JTOK Chatter > Kids > Owen > Page 131

Category Archives: Owen

It’s not all sunshine and cotton candy…

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

I am so fed up with Owen and his non-eating habits. I try so hard not to let it bother me but some days I just want to scream.

Tonight we had Bulgogi—marinated flank steak. We’ve had it before and he LOVED it (granted, it was probably 1.5-2 years ago when he might still try new things) so we wanted him to try it again and he just flat out refuses. Shakes his head no, waves his hands in front of his face, growls NOOO at us…the whole nine yards. We used to be able to bribe him with a treat if he tried something and that doesn’t even work anymore. :**:

I’ve read all the things that are supposed to work and they don’t:

  • I put some [of whatever] on his plate with his other food…and he just ignores it.
  • I put out the same food (or just offer it) over and over and over and over in case it takes 20 times. He never tries it.
  • I can’t be sneaky and hide food in what he eats…because he eats nothing I can hide other stuff in (like mashed potatoes or Mac and cheese or meatballs or hamburgers or spaghetti).
  • I can’t fool him with toppings hid on pizza under cheese–he takes them off.
  • He notices smashed fruit in his yogurt and won’t eat it.
  • He didn’t even like the strawberry freezer jam I made—which had nothing hiding, it was just different.

I’ve pretty much given up reading articles on the subject because every one ends up being completely laughable to me.

I keep telling myself he’ll grow out of it, but it’s been so long already with no change in sight (and it’s actually gotten worse!) that I really have no hope. I keep thinking he’ll better understand compromise or bargaining as he gets older, but he doesn’t seem to have a clue.

Tonight we eventually told him there would be no iPad until he tried a new food…and that didn’t even work. And he LIVES for the iPad. Then I feel guilty for doing that…but I feel we have to try all sorts of options. But now I can’t give him the iPad because I cant give in. I expect tantrums.

In my pissed off moments I want to try the giving-him-only-what-we’re-eating thing again, as a take it or leave it meal…but then I feel guilty even thinking about doing that because what if he really does have some major issue with food that we just haven’t figured out yet?

Being pregnant and super emotional doesn’t help any of this, either.

I am just sooooo tired of dealing with this. Yes, I know it could STILL be worse, but as I said, there are just days when it overwhelms me.

Kids!

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Our good friends Tom and Karen (that live on the other side of our neighborhood) have moved back into town, and they have three kids (ages 6, almost 5, and 8mo) so we’ve been seeing them more lately—which is great for Owen! We had dinner over there this past weekend, and Owen and Nate (the 6yo) got along fabulously…Owen showed up with his knight helmet and sword and Nate was already running around with his own sword! Owen also sat and talked to the 8mo which was adorable! They’ve also been to our house to swim a few times, but that’s a little overwhelming for Owen who is used to having his pool to himself (but we keep doing it so he’ll get used to it)!

Today, I left Owen there while I had a doctor’s appointment, and Karen texted me this pic of our “Little Toms”:

And then this pic of Owen driving one of their power wheels cars…which, if you recall, he won’t even barely sit (let alone drive) his own police car! So needless to say I was surprised…and of course, apparently other kids’ toys are more fun than your own!

Road trip–Family, Cousins, and Water Country

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

We took a somewhat last-minute trip to Williamsburg, VA, to see family—and we also decided to go to Water Country USA since we were able to get free tickets for being military.

Saturday night we met with Stef & Al (my third cousins, I think—I’m bad at figuring out those type of family relations) and their kids for dinner and then swimming back at our hotel pool. It was nice visiting with them—I can’t even remember the last time we saw them!

Sunday it was off to Water Country to meet up with Lisa & Timmy and their kids for a day of fun in the water! They were visiting Williamsburg for a week’s vacation so we were more than happy to come up and see them!

I didn’t take my phone and didn’t have a waterproof camera, so we didn’t get a ton of pictures…but we did get a few. Owen took a little bit to get comfortable playing in the water, but once he did, he had a blast! It was enjoyable for me as well since I didn’t have to worry about running around to all the rides…sometimes being eight months pregnant has its advantages!

Also, major thanks to Timmy for splurging on a cabana…that really IS the way to go for a whole day at the park!

Taking a break for ice cream!

COUSINS! Of course, Owen is the beast of the group…he’s almost 3.5 while the others (from left to right) are almost 6, almost 8, and almost 4. 😮

Owen continues to amaze me.

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

He wasn’t completely thrilled with the road trip—he was excited about seeing cousins but still keeps saying he wants to go home. So I was expecting a tantrum at bedtime when it was time to put the puzzles (iPad) away. Instead, after he got his teeth brushed, he handed us the iPad, said goodnight, and crawled into his bed!

I love this kid.

Singing along with Handy Manny’s tools

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm9vm99vcXw

Owen goes through stages of what he wants to watch. Mostly it’s “pigs” (which is the Nick Jr cartoon Olivia) with some Backyardigans and Little Einsteins. However, today he was on a Handy Manny kick (and has been on a few other days recently) so imagine my surprise when he started singing along! Well, not exactly, but as good as a 3yo can do when you can’t really even understand the words to start with! It’s SO cute and he gets so excited!

Mama, I’m floating!

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

We have tried repeatedly to let Owen float in our arms, but he’s not a big fan (he ESPECIALLY HATES being put on his back, even when we have a secure hold on him). So I was a bit surprised when on his own, as he was holding on to the side of the pool (which we usually discourage, since it’s not meant for that), he let his legs float up behind him. And he was loving it! And of course he was splashing and hanging over so far the water was spilling out!

Owen being Owen in the pool:

And more Owen being Owen, this time going through phrases from three different books (see if you can hear lines from Hit the Ball Duck, My Daddy And Me, and Elmo’s Potty Book).

Pool tiger!

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

He didn’t love this tiger when we first got it…he’s really too big for it (in our shallow pool) for him to actually sit with his legs through it (they touch bottom) so it just floated around the pool for a week or so. We did sit him in it like an inner tube and that was okay for a few minutes…but today he WANTED to play with it. And it was SOOOO cute—he just kinda put his head down on it and moved/floated around the pool for quite some time.

Classroom observation and speech evaluation

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Owen had his classroom observation and speech evaluation today. Long story short, neither the teacher nor the speech therapist saw any glaring issues—and both said he seems to be above average intelligence for his age and they see no academic issues at all. They said most of what we’re seeing will probably resolve itself once he starts hanging out with kids his age.

In more detail…the classroom observation went well according to the teacher. She said he didn’t really play with the other kids, but he watched—and towards the end of the time (an hour) he started to get closer to them. She said he talked to the teacher and no one had any problems understanding him. He listened when things were explained and understood how to use the toys he was being shown (a kid’s laptop-type toy). She said from her perspective, he was just fine academically—and possibly even a little advanced (seeing as how he just turned three). So, that’s good news. As a sidenote, she said she did cut the session short by just a bit because he was getting anxious about wanting to see me—which really surprised me, but also made me feel good!—he apparently kept asking about me but kept playing…but finally said he wanted to see me and was pretty set on it. Awwww. 🙂

The speech therapist first said he is such a sweet little boy. And big for his age. And that she had to keep reminding herself he was just three because he seemed smarter than that. (YAY!) 🙂 She said some of his speech issues were age-related—for example, certain letter combinations don’t fully appear until age 6 or 7. And she said that he was very conversational—she knew he had a cat named Charlie who he played with and he watched TV in mama’s room. She was impressed with his vocabulary (he was talking about propellers and alligators) and his hearing (saying he heard helicopters outside, noticing sounds in the hallway and asking what they were) and said that when he parrots back things you say, he’s not just making the sounds—he seems to really be thinking about it and understanding it. She said in all honesty—though she hadn’t tallied his actual test results yet—she has no worries about his speech at all.

The results meeting in two weeks to discuss if he needs any special education is pretty much just a formality to say no. Which is a good thing.

Phew.

Now I just need to find him a preschool (though they said the drop-in daycare would be fine for now, too).