Happy He Is Risen Day!

Yesterday, I said "Let's go to the 8 AM service. We're awake anyway and we can avoid the rush."

Shane is normally up between 5:30 and 6:30 AM. Carrie took our showers after Shane nodded off, so that things would go smoothly if we were lucky and got to sleep until 7:00 AM.

Parenting has emphasized the worth of being prepared.

Shane woke up around 4 AM crying. It wasn't his normal fakey stuff.  I listened for a little bit to see if he could self-soothe, before I acted.  A quick-check later, Shane was snoozing and I was laying down in his room.

I almost got up and wandered back to Carrie and I's room, but I sleepily decided against it. It would be a nice Easter surprise for Carrie if I could let her sleep in. If I was in Shane's room, he would wake her up crying and we could scoot off downstairs to play.

The house did not wake up until 7:50 AM.

Oops.

I must have told Shane "Good Morning!" five different times, but he kept passing back out. Whenever he zonked, I shrugged and said "Me too!" Then I'd zonk out myself for the next 15-20 minutes. He didn't fully rouse until Carrie came in to check on us (Mommy is worth waking up for!).

7:50 AM!!

It's the latest I've known Shane to sleep (and by extension the latest I've slept when he's home!).

We didn't make the 8 AM service, but we did make it to the 9:30 AM. Afterwards, we went to Harris Teeter and Carrie got to satisfy her craving for an Asian Pear roll at the restaurant next door. Shane got his "WAHLGREENS!!!" fix and we played in their toy aisle before practicing our balance on the curbs outside.

It's been a great way to start the day and end spring break.

After nap time, our plan is to go visit my parents, Jama, Kathleen, Stu, and Baby Cole.

Happy Easter 2013 everyone!

Potty Training

We have sorta-kinda begun potty-training with Shane. It started with me trying to get him to empty his bladder before he emptied it in his bathwater. It's progressed to all of the grandparents and us sticking Shane on the pot for diaper changes.Shane can pee on command in a toilet, but I think he more does it for his own amusement than any sense of wanting to be clean.

He also thinks it's quite funny to fart on the pot. That always gets big laughs.

He won't poop in it, though.

Yesterday, I caught Shane as he started to grunt in a corner (By this point in my life, I could recognize his poop face anywhere). I stuck him on the pot and cheered him like a first-time cheerleader. I was into it. Shane passed some gas, but nothing of substance. I strapped his diaper back on and he ran off and pooped in a corner post-haste.

Clearly, this is a work in progress (with a long way to go!).

Once You Pop...

Pop-Pop laughed, "We may have created a monster, but it was fun!"

Pop-Pop came up with a new way for Shane to play today.

Don't worry. It's the recycle bin.

Plus, Shane's sitting in a box (that makes it extra fun for him).

Pop-Pop wheeled Shane up and down the driveway. Shane would shout "THAT WAY!" and they'd be off. At one point, we closed the lid to see if we could run "off road" and surprise Shane with where we ended up.

That's when things got a little crazy.

Pop-Pop and I were standing in the grass in the front yard with a big recycling bin loaded with my son. I said, "Let's wheel him down the sidewalk near the front door."

Pop-Pop said, "Why not take him in?"

My wife's likely reaction flashed to mind.

Pop-Pop grinned.

I grinned.

We wheeled Shane through the front door, down the hallway, and into the kitchen.

I called for Carrie.

The rest is history!

The boys were all smiling as we wheeled the recycling bin back outside. That was when Pop-Pop unleashed his (hopefully not prophetic) 'monster' comment. Shane was livid when we pulled him out to wash his hands.

He got over it when Pop-Pop gave him Cheetos!

New Door

Carrie must be feeling better. She installed a new front door for our house.

It was a busy 'nap time.' I did all the heavy lifting, but Carrie wanted to do some of the chisel work herself.

Here's what it used to look like.

Carrie has wanted to replace our front door since we saw the house. She's never stopped looking. Earlier this week she found the door she wanted for close to half off and pounced on it. Most door installation quotes are for more than I'd like to pay, so my wife came up with a cheap solution.

Carrie inspected the old door frame for rot or any signs of wear and decided it would be fine to pop the old door off its hinges. We had to do a little chiseling to line things up, but we have a functioning front door without spending hundreds on contractors. We replaced the lock and busted knob to make sure we don't get locked out again, as well.

There's still weather stripping, painting, and other odds and ends to do, but it looks great! It lets a ton of light into the entry hallway, too. There were a couple of times I walked by and did a double-take; I thought the front door was open. Nope! The big window means lots of natural light.

My wife must be feeling better to be this productive. She was beaming the rest of the day and saying "We've got a new door!"

Shanese

There are times when I can't understand a word Shane is saying.

He will look me in the eye, say his piece, and I will be absolutely clueless.

It offends him.

Sometimes, I ask "Can you point?" and that solves the issue. Other times, I call for Carrie. She is the leading interpreter in the field of Shanese (like Chinese - only with Shane!). If neither one of us can figure it out, we scratch our heads and try to distract him with something new.

Nana told me that she sometimes tries to repeat back to Shane exactly what she heard.

She also said it pisses him off.

Shane hears it the correct way in his head. When you repeat him it doesn't sound like what he thought he said. It sounds like gibberish (or Shanese!).

It annoys him.

Nana and Pop-pop said this gives them flashbacks of raising me. I would do the EXACT same thing. Jama has a story she likes to tell where I wanted to "JENNA JAME!" (aka "rent a game"). She couldn't understand a word I was saying and I was livid!

Like father, like son!

Hopefully, Shane's speech will get better sooner than mine, or he will find a friend who can translate for him. I had Bill (Dan's brother) growing up and we've been friend ever since.

Actually, I would prefer Shane find a lifelong friend over his speech improving sooner. I'm not worried about him as an adult. Either his speech will get better, or it was not meant to and he will adapt. Life marches on.

In the meantime, I wonder if they teach Shanese at the local college. I need a few lessons!

Speechisms Never End

Shane calls our cars "Black car" and "Prius."

"Prius" sounds very odd when Shane doesn't pronounce the 'r.'  The first time I heard it, I swore I heard an 'n' between the 'i' and 'u.'

"Mommy Prius?"

Snotty Boy

Pollen is in the air.

Shane's been a snot faucet. 

His nose is constantly dripping. 

Shane's okay with the taste, but he's not okay with Daddy using a tissue to wipe down from his upper lip to his chin! You can hear the snot burgling within whenever he coughs. Shane's allergy doctor gave us some meds that we're giving him daily to help.

Shane woke up a little after 5 AM today. He started a fakey-whine so I ignored it for 10-15 minutes until he said my name. I went in and tried to lay down with him, so he'd go back to sleep. Shane's congestion was audible. After twenty minutes of coughing, snot, and Shane trying to sleep I called it quits and brought him downstairs.

It would be easier if Shane would blow his nose. I'm trying to teach him how. He seems to think that I'm trying to torture him, though. He always lets out a whine or protest whenever I say "Blow!" Otherwise, the allergies really don't stop Shane from doing anything. I'll stick him in a steamy shower later to dislodge whatever I can.

On the plus side, I've been able to cut loose. I spent the whole morning farting up a nose-hair-curling storm and it didn't bother my boy in the least! Maybe the allergies are a Daddy-survival strategy for Shane...

Climbing Around

Today, Shane and I went on the hunt for school buses. Shane’s future elementary school only had one parked in the lot, so we drove five minutes down the road to another elementary school that had four buses!

Next, we went to Chic-Fil-A. I had a coupon for a free breakfast entrée, and Nana has told me time and time again about how much Shane enjoys eating breakfast out! Shane got a Bacon, Eggs, and Cheese Biscuits while I had a Spicy Chicken Biscuit*. I had almost forgotten how good the biscuits are there. I used to stop by Chic-Fil-A more often when it was on my commute to work.

But, I digress.

The real fun started after Shane and I ate.

The Chic-Fil-A we were at had a two-story climbing structure with tunnels and a slide. Shane bolted up like he was five! I ditched my shoes and crawled up after him (half expecting a manager to ask me to leave at some point!)

I learned two things: 1) Shane is more than capable of scrambling around and I don’t need to worry about him and 2) play structures are way rougher on knees than in my memories.

Shane loved climbing around. We were up there for half an hour and he refused to leave. I eventually had to shove him to the slide. My friend and roommate at work, Matt, was at school rearranging our classroom. Once I removed Shane from the play area, the two of us dropped by to count school buses, say hi, and run up and down the main hallway.

We were out for three hours, but Shane played hard. I had to roll down the windows to keep him from snoozing on the way home!

*Who am I kidding? I ate half of Shane’s biscuit, too. 

Know Thy Weakness

Despite my previous postings, it would be a lie to say that I am always highly motivated and energized when playing with my son.  No one can be motivated all of the time unless they are unhinged, on some killer meds, or a robot. 

One of my tricks for when I’m running on empty is to take Shane out and about.

It can get really boring sitting at home all day (for Shane and me). New scenery excites the bejeebers out of Shane and helps shake me awake. 

My son is quite the adventurer. Shane is always pointing and saying “THAT WAY!” when we’re in the car. I’m always amazed that he A) knows where we’re going and B) will recognize landmarks and call for “course corrections” to places he wants to visit!

Shane and the Kitties

Shane can produce a "K" sound now!