Two cavities and he's only three!

Good grief where did we go wrong? G is only three years old and he has two cavities. The dentist called it "decay" between two teeth. I had to ask, "Is decay a cavity?" And yes it is. I was so shocked! We brush his teeth for him, but I guess we need to stay on top of flossing and maybe add some fluoride rinses too since our county doesn't really fluoridate the water.

I was disappointed the dentist didn't ask me any questions to determine why he has cavities this young. Especially since Dave and I have two cavities between us (both mine!). He went over brushing techniques and flossing, but with my three year old not me! (They don't let parents in the back during the cleaning or exam.) I brush his teeth because well he's only three, so Mr. Dentist you need to make sure I'm doing it right. He didn't ask how many times I'm brushing, or how long, or if he's eating too many sweets or about our genetics, or whatever causes cavities. They just gave me an estimate for repair and sent me on my way. I was really disappointed. Granted this is not a pediatric dentist, but I think cavities in a three year old is a big deal.

I called today to express my concerns and he took it as an attack saying that I was angry with them because G had a cavity. Seriously? I just wanted to know why there wasn't more discussion about prevention...and what do I do now? Ugh I don't need this kind of drama. Now do I go to a pediatric dentist for another exam out of pocket and more expensive repairs? Or do I finish the job at this dentist? He's perfectly capable, has a nice staff and nice office, and we loved our experience with him, but we haven't had any issues either. In fact G seemed to be fine going there and having his teeth cleaned and x-rayed, but they seriously lack some people skills.

Diapers be gone!

Well for one kiddo at least. G said he wanted to wear underwear to bed and I explained that he would have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night to pee if he wore underwear. He agreed. I was worried, but since he wanted to wear underwear so badly I decided to let him give it a try.

He wakes up every morning with a full wet diaper, but we never knew if he was peeing first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night. It didn't seem to matter how early I woke up him he always had a full diaper. He would refuse to try and use the bathroom or get dressed, telling me he wasn't ready. Perhaps it was because he had not had his daily morning pee in his diaper yet?? We could not figure out a way to get him to pee on the toilet in the morning, so pulling the diaper seems as good of a way as any.

Surprisingly he stayed dry all night long! I woke up a number of times wondering if I should take him to the bathroom. I was prepared to change sheets. However my restlessness was all for nothing. He did great! We are so proud! I'm sure he'll have a few accidents here and there, but I'm glad to know he has the ability to stay dry all night.

In other news, Adam finally rolled from stomach to back. Yes folks that's right a week shy of 11 months he decides to do something big brother did at 19 weeks! Laaaaazy! He is still pulling up, standing, and walking a very little bit while holding someone's hands.

My tomato plants are producing tons of tomatoes which I have shared with friends and neighbors. I was also surprised to find three good sized zucchinis to pick. They magically grew in a week or so because while my Mom was here she examined all the plants and there wasn't anything there. So I plan to cook up some of my organic zucchini for the kiddos. I know Adam will eat it, but we'll see about G. He did eat the green beans from the garden. If I get another batch (I gave away 2 of the 3) I'd like to do some bread.

Next year I'm going to do zucchini, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and regular, green onions, and green beans for sure. I'll skip strawberries, snap peas, onions, and garlic though. I have a hard time knowing when to pick the stuff that grows underground and the strawberry plant only has tiny strawberries the size of a pea on them. I'd love to plant a fruit tree somewhere, but I'm not sure we have room for that.

Bow Legged and Flat Footed....oh my

G had his feet checked out today. He had pronating ankles from his bowed legs and flat feet. His achilles tendon is also really tight so we have to do some stretching exercisers. What caused all that I have no idea. I talked to my Dad and my brother had flat feet, and he says he heard that bowed legs can be caused by diet. Well G's diet is horrible so that would be no surprise, unless of course it's lack of calcium. All he eats is dairy!

Anyway he has to wear shoe inserts and say goodbye to his favorite Lightning Mcqueen light up shoes. He needs some shoes with better support - not quite orthopedic shoes (although they are recommended). So we are going shoe shopping this weekend.

However it was quite an ordeal to get all this information. After going to the park to meet up with playgroup buddies, we headed home to wash G's feet, put on clean shoes and shorts, and head out to the doc. Poor Adam missed his afternoon nap and was red eyed, fussy, crying, and probably hungry. I kept thinking we would get called back any minute. An hour and a half after our appointment time we finally saw the doctor. That's after G ran laps in the waiting room and Adam cried and screamed. However during this mess, Adam pulled himself up to standing. He was sitting in a waiting room chair while I helped G put his socks and shoes back on. The next thing I know he's holding the arms on the chair and standing! He repeated it a bunch more when we got home. Not quite mobile yet, but he's getting there.

I spy...

...another tooth! Adam, aka the one tooth wonder, has another tooth popping through. It's the bottom center neighbor to the one he has. I just noticed it today. Does this mean that he will start sleeping better again? I'm so tired of all this night waking lately. He's been a great sleeper in general, but has weeks of frequent night waking and I can never predict when it's going to strike.

So Adam is somewhat mobile...I think. When I take a shower I put him in the pack n play. When I get out he has moved himself to the edge. I'm not sure if he's scooting, or what? He definitely doesn't crawl, so it's some wacky thing he's doing. He still hates being on his tummy so mobility may never come!

Saturday morning Dave went over with G to help the Watts with some yard work. But not long after they got there, Shannon decided to go to Costco and took all three kids by herself! I avoid taking G to Costco at all costs unless it's a quickie trip. She's a brave woman! She laid out the ground rules before they left and she said G was almost in tears. Then she said they would have gold fish and raisins and he was good to go. When I lay out the ground rules I get ignored. I must learn her secret super power.

In the early evening we had a bbq of course, and the weather was great. Adam scarfed down some chicken, but more surprisingly G actually ate some of the chicken too! Perhaps it was peer pressure having Ian and Tyler over. I've noticed that having Adam eat most of the same things as G has really helped him to at least try some new things. Adam pounded down some tortellini and asparagus the other day and G actually gave it a try and liked it. Go figure.

Sunday we had lunch with Great Aunt Carolyn, Great Uncle Larry, Great Grandma, and the B Grandparents. I didn't realize that they C & L had not met Adam yet! With all the traveling they do and the B Grandparents do it's hard to keep track of who is in town and when. Carolyn can't figure out who Adam looks like. She thinks G looks just like Grandpa B.

G played waiter and served everyone chips and guacomole. I tried to encourage him to pass around the bowl of chips, but he much prefered to select a chip for the recipient and then deliver it. Everyone was a good sport, but had to tell him they were full because he was definitely dedicated to making sure you were not chipless.

Adam managed to take a short nap on the floor of "G's room" because we forgot the pack n play. Though it was short, there wasn't any crying. I laid him down and he rolled to his side to commence the thumb sucking which is how he gets to sleep. He chilled there for 30 minutes or so before waking up and realizing he was somewhere strange and wanted someone to come get him. He definitely wasn't in one of his best moods that day as a result of the short nap.

He's also become really sensitive about "strangers". He cries when Shannon holds him, or our neighbor Connie (he has an on again off again relationship with her). And wasn't keen on even sitting on a chair near Great Grandma. He's okay interacting with people or being near them as long as Mom, Dad, or Grandma B is holding him. He even cries when Grandpa B holds him, but he can hold him off from tears longer than most. G didn't have stranger anxiety until really late...I want to say after a year old? Maybe even 18 months when I tried to join the gym.

Preschool is still rough, but I changed his days to Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Monday and Wednesday so he could see his buddy Jayden. He and Jayden are the only boys in the summer session and they were going on completely different days. G asked about why Jayden wasn't in the new class yet. I told him he was, but he was going on different days. G seemed sad so I talked to his teacher and switched his days so he could hang out with Jayden on Tuesdays and KT on Wednesdays. Hopefully that makes school more enjoyable for him.

Lots of change

G ate three bites of broccoli the other day and a bunch of green beans today! I'm not sure what's going on, but I hope it continues. Maybe it was because he has been helping me take care of the green beans in the garden and he helped to pick them.

Adam has been waking all night long recently and it's driving me nuts! It's like having a newborn again waking every 3-4 hours! I think he actually slept better than that as a newborn. He's drooling a lot lately so I'm sure it's the teething. He's still immobile, but he bounces up and down and reaches far in front of him so he's almost in a pancake position. He's face planted a couple of times trying to reach for things. He still cries when I put him down for tummy time. He gets stuck on his belly at night a few times a week.

He will stand if put in a standing position, but doesn't pull up. He likes to stand at the train table and wipe out small train villages in a single hand swipe. He also likes to derail trains and eat them. This is all very upsetting to G.

G has taken to ripping toys out of Adam's hands when he's playing with them. It doesn't matter if G is engaged in his trains or busy with a puzzle. If he sees Adam is interested and happily playing with something, G must take it. Adam used to just move on to something else, but now he cries. He doesn't appreciate big brother taking his toys and is asserting himself. Good boy.

G has started to count and say the alphabet. His counting and the alphabet he's taken some liberties with. He tries to count to the mid twenties, but skips a few and doubles a few. I'm just glad he's trying. Before, he would refuse to even try to count anything. The other day he was yelling out the alphabet w-x-q-r-x over and over. I tried to encourage him to say the alpahbet with me starting at the beginning but he ignored me until we got to one of those letters and just started belting out "his" alphabet.

He hates change.

(I have the missing month's worth of entries, but I have to edit them and add pictures. They will be added soon).

Now that G is potty trained, and the school year is over, he moves up to the three year old class for the summer. I knew this was going to be a difficult change for him. When we were talking about going to college someday and I asked where he wanted to go, he said he wanted to go with Miss Amanda, his preschool teacher.

He seemed okay in the morning even though I mentioned he was going to be changing classrooms. All his classmates were going to be moving with him so I was hoping that would help. I'm sure if I had dropped him off at the playground the transition would have been easier, but it rained just enough to keep the kids inside.

So there we were in the hall, G clinging to the metal fence refusing to walk past Miss Amanda's door to the three year old room. I told him his friends were in the new classroom too. He just wailed and stood clenching the fence. Finally I suggested we walk through Miss Amanda's class to see her and see that his friends weren't there. He was willing to go in Miss Amanda's room, but unwilling to leave once he saw his friend's weren't there. He was just fine staying with Miss Amanda. Since I was holding Adam, she carried G who was kicking and screaming, into the three year old class. Then he was passed to Miss Melissa, his new teacher, still kicking and screaming. I signed him in and left. I was outside for a few extra minutes changing Adam's diaper and could hear him screaming the whole time. I'm just hoping that Wednesday goes a little better. Next week his buddy Kaitlyn will be joining him, so I hope that helps him with the transition.

Mondays are typically harder than Wednesdays for school since it's right after the weekend. However I think today was a doozy because he changed classrooms and is still coming off the sugar high and frenzy from his birthday party yesterday.