Italy

I was doing this for our parents, and thought it worked well as a journal/update entry on the boys at this stage in life. As a side note, it's taking lots of self controll to not include Volterra on our list of cities we are visiting.

My guide on Joshua and Luke


Sleeping

Luke loves being laid in bed, then holding your hand to say a prayer. After the prayer he’d love you to lean over the pack and play and give him hugs, loves, and kisses. Joshua is very good at participating in this.
Luke’s ideal naptime according to him would be 12pm. I’m trying to get the boys on the same schedule – so I’m trying to push Luke to 1pm and get Joshua to go down a little early. This means that Luke often falls asleep in the car around 11am. I just wake him back up, and then wait to put him to bed in the afternoon. You are welcome to do whatever you want, I just do that because having the boys take naps together is what works out best for me.

Joshua loves the same prayer, hugs, loves, kisses as Luke and will push for cuddles as well. He is actually taking a nap about 3 days a week. I put him down everyday, but on those days where he just isn’t tired, it only lasts 30 minutes or so. I strongly suggest being firm – put him down for naps and close the door (grammie!) – then if he honestly isn’t tired he’ll get up. But if he is he’ll fall asleep. If the door is open or cracked he won’t take a nap.

Both boys wake up around 7am. Joshua will get out of bed and open his bedroom door. He will then either come and wake us up or decide to be naughty and hunt for candy. There have been many a morning that I have woken up to find Joshua sitting on the living room couch with starburst in his hands. Luke will just start making noise when he gets up. Every once in a while Luke will wake up before 6am. When that happens, we usually ignore him and within 20 minutes he falls back asleep.

I’d say the average bedtime for both boys is 8pm. We usually do bath, pj’s, brush teeth, books, medicine, put Lukey to bed, Joshua goes pee pee, put Joshua to bed.

Joshua wears underwear around the clock in our house. However, you are welcome to put a pull-up on him at nighttime, as I’m sure you don’t have waterproof matress covers. He has had 1 pee pee accident at night since he’s been potty trained and it happened in that week of 7 accidents last month.

Potty

Joshua should tell you when he needs to use the restroom. But I always make sure he goes before we leave the house, and before naps and bedtime. He can go by himself if you unbutton his pants. He remembers to flush and put the lid down 90% of the time. He does need you to wipes his bum.

Discipline

Joshua gets 3-minute time outs if he repeats a naughty behavior after being warned – or if he does something he knows he’s not allowed to do. Joshua has a problem with throwing things. If you ask him to hand you something he throws it. That’s not a big deal if it’s a pair of shorts, but becomes a problem when it’s the telephone or remote control. That’s why we have the rule of no throwing things – except balls. The other issue with Joshua lately is hitting Mommy . He knows he’s not allowed to say the word “Butt”. However, he constantly tells me “We don’t say ‘butt’”. It drives me nuts – I tell him “Joshua – that’s saying it – you can’t say that word.” Not working yet.

Luke doesn’t really understand time out yet. But he does get it every once in a while. Like the other day he was pulling my hair super hard and I told him to stop (it really hurt!). He stopped but then started doing it 2 minutes later laughing. He got time outs. For him I just put him in his crib and leave the door open. One minute is long enough for him. Then I make him give me (or Joshua if he hurt Joshua) a kiss to say sorry. The only other thing he gets time-outs for is messing with Ruby’s food and water because he KNOWS he’s not allowed to do that. To give you perspective – Luke maybe gets 2 time outs a month – max 4.

Eating

Both boys have 3 meals a day. They don’t really get snacks. If Joshua says he wants a snack, I’ll give him a couple of super nutritious choices – like carrots, green beans, or cold peas. If he’s really hungry he’ll choose something. He honestly does like carrots. If he wants a treat – like a cookie – I’ll let him have it after a meal. I try and limit the boys to 1 juice cup a day. And try to get 2 milk cups down them. Both boys have become terrible eaters. Luke, however, does pretty well at eating baby food.

Personalities

Joshua is a really good boy. He listens, accepts discipline, and accepts no. He is a helper and can do things like – getting a sippy cup out of the fridge, cleaning up spilled milk, throwing things away. He is horrible at playing with toys. Especially by himself. He does LOVE to play games on the computer (www.pbskids.org). If you need to keep him occupied, that is probably the best way. He is a negotiator. If he senses hesitation in you he will try to work you for everything he wants.

Luke is super cute and super hard. He is great at entertaining himself and playing with toys. He makes up his own games in the playroom and keeps himself stimulated for long periods. He loves being teased, tickled, and chased. He especially adores being read a book – and that is probably the best fix to an emotional outburst. He’s great at giving hugs and kisses – and he loves his blankies. He is also very strong willed and stubborn. He will not go for “eat this bite of peas and then you can have a cracker”. Instead he will just cry until he gets the cracker. He throws multiple temper tantrums daily – in public and at home. I do my best to ignore these – and regularly leave him lying on the floor crying. Good luck!

TV

Both boys are preferring to watch movies these days. Luke loves Tarzan and Curious George. Joshua will only commit to loving Backyardigans – though he hardly sits in front of the TV long enough to finish an episode. The best channel for the boys is Noggin (a nickelodeon channel). It runs toddler programs all day long. If you don’t get that, Nick Junior has toddler programs in the morning.

Preschool

Joshua loves going to preschool, so I hope you are able to take him. He’s there from 9am-12pm on Tuesday and Thursday. If you want him to stay later, just go to the front office to get a slip. It’s $5 for each additional hour. He takes a snack to school – and they’ve asked it to be nutritious and to have 2 food groups. 100% fruit juice is considered a food group. I send a juice box and string cheese everyday. He takes his bucket to school with his snack and a change of clothes inside. The teacher will place anything to be sent home in his bucket. The only wardrobe restriction is that he has to wear close-toed shoes. If you do have him stay later, you’ll also have to pack him a lunch. I have only had him stay later 1 time.

Italian Class

Italian Class is every Saturday morning from 9am-10:30am. I completely understand if you don’t take him. It’s a parent and me class so one adult has to stay with him. Maybe Uncle Redge or Uncle Haws might want to do it??? If he misses it’s okay. Luke is welcome to come – he just doesn’t get to do the art project because I didn’t register him.

Church

Snacks, snacks, snacks. That is the key to getting through sacrament meeting. Snacks, and books. Some toys too. We usually don’t let the boys have snacks until after the sacrament. Both boys are in nursery and should go with out problem. That is – as long as you don’t show any hesitation. If Joshua senses there is a way out, he’ll take it. He’ll first try and con you in to staying for a couple of minutes. Once he’s secured that, he’ll start negotiating a new deal that ends with you staying the whole time or him coming to your class with you.

Out and about

When at the grocery store, Costco, or target, I make Luke sit in the cart and let Joshua walk – as long as he’s a good boy. They love the tasters at Costco, and the free crackers at the Salad Bar at the grocery store.