Tre reading his first book

Tre is reading! Okay, well maybe he's memorized it, but I don't care! It's the first step, right? He did this a few weeks ago, but this is the first time I got it recorded. The kids both LOVE this book and I do too! It's called "I Like It When".

WHO DAT!

So the Saints are going to the Super Bowl. Even though it was the MOST stressful game I've ever watched, it was also the most exciting. We've NEVER gone to the Super Bowl, and I can't think of any other team that deserves it more. The minute the kick was good, we opened our front door to hear screaming, horns honking and fireworks going off! I literally could cry I am so excited for this city! We needed this!

We aren't the AINT'S any more! GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!

Black and Gold Super Bowl!

Following through

So today Jack was supposed to go on a cross country, and since it was his first trip away from the kids (even if it was for only a couple days) since Top Gun, I wanted to treat them to something fun...like a dinner at McDonald's. I feel bad for Tre because every morning he still asks if daddy is going to work for a long time again. Anyway, Jack's cross country got cancelled, but since I had already gotten them excited about McDonald's, I wanted to follow through with that. However, this afternoon Tre was misbehaving...throwing toys, talking back, aggravating his brother, etc. I warned him that if his behavior didn't improve he wasn't going to McDonald's. It didn't....until he realized that he REALLY wasn't going to go. In the last five minutes he was hugging and apologizing and pleading. My heart was feeling so sorry for him because I knew how disappointed he was, but thankfully, Jack was helping me stand firm by being the one to stand firm. Jack and Tre stayed home and I took William. I was proud of us for sticking to our guns. I hope that he has learned that mommy and daddy don't give empty threats!

Poop or get off the pot!

So William is a stinker! I know he is only one, but his poops are predictable and if I KNOW he is going poop, I am going to try to get him to go in the potty. Tre wasn't like that for a while. He was so unpredictable so I didn't know when to encourage him to go. Now he goes every day at 1 pm. I think it's funny...considering how much he DOESN'T eat! Anyway, William goes at the same time. Today he was obviously about to go in his diaper so I ran him to the potty. He likes to sit there, but the minute something is coming, he gets freaked and wants off the pot. I usually let him and then he poops a few minutes later. Today, however, I let him off, but made him walk around naked. The poor guy was walking in a squated position he needed to go so bad. He'd look up at me in the sorriest voice and say, "poo poo!" I put him back on the potty and after the third time of this, he finally went. Jack and I did the potty dance and Tre was patting him on the back saying, "good job buddy!" It was quite funny. Then William started doing the potty dance too and saying, "Wiwam poo poo potty! Wiwam poo poo potty!" I tried to get the video camera as quick as possible to capture the moment, but came up short. I did get a video, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first "real" moment. Trying to recreate things is just never the same. O'well. I'll post that tomorrow. I am already in bed and don't want to get up.

Anyway, afterwards I put him in big boy undies that matched Tres and he was so proud. I hope today eased his fears of the potty... especially considering how excited he was afterwards!

Follow up on Tre's teacher conference

So, Tre's teacher conference went well. She had this little mini-report card. She had done a little assessment with him and shared with me what he knew and what he didn't know how to do quite yet and it was nothing I didn't know already. She said that he is a quiet and shy boy who plays well, listens well, and participates. She said he doesn't play with other children often and I knew that already. She said he seems like a well-rounded guy and didn't seem too concerned about his social skills because he doesn't seem affected or saddened that he plays alone. She doesn't get the feeling that he is lonely. The good thing is that I KNOW he can play well with others because I have seen it, but I think he is shy and only plays with people he is REALLY comfortable with. I think going to school 5 days a week next year will help him get to know his classmates easier.

Other than that, he doesn't know all of his colors, which I knew already. She doesn't think he is color blind, but thinks he just doesn't know them. He hates finger painting and I knew that too. The only other "negative" thing she said was that he doesn't always work independently, which did surprise me. Tre is the MOST independent player ever! She said it wasn't that he couldn't work independently, but that he is very tentative and scared he is going to do a task incorrectly, so he asks lots of questions! I think he gets that from me and the teacher and I agreed that isn't a bad quality to have.

Otherwise, she really enjoys Tre and said he is a really sweet and well-rounded kid and that we are doing a great job parenting him :)

A whole bunch of nothing!

So Tre pushed William for the first time the other day and now it seems to be a regular thing. Tre gets aggravated when William pushes him, but I remind him that he is the one that taught him how to do it! I know this "fighting" will only get worse with age.

In other news, I am always sooo impressed with Tre's ability to concentrate. He's just like his dad in this case. It was "quiet time" yesterday (since he doesn't nap anymore we do quiet time) I encouraged him to do his USA Map floor puzzle on his own. It took him nearly two hours to figure out (I admit that it's quite tough), but he never gave up or got frustrated. I was sooo proud when he was done that I gave him a few M&M's. He's done it 3 more times since. I think he mostly does it in hopes for more candy, but I don't care because it's a great learning activity. He's cut his time in more than half.

Tomorrow is his teacher conference. I can't wait to see what she says. I think he is mostly on level, but I wonder about his social skills. He doesn't have many friends at school. He insists it's because he already has daddy and William and doesn't need any other friends, but I still want his teachers opinion on his interaction with the kids. He does great with his cousins, I am probably worrying for nothing, but isn't that what mother's do?

Tonight I got Jack to get on the gym bandwagon. He came with me for the first time and we really enjoyed going to the class together. Couples who workout together, stay together, right? :) I hope we can get in shape together too!

My sweet boy doing animal sounds.

William is quite the entertainer. We love him so much! When I picked him up from school Wednesday the teacher said he was a sweet soul. :) She sure does know how to make me feel good. I love her! She said that there is a child in the class that loves his pacie and blankie and that the kids take both of them from him and William goes to get it back and brings it back to the little boy. She also said that at snack time that day a child dropped thier cup and William was the only one to get out of his chair and get the cup and bring it back to the kid. What a sweetie!!!

I don't need friends.

Every time I pick up Tre from school I ask if he made any new friends and EVERY TIME he responds with, "I don't need anymore friends. I have William and daddy!!" Isn't that sweet? It is sweet, but also a little sad. When I pick him up at school he's ALWAYS playing by himself. I think he's gonna be like his dad. Jack says he was like that as a child too, which is good, because Jack certainly didn't feel like he had a lonely childhood and he has plenty of friends now! For now, I'll just be thankful that Tre loves his brother and daddy so much!