Summer has come and gone with not a single post...
We spent a large part of the summer sleep training Drew. Huh? At 3 1/2? Well, we never ever let him cry it out to fall asleep, so 95% of the time someone would lay down with him as he fell asleep. So this summer we used an incentive plan that we just made up to teach him to fall asleep on his own. We made a calendar to mark the days, and he looked forward to small rewards to mark his progress.
It actually all started out by mistake. We were grocery shopping at Whole Foods and Drew saw a Venus Fly Trap. He said he wanted one and Jim said that if he put himself to sleep he would buy him 10. Well, wouldn't you know, Drew was ready to put himself to sleep that night- and he did- no problem. 10 Venus Fly Traps later...hahaha, just kidding. We bought one with over ten little mouths. Whew, I'm glad that counted as ten. I did not want to be finding flies for ten plants! So that was a prize for one night.
Next he had to do it for one week (Prize: 2 kickboards and a movie trip- said to the tune of "two turntables and a microphone" if you know that song from back in the day which also sounds like ten pound Tevas and a microphone). I was really trying to promote experiences rather than material items.
A month of falling asleep by himself resulted in a trip to the water park! Jim and I were most excitied about that prize! Drew had grown tired of all of the X's he had to make (he does make a pretty good X now with all of that practice), so I had to make dots on the days that he succeeded and he'd do like 5 x's in one day. Needless to say, he puts himself to sleep with little complaining. We check on him every 5 minutes or so two or three times after we've turned out the lights. Success!
We spent a large part of the summer sleep training Drew. Huh? At 3 1/2? Well, we never ever let him cry it out to fall asleep, so 95% of the time someone would lay down with him as he fell asleep. So this summer we used an incentive plan that we just made up to teach him to fall asleep on his own. We made a calendar to mark the days, and he looked forward to small rewards to mark his progress.
It actually all started out by mistake. We were grocery shopping at Whole Foods and Drew saw a Venus Fly Trap. He said he wanted one and Jim said that if he put himself to sleep he would buy him 10. Well, wouldn't you know, Drew was ready to put himself to sleep that night- and he did- no problem. 10 Venus Fly Traps later...hahaha, just kidding. We bought one with over ten little mouths. Whew, I'm glad that counted as ten. I did not want to be finding flies for ten plants! So that was a prize for one night.
Next he had to do it for one week (Prize: 2 kickboards and a movie trip- said to the tune of "two turntables and a microphone" if you know that song from back in the day which also sounds like ten pound Tevas and a microphone). I was really trying to promote experiences rather than material items.
A month of falling asleep by himself resulted in a trip to the water park! Jim and I were most excitied about that prize! Drew had grown tired of all of the X's he had to make (he does make a pretty good X now with all of that practice), so I had to make dots on the days that he succeeded and he'd do like 5 x's in one day. Needless to say, he puts himself to sleep with little complaining. We check on him every 5 minutes or so two or three times after we've turned out the lights. Success!
Drew and I participated in our first charity event together back in June. It was a one mile run which raised money for building handicapped accessible playgrounds, supporting families with ill children and no or poor health insurance, and researching childhood heart related illnesses. It is called Ryan's Run. Many parents ran with their child/children in strollers, but not us. Oh no. Drew would have none of that. He ran, walked, and finally had a bit of a piggyback ride to finish out the race.
Drew's at the starting line with all of the big kids! I had to pull him away to avoid him getting trampled by the 'serious' runners.
Coming in to the home stretch!
Drew's at the starting line with all of the big kids! I had to pull him away to avoid him getting trampled by the 'serious' runners.
Coming in to the home stretch!Right after our run, Drew and I headed down to Ocean City, NJ with the Talcott side of the family. Jim was on Phish tour, so he joined us a few days into the trip, but until then Drew was spoiled by all of his extended family...Grandpa Jim, Uncle Stanley, Aunt Susan, Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Judy, Uncle Cody, and Aunt Pat. And that's just the aunts and uncles- never mind naming all of the cousins!
Uncle Stanley took Drew to the park and the beach!
Aunt Susan played a good game of Old Maid along with cooking and baking to die for.
Uncle Ronnie tried to avoid an incoming attack.
And then the daddy came back 'cuz he always, always does!
Daddy and Drew time.
WooHoo!
Uncle Stanley took Drew to the park and the beach!
Aunt Susan played a good game of Old Maid along with cooking and baking to die for.
Uncle Ronnie tried to avoid an incoming attack.
And then the daddy came back 'cuz he always, always does!
Daddy and Drew time.
WooHoo!Meet Tomato Eyes
The rest of the summer flew by with many trips to the bay and ocean near us in NJ, many trips up to CT, and lots of outside hikes and park adventures- hence no computer updates.
Not to mention that Uncle Billy and Aunt Sue-Sue are due to have a baby November 4th! Finally, I'll be a real Auntie!
My dad and stepmom came down for a short but busy visit (in their convertible), so Drew took his first convertible ride and (thank goodness) did not love it- too windy. Grammajo was Drew's assistant for a baking project, we went to the beach that's a mile from our house, and we went to a couple of local farmer's markets...oh yeah, and we swam in their hotel pool.
Drew's teaching Grammajo how to bake.
Grandpa Bill and Drew 'digging to China.'
We went to VT over Labor Day weekend to visit friends, but of course there was work to be done at Murray Street. Not too much, so most of our visit was relaxing. We stayed with Piper and Avi the whole time- Thanks again for having us for such a long visit!
Dianne hosted dinner at Apartment B - Murray Street. She was busy cooking so she couldn't pose for our picture with Piper. Poor Dianne, she always gets stuck in the kitchen...I keep saying I'll help, but I just never manage to. I did make dessert though- very important.
Drew has started up a new school year at a new school. He now takes the bus. The first week was hard for him, but now he races to the bus. I would just love to be a fly on the wall in his classroom to find out what REALLY is going on. I can't imagine having/getting to spend two and a half hours with a group of 3 and 4 year olds 'playing' school. Drew came home telling me that he was the line leader, got to feed the fish, AND got to count the kids for attendence. Really? Were you the only kid in class or are you just telling me what you wish you got to do? He also tells me that some kids pee and poop in their pants. Oh my! I am glad we are through with all of that at this point- although I'm not promising anything. Drew's new potty thing is peeing outside- and only outside. Yes, Mom, you did tell me not to let him pee outside, but it is just so convenient! And now he pretty much has no interest in peeing inside. Let's just hope he's not the kid who pees on the playground at school ever! He's also abbreviating everything: TV is T, vitamins is vits (with a long i sound), potty is pot and so on. Pretty funny, but sometimes I don't know what he's talking about.
First day of school jitters. All you can see are Drew's arms hanging on for dear life.
Drew was preparing his after school snack the other day. It consisted of pear tomatoes dipped in cinnamon. What? His choice and he ate them all. Here he is so proud of his snack.
Drew took this pictures of me watering the last of our summer flowers. One of the nice things about Jersey is that our summer flowers do last quite a bit longer. I was planting bulbs last December! Unheard of in Vermont.
Not to mention that Uncle Billy and Aunt Sue-Sue are due to have a baby November 4th! Finally, I'll be a real Auntie!
My dad and stepmom came down for a short but busy visit (in their convertible), so Drew took his first convertible ride and (thank goodness) did not love it- too windy. Grammajo was Drew's assistant for a baking project, we went to the beach that's a mile from our house, and we went to a couple of local farmer's markets...oh yeah, and we swam in their hotel pool.
Drew's teaching Grammajo how to bake.
Grandpa Bill and Drew 'digging to China.'
Drew and I have a new family member...Kitten. We adopted Billy and Sue's 6 year old cat that we have been begging for for months. She is finally ours and lives so happily with us. I say that Kitten is mine and Drew's because Jim says he wants nothing to do with her. But he said the same thing about Moose...
We went to VT over Labor Day weekend to visit friends, but of course there was work to be done at Murray Street. Not too much, so most of our visit was relaxing. We stayed with Piper and Avi the whole time- Thanks again for having us for such a long visit!
Dianne hosted dinner at Apartment B - Murray Street. She was busy cooking so she couldn't pose for our picture with Piper. Poor Dianne, she always gets stuck in the kitchen...I keep saying I'll help, but I just never manage to. I did make dessert though- very important.I'm glad we squeezed in a short visit with Sara, Zach, and Abby. Zach and Drew have known each other since Sara and I were in our birthing class together! Zach is probably two inches taller than Drew (who used to be the bigger one as babies if I am remembering correctly), but Zach is standing higher up on the hill so it makes it seem as if he were two years older than Drew! They had lots of fun hanging out and did very well sharing. Next summer we'll have to make more time for them to play together (and for Sara and me to catch up!).
Piper, Avi, Drew and I went to a hot air balloon festival together. It was much cooler than I expected.
Drew inside of what is considered a smaller hot air balloon- it was huge. There were probably at least 75 people hanging out inside of this sideways balloon.
Balloons are starting to fill with air.
And off they go.
Drew inside of what is considered a smaller hot air balloon- it was huge. There were probably at least 75 people hanging out inside of this sideways balloon.
Balloons are starting to fill with air.
And off they go.Drew has started up a new school year at a new school. He now takes the bus. The first week was hard for him, but now he races to the bus. I would just love to be a fly on the wall in his classroom to find out what REALLY is going on. I can't imagine having/getting to spend two and a half hours with a group of 3 and 4 year olds 'playing' school. Drew came home telling me that he was the line leader, got to feed the fish, AND got to count the kids for attendence. Really? Were you the only kid in class or are you just telling me what you wish you got to do? He also tells me that some kids pee and poop in their pants. Oh my! I am glad we are through with all of that at this point- although I'm not promising anything. Drew's new potty thing is peeing outside- and only outside. Yes, Mom, you did tell me not to let him pee outside, but it is just so convenient! And now he pretty much has no interest in peeing inside. Let's just hope he's not the kid who pees on the playground at school ever! He's also abbreviating everything: TV is T, vitamins is vits (with a long i sound), potty is pot and so on. Pretty funny, but sometimes I don't know what he's talking about.
First day of school jitters. All you can see are Drew's arms hanging on for dear life.
Drew took this pictures of me watering the last of our summer flowers. One of the nice things about Jersey is that our summer flowers do last quite a bit longer. I was planting bulbs last December! Unheard of in Vermont.
2 comments:
Hahaha...I am laughing so hard at your last few sentences. Peeing outside is so much easier and less mess for us to clean up inside :) I love your picture of the boys...I think it's better than any of mine! I'm glad Drew has had a good start to his year! Can't wait to see you guys again soon (and yes, for a longer playdate/mommy catch-up session!). Thanks for the update! Love, Sara (and Travis, Zach & Abby)
What wonderful memories and pictures. You are the Blog Master!
Love and hugs from Grammjo <3
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