Monday, November 17, 2008

Choppahs

Choppahs the New Englandah way of saying "choppers". That word hints at what our little Kickybear has been up to lately. On Friday, Kicky (who was out of sorts and not his typical charming, sweet and smilely self) had two brand spanking new bottom teeth start to break through. The teeth are still working their way to the surface and poor Kevin is trying to take it in stride but he's in pain and he's sharing that with everyone.

What did parents do before children's Tylenol?

The boys have been brushing their teeth after dinner. The first time I gave each boy a toothbrush pretty much captures the differences between the 2 boys. Kevin grabbed the brush and immediately shoved it in his mouth and began chewing. Jason wouldn't take the brush from me. After a bit, I convinced him that a toothbrush is pretty cool and that he could have as much fun as Kevin if he'd give it a go. He took the brush into his hand but stared at it as if it were an alien. It took roughly a week before Jason would put the toothbrush into his mouth.

I continue to try to convince Jason that brushing teeth is: fun, really fun, tickling his teeth, tickling his tongue, funfunfun, etc. He clearly doesn't believe me. Kevin, in fact, thinks it is fun and doesn't need me to sell him. Each time I get out the brushes, he grabs his right out of my hand. Jason willingly takes his brush but he likes to look at it and then maybe chew the end with the rubberized handle. At some point, he'll put it near his lips, almost touching his lips and then he makes a "this feels yucky" face. He clearly dislikes the feeling of the bristles. He doesn't buy my "it tickles" comments. At one point last week, he put the brush into his mouth, made a face, pulled it out and the proceeded to pull at the bristles. I guess he was trying to remove them. I'm patient. We'll keep practicing. After Jason is onboard, then we'll add toothpaste.

Kevin has been onboard with brushing his teeth from day one. Kevin has been onboard with any activity that involves something going into his mouth. Last week, Kevin managed to get to the tuner where he pushed several buttons and turned the volume down. Chip off of the old block. Sue says that Kevin stares at the basket where the remote controls are stored. He also stares at the satellite radio. I'm not sure what he's planning but we do change the channels frequently so that the boys are exposed to many styles of music. I see no coorelation between his staring at the radio and a particular channel. He seems to like the 50's channel as much as the 40's channel or the heavy metal one. Who knows what he's planning?

Love,
Kathy