Speaking of big boys...

Guess what Joseph has been doing lately!

Okay, I confess:  I was dreading potty training a boy.  Just about everyone I know with a boy told me they require a little more time than girls to figure the whole thing out.  So I didn't even bother trying any serious training for a loooong time.  I just steeled myself to the knowledge that I'd be changing about 30 diapers a day with 2 in diapers.  After Joseph turned 2, we did insist that he sit occasionally just to get used to the idea, making sure he was well-supplied with books about machines and vehicles.  Plus we fed him all the usual propaganda about the magic of undies and dryness.  But I didn't expect any enthusiasm on his part for this big step into BigKidhood.   Plus, I'll admit I was dreading the hours of sitting on the bathroom floor, not to mention tracking his every move all day. 

And then he turned 3.  One of the ways I honored Joseph's birthday was by insisting he wear Big Boy Pants all day.  We had tried that intermittently for a month or so, but all it did was generate more laundry for me.  However, on his birthday, he ran to the bathroom all by himself when he needed to go, and made it all the way to the evening without any accidents!  Who knew that my procrastination and neglect would pay off so well!!  And today, he even used a public restroom despite protesting that it wasn't HIS potty, when I promised him that it would work just as well.

It figures -- I just bought a mega-pack of size 6 diapers.

Little Calvin in Training

We're big fans of Calvin and Hobbes around here.

Love the little peep of Calvin-like behavior at the end.

The movie would have been even more appropriate if Joseph hadn't just had a bath but had just woken up:

This kid still has the most amazing bedhead.

Joseph at 4 mos. -- wasn't he a cutie?

Cross Sums Whiz

For his 3rd birthday we're thinking of getting him a subscription to Dell Math Puzzles.

A Good Housekeeping Elf

Joseph's room

We recently moved Joseph out of the crib and into a toddler bed. It was time. For one thing, he had broken at least one screw -- possibly two -- on the frame during his early morning calisthenics (which involved jumping up and down as high as he could, or else shaking the side bar as hard as he could). It's really amazing that the thing was still together, and hadn't collapsed on him during some night.

what little boys do to *coughtwentyyearoldmattressescough*

So, now he's in his own little bed (complete with fluffy new mattress). It's nice b/c I can actually reach in to kiss him goodnight now (his younger sibling was preventing me from doing that in the crib). And for a while, he didn't realize that he could get out of his bed by himself. He would sit groggily in his bed and wait for someone to come get him after he woke up. We hoped this illusion would last a while... until MIRIAM showed him he could get out of his bed all by himself, and LEAVE HIS ROOM when he woke up! Grrrrr! I think I'm going to show him how he can jump on her first thing in the morning when he wakes up. Ha ha, just kidding. (mostly)

One morning (on a weekend, naturally) Mr. Pickles and I were awakened at 6:25 am by the sound of: pitter-patter-pitter-patter-RATTLERATTLE-pitter-patter-pitter-patter-RATTLERATTLE as Joseph was stomping back and forth between our bedroom doorknobs, trying to figure out which one he could open (they both have babyproof doorknob covers). Finally Mr. Pickles, God bless him, stumbled over to a door and opened it, to be greeted immediately by "Mlilk? Ceweal? Mlilk? Ceweal?" I'm totally teaching him how to wake up his sisters first. (Actually, he usually does that anyway, since when he wakes up he pounds on his door and yells, "May-yum! Tay-tee! May-yum! Tay-tee!" until one of them gets up and goes to play with him -- or lets him into MY room, grrr. )

Then one afternoon after we put him down for his nap, I kept hearing a bedroom door opening and slamming. I thought it was one of the girls (specifically, Katie) being thoughtless, but when I went to check, neither of them was upstairs. It was Joseph, the little stinker, NOT in bed sleeping, but trying to work up the courage to come downstairs even though he hadn't slept yet. I explained the situation to him, and although he made a couple passionate and principled counter-arguments, I think I made my point. At any rate he eventually fell asleep. However, when I went to get him out of bed later, I couldn't get in the room b/c he had figured out how to LOCK HIS DOOR, through the babyproof doorknob cover we put on it!!! This kid has got some talent. So I had to take apart the doorknob to open his door, since I couldn't find a screwdriver both strong and skinny enough to unlock it via the little hole from the outside. When I put it back together I fixed it so that the lock won't work. Hopefully. Mr. Pickles suggested I turn it so that the lock is on the OUTSIDE. There's a lot of merit in that idea, since he already broke one knob cover.

But his new bed is cute, don't you think?
note car blankie head bumper (thank you Great Auntie Sweeney!) and toy car on pillow (usually he insists on sleeping with a truck too)

Oh, does anyone have an idea for where I could find some wall-stickies of cars and/or trains, preferably not Disney or Thomas-themed? And which won't cost me $80?

Liturgy in the Domestic Church

I love our china. So much so that I painted the dining room to match it. :) (Also, it was the only pattern in the store that Mr. Pickles and I could agree on when we were registering for wedding gifts.) I make sure we use it every Sunday -- it helps to set the day apart.

So this evening I was pulling out the china cups and plates, as it was my turn for hosting our homeschool group's Mother's Tea. Mr. Pickles came wandering through the dining room with Joseph in his arms, fresh from his bath. Joseph watched me for a moment and said,

"Oooh, pate."

[pause]

"Donut?"

(Because we get donuts every Sunday after Mass.)

Mr. Pickles and I lost it. That is a) one smart boy, and b) an example of the effectiveness of ritual!