Magnificent Memory

I know every parent thinks their child is some sort of genius.  But I'm telling you, Stuart Jameson Land is a GENIUS.  And no, I'm not biased at ALL ;)  This kid has the memory of an elephant!  I read the other day in Parents magazine that children at this age don't typically have such impressive memories.  In fact, there was an article listing some of the signs that your child may be "gifted."  What do you think was one of the items on that list?  Yep, you guessed it!  An unusually good memory!  I need to document some of these amazing acts he performs so I don't forget (because apparently, I wasn't blessed with such an outstanding memory) . . .

A couple weeks ago, my parents (bama and papa, as you'll hear Stuart call them) were in town visiting.  I had Wolfgang Orchestra Rehearsal and Randy was working a late shift at Home Depot.  So my mom and dad went to go pick him up at Dedra's (our day care provider).  My parents are not familiar with the neighborhood and used their GPS to get there.  When exiting the neighborhood after picking up Stuart, their GPS was stuck and wasn't refreshing the data.  Therefore, they weren't sure how to get back to my house.  My dad jokingly asked Stuart, "Okay, which way do we go?"  Stuart confidently pointed left, "that way."  My dad turned left.  Then my dad asked again, "Which way do we go now?"  Again, Stuart pointed, but this time to the right, "that way."  My dad turned right.  He did this for 3-4 turns until the GPS came back on and he was RIGHT!  Smarty pants.

I usually put Stuart to bed at night, but sometimes we switch it up and Randy will read to him/tuck him in.  Regardless of who puts him to bed, the next morning, he never fails to remember who put him to bed, and he'll call out, "Momma!" if it was me, "Daddy!" if it was Randy, and even "BAMA!" if Grandma happened to be in town and the one who put him down at night. 

If he is upset about something before bed, (usually it's along the lines of wanting "boo snacks," also known as fruit snacks.  Of course, he never gets fruit snacks before bed because we've already brushed his teeth) he inevitably is still talking about it in the morning.  If we discussed him not being allowed to eat fruit snacks the night before, I'll go in the next morning and he's giving me his puppy dog eyes saying, "boo snack?  Please?"  Goodness gracious.

Last week we went to CVS to take advantage of some of those crazy deals (thanks, Krazy Coupon Lady for always keeping me up to date on what deals CVS is putting out each week!).  They have those carts with the little car on the front in which your child can sit.  I am so grossed out by carts and germs and I'm sure that thing is filthier than I'd ever want to know.  I ignored the creepy crawly feeling I got from just looking at the thing, and let him climb inside (it was almost bath time anyway).  We had a blast shopping and he even was rewarded with a "cool bus" model toy (school bus) for his good behavior.  Yesterday, about a week after our first cart-car encounter in CVS, we pull up to the same CVS.  As I'm taking him out of the car seat he excitedly says, "CAR!"  I said, "yeah, we're taking you out of momma's car!"  He said, "no, CAR!"  We walked up to the sliding doors, stepped inside, and he ran straight to the car cart, hopped inside, and was ready to roll.  Furthermore, as we "drove" through the drugstore, he must have sensed the model car display up ahead (around the corner, not yet in sight).  He exclaimed, "BUS!"  And what do you know, we turn the corner and there is the display of cars, trucks and busses from which he chose his bus reward last week.

DINO!  Stuart loves dinosaurs.  Big dinosaurs, little dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, and more than anything, roaring like a dinosaur.  In downtown Evansville, there is a large green dinosaur marking the entrance of the nearby Children's Museum.  He thinks this is the coolest thing ever.  Whenever we go downtown for anything, he knows that dinosaur is near.  Honestly, when we get within a mile or so of downtown Evansville, he starts to get excited and asks about the DINOSAUR!  Last week I took him to the zoo and on the way back we were on the Expressway, passing by downtown.  He pointed to downtown and said, "DINO!"  Of course, I detoured into downtown so he could have the satisfaction of seeing that big green dino staring down at him.  :)

Potty training triumphs!

Potty training has always been something I've dreaded.  I've heard all horror stories, how it's SO difficult, so frustrating, so time consuming . . . all in conjunction with those parents who make it sound so easy.  "Just throw a cheerio in the toilet and have him pee on it, he'll be trained in no time." Or, "my son was potty trained by nine months!"  So, every kid's different.  When all the parents of kids Stuart's age started potty training several months ago, I felt like I needed to at least try.  He sat on the potty several times, he peed on it maybe twice and pooped once (by accident, I believe) ;) We'd happily reward him with colorful m & ms and cheerful potty dances and songs.  Then one day, he decided he hated the potty.  I'd ask if he wanted to sit on it, and the answer was inevitably, "NO!  NO POTTY!"  His day care provider had been putting him on the potty several times a day as well and she also informed me that he was rebelling against the porcelain throne.  So, we backtracked.  No more potty time at day care.  No more potty time at home.  no more potty time period.  I felt defeated at first.  Then I realized that it will all be much easier if we give him time and let him tell us when he's ready.  We still read all the potty time books each night at bath time, and I'd gently tell him he could use the potty whenever he wanted.  He just needed to let mommy know when he was ready.

Well, a few weeks ago he WAS ready!  On Friday June 10, 2011, Stuart informed me he wanted to sit on the potty.  So into the bathroom we went.  My hopes weren't high, but hey, at least he wasn't expressing such strong hatred for the toilet any more.  He sat down.  He started talking about going potty.  Then, HE PEED IN THE POTTY!  I was SO excited! Our negative potty training run seemed to be coming to an end and he was now back to the happy, peeing-on-the-potty Stuart he was just months before.  So he received a few m&ms (I went a little overboard just to make sure he truly understand how happy this little feat made me!)  For the next seven straight nights (minus one night he slept over at his buddy Jake's house) he peed in the potty each night before bath time.  Then he started asking to go to the potty at random times during the day.  He was asking to go potty 3-5 times every day!  Of course, sometimes I think he just wanted the m & m, but he was DOING IT!  So I didn't care. :)  He's a little too smart for his own good and he's come up with a trick that involves peeing, stopping mid stream to ask for an m & m, then peeing again, asking for an m & m, and so on and so forth until there's no more pee in him.  Tricky!  ;)

Well, he's been doing awesome.  He goes potty at daycare.  He's woken up from naps dry.  Only one of his cloth diapers was sent home with him yesterday because all the other times he went in the potty!  He peed at Aunt Leslie's house.  Tonight, we had tumbling class.  A few minutes into the beginning of class he starts pulling at his diaper saying "PEE PEE!"  The one bad thing about potty training is the impeccable timing toddlers seem to have.  Standing in the line at the grocery?  Just got in the car for a long road trip?  It doesn't matter.  If they say they have to go, you have to listen!  It's SO important when they're first learning!  So after watching him stick his hand INSIDE his diaper for approximately 7 seconds, I told the tumbling instructor we'd be right back.  I wasn't sure how this was going to go.  I had no potty seat with me.  Well, it didn't matter!  We got in there and he peed on that potty like the champion of all pee-pee-ers!  GO, STUART!  I was elated.  Overjoyed!  SO proud of my little man!  After washing his hands and stopping by our cubby hole to retrieve the well-deserved m&m, we walked proudly back into tumbling, dry diaper and all.  What a feeling!

I love that kid.  He makes me so proud of him each and every day.  This potty training business isn't as bad as everyone makes it sound which is probably because we ended up waiting until he told US he was ready.  I know it's not easy peasy, and we still have a long road ahead of us.  But he is doing so amazing and I could not be any more proud.

At this point I can't imagine a week of not washing our cloth diapers, a week of not sitting in front of the TV watching some stupid 16 and Pregnant episode while folding all 30 of them.  It will be glorious have that free time!  NO MORE DIAPERS!  I know, it'll be a little more time.  BUT YAY!  We're are getting somewhere!

Stuart-isms

I am ashamed that I have not been keeping more of a record of the hilarious things Stuart says and does.  I take hundreds of photos, and make facebook posts about his most recent tricks of the day, but I'm going to attempt to make weekly updates to this blog to record his newest milestones and funnies. :)  They're just too darn cute not to keep track of and as hard as it is to believe now, I know one day I will forget these precious details if I don't start writing about them.

1) Stuart calls his Uncle Ryan, "ROAR."  Why?  Well, when going through animal noises, he makes a fantastic lion "roar."  And what do you know, Ryan rhymes perfectly with Lion.  So the first time we asked him to say, "Ryan," he proudly ROARED a triumphant "ROAR" and we all lost it, laughing hysterically.  In an effort to keep us entertained, Uncle Ryan is now known simply as "ROAR" to Stuart.  And he knows he is funny each time he does it :)
2) Yesterday while changing Stuart's diaper, he looked at me and out of no where said, "pretty mamma." And then reached out to hug me.  *HEART MELTS!*

3) Whenever Stuart hears a noise such as a lawnmower, weed eater, leaf blower, air plane, loud truck, etc., he makes a HILARIOUS face like this (sometimes he even puts his hands on his cheeks to make it more dramatic):

4) Stuart suddenly knows how to count to TWENTY.  He says "one, two, one, two"and never seems to remember that 3 comes next.  But after I help him with three, he goes on "four, ive, ix, even, eight, nine, ten, e-even, welve, irteen" and all the -teens sounds pretty much the same, but he does it, and all by himself!  I'm floored every time.

5) Stuart says "coo coo" for thank you.  :)

6) I read Stuart a slew of books every night before bed.  We have been really looking closely at the pictures lately and pointing out the details like trees, birds, bushes, etc.  On our walks this week, he's been pointing out every thing we've been talking about in the books.  He now points to trees and says, "tree!"  When he sees a bird he says, "birdies!  Tweet tweet!" And he even pointed out a bush the other day.  It is so amazing what these little people absorb.

7) Stuart is such a cuddle bug.  Although we never co-slept, Randy and I are both big snugglers and Stuart has definitely picked this up from us.  Stuart is ALWAYS wanting to cuddle.  Sometimes in the middle of the day he'll grab his blankie, walk up to me, reach his arms up and say, "uggle, momma?"  When I pick him up, he nuzzles into me, sucks his thumb, and smiles a sweet, satisfied smile.  It's one of the best feelings in the whole world.  I hope he stays a cuddle bug forever.

8) His vocabulary is growing each day.  My favorite word now is "motorcycle."  It's a tough one to say, so basically he just says, "o-goo-ah-cool!" At least he has all the syllables!

That's all for now :) 



I love to write therefore I vow to blog.

This is my first blog!  I've been waiting to start a blog for years and why I started today I don't know, but here we go!  This blog will be mostly about adventures with my family as a wife and mother as well as ventures in my career(s) as an appraiser and photographer.

I've always loved to write.  Whether it be poetry, term papers, thesis statements, letters, or even appraisal reports, I truly love to put my thoughts into words on paper.  I used to write a lot more, but it seems in this day in age with all the texting, IMing, emailing . . . the art of true writing is slowly but surely becoming lost. 

I received a thank you letter from my friend the other day and was elated to see a real piece of mail, handwritten, with an actual pen!  How sad that this is such an unusual occurance anymore.  Mail in my world now consists of bills, magazines, and little red notification boxes on Facebook.  I have hundreds of stationary cards in my filing cabinet just waiting to be written on, stamped, and sent in the mail to a non-suspecting recipient who will, no doubt, be just as excited as I was to receive REAL mail.  So I've decided to write more.  As of today, whether it is writing in this blog, or sending REAL letters to my friends, I vow to put the pen to paper (or the fingers to a keyboard) more often and get back into the swing of doing what I love to do . . . WRITE.