Sticker rewards - not working or working too well?

I started sticker rewards for Jonathan to encourage him to do things on his own. The original reward tasks were eating meals by himself, brushing his teeth, doing his homework (tracing, assigned by me), and getting up by himself. He started asking for stickers for everything.

Today he got out of bed by himself. He walked to our room and the first thing he said was: " 我自己起来了 (I got up by myself). Can I have a sticker?" I said yes. When it was time to help him change from his pajamas into play clothes, he insisted in taking off the pajamas by himself, and he did it with the slightest help. Then he insisted in getting the play clothes on by himself, including putting his socks on. He needed a little bit of help in getting the socks on. After he was done, he asked with a smile "Can I get a sticker?" Of course I said yes.

Then I tried to help him count by asking how many sticker he had earned. I prompted him by starting off with one for getting out of bed. When I asked him what else he did to earn a sticker, he thought for a bit and said:"I say to Daddy, 'Good morning Daddy. I love you.'" He didn't actually say that. So I pointed it out to him that he didn't do it and it was a lie. I would subtract a sticker. We went on to finish counting.

A little bit later I asked him to wait outside my room while I brushed my teeth. I heard him go down stairs and said to Albert, "Good morning Daddy. I love you. I miss you." Before Albert could reply, he said, "I need to go to Mommy now." He came up to me again and said, "I say to Daddy good morning, I love you and I miss you. Can I have a sticker now?"

Lately when he goes to potty, he deliberately puts his hands on his knees and leans forward so that he doesn't fall into the toilet. He makes a point to say:" 我没有摸东西 (I didn't touch anything). Can I get a sticker?"

Today he memorized Genesis 1:1. I was very happy and promised him 3 stickers. He said:"I want 4 or 5 stickers." He would recite it over and over. Each time after he was done, he asked for a sticker.

He went to church nursery and came out very happy. " 妈妈， 我没有哭 (Mama, I didn't cry). Can I have a sticker?"

He likes the concept of getting a sticker but doesn't usually follow through with getting them. Today he had already earned 5 stickers before he got down stairs. Once he came down, he got busy with playing with his Thomas train and didn't even ask for the stickers he earned. Later on he did get a few stickers. He brought them upstairs and put them in his drawers. After another recitation of Genesis 1:1, he asked for a sticker. I gave him back one of the stickers he brought upstairs, he was just as happy. I am glad he doesn't mind re-rewarding.

Numbers

8/30/11
Jonathan probably has a sense of the numbers in terms of its relative value.

Sometime last month, I tried to teach him manners about interrupting parents talking. My example was:"Excuse me Daddy, I need to talk to Mommy. Please stop talking for 1 minute." When it was his turn to rehearse, he said:"Excuse me Daddy. I need to talk to Mommy. Please stop talking for 5 minutes."

Today he was eating dinner, not liking what was served. We coaxed and played with him the whole time to get him to eat. At one point, he looked at his left wrist as if looking at a watch, and said:"Mom it is 5." I went along, "It is 5 already? Well it is time for dinner." He then looked at his wrist again, "Oh, it is 4."

There was another time I told him that he could watch DVD for 5 minutes. He said he wanted to watch for 10 minutes.

If I ask him which is longer time, he is not able to tell me. But intuitively he knows that 10 minutes is longer than 5 minutes and 5 minutes is longer than 1 minute. He seems to know also that 4 o'clock is before 5 o'clock in time.

9/2/11
Jonathan recited Genesis 1:1 by memory. I was very excited and promised him 3 stickers. He said, "I want 4 or 5 stickers." 

First Twins Game

He was more interested in the light rail than the game. He also remembered the mickey mouse.

Schwinn Ellipitical 431

8/14/11 Fitness test: 3 minutes score 21
8/15/11 Program Rolling Hills Level 1 20 minutes, 1.5 miles, HR 131, Watts 32
8/28/11 same program, 20 min, 1.5 miles, HR 121, Watts 29
8/30/11 same program. similar results

Almost 3

I made up a nursery rhythm for Jonathan when he was a baby. It goes like this:

好尊尊，乖尊尊，妈妈的好尊尊； 好尊尊，乖尊尊，爸爸的好尊尊。
尊尊好，尊尊乖，尊尊是妈妈的好宝宝； 尊尊好，尊尊乖，尊尊是爸爸的小老总。

Then it repeats itself with the following variation: 
尊尊好，尊尊乖，尊尊是外公的小 Q 蛋
尊尊好，尊尊乖，尊尊是外婆的 小心肝
尊尊好，尊尊乖，尊尊是Sophie 的 小肉丸.

A couple of days ago, I sang this to him again. He changed the lyrics to:
尊尊是外公的宝贝孙，尊尊是外婆的葡萄干。

宝贝孙 is how my dad calls Jonathan. My mom was the first to introduce 葡萄干 to him to eat. Now every time he talks on the phone or Skype with my parents, he tells them if we have 葡萄干 or if we run out of 葡萄干.

Sweet Little Boy

This past week has been a crazy week in that I have to be at work early or stay late almost every day. Monday was my late day. Tuesday morning I went to work at 7:30 AM and didn't get to see Jonathan in the morning. Then Tuesday night we had a provider meeting and I didn't get home until 9 PM. By then he was almost asleep. He sensed my return and woke up. He asked me to sleep beside him. I don't normally do this but felt quite guilty at that moment. So I laid down beside him. He wasn't sure how long I was staying and kept looking at me. I asked him to close his eyes to sleep. He finally asked:"你陪我？" I said, "yes. 妈妈陪你。" He put his arm around my neck and his face against my face and thanked me profusely with the sweetest smile:"Thank you thank you thank you Mama." It melt my heart. I knew I would stay until he fell asleep.

The Power of Suggestion

Jonathan is beginning to sit still and listen to me read a short book from cover to cover. His favorite in the last few days are Disel 10 Means Trouble and We Are Going on a Bear Hunt. Disel 10 is a mean disel engine in the Thomas and Friends series. In the book he is very mean and attempts to destroy all the steam engines. However, Jonathan loves Disel 10. He likes to talk to Disel 10. He tells him, "Disel 10, you are mean. Don't eat my blanket. Don't eat Thomas. Don't eat the bear." But then he tells me"I love Disel 10. He is my friend." He will kiss Disel 10 on the book. He loves to get excited when we get to the page of the bear. One time he told the bear:"You are mean, like Disel 10."

Tonight I asked him why he wanted to be a friend with someone so mean like Disel 10. Of course he didn't know, but he still wanted to be his friend. He did ask Disel 10, "Why are you mean?" Well, Disel 10 replied (through me)," I am not a Christian. I am just mean."

At one point, Jonathan asked him, don't eat my blanket. Disel 10 replied (through me of course), "I'm hungry." Jonathan prompted got an imaginary carrot,"I give you a carrot." To this Disel 10 hissed:"I eat fuel. I don't eat carrot." Jonathan had no idea what fuel was but he got a fuel and gave it to him:"Here Disel 10. I got you one fuel. Don't eat my blanket."

We read the story of Disel 10 book again. This time when Lady, the beautiful purple gold engine from the Magic Railroad came to rescue the steam engines. Lady spoke very softly (through me) to Jonathan:"Hi Jonathan! Nice to see you. You know Disel 10 tries to hurt me. Why are you friends with him? He is so mean. You shouldn't be friends with someone so mean." After that, Jonathan didn't want to be Disel 10's friend anymore because he was mean.

After a short while, Jonathan was friend with Disel 10 again. I asked him why he was a friend again. He replied:"He is not mean anymore. He give me a chance. He talks to me." He couldn't explain what the chance was. Maybe he was giving Disel 10 a second chance. I did tell him once that Disel 10 was mean in the book because he wasn't a Christian then. But he changed and became a Christian and became nice. He even helped Thomas and the other engines to complete the airport on the Island of Sodor (the last part was true from one of the Thomas engine episodes).

The young mind is so easily influenced by what we tell him. I have to be very careful with my words.

Another funny event. Yesterday I accidentally slammed the car door on my mom's fingers. I said sorry profusely to my mom. I thought to make it a point to teach Jonathan that we needed to apologize when we did something wrong. So as I drove off, I told him that I was wrong and was sorry. To my surprise, Jonathan told me,"我打你屁股. (I spank you)." We  all laughed. I told him that he could not spank me but grandma could. I told him that grandma could do that when we got out of the car. Then we all forgot about it when we got to our destination.

The toddler's mind is amazing.

Milestone

At dinner, Jonathan yelled really loud for his flamingo. Albert hushed him a bit on the harsh side. Albert then realized and spoke softly to him that it was not nice to yell. After a brief moment, Jonathan said:”Sorry Dad.” I was so proud of him for saying sorry. This is a milestone.

Every night as we read stories, he tells every animal and train about his blanket and his friends. A few nights ago it was his blanket and James. He tells every one James is engine #5. Yesterday it was his blanket, Fergus and sticker. The sticker’s name is Tiger.

Two nights ago he was overstimulated and didn't want to sleep so he cried a lot. Last night, he told his animal friends from the book, " Hi Owl, I'm not crying today. I'm not afraid you." and "Hi Shark, I'm not crying today. I'm not afraid of you." I pretend to be the animal in the book. He really believes the animals are talking to him. Sometimes the conversation we carry out, me being the animals/trains, and he being himself, are quite funny. He also believes what the animals/trains tell him.

At lunch yesterday he ate carrots, broccoli, tofu, fish and rice. After counting up to 5 things he ate, he raised his thumb and praised himself “顶呱呱.” I wished I could have been there to hear it.
This evening we worked on a hard puzzle. He praised me multiple times with 顶呱呱 or “good job.”

My baby is growing so fast. I wish I could record everything.

Potty training - done

Is it this easy? Four weeks ago, I started using "Potty Trainin 1-2-3" principles to train him. We did underwear during the day and diaper at night. He had two accidents at daycare the first week, one the following week and that was it. The first two weeks he didn't know to ask when he needed to go but by the third week he knew to ask and knew how to hold for a short time. The whole week we were in Hawaii, he had no accident despite all the travel, plane rides, car rides etc.  I thought night time training would take longer but then he didn't have any wet diaper in the morning during the third week. So I just switched him to underwear at night. No accident at all. We didn't have any use for training pants.

Language development

In the last 2 weeks Jonathan's language skill improved drastically, particularly Chinese. He now communicates very well. Some of the things he says are quite funny. I wish I can remember them all. I'm amazed every day at how he uses words in the correct context and in complicated sentence structures. He can tell the difference between "pull" and "push." He knows the word "spooky" (Albert didn't know this word.)

My mom is most bothered by his thumb sucking and asks him frequently to stop. So every time he sees my mom, he puts his thumb in his mouth and smiles:"又吃手了." (sucking my thumb again). He doesn't do this to others. Although now he often asks me if he can suck his thumb before he does it. Most of the time, I will say yes. If his hands are dirty, I tell him no and give him the reason. He will not do it with a good reason, such as hands are dirty and he will get tummy ache from this.

Hawai'i 4

By providence, our tour schedule was changed so that we have a free day today, Sunday. We took the chance to visit the Chinese church where General Zhang Xueliang attended during his last years in Hawaii. Because of this rich history, my parents came to worship with us. They are not believers and have been quite resistent to the gospel for many years. Resistent in the sense that they are open to listen but holds the belief that they will never believe. Regardless the reason they came, the sermon spelled out clearly the gosepl message and our need for a Savior. I hope the Word of God will continue to work in their hearts. I pray one day, they too will come to the Almight God and acknowledge their need while they still have breath on this earth.

The last two days were the Big Island (the Hawaii Island) and Maui Island. We saw only a small portion with the bus tour. Nothing is too impressive in a way. Jonathan had a great time on the beach letting the waves wash over his feet. Albert would have wished for more time and preparedness for the few precious minutes on the worlds best beach. For me the sun was too strong and the sand too hot for my feet.

Hawai'i 3

We visited the Polynesian Culture Center yesterday afternoon and evening. Came back around 10:30 pm. This morning we left the hotel at 6:00 am to fly to Hilo. We visited the volcano nation park in Hilo. This is major tour site but not very impressive. Perhaps I expected too much.

I'm too tired to write much more. 

Hawaii 2

I'm probably the only one who enjoys the overcast sky in Hawaii. As much as I enjoy the sunshine, I prefer to enjoy it indoors. I've lived in the midwest too long. I've developed sun sensitivity where I get an itchy rash on my arms if I forget sunscreen even for a brief period of time, like 10 or 15 minutes.
It suits me perfectly to play on the beach with Jonathan in calm water with the sun visiting periodically. Albert on the other hand wished for more sun and stronger waves. We had chosen a section of the beach with a dam creating gentler waves and safer for young children.
Jonathan had a fabulous time. Timid at first, but he quickly adapted to the cool water. Before long he was asking to go deeper and "far away."

Hawaii 1

The journey began with Jonathan's excitement over going on "mycation in Hallelujah". The flight was long and Jonathan had trouble falling asleep on the airplane. By the time we arrived in Honolulu, he wanted to "go toy own home."

With the time zone difference, we all woke up around 3 AM and then couldn't fall asleep. We started the tour to Pearl Harbor at 6:40 AM.

The history at Pearl Harbor was rich. Wish I could learn a bit more but had to chase Jonathan around.

We had a short city tour, visited the city hall and then lunch. After one hour break we went to Little Circle Island tour. We saw beautiful mountains, blue sea and white sand. We saw the "dragon bay" and the blowhole. We slap got to stand on the beach for A short time.

Jonathan crashed at 8 PM. I'm not too tired but should go to bed now.

希 伯 來 書 7:25

"凡 靠 着 他 进 到 神 面 前 的 人 ， 他 都 能 拯 救 到 底 ； 因 为 他 是 长 远 活 着 ， 替 他 们 祈 求 。" Hebrews 7:25

This is a wonderful promise. The Chinese version speaks to me more than the English version. We can trust the Lord to save a person to the end because Jesus is living forever and He intercedes for those who come to God through Him. I can trust Him for myself and I can trust Him for other genuine believers. I do not have to be the one to convince or to make change but God is able because Jesus is interceding and His prayer is so much more powerful than my own and His purpose and intention will be perfectly in line with God's will than mine will ever be. I may not see the end but God sees and Jesus is working toward it. My job is to trust and obey.

Waiting

I have an atypical mole on the bottom of my right foot. It needs to be surgically removed, hence waiting for consultation with the derm surgeon-dermatologist with specialized surgical training.

In the old days, I would be reading magazines out on the table. With the new technology I am checking email, FB, and blogging. Technology keeps me too busy, keeps my mind filled with random information about other people. Sometimes it is information overload. iPhone has it's benefits but it is wasting my time and energy.

Yesterday I read in Hebrews about Abraham tithing 1/10th of EVERYTHING. I wonder what life will be like if I give God 1/10th of my waking hours? It would mean 1.6 hours a day or 11.2 hours a week. If I cam eliminate the FB time or random email time, I will be able to find more time with God, my husband, and my son. More house work can be done. Perhaps I can even squeeze a meal planning, or exercise. It is a matter of priority.

The Mondane

It is my late day today. Got home at 8 PM. He told me that he pooped in his underwear - I happened to walk in just as he had pooped. I was glad he felt the freedom to tell me this. I got him changed and got him washed up. We had strawberries at family fruit time and we talked about his day at daycare. We read Word World coloring book at bedtime. I asked his favorite place to go. He didn't understand question. So I mentioned a few places that he normally goes, like library, Target, Daycare, playground. Then asked him again where he wanted to go the most, he smiled and said "Church!" I don't think he knows what it means but I was happy with is answer. Maybe he thought it meant, where else you like to go. Doesn't matter.

After that doing charts for 2 hours. My work is going to implement new changes. One of them is to complete all charts within 24 hours. This is going to be a challenge for me. This will take away a lot of family time and or sleep time.

I time out

"I time out". Jonathan announced and sat on the floor as I was counting to 3 for him to come over and change his pajama to daycare clothes. I said OK and proceeded to organize his room. He realized something was amiss and declared, "No, you time out." So I sat down by him and did my time out. I started to sing his favoirte Gordon song. He told me,"No sing, you time out. I watch you." Oh mine. So I quit singing and sat and quietly got his pajama off and put on his regular clothes. He must realized by then that either nothing gets done or nothing really changes when mommy is in time out. He got up and said, "Go time."

I found it very comical with him telling me to do time out. In after thought, this was defiance. Well he is a little over 2 1/2 years old. Is this type of defiance to be ignored, punished or discussed? How much does he comprehend? How does one explain to a 2 year old that parents/teacher can ask him to do time out but not the other way around?

Candle for Da Yi (Daddy)

Yesterday at breakfast, Jonathan stacked the small strawberry jelly jar on top of the larger peanut butter jar. He asked me to "blow, Mama, blow." I asked, blow what? He replied, "Candle, candle for Da Yi (daddy). Da Yi birthday." So we blew the candle and sang happy birthday to Albert, who was on his way to work.

Jonathan definitely has inherited the organization skills from Albert. Two nights ago, I was getting ready to read stories to him at bedtime, he began to put books in his small laundry basket and said, "图书馆"(library) and put all his books one by one into the basket like putting books on the shelf. Before that, his books had been scattered on the floor and on the dresser. His books have been organized in the laundry basket as his library since then. When we move to our new home, will have to get a book shelf for him as his real library.

Speak of new home, part of me is ambivelant. Jonathan has begun to be attached to our current house. He is recognizing roads and places. In the last few weeks, on our way home, he has been telling us, this is going home, this is our home. Quite a few times, he asked in a playful way, "Is this our house?" as we passed by the houses in the neighborhood until we got to our house. He would say,"this is our house."

We have been introducing the idea of our new home to him. We pass by the buiding site often and point it out to him. He has the concept we will have a new home but I worry about the transition and his adjustment. Sometimes I feel I owe him for now buying a bigger house with more rooms for him to play with.

The reality is that we are all blessed with so much already. Our new home is plenty big compared to the majority of the world. Plus I really do not have the energy to maintain a house. With the amount of time we spend at work/daycare/church, our time at home is limited to breakfast, dinner, and sleep. The playground is across the street. We all have plenty of room to walk, play, and do things. We don't really need all the space.

Another unrelated funny note: Jonathan loves Gordon, #4 engine of the Thomas train series. He colored a Gordan picture and brought the picture to the restaurant to color more. On our way home, he suddenly realized, the Gordon picture was not with him. "Where is Gordon?" I told him we left it at the restaurant. I asked him, "what should we do?" He replied thoughtfully, "We get it later." The way he thought about our option was quite cute and he was very serious and matter of fact about getting it later.

Thank You God

Last night Jonathan had a really hard time going to bed because of fear. I sat in the rocking chair for the usual amount of time and did our prayer for protection from cookie monsters and the like. When I got up to leave, he got up and called out to me, "Mama I need you. I'm scared." I asked him what he was scared of. "I don't know."  He replied. No comforting was enough for him. He begged me, "Don't run away from me." I attempted to leave the room a few times. Each time he would begin to cry. This was not normal for him. I went back again and again. He kept telling me, "Mama I can't see you." So I put my hands into the crib and reached out to him. He grabbed my hands and laid his face on them and let out a relief, "Thank you God." He then began to lay on my hands with his body and said, "I got you." I was moved almost to tears. I knew I could not leave him alone until he was ready. It was almost 1 hour later that I was able to leave the room with him semi conscious. He was too tired to be afraid by then.  I left the door semi open so there was a little light into his room. This must have helped some.

Tonight went a little easier. I put him to bed when there was still light out and left the door open. We prayed for God to protect him and I told him that I will never run away from him. I will just be outside. He called out from his room a few times and I replied from downstairs. He is now asleep.

He is such a precious child. So mature for his age. Two days ago on our way home from lunch, I told him that he would take a nap when we got home. He asked why. I told him we were all tired and we would all need a nap, including mommy. Then he told me to go to the kitchen. I was surprised and asked why I should go to kitchen. He said, "I get up and 吃饭饭 (eat dinner)".

He has so many cute sayings. I wish I can record them all.

Easter Sunday



In Front of T4C West



Remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We went to the service at T4C West in the afternoon. The main church choir came to sing. Jonathan even stayed for the singing portion of the worship.

It was a beautiful day. We opted not to go crazy with the Easter egg hunt. We took Jonathan back to Weaver Lake Park where he fell into the shallow lake water. He was only throwing sand into the lake water. We had a relaxing weekend but our bellies were filled with two buffets. I'm actually, 上火，has a blister on the lower lip. Resting and feeling thankful.



Loving the slide



Fun on the swing





The Lake where he fell 2 weeks ago



Throwing sand

The Rite of Passage to Toddlerhood - 5 stitches

Jonathan ran with his head turned to the side. He bumped into the cubby and hit his forehead against the cubby shelf just above the left eye brown. By the time I got to daycare, he was eating gold fish with a huge gauze on. There was  deep one inch gash all the way to the bone. He got 5 stitches at Maple Grove Hospital. As soon as we got out of their, he forgot about it and the only thing he was concerned about was going to Target to get Misty Island and candy.

As I put him to bed, he told me he fell on Grant's cubby. As I began to advise him, "the next time you run," he finished the sentence by "walk slowly." I was going to say, look where you are going. Daycare must have been telling everyone to walk slowly.

April snow again. All the snow melted by the afternoon.

Xiaoyan and Airong's baby girl

We took Jonathan to visit Wendy, Xiaoyan and Airong's baby girl in Methodist Hospital the day after she was born (born on 4/12/11). Jonathan gave her a baby doll for new baby present. On our way out, we saw Murray, a trained dog for family and kids in the hospital. She goes to most of the twin city hospitals that have pediatric wards. Jonathan was very happy to see the puppy - how he calls all dogs now. They are not dogs any more, but puppy or doggie. He got to pat Murray for a few seconds.

Fears and Dreams

For the last several weeks, Jonathan has been experiencing fear. He has trouble going to bed and wakes up crying 1-2 times a week. He is clingy when we drop him off at daycare. Initially we didn't know what was the matter. As he becomes more verbal, he is able to tell us more. He is afraid of cookie monster, roosters and pigs. He is afraid of owls and Mr. Percival, the narrow gauge engine controller who is angry with Thomas.

One time he said he didn't want to go to bad because he didn't want bad dreams. My husband didn't think he knew what dream meant. I believed him. He had seen Thomas DVDs in which the trains fell asleep and had dreams.

Three nights ago, he woke up crying because a pig was in his bed saying "oink oink". Last night he held my hand tight and pleaded with me:"I am scared. I need you Mama." He woke up at 2 AM this morning crying because "pig eat my (Easter) egg".

On a positive note, he told me tonight his favorite teacher is teacher Pam. "Teacher Pam come nap time. She come in the dark. She pat me in my sleep." Maybe I will try patting him for a minute when he lays down to sleep. Maybe it works better than me "sit one minute."

As we speak of one minute, two days ago, I tested Jonathan's concept of time. I asked him if he wanted to watch Thomas for 10 minutes, 5 minutes or 1 minute. When presented with 2 options, he always chose the longer time. Funny how he knows. Whenever I tell him to go to bed or take a bath or to eat, he tells me, Mama watch Thomas five minute, play 5 minute, do puzzle 5 minute etc. 

Here is a picture of April snow from our winderon 4/16/11. Just for the record. 

I Feel Happy - The Simple Pleasure of a Toddler

We went out for a trike ride initially. Then Jonathan saw a big puddle. Unfortunately he didn't wear his puddle boots. We went all the way back home (1 1/2 blocks away). He put on his puddle boots and went back to the puddle. I let him run to his heart's content. Not quite. I had to cut it after a while. We walked home through the back yard. After I stripped him down all the wet pants and drained the water out of his rainboots, he exclaimed:"I feel happy! I feel happy!" Such simple pleasure! All the cleaning and washing were worth it.

In the video, Jonathan imitated Sir Topham Hatt's (controller of the railway) voice in calling Thomas, the tank engine, who is known for "splish, splash and splosh into trouble". The Chinese dialogue is mostly me telling him to get on the grass when cars were coming. 

Jonathan loves puddles

These were taken from March 20. He ran through the puddle over and over, splashed the water as high as he could. He then took his Thomas tricycle through the puddle over and over.

I got him a pair of rain boots. We called them the puddle boots. He loves them. He always looks for big puddles. The bigger the more exciting.

Where is your bed, Mama?

This is the question Jonathan asked me two days ago. I thought it was funny. As I thought about it, I realized, that is right, he has never seen me sleeping. I have always been the one who gets him up at night and in the morning. On the days Albert gets him up, it is only because I have to go to work early. If I am home, I have never missed getting him up from bed and sending him to bed. Naturally he has never seen me sleeping. No wonder he never knew.

Two and a half years old

At 2 1/2 years, Jonathan speaks clearly and carries on a conversation at ease. He understands comparisons, quick/slow, tall/short, big/small. He loves to sing. I love it when he sings the baby bumble bee song, "ouch, it stung me!" He can do the itsy bitsy spider very well. Every day he says something that surprises me. I wish I could keep a record of everything.

He began to ride a tricycle. Unable to reach the paddle yet. He loves puddles. He runs into them and splashes in water just like in the Thomas DVD "Splish, Splash, Splosh." I got him a pair of rain  boots - we call them puddle boots. He has broken the rule many times - " you can step into the puddle only with the puddle boots."

The Biggest Puddle

Yesterday we took Jonathan to Weaver Lake park. After having fun on the slides, we went down to the lake to look at geese. There was only one to our left. As I knelt down to point the goose to Jonathan, he suddenly took off straight into the lake. He must have thought this was the biggest puddle he had ever seen. Before I could react he had already pattered into the water. After a couple of steps, the cold water shocked him and fell face down into the cold lake water. By the time I reached him, we were in ankle deep water. He was soaked from head to toe including his winter coat.

I laughed initially at the sight. After a littlewhile the event sank in. I was thankful he was only running into shallow lake water and not a busy street. I must admit that the moment Jonathan took off toward the water, I had a split second hesitation of running after him for fearing of getting wet. If it weren't for that, I perhaps could have stopped him before he fell. This too scared me. I had always thought maternal instinct was so great that we would do anything for our little ones. I guess it is not so. Self preservation got the better of me. I will have to be more careful in the future.

This is Jonathan wearing Albert's shirt on our way home from the lake.