Training, Tools, and Turkey

With all the recent posts about pregnancy and moving, you may be wondering how my boys are doing. So far, they seem to be adjusting well to the move. Hayden insists on extra snuggling at night, but otherwise he is just as happy and playful as ever. Donny's imagination continues to soar; he is often making up complex stories that involve an interesting mixture of real life events and Bob the Builder characters. He constructs things with the K'Nex (a.k.a. "Little Legos") he got for Christmas, and builds train tracks that span the entire hallway. And both boys love having family nearby - they nearly burst with excitement whenever an aunt, grandparent, or friend stops by to visit!

Although Hayden has been using the potty for several months, I wanted to wait until after we moved to seriously train him because I feared he would regress under the stress of the move (not to mention that our apartment was entirely carpeted, while there are lots of easy-to-clean tile and wood floors here). Now that we are settled in, we have been concentrating more seriously on staying dry during the day. One morning I walked into the bathroom while Hayden was sitting on the toilet, and he announced, "That was a yucky day."

"What was a yucky day?" I asked.

He replied, "When I fall in the toilet, and you would flush me!"

Um, yes, that would be a yucky day indeed. He also insists on asking "Are you ready Mumma?" before he flushes - every time. And with the frequent potty breaks, the flushes have been many. Good thing our new toilet flushes quickly and thoroughly...so long as there aren't any little boys stuck in it!

The same day, the boys were playing turkey hunting (a game which consists of running through the house pretending to shoot turkeys and cook them for dinner) when Donny decided that they needed some milk to accompany the meat.

Donny: Let's milk the cows.
Hayden: Boom, boom!
Donny: Hayden, you don't kill the cows to get the milk out; you squeeze the thing underneath them.

He will make an excellent farmer someday, don't you think?

And the most common phrase from Hayden lately has been, "Where's my screwdriver?" First it was the plastic pliers, then the wooden wrench, but he seems to have settled on the wood screwdriver as his security object. He likes to bring a tool with him when he rides in the car (and he assures me that he will "hold on to it nice and tight!"). And every hour or so at home, he needs to know the location of his screwdriver. Unfortunately, the round handle makes it easy to lose the treasured toy as it rolls off of tables and counters and underneath the couch. In fact, after climbing behind the couch a few times, I have instituted a "no screwdrivers near the couch" rule. For the next holiday, I am thinking of giving him a tool belt, so that he can keep his favorite things close by his side!

Of course, things have been challenging too. A new home has provided new means of making mischief, and new rules that need to be enforced. I need to get back into a routine of doing learning activities with the children and playing with them. With so much to clean and organize and do, those things are easily put on hold, but my children are growing fast. And before they grow up to become farmers or hunters or builders, I need to take the time to admire the skyscraper, eat the imaginary turkey, and find that missing screwdriver.