PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[Mara]

SHA...#2..! Congrats!! So many of the first time mamas around my time are going for #2... you gals are so crazy because damn I am exhausted each and every night from just one, but I can live vicariously through you. Hope that your pregnancy is smooth sailing, lady!

MT... little miss J is so freakin' cute! I love her attitude and ROFL that she calls you by your first name. Sass!

I don't check in here often since I talk to most of you daily on FB.

Here are two of my most favorite recent pics. He's just a few days from 17mo. Where o where has the time gone?? He says a ton of words, understands so much, is running everywhere and wants to be little Mr Independent. I love him.

The first is at 16m1w at home and the second is a week ago at his buddy Lucian's 1st birthday party-they had a rollercoaster and he LOVED it. He went down it like 20 times. So fun.

 

[mtjoya]

Sha-am soooo happy that everything is going well! So happy for you and your family!

Mara-OMG. J's bf is sooooo freaken cute! hehe! He is so lovely! J only wants to say things in spanish and says, plez. sounds like beitch...lol! They are the best and it is amazing how much they say, understand and know by now! yay for toddlers, nay for temper tantrums!

 

[taovandel]

So happy to hear things are okay Sha!!

MT: Such a diva and so beautiful!

Mara: You already know what I think of J!


My sweet angel baby Evan is now a nearly 20 month old terror..haha. Not really but lordy he has his moments! If he doesn't get his way watch out world! Right now we simply ignore him if he throws himself on the ground to scream...any other advice?

And I'm throwing in a picture of Violet..cause I love her!

 

[Sha]

Awww, these pictures are too cute!!

Mara - Beautiful pics! I love how J's eyes match his outfit in the first pic, and his expression in the second pic makes me crack up. Such fun!

tao - You have two beautiful children! E is adorable as always and V is coming along so well! I love how they have the same spiky hair.

mtjoya - at 'plez' sounding like beitch! ha ha!

Aren't they fun at this age? But exhausting too..... Mara - I'm tired too at the end of the day with just one.... to tell you the truth, I have NO idea how I'm going to cope with two. I'm sure it'll be very stressful! Anyway, I'm trying not to stress about it too much just yet. Thanks for the good wishes!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Love all of the photos. PS tots are beautiful!

So, I thought it would be fun to let y'all know what you have to look forward to with a 3.5 year old.

Love triangles start young. Even I was amazed that a boy is in between T and her best friend. I dropped T off while they were doing circle time. Her best friend, S, was SOOO excited to see her and moved over (might have even shoved the kid next to her) while rapidly patting the carpet to indicate a spot for T. Instead T decided to sit across the circle next to a little boy, A. S was on the verge of TEARS. Heartbroken. I felt horrible.

Silence is STILL never a good thing. T was playing in her playroom and I realized she was WAY too quiet. I called out to her and her response was, "I am just playing mom. DON'T come in here." Yeah right. She was coloring on her table.

She is a master negotiator. When she wants her way she is a master with words and will even tell me, "it is my turn to talk now."

Fear is REAL. Not sure if it is for all kids but the bad dreams, phobias, monster sightings, are increasing. Poor kid has so much anxiety.

She has no concept of age. She wants to stay little forever. She tells us she is never moving out and she wants to be little. Then she says things like "when you get little again, you can come to my school."

She remembers everything. I swear, nothing gets past a 3.5 year old.

I never get sick of her telling me she loves me. She can be so sweet. Even though I think she is more difficult to deal with, her kisses and hugs make it all worth it. She will randomly tell me she loves me or apologize for bad behavior.

That's all I got right now.

 

[fieryred33143]

Oh T is so sweet and amazing! What heartfelt stories. I don't know how I would feel when she goes through her first "heartbreak". I get incredibly sad when kids reject her at the playground! Love "it is my turn to talk now" lol!!!

I'm always amazed hearing stories of older children because I just can't picture Sophia at that kind of understanding. T = So when is #2 coming?


Sophia will be 2 in 3 days!! Eek!!! I'm having a harder time with 2 emotionally than with 1.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Fiery, I guess the teacher had them sit boy/girl/boy which is why she rejected her girlfriend. Still, he is shaking up the pair. She called A her prince when I picked her up today. Haha. I feel horrible when kids reject her but even worse when SHE does the rejecting (which she does). I have to say the mommy thing gets cooler as they get older and you can have real conversations. Sophia will AMAZE you. I promise.

I am on the fence about having a second. Life is SO much easier now that she is 3.5. I cringe thinking of the sleepless nights, diapers, BFing...I was not the happiest preggo and an even unhappier newborn mama. We'll see.

 

[Sha]

Interesting, Tacori! T sounds like a such a spirited child....sweet and sassy at the same time. I can only imagine her as a teenager... I'm looking forward to D at that age just to be able to converse with her and see her personality come out, but at the same time, I know discipline at that age will be challenging. She already tries to test my boundaries so much and she's not even 2 yet. I've been a bit of a 'discipline wimp' recently, so am trying to be a little bit firmer and more consistent so that by the time she gets a little older she knows that Mommy means 'BUSINESS'.

On that note - Does anyone else find that their toddlers obey the daddies more? DH only has to give D a look and she's all quiet and obedient. But me? She just looks at me and laughs.

Fiery- any thoughts on a #2, or are you definitely one and done?

Going back to the newborn stage definitely is tough - I feel you on that, Tacori.

 

[taovandel]

Sha: Evan definitely listens to Daddy more also! Evan has always been really connected to DH...but lately he's been more about me, especially at bedtime he wants me to be the one that puts him down and read his bedtime story.

 

[noelwr]

I dropped Skye (7 months on Fri) off at day care and was sitting with her on the floor in front of another baby, and a little girl who was between 3 and 4, came to sit with us. she kept edging closer and closer to me. next thing I knew, she was leaning on my leg with her arm. I asked, "Have you come to sit all cozy next to me?" she nodded her head. so much for trusting kids with strangers! anyway, the point is, I can't wait until Skye is big enough to come and cuddle up next to me. I love reading all the stories about your kids.

Sha - congrats! I'm so happy there are going to be double amount of cuteness photos of your family now.

taovandel - Violet is still the wisest looking baby I've ever seen.

 

[Sha]

thanks noelwr!

 

[drk]

There's not too much new going on around here. K's getting much more affectionate as she gets older, which is so cute. Comes to sit on my lap all the time to read books.
Here's a couple recent shots:

 

[somethingshiny]

Oh my gosh, all these big kids!! Lily will be 1 on the 14th. I just can't believe it!!

I do need some help from anyone who has had similar issues, please.

Lily seems to be a relatively light sleeper. She wakes up a few times a night, makes a bit of noise, and goes back to sleep on her own. However, the last couple of mornings when I've gone in to wake her up (we've had a weird schedule lately), she is in really odd positions and fast asleep. This morning, she was sitting up with her head flopped over between her knees and snoring. Apparently she woke up at some point, sat up and then conked back out. JT was a hard sleeper so I've never dealt with anything like this. I'm concerned that she'll get a stiff neck or a sore back or something. She also sleeps with her legs straight up in the air, or her butt up in the air. Does anyone else have a weird sleeper and do they get sore or anything??

 

[Sha]

drk - cute photos!! K looks like a happy little baby. I love her red hair!

ss - kinda funny about Lily sleeping sitting up. But I understand your concern about her getting a sore back/neck. Sometimes I find D in weird positions too - like with her feet up in the air or hanging through the crib slats or something. She seems to move around a lot in her sleep (like DH). She always seems ok the next day, though - no unusual crying afterwards or anything like that. How does LIly seem when she wakes up? Do you think she's in those positions for short/long periods? If she seems ok I guess I would assume that the weird sleeping positions don't bother her too much, but it might be worth it to ask the ped at her next visit to be sure.

 

[somethingshiny]

Sha~ Thanks for your response. She seems to be in these awkward positions for quite a while, at least long enough to have texture on her face from laying on her sleeper seam. She's a good sleeper normally so I think the reason she's hollaring in the middle of the night is because she finds herself in these positions, but then she's too tired to move or something. She doesn't act sore or cranky in the morning. I am an awkward sleeper too so I know the kinks intimately. I just don't want her to have any of them.

 

[janinegirly]

Wow I haven't been here in awhile, I feel like such a bad toddler mommy!

C is doing fantastic, 2 and 3/4 and quite the sass pot now. She's still sweet and demure, but no real tantrums (just gets frustrated and buries her head when things don't go her way asap) and she is a smarty. She spells her name and is moving onto small words. She has also learned to use all our expressions against us ("Mommy, be patient") and like Tacori describes T, everything is a negotiation! It can be exhausting but I guess she has realized the power of distraction and give and take. In our house I am more of the discplinarian (Sha don't worry, I was the opposite a year ago, but it kicks in when it counts!). DH can't yell at her at all (he does the soft voice)! I heard him trying to brush her teeth and she said, "not yet I want dental floss first." And she kept giving him the runaround so DH said "Ok, I'm going downstairs then" to which she said "ok daddy, you can go down whenever you'd like"! Lol. Right now she is loving taking are of her babies (doll and bunny), role play, toy cars and airplanes, anything to do with water and is also obsessed with Caillou (sings the song at the top of her lungs).

We have #2 on the way and yes totally nervous and feeling unprepared, but I think 3 yrs apart will give each their own identity while being close enough to be BFFs which honestly is why we are doing this. C is doing great but I'd like for her to have a buddy. She still hasn't been babysat by anyone other than family, so it might be a shock in the beginning to share the spotlight, but I am v. close to my sister and hope the same for my DD's. In the meantime need to get C potty trained asap! C does seem to get a sister is on the way--once in awhile she'll ask a random question ("does my sister have hair"?). haha. If I say I'm feeling uncomfortable she says "don't worry mommy, when the baby comes out your belly will be smaller." Love this stage/age I gotta say.

Glad to see everyone even though most are on FB now. The pics are adorable!

 

[mtjoya]

I was lurking and J was looking at the screen she points to your bebe's pics and says, "BABIES!" and kisses the screen! LOL...

Hello Ladies!

 

[Sha]

janine - Congrats again! Your DD sounds like such a sweetie.

mtjoya - how cute!

 

[VRBeauty]

I'm just popping in because I wanted to share this site I came across that has DIY project ideas for young children (and their parents) that allow everyone to engage their creativity and imaginations:
http://madebyjoel.com/

It would probably be more appropriate in a 36 - 72 month thread, but since we don't seem to have one of those, I'll plop it down here - I hope someone finds some fun activities to share in thie! BTW, the project that caught my eye was the DIY forest project on page 6.

 

[VRBeauty]

I'm just popping in because I wanted to share this site I came across that has DIY project ideas for young children (and their parents) that allow everyone to engage their creativity and imaginations:
http://madebyjoel.com/

It would probably be more appropriate in a 36 - 72 month thread, but since we don't seem to have one of those, I'll plop it down here - I hope someone finds some fun activities to share in this! BTW, the project that caught my eye was the DIY forest project on page 6.

 

[ChinaCat]

Hi girls!!! I've missed you!!! Been MIA for far too long, for far too boring reasons.

Just wanted to pop back in and say hi!

JANINE AND SHA!!! Congrats on the second time around. So happy for you girls.

AFM- I just got an email telling me that O is "100 weeks" old this week. Don't know why, but it makes me laugh. I'm going to tell the next person who asks that he is 100 weeks old.

In reality, he is going to be 2 in a month. TWO! Where does it all go? He's a surprisingly sweet and joyous kid, still, though we've just started the tantrums the past month. If they weren't so annoying they would be funny. I still remember Tacori video taping Tessa's meltdown and I have to admit, I do this sometimes. It's just too funny to watch them make themselves upset. BUT it takes a LOT of discipline and that part is exhausting. It would be so much easier to just give in and give him what he wants, but I guess that would make me one of THOSE moms, right? So we're trying different things, time outs and distraction, etc. We'll see.

Let's see- he's obsessed with trains (woo woos), cars, trucks, geckos, lions, the I-pad, keys, and my Dad. Pretty typical I guess! As someone said above, it just gets more fun watching their little minds work. O had words but didn't really start "talking" until around 18-20 months and it amazes me how much more verbal he gets daily. He was just the ring bearer for a wedding and stole the show. Definitely not a shy kid and loves to perform. If he sees a camera, he does a fake smile and goes "cheeeeeeeeeessssse".

If you sing "All The Single Ladies", he puts his hand up like Beyonce and goes "uh oh oh oh oh oh". His favorite song is "Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons and he has a little dance he does.

I just love him to pieces.

So I can get on at work now, so hopefully will be back around a bit. Hope everyone is doing well! Off to scroll back and see pictures! I will try to upload a recent one of O tonight.

xoxoxo

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I want to see a video of O dancing! That sounds so adorable! The meltdown video IS classic! I still watch it whenever I need a laugh. Guess that makes me a horrible mom but you can't take life too seriously!

 

[ChinaCat]

Tacori, I thoroughly enjoyed Tessa's video, but I rememer thinking it was hard to imagine O ever doing that. Not because I thought that "my" kid wouldn't do that, but because he was so young then and not speaking, etc. Now he makes himself upset, does the whole drama dance, and I'm like, oh yeah, here we go! And it's funny how they "watch" you while they are getting upset to see if you are paying attention.

I'll try to get a video of O soon and post it somewhere in the netverse where you might happen upon it.

 

[janinegirly]

CC: O sounds like so much fun - and he is the cutest little boy to boot! I can't believe he is 2 already..they do become feisty around then don't they! Thanks so much for the congrats, it's always nice to hear and I appreciate each one from the ladies .

 

[Sha]

VRBeauty - thanks for posting that link. I actually just checked it out - pretty interesting stuff! I'll see if I can try some of the activities with the DD when she's a bit older.

Chinacat - so nice to see you around!!! It's been a while! Post pics of O!!! I'd love to see how he's doing. He sounds like such a joy...! The part about him dancing to Single Ladies made me ! Aren't they so funny at this age? I love it. The discipline is a challenge, though - I agree. Takes a lot of energy when sometimes we really don't have it!!

So I was just over on the TTC thread and saw you over there..... Hope you have a short stay!

 

[ChinaCat]

Sha- Not sure if you're around, but thinking of you. Hope you're doing ok.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Hi toddler mamas!

I am officially a member of the club as the Ethiopian courts finalized our adoption of B a few weeks ago. We are still in Addis waiting for his immigration paperwork, but should be back in NYC by the end of the month.

Anyway, B is 2 3/4 (will be 3 at the end of October). He's picking up english like gangbusters and is semi potty trained (they work on that hard at the orphanage).

So, I have potty training question

He is okay peeing in his diaper, though he prefers to pee on his little potty, but refuses to poop in his diaper, will only poop on his little potty. The one time he started to poop in his diaper on the first day we had him, he was totally traumatized--screaming, crying, eyes rolling...He is also TERRIFIED of the regular potty and refuses to sit on it (locks his knees, arches his back, screams, and will not sit or stand on it), but likes to flush it when we go and likes to watch his daddy use it. We are in Ethiopia and have a little potty, but don't have a seat to fit on the big potty.

When we fly home, we have approx. 22 hours of travel (between airport check-in, the two seven hour flights and a five hour layover). He's going to have to poop at some point in there...

1. Is it possible to just gate check, or bring as carry-on, his little potty? Have you ever done this?

2. Also, any tips on getting him to sit on the big potty--his english isn't quite good enough yet to understand bribing

thanks!

Here are some pics of my handsome man

 

[ChinaCat]

Bella!!!! OMG congrats. He is so handsome, what a cute cute cute boy you've got there! I don't have any answers for you on the potty, just wanted to comment on his gorgeous face. My cousin adopted a baby girl (well she was almost 2 and will be 3 in January) from India and she is thriving and doing so well. I can't remember our family without her. She's picked up English pretty quickly and is already throwing temper tantrums and getting time outs like a regular American princess. So excited for you. Please keep us posted on your little guy!

And GOOD LUCK flying!

 

[Lanie]

Love the pics Bella!!! He's so cute and already looks like a little ham!!!!!

 

[somethingshiny]

Bella~ He is just gorgeous and looks like a character!!! Congrats, Mama!! RE: potty training. Lots of kids are scared of the big potty. JT wouldn't go on the big potty until he was about 3.5 and he had been trained since 2.5. Even after he would pee on the big potty, he preferred his little potty for poops. My advice is don't force the big potty. A child is very proud and sometimes emotional about their BMs. Often times they want to see the poops before they're disposed of. With B, if he was told that poopy was yucky (or something along those lines) that may account for his fear of pooping in his diaper. Although I wouldn't encourage him to poop in his diaper, I'd make sure he knows it's okay. He's not in trouble, or gross, or anything else. I would definitely check into bringing his potty on the plane.