What's for lunch, Joss?

What is in this bowl Mommy put on my tray? Is it? Could it be?

YES!!!! MAC & CHEESE!!!

How do I feel about having Mac & Cheese for lunch?

I LOVE it!!!

Now. .. how does this spoon work? . . .

That's my son!

Daylight savings has thrown us all for a loop. Mommy actually had to wake *both* boys up today!
M: Opens Paul's door, letting the hall light splash across his sleeping face. Good morning, Sunshine!
P: Throws arms dramatically over his face. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Oh, Pastina!

Why do you have to be so delicious, yet so hard to clean up?

I've been feeding myself Pastina and Cottage Cheese. Yummy!!

First really good meal I've had in close to a week, what with the fever and the stomach bug. . .

I'm feeling better now!!

(And I have 5 teeth!!)

I also have a tongue! Ith righ 'ere!

Mommy? Can we wrap this up now?

Ah - before the bath, the dust bust!

More Pictures from Pantless Potty Training weekend

Joss (fully clothed) is so excited for his big brother!

Happy Paul and relieved (in the potty, of course!) Daddy.


Paul got to talk to Safta and tell her about his Potty Training. When prompted to tell her what he was wearing, he said "I wearing a shirt and no pants, and no socks, and no dinosaur slippers, and on my head I've got hair."

Paul gathered all his stuffed animals, shoved them under his bed, and crawled under to join them. He's not wearing pants. I decided not to post those pictures, since every time I tried to get a "cute" shot, he'd call out "CHEESE" and pull his knees to his face. . .



Great job this weekend, Paul!

Adventures in Potty Training

Paul is 3 years, 4 months, and 2 weeks old. He has been making "man poops" for a few months now. Those diapers are NOT fun to change. We introduced Paul to the Potty over a year ago, and Paul has been peeing in the potty before his bath for almost that long, but there hasn't been any progress and we haven't really pushed the issue.

Last month, daycare suggested we send him to school in underpants (with several changes of clothes) to see what happens. At first, things seemed to go well - all pees in the potty, but poop in the pants. We pushed Paul a little harder to train, and he began having pee accidents at school, along with his poops. He'd also wet himself at home within spitting distance of the potty. Something wasn't working.

After a weekend of backing off (letting Paul wear pull-ups, suggesting potty visits but not insisting on them), and a week of more laundry from daycare, we decided to try one more "training trick" before giving up and buying stock in Depends.

Pants-free weekend.

Mommy wasn't keen on the idea - visions of cleaning up puddles and piles, especially after a full 24 hours of cleaning up Joss' barf, dampened my enthusiasm. But Shawn insisted that it had to work, it just had to. . . So we gave it a go.

And it wasn't too bad. No pee accidents, one poop in the potty (such a mixed blessing - it's in the right place - yay, but still have to clean out the potty bowl - ew), most poops in the pull-ups right after going down for a nap, and tushie-prints on every surface. Paul wore underpants when we went out on a few errands, and didn't have any accidents.

Oh, he also thinks he's a turtle, and has 4 feet, and insists on wearing socks on "all" his feet. . .

Paul also prefers to go potty in the kitchen. I can't wait for his future prom date to see this picture.


(Daddy and Joss provide some travelling music.)


Since Joss had been feeling better, we sent him to daycare on friday so Paul could have 100% of my focus for the first day of Pantless Potty Training. We got to have breakfast (no pants), go to Trader Joe's (underpants & Pullups), have lunch (no pants), make Challot for dinner (no pants) - Paul helped roll out the dough and braid the loaves -

take a nap (Pullups), read books in the rocking chair (no pants), have Shabbat Dinner (no pants), and talk to Grandma on the phone (no pants).

Paul and Joss asleep.

March 7, 2011

March 8, 2011

March 8, 2011. (Paul is under that pile of stuffed animals and blankets. Really.)

Joss Standing in the Crib

Oh, and the other day, Mommy walked in to get Joss from his nap - and found Joss standing up in his crib! Joss seemed even more surprised than Mommy was.

(This picture is from the next day - same standing-up, but less surprise and more "I have a fever and am wicked upset.")

March 6, 2011

Joss' Sick Days. . .

Tuesday night (March 1), Joss went to bed with a fever. Wednesday was spent napping in a Tylenol stupor. Thursday, Daddy got to stay home from work with Joss in the morning, and Mommy got to come home early from work in the afternoon.

Nothing like a dose of ibuprofen and a good nap to keep the fever at bay.

Hmm. . . It sounds different when Daddy does this.

Why won't this hat stay on?

Mommy? Can I have more medicine, please?


The next day, (Friday, March 4th) Joss had been up most of the night with fever and misery, and finally fell into a nice, deep sleep in Mommy & Daddy's bed around 6am.

So when Mommy got up to get Paul scrambled eggs, she didn't want to risk waking Joss up moving him back to his crib. This turned out to be a poor decision.

Breakfast was almost over when Mommy heard a wake-up cry from upstairs. She wiped her fingers on her napkin, kissed Paul on the head, and headed towards the stairs. First there was a soft *flumph* noise, then (as Mommy booked up the stairs) there was a *THUMP* followed by an ear-splitting shriek. Joss had pushed the pillow-barricade off the side of the bed, and took a header after it, missing the pillow. . .

At first Mommy was worried about a concussion, since Joss didn't know his name, or what year it was, and couldn't tell her how many fingers she was holding up (two, then four). However, he calmed down after lots of cuddling and kisses, his pupils were equal and reactive, and the rest of the day passed without incident.

Gotta chill out in the bath, yo. Check out my illin' goose-egg.


March 4-5, 2011

Pancakes!!!

Pancakes? Pancakes, pancakes pancakes pancakes pancakes! Pancakes pancakes pancakes pancakes pancakes. . .

. . . pancakes. . .

. . .PANCAKES!!


February 27, 2011. . .but we've had more pancakes since then. . . Pancakes!

I *LOVE* seaweed!

Paul really enjoys the roasted seaweed snacks that Mommy bought at Trader Joe's. He does, however, get seaweed and kiwi confused. (He does not like kiwi because of all the little seeds.)

A boy's castle is is home.

Paul is sitting on a tiger, in a castle, wearing sunglasses, and reading a noisy book. Or as we call it, Saturday.
02/26/2011

JOSS HAS 5 TEETH!!

Three on top, and two on the bottom!