Playing Dress Up!

Today, Nolan asked if he could dress up like a pirate again, so I went ahead and got out dress up clothes for everyone! Nolan was the Pirate, Natalie was the Princess (make-up and all), and Nathan was the Chef (only other thing I could think of and had the supplies for).

Here are there pics....

"Chappy the Pirate." As I have mentioned before, Nolan has an extreme case of chapped lips! But he still makes a good-looking pirate.

The pretty Princess....but I kinda miss the hard hat!

The little Chef!

The couch/bed was the pirate ship....and he's not throwing a punch at me, he's steering the wheel!

My Son,The Storyteller

Two posts in one day....guess I'm making up for the last couple weeks!

I just came back downstairs after hearing Nolan tell Matt and me his "scary story". He told us that we had to all be in bed, and he would tell us. So we all get in the bed, and luckily in a very dark room (to conceal laughter), and Nolan begins his story - in his scary storytelling voice (which you can only imagine how cute that is!). "One night, a very scary ghost booed right into a house..." He went on the tell us how the ghost left one house, then he "began to go to another house, where a little girl lived." The story then diverted to "the next morning, the girl and the ghost went to the ice cream truck, and the ice cream truck guy said 'what's your favorite ice cream'." I was nearly in hysterics by this point, but did my very best to keep my laughter bottled up! I know he was being so serious, and didn't want to be laughed at... The story continued with the ice cream melting into the sewer and making a "kerplunk" sound. He finally wrapped it up with a "and he lived happily ever after". The story may not make a lot of sense...but to him it does. I love to encourage his creativity, and his imagination fascinates me. He pulled so many different "big" words into the story and his sequencing was great. I could actually pinpoint some of the books in which he pulled the word or idea from!

I'm sure this is one of those "you had to be there" moments, but I still had to share.

Hey Teresa, I'm sure he'd love to make up a story for you when you come to visit! Or maybe next time he talks to you on the phone!

More Snow!

Today, I got the kids out for some fun in the snow. Here are the pics!

Update

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Things have been pretty boring lately. It seems as though we've had snow or rain for weeks now, and I really miss the sunshine! We have had very few days to get the kids outside, but when we can - we do. Here are some pics of the kids!

Natalie taking a ride on her big wheel.

STUFFED!

Heels, shades, and a hard hat! That's my girl!

Last night's wrestle-mania! Clothes were optional!

Paying Attention to Attention

So, I'm only one day into my new "parenting skills"....but I've come to realize a LOT! I realize that Natalie was doing many good things, but was overshadowed by my negative attention toward Nolan when he would act up. Here's one example: Last week, I gave them each a sponge with some water on it, and they were "cleaning" for me. Natalie was rubbing her sponge on the floor, doing exactly what she should be doing. Nolan on the other hand was getting more water on his sponge and squeezing the excess water down the wall. Instead of ignoring him and praising Natalie....I directed my attention to Nolan, telling him to stop! I guess Natalie must have felt left out....even though Nolan was getting a lecture from me - it was still attention!

Yesterday, Nolan had about 3 or 4 trips to the corner, and Natalie had 2. This works because when they are in the corner, they get NO attention at all. So if bad behavior is ignored or acknowledged by a trip to the corner, I think they will begin to realize that this is not fun. After Nolan's last trip to the corner, I was feeling a little guilty for being so harsh....but when I went over to him to tell him he could get out and play, I asked him for a hug (which I always do). Instead, Nolan said, "how about 2 kisses and 10 hugs!" So obviously he wasn't too upset with me for putting him in the corner. I'm going to continue to remain positive and keep the negativity away! I even feel like I have more energy throughout the day! Keep your fingers crossed that I can continue this and that the process will ultimately work! I just want my kids to be happy!

Behavior Modification

Nolan had his 4 year well child visit yesterday, and as expected, he is doing just fine....other than an extremely chapped lip! Matt took Nolan to his appointment as I was not feeling too great. I had planned on taking him and asking the doctor about Natalie's exteme tantrums....and thankfully Matt asked the doctor. She gave him a handout dealing with behavior modification. It's a pretty simple format to understand....but may be a little harder to follow through with.

Natalie's tempers have continued to escalate to the point of her hurting herself. I have tried spanking, time-outs, comforting, ignoring....everything I could think of...but maybe I wasn't consistant enough with the type of discipline. According to the handout, we need to completely ignore the bad behavior...unless she begins to hurt herself or endanger anyone else. I have begun trying this method today....and it's going okay. It's also pretty useful advice for dealing with Nolan's whining and backtalk as well. I am completely ignoring the nasty outbreaks, and praising EVERYTHING that is acceptable. I feel kind of silly praising SO much....but I'm giving this a shot. I do praise my kids, but now I'm taking it to a new level....so we'll see how this works. I had felt like a terrible mother because I couldn't stop my child from hurting herself....so I'll try anything, and I am very optimistic that this will work.

Nolan's Birthday

Nolan's birthday was on Monday, but we had his party on Saturday....which is mine and Matt's anniversary (what a way to celebrate, huh?). We had a great time with family and a few friends. Once again, I didn't get many pics at all. Nolan wasn't thrilled about being the center of attention....kinda like how he was at trick or treat, only not nearly as bad! He got some nice presents....including a new copy of "The Incredibles" which has practically been playing non-stop since Saturday.

Today is Matt's birthday. We don't really have any plans to celebrate much today, except Nolan wants to sing "happy birthday" to him, and Matt wants to order out for dinner.

Here are some pics of Nolan through the years.....my, how he's grown!

newborn

6 months old

Christmas 2005

3rd birthday