A Call for Help

Dear readers, I am at my wits' end. I am hoping that some of you out there have been in my shoes and can offer some advice.

Caleb, our 3-year-old, refuses to eat fruits and vegetables. In fact, he refuses to eat most foods, but the fruits and vegetables are the biggest problem. Here are the foods Caleb will eat:

• whole wheat bread
• crackers--lots of different kinds
  
• tortillas
  
• Corn Chex
  
• Fruity Cheerios
• pretzels
• pancakes--I make banana pancakes to get a little fruit in there
  
• bacon--we only give him turkey bacon that is nitrite and nitrate-free
• deli ham--specific brands only, nitrite and nitrate-free
• deli turkey--specific brands only
• cubed or sliced cheese--pretty much any hard cheese
• grilled cheese sandwiches--only homemade
• bananas--if bribed
• plain low-fat yogurt
  
• raisins--once a month maybe he'll consent to eating one
• fruit leather--he's eaten this 2 or 3 times, but usually leaves it untouched
  
• rice cakes--chocolate
• Quaker Oatmeal Squares--banana flavor only
• Chick FilA chicken strips--not nuggets, not any other type of chicken
• peanut butter crackers--sometimes--and he's had a peanut butter sandwich once
• Apple juice, very diluted (2 oz juice, 8 oz water)
  
• 1% or 2% milk
  

That's just about it. He'll eat some junk food if we'd let him--chips, fries, cookies, chocolate--but of course we try to keep that stuff away from him. He won't eat pasta, pizza, fish, beef, eggs, or pretty much anything I serve the rest of the family. Isaac, at 1 year, eats a much wider variety of foods than Caleb ever has.

Caleb didn't like fruits, veggies, and meats much even as a baby. He loved pureed sweet potatoes, and he loved yogurt mixed with apple/blueberry baby food. But gradually he stopped eating those things.

I know that part of his problem is my fault. When he started solids, I didn't push the finger foods. Sure, I gave him things like Cheerios and those Gerber puffs, but I didn't give him diced banana, carrot, pear, grapes, avocado, etc. like Isaac gets on a regular basis. I just didn't educate myself enough then.

By the time I had Isaac, I had decided to really change the way we were eating in our house. Now we eat organic foods whenever possible, we eat a lot of fruits, veggies, and nuts, we use flax seed in our meals, etc. Isaac is growing up with these things as the norm. Caleb got set in his bad habits and we let him. NOW what? We've been trying to alter his diet for at least 1.5 years--half of his life--and it hasn't gotten very far.

I know other moms who are able to sneak veggies in their kids' pasta sauces and things like that. But Caleb doesn't really eat "mixed" foods.

The way he eats is so embarrassing to me. I mean, here's a typical diet for me: on Thursday (before I got the flu and stopped eating), I had

• Raisin Bran with skim milk for breakfast
• Carrots with hummus and a fruit smoothie (nonfat yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, flaxseed oil, wheat germ) for lunch
• Trail mix for a snack (raw almonds, raw cashews, raisins, M&Ms)
• Baked salmon, peas, and orange-glazed carrots (I know, I was craving the carrots that day!) for dinner
• Air-popped popcorn for a late night snack while hubby and I watched a movie

If Caleb would eat even some of that, I'd be THRILLED!

I was so excited when I saw the Parenting magazine cover for this month. It says, "Got a Picky Eater? Makeovers that Work." I quickly opened it up and read through the article. Man, was I disappointed. Evidently they went to a preschool and had all the moms write down what their kids eat for a whole week. They took the "pickiest" eater and put her week's menu in the magazine, and they had a nutritionist offer suggestions on how to make the kid eat better.

But guess what this kid eats! Waffles, orange juice, pizza, ravioli, chicken breast, chicken nuggets, rice, rice pudding, cranberry juice, apples, mac and cheese, pears, brisket with gravy, matzo-ball soup, corn....

That's the pickiest kid they could find???? I was so disheartened.

So, dear readers, if any of you have ideas on how to get Caleb to eat better, please share them with me. I would be so thankful. Every meal turns into a battle, and I don't want it that way. Should we see a nutritionist? Have any of you done that?

My Turn

Ugh.

Well, I guess it was inevitable. I now have the flu.

Caleb caught it last Wednesday, Scott got it Monday night, and last night it was my turn. I felt bad when I went to bed, but I was able to keep it at bay until about 3:30am. I won't go into details, but let's just say I'm definitely not well!

So my wonderful husband has been taking care of me and the kids. He took today off from work and has allowed me to stay in bed all day. He even took the boys to the library this morning. I have to say that I married well!

I've been trying to sleep some (though it's hard), and I'm catching up on shows on our DVR. Right now I'm half-watching the American Idol results show (and getting annoyed at Ryan Seacrest, but at least it's a distraction). I REALLY want to watch the finale of Top Chef, but I don't think I can watch a food show right now!

Here's praying that Isaac doesn't get sick next!

An Update; Scenes

It's been hard to find the time to post lately. Here's what's going down in our world:

Caleb still has the flu. He is acting pretty normal, but he still has some, er, stomach problems. I really thought he'd be able to go back to school yesterday, and I was really looking forward to having some almost-alone time while he was away, but he woke up sick again. (Dear reader, I hope you appreciate these euphemisms! I certainly don't want to gross out those who read this with their morning cup of coffee.)

As of Monday night, Scott seems to have some version of the flu as well. He's been having headaches, feeling achy and nauseous, and has no appetite. He ate 3 crackers yesterday, and that's all he could stomach.

So, today I am very grateful that Isaac and I are relatively well and I am able to take care of the family. We have been through worse.

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Isaac is learning new words every week. Here are the words he says well and often:

• Baba (his name for Caleb)
• Dada
• Mama
• Isaac
• Bye or Bye-Bye (accompanied by a wave)
  
• This
• Bah (for ball--he calls it out repeatedly while wandering the house in search of balls)
• Ba (for bath--he says it while walking toward the bath tub)
• Chee (for cheese--this is a new one--he adores shredded cheese and says this when he wants more)
• Uh oh
• Bah-puh (for Boppy, meaning he wants to nurse)
  
• Ba-oo (another new one--for balloon)
  

He used to say "hi," but he rarely says it anymore so I've nixed it from the list. I heard him putting 3 different consonant sounds together yesterday, and he's learned "Juh," "Guh," and "Cuh" sounds. He also says something that sounds like "Thanks."

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Caleb was leaving with Scott last week to run an errand, and Isaac and I were standing at the door to the garage waving good-bye. Scott called Caleb over to the driveway and pointed up to the sky. "Look! There are two jets up there!"

Caleb said, "Awww, they best friends! They fly together!"

Then he looked at me and said, "Mommy, they best friends just like we best friends." He ran over and gave me a big hug.

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As I was typing this, Isaac found the TV remote on the table. He picked it up, studied it for a few moments, and started pushing buttons. He was standing right in front of the TV when he hit the power button. The TV came to life with a loud noise, and Isaac jumped about 2 feet in the air (not really) and came running to me.

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If Isaac finds something he wants me to have, he will grab my hand, open it so that it's palm-up, and place the item in my hand.

Money Saving Mom

For those of you who like to use coupons or who want to get back into it, I have the best blog tip for you: www.moneysavingmom.com. Evidently there are people out there who really make places like CVS and Walgreens work for them and end up getting tons of stuff for free or even MAKING money on deals. I always thought those convenient stores were a great way to waste money, but I guess I was wrong! It's worth checking out.

That site also posts deals for Target, WalMart, and other grocery stores (click on Categories at the top and then you can choose a store or topic).

Sickling

After a really rough night, Caleb mostly lounged around all day. I made him a little "bed" in the living room, and he camped out in front of the TV. I kept trying to get him to eat something (hence the piece of bread in front of him), but he wouldn't touch food.

He ended up falling asleep on the floor there and stayed asleep for over two hours. He sure needed the rest.





He finally ate 1 Ritz cracker and 2 Wheat Thins for dinner. Just enough food for us to be able to give him his first dose of antibiotic. The doctor also called in a prescription for an anti-nausea medicine, and we gave that to him before bed. I'm hoping that will help him sleep through the night.

Sick Boy; Hypocrite

Well, the pedi said that Caleb has an ear infection (right ear again). No surprise there. But she did hear some wheezing while listening to his lungs, which was a surprise. She told us to give HIM a breathing treatment each day, too--but his should just be 3 ml of saline. So it's more like a humidifier than medicine.

Caleb was really acting a lot better by the time we went to the doctor yesterday. He was playful and picking on his brother again, which was a really good sign. :) He took a good nap when we got home. I usually take him to church with me on Wednesday nights, but I left him home with Scott so he could get to bed early.

Poor Scott. During the 2.5 hours I was gone, he had to deal with a very sick boy. Caleb started throwing up shortly after I left, and he ended up getting sick just about every hour after that until 12:30. After that, he just couldn't sleep. He kept wanting to drink, but I knew from experience if he drank too much, he'd just lose it. So I gave him sips of Gatorade throughout the night, one tablespoon at a time.

Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep last night.

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It's amazing how quickly I become a hypocrite when my kids get sick. Case in point:

Normally I try hard to steer away from artificial flavors and chemicals in food. But when filling Caleb's antibiotic, I'm quick to ask, "Can you add bubblegum flavoring to that?"

Normally I don't like Caleb to watch much TV. We make it through about 3 days a week with no TV at all, and on the days he does watch it, it is usually while I am getting a shower in the morning or when I'm fixing dinner at night. We've really worked hard to cut down on the TV time. But when he's sick, he is plopped in front of the TV almost all day. It keeps him distracted from how bad he feels.

Normally I don't allow Caleb to have sugary drinks. He gets one cup of juice every day, which is actually about 2 ounces of juice mixed with 8 ounces of water and a dropper full of liquid vitamins with iron. But when he's sick, he gets to drink sugary Gatorade (Pedialyte is my first choice for him, but sometimes he can't stomach it).

I guess when our kids get sick, we go into survival mode.

Two Doctor Visits in Two Days for Two Kids

Yesterday, Isaac had his 2-week follow-up visit from his last respiratory virus. He was also scheduled to get some shots that he wasn't able to get last time. Again, are my kids ever WELL on their well visits?? Isaac had developed a cough and runny nose again on Sunday night (which meant Scott and I didn't sleep very much Sunday or Monday, since Isaac was up coughing during the wee small hours of the morning). He just never seems to get well for long anymore. The doctor listened to his lungs, and thankfully she didn’t hear any significant wheezing. She told me to keep doing one steroid breathing treatment at night until he gets completely better (which might be until summer).

Yesterday afternoon after preschool, Caleb came home, had a snack, and went to bed for a nap. He woke up about an hour later just really upset and crying uncontrollably. He wouldn’t calm down and go back to sleep even though I could tell he was still tired. Finally he came out to the living room and he fell asleep in Scott’s arms! Scott was amazed—it’s been a LONG time since we’ve held Caleb while he’s sleeping!

When he woke up, I could tell he had a little fever. About an hour later, he started crying and said that his ear hurt. He wouldn’t eat anything for dinner. We had some medicated ear drops from a previous ear infection, so Scott put those in. We were also able to get him to take some Children's Tylenol later, which is amazing since normally Caleb either puts up a big fight or he's unable to keep it down.

Scott and I braced ourselves for a long night, but everything ended up going really well, praise God! Isaac slept straight through the night in his own crib until 5:45!! (That's a HUGE deal for us!) And Caleb only woke up once at about 4:30. He must have been having some weird fever dreams, because he kept telling me to "turn it off" but then wasn't sure what "it" was. I got him back in bed and back to sleep until 8:00

We have a doctor appointment for Caleb today at 1:30. Two visits to the doctor in two days.

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On a lighter note, I got a cute picture of Isaac yesterday.

And here he is trying to sit down on the stairs (but he's not quite tall enough!):

(For curious minds, that is the back of a Mr. Potato Head toy that he's holding, and that's "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?" on the floor!)

Catching Up

Last week was a hectic week. We spent many hours (Wed, Thurs, and Fri) working up at the church, getting some new classrooms ready for Sunday morning. I didn't really feel like I had any downtime during the week.

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On Friday night, we decided to go to IKEA. Scott usually ends up going into the office these days by 6:30, so he often gets home by 3:30 (he rarely takes a lunch). That makes it nice, since it gives us more family time in the evening. So when Caleb got up from his nap around 4:30, we took off. I'd been wanting to go to IKEA for awhile and get some new glass jars for food storage. I've bought tons of beans, quinoa, flax seed, and other cool stuff that needs a nice home.

The boys did really well at the store (it's really a fun place for kids), but by the time we got out of there it was already 6:45. We needed food. Caleb still is not a good eater, so we are limited as to what we can get him at a restaurant. One thing that is pretty failsafe is a breakfast place--he loves pancakes and bacon! I knew Scott had wanted to try The Original Pancake House, so I suggested we head over there. Caleb was all excited to have pancakes for dinner. We pull up to the restaurant and....see that it's only open for breakfast and lunch. Pbbbbbbbbbbbbt!

We were all really craving breakfast food at that point, so Scott decided to head for Breadwinner's. That is hands-down one of my favorite places to eat! We go there every couple of months for a special breakfast. They have yummy homemade breads, great scrambles, wonderful coffee....my mouth is watering just thinking about it! We had never been there at night, but we were pretty sure they served breakfast all day.

Um, wrong. We got inside and I immediately did a double-take when I saw the white tablecloths out. We got seated, and the host handed us a special Valentine's weekend menu--dinner for 2 (complete with lobster, steak, and wine) for $100! Uh...not exactly the meal we had planned. I didn't see breakfast food in our future at that point. Sure enough, they don't serve breakfast at night.

We stuck around, though, and I'm glad we did. I had a wonderful (albeit a little pricey) red bell pepper filled with ratatouille, served with artichoke mashed potatoes and spinach. YUM! I wish Scott would eat stuff like that. He had chicken marsala or something like that. Something carnivorous. ;) Caleb had a grilled cheese sandwich with fruit. Or rather, that was what was served to him. I think he ended up taking ONE bite of the grilled cheese and declared that he was done. Sigh.

Caleb surprised me during dinner. He said, "Mommy, I need to go potty." Well, okay! He hadn't used a public restroom before, other than the kid-sized ones at church. I took him into the bathroom and explained that these potties were big, but that I'd hold on to him. He had no problem at all with it!

By the time we got home on Friday night, the kids had both fallen asleep in the car. We tucked them into bed and called it a night.

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On Saturday, we went to the mall. I had several things I needed to get and stuff to return. We ended up eating out AGAIN, but I'm not complaining. This time it was The Cheesecake Factory, another favorite. Scott was less than thrilled when he saw that I'd selected "first available" seating and our hostess led us to a table outside. But it was a beautiful brisk day, and the heaters were warming up the patio. All was well... until it started to rain. Scott just got this "I told you so" look on his face. Hmph.

Caleb surprised me again during lunch (which he actually ate, because TCF serves bacon and bread) when he told me he needed to potty. He went again (on a big potty) with no problems.

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Sunday was soooo busy. I worked both services in the morning at church, which meant I was there from 8:45 until about 1:15. We came home, ate lunch, got the kids to take naps, and then Caleb and I headed back up the the church. It was a big night, since my T&T kids were putting on a skit for their parents that week. All went well, but I must admit I was nervous, and on top of that I hadn't felt well all day due to a lingering headache. I was glad to get home that night and get to bed!

(Sunday was also my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom!)

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On Monday, we had a momentous day. CALEB ATE A PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH! Yes, I know that those of you with *normal* kids are thinking that this is trivial news. But when it comes to eating, Caleb is...special.

We've been reading a Dora book lately at nighttime that references a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and Caleb said on Sunday night that he would be willing to try one. Really?? This from the boy who never wants to try anything new (unless it is some form of chocolate). So on Monday at lunch, I took him up on it. I got him all psyched up, and he actually liked it. He ate the whole thing, and he asked for another one that night!

I took a picture to get proof of the event, just in case it never happened again.

"Not Me!" Monday

Welcome to "Not Me!" Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It did not take me a full minute to realize that the Q-tip I was using was a reject and didn't have the cotton tip on the end. I did not proceed to spend another full minute staring at the naked stick and wondering if somehow the cotton tip had been there, but was now stuck in my ear....

I did not make a full bowl of food for Isaac (blended strawberries, bananas, organic whole milk yogurt, and flax oil) and then leave it on the edge of the counter. Isaac did not reach right up, grab said bowl, and pour it all over himself and the floor. I did not have to fight hard to resist the urge to grab the camera instead of cleaning up the sticky mess that followed. I did not laugh at Isaac as he started scraping the food off of his shirt and shoving it in his mouth.

I did not realize at the last minute that my shirt wasn't clean for Awana last night, and I certainly did not just wear that dirty shirt anyway. (Hey, I at least wore another shirt underneath it!)

I did not devour a whole bunch of trail mix in one sitting (homemade mix of raw almonds, chopped raw Brazil nuts, raisins, dark chocolate M&Ms, and cashews) and then feel horrible for the rest of the day.

What did you not do this week?

Preschool Valentine's Party

At Caleb's preschool Valentine's Day party today, each kid got a plate with 2 plain sugar cookies on it, along with a smear of pink frosting and a smear of white frosting. They were supposed to frost the cookies, then put sprinkles on them.





Well, my picky child wouldn't hear of putting frosting on top of the cookies. He just wanted to eat them plain. When he finally tasted some of the frosting, his eyes lit up. "That's good!" By then he only had a small bite of cookie left. He managed to get a little frosting on it, and we put some sprinkles on top.

At the table behind him, a little girl had 2 beautifully frosted and sprinkled cookies. (Her parents had helped her, or at least that's what I tell myself.) Her mom told her, "Hold up your cookies so I can get a picture!" Caleb overheard her. Not to be outdone, he says, "Mommy, take a picture of my cookie!" Well, okay.




Poor, pathetic cookie.

Sale on Little G's

Now through Friday, February 13, gdiapers has their solid-color little g's on sale for 20% off ($13.60). As far as I can remember, they have never had a sale like this since I've been getting their emails (8 months?).

Staying Warm

When we arrived at church this morning (where Caleb had school and I needed to work to get some things ready for Sunday), I told Caleb that he needed to put on his light jacket because it was a little cool outside. I started putting it on him, and he asked me, "Mommy, where's your jacket?"

"Well, Mommy left her jacket at home on accident."

"That's okay, Mommy! I'll hold you tight and keep you warm!" He held out his arms for me to get him down from his carseat, and when I picked him up he wrapped himself around me with a squeeze. "That's better, Mommy. You warm now?"

Crazy Tuesday

Tuesday was crazy. Just how crazy? It's taken me until Wednesday night to recover enough to post about it.

Not really.

But Tuesday was definitely a crazy day. Here's how it started:

7:35--Caleb wakes up. I go in his room to get him, and he tells me, "I have pee-pee on my 'jamas, Mommy. There's pee-pee on my bed, too." Okay, okay. I get him out of bed and plop him in the tub for a quick bath. I try to keep Isaac from climbing into the tub with his brother. (He can actually get one leg over the tub!)

7:45--I realize that Caleb has one pair of jeans clean, and 2 pairs of sweatpants (which are usually for around the house only). I am really behind on laundry! I put one pair of sweatpants in his school bag for "just in case", and I put the jeans on him. Umm...I try to put the jeans on him. I guess Caleb has grown in the last few weeks since I bought these jeans, because now they look skin tight on him. I loosen the adjustable waistband, and Caleb says they feel fine.

8:00--Breakfast for the boys. Maybe we'll actually be on time to preschool today (9:00)!

8:10--Boys run around and play while I finish my breakfast. I keep looking at Caleb wondering if I have anything other than sweatpants or tight jeans to put on him!

8:25--I am finishing up packing Caleb's lunch when I hear, "Mommy? I pee-peed in my pants." I look over at Caleb, expecting to see just a wet circle on his pants. Um, no. This is a gusher. There is pee all over the floor (thank goodness he was on the tile and not the carpet!), and he's standing awkwardly over it, not knowing what to do. I strip off the tight jeans and plop Caleb back in the tub.

8:45--Caleb's second bath of the day is over (he normally doesn't get any baths in the morning--he's a night bather), but he is refusing to admit it. The water is drained, but he just sits in the empty tub, playing with measuring cups. I try to explain that we are going to be late, but he doesn't seem to care or understand. I leave him there for the moment.

8:50--Caleb finally agrees to get out of the tub. I tell him to sit on the potty and see if he can get any pee in the toilet before we go. I go to our bedroom to get Isaac dressed.

8:55--"Mommy, I'm done!!!" Isaac is sitting on the floor happily playing with a toy, so I run to Caleb's bathroom to get him. I start to put his underwear on when I hear Isaac start whining, "Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Maaaaaaaaaaaaaamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" He toddles into the bathroom, and I see that the entire front of his shirt and shorts are wet. I know immediately what happened--he knocked over the cup of water I'd left on my nightstand.

9:00--I pull off Isaac's wet clothes, put new clothes on Caleb (the other pair of dreaded sweatpants!), put new clothes on Isaac, and pray that we can actually get out of the house sometime soon.

9:10--I am putting on my clothes when Caleb decides to slam the door to our bedroom. This sets off our house alarm, which is sensitive to loud noises. I run to turn the alarm off and comfort scared kids. Caleb says, "I'm so very sorry, Mommy. I'm so so sorry."

9:20--Kids are dressed, consoled, and piled into the Mom-mobile.

9:35--We arrive at school. Finally. ;)

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When I pick Caleb up from school, his teachers tell me that he peed and pooped in the toilet for them. Yea!! That is wonderful news.

Then when we get home, I read his "what I did today" paper and discover that he got a "pretty good" under the "played well with others" category, and he was "restless" during nap time. He's never gotten a "pretty good" before! Where's the "very good"? Hmph. Wonder what happened.

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To end the day, I decide Isaac is way overdue for a haircut. I settle him in Scott's lap and pull out the scissors. I am no hairstylist, but I figure I can manage a little boy's trim.

Here's the before:




And the after:



Certainly not perfect, but I think the girls will be lined up after him anyway. :)

A Few Recent Pictures

Caleb has gotten into the cute habit of leading Isaac around the house. He'll grab his hand and walk with him from room to room. (Yes, Isaac has no pants on. That's a common occurrence in our house!)






Isaac will now walk over to the freezer when he's hungry. That's where we keep his frozen homemade baby food, and he knows it! (Please pay no attention to all the fingerprints on my fridge! And yes, that is a Dream-Eze fitted diaper he has on.)






Caleb went to a birthday party on Saturday for one of his preschool friends. Here he is at Pump It Up.




He kept going down the same big slide over and over.

New SIDS Research

As a Gen X parent, I've had SIDS prevention drilled into my brain. Always put the baby down to sleep on his back, keep blankets and toys away from a sleeping baby, use a firm mattress, etc. When Isaac and Caleb were very young, I worried a lot about SIDS. After all, both of my kids would roll right over and sleep on their stomachs or sides as soon as I put them down (starting around 4 months).

But the latest research has found something interesting:
"What we found in this study is that if an infant had a fan that was used in the sleeping room, the infant's risk of SIDS was reduced by 72 percent compared to no fan in the room," said study senior author Dr. De-Kun Li.

Good to know! For more on SIDS, check out this Parenting magazine article. That's a very interesting read, particularly about how much the risk of SIDS goes up when the child is in someone else's care.

Potty Training, Day 32

On day 14 of potty training, Caleb finally decided to use the potty at school (which is at our church). He wouldn't go with his teacher, though. He held it ALL DAY LONG--from 8:50 until 2:00! Then, when I picked him up, I was standing there talking to his teacher about his progress and he peed in his underwear. He just couldn't hold it any longer! It turned out to be a good thing, though. I took him into the bathroom to change him, and he peed in the potty while I was with him. Yea!

The next day, I had a meeting at church, so he was in childcare up there. He did the same thing--he held it for the 2 hours or so that he was there and waited until I picked him up. Then he let me take him to the bathroom and he peed in the potty.

Here we are at day 32, and he's still not using the bathroom with anyone but me. He will go to the bathroom and sit on the potty with his preschool teachers, but he won't actually pee. He waits until I get there.

Yesterday was his first day with NO ACCIDENTS. I was so proud! Even during nap time he was in underwear and didn't make a mess. (Granted, he never actually fell asleep during nap time, but I'm still proud!)

Scott worked in the nursery yesterday morning at church, and the lady he worked with said that her son was potty trained at 16 months. Sigh. Imagining the money we would have saved on diapers if we'd had success that early with Caleb... But every child is different. :) I do think Isaac will potty train earlier because he is using mostly cloth diapers. I hear those kids usually understand better when they are wet, so they will learn to control it faster.

Isaac = Wheezer

Isaac had an appointment on Wednesday morning for his 12-month well-visit to the pediatrician. Why is it that my kids are never actually well for their well-visits?

On Tuesday night, Isaac started coughing...a lot. He was up most of the night just hacking away, and would only sleep in little bursts while propped up (read: being held by Scott or me). Needless to say, the three of us didn't get much rest.

When we got to the doctor on Wednesday, our pedi heard him wheezing when she used the stethoscope. So, she gave us instructions to get back on breathing treatments 3-4 times a day (because, after all, we've been missing them so much, having been off of them for a whole week or so). And since he's sick, he didn't get his recommended vaccines. I honestly think that Isaac has just outsmarted the whole system and times his illnesses so he won't have to get shots.

Wednesday night was awful again. He slept solidly for about 2 hours, then he was up coughing the rest of the night. On Thursday, you could hear his wheezing without a stethoscope.

But by last night, he just seemed like a new kid again. He slept very well--I think he only woke up twice, which is good for him, and he didn't have any coughing fits. Yea! He has so much more energy today. Energy for finding a box of Kleenex and flinging them all over the floor, energy for banging toys loudly against the wall and waking his brother from his nap....

Words to Remember

After Isaac's party on Saturday, Meme and Papa (my parents) volunteered to stay with the kids while Scott and I went to a movie. Yea!!

Most of the movies out right now are really long, and we didn't want to be out too late, so we ended up seeing New in Town, which is a major chick flick. The movie was pretty good (even if Rotten Tomatoes only has it at 19% right now). I mean, come on. You get to see Harry Connick, Jr. looking all rough and scruffy! I'll pay to see that!

There was one line in the movie that just cracked us both up. Don't worry--this doesn't spoil the movie or anything. But Harry Connick, Jr.'s character is grilling his teenage daughter's date before they go out to a dance. He tells the boy, "Remember: anything you do to her, I'm going to do to you."

Love it. Scott will have to remember that one if we ever have a girl.

Isaac and Sara's Birthday Party

On Saturday, we celebrated Isaac's first birthday and Sara's eleventh birthday, since they are only a few days apart. Much fun was had by all. :)

We kept things very low-key. It was just family over to our house for brunch (as close as I can get to breakfast at Tiffany's). We had quiche, muffins, lots of fruit, fruit dip, bagels and cream cheese, OJ, and coffee. I even found some organic sparkling apple cider (I got a whole bottle at Kroger for 50 cents!) to serve in lieu of champagne. ;) Everyone pitched in and helped.

I remember for Caleb's first birthday, I made Veggie Tales cakes (one Bob cake and one Larry cake). But I knew that my picky Caleb wouldn't touch cake anyway, so I didn't bother with making him a special "baby cake." Well, Isaac will eat just about anything (especially if it's on the floor, but that's another story), so I decided to make him a special egg-free cake that he could enjoy by himself. Well, it was a flop! I made it late Friday night, and I cut into it Saturday morning and saw that it didn't even get cooked all the way through AND it will still hard as a rock! If anyone has a good "baby's first birthday cake" recipe, do share! The one I found for this Apple Spice cake was a definite no go! The bite I tried was so gross--I could still taste it an hour later. The whole thing landed in the trash can. Oh, well. Isaac didn't care. I ended up letting him try some ice cream. :)

Mom and Dad got some cute pics. Here is Isaac opening a gift from Rodney, Susan, Sara, and Matthew.
















Here is Caleb making a really goofy face!
















This is Sara blowing out her 11 candles.
















And since I've been getting a lot of flack from some of you (ahem! Robin!) about not having any pics of me on my site, here is one of me and Isaac.