Month: June 2010

And It Keeps Getting Weirder

We’ve seen some pretty weird behavior from Thing 3. From all the comfort objects he sleeps with, to putting stickers on his face, to sticking raisins up his nose. But somehow he still manages to top himself.

We’re officially in potty training with Thing 3. To say it’s been tough is an understatement, but there has been some progress lately. This potty scene should hardly be surprising given his history.

Yes, that’s a potty in the middle of the family room.? And of course he’s wearing a football helmet.? Doesn’t everyone?

We have been trying to get him to give up his diapers in favor of pull-ups for months. But he goes into a tantrum at the slightest mention of a pull-up.? So this weekend I asked him if he wanted to wear underwear.? To my surprise, he liked the idea.

He didn’t just like the idea of wearing underwear (which we let him do around the house).? He just really loves the underwear and it has now become another one of his odd comfort objects like the flashlights, my ratty old t-shirts, and his broken Buzz Lightyear toy.

He carries the underwear around.? He takes it to pre-school with him, keeps it in his cubby, then takes it back home.? Tonight, he wanted to sleep with the underwear.? Not wear them, mind you, but just next to him in his bed.? That is, until he decided he does want to wear them.? But I won’t let him do that because he’ll end up soaking wet during the night.

So he is now wearing the underwear on the outside of his pajamas with a diaper underneath.? As I said, it just keeps getting weirder.

Grocery Shopping With A Three Year Old

Thing 3 eats. A lot. You may recall his “Michelin Man” nickname as a baby.

But he is VERY particular about what he eats. So much, in fact, that he prefers to do his own grocery shopping. Lucky for us, the local supermarket caters to just his demographic: three year olds who watch a lot of movies.

With a pint sized shopping cart, Thing 3 makes his way through the aisles, until he finds all his favorites. First up, the mac and cheese section. The store is very smart to put the Toy Story themed boxes within his reach.

Unlike SuburbanDaddy, who zig-zags across the store looking for items on his list, Thing 3 knows his way around like a pro.

Of course, his favorite spot is the dairy aisle. With the amount of milk he drinks, it’s like the opening scene from Leaving Las Vegas when Nicholas Cage dances with a shopping cart down the aisle at the liquor store.

No trip to the store would be complete without a tantrum.? In this case, it happens when we need to take all the items out of his cart and pay for them.?? Here he is sitting on the floor and crying in protest.

Not to worry, they have free balloons on the way out.? Balloons are a sure fire tantrum stopper.? Just make sure not to let go of the balloon in the parking lot.? That would be the nuclear bomb of tantrums.? Trust me.

Don’t Fight

We have been working for a long time with Thing 3 to use his words instead of crying when he wants something. Or, more likely, when he doesn’t want something.

Rather than breaking into a tantrum because he wants Apple Jacks instead of Fruit Loops, or the green bowl instead of the blue, or because he only will wear white socks, we want him to just say what he wants. I’m more than happy to give him the green bowl.

So we encourage him to use his words. At preschool they do the same, teaching the kids to say “Don’t hit me” when their friends hit them, instead of hitting back.

He is making progress and often uses words instead of a tantrum. But sometimes he uses the wrong words for the situation and the results can be quite entertaining.

In one situation at school, he didn’t like what was for lunch so he said “No, don’t fight!”. The teachers were a little puzzled until we explained he says that when he doesn’t like something. He probably picked it up from me telling his brothers to stop fighting a hundred times a day.

Then, in another situation, he mentioned something about Mommy picking him up. When the teacher said Mommy wasn’t coming until the afternoon, he said “No, Don’t hit me!”

Now the teachers were a little concerned. When he talks about Mommy, he uses words about hitting and fighting? They asked if anything is going on at home.

This wasn’t the only time “Don’t hit me” may have concerned someone. When we are out, and Thing 3 is doing stuff he shouldn’t be, like knocking everything off the shelf at the supermarket, and we ask him to pick it up, his response is “Don’t hit me!”. You can see how someone passing by might get the wrong idea.

Still, words are better than tantrums. Even if they aren’t the right words.

Fathers Day Activities

First, I received a fresh assortment of World’s Best Dad collectibles to display proudly in my office for the next year.

Next up, golf with Thing 1 and Thing 2. They’re not quite ready for a real golf course yet, but we’ll be hitting the driving range then 18 holes of mini-golf. I hope to make this a yearly tradition for us on Fathers Day. Next year Thing 3 can join when he is 4, but that might be the end of the tradition.

Last up, the best gift of all, SuburbanMommy will be taking the boys to McDonalds for dinner. So I can enjoy some peaceful time alone with Thing 4, who will probably fall asleep, and I can watch the US Open.

Happy Fathers Day.

Spaghetti Slurping Photo Contest

Of the many promotion requests I receive, this one caught my attention.

Spaghetti KidWhat?s more photogenic than a kid slurping pasta in his or her favorite and quirky way? Well now you have the chance to vote for your favorite photo from spaghetti smiles, to sauce covered faces in the Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta blogger photo contest. Vote for your favorite photo and a chance to win a $25 gift card. Voting ends June 25th

Little Looster

It was difficult at times, but somehow we managed to potty train 2 out of 4 Things. We are close to starting down that road with Thing 3, mainly because he needs to be out of diapers before moving to the next preschool class in September. Unfortunately he wants no part of it. So I was happy when Monica Mylet, the inventor The Little Looster, invited SuburbanDaddy to test out her new product.

The Little Looster is a plastic stool that surrounds your toilet.? It is designed to help little ones climb up on the potty, and because of its unique wraparound shape, gives them a place to rest their legs while sitting.? Ingenious!

The stool is made out of sturdy plastic and was able to easily support my weight.? It is wide in the front and narrower along the sides, providing a nice fit along the toilet base.? And it’s slim enough not to interfere when adults use the toilet.

It arrived in a big shipping box, with bubble wrap, which was enough to get Thing 3’s curiosity way up.? I was hoping the excitement would be enough to get him to actually sit on the potty.? But he still refused, and I know enough not to push it with him.? Luckily, Thing 2 was more than happy to demonstrate how it works.

You can find out more about The Little Looster? at littlelooster.com.

Little Looster