Potty Training E

The week after Easter, the boys went to MS with my mom and we just brought the girls back with us.  I decided I would attempt to potty train E since R would be in school all day.  I wasn't confident that it would go well since she was a month shy of 2 and the other 3 I trained after they turned 2, but this was the ONLY time I would have E all alone without other kids.  We started Tuesday because Monday we were dealing with rental car issues (another post) but Tuesday morning I put her in panties and let the training begin.  I sat her at the table coloring and doing puzzles since I didn't want her on the carpet.  I think in the first 30 minutes, she peed in 4 different panties and I was getting discouraged.  By nap time, she's gone through all of her panties (about 10 pairs) so we were done for the day.  I just put her in a diaper and did a load of laundry.

Wednesday went much better.  She only had a couple of accidents in her panties before nap time, and after nap time, I put her back in panties and she did great.  I still wasn't brave enough to leave the house, so we didn't go anywhere.  Thursday morning she stayed dry all morning, so we went to R's school for our Thursday lunch date.  I took her pee pee before we left, once at R's school and as soon as we got home, and she stayed dry.  I felt like she was finally getting it.  So Thursday night, we went to the Y for an hour and she went potty for Ms. A (our favorite) and got a treat.  From Thursday on, she was good to go.  I'm not saying she didn't have any accidents, because she has had some, but overall, she's potty trained.  She even made a trip to Beaumont and back to pick up the boys, staying dry both ways.  We are so proud of her, but we shouldn't be surprised because she has hit many milestones earlier than the other 3.  Most people just say it's because she has 3 examples to watch, and while I agree, I think it follows in line with her personality of being independent and smart....but I guess I'm biased right?

Wes is potty trained!

Our son, Wes, is different than R & A.  I mean, all my children are different in their own ways, but W is very different than R & A were at 2.  Well basically then entire time he's been alive he's been louder, more independent, his own decision maker.  W will do what W wants to do when W wants to do it.  I feel very confident that later on in life, W won't give into the peer pressure of his surroundings.  I love his strong will and the little boy that God has made him.  Because of his strong will, he has been a cinch to potty train.  My plan was to train him during spring break in March.  But since we were on our second week of snow days, I felt like should try since I was certain I would lose my spring break.  It only took like 2 days.  Seriously.  Once he had a couple of accidents (and really, only 2 or maybe 3), he was good.  We started Thursday Feb 13th.  I put him in underwear for the morning and he did great.  He didn't have any accidents and he peed twice.  He wore a diaper for naps, but then I didn't put him back in underwear because they were going outside to play in the snow.  He didn't get underwear back on until Monday and the following Tuesday (2/18) he was good.  His last accident he's had was that Tuesday 2/18.  We don't even have to ask him.  He tells us.  Like I said, once W makes up his mind, he's good and we can't change it.  He don't want to wear a pull-up for naps or nighttime, but we just pull his undies on top. 

My motivate for potty training came a few weekends ago (2/8) when I hosted a Pull-Ups training pants party.  I applied at House Party.com and was accepted for this one.  It was fun (at least I thought so).  Guests were mostly church friends, but Jenelle came with Ava and I was so excited for that.  I think she had a good time.  We made valentines for our families, played, ate lunch and had dessert.  I took a group picture of all the kids holding up a pull-up and that's about it.  I was most proud of my little potty dessert treats for the kids.  I found it on Pinterest and they turned out cute. 

It's safe to say I have 1 more kid in diapers now.

An awkward but necessary conversation ;)

Last week I had an awkward, but necessary with conversation with R about #1 and #2.  We have never used those names before, but I thought that it might be time to introduce those to her vocabulary.  Our normal words are just pee pee and poo poo.  So last week sometime, we were in the restroom somewhere (not at home) and R decided that she needed to poop.  Since we were in a public bathroom, I thought about how it would have been more appropriate to say #2.  I then tried to explain to R that pee pee was #1 and poo poo was #2.  I thought she understood until she said "except for when I poo poo first, then poo poo is #1 and then I go pee pee and that's #2".  I had a difficult time trying to get her to see that #1 and first aren't always the same thing.  Usually if you finish #1, then you finish first, but in this case, pee pee is always #1.  I can see how it was confusing because in her 3 year old mind, #2 means second.  And why not?  It's the second number when we count.  It's the second place finisher in the Olympics (and we watch a lot of Olympics right now).  When we order things,  #2 is always the second picture chronologically.  At first I wasn't going to blog about this, but when I shared the funny conversation with B, he said that I would want to remember this for a laugh in the future...he's probably right. 

Ahhh Saturday!

Good morning!  It's 6:20 am and I've been awake for about an hour.  During the week my alarm first goes off at 5:12 and then I snooze until 5:30.  Over the weekend, my body still wakes up at that time, but I usually just lay in bed until I fall back asleep.  This morning, however, I decided to get up and exercise.  Not sure why I picked today to start, but I'm glad I did.  I've gotten back to my per-pregnancy weight, but not near the body type.  I would really like to just firm up a bit.  We aren't members of any gym and I'm not going to get up early and run outside because it's cold and dark.  I'm exhausted by 9pm after getting the kids to bed, washing dishes, and doing any school work that needs to be done.  So I guess mornings inside are going to be it.  I haven't set a goal yet of how often and I'm sort of scared to.  Not sure how to go about this exercise thing.  I watched a cardio-sculpt netflix video on B's computer and it was good.  The workout was about 35 minutes and I was sweating!  I haven't exercised since before W was born and throughout that pregnancy, I didn't do much because I didn't want another premature baby.  So lets just say it's been about 18 months since I worked out.  Yeah...long time and I'm out of shape.  Netflix is great because there are lots of different workout videos I can watch.  There's yoga, Pilates, weights, cardio, dance, and kickboxing.  I'm going to try to stick with traditional aerobic ones for now.  Anyways, so I was up first and now B is up working on some papers in the kitchen.  The kids are still asleep so I'll probably use this time to shower and get myself ready.

We have a birthday party this morning for Hayden. He's turning 1 and we're so excited to go and see our friends A/L.  They used to be in our small group and they are such a great and loving family.  We try to meet up with them every few months at BWW and the last time we did that was either September or October.  I can't remember.  Over Christmas break, L and her boys came over for a play date and that was a lot of fum.  Their oldest is 2 months younger than A and Hayden is 4 months older than W. Hayden & W and Caleb & A will have lots of fun together in the future when we get together over the summer and for Halloween.  It's great that most of our friends are in the same life stage as us with small children.

A has been doing pretty good with his potty training.  I think it was Tuesday, he had a bad day at daycare with 2 accidents and one being poopy.  Wednesday and Thursday he had only 1 accident each and Friday he did not have any.  MP thinks that he knows the sensation and he knows when he needs to go, but he's playing and he doesn't want to stop.  He's trying to hold it and then it's just too late.  I agree with her in that he's ready.  When we are at home, we don't wait for him to tell us, we just take him every 30-45 minutes.  I realize that with 6 children, MP is not able to take A every 30 minutes.  We're very proud of him though and he even got a letter in the mail from Granddad with some $ for a McDonald's trip.  A loves him some Granddad.  In fact both R & A do. 

I wonder if it' hurts my mom's feelings any.  When we get on the computer to Skype, my mom is usually the one to pull it up and the first thing out of R and A's mouth is not 'Hi Gram' or 'I love you'...it's "Where's Granddad?".  Even when we are skyping with B's parents, A will ask Papaw where Granddad is.  Not sure what he has done, but they are in love with Granddad.  I wouldn't have it any other way!  Speaking of skype, we are supposed to skype with Ella (nana) today.  She's in Africa for a study abroad program and has been gone for 2 weeks.  We are excited to talk to her and see how things are.  I know my dad misses her.  I'm not sure what I would do if B left for a semester.  I can barely handle the over night trips to Fruitland Bible College let a long an entire semester.  Ella has been at Emory Seminary though since August so they have been doing the long distance thing for a while.  That doesn't make it any easier, but my dad is so supportive.  I pray that I would/could be that supportive if B ever did want to do that when our children are all grown and gone.

Ongoing prayer requests:  Baby Rowan is about a week old and still isn't feeding great.  He had his tongue clipped and maybe that will help.  Our financial situation is still up in the air because we don't know how much B will make from SEBTS and not exactly sure what his AJE paychecks will look like.  Praise: in my mailbox at school was an envelop with $300 cash.  I think I know who it was from...but not sure.  Praise God.  Our small group is in the beginning stages of planning a focus trip this year together around Thanksgiving or Christmas and my prayer is that everyone will make it a priority and God will piece everything together.

Abe is a Superstar!

Monday was a holiday for MLK Jr so I was home with the kids.  After waking Abe up, I decided to see how he did with big boy underwear.  He did GREAT!  He had one accident Monday morning and I take blame since we started watching Hercules and I forgot to take him.  That was it.  Tuesday he went to daycare and had one accident at the end of the day.  Later Tuesday afternoon while A was playing outside with B, he had another accident.  Wednesday A didn't have any accidents at daycare or at small group.  It was awesome.  Today (Thursday) was a busy day.  Abe stayed dry all day at daycare and then an hour long ride from Wake Forest to Cary.  We went to WakeMed, Cary to visit Justin & Nicole and their new baby Rowan.  It also took us 45 minutes to get back to Wake Forest and he stayed dry the entire time.  2 days without accidents is awesome! We're so proud of our little man.

So Bryce is out of town for his class at Fruitland Bible College for his first class.  He has class every other Thursday from 5-9 and he'll be staying the night.  He's excited about getting back into the teaching scene.  His other classes at SEBTS start next week.  Being alone with the kids is hard.  They are a handful, not because they are bad, just because they are young.  It makes me realize how much I do appreciate B.  He helps me so much more than I imagine other dads helping out.  I can't remember the last time I gave the kids a bath because that's what B usually does.  Parenting isn't made for 1.