Micah's New Love

On Sunday morning I went out for a run (more like a walk/jog/pant session). I was making my last turn to head home when I saw some toddler toys at the end of someone's lawn that were up for grabs. I picked up a little plastic tricycle, thinking that Micah might like to try it out. I had no idea what happiness this little plastic freebie would bring to my son.

The first day he tried it out, he was in a love/hate relationship. He loved it when he could get some good pedaling in, and hated it when it got stuck and couldn't get it to move anymore. Yet he was up for the challenge and even said, "no thank you, mom" when I tried to help him along. By the end of that afternoon of play, he really got the pedaling down.

We took a couple walks after work on Monday and Tuesday, with Micah pedaling alongside. He had a meltdown when he had to get off his bike. Wow, this kid was really falling in love.

Today (Wednesday), Scotty had the idea to go to a nearby trail in which Micah could ride better on a level path. Micah thoroughly enjoyed himself. He nearly burst into tears again when we were about to load up the car with the bike and ourselves, but he composed himself (when we told him to). :-)

Wow, Micah has really become emotionally attached to this thing! Ask him about his bike sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

A distinction between cars and people

There is a branch of our bank just over a 1/2 mile from our house. I had a deposit to make last week, and it was a beautiful day outside, so Micah and I ventured out and walked to the bank. What should've taken about 20-30 minutes turned into an hour walk, but it was a ton of fun, and good exercise. We played with sticks along the way, and talked a lot about safety in how to walk on sidewalks and hold hands while crossing the street. I kept hammering the point that "Only cars drive in the streets" and "we have to walk on the sidewalks." However, "when we need to cross the street we HAVE to hold hands." The little wheels in Micah's head were turning. All this talk about cars, streets and people holding hands while crossing the street made him realize something very different between what cars and people do in the streets. He plainly stated, "cars don't hold hands."

A picture for grandma :-)

Micah and I have been enjoying some BEAUTIFUL afternoons outside. I got my camera out yesterday and took some snapshots. I think this one in particular is really cute. Thought g'ma in California would appreciate it too. :-)

Pancakes and Birds

So far it's been a lovely, peaceful Saturday morning, just me and Micah while daddy sleeps (he was up late last night). We made pancakes, and boy were they delicious! Micah had his apron on and everything. :-) Then we noticed a robin on our fence outside. We watched him for quite some time, and then I found this site on birds. Micah and I have been looking at pictures and listening to bird sounds on the couch now. It's overcast outside, but not in a gloomy way. The snow is continuing to melt, the birds have returned, and spring may actually be here. Being Michigan, we may have another snowfall, but it's feeling far from winter these days!

A rare, sweet moment

Today Micah was pushing 3 hours for his afternoon nap, so I decided to go in his room to wake him up (usually he only sleeps half that, or less)! I think this was in part due to some late nights, early mornings, full days and an occasional skipped nap over the past week.

I slipped into Micah's room and found him in the very same position he had laid down - boy was he sleeping like a rock! It's not too common that I catch him asleep anymore (he's generally my alarm clock in the morning), so this was a special moment to look down on my sweet little boy. So tender and calm. I'm so thankful for the child God has gifted to Scott and I.

These boots were meant for walking...

Scotty, Micah and I enjoy good walks together. Due to colder weather, it's not as frequent of an activity during Michigan winters. But over the last week, temps have been slowly rising and snow is beginning to melt. We have begun to take family walks again and we just love it! However, there's still enough snow on the ground for Micah to create a snowball or two and hear the crunching sound underfoot with his snow boots. This is a good thing for, as he's informed us, "Micah love de snow."

"Micah dwopped it"

Micah sleeps with a handful of stuffed animals. Sometimes he wakes up in the morning and completely ignores these cuddly creatures who've kept him company all night long, and doesn't interact with them again until he goes to bed again. Usually, he will at least take his flopsy puppy and carry him around throughout the day. However, the other day he decided to begin his day with ALL of the animals that had been in his crib with him. One by one he "dwopped" (dropped) them down the stairs so they could be on the main level with us as we started our day of play.

A Reptile in the Toilet

In the mornings Scotty, Micah and I try to have a family huddle prayer time before Scott starts work. No request is too big or small for God, so I asked that Micah would successfully use the toilet, especially #2; Micah still hadn't experienced that... We brought some other requests and thanks to God because He is just so good, and then we bid dad farewell (just watched him go down the hallway - he works from home). :-)

Micah and I headed downstairs and shortly thereafter we had our first accident of the day...yup, emptied his bowels in his little Thomas the Train underwear. We cleaned up the mess and kept going about our day. A while later Micah disappeared into another room, and he was a little too quite. I found him too late. He had repeated the same act from earlier. There goes another pair of Thomas the Train underwear in the hamper (good thing it was laundry day).

After a bath, Micah smelled brand new and we had a clean slate to work with. I lost count for the number of times I asked Micah if he had to go to the bathroom today. I could not resort to diapers - we needed to push forward, no matter how messy!

Mid-afternoon he had some successful potty trips, and enjoyed a fair amount of time on the iPod Touch. Toward the beginning of the evening, Micah and I were in the living room. He slipped under my desk and said, "mommy other room." I declined, and asked him if he needed to use the restroom. He said no. A moment later he was tucked away in the coat closet (the kid was trying to find some privacy)! I repeated my question and he gave me the same answer. Then, a bit later he piped up, "Micah go potty!"

Usually that means he's already done his business, so I thought I was too late. But lo and behold, he was dry! So we booked it downstairs, and got him on the toilet in time. Woo-hoo! I thought he was done, but he surprised us both. He successfully put his feces where they belong - in the pot. Double Woo-hoo!!

He didn't know quite what to make of the whole situation, but I definitely affirmed him and let him know that it was a good thing!! He took a peek and declared, "Snake Poo-poo." Oh goodness, that just cracked me up.

When we got back upstairs, I said he could have 2 pretzel sticks (those are daddy's snacks). And you know what, I think that pleased him just as much as the iPod Touch reward. Ha! And you know what else? God answered my prayer from this morning. :-)

Move over sticker chart, the iPod Touch is in town

We've been potty training for over a month now. Still more accidents then success, but that's okay - it's a process. I know it's partly due to my own inconsistency with letting him wear diapers one day and underwear the next...it's my goal this week to only have him in a diaper if we're out and about.

Anyway...

Over the course of a month we've read, reread, and pretty much memorized several potty books, of which Micah occasionally quotes. We've also learned that Micah really likes technology (just like daddy). We downloaded some toddler game apps on our iPod Touch for Micah to play whenever he successfully takes care of business in the toilet. It is funny to hear him clearly request, "Micah want iPod Touch." Whatever happened to giving your kid a sticker as a reward? :-)