It has been a very long, very busy week at our house.  I turned 33 on Monday and spent most of my week working working working.  Aaron taught his first full week of classes for the semester (he’s teaching an overload of courses at his usual job as well has two online courses for a university he worked for in FL.)  And our little guy spent his first week in the Older Toddler room at daycare, or as he calls it: The Big Kid Room!

Monday evening I drove up to our house and got out of the car.  Porter heard me pull up and ran to the screen door.

“I was in Big Kid Room, Mommy!” he yelled, pressing his nose to the screen.

He LOVES the Big Kid Room!

Since returning to daycare full-time a few weeks ago, the teachers started letting Porter spend a few hours in the Big Kid Room everyday in anticipation of his upcoming move to that room.  Everyday he would come home and immediately say, “I play in Big Kid Room, Mommy!” and then rattle off a list of everything he did and everyone he played with in that room that day.  Now that he has completely moved over to that room his enthusiasm has yet to wear off.  Everyday this week he told us every single thing he did that day in that room.  The songs he sang, the friends he played with, the teachers he talked to.

The kids in this room are two and three year olds which means that these kids are working on using the potty.  In fact, Porter sat on the potty without a diaper (!!!) eight times this week!  He still won’t do it at home and if it wasn’t for the little notes we get everyday telling us of all of his diaper/potty info we would have no idea that this was happening.  It isn’t something he tells us about, but he will talk about it if we ask him.  Of course we ask him about it and praise him up and down on the days that he sits on the potty.  We are hoping that the more he sees his peers using the potty the more inclined he will be to use it too.

I did daycare drop off and pick up a few times this week (usually Aaron does it because of how schedules work out) and I was amazed at how far Porter has come.  Last year at this time, we were all struggling–new daycare with new teachers and new ways of doing things–it was an adjustment for all of us.  There were days when Porter attached himself to our leg because he didn’t want us to leave.  Now?  We bring him to his room and he runs to his teacher, his friends or to one of his favorite toys and barely even says goodbye to us.  When we pick him up at the end of the day we get a big smile and an excited “Mommy!” or “Daddy!”  He then says goodbye and thank you to all of his teachers (we use to prompt him but now he does it on his own.)  He even says, “Bye <friend’s name>!  See you tomorrow!”  He insists upon walking out of daycare on his own (please Mom, no hand-holding–my friends are watching) and carrying his gram (that’s the note we get everyday about diaper changes, meal and activity info.)

He sure is a Big Kid now.

Monday is a big day for our little man: he returns to daycare full-time today and he also officially turns 28 months.  Gosh, he’ll be two and a half before we know it!

What Porter is Wearing:

• Still in size 4 diapers.  We give the new Pampers Cruisers a thumbs-up, by the way.
• Some size 24 month/2T shirts are starting to get a little snug–a few 3T ones too.  Just now sprouting out of some size 18-24 shorts.  Probably only have a month to go before we are in size 3T pajamas.
• I think we need to shop for some new shoes.  His size 6 sneakers just fit.

• Check out last week’s post “Words and Phrases”  for some laughs!
• Last week he scrunched up face while pinching his cheeks and said, “Cheeks are AMAZING!”
• Last Monday he came home from daycare and started telling me all about his day, without me asking him first.
• Sometimes he adds an “-ee” sound to the ends of words, like milk becomes milky.  Not sure why…
• His teachers at daycare are Ms. Tracy and Ms. Jasmin.  Last week he referred to them as Tracy and Batman.
• And I forgot this one last month, he is using the word “too” correctly.
• “See you soon!”  Porter says this all of the time, when he leaves the room, when we are leaving a store and he is saying his farewells to everyone in the store…
• “I had a good nap!”  Not only does he say this after he has taken a nap, but he says it to us when he has decided not to nap and instead played in his room for an hour or so.  He even says it to us when he wakes up in the morning.

• His new train table!  Post coming soon.
• Hero of the Rails.  We watched this like 15 times last week.  Thanks, Netflix.
• Singing.  Wow, so much singing, you guys…and humming, too.
• Puppets, or really just my hand pretending to talk to him.

What Porter Doesn’t Like These Days:

• Naptime.  It has been such a huge struggle the last week or so.  He has been napping only a few times a week, each time falling asleep around 2pm–a full hour later than usual.  And we only let him sleep for an hour to an hour and a half so he’ll fall asleep at a reasonable bedtime hour.  Not sure how he will adjust to napping at daycare five days a week again.
• The potty.  Won’t wear underwear.  Won’t sit on the potty.  He has even said in regards to the potty, “No, not yet!’
• Eating dinner that consists of something other than hot dogs or chicken nuggets.
• Because he learned to drink from a straw a few weeks ago, we bought him some straw cups with the hope of phasing out the sippy cups.  Now sometimes he throws a fit if he wants a sippy instead of a straw cup.  Good times…

• Have I mentioned singing?  He sings a lot.  And hums a lot too–mostly Twinkle, Twinkle.
• Playing with his trains and track on his new train table.
• Practically running Netflix on our Wii all by himself.  He can definitely start new episodes on his own.
• Climbing the hill in the backyard, getting to a point and then triumphantly yelling, “Climb up the rocky hill!  PORTER SO TALL!”
• Practically kicks Aaron and I out of the house when the babysitter shows up.

What We Are Working On:

• The potty.  I’m sure I will have more to report on this next month since starting on the 29th Porter will be moved into a daycare room in which they have every kid sit on the potty everyday.  Hopefully seeing his peers do it will make Porter want to do it too.

Improved Since Last Month:

• He can use a straw now!

I was one of those weird kids that really liked school.  I didn’t always enjoy all of the homework and I hated middle school, but in general I really liked school.   Back to School time reminds me of a fresh start, even more so because my birthday falls around the time classes start up again–new year of school, new year of life!

Aaron starts back to school next week, though he doesn’t start teaching again until a few weeks later.  I start work on my next show next week which means Porter is going “back to school” too–he will be returning to daycare full-time starting next week!

We are all very excited about this.  Porter LOVES daycare.  He has been going one day a week since February, when we took him down from five days per week attendance to one day a week due to my lack of work (and therefore lack of money.)  But work has picked up for me for the fall–booked straight through January, in fact–so back to daycare Porter will go.  For two weeks he will return to his usual room with his usual buds, but on August 29 (my birthday) he will be moved up to the Older Toddler room!

A lot of his friends who moved up earlier in the year will be there.  I’m excited and nervous for his move.  I love his teachers in the Young Toddler room.  Love them.  And they love Porter.  I don’t really know the teachers in the other room so I am nervous about how Porter will like them.  Secondly, a whole lotta potty trainin’ goes down in the Older Toddler room.  I am excited and terrified about this.  I am eager for Porter to be surrounded by kids who are successfully using the potty, however I know that he is very much not interested in doing anything other than sitting on the potty fully dressed.  I don’t want them to push him too hard, but I also want them to work with him and encourage him.  Overall, I don’t want him to be overwhelmed by all of the change.  Then again, maybe I am just projected my anxiety on to him?  Anyway, it all is still exciting nonetheless!

So I guess next week marks the end of The Summer Switch.  Aaron will be back to work (and then some, besides running his program he is also teaching online classes for the university where we worked in Florida,) I will be back to work on a fairly regular basis and Porter will be back to daycare.  And just like that, life changes all over again.  Cheers to new beginnings!

Last week I got a Facebook message from Katie encouraging me to keep doing the Porter-by-the-month update.  At first I was just tickled that someone out there enjoys reading these posts as much as I enjoy putting them together.  Then I realized that it was already June 16 and that Porter was now 26 months.  And then another week slipped by and here we are…

What Porter is Wearing:

• Still in size 4 Pampers.  Going on a year and a half now…
• 18-24 months in shorts and pants.
• 24 months or 2T in shirts.  It was laundry day yesterday and he was in a 3T shirt.  It was a tad long.
• Finally filling out his 2T pajamas (the pants were long for a few months there.)
• Size 5 sandals, 6 in sneakers.

What Porter is Eating:

• Loves spaghetti.  But not pasta in general.  Strands of spaghetti only, please.
• Porter loves strawberry season!
• Oranges and grapes are still a big hit.
• We gave him orange juice last week and he nearly lost his mind–so.  much.  joy.
• Would definitely eat guacamole everyday if we let him.  (I love guacamole.  He gets this from me, I’m sure.)
• I offered him a bit of chocolate chip cookie the other day and he refused.  (He definitely didn’t get that from me.)
• Dinner is sometimes still a struggle.  Sometimes he’s picky.  Sometimes he wants to use his fork as a comb…we never really know how it is going to go.

What Porter is Saying:

• “Tiny” and “huge” are some of Porter’s favorite words right now.
• According to P, Pittsburgh is filled with a lot of “castles.”  This one, this one and this one (where he says Princess Pea lives) to name a few.
• In last few days, Porter has started using the phrase, “Right there!  Behind you!”  It is adorable, though sometimes what he is referring to really isn’t behind you.  It is usually near you, sometimes behind you, but not always.
• “I made it!” –every time he climbs a hill or stairs.
• “I did it!” –randomly when he accomplishes something he feels is important.
• “I can’t.” –this is new today.  I asked him to try the pineapple on his plate at lunch and he frowned and said, “I can’t.”
• “I’m ready!” and “Are you ready?”  If he sees me putting on my shoes to leave for work in the morning, Porter will get his shoes, bring them to me and say, “I’m ready!”  Then I have to explain that he can’t go to work with me.  Sometimes that doesn’t go over well.

What Porter Likes These Days:

• The splash park.  Aaron took him to one on the other side of town a few weeks ago and Porter has asked to go everyday since.
• The library.  Porter also asks to go there almost everyday.
• Playground.  He LOVES the playground.
• Our inflatable backyard kiddie pool (thanks Mamaw and Papaw!)
• Home Depot.  I’ve had to make quite a few stops there over the last few weeks to pick up things for work.  He’s grown to love it.  He can even identify the logo.  He also–on his own–figured out that Home Depot is probably where Bob the Builder shops.  ”Bob da berder go Home Depot.”
• Going grocery shopping with daddy.
• Dancing Blue.  One of Aaron’s daycare teachers has a son who once loved Blue’s Clues as much as Porter does.  Her son is now 11 and starting to part ways with some of his toys.  She brought in a singing and dancing Blue doll for Porter to keep.  It was so sweet of her!  He loves it, of course, but I am a little weirded out that Blue can talk.

What Porter Doesn’t Like These Days:

• Thunder and lightning.  This is a new thing.  Now he finds it a little unnerving.

What Porter is Doing:

• Singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
• Counting things!
• Asking us to help him climb the stairs.  Stairs were off limits until recently when we decided that he can go up the stairs as long as mommy or daddy is with him. Sidenote: The upstairs was re-carpeted last week so the second floor is a much more pleasant place to be!
• Pretending.  My favorite is when he pretends to eat imaginary food!
• Trying to dress himself.  In the last week Porter has decided that he wants to try to put shirts on himself.  And now that it is June, he is fascinated with his winter boots (?)
• Marching and walking “like a giant!”
• Sometimes, mostly when he is talking just to me, Porter will talk with his tongue hanging out of the left side of his mouth.  He thinks it’s funny?  Cute?  I don’t know, but I can’t stand it and I don’t know how to get him to stop.  This is a new thing which has only happened in the past week or so.

What Porter Isn’t Doing:

• Still not very interested in sitting on or using the potty.  However he is very interested in watching me or Aaron use the potty.
• Still very hit or miss with utensils.  At dinner they are more toys than tools, which is frustrating.
• Still not using a straw.

What We Are Working On:

Hopefully in the next month we will be able to work on more of the following:

• Utensil usage.
• Straws maybe?
• Using a big boy cup maybe?
• Getting friendly with the potty.

During the past few weeks, Aaron has been talking to Porter a lot about being “a big boy.”  We are hoping that laying this groundwork will help Porter slowly part ways with diapers and sippy cups.

Porter and daddy have really bonded this month since I’ve been working.  I feel like I have missed a lot, but that just makes the time I am with him more precious.

So, I told myself after Porter turned two that I would give up on the monthly updates.  The truth is that I just can’t.  I like it too much.  Here is the 25 month update–a few weeks late.

What Porter is Wearing:

• Still in size 4 diapers.
• 2T shirts.
• 18-24 months in pants and shorts.
• Size 6 shoes, but size 5 in sandals.

What Porter is Eating:

• Celery!  Carrots!  Strawberries!
• He still would eat oranges all day everyday if we let him.
• It is still hit or miss with any meat other than chicken.  And bacon.  He actually request bacon out of the blue in the middle of the day.  And we actually only have bacon once in a while as a treat.  He just LOVES it.
• Utensil usage is still very much hit or miss.  He gets really frustrated with it sometimes so then he doesn’t even want to try.
• We cannot get this kid to use a straw.  He just can’t figure it out, poor thing.
• We need new breakfast ideas–anyone want to share?

What Porter is Saying:

He is still a vocabulary building machine…

• He is learning people’s names and remembering them.
• He has a good grasp of adding ” ‘s” to the end of the word to indicate possession.
• He now is adding “es” to the end of words to indicate more than one.  Sometimes he does it when it isn’t necessary, like calling more than one sheep, sheepes–which, though incorrect, is really cute.
• Speaking in sentences more and more.
• Instead of saying, “Where is he?”  he will say, “Where he is?”  This is new.  He has been saying “Where are you?” for months–but this “where is he/where he is?” thing is different.
• “What are you doing here?”
• “That way!  That way!  That WAAAAAY!”
• “Green means go!”

What Porter Likes These Days:

• Veggie Tales.  Since Porter has been spending more time with Aaron these days, Aaron–who is much more familiar with Veggie Tales than I am for some reason–has put this on for Porter.  Porter loves it and now requests it.  This is new–only has happened in the last few days.
• The playground.
• The backyard.
• Going to people’s houses.  Steffi’s house.  Stefani’s house.  Maria’s house.  Kevin’s house–and he has never been to Kevin’s house, he has just decided that Kevin is a cool guy and wants to go to his house.  Apparently he is totally bored with our house.
• Coloring.
• Playing the “drums”–using the cans of paint currently residing on our dining room floor as bongos. (I’m painting the living room and dining room in July and couldn’t pass up some recent paint sales.)

What Porter Doesn’t Like These Days:

• Hard to tell.  It could be anything and everything and then he immediately changes his mind.  He is definitely in his Terrible Twos.
• He doesn’t want anything to do with the potty–and will loudly tell you so.

What Porter is Doing:

• Counting to 8!
• Knows the alphabet, but still won’t sing the song.
• He will, however, sing A LOT after we put him to bed.
• Trying new foods.  He will try vegetables, he just doesn’t like most of them.  But we praise him for trying.
• Calling for the cats and occasionally scolding the cats when they are doing something wrong.  To our cat, Neko: “Keeko, get down there!  Too high!” –when Neko is up on the entertainment center (a no-no.)
• He will request to talk to Aaron’s parents, Mamaw and Papaw, on Skype.
• Whining.  He has days during which all he does is whine.  Not everyday, mind you, but lately we seem to be having more and more days like this.

What Porter Isn’t Doing:

• Consistently using utensils.
• Sitting on the potty.
• Using “please” when he wants something.  It has been replaced an urgent demand instead.  He use to say please all of the time, but now–not so much.
• Staying in bed at nap time.

What We Are Working On:

• Patience.  For all of us.  On all fronts.  Porter has become increasingly impatient.  When he is impatient the whining level sky-rockets.
• Utensil usage.
• Getting Porter to sit on the potty.

In the past month, Porter has become much more dramatic, impatient and demanding.  However, he has also shown us how much he is learning and how silly he can be.  I will be working a lot in the next three weeks, so I won’t be spending a lot of time with him.  I am wondering how he will change and what he will learn in just a few short weeks.

I have asked a lot of parents about how they went about potty training their kids and I have gotten a lot of different tips, ideas and techniques.  A few people said that I should buy Porter some underwear printed with his favorite characters to entice him to ditch the diaper.  Today I bought a package of Thomas And Friends underpants and ran them through the wash along with seven new pairs of Sesame Street underwear.  Once Porter saw me sorting them out of the clean laundry, he wanted to wear his new underwear NOW.

We had a talk (well, I talked to him–Porter didn’t contribute much) about how underwear is NOT like a diaper and that if he needs to “go” then he needs to do his business on the potty.  He just needs to let me or daddy know and we will help.

Porter was very agreeable about all of this.

You know, because he’s two and I was holding a stack of cool stuff he wanted.

On went the underwear.

So we left him to play for a bit.  He found his way into the bathroom and when I got there he was on the other side of the toilet, squeezed between the toilet and the tub, playing with the toilet seat.  I asked if he had to use the potty.  He said no.  We talked about how the big potty–the toilet–isn’t a toy and only used for…well, you know.  Then he requested to sit on his potty!

So I got the potty out and he came out from the little space between the tub and toilet and that is went I realized there was a wide, wet stripe down the front of his pants.

It wasn’t so bad, really.  I knew that would likely be the case.  Aaron and I both told him that he has to use the potty for pee and poop when he has his big boy underwear on–it is NOT a diaper.  We figured that we just might as well strip him down for bath time since we were in the bathroom and it was about that time anyway.  Aaron took of P’s shirt, then his wet pants and peeled off the Thomas undies…

That’s when the turds rolled out.

“Poop too?!” I exclaimed.

I can’t understand how Porter seemed not to care that he had done his “business” in his fancy new drawers.  I know that he is use to that um, method? but even when he poops in his diaper he usually lets me or Aaron know.  He requests a “diaper change.”  Wouldn’t he do the same with undies?

Apparently not.

It’s going to be a loooong summer…