August AFP/ultrasound and randoms

Adam had his quarterly tests done last Wednesday. He has got the ultrasound routine down! He walked right in the room and started to get up on the table before the tech even had the sheet down to lay on! Once up there, he lifted his shirt and just laid there patiently (watching Clifford) while the tech got the machine ready (which took a little while because the power outage the night before). He watched some of the belly pictures and asked if that was his lunch in there (noo - just your liver and kidneys - and some gas). He was so good that he didn't even need a lollipop (although he asked and I said he had to wait). After the tech praised him for being so good and asked him if he could be her patient all day, we went to wait for his blood draw. I guess they only had one phlebotomy tech that morning. She came out about 5-10 minutes later and asked if Adam had done this a lot and if he was pretty good. She said she had a 16 year old boy back there who had lost it and if we would mind if he watched how well a 3 year old did. I said he still screams when the needle goes in but that's about itl. She said she didn't know what else to do so she talked to the kid. She came back and said he was too embarrassed to stay and watch but would listen from another room. Great! Of course Adam started yelling as soon as she got the rubber band around his arm but she stuck him soo quick it was over before we knew it. Then he continued to cry a little because he didn't like the crayon bandaid. Hopefully the quickness of it all helped with the 16 year old.

Results came back later in the week: Afp is 2.5 and ultrasound clear.

Adam has really gotten into wanting to play hide and seek. I think he learned a little from some of the kids at the Community Center. Only problem is, he wants you to go hide - but only where he wants you to hide. He was getting so mad at Dave the other day for not hiding in the bathroom! When you tell him to go hide, he hides while you're counting but as soon as you say "ready or not, here I come!" he comes running out towards you screaming. It's pretty darn funny!

We have (finally) been making Adam go to sleep on his own. We used to lay in bed with him until he fell asleep. Now once we finish reading books we turn on his night music/sounds, turn the light on in the hall, then we sit in our room or his playroom until he goes to sleep. He plays for a good half hour or so but it is soo fun to listen to...and he doesn't leave his room. Then it gets quiet and he's sound asleep.

Did I mention this kid's memory?

I had to deliver some vet gifts for work a couple weeks ago and as we were driving to Laura's (my "boss"), Adam said he didn't want to hit his head on the table. Months ago when we were there to pick up deliveries, Adam had started to throw a fit, sat on the floor, and bonked his head on the corner of a filing cabinet.

About a month ago, Adam and I visited Bumma and Pa. When we were driving away, Adam asked if the duckies were still there. We had just passed the house that had baby ducks on Mother's Day!

He can point out the 2 sets of train tracks on 270 from our house to Sawmill Rd. without us warning him train tracks are coming.

Everyday we drive by the Sports Complex where we sat and saw fireworks and Adam has to say he saw fireworks there...and now firetrucks as well from "Touch a Truck" day.

There have been a couple of other things where I have been "WOW! How does he remember stuff like that??" but since my memory is not as good as his, I can't write them down right now. ;)

ABC's

Adam is getting really good at his upper case letters. He actually did them all by himself before I got out the camera..and he got them all right in his Star Wars ABC book tonight. The camera must have made him nervous. :)
Gotta love the ending!

What the??

Yesterday, Adam was taking a little longer than usual in the bathroom so I went to check on him. Wanna know what he was doing?? Sitting on the seat with one foot in the toilet! I don't know why and I was too busy rushing him to the soap to ask.

Today, he went into the bathroom and locked the door. I kept hearing something that sounded like his stool being pushed around but he had moved his stool out to the kitchen sink. I asked him what was going on and he said he was cleaning. (Earlier today he had kicked me off the toilet only to pee like Daddy from the side of the toilet and pee on the wall, seat, and some in the toilet which I had to clean up). I thought the noise I had heard was him rummaging through the cabinet for cleaner. I finally got him to unlock the door and he was standing there sloshing the plunger around. Where does he get these ideas?? I had to clean again...

Tonight, Adam was sitting on my shoulders on the couch playing with my hair. He told Dave there were ghosts in our hair. I started cracking up! I had told Adam earlier that ghosts are in "here" (pointing to my head) - in our imagination. Forgetting he doesn't know what that means - ghosts are in our hair.

Some of Adam's favorite expressions lately: "Ohhh - that's crazy!" (or" that's silly"), "awesome!" (or "that's awesome"), "hmmm, that's strange".

Goofy kid

He speaks Spanish and English too...

Adam will not say "1, 2, 3" - it's always "1, 3, 8". I think he knows 1,2,3 since I say it enough as a warning, but anyway... yesterday he was playing in the living room before dinner and I heard him say "one, uno, dos"!! Really?? Skipping english and going right to spanish?

I know he listens to me but...

I feel like I am constantly yelling at Adam lately. Earlier he told me to stop being so loud. I told him that since he didn't do what I asked, he must not be able to hear me so I have to talk really loud. Some time passed and then he says "I sorry for not listening you". When we were trying to get him to go to sleep tonight, he kept doing somersaults and kicking me. Once we lay in bed and don't respond to anything he does - he calms down. We were just laying there and he said "Sorry for flipping and kicking you, Mommy". Sooo...he kind of gets the apology part (he's been doing variations of this all week "Sorry for hitting and kicking you", "Sorry for being whiny and a brat", etc) but when does he get to the part where he'll actually stop doing it when asked? I'm really tired of hearing myself yell. Maybe I'll start whispering and see if that works.

Another thing he did tonight that was cracking me up was that he kept calling me "Baby Gina". I'm not sure why. Dave taught him to say "Give me some sugar, baby" which was just funny. Somehow that turned into putting a pillow in his pants and him saying he had a baby in his butt! I think Adam has baby fever! Did I mention he told me he wanted a "Baby Ethan" a couple weeks ago? (We had been looking at a friend's new baby pictures. HIS name was Ethan. And there was an Ethan in the Sprouts room that week, too). Love the name but sorry Adam, you can have a baby Ethan when you get married.

Storytime Live video

Finally got around to uploading this


We went swimming today at the Community Center for 2 hours. I thought he would get bored after an hour but he was having fun going down the slide over and over. He swam a little and was fascinated with some of the kids that had snorkles. Love that it is an indoor pool so we don't fry but it got pretty chilly after a while.

Anytime Adam eats Apple Jacks he says "eat me" while he's eating them. I think I was trying to get him to eat one day and made the cereal talk and for whatever reason, it has stuck. It's pretty funny!

Storytime Live

Today we went down to the Palace Theater and saw Nickelodeon's  Storytime Live where Adam got to see Kai Lan, the Wonder Pets, the Backyagains, and Dora (oh, and Moose and Zee, too).  We were in Row B - right up close!  It was no Yo Gabba Live but Adam seemed to enjoy it.  His favorite part was at the end when a bunch of the characters came out on stage and sang "Shout".   Adam and a bunch of other kids started dancing in front of the stage.  It was soo cute!

This week I have been trying the "Sneaky Chef" recipes trying to get Adam to eat some veggies.  I swear he hasn't eaten a veggie since he stopped eating baby food.  So far the only thing that has worked is putting the "orange puree" (sweet potatoes and carrots) into his mac and cheese.  He didn't want any meatloaf even when I said that's all I was cooking - that he had to eat what we eat (which turned into try one bite of meatloaf or a spoonful of orange stuff and we'll make you the dang chicken nuggets).  Tonight I put the meatloaf in spaghetti sauce (which had orange and green puree) and made a loaf of bread using the green puree(spinach, broccoli, and peas).  He ate a piece of bread and 2 noodles. Tomorrow I may try the chocolate chip cookie recipe that has white bean puree in it.  I'm sure he'll eat those!  After this, I think I'll stick with just giving him his multivitamin and hope someday he'll like at least one vegetable. The recipes are not all that quick and it's really hard to cook when Adam starts screaming and throwing stuff at me when I'm not paying all my attention to him...

A couple of funnies

(Sorry for all of you on FB who already read these).   Yesterday, Adam and I were out back in his new pool and I was telling him he couldn't drink the pool water (you could see the sunscreen floating on top, dirt on the bottom,  plus it's the back yard so who knows what was on his feet before he got in).  I told him "no ifs, ands or buts."  He looked at me and said "No ant butts??"  I started cracking up and he was all "You happy now, Mommy?"  After yelling at him most of the day for not listening, yeah, that made me happy.

Today he was watching the classic Superman cartoons again (another day of screaming at him so I needed a break).  I went to clean up the kitchen and when I came back to sit with him, he had a little piece of material sticking out of the collar of his shirt.  I asked him what it was and he turned around for me.  I pulled it out and it was the little Mr. Potato Head Darth Vader cape!  He wanted a cape like Superman and that was the closest thing around!  

I tried to get some video of his new rainbow song "I Have a Rainbow" (sung to the tune of "nanny nanny boo") .  Here's a little bit but he hates the camera lately so if he sees me with it, he usually stops or yells at me to turn it off.  

The past couple of nights we have been trying to get Adam to go to sleep by himself.  Ever since we moved him into his toddler bed, one of us (usually me) stays in his room until he falls asleep.  I have been trying to sit just outside his door so he knows I'm still right there but he wants me to come lay on "my" bed. Well, he has this fear of ghosts that we try to use to our advantage sometimes.  I tried it first when I wanted to get rid of his bottles - the ghosts took them.  He was fine with that.  More recently, the ghosts took his little froggy potty.  Sooo, I told him if he didn't go to sleep, I was going to call the ghosts to come from their castle.  He faked snored for a couple of minutes and fell asleep.  It worked for 2 nights.  I tried it this morning when he came in our room at 6:30.  All I got was some really loud and fast fake snoring.  Tonight, we got a lot of scared crying and wanting to keep the lights on so Dave had to go sit with him.  Guess I need to find a new tactic...