April Younger Toddlers

[granolagirl]

Thought I would get us started this month. :)

Things are going well at our house, for the most part. We were out of town over the weekend and Luke spent the majority of the time chasing after our hosts dog. He *loved* it. It was quite cute!

Had his late 18 month appt last week and he is 22 lbs 6 oz. Our Ped said all is well. Luke has been having a language explosion. He's starting to regularly put 2 words together. Last night on our walk it was: mommy's car, police car, bye car!, truck zoom.

Another food question....does anyone have suggestions for meals? :cool: Luke loves fruits, veggies and yogurt. He likes cereal, pancakes, french toast, rotisserie chicken, chix nuggets without the skin, eggs (occasionally), spaghetti and mac n cheese. He doesn't like red meat, beans (he used to, but not anymore), etc. He acts like he wants to eat our food, but then decides he doesn't want it. He has always been a good eater and ate our food, so this is a new phase. I'm running out of ideas for lunch and dinner! Help!

How is everyone else doing? We are ready for spring! :) So sick of crappy weather.

[maryellenmd]

Hi everyone,

Me: 33
DH: 33
DS: Christian 21 months

Thanks for getting us started, GranolaGirl. All is well here. We learned last night that Christian knows how to play tag. This morning my daycare provider said that they do play it sometimes there with the children. DH said he kept coming up to him and tapping him and then running away. Then it clicked, oh, he wants to play tag. It was SO cute, and we had a good time playing with him. He would dissolve into fits of laughter every time either of us would tag him.

Let's see, what else ... we hosted playgroup on Sunday, and a feeling of being territorial has definitely set it. He actually threw himself over the blocks so no one could play with them. Big bully! Oh, my. This is new. I was totally caught off guard by this, but my friends with older boys tell me this is normal.

Food ideas - have you tried tortellini or ravioli? Christian likes them, and I even snuck in some spinach in the sauce, and he ate it. My friend gave it to him once with pesto, and he did not like this. He is not a huge fan of meat either, but he surprised me by eating some meatloaf with a bit of catsup on it. He is big into dipping everything.

I am ready for spring too! The cherry blossoms are in bloom here - really gorgeous! Happy Spring.

[Bawstinn]

Me: Maria, 38
Dad: David, 34
DD: Madeleine, 22 months tomorrow

My oh my what a month March was. Dave had his surgery; it was a success. Our first IUI was not a success and then I somehow managed to miss the small wondow last week for attempt #2. :( Dave's ankle got infected, he is back in the hospital. Surgery to clean it yesterday, surgery to clean it tomorrow and it is MRSA. To top it off I took Madeleine out for pizza tongiht and locked the keys in my car. Argh, I can't catch a break.

Back to my young toddler .... I discovered while at the hospital this week she can count a bit. We were reading one of her counting books and I started counting, pointing to the dogs. She was saying it with me - I stopped and she kept on. She skipped 5 and mixed up 8 and 9 but she certainly suprised mommy.

On that note, she is still calling me Ria. Tank you Ria. Peas Ria. Hi Ria, how are you? This morning she was up while I was still getting ready so I let her be. HEY Ria, up NOW. Oh my. I have no idea how to break this habit. She calls me mommy when I come pick her up at daycare, but when she addresses me directly, it is Ria.

Meals ... well tonight we shared pizza and garlic bread. She is still a very good eater (knock on wood) and pretty much eats what we do. Tacos are a favorite, she loves rice too. I found they make nitrate free hot dogs which has come in handy since I still do not have a kitchen. Lasagna, chicken tenders (but she hates breading), meatloaf and fish (tilapia and cod so far). She'll eat baked beans but not refried. Mashed potatoes are a huge hit with her too.

It is interesting because when we go out, it is sometimes hard to order her a meal. A lot of places have chicken tenders but there is so much breading on them, by the time you get to the chicken there isn't much there. Corn dogs are big around here but she picks all the breading away (I am hoping this habit sticks). I refuse to pay 3.99 for boxed Kraft mac and cheese in a restaurant.

Elmo Makes Music is coming to town next month and I got tickets. I have no idea how she will be, but I figured it is better than the movies in the sense that she doesn't have to be quiet. She is also a HUGE Elmo fan and has a couple of DVDs that she just started watching. First time she has really paid attention to tv.

Well, I'm tired, so I am headed to bed. At least it is raining again - it was snowing when I left work today. :mad:

[honeygirl1971]

Hi everyone,

Maria, sounds like a tough couple of days...hope things are on the upswing now!

granolagirl, I don't have a whole lot of suggestions for meals, but Lucas is sometimes like Luke in that he always wants what we are having, but then sometimes eats it and sometimes doesn't. Tonight I made a vegetable tagine that I thought he would really like (all his fave veggies plus couscous, what's not to like?) but he took 2 or 3 bites and didn't want any more. Other times I'm sure he won't like what we have (Thai curry, for example) but when I give it to him he eats it up! I try not to sweat it, and if on some night, like tonight, he is finicky I just give him a plain yogurt or a banana or something else reasonably healthy to "finish" the meal and leave it at that. Some days he is constantly hungry, other days he just picks at food, so I try to just follow his lead. He does like ravioli a lot, like maryellen mentioned as well, so you might want to try that! Lucas loves stabbing them with is fork!

We finally found a playgroup here, which is great since his only interaction with other kids since we moved here has been his gymnastics class or at the park, which have been good, but this will be better since it will be more consistently the same kids.

[lbd]

We also do ravioli or tortellini a lot. I made a bunch of red sauce with a bunch of extra veggies blended in (spinach, peppers, carrots) that he doesn't seem to distinguish between regular pasta sauce. So he eats that. And I've found that to be a good restaurant meal when it's an option -- messy but he eats. We try to give him whatever we're eating as much as possible but never know from day to day what he'll do. Favorites one day will be rejected the next. The last couple nights he's asked for chocolate ice cream (we offer him dessert between dinner and bedtime) but refused to even taste it once it's ready. DH ends up eating it, which is fine by him.

Sorry about the "Rias", Maria. Ben has just started calling my dad "Nick", usually right after he hears my mom say it. He goes back to Grandpa pretty quickly but we're hoping it won't be a trend.

Playing tag sounds fun. Our big hit right now is hide and seek, both people and the not-yet-put-away plastic easter eggs. He loves both the hiding and looking parts, although he'll often hide in the same place several times in a row and hasn't quite mastered being quiet while he hides. He tends to giggle. But he does count to 10 and say "ready or not, here come" before running off -- he also leaves out five, wonder if that's a thing?

Rainy today so we're staying inside. This week would have been our first week of new classes if we were still in VA but we're not signed up for anything right now, since I don't know where we'll be in a few months. Lots to do when the weather's nice, but inside can get boring after while.

[Kerri]

Granolagirl - I do sympathize with the eating. I'll echo what others have said, favorites one day aren't touched the next. It is interesting what some have said about chicken nuggets. He eats some of them, but not all and I wonder if it is the breading. He isn't big on bread. There is a lot of normal toddler food that James doesn't seem to like: cheese, bread, lunchmeat, yogurt is out right now. He does like pasta, veggies, and FRUIT is really big right now. I really worry he is eating too much fruit. In restaurants he usually eats fries...he eats so good at home, I really don't worry if he has a bad meal. One thing that usually works are sweet potato fries. I cut up a sweet potato into strips, add olive oil and grill seasoning, bake for 20 minutes at 400. He loves them hot or cold. We do veggie burgers, too. I want to try ravioli now. I think he will like them.

Maria - I wish I could come to your house and take care of you for a few days. I hope you have someone to do that. Maybe leave work early and go get a pedicure. I am sorry about the IUI, it might take a couple of tries, but it is still hard not to get your hopes up.

Lorien - Sorry about the cold and the rain. It seems like it is never going to get warm this spring! Are you living in the Boston area, or are you in a smaller town? I can give you my rainy day ideas, just not sure what you have up there.

Honeygirl - It sounds like you are settling into your new life, and that is great you found a playgroup. I found after I moved I was very forward about meeting new people, and I think having a kid really helped with that.

James will be 19 months tomorrow. With all of the traveling and illnesses, he has been really clingy lately. We had him in some independence training in preparation for baby#2, but he has reverted and wants to be picked up and carried again. Oh well.

[TLee4]

Hi all!
Me, Terri, 26
DH: 38
DS: Joey 22 mos
DS: John-Paul 8 mos

Going to try to keep up better this month!
We are doing well and hoping Spring is finally coming.

Thanks for the ideas of ravioli and tortellini. Joey is a good eater in some ways but HORRIBLE with the veggies, so I'm always having to puree them and sneak them in. He does like spaghetti with sauce, so that's a good place to sneak in veggies. (John-Paul on the other hand, hasn't met a flavor of baby food that he doesn't like!)

Maria, sorry to say, but for some reason I laugh out loud about the whole "Ria" thing! I find it so hilarious!!! Hope you have a better month in April.

MaryEllen, saw your other post re: speech therapy. Let us know how the evaluation goes.

We haven't played Tag. I'll have to try that. Joey is a big fan of Ring Around the Rosey though (just the two of us play. I should make Daddy join in). He also LOVES play dough at the moment. And any form of "chase me" which I guess is like Tag.

Let's see..we're working on colors (he likes to say "blue" best) and counting. He loves singing the ABC song but I'm not sure that it really translates to knowing the letters. Loves reading books, watching "Blues Clues" and "Elmo's World" (on Sesame Street).

No starting on PT here although he sure does like to talk about poop..his and others! His latest sentence "Missy Poopy Outside". :D (Missy is our dog).

Terri

p.s. Does anyone have Easter photos to show? I'll post later...

[TLee4]

Back with pictures...I am so mean..I think crying baby pictures are so funny!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii91/tleexiv/joeyeaster1.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii91/tleexiv/JPeaster1.jpg

[Kerri]

Oh Terry, the little suits...so cute! My MIL just sent us these:

Hugging his new bunny:
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o79/wirrek/april2008/huggingbunny.jpg

Collecting eggs:
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o79/wirrek/april2008/easterbasket.jpg

[TLee4]

Kerri, those pics of James are adorable! And how nice to live in SC where it doesn't SNOW on Easter!!

Terri

[maryellenmd]

Of course, I've got Easter pictures to share too! Terri and Kerri, the pictures of your boys are so super cute.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x82/mei1974/101_2042-1.jpg

Would you believe I took Christian to see a show yesterday? I am crazy! But ... Alice in Wonderland was great - we had the best seats - front row so I think that really helped keeping Christian's interest (that and the snacks I brought). He made it through the whole show with a 5 minute break to roam in the lobby. And he got to meet Humpty Dumpty, the Queen, and the Chesire Cat after the show - he was very sweet, shook all of their hands. Didn't get pictures though. Afterward, we went to lunch with my friend and her little girl who is 2 weeks older than Christian. Both kids were so well behaved, and they even kissed each other goodbye complete with a "Mwah"! .

[amcleod]

Hi everyone! i have returned to the land of the living. I run a tradeshow (well, three of them) and one huge show was last week. I have time for a life again!

Me: ann, 37
DH: gary, 37
DS: michael, 21 months

someone at Michael's daycare has...SCABIES. ewww. its like lice of the skin. Anyway, hopefully Michael doesn't contract it! Michael has not been 100% lately. Had a cold, now is being grumpy and fussy. His teacher called to recommend an early pickup today, that is keeps crying on and off, etc etc etc. My poor guy. we may take him to the doc tomorrow to see if something is up. Hopefully it isn't scabies! :o

last week we got a notice that he will start transitioning to the next room up. two months early - they usually transition when they turn 2. His teacher said, "there's nothing more we can teach him here. he's ready!" awww isn't that sad?! (in a good way I mean)

other than that, language is coming. we have seen some counting examples too! it is v cute. Michael is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. It's enough to drive you crazy. He'll watch other shows for 10 minutes, and then yell for thomas. Next weekend for my niece's birthday party, they are going on this mini-train in a local park. That should fuel fire to the obsession!

I better wrap things up around here to go pick up fussy man! More soon.

[Bawstinn]

Hi everyone! I thought I'd bump us up before we fell off hte page.

Things are going well here. David was released from the hospital yesterday. He has what they call a wound vac on his leg still and a big brace. He has to do IV antibiotics twice a day and there will be a nurse coming in to deal with the wound vac. The MRSA is contained to the one spot in the bone so that is good. He'll just be on antibiotics for a long time (like a year).

Madeleine is doing great but I could do without the whining. Instead of asking for something she whines. I tell her to use her words, but she doesn't. This is mostly in the morning though, so I am chalking it up to her not being a morning person like her daddy. :p

Terri - I love the pouty face.

Ann - I am looking forward to 2 simply because daycare drops in price almost $50 a week! :D Madeleine is obsessed with Elmo. She has just become interested in watching a DVD and she only wantsto watch Elmo.

I am so ready to have my kitchen back. The counter tops were installed last week but now the appliances need to be put in. They also missed drilling a hole for the drinking faucet we got (we have a reverse osmosis systems ince we are on a well). Righ tnow I'd be estatic if my kitchen was back in order by the time her second birthday rolls around!!

Here is a picture from this past week. This is probably going to be huge because photo bucket kept getting an error and closing down when I tried to resize. it.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l223/Bawstinn/DSC01730.jpg

[Kerri]

Maria - I also use photobucket, and I think I have found the trick to dealing with resizing pictures. Instead of clicking the "edit" link, click the picture itself. It will take you to a different page with different editing options. There you can directly click "resize" instead of going to that toyota thing. I am so sorry about the MRSA thing. I can't believe on top of everything else, you are dealing with that.

James has been a happy, happy kid lately. It has been so fun to watch him embrace the world everyday. I go get him out of his crib and he is just so happy. He plays with his toys...by himself...it is amazing! I ask him if he is ready "to go to the store", "go to the park", "go see Daddy" "for quiet time" and each one is met with an enthustiastic "YAY" THe only one that doesn't go well "are you ready for a diaper change?" Then he runs away. The downside to all this happiest is that he is ready for life super early. He seems to be sleeping later today, thank goodness, probably because he is so tired!

James really only watching Blue's Clues. He says he likes Bob the Builder, but really, he only likes the theme song. When is Elmo on? Is it part of Sesame Street? We might have to try that.

[Bawstinn]

Kerri - thanks. I'll habve to try and resize it that way.

Around here, Sesame Street is only on during the week at 9 AM, so we don't have it on at home. I had purchased a Potty Time DVD that was Elmo and it kind of snowballed from there. She got a Sesame Street alphabet DVD in her Easter basket that she likes to watch (and mommy can handle cause it has Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, etc).

[TLee4]

Quick note to say hi...
There is also an Elmo love-fest in our house. Joey will REPEAT (over and over and over and over) "Mo Mo Doh'thy" (Elmo and Dorothy). It is enough to drive you nuts. I tivo all of the Sesame Streets, but he only watches the last 15-20 min (Elmo's World)..doesn't care about the rest. I didn't know about the Potty Time dvd..I'll have to check that out.

Madeline is so cute and grown-up looking!!

Terri

p.s. Kerri, "Blue" is Joey's other favorite. Those two are about all we watch.

[maryellenmd]

Quick note to say hi...
There is also an Elmo love-fest in our house. Joey will REPEAT (over and over and over and over) "Mo Mo Doh'thy" (Elmo and Dorothy). It is enough to drive you nuts. I tivo all of the Sesame Streets, but he only watches the last 15-20 min (Elmo's World)..doesn't care about the rest. I didn't know about the Potty Time dvd..I'll have to check that out.



Christian is the same - we tivo as well and he only watches Elmo. He dances to the theme and he just completely brightens as soon as he hears it. It's very cute to watch. DH, on the other hand, has gotten into watching the whole episode of Sesame Street, but Christian only has eyes for Elmo. I've gotten some cd's from the library, and we've listened to him in the car. It's hilarious to watch his face when he recognizes Elmo's voice.

[amcleod]

maria, your daycare price goes down at age two? that is great! ours doesn't go down til age 3. Oh well.

Finally got to the bottom of the fussiness. Michael has Hand-Foot-and-Mouth disease. Sounds more dreadful than it is if you've not experienced it. Basically he has sores in his mouth. that's why at lunchtime the crying started - it hurt to eat and swallow. It is on the tail end now, thankfully.

Today Michael's daycare is closed (DC Emancipation Day - I am sorry, I find it a bit extreme to be closing for this; the schools are closed but city offices are not..it is like every excuse to close the daycare they take it) so Gary is taking Michael to see the Popemobile. Or at least, I hope they find a spot where they can see it go by! Tomorrow I am going to the Papal mass. I am so excited.

I am going to Germany for a trade show; I leave Saturday and return the following Sunday. Should be fun but will be hard to call and such. I had been looking forward to buying cute baby clothes, but with the dollar as it is, I probably won't!

[SooCookie]

Hi! I keep logging in to post here, but keep getting sidetracked and forgetting! :rolleyes: How is everyone doing?

It is funny about the TV shows. Kayla used to be scared of Elmo when she was younger, now she likes him, but is really really into My Friends Tigger and Pooh. So much so, that I think we might even have a theme for her 2nd birthday party figured out! She also likes Barney, but am doing everything in my power not to foster that preference. I know it is an educational show and there are much worse out there, but that show just annoys the crap out of me!

Kayla is doing great. Such fun these days, and getting more and more vocal. She came up to me the other day and patted my tummy and said "happy baby". I almost cried. Most of the time, she looks at me like she has no clue what I am telling her when I say Mommy has a baby in her tummy, but maybe she gets it?

Is anyone else dealing with nap and bedtime struggles? Kayla seems to not want her nap anymore these days and will play in her crib for 1/2 hour to 2 hours before falling asleep. The same thing at night time. She is way too young to be giving up her nap, right? Please please tell me this is just a phase. I really want, no, I really need her to still be napping.

Ann, Hand-Foot-and-Mouth disease? It sounds intimidating. Hopefully Michael is feeling better soon.

I love all the pictures. I am lazy these days and all my pictures are still on the camera. Maybe by next month I will have Easter pictures to share!:rolleyes:

Have a great day!
Michelle

[lbd]

Ann - sorry to hear about the HF&M. A friend had it last year and was very unhappy about the blisters. We luckily avoided, and so far seem to have avoided the Fifth Disease my niece was exposed to preschool. She doesn't have any symptoms but incubation can be as long as 3 weeks so we haven't seen them in awhile (not serious for kids but could be for fetuses so we're being super-careful).

I tried Sesame Street once but Ben wasn't really interested. He loves his stuffed Grover, but is very nervous about the Chicken Dance Elmo someone gave him. I would be too if I were him. The two shows he likes, and he doesn't even watch them much, are My Friends Tigger and Pooh and Handy Manny. He's a big fan of tools -- Manny's but also DH's and now his set of plastic ones. Speaking of which, we really need to watch Manny today because his fingernails are out of control.

I'm thinking maybe a farm animal theme for birthday number 2. Although if I can't find ready-made stuff I might have to skip it because my creativity for that stuff is somewhat lacking. We have several farms in the general area and he's been having lots of fun going to look at cows, horses, you name it. There's even a sanctuary with llamas, emus and other exotics that we can got visit.

Michelle - I hear you on the pictures. I just downloaded what turned out to be nearly 2 months worth of photos from my camera. There were around 30. Wasn't too long ago I was trying to trim my monthly album to 100 just I wouldn't bore people to tears. Glad to hear I'm not the only one that's slipped in this department.

[silverrr]

Hi Everyone-

We are doing fine. DS is 22 months old now (WOW!!!!!!) and doing really well. He seems to be learning new words every day. He is much more into repeating too.

We booked our first overnight trip with DS to Amish Country, PA. We got a suite, so we can close his door to sleep and still function. I have a question though...can anyone recommend a good stroller for traveling that doesn't take up a lot of room in the trunk? And is not too pricey? We would like one with a good sized basket, cupholder for DS and it would be even better if it does an umbrella fold. Is this a pipe dream? Any recs?
Any other tips for doing a first time trip with a not-quite-2-year-old?