Seaton Family (before we are five)

That was quick...no more naps for Brady!

At Montessori, the nappers have a special room that they get to go to after lunch and recess for a 2 hour nap. In the nap room, they have an assigned cot and their own blanket and pillow from home. They try to keep it limited to the 3-year olds and the 4-year olds that still need naps. This year, Connor was kicked out of the nap room on day 1 of the new school year. He has adjusted since then but he WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED when it first happened (see separate posting).

Today, I got a call from Brady's teacher. He is being kicked out of the nap room AFTER ONLY TWO WEEKS! Gosh Brady - it took Connor a year before he got kicked out! However, I am not surprised as Brady has never been a child to nap or even need to get more than 9-10 hours of sleep a night. Apparently, he has not napped every day, takes more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, and was very disruptive to the other nappers today. When I told Brady that he wasn't going to be a napper anymore, he was overjoyed and liked being considered big enough to skip naps. He is looking forward to going back to the classroom for story time and more work time. (BTW, the kids are allowed to take a nap in the classroom during story time and some usually do for about 20 minutes).

Guess what?

We had high hopes to get the boys to send the "big" message to everyone - after a few failed attempts, this was the best we got! Yes, the Seaton Family is increasing to a family of five....I hope we are ready for this!

For the next 30 minutes after we told them, we received a series of questions and comments from Connor. Connor seems to be very excited about this new change. Brady didn't seem to really understand what was going on or didn't want to.

How old will I be? I asked him when he was turning 5 and he responded January 11th. I then told him that the baby was due in April. He immediately said "that is after January which means I will be 5".

We need to get my old crib down and put it in the room with me and Brady. (Sorry bud..the baby will have it's own room)

What are you going to name the baby, because I have a few good names you could use?

If I sit on your lap, will that hurt the baby?

Will we get to play with the baby? Do I have to share my milk?

Brady, do you want a brother or a sister? You want a sister since you already have me as your brother and I have you as a brother.

Well, this should be an interesting 8 months considering the questions were already exhausting me. I hope the boys aren't disappointed if the baby ends up being a brother...yes, we will be finding out. The organizer in me has to be prepared! We are anxiously awaiting the first ultrasound in early September.

Louisville Weekend Getaway

Our annual tradition of taking a road trip for a weekend getaway with Mimi and Papa was last weekend to Louisville. We started out the weekend on Saturday morning at Mega Caverns, which was an hour long tram ride through underground tunnels under the Louisville Zoo. The caverns used to be a fallout shelter back in the 60s and they still had some of the setup on display. As part of the tour, the tour guide ate a worm from the worm farm - ewww! After Mega Caverns, we stopped for a quick lunch before heading to the Louisville Zoo the remainder of the day.

The Louisville Zoo is a nice zoo, but it was a very hot day which made the day less enjoyable. The boys had the best time at the new Splash Zone where they were able to get in their swimsuits and play. I witnessed the perfected line-cutting from my boys. The main attraction was a slide feature with an attendant directing when the kids could go. My boys would come down the slide, run around to the line and look for the first open space. One time, I think someone called Brady on it and he just looked up to them and smiled. I mean, how can you resist?? Another time, Brady kept trying to squeeze by this one girl (probably about 8) and he kept getting the leg jut. It was hilarious to watch.

After the Zoo, we headed to an eclectic place, Lynn's Paradise Cafe, for dinner. There was plenty at this restaurant to keep the boys entertained while we waited for our yummy dinner. The next day, we were a little disappointed that nothing opened until noon in Louisville, so we ended up driving to Mammoth Cave area. Everyone but mommy took a walking tour of one of the caves. Mommy sat out since she started the weekend out with a foot issue and after walking all over the Zoo it was really bad on Sunday. The ride home was very quiet...the boys slept the whole way home. I think it was an enjoyable weekend together as a family, but not our best weekend getaway.

Lessons of the weekend: - Don't go on a road trip on a hot weekend...unless you plan on spending it indoors or in water. - Don't go the weekend after school starts and one of your children are being weaned from naps (grouchy and feelings easily hurt). - Put the kids in the same row in the car to eliminate disputes about who sits where. - Don't let mommy go on a walking activity after being told she has Achilles Tendinitis (she will slow down the pace).

My boys and discipline

I posed the question to my friends with 2 or more kids...do you find that you have to discipline one child more than the other and you feel like you are showing favoritism or leniency towards one, when really it is just that one of them responds better to the 1st warning?

As expected, everyone deals with this battle (some days more than others) and finds that each child is handled differently. With my boys, you only have to give Brady a warning and he will correct his behavior and usually respond with an "okay". Sometimes, you get the cute little smile from him, which helps ease the tension as well. Chris would like to believe that this is how he was as a child and I would also like to believe I was this same type of child (our parents may correct us on this one).

With Connor, lately it is a completely different picture. He gets in trouble and in return you get the excuses, the backtalk, the defensiveness, the whine, and the tantrum. We are then forced to resort to more than just the warning...he ends up in timeouts, he ends up being sent to his room, and more sometimes. It is enough to drive parents (and grandparents who got to witness one of these tantrums) over the edge. Chris believes that Connor inherited the Aunt Julie defense mechanisms in this situation.

At the end of the day, there are usually hugs and kisses and Connor usually always apologizes for his behavior. However, we won't lie and say that it isn't a challenge everyday! Please tell me they outgrow this...

Brady...not up to par!

The last couple weeks have been rough for our Brady. He had a cough last week that was starting to settle in his chest and make his stomach hurt, so we took him to the doctor on Friday. They said he didn't have any type of infection, but that one could develop so they gave him a 3 day antibiotic. They also recommended we do the breathing treatments (he has to have these done every once in awhile as a result of his RSV at 6 months old). He told the grandparents that "he just got a quick checkup" and he was fine for the weekend fun.

Tuesday, we get a call from school that Brady had a list of symptoms they wanted us to be aware of. He didn't eat his lunch and complained that his left ear, stomach and throat hurt. No fever though, so they said he could hang out there until the end of the day. We called the doctor and they didn't see any reason to see him since he just got off the antibiotic.

That evening, I came home and found him in bed at 6:30pm. That is a sure sign of a kid that doesn't feel good - put himself to bed. This time he had a low fever and asked for some medicine. He was soon distracted by a visit from the grandparents, so he got up and joined us. He claimed he was better after drinking some Pediasure, but I am sure it was the Tylenol helping. As soon as the grandparents announced they were leaving, he grabbed his pillow and blanket and announced he was going to bed. Poor little guy...he woke up the next day and said he was all better. Guess we will see how the rest of the week develops.

No more naps for Connor...

As I mentioned, the first day of school was pure chaos and it didn't help that they decided to take Connor's naps away. We started placing the nap items in the nap room and realized that Connor didn't have a cot. There are several cots usually in the middle that aren't labeled with a name, so Connor tagged one of those as his and started telling Brady how cool it will be to be together.

On my way out, I noticed his name wasn't on the nap list anymore. They had decided it was time for Connor to be weaned, I mean time to go cold-turkey from naps since he was a 2nd year student now. Since they didn't prepare the parents for this change and Connor was VERY enthusiastic about sharing the nap room with Brady, I told them they had their work cut out for them in having that conversation with Connor. I told them that they needed to play up the big boy angle and the fact that his best friend wouldn't be a napper anymore either.

That evening, Connor asked several times why we didn't sign him up as a napper and if we would sign him up again. I finally told him he would need to talk to Ms. Diane about it. Either he had that conversation (and it didn't go far) or he has gotten used to the idea of being in the classroom a couple hours longer, because we haven't been asked again.

First Day of School

The day finally arrived...Brady started his first day at the big boy school. He has been so excited ever since he finally accomplished the task of potty-training. A week before he was to start, he got to pick out a new pillow and a Cars blanket for nap time. His final week at daycare was met with several ploys for sick days...he was ready for the big boy school and saw no point in prolonging the transition.

The first day of school for Brady was also the first day for Connor to return to Ms. Beth's class as a 2nd year preschooler. They were so excited to get their pillows, blankets, and bags all ready for school. I barely got a picture of them as we were rushing out the door! The whole way to school, Connor was telling Brady about all the things we get to see along the path down Green River to school (our cop that always has someone pulled over didn't disappoint either). He was also updating Brady on what to expect when we would arrive at school.

We arrived at Montessori and it was WILD! Between my excited boys and all the other excited kids, it was pure chaos trying to get the kids and their belongings dropped off. I think having his brother there helped Brady transition just fine, so much that he almost forgot to kiss mommy goodbye.

At the end of the day, it was so nice to pick the boys up from one school. They both shared the events of the day and seemed very excited about the new school year.

Five little boys headed to the zoo...

...they laughed, cried, fought, pretend fought, and had fun together.

Since school was closed today, we decided to schedule a playdate with Connor's closest friends from school and what would soon be Brady's friends also. In fact, one of the boys will be changing rooms to Brady's room, so they will be together all day.

We started out with lunch and playtime at McD's, before deciding to chance the rain and head to the zoo. Glad we did as the rain never came. As I said, they laughed, cried, fought, pretend fought, and had fun together. The mommies enjoyed visiting and watching the boys. It was interesting to see how this group of boys interacted...almost like brothers at times. We also saw where they get some of their sayings and behaviors from...each other. Hopefully they enjoy each other's company tomorrow when they return to school together.

Brady...are you ready for your new school?

Finally...the day has arrived that Brady will be moving to the big boy school with Connor. Yay - they will both be at the same school, although it should be interesting also. They will go full day there, so part of the day they will actually be together. They will be together from drop off until 9am, in the nap room together, and from 3 until pick up. I am not sure what calls we will get about the two of them annoying and aggravating each other...we see plenty of it at home.

Connor has been preparing Brady for Montessori over the last couple weeks and has been expressing his concerns for Brady. He has already decided that he will need to help his little brother with the mean kids...I am pretty sure that Brady can hold his own, but the thought is sweet. The other night, he played teacher and was teaching Brady how you wait for your name to be called for the lunch line and you have to stand patiently. He also likes to remind Brady that he is expected to be a big boy and can't whine about everything. He used picking a chair at lunch as an example and also went on to tell him what he is allowed to cry about. I am pretty sure the reason Connor was so good at these lectures and examples is because he has had the "talks" given to him at some point.

I think Brady is well-prepared, thanks in part to Connor, and is really excited about his new big-boy school. He even has his Cars blanket ready to go for nap time.

Tweet Tweet

Last week, we noticed that our only tree (that is over 3 feet tall) that had died had been replaced by Combs during the week. Connor's first reaction was "where is my bird house that I built at school?". Apparently, he had placed it in the tree and we didn't get to remove it before the old tree was carted away. He was very upset...and luckily I remembered that I had a bird house kit in his closet.

Watch out birds...Connor and Brady are here to build you the home of your dreams. Friday night, they started the construction process. Daddy had Connor and Brady read the instructions by looking at the pictures and matching up the letters on the pieces. He even let them assist with hammering (since Papa taught them how weeks ago).

The next day was the decision on paint and the task of painting the bird house. Connor picked red and Brady picked yellow and blue. Connor thought he came up with a solution of "red for the body, 1/2 the roof yellow, and 1/2 the roof blue". However, when the painting began, Daddy gave them each one paint can and one paint brush and told them to paint on their side. I was really surprised by the neatness they exhibited in both the process and the results. Connor did venture over to Brady's side a couple times, so there is a nice pink section of the roof also. Very proud of them...and Grandma gave them another bird house to paint for another day (daddy is very excited).

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed a nice suprise birthday lunch at the Old Mill with Mimi and family for her birthday. The boys were really excited to see the Mill in the dining room. Afterwards, we ventured to Mimi's where the cousins watched a movie while daddy assisted with getting Mimi's new laptop setup. That evening, the boys were overjoyed that they got to bring home a cupcake from Mimi's birthday cake...with black icing. Baths were definitely in order...

Big Boys Rewarded

We officially have two big boys now...Connor earned his stars for a Chuck E Cheese trip in early July with friends (for getting himself dressed) and then Brady (a little slower on the motivation) earned his stars (for potty-training) to earn an afternoon of fun at Chuck E Cheese in early August.

Things have been going great...Connor gets himself dressed (most days) without assistance and Brady has followed suit. Brady is no longer wearing pull-ups and is fully potty-trained. He even negotiated no pull-ups at bedtime about 2 weeks ago and has been 80% successful. When I told him he needed to go back to pull-ups, he was very adamant that it would never happen again. So, instead, we took away his bedtime drink and we have had no issues.