October 2006 Archives

Yesterday was a big day at the Treder household because Finnegan pooped in the potty and it was a happy moment. We whooped and hollered. Finnegan skipped and raised his arms in the air as we rejoiced with glee and said, "Yay."

Well, this evening after dinner, we told Finnegan to go to the potty which he did. He sat there for a while and didn't do anything, so he ran around the dining room and kitchen for a while skipping and singing.

Then he went to the book shelf, selected a book and returned to the potty to read and sing his song without any prompting from us. I was watching him from the kitchen because I thought he was so cute reading his book while singing and sitting on the potty. After a few minutes he stood up and ran off and I could see the evidence, an impressive looking poop!

It was a job well done and once again we rejoiced with cheering and singing of the potty song while dancing and twirling about. Finnegan was so proud of himself that he skipped all over the kitchen and dining room.

Then it was time to flush the potty and say, "Bye, bye." After all the excitement Finnegan hopped into the tub for his nightly bath and played with bubbles.

Well, it just gets better and better.

This evening Finnegan and I were watching his favorite dinosaur show when he clapped his hands and said, "done." He then crawled off of the couch took my hand and lead me up the stairs to the bathroom.

I thought he was ready for his bath, but he started looking for his potty and put it in it's regular spot. I took off his diaper and he sat down while asking for his book. I opted for the flash cards and we began our nightly ritual of potty training and reading.

After a few minutes I heard the sound of water streaming into the potty and we made a big deal about his latest milestone. We cheered and said hurray for about five minutes. He beamed with excitement and flashed us a great big smile.

Who knew that I'd ever be writing about toilet training with such enthusiasm?

There's a new picture posted...

Finnegan is almost two years old and we can't believe it. He is learning so much and is such a joy to be around.

Many months ago, Doug and I decided to that it was time to put Finnegan into some kind of school because he is such a social child. So we looked as a few daycare centers and one highly recommended by our neighbors.
The different places ranged from glorified babysitting with terrible food to a curriculum driven pre-school with organic food. We were really thankful for the recommendations because we settled on the Northwest Child Development Center in the Queen Anne neighborhood about two miles from our house.

After three weeks, we know that we made the correct decision because Finnegan is thriving. He loves going to school three days a week where he eats several tasty organic meals and snacks each day and joins in activities that develop his communication, motor and cognitive skills. He has developed so much in just nine days.

At home he now helps us set the table by ferrying plates, napkins, silverware and condiments to their proper places. He can prepare cookie batter and form the dough into balls and place them on cookie sheets and yesterday he prepared the batter for a very tasty french toast breakfast. Meal preparation is so much fun because he loves to help.

Each day we hear him expand his vocabulary. His vocalizations are now becoming conversations. With the combination of sign language and is new word usage, he commuicates very well with us.

Last year Doug and I had many discussions about daycare and we just weren't sure we wanted to do it. Doug was very comfortable with keeping Finnegan at home because that's what he grew up with, but we noticed how happy Finn was when surrounded by other children. When we were on vacation he had so much fun socializing with children in France, Austria and Holland that we knew it was time he had a more structured environment that would stimulate his mind.

The things that I like most about the NWCDC is that they started out as a school for children with disabilities and eventually opened it's doors to include all children. It's a great environment because the children learn and play with others who have varying physical and development abilities. One of Finnegan's classmates, Nora, has Down's Syndrome, but there are speech therapists and physical therapists on staff who assist her every day.

It's amazing to see how patient the teachers and therapists are with all the children and to witness the kids eating, cleaning up after meals, washing hands, and playing together. They are learning manners for sitting at the breakfast table and for playing together and to be self-sufficient little helpers at home.

It's a wonderful place that is the only one of it's kind in the Northwest region and we are so thankful that Finnegan has the opportunity to attend such a unique school.