A Life of Gratitude

A Milestone is a Milestone

As I've noted, we've begun potty training Elliott.  It didn't feel like we were making much progress - until yesterday.  When I got home from work Katie informed me that Elliott had been wearing underwear all day.  She told me that with gentle reminders he frequented the potty and kept a single pair of underwear clean and dry.  But we still hadn't had that anticipated breakthrough when he used the potty to dispose of the "brown stuff."

Shortly after I got home, Katie asked Elliott to go use the potty.  I watched him march off through the computer room into the bathroom.  From a distance I could see him pulling down his little shorts and underwear.  The story could have ended there and I would have noted progress.  I finished unloading some things from work and began to dawdle at preparing dinner.  As I was doing so, Elliott entered the kitchen.

"Daddy, I just pooped on the potty," he said.

I had played this game before.  I would now walk back and check the potty only to find no sign of the brown stuff.  But I did my fatherly duty, I humored him.  I took the hand of the "boy who cried poopy" and made the walk of little expectation.  It is the littlest expectations in life that set us up for the biggest surprises, and boy was I surprised.  As I inspected the plastic pot nearly six feet below my unbelieving eyes, there they were, two beautiful toddler turds.  

I apologize if you are eating and my descriptions decay your appetite, but I feel like the forty-niners must have felt when their long and treacherous journeys to California were rewarded with pans filled with gold nuggets.  I must admit, my first instinct when I made the find was to grab the camera.  I've been so diligent in documenting the boys' milestones, how could I let comprehensive coverage of this one pass me by?  But I remembered that as much as I like to record these events for our sake, there is an audience too.  Further, there is always that final litmus test that many husbands are familiar with.  I had to ask myself, "If I take this picture and put it on the internet, will my wife kill me?"  The answer to that question has deprived you of viewing this forty-niner's gold strike. 

Enough on turds.  At least until Ian discovers the brown stuff.      

   

Thumpety Thump Thump - Where Did Frosty Go?

We had beautiful weather this past weekend, although that observation is not unanimous.  The warm temperatures put an abrupt end to our visit with Frosty the Snowman.  I am grateful he took off without putting us through an awkward exchange of good-byes.  The watery trail of his departure trickled out of our yard and down the drive.  His discarded soggy laundry that lay in the yard  was returned without ceremony to a wicker basket under the bench in our entrance way.  Two large grapes, once Frosty's view into our neighbor's living room, were plucked off the ground by a pesky crow within seconds of their last blink.  The baby carrot, suddenly a nose without a face, hauled off by a squirrel unimpressed with the vegetable's former star status. 

For me, the disappearance was only as inconvenient as transporting a pile of wet cotton that dripped each step across the yard to the house.  But I did worry about Elliott's response to the disappearing act of a creature he helped create.  Would it be magic or abandonment. 

"Where'd Frosty go," Elliott asked.

"Uhm, Frosty went bye-bye," I said.  The words came out more question than answer. I took a deep breath to prepare for his response.

"Frosty went bye-bye," he repeated.  That was it. There were no issues of loss to deal with.  Elliott demanded no timetable for Frosty's return.  There was a simple unemotional acknowledgment that Frosty went bye-bye.

I'm getting good at gauging just what Elliott does and does not understand, but that has equal parts risk and comfort.  We took a walk Sunday afternoon to soak up some of the brightest sun of the new year.  It was warm, but once the four of us were beyond the driveway, we had already fared better than Frosty.  I pushed Ian and Elliott in their double stroller.  Ian lounges in the front protected by the sunshade; Elliott stands on a step at the back of the stroller that allows him to see Ian and scout the road ahead like the captain of a boat.  This had never been a problem before today.

I saw the creature lying in the middle of the road long before we reached it.  I could have altered course to avoid questions, but I was full of confidence after counseling Elliott through the Frosty crisis to a happy ending.  We were within smelling distance of the animal carcass when Elliott asked, "What's the squirrel doing daddy?"  I had prepared my response as we neared.

"He's taking a nap," I answered.

"Squirrel's taking a nap in the road.  Silly squirrel," responded Elliott.

Brave beyond reason at this point, I commented "Yea, but not as silly as he used to be." 

I was grateful for the silent confirmation that my sarcasm flew well above his head.  In the days, hopefully years ahead, my aim will falter, and explanations deeper than "Frosty went bye-bye" or "He's taking a nap" will be required.  I will lose my parenting free-pass that accompanies the age of innocence.  These are the moments my excitement wanes over visions of Elliott and Ian playing little league, mowing the yard (it is hard to lose excitement over this one), catching the school bus and endless other activities that come with the disposal of their baby clothes.  There are so many reasons to shudder at the thought of them growing up. 

ELLIOTT AND IAN'S PHOTO ALBUMS HAVE PHOTOS ADDED

Elliott's Entertainment Value is on the Rise

We are less than two weeks away from Ian's arrival and Elliott is more determined each day to make sure our attention stays focused squarely on him.  I'm sure he doesn't understand the degree of the family dynamic changes coming our way, but he does sense something big is coming and has begun to provide noticeable enhancements to the show we know as Elliott's hour (which conveniently has several showings a day dependent on where you live or work.)  It is not unlike a television drama series adding unexpected plot twists late in the season to fend off competition from the launch of the fall's new shows.

One possible twist, one that will always gain attention if not additional viewers, is the incorporation of nudity into your show.  Elliott has discovered how easily his diapers come off.  When you are fortunate enough to be present when he makes such a discovery and you witness the big grin that blankets his face afterward, you know right away you might be in trouble depending on the exact implications of his actions.  When he has just found a way to become a spontaneous strip show, one without discrimination of audience or location, the implications are concerning at best.  I changed his diaper earlier this week and then went to spend some time on the computer.  Moments later, I heard Elliott standing next to me.  I looked down at him he was standing in nothing but a t-shirt.  I rushed to put a diaper back on him, a move that was more self-serving than it was an act of imposed modesty.  I had no desire to clean up after a child that decided it would be cool to pee on the floor.

Maybe Elliott would find it more entertaining to not be Elliott anymore.  Maybe his audience would find him more entertaining if he was a pelican.  Elliott loves playing with straws.  When we take him to Pizza Hut on Wednesday evenings for the buffet -  I suppose Elliott goes for the pizza and I go for the buffet - we allow him to unwrap the paper covered straws which keeps him perfectly content long enough for Katie and I to fill up our plates.  I keep telling him I am going to get him a box of straws for Christmas.  This past weekend he decided he could make use of the straws even after they were unwrapped.  He stuck one in his mouth and held it tight between his teeth allowing it to stick straight out away from his face.  He then walked around with it saying "pelican bird".  I have attached a couple of pictures of the new bird in our family.

If none of that makes your show more entertaining, you can always fall back on an old standby - music.  Elliott can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all the way through now.  But even more impressive, Elliott can sing it all the way through repeating as often is necessary to amuse himself on the ride from grandma and grandpa's house to our house, about a 40 minute drive.  We picked him up from their house Sunday after we did a tour of the hospital where Ian will be born (in 13 days).  It was after 7:00 PM and tiresomely close to his bedtime.  Katie had grandma give him a bath so he'd be ready to fall asleep in the car on the ride home and set him up for an easy transfer from car-seat to bed once we got home.  Grandma did her part.  He was bathed, sent out the door with a full cup of milk and nestled comfortably in his seat to doze off in a matter of seconds.  All the planning in the world didn't account for a clear and gorgeous night, one where you can see every star in the sky, especially if you're Elliott who looks for the stars and the moon every time he leaves the house day or night.  When he was done with his milk, he pointed at the sky, said "stars" and proceeded to sing Twinkle Twinkle for the next 30 minutes, catching not one moment of sleep on the way home.  Ironically, I didn't catch much either as I listened to that song in my head through the night.  Oh there are days to be grateful for the clouds.

I went with Elliott and his class to the pumpkin patch yesterday.  I was riding beside Elliott on the hay ride when he began to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  His teacher looked over at me and said "you know he is quite the entertainer."   I gave her an acknowledging smile, shook my head and thought to myself - you don't say.  He was a joy to be with.  There is nothing like the joy you feel while sharing in the joy of your child.  Whether watching him run up to the baby cows while screaming "moo" or shouting "up the hill" as the tractor climbed the trail to the pumpkin patch, there was no better way to spend a morning.

We can't wait to have our joy doubled and thank God every day for the blessing and privilege of being parents.

One Tough Cookie

I had a scary moment yesterday when I picked Elliott up from daycare. One of his teachers informed me that I was going to have to sign the book. I looked at my watch to make sure I wasn't late picking him up, an effort to rule the book out as a form of parental reprimand. I was right on time. "Exactly what is it I will be signing" I asked curiously. The teacher told me they had parents sign the book to make sure they understood the details of their child's injury. At that moment, Elliott turned his head just right, or it's possible I gave him a more concentrated second look than usual, but there it was - a bright red circle below his left eye with a whitish bull’s-eye in the middle of it. Turns out the bull’s-eye was located where the corner of one of the playground pieces caught the side of his face when Elliott attempted to crawl around without looking. She ran over to him immediately afterward and asked him if he was OK. He said yes and went on his way. He didn't shed a tear, she said, and he never complained a bit about it. Look at the picture and judge for yourself, we've got one tough little cookie. Suddenly signing the book seemed like a privilege. In fact, I came close to asking if they could make a copy of it to put in Elliott’s I won that one section of his scrapbook.

It is ironic that this happened after Elliott returned from a doctor visit to have his month long sniffles and cough looked at.  Nothing serious there.  He got some medicine to help scare the sickness away quicker than his mom or I can do it.  He did get a chance to step on the scales while he was there and it seems he has adopted his unborn brother's growth habits.  Elliott weighed 25 pounds, 3 pounds more than his last visit, which is only slightly less than Ian's growth over the same period and he already has future NFL opponents demand he be tested for steroids.  Oh can the food prices please head south with the gas.

I am sure the little bruise will be healed before he has a chance to show it off to grandma and grandpa tomorrow. They are going to keep him for the night and give Katie and me one last date night before the arrival of Ian and the departure of free time and relaxation. Grandma plans to use the time to offer Elliott a remedial course in Halloween pumpkin design. In her words, the pumpkin Elliott and I created was the "ugliest pumpkin she had ever seen." These words from the woman I often refer to as my favorite mother-in-law ever. I hate to admit it, but she has the full support of the other grandparents. My dad asked me how I could destroy the idea of Halloween for Elliott. I’m sure he’ll offer to foot the tuition bill for grandma’s course.

I think grandma will have a hard time convincing Elliott pumpkins are to be carved and not painted. He’ll assume the carving is just a little extra preparation for the painting process and he may be quite disappointed when the pumpkin retains its orange color throughout the project. I’m sure grandma will have a good and lasting explanation to offer him, one that will carry over to many Halloweens to come, another of those tiny seeds that grandparents plant that seem to grow forever. I know we’ll appreciate the opportunity to have some quiet before the storm. God bless grandparents.

The Shoe Fairies Come To Town

It was a very busy weekend.  They always are when the shoe faries come to town, or should I say, Gigi and Papa Hoss.  It has become a bit of a tradition that when they come to town, Elliott’s ever growing feet get fitted with a new pair of shoes.  Of course, they are always purchased in a two for one deal, so he actually ends of with two new pair.  I tried to convince him this weekend that when he turned 16, the shoes would become cars.  He didn’t know exactly what I was talking about.  My dad did, but didn’t buy into my plan.

 

I think the shoe purchases are actually a part of Papa Hoss’s overall plan to minimize the programming effectiveness of Grandpa Almond.  He jokes that he has to come to town often enough to undo Grandpa’s influence.  Maybe he thinks that if Elliott runs around in a new pair of shoes he has purchased him, they will help ward off a bit of Grandpa Almond’s spoiling.  Whatever the case, Elliott would appear to be the real winner.

 

Papa Hoss did achieve a goal this weekend.  He has a running conversation with each of his grandchildren where he asks them “Who loves you”, to which they reply “Papa Hoss”, and then he follows with “What’s he love about you”, to which the grandchildren answer “Everything”.  This was the first weekend that Elliott could recite his parts in the play, and boy did it make Papa’s weekend.

 

On Saturday we went to Elliott’s daycare’s 40^th birthday party.  They had a carnival type party going, with lots of games and food.  Elliott played many of the games and won a prize at each.  It doesn’t matter that everyone won a prize at every station, I was watching, and he was the grand prize winner at each station.  He sat the rings on the bottles quickest, threw the balls hardest, sank the most baskets and putts, and even snagged an extra sucker out of the sucker tree when the attendant had her back turned.  No other child discovered that opportunity and left with only a single sucker.  He was a bit leery of the clown, but he was a bit more accepting of him than he was of Blue at King’s Dominion earlier this summer.

 

With all the action of the party itself, you would think Elliott would have a hard time identifying his favorite part of the celebration.  Not the case.  Without hesitation, he will confirm he most enjoyed the bus ride to the party.  The school has a small parking lot so they utilized a church parking lot down the street and shuttled attendees over on the schools small white buses.  Elliott is quick to point out the buses each day when coming to and leaving school.  But when he was actually riding in one, he had this look of excitement and disbelief, like he thought the day would never come when he actually rode in one of the school buses. 

 

On Sunday we went to the corn maze.  I grew up on a farm but I must admit that although I may have heard of such an adventure, I never walked through man created paths in the middle of a perfectly good corn field.  In fact, most of the farmers I knew lamented the loss of a single ear of corn to any circumstance, so it is hard for me to fathom what possesses one to cut out entire rows of perfectly good crops to provide a place for people to get lost.  And on this day, a rare visit from Mr. Summer, rows that blocked the only breeze and turned the corn maze into a corn blaze.  I was most thankful that Mama is 8 months pregnant and was quite adamant only minutes into the walk that we quickly find our way back to civilization. 

 

Speaking of pregnant, less than 4 weeks now until Ian’s arrival.  I’m sure Katie feels like it is months away, but it is only 27 days.  If Elliott only new he has but a few days of existence left in a world that will disappear as he knows it forever.  There is no bailout plan to save him.  His big fat paychecks of attention are about to be divided with another household CEO.  I’m sure he’ll ask for the local government to intervene, but much to his dismay, she will be busy providing two hour feedings to the new kid in town.

 

I’m sure he’ll be fine, just as I am sure we will find many ways to remind him just how precious and special he truly is.  He will always be the first little miracle to enter our lives, which may not place him anywhere atop a hierarchy, but it sure reserves him a quiet little corner in our hearts.    

 

Now Here's a Trick That Has Promise

Elliott approached his mom the other night and said "change diaper - poo". Katie asked, "Did you poo?" and he answered "yea". After a confirming sniff, it was official, he had actually requested that someone change his dirty diaper, that was in fact, dirty.

I guess I'm somewhat amazed that it takes babies this long to make that request. Afterall - juice, milk, Bob the Builder, read Blue Jay book, towel, ogurt (yogurt) and many other directive statements were perfected before he once asked that someone change his dirty diaper. Certainly the satisfaction of receiving all of those requests doesn't help one overlook the fact that they are trapsing around in a diaper full of, well... poo.

My hope is that he has now discovered what I firmly believe - that walking around in a diaper full of poo is actually quite disgusting, not to mention uncomfortable. You can overlook it as long as you're sure he doesn't know any better, but now that he has asked for a diaper to be emptied just seconds after filling it, he must have come around to my way of thinking.

All of this has to mean that potty training is right around the corner. Now that he has come to understand how eye watering awful it is to have a diaper full of poo, it would seem "change diaper - poo" will rapidly translate into "gotta poo". Once that step has been taken, the process is reduced to giving him directions to the toilet, and even a low grade GPS unit can pull that one off. Oh sure, there are some procedural details that will need to be taught, but that's the benefit of having a mama with a Master's Degree in education, no lesson is beyond her abilities.

The Undefeated Irish and Their Biggest Little Supporter

This college football season has started off much better than last year’s. The Fighting Irish are undefeated after two games, the most recent a thrashing of rival Michigan. More importantly, a pure bred Irish fan is sprouting pom poms right before our eyes. Although he had his main line memorized last year – “Touchdown Irish” – there were depressingly few opportunities to perfect his delivery. But after three quick first quarter touchdowns Saturday, Elliott could have received an honorary megaphone from the ND glee club. His shouts of “We love you Charlie (ND Coach Charlie Weiss)” were as heartfelt as Rocky Balboa’s famous “Yo Adrienne.

Granted, he had a head cheerleader leading the way. No, it was not mama. She generally finds the most exciting part of the game to be the clock reaching zero, paying no special attention to who won or lost. So I volunteered for the role. For the most part, Elliott simply had to repeat as directed. His wide smile and the passion in his voice gave every indication he would be leading the pep rally by this time next year.

Sleep training has hit a bump or two. Elliott wakes up several times in the night. His new toddler bed is not equipped with the imprisoning walls of his crib, so waking up often means getting up. Katie will hear him begin to stir like only a mother could. When she goes to check on him, she’ll find him in various places. The most popular location is asleep on the floor. I don’t know if he falls out or crawls out, but he seems to find it comfortable there.

Katie couldn’t find him the other night when she checked on him. She canvassed all floor space but there were no signs of him. Before total panic could set in, she discovered him curled up under his bed. Not under the covers, but the bed. The bed doesn’t sit high off the ground, so it took some determination to hibernate there. We placed precautionary barriers around the foot of the bed last night just in case he had some fond memories of the experience.

The poor guy has had a stuffy nose for two weeks now. We think it is probably linked to those big back teeth fighting to join his smile. The sleep interruptions came along about the same time the congestion arrived. His sympathetic mama has been more inclined to provide nurturing than remedial sleep lessons. “Go back to sleep” and subsequent screams of resistance have been placed on hold. Instead, mama lays on the floor next to him, positioned close enough for Elliott to rub her arm and sooth himself back to sleep. The discomfort this has to bring someone 71/2 months pregnant can only be explained by a mother’s love.

Mama and baby Ian continue to do well. We continue to talk with Elliott about Ian’s arrival, assuring him and ourselves that he will make a wonderful big brother.

We are very blessed. The photos coming out of Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike serve as sobering reminders of just how very blessed we are. We pray that God will provide strength and resources for the millions of people effected, that they will find the road to recovery paved with the loving support of family, friends and the many total strangers who always step forward at times like these.

pregnancy calendar from WhatToExpect.com

An Oldie But Goodie

Yesterday was a big day in our house. The Fighting Irish pulled out a victory in their season opener. Granted, it was not pretty nor was it against an opponent that leaves you pounding your chest and begging for the arrival of next week's opponent, Michigan. But pretty is always relative. Last year, Notre Dame was four games into the season before they scored an offensive touchdown and six games in before they snagged a victory. They had three touchdowns in victory yesterday. They were in the middle of their fifth game last year when they scored their third touchdown of the season. So yes, relatively speaking, yesterday's game was beautiful.

In honor of the victory, I have decided to post an Elliott video from last year around this time. He was pumped up for the season, but his spirit faded as fast as the weekly losses piled on. Yesterday gives us hope that his spirit may just dance on a bit longer this year. Enjoy.

Much Ado About Nothing

There have been many anxious moments leading up to this, Elliott's first day of daycare. We have certainly hoped for the best, but given the magnitude of the change from the familiarity of grandma and grandpa's to sharing a class with 7 new friends and 3 unfamiliar teachers, we were prepared to be very understanding about the worst. But in typical Elliott style, he quickly reminded us our anxious energies would have been better spent on longer morning walks or helping him identify a few extra birds in the "blue jay" book.

In the words of his teacher who sent out two email updates to parents today, "Your children have had a fabulous day! I can't seem to remember ever having such a smooth start to the year in our toddler class!

All of the children slept well at nap time (yes, they actually slept on the cots) and are now eating snacks.

Again...no one is crying and they are all happily looking forward to going outside. AMAZING!"

I thought, no, that is not amazing, that is walking on water or healing leprosy with a simple touch. We've read and enacted entire sleep training curriculums to get Elliott to even consider adopting the sleep patterns of other well rested human beings, and his new teacher gets 7 toddlers to sleep in unison their very first day together? I'm afraid amazing just doesn't cut it.

So now it's on to the next unnecessary worry. How will Elliott respond to the arrival of his little baby brother? We now have the official date; Ian Paul will join us on November 3rd. Let the countdown begin.

Mr. Personality

Elliott’s personality takes shape more each day. It is defined mostly by the development of his verbal skills, which are in constant use. I heard him chattering in the kitchen this weekend. When I investigated the commotion, I found Elliott reciting the various letters that spelled out the various settings and cycles of the dishwasher. I can’t wait until he shows as much enthusiasm for operating this piece of equipment as he does spell checking it.

Elliott has also begun to discover his emotions. We’ve already discussed his displays of a very mild temper when things don’t go his way. For the most part, these spells are infrequent and short lived. Nonetheless, it is clear that anger does have at least a temporary residence inside him.

The new emotions in town are the unlikeliest of partners, unbridled excitement and disgust. Shortly after he was playing name that letter on the dishwasher, he noticed some soggy food particles on the inside of the door. He sucked in the corners of his mouth and presented me with my first “ooh!” Later in the day we stepped outside and it was raining. The rain hit Elliott and he was surprisingly unhappy about it. So he said “ooh”. On the other hand, there have been many things lately that have pleased Elliott and he communicates that with frequent “wows!” I like the wows better than the oohs.

What I don’t like is sad. Elliott has a frog named Tad. At least I think Tad is a frog. Whatever he is he sings songs and talks. If you push one of his hands, or whatever you call a frog hand, it plays a nighttime lullaby. Well Elliott pushed this hand this weekend and once the lullaby started, Elliott pushed his bottom lip out as far as it could go and remain part of his mouth, and then started crying. His response to the song was heartbreaking. Katie and I took Tad and made him play a happier song. Elliott immediately took him back, pushed the lullaby hand and ripped our hearts out again with the big lip and bigger tears. We never did quite figure out the sad connection, but I’ve temporarily hidden Tad beneath a lily pad on a far away pond.

Grandma and Grandpa Almond kept Elliott for us last night. Katie’s birthday is tomorrow so we went out for a nice lunch and watched a couple of movies. I gave her the gift of a quiet house. I think she appreciated the opportunity to sleep in this morning most. She said it gave her an opportunity to slow down long enough to “remember who she is”. I told her we signed away our rights to be who we think we are when we decided to have kids. We are now officially who Elliott wants us to be. She agreed, but finds it unfortunate that most days Elliott wants her to fill the role of Bob the Builder, his constant block building assistant. I guess that is a far cry from who she remembers being.

Say a prayer tonight that Elliott will have a positive response to his first day of “school” tomorrow. We’ve spent the day getting him excited about it, I just don’t believe he knows exactly what it is he’s excited about.