Brian has been having some Daddy issues lately. He's kind of jealous of Shawn (in that Shawn takes some my my attention away from him). And he LOVES me. It was cute at first, but after awhile, I started to feel bad for Shawn. As an example, Brian has been "blaming" Shawn for everything. It could be as simple as Brian tripping over his own feet, and if Shawn happens to be near by, Brian will burst into tears, point at Shawn, and bawl, "Daaaadaaa." As in, Daddy did it. Poor Shawn.
The worst was at a restaurant last week. Brian was trying to drink water from a straw. He doesn't quite get the idea that he does not need to tip the cup when doing this and as a result, he was making a big mess. Shawn took the cup away, poured most of the water into his own cup, and handed Brian's cup back to him. Instant tears. Instant pointing and bawling, "Daaaadaaaa." If you aren't Shawn, it was pretty funny. But poor Shawn, who did laugh about it, bless his heart, had to be hurt a little. Not to mention it was embarrassing to have your child blaming you in public like that! The only way we were able to get the tears to stop was for Shawn to put the water BACK in Brian's cup.
Other examples of these Daddy issues are that Brian won't let Shawn feed him if I am anywhere close by. It has to be me. The same with reading books. Shawn will be mid-sentence, and Brian will walk away with the book to find me.
We're working on it though. Yesterday Brian insisted that we call Daddy at work. So we did. And Brian walked around the house babbling to Shawn for about 10 minutes. It was too cute. And Shawn was pleased.
Then, last night, we were having a tickle session and I said to Brian, "get Daddy." And he turned to Shawn and tried to "tickle" him. Of course, I had to tickle Shawn too, which meant he was really being tickled, which made him (Shawn laugh really hard). Brian thought this was hysterical! All night he kept saying "get dada." He did it again tonight too. Shawn doesn't love being tickled, but even so, I think he was pleased with the positive attention from his baby boy.
Just another phase to work through. I know my time is coming. Someday too soon Mommy kisses will be gross and Daddy will be the coolest guy ever!
Showing posts with label melt downs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label melt downs. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Boots
The first snow of the season hit the tri-state last night. I was so excited to hear the plows moving through our neighborhood throughout the night. I just knew Brian would love the snow. He loves to play outside, and has hated being cooped up since it's been so cold.
This morning I woke up to a 17 month old kissing all over my face. After a snuggle session, I jumped out of bed and ran with Brian to the window to show him the snow. He was definitely interested!
After doing a whole lot of nothing all morning, Shawn ran out to get Brian his first pair of snow boots. When he returned, we had lunch and put Brian down for his nap. As soon as Brian woke up we were ready to start our snow adventure!
Brian had other ideas. As soon as Shawn got the boots out, Brian started bawling. We tried everything. We let him hold the boots, put his hands inside, play with the velcro, put his toy reindeer inside. We both put on our boots. Nothing stopped the fit.
So, we decided to put them on him anyway and take him outdoors. We figured he would forget about the awful contraptions we had forced him into. We bundled everyone up, grabbed the new sled (to pull him around on) and headed out back.
Brian cried. We put him on the sled. He cried. I picked him up and soothed him. He cried. We showed him the neighbor's dog bounding down the street for a visit with Ruben. He laughed a little through the tears.
Walking in the boots was just not happening. He acted like his legs had suddenly become robot legs and he could only move them in one solid motion. Every time I put him down he cried. Or at least puckered up like he was going to wail if I didn't pick him up again.
After 10 minutes of absolutely no fun, we headed back inside. Brian is definitely not a winter baby. And he really does not like boots. Period.
In case you can't tell, the lower lipped if definitely protruding in this picture. Although, if you don't notice that, it's actually a pretty sweet picture.
This morning I woke up to a 17 month old kissing all over my face. After a snuggle session, I jumped out of bed and ran with Brian to the window to show him the snow. He was definitely interested!
After doing a whole lot of nothing all morning, Shawn ran out to get Brian his first pair of snow boots. When he returned, we had lunch and put Brian down for his nap. As soon as Brian woke up we were ready to start our snow adventure!
Brian had other ideas. As soon as Shawn got the boots out, Brian started bawling. We tried everything. We let him hold the boots, put his hands inside, play with the velcro, put his toy reindeer inside. We both put on our boots. Nothing stopped the fit.
So, we decided to put them on him anyway and take him outdoors. We figured he would forget about the awful contraptions we had forced him into. We bundled everyone up, grabbed the new sled (to pull him around on) and headed out back.
Brian cried. We put him on the sled. He cried. I picked him up and soothed him. He cried. We showed him the neighbor's dog bounding down the street for a visit with Ruben. He laughed a little through the tears.
Walking in the boots was just not happening. He acted like his legs had suddenly become robot legs and he could only move them in one solid motion. Every time I put him down he cried. Or at least puckered up like he was going to wail if I didn't pick him up again.
After 10 minutes of absolutely no fun, we headed back inside. Brian is definitely not a winter baby. And he really does not like boots. Period.
In case you can't tell, the lower lipped if definitely protruding in this picture. Although, if you don't notice that, it's actually a pretty sweet picture.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Chores
I always said my kids would have chores as early as possible. I think it's important for kids of both genders to learn to do things like dishes, laundry, making beds, etc. Brian is my dream child. He LOVES chores and has started doing them WAY earlier than I ever could have imagined. He dutifully stands in front of the dryer when I'm doing laundry and takes each piece of clothing (out of the washer) from me, carefully placing each item into the dryer. He enjoys this so much that I actually commented to Shawn that I feel guilty when I do laundry WITHOUT Brian.
Some chores are easier to complete without Brian. When the dishwasher is open he comes running from where ever he is to "help." He doesn't care if the dishes are dirty or not. He wants to empty it all the time. He broke a bowl recently while "helping." No worries, just part of the learning process, right?
And then there is sweeping the floor. We have mostly hard wood flooring, so I use the broom a lot. Brian loves this chore so much, that we bought him a child size broom to use alongside me. Unfortunately, he wacked himself in the eye the first night we had it, so Brian's broom has been hidden for the time being and I now sweep while he naps.
The child will even "help" clean bathrooms. I give him a rag and he "cleans" the base of the sink and toilet. He cracks me up! I remember our niece Renie used to like to help with this chore, too!
The dishes, however, are by FAR Brian's favorite chore. Probably due to the running water and the fact that I let him STAND on a chair when he "helps" with this. (He's usually told to SIT DOWN when on our kitchen chairs.) Here are some pictures of Brian and I washing dishes tonight.
And here is a picture of the melt down we face once the dishes are done.
Some chores are easier to complete without Brian. When the dishwasher is open he comes running from where ever he is to "help." He doesn't care if the dishes are dirty or not. He wants to empty it all the time. He broke a bowl recently while "helping." No worries, just part of the learning process, right?
And then there is sweeping the floor. We have mostly hard wood flooring, so I use the broom a lot. Brian loves this chore so much, that we bought him a child size broom to use alongside me. Unfortunately, he wacked himself in the eye the first night we had it, so Brian's broom has been hidden for the time being and I now sweep while he naps.
The child will even "help" clean bathrooms. I give him a rag and he "cleans" the base of the sink and toilet. He cracks me up! I remember our niece Renie used to like to help with this chore, too!
The dishes, however, are by FAR Brian's favorite chore. Probably due to the running water and the fact that I let him STAND on a chair when he "helps" with this. (He's usually told to SIT DOWN when on our kitchen chairs.) Here are some pictures of Brian and I washing dishes tonight.
And here is a picture of the melt down we face once the dishes are done.
Friday, September 4, 2009
OUT!
OUT! That is the new battle cry in the Borchardt house. And Brian's new favorite word. Whether it's OUT of the high chair, OUT of the car seat or OUT as in OUTside, he says it more and more each day and he becomes more and more insistent about it too.
The kid loves being outside. He could care less that he gets splinters and stubs his little toes. Here are some cute pictures of a recent trip OUT front :)
The kid loves being outside. He could care less that he gets splinters and stubs his little toes. Here are some cute pictures of a recent trip OUT front :)
Monday, June 8, 2009
What a difference a day makes...
...says the Nana. Who bought the new hat. He has to wear them all summer so we needed options :)
Who put Brian on a towel by his pool, fully clothed this evening so he could get used to it. :)
You see the results below. We knew he'd like the pool. It just had to be his idea! On his terms. Like every other "new" thing. I ask again, HOW did I end up with a stubborn child?
Who put Brian on a towel by his pool, fully clothed this evening so he could get used to it. :)
You see the results below. We knew he'd like the pool. It just had to be his idea! On his terms. Like every other "new" thing. I ask again, HOW did I end up with a stubborn child?
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Big Weekend!
We had a big weekend at the Borchardt house. Not really, but I'm exhausted and it sure feels like it. Let's start with Saturday morning...
All three Borchardt's got up early because Brian and I were meeting a friend at First Watch for breakfast. Brian and I got ready and were out the door before 9a.m. We waited at First Watch for about 15 minutes before calling said friend to see if she was going to make it. I knew she had been through a really tough week, and figured she might have forgotten. She had. She felt SO bad about it, but it was really no big deal. These things happen :) Anyway, we hope to see her soon.
I intended to just leave a small tip for my water and the server's wasted time, but decided to call Shawn and see if he wanted to join us. Turns out, he did! So, Brian and I waited about 10 minutes for Daddy to arrive and in that 10 minutes Brian's mood turned from cheerful and fun to cranky and NO FUN AT ALL! By the time Shawn arrived, I was stressed and Brian was far from his happy, normal self. I took Brian to the ladies room to feed him while Shawn ordered thinking a full belly might change his mood. No dice. I ended up back in the ladies room with Brian after a quick trip out to the table to tell Shawn to go ahead and eat without me. The only time Brian didn't cry during the next 20 minutes was when I let him play in the water faucet!
Shawn finished his meal and then ended up taking Brian on home while I ate my breakfast alone. Kind of a bummer, but honestly after enduring a crying baby for 45 minutes, it was nice to be on my own! Shawn told me later that he cried all the way home and once home calmed down considerably. Once he was calm, Brian let out a big belch and quickly fell asleep. THANK GOD! By the way, when he woke up, he was back to his normal, happy self! Oh, and the waitress got a $10 tip for putting up with us!
Sometime after the breakfast ordeal, Shawn decided we needed to overhaul the house. Yes, I repeat, Shawn decided we needed to clean! Brian has taken over our hearts, but in addition to that, he's taken over our house as well. We had boxes of his old toys and clothes overflowing from his closet, and the rest of the house was full of piles of paper and other junk that needed to be gone through. Our pantry was a wreck (we just kept pushing things deeper to fit the new things-like baby food) and our fridge wasn't much better! So, we called in Nana Rosana to take Brian Thomas out for awhile and we decluttered our home. It looks much better now! Today I even managed to mop the kitchen, hallway and front room AND vacuum all carpeted areas so that the grime and muck from our recent snow storms are no longer plaguing my floors!
Saturday night the big weekend continued. We met up with Nana, Pappy and Brian at Panera for dinner. Kate Young joined us too :) After dinner we went to Borders where Brian got two books (one from Mommy and one from Kate). Then we headed over to Starbucks to meet up with the Klaenes, Jennie Cole, and the Manns. The Manns have a daughter who is about a month and half younger than Brian, the beautiful Addison Rose. Brian is already betrothed to her. Melissa and Adam got some cute pictures of the kids together, as well as one of Addison and Jennie where Jennie is wearing Brian's hat. They are posted below. Brian and Addison got along famously until Brian tried to eat her hand. He comes on a little strong ;)
Oh, and if you're wondering about the red spot on Brian's head, and the lack of a helmet, these two things go together. The spot appeared on Saturday after he had worn the helmet for 8 hours straight-the longest amount of time thus far. The instructions from the Brace Shop state that if any redness appears and sticks around for more than a half hour, the helmet should not be worn until the child is seen by the Orthotist. So, no helmet for Brian until tomorrow at 1:30. This was our regular appointment time as they want you to come back for a check 1 week after the initial fitting. So that's our adventure for tomorrow! Wish us luck :)
All three Borchardt's got up early because Brian and I were meeting a friend at First Watch for breakfast. Brian and I got ready and were out the door before 9a.m. We waited at First Watch for about 15 minutes before calling said friend to see if she was going to make it. I knew she had been through a really tough week, and figured she might have forgotten. She had. She felt SO bad about it, but it was really no big deal. These things happen :) Anyway, we hope to see her soon.
I intended to just leave a small tip for my water and the server's wasted time, but decided to call Shawn and see if he wanted to join us. Turns out, he did! So, Brian and I waited about 10 minutes for Daddy to arrive and in that 10 minutes Brian's mood turned from cheerful and fun to cranky and NO FUN AT ALL! By the time Shawn arrived, I was stressed and Brian was far from his happy, normal self. I took Brian to the ladies room to feed him while Shawn ordered thinking a full belly might change his mood. No dice. I ended up back in the ladies room with Brian after a quick trip out to the table to tell Shawn to go ahead and eat without me. The only time Brian didn't cry during the next 20 minutes was when I let him play in the water faucet!
Shawn finished his meal and then ended up taking Brian on home while I ate my breakfast alone. Kind of a bummer, but honestly after enduring a crying baby for 45 minutes, it was nice to be on my own! Shawn told me later that he cried all the way home and once home calmed down considerably. Once he was calm, Brian let out a big belch and quickly fell asleep. THANK GOD! By the way, when he woke up, he was back to his normal, happy self! Oh, and the waitress got a $10 tip for putting up with us!
Sometime after the breakfast ordeal, Shawn decided we needed to overhaul the house. Yes, I repeat, Shawn decided we needed to clean! Brian has taken over our hearts, but in addition to that, he's taken over our house as well. We had boxes of his old toys and clothes overflowing from his closet, and the rest of the house was full of piles of paper and other junk that needed to be gone through. Our pantry was a wreck (we just kept pushing things deeper to fit the new things-like baby food) and our fridge wasn't much better! So, we called in Nana Rosana to take Brian Thomas out for awhile and we decluttered our home. It looks much better now! Today I even managed to mop the kitchen, hallway and front room AND vacuum all carpeted areas so that the grime and muck from our recent snow storms are no longer plaguing my floors!
Saturday night the big weekend continued. We met up with Nana, Pappy and Brian at Panera for dinner. Kate Young joined us too :) After dinner we went to Borders where Brian got two books (one from Mommy and one from Kate). Then we headed over to Starbucks to meet up with the Klaenes, Jennie Cole, and the Manns. The Manns have a daughter who is about a month and half younger than Brian, the beautiful Addison Rose. Brian is already betrothed to her. Melissa and Adam got some cute pictures of the kids together, as well as one of Addison and Jennie where Jennie is wearing Brian's hat. They are posted below. Brian and Addison got along famously until Brian tried to eat her hand. He comes on a little strong ;)
Oh, and if you're wondering about the red spot on Brian's head, and the lack of a helmet, these two things go together. The spot appeared on Saturday after he had worn the helmet for 8 hours straight-the longest amount of time thus far. The instructions from the Brace Shop state that if any redness appears and sticks around for more than a half hour, the helmet should not be worn until the child is seen by the Orthotist. So, no helmet for Brian until tomorrow at 1:30. This was our regular appointment time as they want you to come back for a check 1 week after the initial fitting. So that's our adventure for tomorrow! Wish us luck :)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Bring on the Helmet!
I am sure many of you are wondering how it went yesterday at the Brace Shop. Let me start with our morning. Brian had PT at 8 a.m. This meant I had to wake him up, which he's okay about when it happens, but very cranky about as the day progresses. Due to this, he was a bit cranky at PT, instead of being all smiles like last week. Elizabeth, the PT, says he's doing really well though! His left turn radius (chin to shoulder) was 60% last week and is now 80%, which is considered all the way. She said it's due to all of our work at home! Anyway, we only have to go back every two weeks since we did our homework, which is nice. We got 2 more exercises to do 5 times daily (for 5 minutes each). Both are on the exercise ball, which Brian thinks is pretty entertaining! So now we are up to 4 exercises 5 times a day. 2 take 30 seconds a piece if he cooperates, and the other two take 5 minutes each.
After PT, we headed home for a much needed nap (for both of us, I didn't sleep much Sunday night). We both slept for about 30 minutes (not nearly enough time) before heading out to the Brace Shop. Now, I am sure I sound cynical when I say that many people whose kids need these caps, are in the situation because they are crappy parents who leave their kids lay all day long. I might sound cynical, but it's purely an observation based on the waiting room yesterday, which was very depressing and made me feel like a crappy parent just from being in the company of the others. One of the crappy parents made me even more nervous by telling me that Brian would hate the helmet and cry all the time. Just to justify my crappy parent comments, this particular woman had a 2 year old, 10 month old (in helmet) and a baby in NICU that had only made it to 26 weeks. She reeked of smoke and so did the man with her. The father of the 10 month old was definitely not the father of the 2 year old and the mom was kind of slow to be honest. This may all seem mean to say, but I am still upset about how upset she managed to get me before Brian and I headed in to get his helmet.
Anyway, we finally headed in to the helmet fitting room and Greg, the orthotist, gave me some instructions and then went to work on the helmet. The helmets come in with tiny ear holes, so the orthotist has to adjust it by making marks with a crayon and then going somewhere to cut it. So, he put in on Brian's head, made marks, took it off, and disappeared for awhile. Brian did not seem to care about this initial encounter. Greg had to adjust it a second time, and then he put the helmet on for good (or for an hour really because the first day it's an hour on, an hour off all day long). Again, Brian didn't seem to care. After asking all of my questions, we were out the door with the helmet on.
Then we got in the car. Now remember, Brian isn't the best traveler on earth. He was also very tired and hungry and with the sun coming in the back window, his new helmet was very hot. I made the mistake of trusting our GPS to get me home and we were in the car about 20 minutes longer than necessary because of that mistake. I still don't know if the GPS chick got me lost, or if I did it myself by not being able to hear hear over the screaming child in the backseat. Either way, we were pretty lost. And, yes, there was a screaming child in my backseat. He cried the entire way home :(
So needless to say I was tired, hungry and well over the edge by the time we arrived at the house. Brian wasn't much better! However, once inside, I put him down to play with his toys, and he was just fine. Smiley and normal. He ate his lunch (sweet potatoes-his favorite) without any fuss, and then it was time to take the helmet off.
The day went on pretty much as normal-except that I was taking the helmet on and off Brian's head every hour. Brian was just fine. He smiled at any people we saw, and they smiled back. He played and slept and ate, all like normal. I'm really not sure he even noticed he had the helmet on. Today, I'm happy to report, has been much of the same. (Today by the way is 2 hours on, 1 hour off all day long). I'm so glad I have a calm, happy and cool kid! He keeps Mommy sane :)
The new cap requires a little more work on my part. It has to be washed daily, as does his head to cut down on stinkiness. Apparently he will be sweating quite a bit at least for the first 2 weeks, so keeping it clean is key. For the next several days I have to keep a schedule (on for some amount of time, then off for some amount of time). Also, we have to go back to the Orthotist on Monday to have it checked and then every 3 weeks as long as he has it. However, overall, it hasn't been as bad as it could have been. Now, he hasn't had to sleep in it yet, so I'll let you know how that goes! Wish me luck!!
After PT, we headed home for a much needed nap (for both of us, I didn't sleep much Sunday night). We both slept for about 30 minutes (not nearly enough time) before heading out to the Brace Shop. Now, I am sure I sound cynical when I say that many people whose kids need these caps, are in the situation because they are crappy parents who leave their kids lay all day long. I might sound cynical, but it's purely an observation based on the waiting room yesterday, which was very depressing and made me feel like a crappy parent just from being in the company of the others. One of the crappy parents made me even more nervous by telling me that Brian would hate the helmet and cry all the time. Just to justify my crappy parent comments, this particular woman had a 2 year old, 10 month old (in helmet) and a baby in NICU that had only made it to 26 weeks. She reeked of smoke and so did the man with her. The father of the 10 month old was definitely not the father of the 2 year old and the mom was kind of slow to be honest. This may all seem mean to say, but I am still upset about how upset she managed to get me before Brian and I headed in to get his helmet.
Anyway, we finally headed in to the helmet fitting room and Greg, the orthotist, gave me some instructions and then went to work on the helmet. The helmets come in with tiny ear holes, so the orthotist has to adjust it by making marks with a crayon and then going somewhere to cut it. So, he put in on Brian's head, made marks, took it off, and disappeared for awhile. Brian did not seem to care about this initial encounter. Greg had to adjust it a second time, and then he put the helmet on for good (or for an hour really because the first day it's an hour on, an hour off all day long). Again, Brian didn't seem to care. After asking all of my questions, we were out the door with the helmet on.
Then we got in the car. Now remember, Brian isn't the best traveler on earth. He was also very tired and hungry and with the sun coming in the back window, his new helmet was very hot. I made the mistake of trusting our GPS to get me home and we were in the car about 20 minutes longer than necessary because of that mistake. I still don't know if the GPS chick got me lost, or if I did it myself by not being able to hear hear over the screaming child in the backseat. Either way, we were pretty lost. And, yes, there was a screaming child in my backseat. He cried the entire way home :(
So needless to say I was tired, hungry and well over the edge by the time we arrived at the house. Brian wasn't much better! However, once inside, I put him down to play with his toys, and he was just fine. Smiley and normal. He ate his lunch (sweet potatoes-his favorite) without any fuss, and then it was time to take the helmet off.
The day went on pretty much as normal-except that I was taking the helmet on and off Brian's head every hour. Brian was just fine. He smiled at any people we saw, and they smiled back. He played and slept and ate, all like normal. I'm really not sure he even noticed he had the helmet on. Today, I'm happy to report, has been much of the same. (Today by the way is 2 hours on, 1 hour off all day long). I'm so glad I have a calm, happy and cool kid! He keeps Mommy sane :)
The new cap requires a little more work on my part. It has to be washed daily, as does his head to cut down on stinkiness. Apparently he will be sweating quite a bit at least for the first 2 weeks, so keeping it clean is key. For the next several days I have to keep a schedule (on for some amount of time, then off for some amount of time). Also, we have to go back to the Orthotist on Monday to have it checked and then every 3 weeks as long as he has it. However, overall, it hasn't been as bad as it could have been. Now, he hasn't had to sleep in it yet, so I'll let you know how that goes! Wish me luck!!
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