multiplying like rabbits

... because they are rabbits. Living in a new 'hood in the hills overlooking Las Vegas, we're no strangers to wild animals. Each evening, as the summer sun sets, little bats swoop in the skies above our house, quail run about the bushes, roadrunners run down the street and, luckily only on rare occasions, a coyote is spotted in the darkness of night. We know why the coyotes are here -- it's all those little rabbits! I'm sure they make for a tasty buffet for those coyotes.

What started out as a few cute little cotton-tailed bunny rabbits in our bushes and hopping along the sidewalks and in the grass, has blossomed into a rather large, and still growing, colony of rabbits in a very short amount of time. After all, rabbits do have a reputation for their promiscuity and resulting baby booms. I've seen a lot of babies lately, who will undoubtedly grow to be horny teenagers in the matter of months.

Z-Dub loves those little rabbits. During our evening walks he often counts how many he spots. He used to see one of two, now it's about a dozen at a time. He loves to try to get up close before they dart off.

So why does it appear that I'm complaining about these little harmless animals. Well, I have a few -- first, I hate avoiding their poop pellets during walks; second, the more bunnies, the more coyotes. I think they like to eat little dogs (watch out Lola) and little kids (watch out Z-Dub); and finally, you already know of my issues with two cartoon rabbits. It's like they're f%&king with me.

a weekend of firsts

We've been through these milestones before with Z-Dub, but it doesn't take away from the excitement. The Deuce is entitled to the same attention from his excited parents.

This weekend we achieved several. First, and most important, The Deuce cut his first tooth. It's way earlier than Z-Dub did. Of course, he's been grumpy as a result, but not too bad. This weekend also was time for The Deuce to graduate to the high chair. In doing so he started on baby food too. He's also been gnawing on baby biscuits. He's had quite an exciting weekend.

And finally, my favorite milestone is his repeating of "Dada." He's been saying it like crazy all of a sudden. We also got him to repeat "Dog." Or at least that's what we hear.

Here's a bonus video. You can't deny his cuteness.



As for Z-Dub, he's going through a bit of regression this weekend. He keeps crapping in his pants. It's been a muddy mess and we're frustrated.

it's official

With Z-Dub finally dropping loads of number two in the toilet, and not wearing diapers for more than a week, he's now officially potty trained. He's got it all under control.

FINALLY.

And, just in time for Earth Day. I'm sure Mother Nature will appreciate him no longer filling up the landfill with poopy diapers.

dude, let it out!

I apologize in advance for the content of this post. 

This is yet another post about poop. We're continuing our efforts to potty train young Z-Dub. All of his little friends, many of which are younger than him, are now diaper free, so we're on a mission. He has no issue peeing in the potty. He's had a couple of accidents, primarily due to distraction, but for the most part he has peeing under control.

Our problem is his poop anxiety. He's afraid to do it on the toilet and we've yet to have success with dropping a load into the porcelain throne. In fact, yesterday he was so fearful of the notion, he sat on his little toilet for much of the day without success. Instead of just letting it slide on out, he actually held it in all day long. His poor belly was big and he complained that his "tummy and his butt" hurt. We encouraged him, held his hand and even explained how to relax and push it out. Nothing helped him overcome his fear.

Eventually he went to sleep...late. At 4 a.m., while getting ready to head off to work, HotMomma checked on him. He was asleep with the largest, stinkiest load of poop in his pants. I ended up changing him while he was asleep.

Today he's with his cousin who is six months younger and already potty trained. We're hoping she can encourage him to get over his poop fears.

Any advice?

pee pee and poo poo

Once again I'm writing about poop. When you have a toddler potty training it tends to be a hot topic. As many of you know, potty training Z-Dub has been a huge challenge for us.We've been trying for the past several of months with little to no success.

However, with a sticker chart hanging low on the refrigerator and the promise of toys as rewards for hitting certain milestones, we've had much success in the past couple of weeks. So much so, that yesterday, without any reminders or requests, he went into the bathroom by himself, took off his pants and diaper, sat on his potty chair and filled it up with golden goodness. He was quite proud of it and proceeded to do it two more times within the subsequent hour.

That's where the success ends, because later in the morning he crapped in his diaper three times. Each time I begged him to try the potty, but he absolutely refused. Apparently pooping is traumatic.

So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to get Z-Dub to make mud in the potty instead of his pants, lay it out there for us. Our family and our local landfill will greatly appreciate it.

food thief

Z-Dub is always stealing food off my plate. Even when he has the same exact food on his plate, he's more interested in mine than his. To keep his little fingers out of my food, lately I've employed a new strategy focused on convincing him that his food is way better than mine.

I started telling Z-Dub that the food on my plate is poop. Yep, poop. Even if it looks like his, smells like his, and I'm eating it, I still tell him its poop and its yucky.

"Ewwwwhhhh! Daddy's eating poop," he yells out.

But lately this new strategy has started to fail me, especially since he'll eat basically anything.

I think I'll have to explore an even newer strategy. Perhaps something more simple. 

Maybe not sitting next to him at the table will be the best way to deal with his food thievery.

let me tell you a little secret...

The most challenging part of parenthood is not caring for a helpless infant or learning how to effectively discipline a toddler who is testing your authority. Nor is it the lack of sleep or a social life.

The most challenging part is POTTY TRAINING. I have never, ever encountered anything so frustrating in my life. Seriously, how hard could it be? Just point and shoot.

I've cleaned many puddles already today and I'm sure there will be many, many more. Luckily we haven't encountered any muddy messes yet.

pissin' all over the place

After pissing on the floor six times this morning, Z-Dub finally peed in the toilet for the first time at home. This accomplishment was greeted with loud, roaring cheers, high-fives and a reward of a sticker and an M&M candy. There were promises of more such gifts if this feat is accomplished again. Shortly afterwards he proceeded to pee on the floor again and laugh about it. I think he was just f%#king with us earlier when he actually peed where he was supposed to pee.

Oh well. It was worth a try.

As for Z-Jay, he's six weeks old today and has reached a new level of infant development. He now wants to be held ALL THE TIME. He's not happy in the swing or the bouncy chair. He's only happy in Mommy or Daddy's arms or in the baby carrier. It's hard to do anything when you have an infant attached to you at all times, so we're not going to crack. It doesn't hurt him to cry a little. It's good for lung development. Perhaps he'll foster a great singing voice or something.

And finally, the Z-Dub and Z-Jay thing is a little confusing for me, so I think it's safe to assume it is for our readers as well. Therefore, for the third time, Z-Jay's blog name is hereby changed. From this point forward he will be referred to as Deuce. This is defined as "the second" of our children and not "shit" as the word is commonly used in slang.

Now I know I've been absent from reading the other great blogs in my reader for the past week or so, but we've been busy with the holidays. So I plan to catch up real soon.

adjusting

I feel refreshed. Really, I do. Z-Jay slept an astonishing six hours straight last night. It was awesome, especially after a couple of rough nights when we brought him home. Z-Dub is home from visiting his grandma, auntie and cousins too. Like a typical two-year-old, he hasn't quite grasped the need to be gentle when touching his little brother. He's always shoving toys into Z-Jay's face. "Here Z-Jay, here's a car for you," he says. Yesterday I took Z-Jay out of his bouncy chair for a feeding and found several Matchbox cars tucked under his arms. I love the fact that Z-Dub is so giving, but that was a little much. But, overall, he's adjusting very well in his new role as a big brother. We only had a couple of "time out" moments yesterday. He's also was recently educated about Santa and his gift giving criteria, so the threat of no Christmas presents seems to be a great motivator for good behavior as well.

Z-Jay's jaundice has had us a little worried. On Friday he seemed to turn more yellow. Luckily we had an appointment with the doc that day. They drew blood, which by the way is excruciating painful to watch, and sent it off to the lab to check his bilirubin levels. The number had risen since his phototherapy, but the doctor said it was still in the safe area. Z-Jay is going to be checked again on Monday, but this morning I think he looks a little less yellow. Perhaps the bilirubin level finally peaked and his jaundice is on the retreat. We're crossing our fingers.

Now we're working on getting a routine down. Yesterday it literally took us six hours to get ourselves ready for the day and out of the house. Of course, we all woke up after 9 a.m., including Z-Dub, so we had a late start. We didn't have breakfast until about 11 a.m., so I guess you would consider that brunch. It also seemed like every time we were close to ready Z-Jay would either need to eat or he'd poop. It wasn't that big of a deal as we really didn't have anything pressing to do, but we need to learn to get things moving a little better. I think part of it is HotMomma's adjustment to breastfeeding again. I feel sorry for her. Like she did with Z-Dub, she's having challenges. But she's committed to providing Z-Jay with the same important nutrients that Z-Dub got, so she's keeping it up.Hopefully it will get easier.

That's my update for now. Now we're going to enjoy Z-Jay's first Sunday.

practically twins

I was able to capture a photo of Z-Jay in a similar pose as Z-Dub when he was just days old as well. Check out the remarkable likeness between the two. On the left is Z-Dub in April 2006 and on the right is Z-Jay today.

In additional to their nearly identical appearance, our first night home with Z-Jay was just as rough as our first night home with Z-Dub, except this time we knew what we were doing. I guess 24 hours of sleeping under a phototherapy light was more than enough rest for the little guy. He was wide awake last night and didn't fall to sleep until about 5 a.m. this morning. Needless to say, it was an all night eat and poop fest for him. We didn't get much sleep. Despite that, we're enjoying every moment.

I did take a break from Z-Jay care to accompany Z-Dub and his Auntie and cousins at Chuck E. Cheese's today. He had a blast. 

Now...for all my fellow bloggers, I plan to catch up on the back log of posts in my feed reader as soon as possible. 

gourmet poop?

HotMomma went out to dinner last night with her girlfriends to celebrate one of their birthdays, so Z-Dub and I were on our own for dinner. I took him to Jason's Deli, a family favorite. After we spent more than an hour there we headed out the door. On the way Z-Dub grabbed a bag of crackers from the salad bar. I guess he wanted a post-dinner snack to go.

Later, during our short drive home, he said, "Daddy, I'm gonna share crackers with Tallulah."*

"That's nice of you," I replied.

About a minute later he blurted out, "Tallulah eats dog food."

I didn't hear him well over the music playing on the radio, so I asked, "Tallulah eats dog food, really?"

"No Daddy! Tallulah eats dog poop."

Then I threw up a little in my mouth.

* Tallulah is the neighbor girl (not her real name).

sunday morning training

Despite the help of Winnie the Pooh on television, a controlled defecation was not achieved this morning. But at least he tried.

He gave up about 10 minutes after this photo was captured. Five minutes later me soiled his pull-up diaper.

Baby steps...

*I sincerely apologize to Z-Dub for embarrassing him by posting a pooping picture, but I had nothing else to share this morning. We'll laugh about it later.

look daddy, i go pee pee

Like many parents of toddlers, we're in the middle of the dreaded potty training. It's an important time of transition for a child who must learn to "hold it in" for the porcelain throne rather than letting loose in a secure and ultra-absorbent diaper.

Despite Z-Dub's verbal desire to "go potty" in a toilet, when it comes to actually doing it, we've had very little success over the past couple of months. We've even bought and used regular underwear on the weekends and he just pees in them, resulting in a shower of urine that forms into a puddle on the floor.

Last night while I undressed him for his shower, Z-Dub stood there squirming. Suddenly he proclaimed, "Daddy, I have to pee pee."

I got very excited. He actually said he had to go before actually going. Unfortunately, there was no time to make our way downstairs to his training potty, so I hurried and helped him onto the regular sized toilet.  He sat there for about 30 seconds as I repeated "Okay. Go pee pee."

Nothing happened.

"Okay. Push it out. Go pee pee," I said in an encouraging tone.

He followed that with a grunting noise like he was about to deliver a big load of number two. Another thirty seconds or so passed and nothing still.

"Do you still have to go pee pee," I asked.

He placed is tongue against the back of his teeth and made a "ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss" noise to copy the flow of pee. But he didn't actually pee.

Then I remembered that his book, "It's Potty Time," had illustrations and read "I stand up to go pee pee. I sit down to go poo poo." So, I took him off the toilet and propped him up on my knees so he was at the right height and position to pee like a "big boy." But after a minute or so, still no flow. We simply gave up.

I helped him into the shower. As soon as his feet hit the wet floor the peeing commenced.

"Look daddy. I pee pee," he said with pride.

"Nice," I replied in defeat.

a few steps forward and a giant leap backward

A few weeks ago we reached a significant milestone. At least it was significant to us. We finally got Z-Dub falling asleep in his own bed and on his own, like a "big boy." This was thanks to some helpful advice from Busy Dad and Mr. Lady at Stark Raving Dads.

With Z-Dub tucked into his bed, HotMomma and I were finally able to enjoy our evenings without the company of a two year old. This was huge, because prior to that I had to lay down with him each and every night for more than an hour as he fell asleep. It was an annoying routine that needed to be broken, and once we decided to finally take charge and change things success was swift. It was awesome. That is until this past week.

For some unknown reason Z-Dub suddenly won't stay in his bed. Each night I've had to constantly get up over and over and over again to walk him back to his bed, have a quick pep talk, kiss him on the forehead and leave the room. We're talking 20+ times each night and lasting well past 10 p.m. He's used every excuse in the book, including hearing noises, seeing shadows, he poo pooed (although he didn't), he's thirsty, etc. That part is actually kind of funny because of his age. It's amazing how a two year old can think stuff up like that.

But what makes this week's evening events particularly bad is I get to the point where I have to get very stern with him, with a raised voice and threats. It's frustrating and I feel bad because that's not how I want the mood to be before he goes to sleep.

We're hoping this is a brief phase and our evenings will quickly turn back to their still fairly new comfortableness that we've come to enjoy. It's like we're being teased. We got a taste of something good and now it's been taken away.

So now it's Monday, the start of a brand new week. For the sake of my sanity, as well as HotMomma's, I'll be re-reading the post on Stark Raving Dads and experimenting with different tactics and techniques to get us back on track. The game is over Z-Dub!

a sunday morning

It's 10 a.m. on Sunday and I'm sitting at the dinning table, enjoying a much needed cup of coffee. Z-Dub is watching Disney Playhouse programs and playing with his miniature Air Canada airplane we picked up for him in Montreal. HotMomma is working a four hour shift this morning and is due home just after noon. Z-Dub and I woke up less than an hour ago after an extremely rough night.  Fighting off a stomach illness, Z-Dub refused to sleep last night. We finally caved at around 1:30 a.m. and brought him into our bed where he finally fell into a deep sleep at around 2 a.m.

In contrast with yesterday's scorching 108F temperature, this morning the sky is gray with thunderstorm clouds. The wind is lashing the trees outside our windows in advance of the impending rain. Often the dry air prevents it from ever arriving. This time I hope it materializes and comes heavy. Our desert is in desperate need of some thirst-quenching water.

Though I don't feel like dealing with it all, on the agenda today is house cleaning and laundry. I'm sure after last night's sleep deprivation, HotMomma won't be in the mood for it either.  But we need clean underwear this week, so we'll have to overcome our laziness.

We're supposed to take Z-Dub to see Wall-E with some friends today. I don't think that's going to happen. He may be contagious.

Crap (literally), I have to go now. I hear Z-Dub's butt squirting AGAIN. Ugggg, I can smell it now!

a muddied weekend

POOP. Yep, I wrote it. This post is about poop. Actually, diarrhea is a more accurate term, but not as fun to say. I know I'm teetering in the area of "too much information," but who cares.

HotMomma and Z-Dub returned home from San Diego yesterday just before I returned from Chicago. Unfortunately, they both caught some kind of nasty stomach flu during their trip. Just in time for the weekend, today they both are suddenly dealing with some fast-flowing unpleasantries originating from their back ends. I hope to avoid the same infliction. But as parents, we all know too well how incredibly contagious these types of illnesses are. I'm not at all looking forward to being tethered to the porcelain throne this weekend or, worse yet, early next week when I have to return to work and a full agenda of meetings and projects. If there are "mudslides" I'll have to miss work and end up even more behind than I already am.

*My tummy is already feeling a little weird. I hope it's just psychological.

Along with the illness, Z-Dub is in a "crappy" mood. And, as you can imagine, with HotMomma 22 weeks pregnant and having to deal with this type of illness, she's in a very, very "shitty" mood. I'm sure if I was in her shoes, I'd have the same demeanor. Actually, I'd probably be worse, because I don't handle illness quite as adult like.