Adjustment or Just Being Two?

So...when I reported that Nathan has made the adjustment to being a big brother smoothly, I wasn't entirely truthful. He has done, under the circumstances (me being in the hospital, a little brother to take our attention, company, no power, schedule a little askew) remarkably well. The ONE thing that has happened, though, is that he has become even more attached to me than he was before. He has always been a "mamma's boy"...however, now it is very extreme. He is having extreme separation anxiety. EXTREME!

The places (i.e. Nan and Pap's, school, church, bedtime) that he used to excitedly and willingly go, have now become places of extreme anxiety. He has gotten more used to school and church the last week or so...meaning, he only whimpers when I leave him. However, going to Nan and Pap's house he has huge emotional meltdowns. He is fine if I am there and around (but he has to know where I am at at all times)...but seems to completely lose it when I go to leave, or they come and pick him up. It is heart wrenching for me to hear (what sounds like) his heart breaking and begging to "just stay with Momma". He does this a tiny bit when I leave, and Jonathon is with him, though not as bad. And when I am around, like I said, he has to know where I am at all times...and often follows me everywhere I go.

Now, within 5 minutes of me being out of sight, he normally calms down as if nothing happened...so he can't be that heart broken, can he?

My question to all you "pros" out there is: What is this? Is this being two? Is this having a little brother and adjusting? Is it all of the above? Am I doing emotional and psychological damage to him by leaving him once and a while? Is he just playing me? Am I the worst mother in the world for leaving him when he is begging for me to stay or begging to stay with me? HELP!

Gah...this mothering thing! I am trying SO hard not to screw up my kids! Is it even avoidable?

Wear Yourself Out

Cheeky

Hiccups

Yesterday, I went and got Nathan up from his nap, and he had the hiccups:

Me: You have the hiccups! Where did you get the hiccups?
Nathan: The Grocery.

~~~~~

The above account will REALLY be funny to my mother who often tells the story of when I got the chicken pox, and was asked where I had gotten the chicken pox from...my reply was (of course): K-Mart.

Just Relax...

Overheard this morning while getting into the car to go to Mommies Day Out ("School"):

Nathan:Momma, my cup, my cup....Momma, my cup....
(this is said as I am carrying him, two bags, his toast, two sippy cups...a popping belly...and one of the sippy cups fall to the ground)
Me: I know, Nathan, I see it buddy, I will get it...just a second...
Nathan: Momma, my cuppppppppppp...
Me: Natey, I will get it after I get you in the car. Just Relax...
Nathan: No, Momma, I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna relax...

(again, probably more funny in person)

Play in Snow?

A couple of weeks ago, Nathan started asking if we could go out and "play in the snow". I am not sure where he saw or got the idea of playing in the snow, but it is a daily request these days. Much to his delight, it "snowed" a week or so ago...and when I say "snowed", I mean "ice flaked" for about 20 minutes (just long enough to go out and SEE the white stuff). Regardless, Nathan was so excited to play in the "snow"!

(Nathan and Grand-Mom Gerwing)

("This is it?")

Anyway, his interest in snow made Jonathon and I yearn to take a trip to Utah so Nathan could play in some REAL snow, with some REAL snow toys and REAL snow boys...the Frentheway Crew. Alas, with a new baby...we aren't sure that is real feasible this year.

Also...his interest in snow means that it wont snow at all here in Louisville this year. ;)

Bed Update

I have gotten a few inquiries as to how Nathan was/is dealing with his new bed situation...

Well, he actually has been GREAT! He is still taking his naps, still going to bed without any trouble. Nothing has changed actually, except he can can get in and out of his bed on his own. Now this afternoon we had some issues...we had gone to All About Kids to run around and play. We were there for almost 2.5 hours, and Nathan was SOOO tired (you try running, climbing and jumping for 2 hours!!!), so he was super fussy, crying and just D.O.N.E. We came home and he wanted to go to bed, so I put him down. I heard him rumbling around for a good 15 minutes after I left the room, which I figured was him just winding down from all of the action earlier. He finally fell asleep...and about an hour later he woke up crying. Now he hasn't done that in a long long time, so I knew something was up. I went up there, and he was lying by the door. SO...I don't know if he had gotten out of bed and was playing in his room, and then fell asleep...woke up and didn't know where he was. OR, he fell asleep in his bed, and walked to the door when he started crying. I don't know (I need to put a video camera in there!). Regardless, I put him down again, and he fell back asleep for about 30 minutes when I heard a big THUD. He obviously had fallen out of bed while sleeping. Odd thing is is that he didn't cry, he didn't say a word...he just got up, and continued to play for a good 45 minutes until I went and got him. Not sure if this is the start of a trend...or if it was just a fluke of him falling out of bed.

Also, an odd thing...Nathan doesn't get out of bed and try and open the door by himself. He CAN open the door, I know this, he does it all the time when we are getting ready in the mornings. But for nap time and bedtime, if he wakes up, or isn't quite tired yet, he will just play (I assume in his bed) until someone comes and gets him. I am not, at all, complaining...I just find it one of his personality traits. He isn't presumptuous...or its as if he doesn't know he is "allowed" to do that on his own. He did this when he started to crawl. He would only crawl in one room, and it took him a while to venture into other rooms...again, as if he didn't think he was "allowed" the freedom to do that. I find it interesting (and no, we have not TAUGHT him this...we don't beat the kid into staying in one place! We don't even say anything about it.:)).

SO yeah, that's the scoop.

Stickers Stickers...Stickers Everywhere!

Nathan's new "garage door" obsession is with stickers. Not just ANY stickers, they have to be stickers from the movie Cars. What does he doe with them? Just sticks them all over his legs mostly...once his legs are all filled up, he will sometimes move to his face and head (as you can see). He asks for sticker sheet after sticker sheet, and they all end up on his legs, then in his hands, then in a ball on the floor and in the trash. The adult in me wants to limit the stickers that he plays with...as it is "wasting" them. BUT the mother in me always wins out...as the stickers keep him occupied and happy. After all, they are JUST stickers! :)

Aaaarrrrg!

...And just like a real lawn mower, it doesn't always work accordingly. Nathan has certainly learned that lesson already. I am not sure what it wasn't doing that he wanted it to, but he was not happy with it. He even picked it up and threw it to the ground...he was pretty mad!

Then, after a couple of seconds, he picked it up and started mowing the lawn again. Miraculously, the thing was cooperating!

Skin Treatment

Sooo, apparently, in Nathan's Word, there is a new skin care treatment that includes spaghetti sauce....and rubbing it on your face. ;)

I really, honestly, do not know how he got it ALL over his entire face (and IN his ears), but he did! He is very talented! It took a very long bath and a lot of scrubbing to get it all off, and even then his skin was a tad bit stained....

Big Bucket O' Dirt

Look What I Found!

Look who has discovered my makeup bag? It is now his favorite thing to play with when we are getting ready in the morning. His favorite thing in my makeup bag? You guessed it...the lipstick...or anything that has to do with applying to the lips. I am really not sure where he learned that the lipstick goes on his lips because I RARELY even wear the stuff...but apparently he picked it up from somewhere.

In the blood

I believe the subject title says it all. Golf. Already an obsession.

Big Helper

Nathan is getting to the age where I can ask him to start helping me with chores around the house...and he enjoys it (take advantage of this, I know!). So yesterday we went to the Grocery. He was very helpful and sat in the little grocery cart car and ate his "crackers" while I meandered around Kroger, trying to push this semi-truck sized cart. He didn't fuss at all, and was very helpful in making sure that I wasn't feeling lonely by turning around and yelling "Hi, Mama!" over and over again. ;)

Anyways, when we got home he really really really wanted to go and open and close the garage door (because he NEVER wants to do that...ever! ;)). I told him that we could go outside and open the garage door AFTER we got all the groceries put away. He seemed to totally understand and was very eager to help. So...I put him to work. I had purchased some toilet paper for both bathrooms, so I asked him to take one of the t.p. packages and put it on the steps so that I could take it upstairs when I go. He did this with excitement. Excitement that he was big enough to help, and excitement that once we got the groceries put away, he could go outside and open the garage door. Once he put the t.p. on the steps, he ran back to the kitchen to find out what his next chore was. I gave him the second package of t.p. and told him to go put it in the bathroom down stairs. Which he did with the same excitement as he did with the first package of t.p. Except...he didn't run back to the kitchen...which I found as odd. So I continued to put some groceries away, losing myself in the "how the heck am i going to fit all this stuff in the freezer" thought that I seem to go through everytime I go to the grocery and get stuff we "need". Realizing that Nathan was not yet back from taking the t.p. to the downstairs bathroom, I decided that I had better go check on him to see what he was doing (it was awfully quiet!). So...I walked to the bathroom....and this is what I found:

Apparently the word "bathroom" means "toilet" to Nathan. Which makes sense, because we do say "going to the bathroom". And oh yes...he was flushing the toilet, trying to get the t.p. to go down. You could tell he was a little confused as to how to make it go down, so that he could finish his chore and go outside to open the garage door. :)

Candy?

Every day, at least once a day...normally when Nathan wakes from his afternoon nap...the following conversation occurs:

Nathan: Candy? Candy? Candy?

Me: No candy, how about a snack?

Nathan: Garage door?

And by "candy" he means Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The mini ones. He LOVES them! I normally let him have two or three a day...and he insists on opening them himself. I was able to catch the special moment he has while opening his candy....as you can see, it is a very private, intimate moment for the little guy.

(Also: notice the tiny bit of chocolate on his mouth...)

O-R-E-O

So while we were in Arizona visiting my Mom (more photos to come of our trip, I promise!), Nathan discovered the glorious goodness of the OREO. She had the little individual size packages of the mini-Oreos...perfect for little toddler hands. Anyways, as you can see, Nathan enjoyed them, immensely. He ate them as if they were a delicacy. It was quite entertaining.

Garage Door...Open?

Nathan's new name is "Rainman". For those of you that have been around him in the last two weeks, you know exactly what I am talking about. He is obsessed with the garage door. Slightly scared of it, but completely, 100% OBSESSED with it. It is all he talks about. All he dreams about. All he wants to do. The following is what I hear a minimum of 1,000 times on any given day:

Me: Hiii, Nathan....

Nathan: Garage door? Open garage door? Close garage door? Open it? Close it? Garage door...?

It is garage door, all the time around here. Once it is opened, he wants to close it. Today, I just gave him the garage door opener and let him go to town....he stood at the door, looked out the window and opened it, then closed it. Opened it, then closed it. Then he would run to me and tell me about it. Then he wanted me to watch him do it. Then he would open it and close it. Open. Close. Open. Close. Open. Close. (I know, I know. It isn't good for the garage door. I know. But after the 2nd week of hearing "Open garage door" every 30 seconds, all day long, my ears are about ready to fall off and I have run out of excuses and energy to explain to him why we cannot open the garage door.)

And it isn't just our garage door...it is everyone he knows. He asks if we can open and close the garage door where ever we go, and whomever we go to visit.

It was cute about a week ago...now it is...just well...exhausting. :)

Mmmmm, Dirt!

Time Out

The Time Out Corner. We don't use it too often, but as you can see, he has quickly gotten the hang of the purpose for it. I will say that Nathan in Time Out is quite possibly the sweetest thing ever. I know, I know, it isn't supposed to be a sweet thing. It is supposed to be "a teaching tool" and it is...but the little guy will quietly go there, stick his nose in the corner, and about half way through will start picking at the bricks. It is bittersweet.

Mmmm, Tastey!

Recently, Nathan has begun putting things in his mouth (thats not new), and just letting them hang there. Like...his "guy" in the picture above. He just walks around with it hanging in his mouth. He does this with straws, if he gets one, or his toothbrushes (yes brushES!). It is actually quite entertaining...and I am not sure where he gets it. Unless it is hereditary from his father who has this thing with chewing on stuff. Straws, soda can tops, soda bottle tops, ice...anything that he can chew on (I am actually VERY suprised that Jonathon was never a smoker). Interesting that something like that could be passed down...or actually that Nathan has picked up on that from Jonathon and is imitating it, which is probably the case.