The many faces of … Colin

Blurry, half out of the frame. Yep, that’s a
typical Colin picture. He doesn’t hold
still long enough to get many good shots.

Two is an interesting age. Most of the time, it deserves its “Terrible Twos” moniker (times two, of course, in our house). But it’s also when those little personalities really start to blossom. So in between the tantrums and the hitting and the hair pulling and the drama, we also get some very sweet and funny moments. 

While Veronica is still the most similar to her big brother, Colin recently has been revealing some very Ethan-like traits:

He is all about reading cookbooks: “Read me Mediterranean Cooking Mommy!” Really … he loves his cookbooks. I even had to take my Tea Time cookbook away from him because he was loving it to death. Some days he’ll walk over to the cookbook shelf and ask for a specific volume, then plop down on the floor and start to “read.”

His Playdoh style is very much like Ethan’s was at this stage, although less well-developed because we haven’t really done Playdoh until yesterday. They used some in Sunday school, and their teacher said they both did very well with it. (Yes, I got to leave them alone in class this week until the very end, when Colin got bored and started to wander away.) So when we got home, I cooked up a big batch of dough and Ethan and I made some bright colors (love that gel food coloring, but my hands are a cartoon-like pink and red now). 

Much to my surprise, all three of them played with the stuff for almost an hour with minimal fighting. Then Ethan wandered off to other activities, and the twins continued to play for a good half an hour more. Veronica was all about making piles of different colors and then smooshing them with a play knife or the slotted spoon. Colin wanted to make “things.” Of course, that meant me making things, but that’s okay. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t think to grab the camera. 

Colin is totally into watching Wheels on the Bus videos on my computer (as is Veronica). They can sit for a good half hour watching, and know exactly which versions on Youtube that they are in the mood for.

Mom, stop buggins us. We’re watching Wheels.

Colin also continues to have a great sense of humor. I was taking some pictures of them recently, and in the middle of one shot, Veronica stopped to scratch her nose. I made an offhand comment about catching it on film, and Colin couldn’t stop laughing at the thought.

She picked her nose! Ha, ha, ha. 

“Big” sister

We often, in casual conversation, use “bigger” and “older” interchangeably when talking about kids. We’ll say, “Well, he can do that because he’s a big kid,” when what we really mean is that he’s older. 

Veronica is bigger than Colin. At some points, thanks to the timing of their separate growth spurts, it’s just by a little and not really noticeable. Other times the difference is quite apparent. She’s also more verbal (although he’s catching up quickly on that front), so it’s often easy to get caught in the trap of referring to her (or at least thinking of her) as the “big sister.” 

Looking up at an “umbrella” at the
Garfield Park Conservatory.
(It was a giant leaf, but they had fun
pretending otherwise.)

This is exacerbated by the fact that she think of herself as Colin’s big sister (or mommy — I’m really not sure some times). Right now, her mothering of Colin is cute, and he seems to really enjoy it. I think I’ve written before about how Colin will ask Veronica to read to him (Read to me Roni), and then will sit on her lap (sort of — they’re not that far apart in size) while she “reads” to him. 

Veronica, like most two-year-olds, is a little sponge. Not much happens near her that she doesn’t pick up on. She typically “participates” in Colin’s physical therapy sessions, so she is very aware of what he’s supposed to be working on. Very aware.

The other day, John came into the room where the two of them were playing, and found that Veronica had set up the pillows on the floor like Colin’s therapist sometimes does, and was putting Colin through a PT session. “Now step here Colin. Good. Now step here.”

It’s very cute, and as long as it doesn’t annoy him, it’s great. I see the day coming soon, however, where he is not going to want to be in the “little brother” role any longer. And that transition is not going to be so cute. 

Nervous tic

It’s been a very busy week here in Fiegel-land. Work has been crazy busy for me for the past couple of weeks (or longer, I can’t remember because it all blurs together), which doesn’t leave a lot of time or energy for home. 

We’ve had to restart the clock on the dairy-free month three times now because we keep discovering milk in places we didn’t expect it. I think, after a massive trip to Whole Foods on Tuesday, that we’ve got our dairy-free supplies down now and can continue past Day 2. But really, how could I forget that the milk chocolate in M&Ms is made with, well, milk? (We’ve now switched to using Skittles for potty-training rewards.)

So far, it doesn’t really seem to be making a difference. Colin still has episodes of pain and constipation, and was up most of the night on Tuesday because of gas pain. But then again, we haven’t been completely dairy free yet for more than a couple of days so who knows. 

Colin was at the ophthalmologist this afternoon to get his eyes checked out again. He’s been blinking a lot, like Ethan used to do before his allergies were diagnosed, but Colin didn’t test positive for any allergies. So his doctor wanted to make sure he didn’t have an underlying eye problem. So after getting his eyes dilated so the doctor could “take a look inside,” we learned that it’s just a benign nervous tick that probably is nothing. 

So we’re not supposed to acknowledge that he’s doing it or talk about it in front of him (the doctor even had an assistant take Colin out of the room before telling John his diagnosis), and it should go away in the next year. 

On top of all that, we’ve started to get more serious about potty training, including setting up a reward system (with the aforementioned Skittles) to encourage potty use. We did this after Veronica was getting very interested and had stayed completely dry one day and nearly so for two others. 

Unfortunately, this has backfired, and she now is having a wet diaper nearly every time we ask if she wants to use the potty. Colin is doing better with it though. 

I took three days off later this month, and was thinking about using those five days in a row at home to really make the “let’s get out of diapers” push. But now I’m second guessing that decision. We’ll see what happens next week. 

And that’s the latest fun from us. 

New Pics of Cute Kids

Okay, I admit that I’m biased, but I think my kids are very cute. I love taking pictures of them, and of going back through the pictures of them from the past to see how much they’ve changed and grown.

We’ve been getting out and about some this winter … to the Garfield Park Conservatory, to watch Ethan play soccer and just to go about the routine business of life. And here are a few pics I’ve taken recently of my cutie pies. 

Veronica’s sense of style:

Veronica continues to be the fashion girl. Here
she has claimed one of my silk scarves as her own.

Getting ready to head to school, Veronica
insisted on the tutu, tights, and light-up boots. 

Oh no, one of the dreaded self-portraits
with the cell phone camera. But at least
we’re finally getting Mom out from behind
the camera. I do exist.

Colin can be quite the snuggle bug.

Just giving Daddy a little snuggle at the dinner table. 

Brotherly love, before heading over to school.

And from our trip to a tropical paradise — the Garfield Park Conservatory — on one of our very cold winter days.

Look Mom, it’s a secret path!

Group shot! Quick, before Colin takes off running.

Much ado

I know I have been a negligent blogger when I have to log back in to my account to post an update. And much has happened during the past couple of weeks to write about, I’ve just been too tired to do it. Since I last wrote:

• Colin has added a second type of eczema to his “collection” of skin problems
• Colin has been tested for celiac disease (the test came back negative — that’s not what’s causing his problems)
• Colin needs to go back to the ophthalmologist to find out if he has an underlying problem that is causing his eye irritation (and his constant blinking)
• We are finishing Day 5 of 30 of a completely lactose-free diet for Colin to see if that’s what’s making his tummy unhappy. 

This last one is killing me. Do you know how hard it is for this Wisconsin girl to make 30 dinners in a row without using dairy? (Okay, I have a planned a couple of dinners that involve dairy for the rest of us — I just have to make a second dinner that’s dairy-free on those days for Coin.) 

Do you know that Nutella is made with skim milk? I didn’t — despite the fact that they print it right on the label in big type. Great, we had already made it through four days and had to start the clock over. (On the plus side — for the kids at least — I just discovered Biscoff spread, which is dairy free and REALLY yummy. Just what I need. More temptation.)

Do you know how expensive lactose-free milk is? Even more than my organic milk. Yikes! And now I'm having to use it for baking too. We’re taking this lactose-free thing pretty seriously. 

What makes this even worse is that so far it doesn’t seem to be helping. Colin continues to have stomach problems with about the same frequency and type as before we stopped the dairy. Honestly, both John and I still feel like it’s the gluten that’s bothering him, even if the test shows that he doesn’t have celiac disease. But the doctor thinks it may be that the stomach virus he had a couple of months ago may have damaged his intestines, making it hard for him to digest the milk and that it may heal itself after the 30-day break. So we’re trying it.

On the bright side, Colin has not lost much weight; he weighs 24 pounds 9 ounces, down from just over 25 pounds (little peanut), but he’s grown an inch and now stands at 34.5 inches. And his language skills have really taken off over the past couple of weeks. He now will start conversations, tell long stories and sometimes even win the “who can get the most words in at the dinner table” contest that every meal is. 

Veronica is growing too. She now stands 36 inches tall, and weighs 28 pounds 6.5 ounces. She is obsessed with yoga, and has appropriated the Athleta catalog that came in the mail last month and regularly “reads” her “poses magazine” while trying to imitate the poses the models are doing. I’m trying to find a kids yoga class (or a Mommy and me class) for her, but most of them either fall at nap time or are for slightly older kids. 

We’re still flirting with potty training. Colin has been less interested recently (probably in part because he hasn’t been feeling 100%), but Veronica has stayed dry the last several afternoons, and was pretty close to dry this morning too. I think if we can get Colin back to feeling good and just spend a few days really focused on it, we’ll be able to get there. Maybe next month. 

Potty training?

Last night at bed time: 

“Veronica, your diaper is still dry. Good job. Do you want to go on the potty like a big girl?”

“No!”

“But Veronica, if you want to start wearing big kid underwear, you need to go potty on the toilet, not just keep your diaper dry.”

“No! I want a disposable diaper on. I don’t want the potty.”

Sigh. “Okay. I guess we’re not quite ready for potty training yet.”

Veronica, wailing, “But I want to go to potty training! I want to go to potty training!”

Colin, in a little voice from the other side of the room. “I go potty in the toilet. I go to potty training.”

So clearly we have a bit of misunderstanding about the concept of potty training. “Veronica, potty training isn’t a destination. It’s a process. And it means that you have to go on the toilet … all the time.” (Yes, I actually talk to them about destinations and processes. Maybe that’s part of the problem.)

I’m pretty sure Colin is ready, and if we had the energy to focus on switching him out of diapers he would be successful. Veronica, on the other hand, isn’t quite there. And the thought of trying to potty train one at a time seems harder than just waiting. So for now, we’ll still be washing diapers and waiting. Sigh. 

Big kid beds

We have [finally] graduated from the cribs and moved the twins into big kid beds — and to sharing a room. This was the plan from the start. But with their very different developmental stages in those early days, and the different sleep patterns that came with those differences, we ended up having them in separate bedrooms and splitting up so we could each be in with one. 

And while they still aren’t consistently sleeping through the night, we decided at Christmas that it was time to take the plunge and move them in together. We figured it could be absolute torture, or it could be about the same as it is now, but it wasn't going to get any easier so we might as well do it. 

So far, 10 days into it, the results have been mixed. But the room looks great, and they LOVE all the space for playing.

The new big kids room, where all three kids love to play
and someday (maybe) the twins will love to sleep.

We got everything set up first thing in the morning, so the kiddos could take their naps in the new beds/new room. Disastrous nap times are much easier to deal with than disastrous bed times. Veronica fell asleep pretty quickly, but Colin chatted for an hour before John finally got him to sleep. Unfortunately, he woke up when Veronica did. So she got a normal nap; his was only about half an hour.

That night, Colin was the super chatter again. Only this time, he also enjoyed the freedom that came with a toddler bed, and occasionally sprang up, flung the bedroom door open, and came out of the room calling “Mommy!” I think it took about an hour and a half to finally get him to sleep. Since then, however, they’ve done a good job about staying in their beds and falling asleep relatively quickly and quietly. 

It’s the middle of the night and the early mornings that are causing the problems now. Unfortunately, this pattern is the same as what we experienced when they were in separate rooms, so I don’t see a solution anywhere in the near future. John and I take turns sleeping in the room with them right now, so at least we’re able to get a night of somewhat uninterrupted sleep every other night. 

Veronica “sleeping” in her new bed.

Colin “sleeping” in his new bed.
(He actually does sleep almost sideways like that.)

On a side note, we now suspect that Colin might be lactose intolerant. We have been giving him soy milk for the past several weeks, and his digestive problems seem to be better. John introduced a little milk to his diet again on Sunday, and Sunday night was a very bad night for our little boy again. So we’ll be talking to the pediatrician today at our 2.5 year appointment about getting testing done. 

It’s always something, isn’t it?