Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Kieran-isms

Some of the fun/adorable things he says:

"Mommy/Daddy you're my best best friend."

"I love you Daddy/Mommy." (usually said after being punished for something)

"I'm Spiderman!" (also insert: Batman, Green Lantern, or Superman) Announcement is followed by web throwing or punching depending on the character.

"My favorite part of today was... turning on the lamp/star light/night light." This is said every evening, almost regardless of any other cool things he has done during the day.

"Mommy, do you have coffee?"

"Purple monkey banana!" I asked Kieran to substitute this instead of saying "no" all the time. This morning he shouted it out in the car when I wouldn't stop singing even though he had asked.

"I do it."  He is SO independent that he gets very angry if there was something he wanted to do and you're trying to do it for him.

"You're a cat.", "Are you OK, cat?" and "Good night, cat." Kieran has begun lobbying for a cat, loves to pretend to be one and frequently asks us to be cats as well.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

HE'S READING

I swear to you on the drive to school today he read his book all by himself. He's not 100% there, but he sounded out a word and yelled "I did it!"

First word he read by himself: "Henry" from the book "Daddy and Me"

Monday, March 15, 2010

Talkative

Wow, is he ever. Now that he's listening he's also very engaged in conversation and play-acting more than ever before. His favorite pretend? That he is a cat.

One day after we had finished talking with Ken on the drive home, he wanted me to call Grandma. Then Bubie. Then G'ma. Then Uncle Andy. Then Miss Wendy (that's my girlfriend from college, not to be confused with Aunt Wendy). Then we ran out of people to call.

Every night on our way home we call Ken and Kieran gets very upset if he doesn't get a chance to tell Dad about his day (usually when I call he's eating his on-the-way-home snack). It's so fun to hear some of the great stories he tells.

His favorite part of the day today? Daddy came into his room tonight pretending to be a cat. Ken then let Kieran ride him around the room horsey-style all while meowing loudly. Honestly, it was my favorite part of the day too.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

So Far, So Good

I'm hopeful we're at a turning point for Kieran. So far this week he's gotten smiley faces. He's enjoying school more as well. We're still have a few at-home battles but nothing out of the ordinary for his age.

He's also gotten his second birthday invite. After last weekend's birthday blowouts (Pete on Saturday and Ahrianna on Sunday) he turned to me and asked "Who's birthday is it next, mommy?". I think he's just a cake and ice cream junkie. Then on Monday we got our next invitation to a classmate's party. He wants to go (so far) but I'm going to check with him again tomorrow before I RSVP. Of course it is on the same weekend we'll be celebrating my grandmother's birthday so we'll have another double-party weekend. At least he'll sleep well.

Friday, March 05, 2010

One Good Day

It was all Ken and I needed. Just one good day. 

And Kieran delivered. He was good today got a star on his daily chart at school. Is now allowed to go to his friend's birthday party this weekend and got a granola bar (that was his choice of treat for being good). It was truly a relief to walk into daycare and know that he'd been listening and following directions.

On a side note, Kieran has a favorite pair of pants. They are red and have a "buckle" in the front that he is able to put together and take apart. Miss Shree noticed his pants today and Kieran said "I like them because I can open them and pee!". I laughed so hard I fell down. I love that kid.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

NO, NO, NO!!!

So last weekend ended OK with Kieran just eking out a bag of mystery goody. He was good on Sunday as well when we just ran errands. Most of the time he's a great kid. He asks me all the time "Mommy, can I help you?" When I say yes, he says "Hooray! I get to help!" So amazing.

But then there's the other side... the kid that yells NO at the top of his lungs and whines and cries when he doesn't get his way. I'm applying for help. We're consistent, we ask (once he's calm) what the issue was and we talk about it. Sadly, much of his bad behavior is at school. He had a particularly bad day today so much that I'm basically being brought in for a parent-teacher conference. He's THREE. Ken and I are getting to our wits' end. We keep wondering what we're doing wrong. I read up on these issues. I get the same basic advice - be consistent, provide choices, ensure consequences, offer incentives, and make sure everyone's on the same page. We do all that. What are we missing?

AN UPDATE:
This morning I spoke with Miss Margaret. While she agreed it was a bad day yesterday, she thinks it's simply a matter of finding the right combination of incentive/de-centives for Kieran. She knows he's bright (and young for the room) and she seems to have patience for him. We talked for a bit about a few things, and Kieran has been told that if he can't have ONE good day this week (today) he won't get to go to his friend's birthday party this weekend. I feel better having spoken with her that she knows we're trying and we'll be working towards the same goal. Hopefully he'll turn 4 soon....