Let's sit on the potty!

This is a big time in Z's life. He has recently made the move into his big boy bed after a lengthy interim on his air mattress. He has been improving a TON with his speech. And... he wants to sit on the potty.

I have a bunch of pictures of Z on the potty but I figured I should probably not share those on the internet.

We've been dabbling in the potty waters (figuratively) for some time now. We started out having Z sit on the potty before bath time. Occasionally he would pee and we'd cheer but that was the extent. Then, one day Joe used his spidey sense to realize Z was about to poop and whisked him onto the potty, where he then pooped and looked completely shocked, which was hilarious. After that we got him to poop in the potty fairly regularly because it's very easy to tell when he's about to go since he suddenly and abruptly freezes wherever he is.

A few weeks ago Z started fighting wearing a diaper and I felt like the time might be upon us, so I ordered some training undies (we use pull-ups when we go out but just undies at home). When they arrived I had Z try them on and he got so excited, he started dancing around the room. After that glorious moment of freedom he became even less interested in wearing diapers and more interested in the potty. So, we took the plunge.

So far, so good I think. I downloaded a little app called "See Me Go Potty" that Z loves. It has a little Z avatar walk to the bathroom, use the potty, say bye bye to the waste and wash hands. It's hilarious to me but Z took it very seriously and every time we empty his little potty into the big potty we have to say, "Bye bye pee pee! (or poo poo)" The first day he peed in his pants seven times. The second day he peed in his pants two times. The third, one time. Fourth, one time, only he froze, grabbed his crotch and yelled, "UH OH! ACCIDENT!" I didn't laugh, but I wanted to. It was pretty comical. Today, we've stayed dry.

Honestly, I didn't think he would do as well as he's doing so I went into this thinking we would give it a shot but it probably wouldn't work out. Maybe I was wrong...

Bear's way of helping with potty training

A Potty Anecdote

Z has been resisting naps this last week, even though he is clearly tired. I think all the new excitement of the big boy bed and the potty are just too much freedom to handle, so he figures he should also defy me when I tell him he should sleep. The child will force himself to stay awake by any means necessary. This has resulted in some very crabby afternoons.

One such afternoon, Z came down from his much too short nap, very crabby and saw that a little wagon was in the living room. (It's a push walker that we got back out because, yes, Bear can walk with a push walker now. Yikes.) He was simultaneously thrilled and in despair because the wagon looked great but Bear was touching it (nooooooo!) and I was making Z sit on the potty. I tried to sweeten the deal by letting him watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates and I even put the wagon away, but Z would not be distracted or placated. He was sobbing and trying to get up from the potty, even though I knew he needed to go. I finally took him into the bathroom, sat him on the big potty, got a book and closed the door because he was in full tantrum mode and I figured if he was going to pee on the floor, I'd rather it be on the bathroom floor. Sure enough, as soon as I close the door, he runs to it, wailing and then suddenly the wailing stops and I see pee running out from under the door. I opened the door to help clean him up and talk about how it's okay to have accidents but he needs to calm down (because now he's crying hysterically again).

Meanwhile, the puddle is spreading across the floor, and Bear, ever curious, is cheerfully crawling towards it to check out the commotion. Here I stand, with a hysterical toddler who is holding up his pee soaked sock like his foot is on fire and a baby about to crawl straight into the pee puddle. I kick off my slippers and socks, whip off Z's sock in hopes that will placate him and yell, "Stay where you are! It's slippery! Wait for Mama!" while I run to intercept Bear. Of course, Z tries to follow me, slips in the pee and falls on his butt, ratcheting up his hysteria from an 8 to 10+ on the toddler scream scale. I quickly dump Bear, try not to laugh at how ridiculous Z looks, sitting bare butt in a puddle of pee with one sock in his hand, help Z up and clean him off, toss a cloth diaper on the pee puddle and wrap Z in a blanket.

Once Z was calm, I laughed so hard. These are the crazy moments that I will look forward to recounting for the rest of their lives. MWAH HAHA!



Now, let's all light a candle and pray for my sons to nap today and sleep tonight. Why developmental changes have to equal no sleep is a cruel, cruel trick of nature.

8 months!

I'm late on this because holidays, visitors, etc.

The Good!

Bear has gathered the following skills in the last month: pincer grasp, army crawl, pulling up, eating a variety of foods, napping more regularly and added some new "words" to his vocabulary, my favorite being "mama." He's desperately trying to cruise and do the regular crawl, but he's just not quite got it yet. He also gained 4 teeth and has quite the toothy grin now. It's been pretty incredible how quickly he's been doing these big physical milestones. I was just starting to think he would never eat solids or drink anything from a bottle or cup ever, when suddenly he decided he was very interested in food. He now eats 3 times a day and has occasional snacks. He still breastfeeds often, but he's finally willing to drink a little water or formula from a cup or bottle. I'm starting to consider an exit strategy from breastfeeding but I haven't decided yet what I really want to do. However, it's suddenly occurred to me that this child is EIGHT MONTHS! One year old is just around the corner! Insane!

The Bad!

All of these new skills seem to be causing some distress with Bear's sleeping. He did great at Joe's parent's house and I was daring to believe that sleeping straight through was finally just around the corner but we've had a bit of a setback. Poor me.

He also contracted a pretty gnarly case of ringworm (by the way, what a stupid name! I totally thought it was from a worm, not a fungus!) that we are still treating. Poor guy.

The AWESOME!

I am just having such a fun time watching this little guy grow. His personality is really blossoming and it's fascinating to see how different my two sons are from each other. I'm so glad that I'm getting to spend so much time with him during this time of his life. It's very short and very sweet, so I'm soaking it in.

December Recap including Little Bear's First Christmas!

We survived the semester! Huzzah!

I felt like I barely made it. By the time exams rolled around I was just a giant ball of anxiety. Once I powered through my final grading, it was time to face traveling back to Manassas, VA for Christmas. I seriously had heightened blood pressure and stomach issues because I was so anxious about flying with the kids and just being out of their environment. Anyone who has small children understands what I'm talking about. Kids love their own habitats. For example, Z loves his own white noise machine, music box, stuffed animal, pillow, blanket, sippy cup, books, okay to wake clock... and that's just for bed time. You have to pack so. dang. much.

However, I am pleased to announce that they did amazing. Z did freak out a little when we went through security the first time, but I can't blame him. I mean, seriously, that shenanigans is scary for a little kid. I had to put him down and get him to walk through the metal detector by himself. Once that was over, they were both fine the entire flight. A little sleeping, no crying. Z got a tiny bit restless when we were waiting to get picked up and Bear fell apart on the drive to Joe's parents, but that was the worst of it. The flight home was even smoother because a Christmas miracle occurred and we got TSA precheck, which is awesome. No taking off shoes, belts, jackets OR children! Wooooot!

Both kids did great out of their environments too! I was the most concerned about Z because he's more of an introvert and gets unsettled by new places and people (like his mama). However, I needn't have worried because he waltzed in there like he owned the place. Grandma had a pirate ship waiting for him and he LOVED it. He pushed it up and down the hall singing the songs from Jake and the Neverland Pirates for about 50% of our time there. He napped every day, he only fought us on going to bed two nights and once he was settled for the night, he slept great. It was a huge relief for me. He also had a great time with all of his aunts and uncles, grandparents and the pack of four dogs running around. He also had the very exciting experiences of playing a piano for the first time and getting to touch a real live cello. He was completely enthralled by both, especially by his Uncle Tim's piano playing and the little cello demo he got after church. He is truly a music lover!

Bear, per usual, loved everything and everyone. Loved the people, loved the wrapping paper, loved the dogs, loved the food, loved scooting along the floor, loved it all. He was snuggled and cuddled to his heart's delight. Lucky babykins.

I was also very excited to get to see my BFF Shana and meet her gentleman caller finally. Living in different states and not able to afford regular visits SUCKS. I also got to see my childhood darling, Katie, and meet her little girl and introduce her to my boys. Both of these visits were too short, but I was immeasurably thankful for them. My brother, Aaron, and his wife also came up for a couple days, which was fun.

We ended December quietly at home, kids in bed, while Joe and I tried and failed at staying up until midnight. Reflecting on 2015, there have been some tough days but there have been glorious ones as well. All in all, I'm so thankful for my little family and all of our blessings. We are so fortunate to have our health, safety and love for each other. Here's to 2016!