

Wordless Wednesday - Water-fountain Practice

Wordless Wednesday - Swing, swing a song

Sing, Sing a song

Nathan likes to make up songs. Last night he let me tape him while he sang one. (He's looking away because of the flash.)  Enjoy.

You spin me right round, baby right round

I remember doing this when I was younger, before the inner ear put a big stop to spinning around. Now I get to watch my kids do it.

Jig a Jog, Jig a Jog, Jig a Jog, Jee

We went to a Pet Expo yesterday. It was fun. Along with all the expected vendors and rescue groups, there was a mobile petting zoo and Pony rides.   Corwyn saw the ponies and dragged me over. Then he ran back to Nathan and grabbed him. He was all in for a ride, until it was his turn. So Corwyn rode the little rocking horses they had. But Nathan wanted on the pony. He loved it. He got a bit more sure each turn around the route and would have liked another ride (and would probably have asked for faster then).

Corwyn takes a bit more time to warm up to something so he may try it the next time around. (He freaked on merry go rounds the first 4 times but now likes them). It was the same way with the other animals. He loves to watch, and tries to come close but has a hard time touching.  With dogs of the small to medium variety, he's pretty good to pet a couple times, before backing away. Not a fan of big dogs. Nathan was right in there, hugging, offering treats etc. In that way, Nathan is like me and I think would bring home every animal he found. Corwyn would want to bring them home, but would ask someone else to do the touching.

Even reptiles. The Reptile Guy was there and for a donation you could take your picture with a reptile of your choice. Nathan picked a snake, but not the big python, he wanted the smaller red and black king snake. He didn't want it around his shoulders/neck so we started out with it around my neck (yes, I will do almost anything for my kids) and then progressed to holding the tail while I had the front half. Corwyn snuck in a couple of quick touches too. They are emailing the pictures so you'll have to wait for those. As we continued walking around, Nathan wanted to go back and have the snake around his neck - next time I guess.

Overall it was a good event. I feed raw food to my cat so not a lot of the samples would go to good use in my home. I passed those along to friends who feed dry. It was nice to see the kids with the different animals and their reactions. Nathan even got to pet a hedgehog (while Corwyn looked on).  A friend got us tickets so I wasn't out of pocket. I was a nice morning with the kids anyway and would consider it again next year when they are older (kids are free until they are 12).

Rings on his Fingers and Bells on his Toes

Well, the rings were made of playdough and the bells were actually around his ankles but.....

Wordless Wednesday - Flower Child

Friday Funny - Anatomy Lesson

So we have The Bare Naked Book and a few others like it but it doesn't all sink in at once. This morning Nathan came in while I was getting out of the shower. I could see the puzzled look on his face as he looked at me. Yeah, not the first time he's seen me naked, but I think it's the first time he noticed.

Nathan: Mommy, where's your penis?
Me: I don't have a penis. I'm a girl. I have a vagina.
Nathan: No penis?
Me: No. Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.
Nathan: A 'gina?
Me: Yes, a vagina.
Nathan: I want to touch your vagina.
Me: No Nathan. My vagina is like your penis, it's a private part. You can't touch mine.
Nathan: I need to touch a vagina. (note the change from touching mine, to touching any one)
Me: Wait until you're older Nathan
Nathan: Okay Mommy
At which point he happily left the room. I was a bit worried about him spending the rest of the day asking people if he could touch their vagina but luckily not. I'm sure we're not done with the subject but for now, he's happy.


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Wordless Wednesday - Strike a Pose

Wordless Wednesday - Cuddles

Wordless Wednesday - A few of my favorite things

Wordless Wednesday - No fear

Mommy Scissorhands

I was just going to trim it, but after he turned his head a bit too soon during one clip, I took it the rest of the way down to a big cut.
Now he says he has "hair just like mommy's".

Before

After

Toddler Logic aka Nathanisms

I really can't fault his logic here. We were talking as they were falling asleep last night.

Me: Mommy's babies.
Nathan: I'm not a baby. I'm a boy.
Me: Nathan is a boy.
Nathan: yeah.
Me: Corwyn is a boy.
Nathan: yeah.
Me: Mommy is a girl.
Nathan: No, Mommy is a boy!
Me: Mommy is a girl?
Nathan: No! Mommy wears underpants. Mommy pees in the toilet. Mommy no pee in pants. Mommy is a big boy.
Me: So Mommy is a boy?
Nathan: Yes! Mommy is a boy!

So I'm a boy. I get it from his point of view. We don't label clothes, colors, toys or anything else in my place as 'boy' or 'girl'. So why would they think people in terms of gender.

My cheeky little monkey boy.

I did it!

This phrase is Nathan's motivation.

I asked earlier about motivation but it appears my question or the rewards for it (none) were motivating to many.It was more to put into your brain the concept of motivation.  Everyone is motivated in different ways, my kids are no exception. This post is about Nathan and what motivates him (or not).

Nathan loves to figure things out. He sees something, anything and wants to do it, master it, even if it's only once. He's always been like that since he first realized he could move his own body parts on command.

He is the type who tries and tries and tries again when he wants to accomplish something. Sure he fails and damn straight he can get frustrated and angry, but he usually keeps trying.

Once he rolled over for the first time, quite by accident, from his stomach to his back, he realized he didn't have to stay trapped in horrible tummy time. He made it his mission to roll over on his own schedule. It took a couple of days and lots of trying and voila, success! Of course once he could do it, he didn't mind being on his stomach so much. In fact, he discovered that while on his stomach, a few combination of limb flails could result in propulsion across the floor. So he crawled (commando for a while).  Walking was the same way. He tried and failed and tried and failed and tried and failed and eventually he could do it.  The smile on his face was priceless.

For Nathan the thrill is in initial accomplishment. He will continue to do something he's mastered when/if it suits his purpose, but it doesn't matter as much.  He can easily feed himself with a fork or spoon and even spread peanut butter on bread with a knife or cut a banana.Can do it. But he is also lazy. Meals are often accompanied by the phrase 'mommy do it' because he wants me to feed him, even if its just a sandwich, he wants me to pick it up and hold it to his mouth. Um, no.

Nathan all but potty trained himself. He decided he wanted to do it. We read tons of books and watched every movie on the subject. It was talked about lots. One day he asked to pee in the toilet and that was it. Yeah, he had accidents, but he kept trying. Then we had a childcare change (temporary) then the holidays and it was too much bother to try anymore. I don't get mad if they have an accident or shame them etc, I just change them and ask if they want to use the potty/toilet. So he got lazy and just let it go. In come the stickers (see details in a previous post).

So while his primary motivation is accomplishment, he is like most people and also appreciates external rewards. In this case, stickers and presents. He's back at being a potty pro now and no longer even asks for a sticker after he goes. It was just that little extra motivation at a time when things were going haywire.

He really does love praise and I give it freely. I try to praise the effort or his actions. I really work hard to avoid saying 'good boy' when he succeeds. It leaves the feeling of 'bad boy' if he fails, even when trying really hard. Still, even without praise, he loves to do things.

I don't want to raise kids who will only do something to get something. I want to raise a kids who will appreciate the external rewards but who's main driver is a sense of pride, of self accomplishment. Overall, Nathan fits this, even if he is lazy at times. If he continues like this, he will be the kid who will do his homework without prompting just to get it done. He will help out around the home because it needs to be done, not because he'll get paid to do it. He'll do his best at everything he starts and see it through to the end. Yeah, he'll slip now and again, but he's only human. I will still offer rewards (bribes) for things that are less appealing but I can only hope those times are few and far between.


Soon I'll give a post about what motivates Corwyn. It's very different, they are very different.

 They almost never get computer time, not because I'm against it, but because I cant afford to buy the new computer I'd need when they broke my current one. This video was taken when Corwyn was out playing with the caregiver and Nathan was home sick with me. This is the first time he's actually gotten to hold the mouse and work the computer himself. I'd say he's a natural. Watch his level of concentration, and the expressions on his face as he works things out.

2.5 hours with a 2.5 year old in an adult emergency room

And I lived to tell the tale.

Let me start by saying that I'm amazed that we've gone this long without a trip to emergency and honestly, I expected our first visit to be a broken bone, or stitches or other such injuries that happen to rough and tumble fearless toddlers but this was more illness related.

Nathan had a cold. It started out fairly normal and then moved into his chest. No big deal right? But the last time this happened, his lungs didn't recover on their own and 2 months later he was on a inhaler for a couple of weeks. Then he was fine again. This was again a basic cold, no fever, no other aches, a stuffy nose and then through the night, chest congestion. And to be fair, I had it first and was just getting over it, it was a basic cold. Somewhere in the night, his breathing became shallow. This starts out as intentional on his part, when if he breaths normally,  he coughs, so he switches to short breaths, then it becomes the norm.

He was still coughing but in good spirits this morning when I left for work. He ate normally too. But it didn't get better. So I had friends come pick up Corwyn and I took Nathan to emergency.

There is a hospital 5 blocks from my home. It's the one they were born in and the one Nathan spent his first 3 weeks of life outside of me in. It's a good hospital, and while they treat kids, it's not a children's hospital. But that is much further away and I don't drive.  And I was pretty certain we wouldn't be admitted for a stay.  It's also the hospital that serves the downtown and the street people so there is a range of people there. I'm really happy the full moon is tomorrow night.

A friend had been a couple of times with her son and said they had a paediatric room in emergency. We never saw that. We were in the 'regular' fast track area. To be fair, Nathan was his usual perky, talky self when we checked in. His admission form even reads "Cough, looks well". I suspect they thought I was one of "those parents" who panics at the slightest thing. Um, no.

He got frustrated in the second waiting room and I downloaded the first toddler game I could find onto my phone. He was in heaven at this point. They never get mommy's phone because they broke the last one (and a camera and video camera) because they fight over it. He was still in good spirits and I was getting that patronizing look as he happily followed them into the fast track area. The first time he baulked at anything was when they asked him to climb onto a  bed. No way, no how. He sat in a chair. Then the intern came by for more info and I think they actually heard him breathing for the first time. Doctor was fairly fast after that. Nathan immediately pulled up his shirt to show where his chest hurt when the Dr asked what was wrong.  Nathan loves the stethoscope and breathed in/out on command. Since I use an ear thermometer at home, he was quite patient in getting his ears checked. Seriously, you could not have asked for more cooperation.

I mentioned that he said his elbow hurt and the Dr did a quick check. Elbow is fine but he noticed his psoriasis. I gave what info I had (no itch, had since birth etc, etc).

So then they ordered a chest xray. Really? I was worried how he'd react. The tech came, and Nathan took his hand and I followed them down the hall. They explained it to him, he stood still, held his breath on command and loved every second of it (seriously). Then the tech took his hand and walked us back.

Other than regular demands for food (my fault, totally my fault) the only real issue came around the nebulizer they gave him. They couldn't find a paediatric mask so he had the adult size. He hated it. It was supposed to be 10 minutes but he likely got 7 or so of those. An orderly came and helped and kept him a bit amused to make it go faster. I found another game to download. The boy is fast and had no problems doing these puzzles. It was great to watch. I wish there was a safe way for them to use the computer when they are together. He played so much he drained the phone's battery.

Eventually we were discharged. Official diagnosis is bronchiolitis (and asthma but only if he has a chest cold). His lungs are slightly infected as are his ears. He's on a short dose of antibiotics for 5 days and the inhalers for 2 weeks. We're going back to our ped in a couple of weeks to talk about an allergy and overall asthma test.

He also recommended that we give up dairy and wheat to help his skin. I've spent the last month trying to move them off dairy anyway. Corwyn is willing, but with Nathan I'm still trying. I'm going to have to be more consistent in mixing his milk with rice, almond or hemp milk. I have some gluten free cookbooks around so will be spending more time looking at those. I picked up a loaf of wheat free bread tonite. The boy lives on pb sandwiches and yoghurt right now.

We walked home (him in an umbrella stroller, playing with my phone) to get his prescription. He was not happy so I dropped him at home (its less than a block away) and went back to pick the prescription up. They didn't have it in stock. She had called all around to find anyone with it in stock (there is another pharmacy across the street, 2 up the street etc) and only 1 had it. They transferred it and I ran the 5 blocks to pick it up. What a night.

My friend had given him a snack so I forced the antibiotic down his throat with the promise of his 'breathing machine', which he loves, afterwards. I have a video from the first time he was on the inhalers that show how much he likes them. I'll try to find it. He thinks the antibiotic is poison and he's not really far off the mark. We already take a probiotic so that should help.

It was 2 hours past bedtime. They were clearly tired but didn't want to sleep. I still hadn't eaten and was emotionally wiped out.So they fell asleep in the floor with the promise that I would let them come to my bed later (which always happens when they wake up anyway). Nathan wanted to start out in my bed, but since my bed is the sofa and it's still folded up, that is not going to happen. I think I sang Mr Moon 30 times or so. Then at their insistence to continue recited every nursery rhyme I know (and I know a lot) and finally I moved on to some Peter, Paul and Mary. Success at last. I'm writing this up and chowing down on some cheese and almonds. I'll be sleeping soon, or at least in bed, trying to unwind.

I wish I had gotten some pictures of him at the hospital tonite, but he laid claim to my phone. So you have to settle for this one I took after they went to sleep.

Wordless Wednesday - Left or Right Handed?