Week 3: Transitions

{Transitions}

As young children grow, transitions come fast and furious. Sometimes the change is welcome and an exciting step forward in life. Other times, it involves giving things up that were once held dear. With Ryan’s fourth birthday upon us next week, we are currently navigating a few such transitions.

Ryan’s night time routine since birth has involved some sort of “milk” while reading a bedtime story. For some time Jen and I have been aware of the fact that in order for Ryan to make the transition from her night time “pull up” to sleeping through the night in her big girl undies — and staying dry at the same time — the “sippy milk” would have to go. Over the past week, we finally convinced Ryan — and ourselves — that we were ready to take the plunge.

As expected Ryan “grieved” for her lost “sippy milk” at bedtime, but only for a few days before it wasn’t even a thought. We began limiting her liquid intake after dinner and made sure she went to the potty after her stories were read to clear the bladder. Then we crossed our fingers.

The first night was met with surprising success, a dry bed and a proud girl the next morning. We were hopeful that maybe Ryan had “figured it all out”. The next few nights and mornings of wet sheets — and loads of laundry — would prove otherwise. We’re still working through this transition, trying to be careful to keep Ryan’s confidence and self esteem high no matter the outcome while providing her the tools and context she might need to be successful in this endeavor.

As a parent, its hard not having the answer all the time. In this situation, aside from setting her up for success, I am at a loss for how to manage Ryan through this transition. The wetting of the bed happens in a dead sleep without much awareness on her part until she wakes. Do any parents out there have any advice on how to aid this transition?

Ryan’s fourth birthday also brought a slightly more enjoyable transition, one that she’s been looking forward to for quite some time. For over a year, Ryan has been anxiously awaiting joining her older friends as “booster seat riders” instead of riding in a car seat — apparently a symbol of “non-big girl ness”.

Her fourth birthday earned her the long awaited upgrade to the booster seat, 5/23/2010

Of course, our original purchase was more gender neutral and that was quickly dismissed as not quite what Ryan was expecting. We ended up with the same booster that Ryan’s older friend Kaitlyn has. Should have seen that one coming.

{Father’s Day in May}

With school winding down, Bedford Montessori, having just celebrated Mothers’ Day with a tea party, invited all the students and us fathers to school one night this week for a Fathers’ Day pizza party. At the party they handed out a handmade card from the kids to each father with a “mad libs-style” Q&A with the children about their dads inside.

Here is what Ryan wrote about me in the underlined sections below:

My Dad is 25 years old. His favorite food is bananas. He eats them all the time. He’s good at fixing drawers around the house. When I am at school he is at home taking care of JuJu. I love to snuggle up and watch TV with my Dad. Happy Father’s Day. Love, Ryan

The card holds a special place on my home office bookshelf.

{Practice Makes Perfect}

Ryan has been enrolled in saturday morning dance classes at a local dance studio for the past year. The dance school year — I didn’t know that dance school had summers off too — culminates in a recital with all the classes from pre-ballet, which Ryan is enrolled in, to adult ballet. This year, to Ryan’s excitement, they are performing The Little Mermaid. Ryan and her class will be performing a dance as “pearls”.

The "pearls" -- Olivia, Ryan, Haley and Maya, 5/22/2010

Needless to say, I have no idea how you choreograph and train a group of four year olds to an on-stage dance routine, but there are brave souls out there making a go of it. Here’s a video of their latest rehearsal.

The show curtains raise in only three weeks. There’s some work yet to be done!

{Stats and Facts}

• The answer to the age old question, “why did the turkey cross the road” is indeed, “to get to the other side.”
• Teaspoons of rice cereal Julia ate: 5.7
• Times Ryan ate dinner with Mom and Dad, eating what they ate: 2
• Sheets changed: 4
• Its significantly harder to teach a group of four year olds a dance routine when a video camera is on them.
• Bug bites (aka bug kisses) on Ryan: 6
• Episodes of Nai Ho, Kai Lan watched: 7

{Photo of the Week}

Ryan blows dandelion puffs, 5/20/2010

Tagged as: Milestones, weekly