Zero Tolerance

Joshua has been getting more and more unruly. He has been hitting and kicking when either frustrated or just because. We had been counting to 3, giving time out and then giving a quiet time in his room if the time out didn't work. None of it was working. So, we have turned to 'zero-tolerance' policing. If he hits then he gets two minutes in the time out chair or on the step or whatever happens to be close by wherever we are. The ironic thing is that I was discussing this and suggestions with another mom when Joshua walked up and kicked me in the shin. It is hard not to just shake your head and stare in awe of the audacity. He got a time out.

Other than the normal ups and downs, today was relatively good. He didn't get a nap (he went to bed and just wouldn't sleep) but was very good about walking with me around Ikea this morning. He held my hand and explored all the fun things there were to see. His bathroom issues have been pretty under control recently, too. I got the book 'deceptively delicious' out of the library and have been having fun incorporating more veggies in our meals. We are all eating more vegetables and I think that is a good thing. I can even get Jason to eat squash and cauliflower now (unheard of!)

Finger Update

Joshua's finger, although still a little swollen, seems to be healing fine. The Dr. said that kids have an amazing ability to heal themselves and it is true. We had to stop taping Joshua's two fingers together because they were rubbing and causing sores which were very uncomfortable. He seems to be using that hand again for the most part and we are just keeping an eye on it.

Joshua is deep in the throws of the terrible twos. We love the creative things that he comes up with like tonight when he told us he had 'ice cream face' and then when I asked him how he knew he had ice cream face (he hadn't seen a mirror) he replied 'cause you just know!'. But then, he very defiantly answers no to everything else you ask him driving us up the wall. He is just chock full of emotions that he doesn't yet know how to handle and we are trying our best to help him with that without going crazy ourselves. :-)

A week in review

Last Saturday, we enjoyed an afternoon at Memaw's house celebrating Nanny-Grandma's 88th birthday. Joshua had fun playing with his cousins. Tuesday & Wednesday Memaw was out to visit/help again. Jason has been off Friday-Monday. He and Joshie went to story time Friday and read books about cowboys. They boys also had fun shoveling snow and sledding. It snowed last Thursday and Joshua got to use his new sled from Santa. He loved it! The pictures are already up. This weekend, since Daddy has been around he and Joshua have had lots of time to play, read and hang out together.

Never a dull moment

We went out for my dr appt this evening then out to dinner as we have been doing since the beginning of Nov. It was a nice dinner and Joshua ate really well. Then, when we were cleaning up and Jason was taking Joshua to the bathroom to wash his hands Joshua put his hand in the door to the bathroom on the hinge side. I heard them coming back to the table before I saw them as Joshua was screaming a scream I didn't recognize and Jason was sure he had broken his middle finger on his right hand.

We drove to the nearest hospital's ER which also happens to be the hospital Joshua was born at and the one I will be delivery this baby at. We were in and out in less than an hour and a half and received confirmation that the finger was indeed broken. Joshua had calmed down before we even left the resturant's parking lot but all of the interactions he had with hospital staff (weight, temp check, blood pressure/pulse, wrist bracelet, x-rays, application of splint) sent him into hysterics.

We are home now and Jason is up putting Joshua to bed. He is already adapting and using his left hand. He is back to his antics of running around, climbing and just getting into trouble. Nothing slows the child down! We'll be following up with an orthopedic dr in the next day or so since it is a fracture to see how to best ensure the finger heals properly.



And no, this event didn't send me into labor although it is funny that it should happen within the first hour of me getting off of bed rest. But I guess it's good that we were in the right place!

Onyx found a new home

Today, we adopted Onyx out to a new family. The father in law of our pet sitter. We had always known that this day may come and recently she had been getting along less and less with Joshua. We thought about the decision a lot and prayed over it. The man that will be her new parent is a single, older person who can devote all his attention to her. I think she will be happy and I hope that we will receive updates periodically. We sent her off with her bed and some treats. She got right into the car of our pet sitter, which she usually does not do without assistance. It was very hard to see her go. I hope that this makes the care of the animals easier, especially with the new baby on the way.



We told Joshua about Onyx leaving this morning over breakfast so that there was not a lot of build up to the event. As she drove away, he asked, 'Where is Onyx going?' and we explained again. Then he, Jason and Jack went for a walk. They are just getting in now and Jack seems to be touring the house looking for Onyx. It will be hardest on Jack, I think. But I worry that Joshua and Jack both will feel that that are next.

Legos

Joshua and Jason have played legos the past two nights while I cooked dinner. They sit at the kitchen table, Jason with his Star Wars Death Star Destroyer and Joshua with his Thomas Duplos. Last night, they built for about an hour and a half. Tonight, Jason had Joshua help him find the pieces he needed for his project and Joshua helped him place them together.





Although the testing continues on a 24x7 basis, I feel like the past two days have been calmer. It is so easy to react with "NO" as the first response but that quickly escalates into lots of time outs and quiet times and frustration on everyone's part. We have been redirecting, giving Joshua the opportunity to make the right choice and helping him remember the rules. It seems to be working better but requires a lot more thought at the time.

Happy New Year, 2008!

Wishing everyone the best in the coming year. Joshua and we have a lot to look forward to this year. Obviously, the first being the birth of baby #2 but then we also have home projects we are working on, Jason's graduation, a trip to Mini Meet East in Maine, camping and Christmas at Grandma & Papa O. Joshua and I are both thrilled to have Jason around a lot more making family activities possible again.

We rang in the new year last night with friends, Ron & Christine, Yanna and Val. Joshua has slept over at their house before but always in a pack-n-play. Last night, he slept for the first time in a sleeping bag on the floor. He went right to bed without any problems. We are so proud of him! We were able to have a nice evening with friends and were home in our beds by 2.