Quick Updates

Blackberry mess

1. Sam is doing much better sleeping through the night. About once a week he'll wake up crying in the middle of the night, but other than that he goes down around 7:30 or 8:00pm and sleeps until 6:00ish. I can tell he's not done sleeping, though, so I give him a bottle and more often than not he goes back to sleep until 7:30 or 8:00am. It's been really nice (especially since Bo didn't sleep through the night until he was almost 2 and still to this day, wakes up more nights than he doesn't) but now I need to break him of the 6:00am feeding because by golly I don't want to get up that early. 2. Bo has finally stopped constantly whining for a binky. Actually I don't think he has mentioned it at all in a few days. YAY!! But he is still fighting sleep and throwing temper tantrums every time he has to take a nap or go to bed. It's really frustrating and all started when we took his binky away.

Last night he was in bed by 9:00pm but up until after 11:00pm. At one point Wes & I were in bed watching tv when we noticed the living room light was one (no idea for how long). When we went in there, Bo was on the floor playing quietly with his race track. The kid hates to sleep and he by no means got this from me. I am not a night person at all. Thanks, Wes.

Showing us how fast he is

Free At Last

Break out the champagne. We have been binky free for 10 days now. 10 days! And I say "we" because it truly is a family affair.

Last Monday (March 30) Bo walked into the kitchen with one in his mouth and one in each hand. I have no idea where he found them all but I was annoyed. I cut the one in his mouth right then and there and told him to go put the other 2 away in his bed for safe keeping or they would get cut too. Mean Mama.

Not even an hour later they were back, and true to my word, I again, cut the one that was in his mouth. Then what did he do but stand right there in front of me and stick the other one in his mouth. Ugh. The little turd.

But not really ready to deal with no binkies at all, I told him that it was his last one and he should go put it in his bed or I would cut it. He looked up at me and caught me completely off guard. In the most sassy of sassy voices said, "Fine, cut it, mommy, cut it!" Like he can threaten me. So I popped that green thing out of his mouth and cut it.

His entire body slumped as he let out the saddest mopey whine followed by, " I don't want my binkies cut." And that was that. The 3 year binky confinement had come to and end. Well . . . sort of.

It has been a rough 10 days but not as rough as I honestly thought it would be. We have had a few malicious retaliations of Bo peeing on the carpet which he explains with, "because I'm mad you cut my binkies." And many late bed times because he just won't relax enough to fall asleep despite me laying with him and rubbing his head. And many mornings of long bouts of crying which by the way seem to be the worst time of day for him binky-free (totally opposite of what I would have expected). And endless endless comments of "I don't want my binkies cut" and "let's go buy some more at the store" and "I'm sad you cut my binkies" and occasions where he won't play with me because he's mad I cut his binkies. And "I want hot milk and binkies but you cut my binkies." But overall, it hasn't been too terrible. Really.

Although I have not caved, there have been a few times when I really wanted to give him one just for a few minutes. Just for a few sucks. Just to see him relaxed and happy. Not because he's crying and I want to shut him up, but because I know how much he genuinely loves his binky and he's crushed. So pathetic and sad. I feel like I stole his favorite blanky or coolest tonka truck but then again he's not attached to anything other than his binky so that metaphor doesn't work, but you get my point. He misses it terribly and I hope he forgets about it soon. He remembers EVERYTHING and I'm afraid he will be making binky comments forever (and that would just down right suck).

Stripping It Down Cave Man Style

Bo is finally starting to catch on to the whole potty training thing, but only when he's either naked or just not wearing any pants. Lovely thought, I know, but it works. Any time he has dropped trou and needs to pee, he runs in the bathroom, sits on his musical potty and does his thing all on his own. But anytime he's wearing a diaper, I can't even bribe him to sit on the potty. It's like pulling teeth. And the boy refuses to wear underwear. Absolutely refuses.

So, what, I ask you do I do? Do I just let him run free-ballin around the house all day or what? And what is his phobia of underwear? Seriously. They're just underwear. I don't get it.

But what I do get is that I can't afford to give him a new matchbox car every time he pees in the potty anymore so he and I made a new potty reward chart today. He was all excited about it and helped me decorate it. He also helped me decide on the rewards he will get (new car, new airplane, trip to McDonald's, new car).

So now, after he goes 4 times he gets a reward, instead of every 1. I hope it works.

He already went twice today

And in unrelated news, Bo cut one of his own binkies today. I told him I was going to cut it and then asked if he wanted to do it. He got all excited to use his scissors and chopped away. I still don't think he realizes that the supply is about out (I think we're down to 2), but I guess he will soon enough.

I Will Eventually Win (someday)

Ok, so my whole, "when Bo turns 3 I'm throwing all his binkies away" thing didn't exactly happen. I just can't bring myself to do it. I just can't. He LOVES those things and his entire world would be ruined without them. (I know, I'm weak. Get over it. I have.)

But I am sick of them. Sick of seeing them plugging up Bo's face. Sick of hearing the binky lisp. Sick of never being able to find one (despite having about 12 when we returned from our trip). But apparently not sick of them enough to get rid of the damn things.

And so my new tactic is strictly limiting them to the bed. If I catch him with one in his mouth around the house, out come the scissors and the binky gets chopped right there in front of him. It is mine! A little brutal, I know, possibly borderline mean, but it seems to be working. Now, I can just threaten to get the scissors and that binky is thrown back in bed before I can even set foot in the kitchen.

Now, I'd say that's progress.

Bone pile from the last 2 weeks

Binkygate '08

It has been several weeks now since the first broken binky was mysteriously found in Bo's bed. It was traumatic. Seeing that bright blue binky, laying there motionless with it's head so perfectly sliced off. Absolutely horrifying. Bo was devastated and confused. He picked it up and stared at it. Inspecting it from every angle, trying desperately to grasp the horror that lay before him. What had happened to his precious binky? Looking down at the others strewn about the bed, the red one, the green one, the other blue ones. What on earth would he do with only 7 of them?

He cupped the binky in his hand oh so gingerly. Eyes full of sadness and perplexity, he gazed down at the headless body and then up at me. "Broken, Mommy. Broken."

Full of guilty pleasure, I responded "Yes, Bo, it is broken."

"The top, Mommy. Broken. What happened?"

"That's what happens when you use something too much. It breaks. Some things need new batteries when they get old, and some things just break. Looks like that just broke. What should we do with it?"

Carefully deliberating his next move, Bo shyly and hesitatingly answered, "trash can, Mommy."

Bo proceeded into the kitchen where he buried his sweet blue-binky in the tall shiny trashcan at the base of the counter. He lifted the lid, and dropped it in, clinging to 3 other healthy binkies he refused to leave behind. Detached, and amazingly unaffected, Bo turned around, popped one of the binkies-in-reserve into his mouth and went about his day.

However, little did he know that this unexpected broken-binky was the first of many to come.

Since that sad day, 2 others have been found with their heads sliced off in random places around our house (1 on the floor of the living room and 1, today, in the silverware drawer). With each new find, the conversation goes about the same as the first, each ending with the burial in the tall shiny trashcan at the base of the counter, and each with another binky being popped into his mouth before ever leaving the kitchen.

What, I ask you, will happen the day he turns around and his hands are empty?

Binky Count, To Date:
Dead - 3
Alive - 5 (that I know of)