day one in Arkansas

From Nana:

Today was another successful day.

Corbin woke up with a smile about 8:20 when I opened his bedroom door. He ate a banana and drank his milk for breakfast. Then it was a nice pleasant morning as we got him changed for Church.

Corbin eagerly entered Church to greet his Moses grandparents and find his Papa Cole, but was a little overwhelmed by all the other people who wanted to ooh and ahh over him. I think he was glad to finally make it to class with his "Mamaw" Moses.

Corbin sat through worship service very quietly. However, he did wiggle quite a bit. He colored, ate his dried fruit and drank his apple juice, and played with his car and wiggled a lot more. He played with my necklace and smiled and wiggled in my lap some more. But he was quiet. He often "helped" the song leader direct songs from his pew. He sat through the whole sermon. Papa Cole took him out toward the very end of the service when we both feared he was just about to overflow with noise and great motion/comotion.

We had lunch with Great Granma and Great Granpa Cole and Uncle Steven and Aunt Louise at Outback. Corbin was very tired, but he ate some bread, chicken and a few vegetables with a fork.

We came back home and Corbin played with them until 1:40 when I finally got him down for his afternoon nap. He slept until 3:00. His company left around 4:00.

We tried a new book/video with a remote control. It needs a newer DVD player than we have in order to program successfully. Corbin caught the concept. He might enjoy this at home.

Corbin talked briefly to his Mommy this afternoon. He talked about it later while I was changing his diaper.

Corbin ate a good supper of ham and mandarin oranges around 5:15.

Corbin went to the nursery at Church tonight with Grandma Moses. He was happy when I picked him up, but ready to come home.

After playing briefly, Corbin drank his milk, read 4 books, brushed his teeth, said a prayer, and went peacefully to bed at 8:00.

And we're off...

Corbin's off to Arkansas. Mommy and Daddy are just off, as in on vacation. :-)

Like all truly spoiled brats, Corbin is happy as long as he has attention. From what we observed, Nana and Papa meet his requirements very well. They played all morning and had a good time at Gymboree together. He showed off dancing, and counting, and saying his ABCs over and over. I'm sure he'll have a great week away, even if he gets more and more demanding by the hour. We sure seemed to pack a lot of stuff for him, though the vast majority was functional rather than security blankets. No doubt he'll accumulate more things by the time we get him back.

We got this email from Nana at 8:20...


Your son successfully was in bed by 8:00 pm. :-)

Successful trip:
We sang out of Dallas, counted flags, big trucks, etc.
30 minute nap. The bumpy road as we left Texas woke him up or he would have slept longer...

We stopped twice. Walmart in Atoka for a 10-15 minute stretch.
Papa watched Wiggles video with him from there to I-40.

Switched drivers at Webbers Falls where we stretched, got gas, fig newton, put in the Einstein video.

We sang into Fort Smith until we met Grandparent Moses' at Chick Fil-a for nuggets and fruit & milk.

Came home and played.

He took a bath with NO FUSSING. Played for a long time in tub.

Read 3 books while drinking milk. Brushed teeth in bed.

Fussed minimally in the dark, but then laid quietly right down after I came in to tell him that Papa and I were still with him in the house and we would be there when he woke up in the morning...

Over all a good trip so far.

We'll see how he handles the crowd tomorrow...

Counting higher

Today we heard Corbin count to 15! Wow! Who's teaching him this stuff??

He also got bit by another kid at school today. I'm surprised it hasn't happened before, since he's not exactly good at sharing. Apparently they were both wanting to read the same book. It figures that he was fighting over a book, LOL!

Corbin loves you

The last couple of days, Corbin has been repeating "love you" when Mommy or Daddy said it first. But today he said "love you" to me all on his own a few times, usually when he'd come up and hug my legs (which happens at many random times during a day). It's really, really sweet. Tonight I tried to get him to say "love you, Mommy" but he said "love you, Daddy" instead! LOL!

We went to The Container Store this morning to get a replacement closet rod for his that broke. The kid has way too many clothes! He has tons that fit him right now (some that still have the tags on them), and probably half as many again that I've bought on sale for next year. We also went across the street to the Galleria and checked out their soft play area, which is fantastic...except that the glass ceiling keeps it constantly in the sun and thus a bit overheated. Corbin had a good time, though. This afternoon we went to the pool and playground, which must have completely worn him out: he went to bed really easy. We even laid on the floor in the living room just listening to some classical music for a few minutes. That was a super-rare still moment. I'm sure he was just very tired and it'll never happen again.

Ugh, longest battle ever

Corbin was so well behaved at church and lunch today, but it just couldn't last. He was SO whiny after we got home from running a couple errands mid-afternoon. First, he wanted milk, and he wanted it NOW. Even though we kept telling him to wait, he'd ask again just one minute later. Over and over. Finally we decided that 5:15 was early enough for milk and dinner, and asked him to say "please" in return for his milk. After about ten minutes of crying and repeated attempts to get him to say please (which he almost always does right away), he finally did the sign language and we put him in his high chair. The milk was drunk within a couple minutes, but he wouldn't touch his veggies (which he normally eats just fine). After several minutes of complaining, he asked Mommy to "help" him pick up the bowl (suction cupped to the tray). I told him no, he couldn't pick up the bowl. So as soon as I turned my back, he wrenched it up with brute force, dumping the entire contents out onto his tray. So we told him that he couldn't get down until he put them all back in the bowl. Again, not a new rule. He's done it many times before, though not with so many little veggies. He cried and cried, we were firm, and it just went on and on. At one point when he picked up one and put it in, we made a big deal out of it. That convinced him to do several more, but for some reason he quit and went back to crying. Eventually, he finally tried it again with the same result. So Mommy and Daddy cheered for every single veggie he dropped into the bowl. By the time he got out of the chair, it was 90 minutes after he'd gotten in. Aaaargh! Definitely not his finest moment. We also made him pick up the ones he'd accidently gotten on the floor before he could go play, which he did without hesitation. I guess it was just a test that he learned he couldn't win. He did put a few in his mouth along the way, but he's going to be a very hungry kid by the time breakfast gets here tomorrow.

Yesterday I found out about a neat site at www.LibraryThing.com where you can build a database of all the books you own and find recommendations from other people with similar books. You can put in 200 for free, so I'm making a separate list for Corbin. Then relatives can see what he already owns, and I could even look up the list on my mobile while we're at the bookstore to prevent any repeats from coming home. It's a pretty cool idea, if I can ever find the time to get it totally updated.

Nothing very new

But we've had two stuck-at-home days in a row, and Corbin's done extremely well. He's been playing with his toys, and not fussing too much. He sings the alphabet song to himself, which is extremely cute. He still consistently skips M and N to go straight to O, also skipping T so he can say U sooner. It's pretty funny. He knows those letters, but he's excited about the O and U (I guess). He talked to Grandma today on the computer, though he kept asking where "Nana" was. I'm sure he'll ask vice versa, too. We usually don't talk about one of them without mentioning the other. He also asked to read his baby book tonight, which is the first time he's brought it up on his own. It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about! He still can't pronounce his own name well, though, which is hilarious. He points to "Mommy," "Daddy," and "Bah-bih." Weird, but oh well.

He's going to spend a week in Arkansas starting next Saturday. It's great timing because I've got a one-week seminary class. But he has to be back by the following Saturday so he can go to the Wiggles concert we shelled out $90 for. Robertta was disapointed that he couldn't stay longer, but hopefully they'll spend several days here with us instead.

Singing!

Corbin sang without prompting for the first time, and not only once, but three different times today! First was early this morning when we were playing his computer "game," and he sang the alphabet song. He joined in with the game at the letter "T" twice and even continued through the "now I know my ABCs" part. I was surprised and impressed. Then at Gymboree today he chimed in while we were singing Twinkle Twinkle, which Daddy sings to him most every night. Later we were driving in the car with The Wiggles CD in when Corbin sang nearly the entire "Where's Jeff" song! I was astonished that he even knew it so well that I could recognize his version of the correct lyrics. Hopefully the enthusiastic praise he received in each case will be remembered tomorrow. :-)

Also, he was really good today, hardly whining at all. We didn't spend much time at home, which always helps. But even when we went to the mall only to discover that the playground had been removed(!), he didn't throw at fit. He even let Mommy shop a little, wow! All in all, a nice break from his usual attitude.

slow-to-warm-up

We had Ryan and Lesli over for dinner tonight, and Corbin had a tough time with that. He was very clingy and whiny the whole time. For the last 45 minutes or so, he played ball with Ryan and was generally more friendly, but overall it wasn't a great experience. I was kind of disappointed with him, but not particularly surprised. He's not used to sharing his space with other people, except for his grandparents. We need to have folks over more often to help him learn how to behave.

Funny Faces

Corbin is making his first pretend face. It's absoultely hilarious! He opens his mouth like an "O" and makes a gasping sound. I'm sure it's supposed to indicate surprise, but he seems to do it at the most random times. Mommy and Daddy crack up laughing, which just encourages him. We even got him to do it for the camera. Hopefully the next thing he'll learn is to smile on cue!

Today Mommy and Corbin had some playtime on the floor where we imitated each other. It's the first time I've really seen him do this for an extended period of time. We would take turns being the leader, too. This is supposed to be great for his development, so I was thrilled to go along. For the most part, we had a pretty good afternoon. Mommy was busy cleaning a lot, but Corbin didn't get really upset about it until it was time to eat.

Speaking of eating, lunch today was at Chili's with Daddy after church. Corbin sat in the booth with us instead of in a high chair. For the most part, that was okay. He could stand up and turn around instead of sitting straight for 45 minutes. But he didn't eat his food very well, though that could have just been because he wasn't hungry or didn't particularly like it. It was also a lot more work for Mommy, sitting next to him. But we were just impressed that he could manage it at all (meaning that he didn't slide down the floor and make a run for the door).

Staying Busy

Friday morning we went to the pool at 10:00, followed by lunch at Chick-Fil-A. They had a guy in a cow suit, which Corbin was just fascinated by. Mommy was very impressed that he wasn't scared of the cow, who also gave Corbin a sticker. We went back home and had a good nap. Then we drove over to The Colony church to pick up some stuff for Mommy before driving on to Stonebriar Mall, where Corbin played on their kids' area. He also had his first carousel ride, which he really hated. By the very end of the two-minute ride, he had calmed down enough to count the horses in front of us, but we were both glad when it was over. What a waste of $1.50. Then we went back to the play area (after Mommy picked up some clothes for next summer at a 40% off sale) for a while longer. Before we knew it, it was after 5:00 and time to head home. Corbin ate all of his meal, plus a slice of bread, plus half of Mommy's pasta. We watched a Blue's Clues episode about bedtime, which was just perfect. Corbin played for the rest of the time before bed, and didn't put up a fuss. It was a full day of burning energy.

Saturday morning we went to Gymboree again. Corbin was absolutely perfect, since Mommy didn't ask him to do the couple of things that he finds scary. He also got very excited about getting a stamp on his hand at the end.

The most amazing thing was that he slept until 9:00 am on Saturday! That's a whole two hours later than normal! We were worried that maybe he was sick, but he seems to be doing just fine and ate a lot for lunch. I guess we'll see how the rest of the afternoon goes; he went down for a nap just 45 minutes later than usual.

Another day at home

Corbin was pretty demanding, fussy, and whiny all day. Every time I think he's getting over that, he proves me wrong. He went to Gymboree and the mall playground today, but that wasn't enough to make up for the hours spent at home. The one cute thing he did today was sing along with Mommy and Daddy, featuring the tune of the alphabet sung to "la, la, la." It took some convincing, but once he got into it, it was really cute. Corbin and Mommy also danced to some classical music on the stereo, which he seemed to really enjoy. "Dancing" consisted mostly of walking around in a circle, with a few interludes of swaying.

I finally found some white frames for our kitchen and printed black and white photos of Corbin to go in them. There are four photos covering his first year, and I think they turned out pretty cute. I tried to pick some fun shots that we don't use very often. Hopefully Greg can get them on the wall tomorrow. Ryan and Lesli are coming for dinner on Monday, and we need to get the kitchen finished. She was going to inherit most everything of Corbin's, but since she found out that she's having a girl, we're going to have to sort through it all together.

Little Man (written by Daddy)

Note about title: I know it's probably a little early for him to understand the concept of gender differences, but I also thought it was a little early for him to count to 10 and say the alphabet. He's absorbing everything right now, so want to make sure he gets some exposure to traditional masculine things. He's already around women probably 90% of the time.

We've been having some trouble with one of the bathroom toilets recently, so Corbin and I went to Lowes yesterday to find some answers. To avoid wandering the entire store with someone with a 12 inch stride, I asked directions of the first employee we came across. "Go down to aisle 11, then all the way to the back of the store." Corbin was pretty content to stay with me, pointing out the 10 gallon buckets and American flags on our way to aisle 11. Aisle 11 just happened to be home to all the drawer pulls, knobs, and handles, along with interesting hinges and bolts, displayed right where a 20 month old could pull on everything. Corbin was in heaven. After we slowly made our way back to plumbing, Corbin played with potty seats, faucets, and plungers while I figured out the parts I needed. He had a lot of fun and was very well behaved. He even held my hand all the way across the parking lot without trying to pull away. All in all a good trip to a guy's kind of store.

Today Angelique had both morning and evening meetings at work, so it was a Daddy Day (and some daycare too.) We went to Barnes and Nobles to play with the train set. Corbin loves trains, though we're not exactly sure where he's gotten much exposure to them. Unfortunately (in Corbin's opinion) other toddlers like trains too. There was one particular Asian boy, about 6 or 8 months older than Corbin, that was particularly scary. He kept running up to the train set, which Corbin thought was scream/cry-worthy. Maybe it was his spikey hair. The only English word I understood from him was "baby," and I repeatedly had to reassure his mother that he wasn't really tormenting Corbin. No, my son just freaks out at random things sometimes. Yes, really.

I was giving Corbin the freedom to explore the children's area on his own. He'd occasionally pull me over to a new corner, point out some stuffed animals, or bring me a book to flip through with him. One was a Thomas the Train book with buttons that played different tunes (I didn't recognize any of them). He also liked the elementary age science books, or at least the pictures on the covers. "That's my boy," I thought, "he likes trains, animals, science books, and hardware stores! He can already throw a ball better than some kids twice his age. Yeah!" Deciding to pull an ironic joke, Corbin next brought over a big, pink, Disney princesses book with lots of music buttons. Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Aaargh! Thankfully, the batteries were dead and he quickly lost interest. After a snack and some climbing on chairs, it was off to daycare for him so I could work on that toilet.

When I picked him up this afternoon he immediately said "Daddy!" and ran to hug my legs, which is a pretty good feeling. We came home and played a little while with cars, trains, and airplanes. Corbin also likes to climb up on Daddy's chair at the table. I think it makes him feel like a big boy, even though his chin barely comes above the table top. Very cute. When eating, though, I still insist on the high chair. He loved his meatballs at lunch and pork at dinner, so maybe we have a manly carnivore that just happens to like pink. (Three out of four 1st grade boys in my class Sunday said their favorite color is pink. Weird.)

During bathtime tonight Corbin started crying and saying "bap-per" (his word for diaper) so I asked if he wanted to sit on the potty. He said yes, so I got him out of the tub and put him on the little training potty. He started screaming and crying some more, so after trying to console him I just put him back in the tub. Much to my surprise, he had actually pee-peed in the potty. Wow! I was very impressed and told him as much. You don't have to cry because that's where you're supposed to pee-pee. After some ducks and bubbles we went back to Corbin's room. He immediately started saying "bap-per" again (which should have been a clue) but I just told him I was going to get one as I sat him down in his crib. He screamed and I turned around to see a new wet spot between his legs. That he just had to step on. And again. So I got Corbin in his pajamas and gave him some milk before putting new sheets on his mattress.

Going down for bed was relatively easy tonight, but he did cry out twice within the first half hour. He asked for Mommy both times.

Surviving Bible Class

Corbin made it through toddler Bible class today at church without Mommy or Daddy (who were both busy elsewhere). His teachers said he only cried a little, though he did sit in Beth's lap through most of the lesson.

After church we found out that Tim and Bethany Davidson were there, just passing through on their way to their new home in Califorina, where Tim's going to get an MBA from UCLA. So we had lunch with them and some other couples. Actually we all got take-out and brought it back to the Youth House where we watched the first half of the World Cup on their big screen. Corbin actually did very well, wandering around and playing/exploring until we left at 2:00. That was way past his naptime, but he didn't seem to notice. Until he fell asleep after ten minutes in the car.

He was pretty fussy the rest of the day, but I guess you can't have it all.

Really Talking Now

Today was a pretty good day. There were no major tantrums or meltdowns, hooray. Daddy even let Mommy sleep until 9:00! Corbin and I went to a make-up Gymboree class at 10:45, which went great. The Saturday teacher is fantastic, which is good because we'll probably switch to Saturdays after school starts next month. Daddy went to work after Corbin went down for his nap. Corbin played inside for most of the afternoon. Then we went to the carwash, Target, dinner, and finally the playground. Corbin actually played in the sandbox! He sat on the edge and had his toes in the sand, even if he still refused to stand up in it. We had a bucket and shovel with us, and he had fun playing with those, although what he liked best was to hold the full shovel up in the air and watch the sand fall out...all over him. Oh, well. He had a good time, and didn't get too terribly messy.

But what struck me today was the way he talked a lot to himself in what sounds like whole phrases, with words I recognize stuck in. He was also singing a couple of songs that we did at Gymboree that I could jump in and sing with him. I was really impressed with that, since he hasn't done any singing on his own before. It was so cute. He's really starting to sound like he can carry on a conversation, answering yes and no to questions he does and doesn't understand. That's pretty neat.

We went to Target to look for new water shoes, since he's outgrown the ones he was wearing. I paid twice as much ($12) for these new ones, but there's just no selection left this far into summer. We also bought him a Thomas train engine that makes choo-choo noices when you push it. I'm not sure why he's so into trains, or how he even recognizes a stand-alone engine as part of a train, but oh well. He tried to make a train yesterday by putting four of his cars in a line and pushing the last one. Which was just wonderful until they got out of alignment; then he really got upset. We may just have to make more trips to Barnes and Noble, which has a train set up in their children's area. That's great of them, but it would be more useful if it was next to the adult books! :-)

Fun Day of Play

This morning Greg went with us to Gymboree class (his shift didn't start until 2:00) and took pictures of Corbin and me playing with everything. A few of them turned out well, but all of them have some strange color issues. Oh well. The teacher was out sick today, so it was just free play for 45 minutes. We'll go again Saturday to make up for it, I guess. Corbin had a lot of fun anyway. Here's the link.

The rest of the day was just indoor play, with a quick trip to Kroger. Corbin was relatively good. He finally ate somewhat well for the first time I've seen since he was sick last weekend. We read books a lot today, and also put in some classical music which Corbin must have liked since he kept asking for more. Not long before bedtime we looked at his photo album together, which was pretty neat. He looked at the page with his first trip to the pool (and pictures of Mommy and Daddy) for a really long time, and kept turning back to it when I tried to move on. I'm not sure what that was all about, but I printed out some 8x10s of him with each of us to hang in his room tomorrow.

The only new thing he did today was run around saying "be nigh" (be nice) over and over again. It was pretty cute.

I re-read the second half of the book, "Raising a Happy, Unspoiled Child" by Burton White this afternoon. It all makes a lot of sense to read, but its main shortcoming is a complete lack of acknowledgement of personalities or temperments. The idea that Corbin is a whiny child simply because I've indulged his whines since he was born is really oversimplifying the issue (in Corbin's case because he was colicy until he was seven months old). But it brought up a theme I've been seeing a lot recently about how a secure attachment to the primary care giver is essential for developing social skills with anyone else. Basically that kids who get through the day by tormenting mom (to get attention) are going to try and torment other kids during playtime, which will in turn result in their being avoided or shunned by their peers. Makes sense, I guess, but I'm not really sure what to do about it. Corbin is neither well adjusted nor terribly adjusted, though of course this book says that kids are only one or the other. But even beyond being a perfect mother right now, what happens when I start my 18-hour fall semester? How is that going to mess things up? Guess I need to read some new books.

Yesterday I picked up and skimmed a book on Scott's shelf called "Scream Free Parenting" that looked really good. Its premise was basically that kids have only two choices when parents fuss at them: comply in order to get mom/dad to calm down or assert their own choice which makes mom/dad get worse. Not having read too much more, I think that it was advocating avoiding power play situations (child-proof the house, for example) and reacting coolly and evenly when kids misbehave (barring immediate safety concerns). It seemed really good, so I'll have to pick that one up sometime.

Fourth of July

Today we took Corbin to the parade just down the street at 10:00. He seemed a little overwhealmed, but did very well. There were a few times when he wanted out of his stroller, but we managed to keep him distracted. He liked the firetruck, all the music, and of course each and every flag he saw. We had planned to go to the city picnic for dinner, but it rained for much of the afternoon. Once it quit raining so hard, we put Corbin's aqua shoes on and let him play in the backyard, which he really seemed to enjoy. Later tonight we'll get him out of bed to watch the fireworks. I hope they're not too scary!

He knows the whole alphabet!

This morning not long after waking up, Corbin wanted to look out the front door window. He said "ah-bah?" several times, but I couldn't figure out what he was pointing to. Then he said "anna?" and I knew he was missing his grandparents and pointing to where their car had been. It was pretty cute how sad he looked. :-)

We read a book that my mother had bought him a couple months ago (that I had hidden away for later) with Elmo and lots of flaps to open. It came with a 15-minute DVD (what a great length!) of Sesame Street clips about the alphabet. On one of the final segments, it was going through the letters kind of slowly, and Corbin kept saying the next letter that was coming up. I had no idea he knew all of them!! Several were sounds he couldn't pronounce, so it wasn't until he was listing them in order that I could recognize that he knew them at all. The kid's speech has got to catch up to his brain soon, or I'm going to be constantly behind.

He spent a great amount of the day pushing the vacuum cleaner around. It's just half the length of the pole with the hardfloor attachment, so it's light and easy. But for whatever reason he finds it fascinating. I was thrilled for him to play so much on his own. He also learned today how to ride piggyback on Mommy and Daddy, but he didn't always remember to hold on with his hands, so we'll probably avoid doing that again for a while longer.

He's over the fever, although he still hasn't eaten much at all. Fortunately he's had plenty of milk to drink. I hope he's completely back to his normal energetic self tomorrow.

One-day Cole visit

My parents came into town last night after Corbin's bedtime, and they played together today until after dinner. Of course, he came down with a fever yesterday afternoon. That seems to happen every time they come. He was fine, just more whiny than usual. And it's really all my fault, because just a couple days ago I was thinking about how it had been a long time since he'd been sick and that maybe he had built up some decent immunity. Ha!

The best part about the day was when he said "thank you" all on his own. We hadn't prompted him all day because he was sick, so it was pretty astonishing. I was very proud. He was also very good about giving hugs and kisses when asked to, which was perfect for visiting grandparents. He wasn't as good about showing off all the letters, numbers, and colors he knows, but that's okay.

They took him to the zoo this morning, and it sounded like an okay trip. He wasn't too fussy, which counts as a success in my book. Then he took a long nap when they got home, and we just played here at the house until it was time to go out for dinner. He did have a hard time sitting in the high chair at Macaroni Grill for an hour, but we made it through.

Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures today. :-( He's so fun to play with these days that it's hard to be behind the camera.