Toddler Troubles

So Keegan is two and a half. He is a very smart, out-going, and funny little guy but like any toddler he has been having a few problems.

The first we have been struggling with the last couple weeks is he likes to take off his jammies and diaper and pee in his bed. He doesn't want to pee in his diaper and he doesn't want to get out of bed to use the potty (I am with him on that, especially in the middle of the night) so he pees in his bed.

So, of course I am concerned. Thank goodness for the internet. Apparently tons of toddlers do this. That didn't make it a whole lot better when, last Thursday night, Keegan pooped in his bed (minus diaper) and smeared it all over himself and his bedding. I guess it could be worse, one of my friends at work said her niece actually smeared the whole room (toys, dresser, etc.) with poop. But, still we were kind of irate about it. Keegan got in trouble and had to give up a toy (you must understand this was the third night in a row we had dealt with the peeing in bed thing and he had been forewarned). Keegan couldn't believe we actually made him put his toy in the trash.

After that he tells me every night he won't pee in his bed. So that is good. We have also got a full plastic enclosure for his mattress (he was pulling off the waterproof mattress pad) and he wears a onesie under his jammies to make it harder for him to get his cloths/diaper off. So, far so good. Keegan even thinks the onesie is cool; he calls it his special super hero bodysuit. Just like Spiderman. So, check, peeing in bed problem temporarily nabbed in the butt.

Now there is problem two. Which we are trying not to make a big deal about. About a month ago Keegan started stuttering. It gets really bad when he is tired or excited. For example, this weekend he hardly stuttered at all. Then when we went to pick him up from daycare today he was tired and excited to see us. He was trying to tell us something to Look at something and for the life of him couldn't get past that L; it took him four stuttering attempts to get through it.

So a couple weeks ago I looked up some info on stuttering. Apparently it usually starts between the ages of 2 to 5. It affects a large percentage of toddler/preschoolers and about 90% of those kids outgrow it within a year. Kids don't start stuttering until they are talking really well; then the stuttering usually starts as they try to talk to fast.

As a parent the best things to do are to let them get out what they are trying to say no matter how long it takes, repeat what they said back to them when they are done, and don't make fun of them or interrupt them. If the stuttering continues for more than 6 months or is really upsetting the kid they should get some speech therapy.

So in general I am not too concerned. The only thing that is concerning me is that Keegan is starting to get frustrated and angry when he starts stuttering. This has just started over the last week or so We talked to his teachers and they are all great and have been really encouraging him.

Then today he started doing something even odder. When he starts stuttering he stops talking and covers his hand with his mouth. Then he slowly says the beginning of the word without stuttering and is able to quickly complete the rest of the word. It is actually kind of cool. Then he has a big smile on his face, and we tell him "Wow, you really said that well!"

I was curious as to where he learned this odd behavior. I mean really it is pretty smart. It makes him stop, calm down, and then he feels how his lips are moving as he slowly says the word without stuttering. He did this numerous times tonight and each time it stopped his stuttering and allowed him to speak slowly and clearly. I finally asked him where he learned how to do that. He told me that his teacher at daycare taught him. Well, I have to say it is not something that I would have thought of and thank goodness for the great teachers at our daycare. It is awesome that they are spending some extra time to help him get through this.

On top of that I am happy to see that tonight Keegan seemed calmer and is starting to deal with this stuttering thing without getting upset. He really is a smart kid and if we can get him to slow down and be calm; then I think he will nip this stuttering thing before it gets too bad. And, well, if he doesn't then we will deal with that when the time comes.

MN State Fair Fun :-)

The first thing we did when we got to the State Fair was to get breakfast. Lyle and I shared a funnel cake while Keegan discovered his new favorite food. You guessed it...cotton candy. Can a boy live off of cotton candy? Well Keegan would like to give it a shot if he can.


Then we went and saw lots and lots of animals. We didn't get many pictures of that. But after that we road the carousel and that was super fun.



Then there were the tractors. Keegan's goal right from the beginning was to see a ton of tractors. So we started with white ones and worked our way to the John Deeres...we even got to try sitting in an excavator and a bulldozer! Keegan's favorites!






We even saw some really old tractors.



After that it was time to visit the Kidway and give Keegan his first experience on some awesome rides. I had to go with him on three out of the four rides, but they were actually kind of fun. The first ride we rode were some race cars. Believe it or not we got put in a Kodak Race car; I was like geez give me a break.



Then after that Keegan rode his first ever ride all by himself. It was another car ride; but this one had really annoying loud horns...which of course Keegan loved.



Then Keegan and I went on the airplane ride. That was another fun one. Although the airplanes weren't made for anyone over 5 feet to actual squeeze in there.


Last ride was the pirate ship. Lyle and I tried to talk him out of this one; we thought it looked like a bit much. But Keegan persisted. So, in we went. Below you can see the progression of facial expressions. They start out unsure, go to concerned, and then end up at fullout upset. He decided afterwards that he didn't like pirate ships so much.




So there you go. It was a nice brisk sunny August morning at the MN state fairs. I am hoping next year we can skip the tractors and spend a bit more time looking at the horsies and the pet building. But Keegan thought we covered all of the perfect things!

Ren Fest!

A few weeks ago we also went to the Ren Fest. It was a pretty fun time. It got a bit hotter than we thought it was going to get. We also ended up waiting outside the gates for a bit because they opened late.

Here we are waiting at the gates!


Keegan's grandma bought him a Geode aka Dragon's Egg to crack open. He got to help the nice guy work the lever that cracked the egg. Below are pictures of him assisting. In the last picture you can kind of see his geode.




One of the other highlights was the food. We all really enjoy the beef sticks.



The other high point for Keegan was the acquisition of a wooden sword. He loved brandishing his sword (we are not sure where he learned that from).



Keegan even got into a sword fight...that rogue! Don't worry though he made it through unscathed. His enemy, well Keegan left him groaning in the dirt :-)


After that we had to rest up on some hammocks.


Then there was time for a little dancing to a fiddle player. Overall a good time. Although, I occasionally question the wisdom of buying Keegan a sword :-)