Mommy's Diary
Month 19 - Discipline - Toilet Training? - Three-word-sentences - Who taught him that?
August 7, 2000
Yesterday Tiger pulled out the plug of the vacuum when I was vacuuming the carpet. He is beginning to test new limits. I tried to use my most stern voice to tell him that he must not play with electricity and that it is dangerous. He smiles and wiggles in my arms and was satisfied with the attention he got from me. When I let him go, he immediately went back to pull the plug again. This time I talked to him longer and tried to be more harsh but still didn't seem to be getting the effect. We had a third round and finally he quitted to play with the plug. I'm not really sure if it is because he knew that I'm serious about it or it is just because he has played enough with it. I really need to work on my discipline skills. When Fan reprimand Tiger, he would drop his lip down and be ready to cry. But when I try to do that, Tiger laughs. Sigh! I just can't make myself to be real harsh on him.Tiger has taken to like to climb up on the dinning table and dances too. We are trying to get him stop that and that is not easy either.
On language side, Tiger has been practicing putting two words together everyday. He literally practices. Every night when I turn off the light, he will lie there and talk to himself. He will repeat those phrases he leant in the day and invent some new phrases using words he know. He will say "Mama hug", "Baba car", "baby car", "big car", "small car", "hi Morgan", and many more. It is really cute.
Some more things I forgot to record before. Tiger likes to jump, not only on the bed but on the floor. He can also kick his big ball. Saturday morning Fan and I took Tiger to the Cosmo park and he had a great time. He laughs all the way when he swings and he went down a very high slide quite a few times. I think I am more afraid than him. At home, Tiger likes to help. He likes to get a broom and pretending that he is cleaning the floor. He'll help to put all his blocks into a box when asked. After his meal, he'll lift his hands and says "dirty" and then he'll use a cloth or napkin to clean his mouth and hands, and then say "clean".
August 11, 2000
You would think that Tiger is almost ready for toilet training. He shows lots of signs that the books said when a baby is ready. For example, he knows to put things where they belong, he demonstrate a desire to be independent, he shows interest when we go to potty. He tells us every time when he wants to poop. He tells me before he pees too if I take his diaper off before the evening bath. He'll actually hold it for a while and give me time to put him into the bathtub and then he'll pee in there. He is always amazed by his peepee. He'll try to catch it using his hand and he'll stop it for a second involuntarily when he concentrate on his hand and then let it go again. It's quite funny. When I was told that he wanted to pee, I tried several times to put him on his potty. He can sit on his potty for quite a long time when he doesn't have to pee. But if he does want to pee, he'll stand up and sometimes he can't hold it anymore so he'll pee to the floor. He just doesn't know that he is suppose to pee into the potty yet. Or he knows, but doesn't know how to. He still hasn't tried to pull down his pants yet. Also, he seems not to mind a dirty diaper. Every time after he has a bowel movement, I have to offer his some bribe (something that is interesting for him to play with) before he'll let me change his diaper. So maybe I just have to wait for a little longer.August 25, 2000
Tiger now can say three-word sentences. He'll say "Brother Shang go". He sometimes adds Fan's and my names to baba and mama and says "Liu Fan baba" and "Hu Hong mama". This really causes us to laugh.Tiger is unlike his half brother. He is very organized. He knows where things belong. He'll put all shoes on the shoe rack. Every morning after I change his diaper, he'll put the diaper in the trash can. Once he was drinking his milk and noticed the pantry door was ajar, he put down his cup and went to shut the door and then came back to finish his drink.
Tiger now can put his shoes on by himself. He has been untieing his shoe strings for a long time and he tries to tie them back although he never succeeded. He has been putting his safety harness together for a long time. He likes to do things himself. I think he really enjoys to be independent. The other day we took Tiger to the state fair, and Tiger enjoyed pushing his stoller around. If Fan or I dare to touch it, he'll scream to protest and rush to push us away. He invented a new way to play in bed too. He used to know how to jump on bed, and then on the floor. Now he not only jumps, but he jumps up, then drops down on his bottom. He is so good at it. Sometimes Tiger makes you wonder, "who taught him that?"