Golden Pig Tales

Since the last weekend from hell, we’ve made such great potty training progress that I feel like everything’s been better! Less stress over cleaning up pee = more fun for everyone. SO I think that this may in fact have been the best week ever…after we got past the incident on Monday where he peed on the floor at the kid gym and we didn’t have any extra pants so we had to carry him crying out to the car to go home. But since that day Ezra has done such a good job with using the potty. After Ezra’s first couple of poops as a baby, I never thought I could be as excited about a bowel movement as I was about the big one he put in his little potty today. It was like the most awesome thing ever. There were other things about this weekend that were fun (the camp-out in the living room, waffles, the park, the tadpole pond) but that poop made this the best weekend EVER!

Ezra went to preschool today wearing underpants. He had one accident at school. When I went to pick him up he was wearing new pants and new underpants. I tried to get him to go to the potty before we left preschool but he wouldn’t. We got home and went to the basement to get popsicles, and when I turned around he said he needed new underpants. So, we changed the pants and got new underpants. When we were getting ready for bed, Ezra sat on the toilet for about 10 minutes, but no pee. So now that he’s in bed wearing only his underpants, I am wondering, will he or won’t he pee?

Ezra doesn’t like other people’s loud noises. He has a friend who likes to shriek and scream and squeal, and I think Ezra would like her better if she didn’t have such  loud shrieking capabilities. I think I would also like her better if that were the case.

Sometimes it’s hard to give a hug to a snotty kid who was just screaming and crying and telling you to go away, but sometimes that hug is the best hug of the night.

We had easter part 2 today - and for Ezra I think it was filled with more blueberries than candy. Part 1 was on Friday while Ezra stayed home with Grandpa and Grandma T because preschool was closed for good Friday. Instead of candy Ezra got lots of blueberries, strawberries and bubbles in his easter basket. He got his first chocolate bunny, and we convinced him that he could only eat about 1/4 of the ears. Between Friday and today I think Ezra had maybe 6 pieces of candy, but Kalab and I have eaten about 10 times that amount just today. Ugh. We kept thinking that Ezra was cranky due to sugar crashing, but I think it’s just because he’s been cooped up inside all weekend due to the crappy weather, and Kalab and I were the ones who were getting cranky for the sugar. Maybe tomorrow I will just eat blueberries like Ezra.

Ezra’s been a little heavy on the tantrums this last week. He has been getting a little more upset than usual over seemingly small things. I think it’s because we’ve had the binky in the bedroom only rule re-initated in the house. He doesn’t use it at all at preschool anymore, so I’m feeling like he is just having to work through some feelings rather than just binkify them away.

Ezra’s also using the potty at preschool pretty regularly. Wish he would do that at home. He talks about being a big boy and not wearing diapers, but when I ask him if he wants to sit on the potty and try he always says no. And when I ask him to tell me when he has to go, he says OK, but invariably he forgets and goes in his pullups. I am so done with diapering and pull ups - can’t wait until Ezra is too! But at least we might be successful in getting him to give up the binky!

For various reasons, it appears I haven’t written anything on here for nearly a month. Yikes. It’s not because I love Ezra any less, but I think it’s because I have had to take care of two sick kids off and on over the last month! Ezra is mostly over his most recent cold, and Kalab is maybe going to get over his illness soon too. I hope. We just had a lovely visit with grandma O, Uncle Dylan and Aunt Summer. Ezra had lots to do the last week - showing off all his toys, having people read every book in his library, and going downtown on the bus and riding the city train as often as possible. But today it was back to pre-school. I had received a call from his teacher on Wednesday wondering when Ezra was coming back, because all his fridnds were missing him. I told this to Ezra, and his little face just lit up - he was so excited to hear about his friends and went to bed so quickly because he wanted to wake up the next morning to go to pre-school to play with them all and see his teacher. I think he had fun today, but I know he’s also looking forward to the next time grandma O can come and visit.

We went to the zoo today for the first time in a while. We renewed our membership, because it was almost exactly a year ago that we went with Ezra for the first time to the zoo. And this trip was sort of similar to that first trip - a nice sunny February day, a big crowd of people, and Ezra one again more excited by the non-animal aspects of the zoo. He was a little bit more attentive to the elephants and monkeys than he was last time, but by the time we had seen a few animals Ezra was ready to go see the big black engine that sits across the parking lot from the zoo. That thing is magical to Ezra. I think one time last summer we went to the zoo but didn’t even end up going in the zoo because we spent all our time on the big black engine. Anyway, even though I have mixed feelings about zoos, they seem to capture Ezra’s attention, so I’m sure it will be zoo time again soon.

A couple of weeks ago, the Subaru started to get sick - so I told Ezra we might need to start looking for a new car. Ezra said he wanted a red car. Once the mechanic gave me the verdict of failing head gaskets, I knew it was probably time for a new car, so I told Ezra that the subaru was too sick to drive a lot, and that we would have to get a new car. “A red one?” he asked. “maybe,” I said.  But first we got to drive around in Grandpa and Grandma T’s camry. “I like this car,” Ezra said, “but it’s not red.” I told him that sometimes it’s hard to find the right car in the right color, but I think he was pretty convinced that the right color would be red.

And so we got a new car this weekend (it’s a black 2006 Nissan Murano). At first, Ezra was displeased when he saw the car I pointed to, because it wasn’t the red car he had requested, and it wasn’t  grandma T’s that we had been driving or a car like it. However, once he got  inside the new car, he started to like it, and I think he started to like it even more after his first ride in the car to the car store where they also had a whole box full of toys for him to play with while mom and dad filled out paperwork and waited for the car to be bought. It’s a bigger car than the subaru so he gets to sit up higher and see more, which I think he likes. It also has a arm rest cupholder tray that pulls down next to his carseat, and he’s started requesting 2 drinks to take with him for his car tray. I’m glad he decided to like the new car, because I really really like the new car : )

When Ezra is in a good mood, the whole house is in a good mood. When Ezra is cranky, we get cranky. I’m not sure that’s a good thing? Anyway, tonight was fun. Ezra even sat through all of Wall-E!

Me and Ezra had a New Years’ resolution to go to the gym. Well, actually, I have a resolution to go to the gym, and Ezra ended up getting a special gift enrollment at this new “playground gym” for christmas (thanks uncle dylan for the $!). So far we have been twice, and Ezra LOVEs it. His friends jojo and tony also go to the gym, so they get to run and jump and scream their little hearts out for an hour twice a week, more if we take advantage of the open gym times. THe place is fully padded, and it is awesome. Meanwhile, I am going to the gym which is not padded, and is not nearly as much fun as Ezra’s new gym.

Ezra is having a fun new year so far, I think. We’ve had some fun family time playing with all the new toys, and we’ve had fun times with friends, playing with their new toys. Ezra really seems like he enjoyed the holidays. I get to stay home with him again tomorrow because preschool is closed, so we’re going to spend part of the day taking down the tree tomorrow, and I’m sort of worried that he will be upset about putting away christmas. I’m hoping to get over this by taking him to the zoo tomorrow, or trying to find something fun that will make it OK that christmas is over and a new year of fun is beginning.

Christmas is over, except in Deerfield Valley, where the snow day surprise brings back Christmas every time you read it. I just read this book to Ezra, and he asked me if it was still Christmas. I said “nope” but then I wondered when the 12 days of Christmas officially start and therefore end? Maybe Christmas lasts until the tree is gone? Maybe it will still be Christmas every time we read the book? Anyway, I think Ezra liked Christmas, and he liked all his gifts. He has played with each one for at least a little while. The excitement around the garbage truck seems to have subsided a little bit, but not enough so that we have been able to put away all the little bits of “garbage” paper we crumpled all Christmas morning, and the bottle caps we gave him to fill up the truck. I think those little bits of garbage will be with us for a long long time.

Yesterday I cut myself on my new bread knife while I was cutting bread. It wasn’t a big cut, and it didn’t hurt very much. I kept it covered up and Ezra asked if he could see it, and I said no. He said “kiss it” and so I kissed my own finger to help make it better. Today I took off my bandage and was letting my finger dry out a bit, and Ezra asked what happened to the bandage. I told him I was going to get a new one, and asked if he wanted to see the owie. He said “yes”, so I showed it to him. He looked at it for a few seconds, and then I got up to go upstairs to get my new bandage. Before I got too far, I heard Ezra say “I’m gonna hug you” and he gave me a nice big hug. I think that was one of the best parts of the whole week!

Ezra went on a field trip to a Christmas Tree farm on Friday with his preschool. This school featured a hayride, so it was a good trip according to Ezra’s field trip criteria. Each of the kids got to pick out their own tree while they were there. I’m guessing these are the tops cut off of other trees given their size - about 18 inches or so. Ezra showed his to me when I arrived to pick him up Friday afternoon. He was so proud of his tree! We took it home and I put it in a vase of water and set it on our new cabinet. I was thinking that we would go out and pick up a big tree for the house, but maybe this year Ezra’s Christmas Tree will be Our Christmas Tree.

I haven’t seen Ezra since I dropped him off at daycare. He got a ride home with auntie kate and daddy because I had a holiday party to attend for work. This morning we drove by the train yard on our way to preschool and saw the big black engine! The big black engine that will be pulling the train tomorrow morning that Ezra will be riding on. “The big black engine?” he asked. “Puffing and chuffing?” “With the smoke up in the sky?” Yes! Tomorrow morning we are going to go ride the holiday express around the river front, and the big black engine will be pulling the train. So, maybe tonight he will be dreaming of trains!