Duzi e zhe

Michael didnt eat his veggies so we said he couldn't have left over birthday cake. We started eating it in front of him and he said 我饿着肚子！ and then started laughing. It was hilarious. He eventually forced down his squash and had cake

Christmas vacation starts

We drove 18.5 hours to grandma and grandpas house. We drove all night so the kids could sleep. We thought Peter would be the difficult one, but it turned out to be Michael. He would start screaming every 45 minutes to every hour, sometimes saying he wanted his blanket that he threw on the floor, sometimes screaming to be held, sometimes screaming he wanted to go to grandma and grandpa's house. As soon as the sun started to rise, however, he was happy as can be.

For the first few days, Michael called grandma "grandma and grandpa"

Michael also got stuck by his first cactus. He was following Russell and Enoch around the back yard. Sharon was worried about him, so she ran and explained about the dangers of cactus. A few minutes later he went and poked one. He seemed to feel betrayed.

Everybody loves Michael's adorable, cheerful and playful personality.

Christmas deliveries

Took enoch and michael out to deliver m&m chocalte chip cookies we made together and christmas cards to neighbors tonight. They loved putting m&M's on cookies last night and loved giving away cookies and cards today. Michael loved to run inside everyone's houses and enoch at one point asked me what they were going to give us. "Nothing", I told him! It was fun and they were cute. It was fun to see them brighten up everyone else's day. All this after a day in the hospital with enoch for HSP.

Naughty things

Michael does all sorts of naughty things that Enoch has never done before. Recently he likes to stuff small things in all sorts of holes. I found my electric toothbrush plastic head over was stuck inside our car door where the door closes. And today I found some pom poms stuck inside our duplos. Who knows what else is waiting for me. It's fun to be his mom.when I'm sad I can always count on him to make me smile.

tender and happy

Michael is a tender and happy child. When he's sad, he wants us to hold him, which almost instantly makes him happy again. He's generally a lovely boy who always smiles and laughs. It's wonderful. I love you so much! This might just be a phase, and if it is I will try and treasure it. Even when he doesn't eat his dinner and Enoch gets to eat all the fruit and dessert right in front of him, Michael is still happy, talking to us, laughing, and making his little jokes. What a wonderful kid.

tell us you pooped

For the life of us, we can't convince Michael to tell us when he poops. It's always his dirty little secret that he will lie and do anything to protect.

Peanut chocolate

After dinner Michael didn't get to eat a piece of chocolate because he didn't eat his dinner. Enoch was allergic to peanuts and now refuses to eat anything with peanuts in it. He routinely asked what kind of chocolate it was to rule out of peanuts, and out of jealousy Michael said "Peanuts"! Yes, we almost died laughing! :) 

Mommy Rogers

Michael calls me "Mommy Rogers" when he is mad at me. He often says "No, mommy Rogers!". or "Mommy Rogers, come here!" It's too funny!

Happy birthday to dad

The best part of my day today was coming home and opening the front door, and seeing Enoch run up to me unprompted and hug me and wish me a happy birthday. Right behind him was Michael, in his diaper, running up with wide eyes singing happy birthday to you. You boys have a good mom!

Brotherly love

Just remembered that last night close to 12am Enoch woke me up saying that Michael wanted water. Then he followed me to get water from the kitchen, and gave it to Michael who has probably been crying for a little while. I got really teary then to see their brotherly love and wanted it to remember that moment.

sunday night cries

Sharon noticed a while back that whenever Michael didn't get a nap, he would wake up at around 10 or 11 PM and cry like crazy. With 1:00 PM church, this usually means that he cries every Sunday. Last Sunday, In noticed that Sharon was right and Michael cried. Yesterday night, the exact same thing happened. Even after I picked him up, Michael still cried for a good 3-4 minutes.

 

I wonder why he does that!

Terrible Twos is real for Michael

Michael is in terrible twos now. He doesn't like being told to do things, would throw himself on the ground when something is not going his way. But when he is sweet, he is really cute too. He and Enoch helped to rock Peter today.  

Peanuts

Yesterday Enoch pulled everything out of his closet for the first time and made a mess. Michael, of course, had to follow his brothers example today. 

This is him being forced to clean up. Every time I walk away he starts playing, and when I come back and he sees me he jumps back to slowly cleaning up! Sneaky little boy!

Elmo bed or Crib?

I almost sold Michael's crib. 

Michael had the worst night two nights ago. He woke up a few times and just cried and cried. I got so tired of checking on him, and feeding Peter many times too, so I went in their room and put Michael back to his crib. He slept through morning. Look back i think the toddler bed made him wake up more at night and scared. He's definitely not ready to move out of crib yet. But then he climbed out of the crib the very morning and hurt his face. So it was a hard situation. I had Sam moved down the side of the crib, and then put a table next to his crib. So that way I know when he climb out of the crib he'll be safe. 

i want to be punished too

You know you're in your terrible 2's when you complain about not getting punished. Today was the second time that Michael started crying and screaming after we punished Enoch. 

"我也要被惩罚！"

Michael is adorable but sometimes he doesn't have the best temper... :-)

Scared

Michael sometimes wakes up at night and cries. I think he may have had bad dreams. Poor little boy! Since he started to sleep in the Elmo bed, he can get out of bed when scared. Last time, I went in and found him crying on his bed but could not find his blue blanket. Eventually I found it on Enoch's bed. I was wondering if he has been crying on Enoch's bed. Then tonight, when I heard him crying, I went in and saw him crying on Enoch's bed. I think he had a bad dream again. I wanted to put him to bed but he told me that he wanted to sleep on Enoch's bed. So I asked Enoch if it's ok that Michael slept on his bed. Enoch said yes, half sleeping. Then I put Michael on Enoch's bed and told him that "Enoch is right there in bed with you, he will protect you". Michael was ok. 

Sleeping on the carpet

The night before (The second night on Elmo bed) was the worst so far. Michael woke up multiple times. I think it was because he was overly tired from no napping all day. It's funny that when kids are too tired they don't sleep well. I remember once I went in when he was crying, I couldn't find his blue blanket. Eventually I found it on Enoch's bed. I was thinking if Michael has cried to find Enoch for help in the dark. Then later that night before I went to bed, i went to check on him again. Michael was sleeping on the carpet. Poor boy. So I picked him up and put him to bed. Hope you'll get used to sleep in the Elmo bed soon! And especially that you'll nap in there too.

Does something not supposed to

Today when I thought Michael was napping and walked into their room, only to find out that Michael was taking toys out of Enoch's bed draws. He knew exactly that he was doing something he was not supposed to do and ran back to his bed to pretend to try to sleep. He's not even two yet, and he knows that he's being naughty. What a smarty pants!

M and Ms

I bought M and Ms and chocolate for Michael's potty rewards. I told him in the store that if he goes home to peepee and poopoo in the frog potty then he get M and Ms and chocolate. So when we got home, he was determined to go potty. I took off his pants and diapers, helped him to sit on the potty. He peeed! So both Enoch and Michael got 2 pieces of M and Ms.

First night on Elmo bed

8/7/13

Last night was the first night for Michael to sleep on the Elmo bed. The night before we put up the Elmo bed for him but he had a fall from the bed right away, so he chose to sleep in his crib instead. Last night he slept on the elmo bed. At about 3:30 in the morning, I finished feeding Peter and was just about to go back to bed. Michael opened the door and came to my side of the bed. I gave him a hug and took him back to bed. Kissed him goodnight again and he went back to sleep. Not bad for his first night on a toddler bed. Then in the morning, he didn't come to wake me up. He stayed in his bed (maybe his room) till I walked in to check on them. 

Pee in the potty for chocolate

Michael had never showed any interest in potty training. Today Sam took Enoch to swim and I stayed with the other two. I gave Michael a bath after his gross explode and didn't want to waste another day time diaper so I asked if he wanted to pee in the frog potty and get a piece of chocolate. Of course I didn't expect him to actually pee. And you know what happened! Chocolate has so much power to Michael! Considering that he has never wanted to even sit on the potty before.

Temper Tantrum

For Michael, the terrible 2's actually happened when he was about 20 months old. He started throwing the most horrible tantrums every time we ate a meal. He wanted things done his way, and when we put our foot down on some things that were unacceptable, he would throw the most horrible crying tantrums. We stood our ground, and through the months he hardly does it anymore. He still has his moments, but it seems the worst is far behind us. Just to prove what he put us through, one day I caught some photos and a video. This was several months ago.

I want...

Grandma just left yesterday and daddy went back to school. Today is the first day of me with three boys at home. I was feeding Peter in my room and heard Enoch and Michael fighting over opening/closing their room door. Then I heard Michael crying. Michael came to me, still crying, he said " I want daddy! I want Grandma too! " I was thinking to myself " Yeah, I want all the same!" So funny and so true!

Verbal skills

Grandma has been very impressed with Michael's verbal skills while she has been here. People often comment that Michael seems very advanced or smart, and while I believe them I often don't put too much stock into what ignorant strangers say. Grandma says she feels like Michael is not far behind his older cousin Owen and that he is remarkably advanced.

reverse psychology

Michael's temper can frequently be pretty terrible. Terrible 2's a few months early, I guess.

Sometimes it's fun, though, because reverse psychology actually works. Once at story time I wanted him to sit by himself and not on my lap. I said I wanted to sit on the sun on the carpet by myself. Michael, as predicted, said, "I'll do it" and he went and sat on the sun that he thought I wanted to sit on.

Once, at dinner, I wanted him to eat a few more bites when he was all done. So I told him he was all done and took his bowl away. Of course, he screamed for it back and ate some more.

The best part about reverse psychology is that he thinks he's getting the best of me.

Story time boycott

I went with Enoch to story time at the library. Many songs are sung there, which Enoch often sings at home. It's interesting, however, that he never sings along or dances or participates in any way during the actual story time at the library. The whole time he was looking down at the ground.

I think he's probably too young to feel that it's not cool, so it seems that he's just extremely shy or embarrassed to participate.

The interesting part is that Michael does the exact same thing. And Michael is often very outgoing, so I wonder if it's a behavior he has learned from Enoch. Or is he also shy, too? Or do both boys just think the whole thing is dumb?

The thing is, if I were them I probably wouldn't want to participate, either. As far as I can remember, I've always thought that kind of thing is dumb. But my memory is really shaky going back to when I was 3, and I would assume 2 and 3 year olds are too young for thoughts like that.

Determination 2

I wrote earlier about Michael going without dinner. He did it again the next day. He had 4 helpings of green beans and wanted some more. I told him he had to eat some taquito, too. He wanted green beans. I told him the rest of the green beans were for mommy, that he had to share. Sharon ate them, and he cried the rest of dinner, refusing to eat taquitos. We didnt give him anything else.

The next morning he wanted a big spoon to eat breakfast with. There weren't any left, so I gave him a small one. He refused to eat. I thought it was hilarious that he went without dinner and was also willing to go without breakfast if it meant getting his way. I don't think Enoch was ever this determined / stubborn.

Playing together

Yesterday Enoch and Michael were fighting constantly over the Duplos, mostly about the different cars. I took the Duplos away and said that since they couldn't share then nobody could play with them anymore for the rest of the day.

Interestingly, for the rest of the day they were both playing together a lot more than usual. And it was fun, imaginative play. Putting the laundry basket on each other's heads, etc. I think it's important to have time for that, with no TV or structured activities. It made me happy to see them having fun together.

Yay for ambulance and firetruck that replaced icecream truck/cone

Michael has been praying for icecream truck/cone since he learned to pray. Yesterday he said his first prayer without "icecream truck/cone" involved and all by himself. He said "Heavenly father, we're grateful for ambulance, firetruck. Please bless mommy, please bless Enoch, to be happy". Yay for ambulance and firetruck!

Determination

Yesterday I made the kids eat two slices of cucumber and a slice of mushroom with ranch dressing before they ate the rest of dinner. Enoch ate it no problem and proceeded to eat the rest of dinner. Michael refused. I didn't give in, and he didn't get any dinner. Afterwards, he was happy to get down and play with his toys. He didn't wake up during the night hungry, either. You would never have known he skipped his dinner. I think he has no regrets about it. For him, the independence of not having to eat his cucumbers and mushrooms was much more important and gratifying than eating the rest of dinner. We've got a determined 22 month old!

The ladies

Michael seems to like and get along well with the ladies. There's two girls that are about Enoch's age named Camilla Transtum and Violet Harper. Michael plays with both of them, shares toys with them, holds their hands, and is a real sweetie pie. If he keeps this up he'll have no problem attracting the ladies' affections.

Once at Violet's house he got sad and Violet went to comfort him. He hugged her. Sharon joked and said give Violet a kiss. He kissed her on the lips.

Getting big.

Biting

Sharon said yesterday Michael bit Enoch because he wanted a toy Enoch was playing with. Heard he was a terror to put in timeout but then was an angel afterwards.

First bloody nose

This was about a month ago.

Singing "Ring around the Rosie"

More prayers about ice cream yesterday. We rarely eat ice cream. Maybe he's desparate?

Ice cream cone

Part of Michael's dinner prayer today: 很感谢 ice cream cone!

Nursery and a fit

Michael is still hesitant about nursery and cries whenever it's time to go. He doesn't like leaving mommy.

He had another 20 minute crying fit after his nap today. Lasted until several minutes into dinner, when he suddenly started eating and was instantly sweet and happy as ever for the rest of the night.

Michael still manages to pray for the ice cream truck or ice cream cone whenever he prays. It's hilarious. He usually says something like "请祝福冰淇淋车 ice cream cone!"

Grumpy

Michael had another one of his 20 minute crying spits after waking up from his nap yesterday. He seems to like to do that, especially if mom is too busy to hold him. I had to give Enoch and him a bath as soon as he woke up, because Sharon and I were going out for the night bowling and wouldn't be able to give him one later. He cried through the entire bath, prostrating himself on the tub whenever he could.

Amazingly, both he and Enoch went to bed when the babysitter told them to without crying. While they like to try and manipulate us, I love how well behaved they are with other people. Great kids.

Manipulation

Michael has a cough again. Feeling a bit crummy it seems. He's often super grumpy when he wakes up in the morning or after a nap. This morning he was grumpy and clingy, but Sharon put him down. Michael got upset, and he ran to me. This is always fun for me because he almost always prefers for mom to hold him instead. As I held him, he wouldn't look at Sharon. He often refuses to look at someone when he's mad at them. After a few minutes of being sweet to me, Sharon asked if he wanted her to hold him. Immediately Michael said yes and looked at Sharon, holding out his arms, smiling.

I can't help but think that Michael was just using me to make Sharon jealous. Tricky little boy.

Swimming

Yesterday was the elders quorum BBQ at a community pool. Had some one on one swimming time with Michael. He loves swimming so much. It was fun to see him play on the stairs. He would go to the deepest stair where his mouth was barely above the water and refuse to have me help him. Several times he lost his balance and fell under water, and I would help him up. He would act scared for a few moments and then want to be on his own again. Brave little boy.

Did you have a fall, Enoch?

5/25/2013: 

A few nights ago Enoch fell off his twin bed and cried in the middle of the night. We went in their room and comforted him. I did ask a few times if Enoch had a fall. And I think Michael remembered that. 

Last night I went into the boys' room to check on them, Michael suddenly got up and said "Did you have a fall, Enoch?" Twice. I told him no, Enoch didn't have a fall. Then he lied down and said " Michael had a fall." He is such a cute boy even when he is half sleeping!

Ice cream truck

5/21/13: I love how almost every time Michael prays he mentions the ice cream truck. Or the trampoline :-)