Toddler Potty Training: Finally, Success!

This post is dedicated to parents struggling with potty training.

Last year, my coworker told me that his daughter, at age 2.5, suddenly decided she was going to use the potty, and did so. Additional anecdotal evidence from other parents in my circles seemed to confirm that girls learn to use the potty sooner than boys.

My own experience was a match: at two and a half, Junior was perfectly content to have his toilet attached to his butt, as it were. Oh, he knew when he had to poop, but he would deny it even when caught red-faced and in mid-exertion. He refused to stop playing to empty his bladder or colon. It seemed we would have to wait until he showed signs of being ready AND interested in being potty trained.

I was especially eager to leave diapers behind because cleaning up Junior’s poopy butt and diaper was gross and, I began to suspect more and more, entirely avoidable. He knows when he has to go, he just won’t admit it! Conflicting viewpoints compounded my #firstworldproblems: while Fragrant Mother regaled me with tales of potty training us as infants, Fragrant Husband placidly assured me that Junior would learn when he was good and ready.

I tried to speed the process along by getting books about going potty; he would rather read about trucks. I got him a little potty; he sat on it fully dressed. I got him a potty seat that goes on top of a regular toilet; he tried to wear it as a hat.

derp derp

Nothing was working!

So a month before he was due to transition to preschool, when he was two years and eight months old, we went cold turkey. I bought him Gerber training underwear, which are cotton and have a thick lining in the front to catch some accidents, but would still be uncomfortable when wet. I told him he was a big boy now, and big boys wear underwear, of course with dinosaurs on them.

On Day 1, we spent the whole day indoors, made easier by the terrible spring weather outside. He ran around clad only in a shirt and his new underwear. We had a total of four accidents (3 pee, 1 poo), which upset him very much. But we also had two successes, for which he was rewarded with cheers and iPad time.

On Days 2-4, he was at daycare, where he had zero accidents because his teachers made sure to sit him down every single hour.

By Day 5, I was confident enough in his mad skillz that I took him to our usual Friday lunch spot, a nearby Indian buffet (all the rice he can eat, for free!). I made sure to check in about his bladder and colon needs before, during, and after our meal. He did have to go after he ate, and he was so proud of himself afterward that he announced to the whole restaurant: “I WENT POTTY!” Thankfully, no one seemed to mind.

It’s now been a month since we left diapers behind, and I am so happy. I never thought I’d be delighted to have a bowl full of poop proudly waved right under my nose, but hey, parenting is full of surprises.

In conclusion, I’m a Cool Mom, so instead of a picture of my very own spawn’s very own poop in his very own potty, here’s Junior dressed as his father’s career choice for him:

Ready to colonize Mars!
(See what I did there? "Colon"-ize? It's a post about potty training? hee hee)

TL;DR: Junior is now potty trained, thank goodness.

---

This post brought to you by free coffee!

Junior: Mid-Year Report

Several noteworthy developments have emerged since I submitted my last report. A summary is below.

Section I: Skills 
Junior has demonstrated remarkable growth in the following skills:

1. Cycling

Junior can pedal his tricycle along flat surfaces, with only a slight tendency to inadvertently go backwards. He dutifully wears his helmet, and likes to point to older children riding their bicycles. We are currently working on maneuvering and expect to continue training at this level for at least another year or two.

2. Climbing

Junior is an excellent climber of household furniture. His first foray into indoor rock climbing resulted in many cute photos, including the one above. However, he was not a fan of all the safety gear.
For the time being, he is honing his skill via playground jungle gym. The ultimate goal, of course, is to graduate to climbing trees like a monkey, a la his father:

3. Playing

Junior is now capable of surprisingly sophisticated social interactions with his peers. For example, here is an exchange at the sandbox the other day:

Junior: Do you want to play?
Older boy: Yes.
Junior: Come in!
Older boy: My name’s Fandango (name changed to protect identity). What’s your name?
Junior: I’m Junior (name changed to protect identity).  

Negotiations followed. Ownership is fluid in the sandbox; all toys are up for grabs. Junior successfully retained his excavator after offering his dump truck for Fandango to play with.

On the topic of negotiating, Junior has learned the phrase “One minute!” which he uses to plead for extended screen time. It’s…actually pretty impressive. Nevertheless, mommy is taking the iPad away.

Section II: Behaviors 
The improvement in Junior’s physical and social prowess has been matched by his cerebral development. The behaviors listed below show his mental leaps:

4. Affection 
Junior is expressive toward loved ones, saying, “I missed you!” and “How was your day?” to his father in the evenings. He adores his cousins and insists on being carried by any and all relatives. The best part is his latest proposition: “You want open-mouth kiss?”

 He really is very sweet; one day I told him I had a headache, and he replied that he wanted to massage me, which he did, very gently. Junior is Best Boy.

He has also finally begun to play with his dozens of stuffed animals after two and a half years of ignoring them. A particular lifesaver has been Elmo, who keeps him company in the mornings when he wakes up at 5am. At 6am, Junior will excitedly rush into our room to report: “Elmo has two hands!” Yes, he does, bless him.

5. Self-assertion
Now that he is on the cusp of becoming a threenager, Junior is determined to impose his will whenever he can. Often this is easy to accommodate, since all he really wants to do is play and eat. Sometimes it can lead to hilarious fashion choices, as below:

However, when pushed to his limit he will not hesitate to produce a shudder-inducing high-pitched shriek of thwarted desire, followed by a lower volume yet still highly annoying whine, which he can maintain for a long period of time. Yes, sometimes Junior is that kid at the grocery store, howling to be wheeled back to the toy aisle.

6. Conceptual Understanding 
Junior can understand and, crucially, remember interesting tidbits, such as the fact that daddy is building an aerostat, which is a thing that flies. He has mastered the concepts of big and small, and has predicted that he will be taller than his father. He also recognizes beauty (“Look at the pretty sunrise!” and “Ang ganda ng bulaklak!”)

Most importantly, he can use his big brain to follow directions, meaning he is now able to make minor contributions to household upkeep – e.g. by throwing small items into the trash, or putting away his coat and shoes. He does recognize when a room is messy (“Ang kalat-kalat!”), unless it’s his own room, for some reason. In any case, his powerful mind lets him operate at a different level than other toddlers. This is objective fact and in no way a severely biased statement from a bragging mother.

As a final note, I must inform the Board that potty training has only been partially successful. Junior can pee in the potty, and has even asked to do so a few times. But he persists in pooping while under a table, and then reporting that his diaper needs changing when the smell finally overpowers him.

While three is a typical age for successful potty training, the morg (maternal organism) has been under social pressure from Manila HQ for some time now (“He’s not potty trained yet? Why, I trained you to use the toilet as an infant!”). Meanwhile, the porg (paternal organism) is satisfied with progress to date. We leave it to the Board to cast the deciding vote.

As always, thank you for your support for Junior, and I look forward to apprising you of his new developments very soon.

Sincerely,
Fragrant Elephant
Maternal Organism

Junior’s First Modeling Gig!

At nine months old, Junior went to a baby open casting call. The result is that he was now represented by a talent agency, who would connect him with opportunities to put his cuteness to work.

However, the biggest obstacle to his modeling career was me. You see, I am lazy and also afraid to drive, so whenever I got calls from the agency asking if he was available, I would always decline. “It’s a workday!” I would tell myself.

But all that has changed! With Hubby’s full support and encouragement, I finally said yes. I recently took Junior to Rhode Island for a photo shoot with Hasbro. The first step was paperwork in the waiting room. Afterwards, we all went to the main shoot location to put on Junior’s assigned shirt and get his hair fixed. We had a bit of a wait, since another kid was having a session. My job was to make sure the loaned shirt didn’t get dirty before Junior’s turn came. We managed, but it was close.

Below is my artistic rendering of the shoot itself: 

Left: the setup | Right: Junior's work space

The handler is the truly excellent woman who established an instant rapport with Junior and sat very close to him the whole time to prompt him for maximum photo cuteness. She sang his favorite songs (“Wheels on the Bus,” etc.) and wore an apron filled with bribe items. She made Junior “tickle” the product, hold it up and yell “Tadaa!” and basically all sorts of shenanigans so he would play with them as adorably as possible while—and this is the crucial point—the product faced the camera.

Throughout all this, I was in ninja mode; unobtrusive—and glowing with pride as I took in all the praise for my Junior:

“Wow, all the other kids were nonverbal!”
“He’s so happy!”
“I want his energy!”
“That shot is perfect!” 

There was also one exchange in particular that made me beam:

“Should we get [other child model] in here for another session? We only have him for another 15 minutes.”
“Do we need to? We’re getting such great pictures right now.”

That’s right! Why have another child model when mine is perfect? Did I mention that my nickname is Mommy McBragface?

Junior was the last model for the day, and he got a round of applause when we wrapped up, about 45 minutes ahead of schedule. On our way out, the producer gave him a cupcake:

Overall, Junior revealed himself to be a natural. He followed instructions beautifully, like “Stand here” and “Look at the camera!” Plus he shared his opinions about the product. That’s pretty good for a 2.5-year-old!

Will he be as good the next time? Unknown! The main reason his initial outing was so successful was that the product was superhero-related, so Junior was familiar with it and able to get right down to the business of playing. Fingers crossed for next time!

Alas, I wasn’t allowed to take photos, but supposedly the product launches in six months, and I should check various websites to see if any of Junior’s photos passed muster with the marketing department.

Apart from the remuneration ($100+/hr), our reward for this adventure is my newly-recovered ability to drive long-ish distances without being a testicle*

*it is weak and sensitive, unlike a pussy

I used to be able to drive no problem, e.g. I once drove from Boston to Philadelphia, but living in Boston made me very nervous about being behind the wheel. Now that we’re no longer in the city proper, I think I can handle it again. Hurray!

TL;DR: Junior’s first modeling gig went very well! 

---

This post brought to you by today’s lunch: turkey chili leftovers!

Toddler Sleep Training: Success?

As previously reported, Junior slept poorly as a baby. He would wake up, wail at the top of his lungs, and take a long time to be soothed back to sleep.

Blissfully asleep...until he isn't!

His sleep problem persisted as a toddler. He never slept through the night; he would wake up in his room, howl for one of us, and we would have to stay in there with him until he fell back asleep. Some nights, this cycle would repeat itself two or three times.

Hubby was always adamant that Junior sleep in his own room, while I leaned more towards cuddling. However, Junior tended to kick, so I agreed that his being in his room was best for everybody. But how do we resolve his night wakings so we didn't run back and forth every goddamn night, pardon my French?

After much internet research, I found Dr. Craig Canapari’s website. He claimed that Junior suffered from inappropriate sleep onset association, meaning he associated going to sleep with having one of us in the room. Indeed, as part of his bedtime routine, both Hubby and I take turns reading him a book, and whoever gets the night-night shift has to stay with him until he passes out.

USER ERROR!!!

Apparently, the result of this bedtime routine led to Junior waking up briefly during the night, as is normal, and then freaking out because he’s alone, which of course he is, we’re outside playing our PC/PS4 games, duh.

So, to start off the new year, we embarked on an ambitious three-week course to correct his sleep onset association. We decided on this protracted timeline because Junior is very, very stubborn. The strategy we used was the Sleep Lady Shuffle:  

• Week 1: Bedtime continues as normal. After storytime, parent sits in the middle of the room, reassuring toddler until toddler falls asleep. 
• Week 2: After storytime, parent sits near bedroom door, reassuring toddler until sleep. 
• Week 3: After storytime, parent sits just outside (closed) bedroom door, reassuring toddler until sleep.

The result is…not quite perfect, but close enough. Junior still wakes up in the middle of the night, but instead of crying until one of us rushes in, he will either (a) whine a little bit, then sleep again; or (b) get out of bed and try to come into our room. When intercepted, he allows himself to be taken back to his room, where he climbs back into bed and falls asleep again almost immediately.

Last night, 9pm

We deviate from this formula from time to time—e.g. sometimes we’ll just let him come into the bed with us—but overall it’s working well. He usually only wakes up once! And sometimes he’ll even sleep in until 6:45am! Only on weekdays, though; weekends are for getting up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, at 5:30am.

Yay?

TL;DR: Junior has improved sleeping habits thanks to sleep training. 

---

This post brought to you by Final Fantasy XV, which I wake up in the morning thinking about because it’s so fun! I’ll be on Chapter 8 forever because I have sworn to complete all sub quests before sailing from Caem!

The Baby MEG Study, Part II

One year ago, Junior participated in a baby MEG study. The study required him to sleep on a little bed, with the top of his head ensconced in a little hollow within the neuroimaging machine. At 13 months, he was a reliable twice-a-day napper, so we scheduled the study for his morning nap. However, being in a new environment with lots of unfamiliar, very businesslike people distracted him from his routine. The study coordinator and I spent an hour trying to soothe him, and eventually he fell asleep. Five minutes later, the research team requested that I scooch his head just a little bit more into the hollow. That woke him up, ended the study, and we walked out of there with enough money to fund many new baby outfits. So...worth it!

Note: MEG stands for magnetoencephalography. Here is further reading, if you wish, ducklings.

On Monday we went back. The study was different this time, since Junior can now follow instructions. First, they attached some sensors:

Next, they scanned his head with an instrument that looks like a handheld barcode reader. The corresponding 3D image appeared on a nearby laptop, because we live in the future. Then, when the team was ready, we went into the sealed room where the machine lay. "Our old nemesis," Junior and I said, in unison.

He lay down, and his head was almost too big for the hollow space this time around. A monitor hung from the ceiling above his feet. For the study, he had to keep his eyes on the center of the screen as images flashed and the baby MEG scanned his brain activity.

And, thank goodness, he was perfect. He dutifully watched the images, limiting his disruptive activities to picking his nose and lifting his legs to touch his toes (which blocked his line of sight). There were maybe 10 videos, each one ranging from 15 seconds to one minute in length. The images were tiny and I had trouble identifying all of them. So I used that as a way to keep Junior interested, asking him, "Does that one look like a polar bear or a snowman?" and "That must be a garden gnome! Do you know what a garden gnome is?" Shapes showed up, too, in various locations onscreen (e.g. to the right instead of in the center) depending on the video file.

Things started to look a little dicey about halfway through, as Junior became more squirmy (remember: he's two!) and started demanding to see videos of trucks instead. The researchers obliged by pulling up another window for some YouTube goodness. After every image video, he got to watch maybe 20 seconds of trucks. I also lied promised him that he could watch all the videos he wanted when we got back home.

When we finished, the study coordinator gushed that it "went really well!" As our reward, we got two gift cards. I plan to use them to buy Junior some new jeans, since he's outgrown a couple of pairs. And, y'know, momma might need a li'l something for transporting him to and from the study via my legs. New shoes, perhaps?

I took Junior to a nearby playground to stretch his legs:

For both of us, it was the perfect end to the morning.

TL;DR: Junior did a study FOR SCIENCE!!!

---

This post is brought to you by my sudden realization that the year's almost over! Aiyah!

Junior: 2nd Annual Report

Junior celebrated his second year quite recently, to the disbelief of strangers who have experienced his lengthy speeches about different types of trucks, speeches delivered at extreme close range, high volume, and with much spittle. In this report, I will briefly describe his many accomplishments to date, and propose areas for further exploration and development.

For a recap, Junior's first annual report is here.

1. Language Skills: Excellent
Junior's vocabulary building continues apace. He is capable of having vague conversations about items he has seen, such as trucks, trees, birds, trucks, insects, food, trucks, and also trucks. He can deliver multisyllabic phrases such as "Happy anniversary!" with love and sincerity. He recognizes superheroes and is keenly interested in Spider-man, possibly because he is attracted to the color red. In the photo below, he is modeling his Batman pajamas from his dear Auntie H. "That's Batman!" he replied, when asked to identify himself.

He can count to 20 in English (skipping 12 for some reason), to 10 in Tagalog, and is known to launch impromptu concerts in public with such hit singles as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Row Row Row Your Boat." 

In terms of further language growth, he has begun to show an interest in written letters and numbers. His biggest issue is his Tagalog, which lags behind his English. We have invested in TFC (The Filipino Channel) for background language immersion and will update the Board of any observed gains.

2. Looks: Excellent

Junior continues to slay with his cuteness. His skin is baby-perfect, his hair is fabulous, and he takes good care of his teeth. Case in point: when he feels plaque, he alerts us and then stays still for flossing. According to our on-call expert*, his superhuman eyelashes are his best feature.

*Mamala

Junior also understands the importance of moisturizing, so he likes a dab of lotion and lip balm whenever mommy's having any. The longest lip balm has stayed on his lips before being licked off is 0.1s.

Because he has inherited much of his physical appearance from his father, Junior has a monobrow waiting to happen. Preliminary investigations reveal that the earliest one can wax a child is age nine. However, the Fragrant Household will have this discussion whenever Junior feels the need to bring it up, which we estimate will be around ages 13-16.

3. Temperament: Very Good
Junior is frequently pleasant and often camera-ready, as in the photo below:

However, since he is now in his Terrible Twos, there are times when he melts down when denied something desired. For example, when another child is riding a toy bulldozer in the playground, Junior will wail piteously at the top of his lungs, jump up and down to express his agony, and roll around on the ground just in case anyone doubts the excruciating pain he is undergoing at having to wait his turn. We are using the DIBS tactic -- Distract, Ignore, Bribe, and/or Shush -- to counter these tantrums. We are optimistic that Junior's inherent cheerfulness will eventually help us all surmount this trying period.

4. Appetite and Growth: Excellent
Junior requires, nay, demands full adult-size portions of fruits and grains. He consumes appropriate amounts of meat and vegetables, and is given sweets as a rare treat. 

He currently wears size 3T clothing and US 8 shoes (ahem ahem Christmas gifts). His latest growth spurt -- and resulting ravenous eating habits -- have resulted in noticeably fuller cheeks and a rounder stomach, which only serves to enhance #2 above.

We anticipate a steady progression of Junior's appetite and growth and have no issues to highlight for this report.

5. Sleep: Very Good
Junior's present sleeping habits are much improved from his first year. Two changes stand out: 1) his naps can now go up to three hours, and 2) he can sleep in as late as 7:00 AM.

Unfortunately, he still wakes up in the middle of the night and cries unceasingly for either mom or dad. We speculate that a stuffed truck might be able to comfort him during these times, and will be looking into this possible solution.

Conclusion
Junior's language skills, looks, appetite, and growth are all excellent. Meanwhile, his temperament has been downgraded to very good due to occasional tantrums. Finally, his sleep has improved to the very good level due to longer naps and sleep times.

Overall, Junior has progressed in a highly satisfactory manner, and we hope the Board agrees that showering him with love, affection, and gifts is fair recompense for all his hard yet seemingly effortless work.

We thank you again for supporting Junior and look forward to communicating his continuing excellence in our next reports.

Sincerely,
Fragrant Elephant
Supreme Commander, Empress, Guardian of the Baby Gate, Keeper of the Chronicles, Mommy McBragface

Toddler Dictionary

As Junior continues his merry, terrifyingly rapid absorption of new words and concepts, it's becoming increasingly apparent that not everything is making it through his expanding cerebral cortex. Let's just say he's still sounding out his words, see below:

This is a BULDABA--

This is EMILY--

He's obsessed with EYBEESHEE--

And here's a HAPILAPA--

Since these are things that we see every day in the city, he gets to practice these words a lot. I'm confident he'll get the right pronunciation eventually, one syllable at a time!

---

Meanwhile, it's taken quite a bit of mental labor for me to compile this handy guide for his Tagalog:

ALAMA	walang laman (empty)
BALABA	sa labas (outside)
BIKA	bisikleta (bicycle)
LUK-A	lakad (walk)

---

Fortunately, he can pronounce most words correctly, or at least intelligibly, as long as they're two syllables and under. Hence the problems with Tagalog, which "has a hundred syllables per word," or so hubby opines.

TL;DR: Junior is becoming quite the chatterbox!

This post brought to you by fancy Canadian chocolate!

Language Development Study at Harvard

Fig.1: Recruitment poster for study

ABSTRACT

Background: Last week, Junior and I participated in a Language Development Study. The study's goal: to check for the correlation between vocabulary and speed of learning new words. The study's subjects: babies ages 16 months to 2 years old, and their parental unit/s.

Methods: The study was divided into three parts: a game between the research assistant (RA) and the subject; the parent reading a story and teaching a new word to the subject; and the subject watching videos and identifying the correct object via voice prompts. The primary endpoint was the subject's ability to accurately learn new words.

Results: Junior learned the new words, but only after two or three errors.

Conclusions: We got a First 100 Words book out of the deal, so now he'll learn even more words! Also, a baby's having a large vocabulary (i.e. 30+ single words) may be predictive of the ability to quickly learn new words.

INTRODUCTION

Junior has been contributing to science from a very young age. So far, he has been a very obliging control infant in a longitudinal allergy study at Healing Peanuts, Inc., and a grumpy and unwilling one for a baby MEG (magnetoencephalography) study, also at HPI. His latest adventure took him across the river, to my old stomping grounds of Harvard Square. This study promised to be more interactive, if less remunerative.

The Language Development Study is conducted by the Rowe Lab, which focuses on "the role of social interactions in children’s cognitive development, primarily language and literacy development from birth to age five." (source: Rowe Lab website) Their offices are large and equipped with child toys and furniture, and the RAs who worked with us were clearly very experienced at working with kids. I had to stop Junior several times from wandering off to follow one of the RAs or from checking out all the toys stashed in various offices.

METHODS

Patient population

Babies ages 16-24 months are recruited for the study. They must be from households that speak English at least 50% of the time. 

Study Management

At the beginning of the study, parents complete a 10-minute questionnaire about demographic information, words known by their baby, and an intriguing set of questions about which quality they valued more in children (e.g. independence versus respect for elders, being considerate versus being well-behaved). During this time, the RAs establish rapport with the baby by pointing out objects in the room such as the animal stickers on the wall -- testing the subject's vocabulary in the process.

Then the study proper begins, composed of three parts. Part 1A consists of a game between an RA and the child. The RA hides a sticker under one of three different-colored cups, and the subject must choose the correct cup to retrieve the prize. In Part 1B, the RA literally adds another layer to the game by covering the cups in a scarf, then taking it off before asking the subject to select the right cup. Meanwhile, the other RA records the proceedings in another room.

During Part 2, the RA leaves after giving the parent a book with instructions to read it to the baby ("In English, please, so we understand," I was told), and to teach the little one a new word. It's a made-up word attached to a picture of Jigglypuff, although it would have been extremely entertaining to teach Junior how to say the Pokemon's actual name. I suspect "jee-puh" is what would have resulted.

Anyway, Part 2 takes 8 minutes, the book has no words so the parent has to explain the story on the fly, and the whole thing is also recorded.

In Part 3A, the dyad is taken to another room with a chair and a wall TV mounted with a webcam. The parent puts on shades so as not to lead the baby's gaze with his/her own. The baby, on the parent's lap, looks at the screen and is shown two objects. A voice prompts the baby to look at one of the objects, and accuracy is tracked using eye movements.

After 5 minutes of video, Part 3B begins. Both RAs come in to introduce two new objects to the subject using oddly-shaped stuffed toys. One is "Pimo" and the other is "Moku," and both come out of a box one at a time. After several repeated showings of each object, a long board with five stuffed toys velcroed to it -- including a Pimo and a Moku -- is shown to the subject, who is asked to pick out one of the new objects s/he has just been taught about, and to hand it to the RA. This continues until the baby consistently matches the object and the name.

Part 3C is the same as 3A, but with Pimo and Moku added to the video. This last part only takes 2 minutes.

Statistical Analysis

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

RESULTS

In Part 1A, Junior was able to find the sticker 2 times out of 4 (50%). In Part 1B, the sticker was also found twice during 4 attempts (50%).

In Part 2, Junior demonstrated his learning of the new word by speaking it after prompting from the RA.

Quantitative results for Parts 3A and C are unavailable at this time (since I had my eyes covered), but both RAs were very impressed by Junior's ability to sit still during the entire run of both videos.

For Part 3B, Junior was able to pick out Pimo and Moku after 2 failed attempts.

DISCUSSION

Junior came into the study with a large vocabulary, which I deduced from the initial questionnaire that asked me to check the boxes next to words he already knew. He was able to learn new words after a few errors, which seems indicative of a positive correlation between size of vocabulary and speed at learning new words.

More importantly, both RAs gushed that Junior was the absolute best participant they've had so far, and could he please come back, which morally obligated me to take some of their fliers and post it in my building to help their recruitment efforts.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported in part by the MBTA, which took us to the test site and this time did not subject us to elevators that smelled of pee.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES

None.

---

TL;DR: Junior and I had a lot of fun at the Language Development Study!

This post brought to you by perfect spring weather!

Junior Update: the Helper Toddler

Sometime in the last month, something in Junior's brain hit the accelerator. My little peanut, who at age one could only scream incoherently with excitement, hunger, or thirst, and whose only word for the last two months was "More!", has now mastered numerous words in English and Tagalog, including:

eyes/mata	nose/ilong	belly/tiyan	buhok (hair)
paa (feet)	kamay (hands)	ngipin (teeth)	bubble
waffle	apple	pasta	isda (fish)
doggie	truck	bus	bird
bisikleta (bicycle)	dahon (leaf)	puno (tree)	airplane
unan (pillow)	shoes	medyas/socks	down/baba

...et cetera.

And he goes "Uh-oh!" or "Hala!" whenever he drops something, which is often.

Apart from his impressive linguistic growth, he is now capable of frankly terrifying feats, including clambering up on our bar stools and scaling the living room table so he can dance from an elevated stage. I think we've successfully discouraged tabletop climbing and dancing, but have allowed him to sit at the counter like a big boy:

Tucking into breakfast at the counter

Since he hangs out with me in the kitchen a lot, I've had to impart an important concept: "mainit," to which he responds: "Hot!" The initial teaching of heat was in the form of letting him briefly touch my mug full of piping hot coffee in the mornings. However, one event seared the concept into his memory: I was carrying him to show him the rice cooker, pointing out that it was hot. His little hand shot out, just as a burst of steam erupted from the steam hole in the lid. After I made sure he wasn't burned, when he finished wailing I said, "Mainit!" And that was that.

Impressed by his cognitive development, I decided it was now time to begin his formal training as Mommy's Little Helper. This continues a tradition by my mother, who employed me as her Coke, and later Diet Coke, runner as a child. At meal times, I would stand at attention while she savored every morsel of her multiple courses, and when she barked, "Kunan mo ko ng Coke!" (get me a coke) I would run to the fridge and back with a 2-liter bottle like a diabetes-bearing missile.*

*parts of this story may be exaggerated

Step 1: Self-Service
Anyway, the first step in training Junior to be a Helper was to familiarize him with the concept of self-service. For example, in the past couple of weeks he started bringing me his nursing pillow when I said, "Dede?" (Nurse?) as part of his bedtime routine. Then he realized that the pink kidney-looking abomination had to be there for him to nurse, followed by the idea that if he brought it over, he could control the time of nursing. Sweet deal, if you ask me.

BYONP (bring your own nursing pillow)

Self-dressing is part of step #1, but this one we have to delay because he doesn't quite have the coordination yet. I shudder to think of the blood and the howling when he inevitably zippers his own chin.

Step 2: Tidying Up
After self-service, the next step is to have him help me put things away. At home, his training consists of helping me make the bed in his room by handing me the pillows on the floor:

He actually can't even lift this pillow above his waist

He also knows to grab a towel from the kitchen rack to wipe up spills -- which, you guessed it, he himself caused -- so he can wipe them up. This is some Inception stuff right here, folks. Hilariously, his reaction to spilled popcorn is the same: "Punas, punas!" (wipe, wipe) Still teaching him to pick up the kernels instead of spreading them across the floor via wiping.

Yesterday he unlocked another achievement: when we got home, I stopped him mid-scamper to the bar stool to ask him to put his shoes on the shoe rack -- which he did!!! Hurrah!!!

Meanwhile, Daddy sets an example every night by putting toys away during wind down time, which has the added bonus of reducing both our chances of getting impaled by a tiny car when one of us rushes in to soothe him at 4AM.

Step 3: Opening Doors
At daycare, when requested, he opens the door to the stroller closet (the only door he can reach). He's been doing an admirable job, except for blocking the doorway when I go to lug in his chariot. We're working on it.

Step 4: That Thing I Don't Like Doing
The final step, obviously, is to have him do his own laundry, because it's low on my list of fun household activities. (Since you asked, my favorite home task is making coffee.) While the picture below is meant to fool you into thinking he can actually do this, in fact he just loves twisting the knob for the different wash settings, and also he learned to say "cheese" for the camera, so...yeah. Although he did load the towels into the washing machine when I asked! Baby steps, baby steps. When he can start reading I'll have him actually set the wash cycle and press start.

Final step: do my own laundry!

In summary, Junior has attained a new level of cuteness (I must capture his adorable dinosaur roaring, chubby fists clenched, on video) and smarts. I am very proud. You can call me Braggy McMomface. And yes, I know the Terrible Twos and/or Threes is/are coming. Just let me have this moment!

TL;DR: At 18 months, Junior can understand enough to follow some orders.

This post brought to you by pork sinigang!

Toddler Sleep Training

Junior is perfect except for one thing: his inability to soothe himself back to sleep. And his sonic scream when he's hungry. And his tripping over perfectly flat surfaces. Okay, maybe he's not perfect.

Sleep is a panacea -- it heals the body, helps the mind sort the day's events, improves mood, and contributes to weight loss/maintenance! (source: IIRC)

As new parents, sleep is now a mere memory for hubby and me. It's hard to parent, let alone function, without sufficient sleep. Fortunately, we perfected a bedtime routine for Junior that lets him get enough sleep (minimum 10 hours a night) and lets us relax for a couple of hours before our own lights out.

This is a four-step process, and times indicated are approximate:

Step 1: Wind Down (6pm) -- Daddy takes Junior to his room, where there's no bustle (e.g. cleaning up dinner dishes). Junior quietly plays with his toys while Daddy catches up on the news. Then Daddy changes Junior into pajamas.

Step 2: Nursing (6:30pm) -- Junior's pediatrician sternly reminds us that breastfeeding is now very, very supplementary to his diet, so nowadays, this is his second and final session for the day (the first being in the AM).

Step 3: Toothbrushing (6:35pm) -- I brush Junior's teeth with just a dab of toothpaste, and afterwards allow him to suck on the toothbrush for that minty fresh flavor!

Step 4: Story Time (6:40pm) -- Junior's favorite part. He clambers into bed beside Daddy, who has selected a book from our spawn's vast library, which contains no less than three copies of Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

And then he gets put in the crib for lights out:

In the dark times before the Empire, Junior would only sleep in three-hour intervals, which required logistical planning on our part. Who would take first watch? How would we soothe him? Daddy usually got up first, and I would be called in if the crying escalated. It was awful and we were both grumpy in the morning, while Junior played merrily.

But then one day, a bit after Junior turned one, Daddy put his foot down and said, "It's time to let him cry it out." In other words, the little one had to learn to soothe himself back to sleep, without one of us there patting his back or shoving boobs at his face. The ultimate goal was to get everyone a solid night's sleep.

And y'know what? ...It worked! Eventually, anyway. There was a lot of backsliding (by me, admittedly, I can't sleep when he's crying) in the first few weeks, but by 14-15 months of age, Junior was sleeping through the night, mostly. He would wake up, utter a wail, and then settle back down. We learned to distinguish between "I am disoriented but will be back asleep soon!" and "I am upset and will get louder and louder!!!"

Don't get me wrong -- I'm still a zombie because my sleep ledger remains in the red. I'm the grumpiest I've been since my teenage angst years (so long ago...). Hubby seems to be faring better, probably due to sheer grit, and also headphones at night.

We suspect that Junior's teething right now (molars!!!) so he's periodically been waking up fussy. Argh. They do say that sleep routines get messed up every now and then. 

But at least we have our nightly ritual that has him in bed, asleep, at 7 pm...giving us a few hours of breathing room in the evenings.

TL;DR: A bedtime routine for toddler helps with family sleep!

This post brought to you by one of those oddly warm winter days!

My Son the Ramen Monster

Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish that you can get for 600 yen in Kyoto, or twice that in Boston, which really should be rectified because the two cities are sister cities, but I digress. Ramen's essential ramen-ness is in its broth and noodles. If you would like to watch a very Japanese (read: wonderful and weird) movie about ramen, I recommend Tampopo, where the heroine goes to great lengths to spy on the secret broth ingredients of her would-be competitors. There's also an episode of Golden Boy where he works at a ramen shop and learns how to make noodles, but it's rather pervy so let's keep that in your "maybe?" pile.

Anyway, the point is that ramen is delicious and your bowl must be emptied, broth and all, to show respect for the chef. When I lived in Kyoto, I watched any number of sarariman just pound those giant bowls like it ain't no thang, and so I learned to completely finish off my ramen. Also, apparently in Japan it is super bad to ask for a doggie bag, because you're expected to eat everything you ordered. This was back in '05, you understand, but I doubt Japanese society has changed too much. Well, we'll find out when I take my mom on her Japan tour, after I win the lottery, obviously. Again, I digress.

The real point of that rambling preamble is to reveal that my son is a ramen monster. HE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL HE HAS ALL THE RAMEN. I first found out that he even liked ramen during a routine lunch stop at H Mart, when I placed some noodles from my bowl in front of him. He likes pasta, so I figured, hey, wheat noodles are wheat noodles. 

On that day, he ate half my bowl of ramen and demanded more. (This is including the pork, because he needs his protein, and the vegetables, because he really likes greens.)

So from that point forward, I would order an extra serving of noodles just for him. And all was well with the world.

But earlier today, I got my ramen order from Bon Me, and I'd never eaten there before, so I didn't know if they did extra noodles. I had to share my bowl with a bottomless pit. :(

Here is Hubby trying to keep pace with the Ramen Monster:

Which begs the question: is this how Hubby feels when I polish off a giant bowl of ramen? Does he wonder where it all goes? 

These are rhetorical questions; the answer is of course yes. So the family now has two ramen monsters, is what I am saying. 

TL;DR: Junior eats just like mommy.

This post brought to you by homebrewed mead and stovetop popcorn!

Happy Halloween!

This year, Junior got to wear his costume in the two days leading up to Halloween. (He's not trick-or-treating yet.) Props to Daddy for the excellent costume choice (via amazon).

Top three reactions to Junior's costume:

1) "AAAWWWWWWWW!!!"
2) "What is she supposed to be?" (reply: "He is an octopus.")
3) "Is that a calamari?"

Dress rehearsal

*DAY 1*

Day care costume parade

Halloween party

*DAY 2*

After scoring free cookie 

Exhausted octopus

Note: Hubby chose this costume to go with our family theme of Chthulu -- Junior is supposed to be baby Chthulu; his tentacles are meant to migrate to his face when mature.

Proud Chthulu Dad, Li'l Chthulu

TL;DR: My baby is the menace of the deep.

This post brought to you by coffee!

Toddler Shenanigans

First, some advertising:

Get it? hur hur hur

Ah, the leaves have turned, the mornings are thirty degrees, and that means: TINY HUMANS IN ADORABLE FALL CLOTHES!!! Seriously, a lot of the little girls at the playgrounds are way more fashionable than I've ever been at any point in my life.

But, on to the point: toddlerhood. Now that Junior can toddle, he's a toddler, so there. Here is a checklist of what he's supposed to be able to accomplish at his current age (source: BabyCentre, the UK one):

Level 1: stand alone (check), bend to pick up objects (check), use two words skillfully (errr....)

Let's address that last point. Junior uses syllables skillfully. He's bilingual, too! I speak to him exclusively in Tagalog, and everyone else uses English at him. So he understands the term "bola" and "ball" (same thing), and he's settled for a term somewhere in the middle: "boh, boh." He also seems to think that every vehicle is a bus, which he calls "buh, buh." He understands, "Asan si Papa?" ("Where's dad?", or let's be honest, "Go bug dad") and, at peak whiny, will wail, "mama, mama" using just the right tone to trigger an immediate response from me. He is crafty, this one.

Side note: according to his day care teachers, he lectures the other babies when they misbehave: "Doh doh dow dow DOH doh!" is apparently how it goes.

So I'm going to put a check next to that skill. On to...

Level 2: enjoy looking at own reflection (check), drinks from a cup (check, also uses straw), plays "peekaboo" (check, often initiates game using "come-hither" peekaboo face, it is very cute)

All right, he's pretty good on his Emerging Skills. But what about...

Level 3: combine words and gestures to express wants (check, e.g. pointing and frantic head shakes combined with "no no"), tries to lift heavy things (yeah, I really need to stop bringing him to the gym and letting him play near the kettle bells #parentingfail), rolls a ball back and forth (and throws it at your face) 

As mentioned above, his syllable skills are top-notch, and since he points to what he wants, he can get it once we've used the process of elimination on all counter top items ("What d'you want? Your water? Not your water? Peanut butter? No? Oh, you want my food...")

###

Now, I know I may be painting a picture of a genius toddler here, and perhaps you are giving me side eye for being biased, but bear with me. Here I present two pieces of evidence for his extraordinary brilliance:

Exhibit A: Problem Solving

Charlie's like, I have nothing to do with this, I'm out.

Junior has been very interested in climbing lately, mostly stairs and his father. He's also very dedicated to reaching for things that are on top of things. Yesterday he combined those two passions by flipping over the laundry basket, clambering on top, and using his newfound height to swipe at previously unreachable objects. In the picture above, he has granted himself access to my vast collection of change, which I've been meaning to put into coin rollers to exchange for bills at the bank. (Well, I at least got the coin rollers. The orange strip near his hand is for quarters.)

Of course, there are  times when he's too clever for his own good, like when he closes the door of whatever room he's in and promptly panics because the big people are on the other side and he hasn't mastered door knobs yet. Or when he opens snack containers by smashing them on the floor and earns the Mom Face of Doom. Or when he used to crawl through the pet gate (!) meant to keep him away from the kitty litter box -- at least now he's too big to do that.

And here is definitive proof that Junior is smaht:

Exhibit B: Drink Preference

That is some fine microbrew that he is holding in his chubby hands. Oktoberfest, yum yum, just the right flavor for tiny tots. And please note how he is rocking that mustache (pacifier). Truly, he is gifted.

###

It's not all butterflies and beer in the Fragrant Household, though. Junior is teething, and he goes full-on drama mode when he feels a twinge, which is usually at at 2AM or 4AM, or both. And this is on top of his daily 5:30AM nursing demands, followed by a 6:30AM kick to my face (after we fall asleep cuddling, awww -- just kidding, it's like cuddling next to a giant non-slimy earthworm: squirm, squirm, squirm).

He also gets hungry frequently, and follows me around whining piteously and doing his best to interrupt what I'm currently doing, which is preparing his food. I can only fend him off temporarily with yogurt pouch, crackers, and other small snacks -- he needs his rice and protein to make it another hour! 

He still needs to learn not to throw his food to indicate that he's done. When he first started doing that I was all, GRRRRRR, and now he is instantly exiled from his high chair. We'll see if it works in combination with demonstrating how to hand over his unwanted consumables.

Oh, and he is still the scourge of the kitties. No matter how many times we tell him and show him how to be gentle, he still goes into slap mode whenever Charlie's in reach (Maetel is too smart to be at floor level when he's around). Oy vey. Plus he'll grab for their kibble every chance he gets, which for science I bravely tasted, and it was disgusting -- like cardboard and fish. Blecchhhhhh

###

TL;DR: Toddler = shenanigans

This post brought to you by leftover chicken wings!