The Im Family

for some reason ozzy has changed the way he says words beginning with 'th', like thank and think .  instead of the usual "dank you!"  he says:  "stank you" and when i tell him to do something, he says, i can't right now.  i'm stankin' (thinking) about sumpin. i showed him how to place his tongue btwn his teeth to produce the /th/ and the voiced /th/ and told him to try that and say "thank you".  he puts his tongue between his teeth and says, "LUHank you" okay, bubby.  nice try.  ;)

so this year, ozzy is really starting to get the whole Santa thing (sometimes he calls him Christmas Claus).  i asked ozzy what he'd like santa to bring him for christmas and he immediately pipes up, "i want iphone!"  but then other times when i ask him, he says, "trains."  (ho hum.  really?  another one?)  last night ozzy stood in his bedroom, dumping out a deluge of trains all over the floor, and lamented, "i dont have enough.  i dont have enough trains."  i counted 40+ on the floor (and that's just the Take Along Thomas set, not including the geotrax, wooden thomas, and Tomy Thomas trains).  how many does he think he needs before he has reached "enough"???  maybe he's trying to fill a void in his life...filling them with trains.  i guess better this than drugs, drinking, or a Barney addiction. ozzy will be 29 months old this week.  and you know the stuff that makes Twos so terrible? the self centeredness, difficulty sharin...

one of these days i'll get around to posting about our DR trip.

There was once i time when i actually had a bit of time to draft, proofread, edit and then publish each entry.  these days, i'm just lucky if i get anything down.  so here's a rough entry: ozzy has had a very successful week of going without diapers entirely during the day and, with help, at night.  as long as i remember to wake him up to take him to the potty in the middle of the night, he is able to hold it until the morning when he wakes up.  occasionally he wakes up crying for me and it's usually because he has to pee that he wakes.  but i can't rely on him to do it consistently just yet.  if he's really tired, he'll just pee in his sleep.  so i have to make sure to wake him if he doesnt wake himself before midnight. he has been using the potty to pee w/consistency but still asking for a 'poo poo diaper' for number 2.  and though i often offered the toilet to him for pooping, and let him know that poop should go into the potty and that it ...

crazy week with ozzy...we are going on day 4 of no daytime diapers AT ALL.  and then last night, no nighttime diapers either!  last night, i heard him yelling  some time in the middle of the night at the top of his lung up at the ceiling, "I have to go PEE-PEE!!!"  i find him sitting up in bed, crying.  i get him out of bed, ask him if he wants to pee on the potty, and he says yeah.  even though he had his diaper on, he didnt just pee in his diaper.  i'm flabbergasted because i seriously thought he was too immature to wake from sleep to tend to potty needs, and that he's gone from using a couple of poop diapers a day to no diapers at all very suddenly, is pretty freaking amazing to me (especially since it felt like it took ages to get mimi to give up the poop diapers when she was little!). i get his diaper off and he uses his little red potty which i keep in his room at night so he can learn to be independent at night and not have to go fumbling in...

this halloween was a very different one in the im house.  whereas in years past, a big part of the fun of the holiday was to dress up kaya, and then take her house to house with mimi for trick or treating, laughing every step of the way as she trotted by us looking so funny in her costume and neighbors laughing (or just shaking their heads), but since she passed last year, halloween had lost a lot of the fun for us (or maybe it's just me?).  last halloween was unbearably sad for me without kaya, though i think mimi and ozzy were still excited about all the candy (and it rained that night, so that just added to the depression).  so as this halloween approached i felt we needed to do something different to make it fun again.  so this year we hosted a small party, decorated the house, invited some of mimi's friends (mostly daisy scouts) for some pizza and candied apples (the mini candied apples were a bit of a flop...but i figured out a few tricks and will try these aga...

me:  ozzy do you need a poo poo diaper? ozzy: i hope that is so.  later after the poop:  okay, let's put the poopoo in the potty! ozzy:  it not diarrhea.

it has been a long time since i posted last!  i have a lot of catching up to do!  still havent posted about ozzy's bday party and that was JULY!  just a lot going on...what with the flooding and school starting for both kids. (oh the flooding...that will have to be a separate post. ) ozzy is 26 months old now.  yesterday, he pooped in the potty.  the second time, ever.  later this evening, as i read with the kids in bed...that i noticed a change here too.  usually when i read with ozzy, i point out various conventions of print, letter/sound recognition, sight words, etc.  if i get too 'teachy' he pushes the book away and wants to read a different book.  so it's a fine balance between keeping it interesting but still teaching tidbits here and there without losing his attention.  generally he likes books, but it's not always easy to sustain attention.  tonight however, i could not make him stop reading.  book after book, he ...

Ozzy would get SOOOOO upset any time his trains needed to be put away so i could vacuum.  (add video)

i am so, so, so late in posting this.  the time has really gotten away from me!  this is a MUCH belated post about ozzy's birthday party (TWO months ago!!!). ------------------------------------------------ we celebrated ozzy's birthday on the fourth of july weekend, two weeks early, since we'd be out of town on his real birthday.  the birthday theme was a no brainer given his obsession with trains.  we kept the party small, just family and one little boy (neighbor). i didnt really plan much by way of entertainment...the boys were under 2 yrs old, so i figured just having lots of trains and toys to play with suffice.  i really wanted to rent a trackless train, but i could only find one vendor that had one in our area and the cost would run close to $1000 for a minimum of two hours.  (and yes, there's a train at the mall and one at a local park, but i wanted to keep the party at home, so i ruled those out). for the invitations, i had a plan to do a pop...

srsly, i'm just glad he 1.  put on matching shoes and 2.  he put on shoes that didnt belong to mimi!  he was SO excited and proud of himself when he got those suckers on without any help!  his desire to try and be a big boy warms and breaks my heart at the same time. he understands that he has his toothpaste and mimi has hers.  his is a safe to swallow training toothpaste and mimi's is the real deal, but disguised with fun kid flavors and packaging.  he understands that his is the little kid toothpaste and mimi's is the big kid's toothpaste and he wants to use the big kid one really bad.  he tried to sneak some today, saw him brushing and pink foam oozing and dripping from his mouth and knew it was mimi's strawberry toothpaste and not ozzy's thomas the train toothpaste (which is colorless).  i immediately caught him and washed out his mouth.

last night i found ozzy thrashing and crying and calling for me in his sleep.  he wasnt awake.  i went over to him and carefully picked him up saying 'mama's here.  what's wrong?"  he doesnt open his eyes, he's still sobbing, answers, "ozzy scared!"  "what's scary, baby?"  ozzy says, "big truck!"  and i know what he's dreaming about...the day before we were playing outside when the garbage truck came onto our street.  as it got closer it also got louder and because we live at the end of a small cul de sac, it had to pivot into our driveway to turn back around.  the massive roaring garbage truck coming onto our driveway completely freaked ozzy out (i think he thought it was going to crush him?).  he ran away from the truck, shaking from head to toe, crying that it was scary.  i soothed him and told him it was a dream and the big truck wasnt here and he was safe.  and he slipped easily back to a calm sleep again.  i layed ...

busy busy busy, finally getting around to writing out ozzy's 2nd birthday post. ozzy turned two while we were vacationing in the bahamas.  i waited until we got back and settled in before going to his two year old check up (in case he needed shots, which it ends up he did not).  i've continued to be worried about his eating habits and his weight and it turns out that it was not unfounded.  at the two year old check up the chart showed that he dropped down towards the next curve, below the 50%, in weight.  (the nurse marked that he lept from the 75% in height to the 95%...yeah, riiiiiight.  they are so off on those marks when they measure the kids...and if you're off by even half an inch, it's the difference btwn 75th and 95th, so we dont put much faith in their measurements...by my at home measurement the kid is still in the 75% for height.)

when mimi changes the channel after an episode of thomas and friends ends: ozzy: NO! I want to watch THOMAS!  me:  but it's over and it's mimi's turn to pick a show. ozzy: (hanging his head in sadness and saying forlornly) I can't watch Thomas making tracks to great destinations  (and then suddenly his tone turns angry as he finishes with...) any more!!! (and then he slaps the table for emphasis and then settles down into a pout) --------------------------------------------------- while helping ozzy put together a puzzle, i fit in a piece and say, see ozzy?  it goes in there like that!  he looks at what i did and says, "Oh!  Good boy, mama!"

finally!  after over a week of trying to catch this on video, ozzy cooperated long enough to give me the full pledge of allegiance.  here's ozzy: and here's when mimi was two and saying the pledge (she was around two and half): The pledge: take two @ Yahoo! Video

last night mimi's tooth fell out while she was brushing her teeth.  this was the third tooth to fall out.  she was so excited.  we put it in the sterling silver hippo tooth holder and took it upstairs.  lately mimi has taken to piling up a bunch of pillows on her bed (a regular pillow, a sham, her FOM pillow, and her pillow pet unicorn) and sleeping on them, so we placed it at the very bottom of the pile so it didnt accidentally fall as the pillows moved around.  then we read together as usual (this night it was Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plot of the Purple Potty People).  by the time it was lights out, i was feeling tired and knew i still had lots to get done, so i headed back downstairs, already having forgotten about the tooth. the next morning, mimi comes downstairs, sobbing her heart out.  i hurry over to the stairs in alarm. "mimi, what's wrong?"  "MOM!  the tooth fairy never came!  WAAAAAH!"  she threw herself ...

just a bit of footage from the soccer fest today.  it was hot as blue blazes outside, and i was wilting away fast even in the shade.  i can't believe how much these girls ran despite the heat!  mimi downed a huge bottle of water in less than half an hour!  mimi scored a goal during the game.  i almost missed it while fiddling around with my iphone!  she just sort of snuck in there, got the ball, and shot it in! after the game was over we got a chance to get a few photos, get trophies/medals/goody bags (all the girls get one if the parents paid for 'em.  hee hee), and then later we all met up at coach's house for a pool party (which the kids looooooved). 

this past weekend, my cousin hae and i took our kids to lancaster county, PA to ride Thomas the Tank Engine at the strasburg railroad and to go to dutch wonderland while rob stayed home to oversee the new granite countertops get installed in our kitchen. "A Day Out With Thomas" or as i call it "Joy and Pain, Sunshine and Rain" we left early saturday morning and made it to strasburg without any delay (2.5 hours).  but once we got there, it was nutty trying to find the overfill parking lot.  i was trying to follow the white signs that read "to Thomas Event Parking" when i should have been following the little yellow arrows that said, "Thomas."  after some circling around, we find the satellite parking which appeared to be a giant field in the middle of a farm, with random cows lazing about and several of them sauntering across the dirt path (absolutely amazing to see how many cars were already parked out there by 10 am!!!).  there were big yello...

at the risk of sounding like a parrot with turrets syndrome, let me say again that things continue to be all about trains with ozzy.  sometimes buses, construction vehicles, and any type of truck, but morning, noon, and night, it's mostly trains. his sheer enjoyment of the trains would alone have been enough for me to indulge him in his passion, but there's been other benefits as well. playing with trains and watching the thomas shows has helped with language, social skills, story sense, color recognition, discrimination, to name a few.  he holds conversations with the trains and btwn the trains.  when he wakes up in the morning, he wants to go downstairs and 'play with trains."  he greets them lovingly, saying, "Hello Thomas.  Hello Percy.  Welcome to Island of Sodor!"  he serenades his his favorite train, Gordon with the song You Are My Sunshine, but changes it by adding Gordon's name.  "you are my Gordon.  my only Gordon.  you m...

some old stuff that i never got around to posting: ------------------------- ozzy:  oh no!  Emammy not working, mama! okay, batteries!  (he says, as he inspects his train Emily.  nevermind that the actual emily train doesnt take batteries, only the coal tender that attaches to the back of the train does)   i fix it! he yells.   (trots over to the cabinet w/the tool box.  rummages around and finds a gigantic screwdriver and starts poking at the tiny toy train with it) . ------------------------- while eating his snack, he suddenly starts crying.  he's frozen in his seat, wailing.  i thought he bit his tongue off the way he was carrying on.  what's happened?  i ask, starting to feel the rising panic that something horribly wrong has occurred.  "daddy, fix it!  mommy fix it!"  he wails.  not understanding, i start checking his food not finding anything, start checking his body for injuries.  finally ...

yikes!  one more month before he is two!  really, i should stop with this count down already.  despite the fact that he isnt two yet, he's growing so fast in so many ways, that the number really doesnt mean anything.  i should be saying "yikes!  he's already talking back!"  and "yikes!  he's making it thru his daytime naps without accidents!"  and "yikes!  he said his first bad word!" yes, he talks A LOT.  i thought boys werent suppose to be so verbal!  but i guess this is a second kid thing. he speaks amazingly well.  probably better than mimi did at this age.   oddly, when he cant get his trains on the track, he suddenly seems to lose all ability to speak.  then he flops on the floor, buries his face in his arms and cries and cries.  i have to remind him to not get so bent out of shape and to just say, "Mama!  help me." this morning while on the playground he suddenly stops what he's doing and pushes d...

ozzy's obsession with trains continues to grow.  he loves his trains and plays with them every day.  when we leave the house, he tells me he wants to "take Gordon" or "take Emamee (emily)" or some other such train.  he demands to watch a train dvd every day.  and when it's on he's yelling, "yay!  thomas!  yay! percy!"  he gets mad at me when i get the names of the trains wrong, scolding, "That not Percy!  That DUCK!"  it amazes me that he can distinguish them from one another.  they look so similar to me.  for example, he could tell you the names of each of these trains pictured...i'd get them all mixed up.  his capacity for learning so many names dumbfounds me.  it's not a skill i've ever been good at.  to this day, i have trouble remembering names of people, places, and things! he loves to make train sounds as he plays with his trains (chuff!  chuff!  chuff!  hooo hooo!).  i love listening to ...

march.  that was the last time i remember when everyone was well in the house.  since then it's been strep, throat abcess, congestion, diarrhea, fever, rash/chicken pox?, cough, etc.  either one or both kids, me, or all of us.  SO much strep for a little while that i almost considered one of these at home rapid tests, so i wouldn't have to take the kids in to see the doctor for every issue but after seeing how hard they have to swab the back of a sensitive throat, i thought better of it.  i'd rather have my kids hate the nurses for it than me.  (besides, these kits are freakin' expensive and you have to buy them in bulk.  and they have a SHORT self life so not likely they'd all be used up in time.) but i took it all in stride.  it was annoying, but i think i handled it without going nutso.  or at least i like to think i did.  not sure what it looked like from rob's perspective!  the only time i started to lose it was a couple of ...

i cant say that i ever knew much about cleaning out ear wax.  i grew up sticking Qtips in my ear to clean 'em out, despite the general rule that nothing smaller than your elbow should ever be put into your ear.  when we were little, my mother often ignored the doctor's warnings and cleaned out my ears with a small black hair pin.  she was always careful and never did any harm to our ears, but perhaps some harm to our relationship.  rooting around in delicate ears with piece of bent metal...not the kind of act that engenders feelings of warmth and love. so that's all i know about cleaning out ear wax...basically all the ways how NOT to do it.  when i was in college a friend once told me that i should just let water run in my ears while i shower.  so to this day, i always do that, but when i get out of the shower, i'm back to shoving Qtips in my ears because i dont think they feel clean.  so when it's time to clean my kids' ears, i know i'm not suppo...

this past saturday, rob and i took the kids to union station for Train Day.  mimi and ozzy were both very excited about getting on a real train.  unfortunately, the real train didnt move, but i'm also planning a trip to strasburg railroad next month and there they will get a chance to ride a real train that moves, and not just any train, but THOMAS.  news on that to come. train day was fun, albeit crazy crowded.  we even got there early and there were still a lot of people.  rob and the kids watched the model trains while i stood in line for the goody bags, but now that i know, i think, were we to do this again, i would go straight to what ever attraction the kids wanted to see and stand in line instead.  as it was by the time we made it to the tracks, there was already a very, very long line to get on the trains (apparently, you could also reserve tickets online prior to coming that would allow you view the trains at designated times without having to st...