Train Table for a Big Boy!

When Liam was a bit smaller, he was promised a train table. Liam had to work very hard to earn his train table. The agreement was the Liam could have his train table when he had no more diapers and no more accidents. A boy who knows how to take a break from playing to go use the potty is old enough to take care of a very nice toy, with lots of pieces, like a train set. (Liam also considered that with all this talk about potty *training* there must be a train involved somewhere.)

So this week, realizing that Liam hasn't had an accident in several weeks, Liam asked for his train table. Last night, we went to the store and picked out the one he wanted. It had to have a crane, just like his friend Carter's set. This morning, Liam was very patient while he and Daddy put the table together, and set up the track. He's proud of himself and he loves playing with his new toy!

Tonight Liam will go out trick-or-treating dressed as a dragon. The librarian thought he looked a bit like a Wild Thing from 'Where the Wild Things Are'. He loves to roar.

Tomorrow Liam will be 2 years and 8 months old. He is three feet tall, weighs 33 pounds, and is potty trained.

October Adventures

The pumpkin farm seems to call children to it in the crisp days of October. The weather held nicely through the early days, but we had all kinds of maladies and challenges to contend with in early October.

For starters, learned a costly but valuable lesson at the end of September. Curious Liam reached up and touched the hot stove while Mommy & Daddy weren't paying attention. He wanted to help make dinner, and of course he thinks he's big enough to figure it out now. He pushed his chair over to the stove, and the next we heard was screaming and crying. Luckily the burns to two fingers weren't terrible. And while painful, they healed without scarring.

October was also challenging, because we took Liam out of daycare. He asked to stay with our friend Erica while Mommy taught classes. The idea was that he would take a nap in the afternoon, so Mom could get some work done. That rarely happened. However, we made it through, and at the end of the month, Mommy started a non-teaching session. It was an easy decision to keep Liam home for the rest of the year once we learned Granny and Grand dad will visit in November.

Of course, October a the month children look forward to, with Halloween parties, trick-or-treating and hayrides on the agenda. This year, Liam dressed up as a Dragon. He and Mom went out on Halloween night, collected candy, and saw the neighbors in costumes.

We went to the neighborhood Halloween Party. All was fun, but then afterward, there was news that some of the kids at the party had come down with the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus. I didn't get Liam vaccinated specifically for this virus because I thought the virus itself would mutate, or Liam would get the infection before we could get 2 doses in. I worried for a few days that he might get sick... but all was ok. We were still on the heels of the hand/foot/mouth infection disaster of September, so all of us had lower immunity, and lots of dread about getting sick again.
As we reach the end of the month though, everyone is still fairly healthy.

So as mentioned, a trip to anywhere was out of the question in the early month. As the weekends in October became darker, wetter and colder, we realized the need to get to the pumpkin farm, if only to ride the tractor around in a circle. Liam, keenly phobic of anything that might hurt him, didn't want to carve a pumpkin (knives too pointy and dangerous).

Our first try was a Saturday afternoon. Perfect weather, plenty of time... and Liam fell asleep hard five minutes from the farm. On the second try, he forced himself to stay awake... but this time the weather didn't cooperate. The pumpkin farm was a cold, rainy, muddy mess. We had fun anyway.

Liam adopted a small pumpkin and we drew a face on him. He suggested that the pumpkin's mouth should be missing two teeth, just like his!

Taking a Break

School has been an important part of Liam's life since he was 9 months old. We've always called daycare 'school' so Liam might connect his time away from home with learning. He's benefited from the help of a few really good teachers, and we were lucky that he enjoyed spending his days with his friends and teachers at daycare.

At the end August, Liam's school director decided to move most of the children up a level. This was announced mid-August, and by early September, the change would be complete. However, Liam really didn't feel ready to move up. Not many two-and-a-half year olds would be able to tell his parents that he wasn't ready, but Liam is so verbal that he not only explained his problem, but he offered a solution.

Liam loves to talk about everything. He's now speaking in full sentences, holds meaningful conversations (at least they are meaningful to him) and he shares his feelings like they matter to everyone. With this comes a very sensitive side; Liam's afraid of many things. So while it sounds like Liam would be ready for the fun times in Preschool A, he was scared of the big kids, the new teacher and a variety of real (and imagined) things lurking in the new classroom.

What's a parent to do? We tried to help him to accept the new situation and to overcome his fears. After a few weeks, we saw that the stress was changing his sweet personality. He imagined scary things (like bears and bunnies) on the ceiling and on the roadside. Getting him to go into daycare was a daily low point. When I finally observed the class for a few minutes, immediately I knew what was wrong. The children were older, the classroom was chaotic, and the teacher shouted at the children.

So we evaluated the situation and decided it was time for Liam to take a break. Liam suggested that he could stay with Erica (our friend and neighbor) while I worked, and he would let me work when he and I were home together. He also suggested that he could go to Mommy's school because he's big enough now, or he could stay home alone. When I asked what he would do at home, alone all morning, his eyes got real wide. After a long thought, he said, "Read lots of books. And watch a little TV or something."

He's two.

So two days a week, Liam has been spending his early mornings with Erica and Kaile, who is a year younger than Liam. One morning when we both had to go in early, Liam suggested he could make himself breakfast and walk to Erica's by himself.

He's two, but he thinks he's twelve.

On Mondays, he hangs out with Carter and Krysti, who he refers to as "My Carter" and "My Kwisti." She watched Liam when he was about 5-9 months old, and he still remembers it. One morning on the way to her house, he said, "Remember when Kristi came to our house and Carter and I would stand at the baby gate and yell like this 'aaaaaaaaahhhh' like that?" In fact I did remember, and was only a little surprised that Liam did too. My sweet memory was interrupted by the voice in the back seat that added, " He still yells like that. But now it's funner."