Cold Turkey (and other animals too)

We've been warning Bryce for months, "when you turn three, you'll be too big to have a pacifier ("Paci") and we're going to throw it away."  

He consistently replied, "if I don't have my paci I'll cry and cry."

The day after his birthday we said, "b-bye Paci."

And "Hello, sad Bryce."  

I expect it to take about a week for Bryce to get used to falling asleep without his paci.  The first couple nights, true to his word, he did cry, but not as much as I expected and he's not having any problems sleeping through the night.  Naps we'll need to totally relearn.

Part of my post-paci strategy involved trying to tire him out during the day so he'd be too tired to think about needing his paci at night.  So, Monday morning Karen and I bundled up all the kidlets and set off for the Woodland Park Zoo.  Despite being rather chilly, we were able to successfully elude any rain showers - a significant feat in our neck of the woods.  Additionally, the animals were all remarkable active which made our day especially enjoyable.

The whole crew, ready to start exploring:

This peacock was a total show-off:

One of the elephants was practicing his dancing skills:

Aubree refused to get close to this Orangutan, but Ally thought he was fabulous (though it does beg the question, "who's watching who?"):

Thane had the best traveling spot (with a fuzzy blanket to keep him warm), but preferred to be out.  I'd hoped he'd be so warm and cozy he would curl up and take a nap.  I should have known better. 

I think this little boat was the highlight of the trip for Bryce.  He saw it from a distance and suddenly the animals lost all allure.

Our final stop at the zoo was the ZooMasium, where the kids can play indoors.  Karen took the older three to play while I watched over the babes - Cora and Thane.

I think my plan worked - Bryce slept long and hard that night.  So did the rest of us.

Birthday Boy Bryce

Guess who's 3!!  Here are some clues (in case you didn't read the title):

One -

Two -

Three -

 Happy Birthday to my Honey Boy! 

I'm glad Bryce is now officially three.  In my head he's been three for a while.  There's such a dramatic difference in kids from their second birthday to their third, that the term "two" seems inadequate as a descriptive word.  

Our Hoffman cousins (and their mom) made the trek from Eastern Washington to celebrate the occasion with us.  

I think all kid birthdays should fall on Saturdays. Mark was home and (in theory) we could spend the whole day playing and celebrating as a family.  First things first, though - presents!  We got Bryce a train table and Thomas MegaBlocks (Duplos).  Grandma and Grandpa Winters sent a big box full of goodies, including more trains and Duplos.  Bryce was thrilled!

Aubree had a hard time coming to grips with the idea that now that Bryce is three, he no longer needs her "help" unwrapping all his presents.

Then Mark and Karen rounded up the kids and took them to the Children's Museum for a few hours of fun.  

 I stayed home with a sick baby, which, though disappointing, did afford me an opportunity to decorate Bryce's cake.  Bryce had requested a "Thomas birthday."  More specifically, he wanted, "a Thomas cake, Thomas presents, a Thomas balloon, and Thomas plates."  We did our best to comply.

I think he had a good day.  We love our big three-year old!

Erin Go Bragh!

Considering my name means "Ireland," is it any surprise that St. Patrick's Day is a well-loved holiday in the Winters' home?

My three little leprechauns:

Aubree and I took a week off from our standard Five in a Row Curriculum, and spent this week reading, learning, and doing activities about Ireland and St. Patrick's day.  I've been amazed at the great Irish legends and tales we've discovered.  Apparently literature is a big deal to the Irish. 

This afternoon Aubree invited over a couple friends (identical twins) to help her decorate Shamrock cookies. 

We finished off the day with (what else?) a green dinner.  We even ventured to make Irish Soda bread, which the kids liked well enough.  The big hit of the day, though?  Green jello. 

Cursed

My blog is cursed.  

It seems whenever I post about something that's going great, it immediately falls to pieces.

Sleeping well?  Cue Teething.

Thane's top two front teeth are trying to poke through and apparently are causing quite a bit of discomfort.  He only sleeps well after having a dose of Tylenol.  And even that's not a guarantee.  Last night he was awake from 2:30 - 5:30 am.  Cursed blog!

So, you can imagine my reluctance to tell you about Bryce's success with potty training.  

I'm not going to write about how, faced with a looming third birthday, we decided to finally get serious (a.k.a. get a sticker chart) about potty training.  

 I'm definitely not going to post about how one day something clicked in Bryce's brilliant brain and he told me, "Mom! The pee started to come out and I stopped it."  Nor will I tell you how that moment turned the potty training tides so that he is now officially a Big Boy.

 I will tell you that he still has occasional accidents (the most recent right before bed tonight), because I won't mind at all if that reverses itself and he stops having accidents.  

But, no, I absolutely refuse to post about how wonderful it is to no longer have to change stinky, nasty, poopy big boy diapers. 

Because, don't you know? My blog is cursed!

Wild Thane (I think I love you...)

Thane is nine months old now.  He's at the remarkable age where he's just on the cusp of communicating (he signs "milk" and babbles "mama" and "dada") and walking.  His awareness of the world is growing at light speed.  He's the kind of kid who loves to see new things and be in the middle of the action.  He hates to sleep; perhaps he's afraid he might miss something interesting.

 The week after we got home from Tahoe, Thane made several big developmental leaps - he started crawling "for real," learned to go from crawling to sitting and back again (one of my most favorite developmental feats), learned to stand up in his crib (one of my least favorite developmental skills), and learned to pull himself up to a standing position anywhere.  Now (two months later) he's proficient in all those skills and has started to try standing on his own.  He cruises along the furniture with ease and I'm torn between thinking he'll be walking any day or that he'll never walk because he's always bouncing.

The boy never stops moving.  He's always been a mover and a shaker (bouncer?).  Giving Thane a bath is a bit like trying to bathe a boat with it's motor on. It took my a while, but I finally realized that I could give him a bath all by himself (instead of with his older siblings) and only put in an inch of water (yeah, I'm a little slow sometimes).  Makes bath time much easier. "Spin and flip all you want, kiddo."

 We've also finally (finally!!) reached the point where he will sleep.  Some days are better than others, but usually I can get him to take two reasonable naps a day.  I know that should be normal, but Thane fought long and hard against naps and bedtime, and with the Big Move, I couldn't be predictable enough to fight back effectively.  Thankfully, we've gotten into a good routine.  Now he goes to bed at 6:30 pm and seems to be a much happier, calmer babe as a result.  I know I'm a much happier and calmer mom.  Last night was the very first night he slept the whole night. 

*Celebration!*  

Crossing my fingers for a repeat performance.

 Thane's a lucky kid in that he's got two older siblings who love to play; there's no shortage of activity to watch or dive into.  He's learning it's usually best to steer clear of Bryce, who doesn't prefer Thane getting into his toys (and has a nasty habit of pushing Thane over), but the boys do have one game they've created that's hilarious.  The kids dubbed it "Chase." It involved Bryce pulling his Lego trains around the living room as fast as he can while Thane earnestly pursues.  Aubree alternately cheers for both boys.  I have the best job...I've been assigned to sit back and laugh.  Really!  That's my assignment!

Thane loves to smile and laugh, and is so cute, clever, persistent, and energetic.  Wild Thane, we DO love you. (cue the cheesy music...)