Trust & Obey

t Stupid, Mommy. Will has been constipated for a couple of days (very unlike him, in case you were wondering about his bm pattern) so I gave him some raisins for dinner. (Hmmm ... wonder if the constipation has had anything to do with his excessive whining/tantrums/behavior today?)

Anyway, while I was doing dishes tonight, I caught him trying to go. I thought it would be the perfect time to run him to his potty & show him his poop rewards - you know, to motivate him for the day I decide to commit to potty training.

Which will be never.

Seriously, can I hire one of you successful people?

It was great- we read his new potty book (Potty Train - chugga chugga poo poo) - who would have thought I would say that as a train noises while sitting on our pink marble bathroom floor for 15 minutes.

He did it, a little, & got rewarded with a stamp on his hand (he picked the train stamp, of course) & 2 jelly beans. I cheered. We skyped my parents who cheered. I put him in underwear for the first time ever (& last) as I didn't want to waste a diaper since bathtime was coming.

Stupid idea, Mommy.

Because, then the raisins kicked in. He's no longer constipated, by the way.

Cleaning underwear is much more disgusting than throwing out a diaper.

Playing bubbles outside - which Will proceeded to put all over his tummy & tell me he was taking a "bubble bath." Cute - cheeky but cute

I've started two really wordy posts on rather deep (for me, at least) topics but I'm way too tired to complete them tonight.
So, I'll just fill you in on what my sidekick & I have been up to in Dada's absence (going on week #3 now.)

We played at the park with our friends the Stokes yesterday. Tomorrow, we're going swimming & to dinner with them as their dad will be out of town too.

This family has become so special to R & I - they began mentoring us through being a special needs parent/ dealing with various issues while we were pregnant & have grown into dear friends.

The other night, our friends, the Pereas, came to dinner as their husband/dad was out of town. We had lots of fun, I enjoyed some adult conversation, & unfortunately, Will didn't do so good with his table manners (see post below.)
Last week, we had dinner at our friends, the Beard's house, which was fun (but I forgot my camera). Will ate & fell in love with broccoli at their house & actually behaved himself at dinner which is great - not only because he was behaving but because he behaved at the Beards. (We have a long history of for some reason not behaving when eating with the Beards.)

We experienced a slightly more tame version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding at my friend Maria's house- who is part Greek. Maria invited Will & I to dinner last week too- along with tons of her relatives that were in town. Her dad (Greek & a chef) whipped up 30 filet mignons along with tons of olives & pastries made with feta cheese & various meats... & lots of yummy, flowing wine. (Alas, no pictures. Not that I could have taken any - hands were too full of food & wine glass & I had to keep my eye on my kid - who loved having so many kids in one place to get to know. And, he was receiving lots of kisses ("ma" in Greek) from Elena.

Thanks, friends, for providing us with yummy food & great company at meal times with the absence of R! We appreciate you!

I introduced Will to playdough for the first time this week. I'm always looking for activities he can do on his own in the kitchen when I'm preparing dinner. Playdough seemed like a good idea to me. Naturally, he ate some & had purple gunk in his teeth.

He liked playing with the "snakes" & "worms."
Will loves "bicicles" - talks about them nonstop! (Anything with 2 wheels is a "bike"or "bicicle" - motorcycles & wheelchairs included!)
So, we attempted to ride his trike the other day but, as the picture shows, it didn't go so well. We did not get very far. It's designed for use with his zancos but his new zancos are so long that it forced his legs to stay awkardly bent & I think it was rather uncomfortable. He was miserable on it & didn't want off. Lovely, just lovely.
I'm hoping to cram it in my car next week for my trek across the state of Texas to get it adjusted for his new zancos.

Will has been struggling with obeying Mommy this week ... & interrupting Mommy. Maybe he's teething, maybe he's turning 2 soon, maybe he's tired of Dada being gone & senses that all is not right without him here. I don't know & I don't like it. We are working hard at obeying Mommy, making the right choice, saying, "Yes, Mommy," etc. I've been rereading my various toddler books. I've searched blogs for answers. I'm tired. I would have liked to skip this part of parenting - it's not much fun. But, of course, I want him to have an obedient, respectful heart.
So, I'll sleep tonite & we'll start over tomorrow! ;)
I taught him "Trust & Obey" yesterday. I love how he sings key words with me below (excuse my singing - I can not sing for the life of me - one of my life's regrets!)
He is very trusting (as evident by his swimming & diving in the pool - whether or not I'm completely ready to catch him - he knows I will eventually - very trusting.) He's definitely happy (most of the time.) Obey - well, we're working on it. He does sometimes!
(Remember- scroll to the bottom of the blog & hit pause on the music playlist so you can hear Will.)

Working on letters- his favorite is "B" & he loves looking for "B" when we are in stores, on food labels, driving signs, etc. He also loves "O." He knows several more but the "B" has stolen his heart.