Potty Training and Prayers

I am not in the mood to make a detailed post, but I just wanted to document that after 2 1/2 days of intensive training, Stockton is officially potty trained!!  Thanks to some good advice, it was alot easier than I anticipated.  It almost makes me wish I would have done it sooner.  Maybe not.  I also thought is was interesting that Stockton is exactly 2 1/2 years old today.  Happy kind-of Birthday, Stockton! :)

Oh yeah, and he also said the prayer at dinner tonight for the very first time.  I am looking forward to many years of listening to children's prayers. So cute.

Time for some documenting

This past week I have been consumed with the realization that Stockton and Logan are growing everyday.  And not only are they growing, but they are doing it very quickly.  Much faster than I would really like.  There is so much about them that I don't want to forget and so much that I wish would never change.  So I figured I better write some stuff down before I blink and they are teenagers.  Here goes:

Logan:

• I worry everyday about what is in store for me the older he gets.  (Prepare yourselves for a cheesy, only-a-mother-would-understand comment)  From the time he was born I saw a light in him that I didn't see in Stockton.  It was a kindness and a lightheartedness in his eyes that I really can't describe.  I still see it in him everyday, but he is just so full of energy that I don't know how he will ever be contained.  He has been walking for about the past month (since 9 1/2 months) and is already a pro.  He rarely even crawls anymore, he would much rather walk.  He can stand up from a sitting position, and doesn't need to pull himself up on anything.  He has also mastered going up the stairs, hasnt figured out how to go down yet, but he can fly up, that's for sure.  It is weird for me to see such a little guy walking, but at the same time, I wouldn't expect anything different from him. 
• He is the happiest, most go-lucky baby in the world...as long as he is getting what he wants.  As soon as that changes, he goes from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds.  He knows how to be stubborn and he knows how to throw a fit.  Watch out world, we have got one more strong-willed boy coming your way.  
• His hands are still out of control.  He loves grabbing everything he possibly can and sticking his hands in peoples' mouths and faces.  I think he could potentially grow up to be a thief b/c he is so fast and can grab anything that you think is out of his reach.  Everyday he does at least one walk-by grab.  I will be holding him, walking through the house and will notice that he carrying some object that there is no possible way he could have grabbed without me noticing.  
• He is starting to enjoy reading.  And when I say this I mean that he will actually let me open a book and turn it 2-3 pages before he becomes Godzilla and wants to destroy it.  He mostly enjoys books with pictures of animals or babies.  I am learning that if I read him books that I can interact with him by touching him or making funny noises, then I have a better chance of getting through those.  This may seem normal for a 10 month old baby, but Stockton would sit still and let me read to him as long I wanted from the time he was born.  So to me, it is a little frustrating.  Reading is my "Paranoid Mother" issue.  I don't buy into all of the Parenting Guides that try and convince you that if you dont do things a certain way then your baby will not turn out normal, but somewhere along the way I got it into my head that if I dont read to my kids at least 15 minutes a day then they will grow up with no imagination, have ADD and not do very well in school.  I am paranoid, I know, but as far as I am concerned reading to them everyday will only have positive affects on them so I am OK with being OCD about it.  Anyways, back to Logan...
• He loves to growl.  My sister seems to think he is a Gremlin.  I am confident that he isn't, but not confident enough to feed him after midnight.  He mostly growls when he wants something from you, when he is looking at pictures of animals, and when he is driving his trucks around.  And sometimes just when he is walking around the house.  This is what worries me about feeding him after midnight.
• He has 6 teeth so far.  Both sets of front and bottom middles and the 2 right beside the middles on top.  He has started grinding them together and he makes the cutest face when he does it.
• He is starting to get a little more cuddly.  He still wont let me hold him until he goes to sleep, but he at least rests his head on my chest and lets me sway with him for a couple minutes before I put him in his bed.  Those are the times I wish I could hold him forever.
• Finally, he is a total Daddy's boy.  When Troy is home he pretty much wants nothing to do with anyone or anything else.  If me and Troy are in the same room, he goes to Troy over me every time.  Anytime Troy is in the floor, Logan will walk over and either nuzzle him with his head or sit with his back up against Troy and just lay on him.  It is really sweet.  Stockton is such a Momma's boy, I am glad that Troy has a little buddy. 

Stockton:

• He is getting so grown up and smarter everyday.  It is crazy to see him put his own thoughts together instead of just allowing us to control everything he says and does.  He is just so aware and interested in everything going on around him and is starting to have his own random thoughts.  This morning at breakfast he just pipes up and says, "Dis tastes good, Mommy."  And then again at lunch.  I guess he didn't think too highly of our dinner because I didn't get a compliment for that.  He likes to ask "Wha Dat?" and when I tell him he says, "Oh".  The other day at the park he brought me a flower and said, "Mommy have."  That one brought a tear to my eye.  One night we were going to bed and he chose his bedtime book, but I told him it was brother's turn for a book first and for him to sit on the floor and read his book until it was his turn and he said "O-tay Mommy, I read it" and he sat down on his floor and turned the pages while talking jibberish to himself and pointing at the pictures.
• He is talking up a storm these days.  His vocabulary is growing everyday and he will pretty much repeat anything that we want him to say.  His speech therapist wants us to start working on his pronunciation now that his vocabulary is getting so big.  He was eating some graham cracker bunnies the other day and he asked for more "Nunnies".  I told him they were Bunnies, not Nunnies.  I had him repeat the "B" sound for me and then told him to say "Bu-Bu-Bu-Bunnies" and he said, "Bu-Bu-Bu-Nunnies!"  He was so proud of himself.
• He loves doing puzzles.  He is so good at it, too.  He is already doing the 36 piece ones. He would do puzzles all day if I didnt get burnt out on them so fast.  Every time he gets a piece together he gets so excited and says, "I did it!"  I thought I would join in on the excitement so when I got a piece together I said, "I did it!" and he followed up with "Mommy, I did it, too!" 
• He got his mother's scared gene and he is becoming more and more afraid of the dark.  Even if it is daylight outside, but the blinds are closed in a room, he wont go in there unless I go in and open up the window first.  Even though I know he is scared he tries to say so matter-of-factly, "Mommy dark" so I will go in first.  At least he tries to be brave.
• Toy Story and Thomas the Train have taken the backseat to Go! Diego! Go!  For the time being, at least.  He must ask at least 20 times a day to watch it.  Although he doesnt just ask, he throws his hands in the air and says, "Watch Diedo!"  He is just so enthusiastic about it that it is hard to not be as excited about him watching it as he is.  It seems like lately he has been watching too much it, but it could be worse, right?
• He LOVES his "Naan-Naan".  His cousin Emily is probably his 2nd most favorite person in the world right behind Mommy.  Anytime she is around, the world around him ceases to exist and she is the only thing that matters.  He wants nothing to do with me or Troy and wants her to do everything for him.  The funny thing is that he calls her "Naan-Naan".  My name has always been Dawn-Dawn in my family because my sister couldnt say my name when we were little so somehow the name Dawn-Dawn was born.  (My middle name is Dawn)  We never told Stockton to call Emily Dawn-Dawn, he just picked up on it from hearing her say it so frequently.  That is what is so funny.  Not so much anymore, but it seems like anytime Emily was around, there was a broken record playing my name over and over and over again.

Stockton & Logan:

• They are both getting really good at pestering each other already.  Stockton thinks he can take any toy away from Logan as long as he gives him a "replacement" toy when he swipes it.  And Logan thinks he can just go take whatever he wants from Stockton because, well...he's stronger and almost bigger.  Plus Logan is already learning how to push Stockton's buttons to get a reaction out of him.  Logan will go do something to Stockton, Stockton will throw a fit, and Logan will just laugh like that is exactly what he was trying to do.  Shouldn't it be the other way around??  Logan is too little for this.
• Even though they do things to annoy each other, they are getting really good at playing with each other.  They already know how to rough-house each other and even though I think Logan is too little play the way they play most of the time, he just laughs and laughs and laughs so I am learning to just turn my head and let them do their thing.  It is funny to watch them feed off of each other.  Stockton will do something silly or entertaining and Logan will just bust a gut, so then Stockton will start laughing and they will both just laugh as hard as they can.  It was so precious to have Stockton all to ourselves and be able to play and laugh with him, but it is so much more satisfying to hear 2 little boys laughing together.  I hope they will always love each other as much as they do right now.