Potty Training: Day 6

Ladies and Gentlemen, this will likely be the last post of this Potty Training series. The week is almost over, and Sunday is upon us.

I had dreams last Sunday of walking into the nursery tomorrow saying, "He's in big boy undies; please remind him to go potty every once in awhile." But I'm just not that confident, yet, so we'll be heading to church in diapers.

However, I feel that every day has gotten better. Today Caleb was in diapers when we went grocery shopping and to a picnic at lunch, but was otherwise in his undies. I was surprised that he kept his diapers mostly dry, and went to the potty when we asked him, even when he'd been in a diaper for awhile. So even with the safety net of a diaper, he held his bladder, which I thought was a good sign. And we had another naptime without wetting the bed! His one accident today happened at dinner, and I had tried and tried to get him to go potty beforehand, but he was more hungry than anything, and wouldn't hear of it. Then of course, he was pretty upset when he again had to wait while we cleaned up the mess. I tried to reason with him that if he'd gone potty before dinner, he wouldn't have to be waiting for it now, but I'm not sure that got through to him. Pretty sure it didn't.

All in all, I'd say this week has been a success. I didn't realize how hard it would be on both Caleb and myself (and Jon when he was home). It wasn't just the physical learning and cleaning up the messes; it was mentally and emotionally difficult. Caleb has gone to bed early almost every evening, wiped out from the emotions of the day. I've been asking him to grasp something he's never had to do before, to understand something about himself that he might not yet have noticed. And it's been very hard on me not to lose my patience. I have gotten frustrated at the obstinance that Caleb has shown, and his struggle to be in control of a situation. He didn't want to sit on the potty because it was not his idea and he was doing other (more fun) things. And then he would find out that his power-struggle resulted in a mess and another interruption to his playtime.

There was never a time when Caleb peed out of spite, and that reminded me that the messes he made were simply accidents, and I had no right to be frustrated at him.

So what next? Boot camp is over, so we'll again rejoin society and go about our normal days. If we're going out, I'll probably put Caleb in a diaper, then back to undies when we get back home. Hopefully, Caleb will continue to hold his bladder as he did today, and time will reinforce what he's learned about pottying. At some point we'll go on short outings with undies, and then eventually he'll be in his undies all the time.

Will I put the rugs back down? Maybe not just yet....

Though Caleb is not 100% potty trained, I am really glad we've had this week. I think it's been a good jump start to the process, and the concentrated effort has given both Caleb and Jon and I a chance to learn some things right at the beginning, such as Caleb's natural pottying habits and his response to apple juice! I feel that if I'd tried to switch between diapers and undies while continuing our regular schedules every day, I wouldn't have caught on to some of these things, and Caleb wouldn't have grasped the concept like he has.

So there you have it. He's certainly not fully potty trained, but I am very proud of the progress that Caleb has made. We've asked him to grow up a bit this week, and he's done very well with it. Thanks for your support through it all!

Caleb in is big-boy undies, getting ready for his first slip and slide experience. But that, my friends, is for another post!

Potty Training: Day 5

Well aren't you just so excited that I've posted a blog every day this week? And aren't you just so lucky that it's all about poo? You really should count your blessings.

The big news today is that Caleb made it through his naptime without wetting the bed. When he woke up and I got in there, he was looking pretty uncomfortable, and only took enough time to get his cup of milk before heading to the potty. Success!

I've also confirmed that apple juice is brutal on mamas. Man, it just goes right through my son. The same amount of milk or water takes much longer to reappear, but apple juice is out in minutes. And then again a few minutes later. And then a few minutes later. I can catch it the first time, but then I'm thrown off by the second. And I'm still cleaning up that mess when Caleb's working on another. Sheesh. Juice. Whoever thought to give it to kids.

So other than that, and then one accident when we were playing outside (he was being obstinate and didn't want to sit on the potty), we did very well today. Tonight we had a youth function, so Caleb was in a diaper. I noticed he still gave off signs that he needed to go potty, but I couldn't really do anything about it, so we had to leave it at that.

And that's the basic report.

In other news (because yes, other things have happened besides potty training), Caleb is officially 18 months old, and I'm officially 25 weeks along with Newbie2. Caleb is an absolute joy. I love being around him, experiencing his sense of humor, watching his sensitivity, and playing with him. On the pregnancy front, fatigue hit me like a Mack truck today, reminiscent of the first trimester. It really hadn't hit me until the last couple of days that I'm 6 months pregnant. No wonder I groan getting up and down off the floor with Caleb! No wonder I get tired of pulling Caleb in and out of the carseat, up and down from the changing table, on and off the potty. So, I'm trying to take it a little easier...mainly by allowing Jon to do all the heavy lifting, starting the minute he gets home from work. The poor guy never gets a break, but I'm so thankful for him.

More to come!

Potty Training: Day 4

I may be starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm thinking the tunnel will take longer than a week to travel, but at least there's light!

Today we had at least four good successes in the potty, and very few cleanups. Caleb spent quite a bit of time on his frog potty, though only one of his successes was there. The other successes were in the big potty. I'm not sure if it's more comfortable, more secluded, more grown-up, or just a random coincidence.

Other positives:

• Caleb showed his teddy bear how to go on the potty, indicating that he has a good understanding of what he should do, even when he doesn't do it. It was also the most times he's said, "Potty!" to tell his bear about it. Otherwise he doesn't ever claim the need to go on the potty.
  
• When Caleb wasn't falling asleep for his second nap, I checked on him and he was pacing his crib with his hands clamped firmly over his front-side. I quickly took him to the potty and he did his business! So he has some control over his bladder, etc, and felt the need to hold it during naptime.
  
• Caleb asked to sit on his frog once, though the effort didn't produce anything. But at least he had the desire.
• Caleb has long periods of time staying dry, as the last three days have shown a pattern.

The biggest negative right now is that Caleb does not let us know verbally that he needs to go to the bathroom. He also does not initiate getting on the potty on his own. We have to watch for the signs and sometimes find creative ways to get him to sit on the potty, but not so creative that he forgets why he's there. So some might argue that at the moment we, the parents, are the ones being trained. But today felt like we had some good improvement. The week's not over, yet!

More to come!

Random notes:

• The reason my goal has been for a week is because I read an article about how to potty train a toddler in a week, and the training techniques were geared toward ages 18-24 months. So I've been following the article's advice pretty closely and hoping for success in a week. I know, though, that it's a very hopeful goal, and it's going to be quite okay if my kid is not potty-trained at 18 months. If this doesn't work, we'll probably go back to our original goal of 2 1/2 years.
• I'm really a fan of the hardwood floors for this venture. For older kids who train in three days, it may not be an issue, but we have cleaned a lot of pee off of this floor. A lot.

Potty Training: Day 3

Day 3 of this 7-day experiment, and I'm not sure if I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel or not. if you'd asked me at 6pm, I would have said yes! At that point, we'd had almost all success, with only a couple of small accidents on our way to the potty.

What was different about today was that Caleb didn't need to go very much, though he was still drinking normal amounts of fluids. In the morning, he went 3.5 hours between potty times. Talk about nerve-wracking! I thought he was going to burst at any minute, and I kept whooshing him away to the potty, which he wasn't too happy about. He was busy playing with his friend who had come over for the morning. When his friend left, I called Jon in despair. Jon recommended I take him to the bathroom and turn on the bath water to inspire him. It worked like a charm!

After that we had a staff lunch in town, so Caleb went into a diaper which he wore through naptime. After naptime, nothing for another 2.5 hours! That was when 6pm rolled around and Jon had another brilliant idea.

"Why don't we give him juice so he'll drink more?"

Well, I thought he'd been drinking just fine, but Caleb heard the word "juice" and would have nothing more of his sippy of water. So...out came the juice. Now, I should have remembered Holly's words to me yesterday, to cut off liquids about an hour before bedtime, but I forgot. That boy went through at least 2 cups of juice, if not three.

And in the period of an hour he broke yesterday's record and peed 5 times, adding a 6th just a few minutes after the hour mark.

SIX times. Boy I was not ready for that one! Every few minutes I'd find Caleb marooned in a new LARGE puddle of pee. My day of avoiding messes was ruined in that one hour.

So lesson learned. Who knows whether he needed the extra fluids or not, but it certainly gives him more chances to recognize when he needs to go. Until this evening, I thought maybe he was catching and learning to control his bladder better, but now I don't know. We'll see what tomorrow holds! More then.

Potty Training: Day 2

While I wanted to tell you that we saw marked improvement today, I have to admit that Day 2 was just about as successful as Day 1, maybe even less so, if we count accidents and potty successes. At one point, Caleb managed to pee on the floor four times in an hour and a half!

So, another frustrating day. However, there were some glimmers of hope.

First, Caleb was much more compliant today about sitting on the potty. He sat often and long, though it did not prevent the (seemingly) immediate accident afterward. Because I was not fighting him all day, my day went much better, and I am in a better frame of mind at the end of the day.

Caleb continues to be concerned about the messes he makes. He immediately stops whatever he's doing and cries out. Sometimes it's "uh oh" or "poopy" (though it's pee), but mostly it's "Mommy! Mommy!" and, to my amusement, when Jon got home, "Daddy! Daddy!" Caleb stands in the middle of the puddle as if it is an island on which he is marooned. He waits for us to whisk him away to be cleaned up.

Caleb once again went to bed early and tuckered out. It's such a big step for such a little boy. I've heard so many stories of kids training over a weekend, but I have to remind myself that Caleb is a good year younger than most of the kids in those stories. That year makes a big difference. So this week may just be the beginning of potty training for us, or it may be the big red flag to let us know that our boy is just not ready yet. As of today, I really don't know how it will turn out.

More tomorrow!

Potty Training: Day 1

Ai, ai, ai...has it been a day.

We've gone through 8 pairs of underwear, 1 set of sheets and blanket and mattress pad, 4 towels, had 4 pee accidents, 1 poop accident...and 2 successes!

Yikes. I'm worn out and Caleb's in bed a good 30 minutes early without a peep of protest. It's been a long day. I was never as happy as I was tonight to put a diaper back on my boy.

Caleb has done pretty well. He sat on his potty most of the times I asked him to, though it almost always took some kind of distraction: a book, a tv show, a snack, etc. And when he had an accident in his underwear, he let me know pretty quickly.

Jon and I? Well, we could probably use a dash more of patience, and a pinch of experience wouldn't be bad, either. Maybe we'll have more of both tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted!

24 Weeks

We've made it to 24 weeks in this pregnancy! I just realized yesterday that that's 6 months along! Crazy!

My belly seems to have grown in just the last couple of weeks, and I finally look like I'm pregnant. I've sort of looked it up 'til now, but given the right (or wrong) shirt, it's still been questionable. Now the bump is rounding out nicely, and it's actually starting to get in my way for normal activities like tying my shoes.

I've also taken off my wedding bands and replaced them with my aquamarine ring that Jon gave me for my birthday a few years back. The wedding bands always get tight in summer, so when I had to tug a little extra to take them off on Sunday morning, I decided to go ahead and make the switch.

For the most part, I'm feeling great! I get heartburn every once in awhile and wish there were a magic pillow to make me comfortable (and not hot!) at night.

We had a dr. appt. right before we went on vacation. I let the doctor know I would be bringing food to snack on during labor, and she said that was fine; the nurses would object, but that she would handle them. When I was pregnant with Caleb, my doctor then had said something similar, but that I should just sneak the food. So I might still be a little sneaky about it to not cause any trouble with the nurses. But really, it's ridiculous to expect me to push out a baby when I haven't eaten anything but ice chips in over 24 hours. Let's hope, though, that this labor/delivery goes much faster, and I won't really have to deal with that!

I've gained about 20 pounds so far. Last pregnancy at this point I'd only gained 10 pounds! Yikes! But I'd lost 15 right before getting pregnant this time, so I'm pretty sure much of the 20 pounds is regaining some of that weight back. Poop. But maybe inevitable. I won't worry about it until well after Newbie2 arrives.

Speaking of Newbie2, he weighs about a pound now and is almost a foot long! He kicks all the time to let me know that he's there. I'm so ready to have a name for him, but we just haven't decided yet.

More news later!

Potty Training: Preparation

We're taking the plunge. This week is the week to make a good effort at potty-training Caleb. We'll see how it goes!

Since Caleb is so young, we'll be approaching potty-training a little differently than I had originally thought. He doesn't understand the concept of "big boy," so "big boy undies" and "big boy potty" really have no meaning. Also, the demands and rewards idea doesn't really make sense to him yet, either, so no, "You get a sticker if you...." Nope, it's going to be a simple, this is what we do and how we do it, like we taught him about how to drink from a sippy or where his books go at the end of reading time.

To prepare, we've had to take the plunge and buy a potty that sits on the floors. While I abhor the idea of cleaning out that thing, the simple fact of the matter is that Caleb can't reach the regular toilet on his own. That seems kind of important, so now we have a happy green frog that's perfectly Caleb-sized. Caleb loves it. He understands it's both a frog and a potty, which is pretty cool, I guess. He can get on and off of it on his own. He can also take out the pot part...which I can foresee causing some problems if he decides to pull it off right after peeing in it.

On that note, Jon and I just pulled up all the rugs in the house. We're thankful for an all-wood floor that will be easy to clean! We're back to an echo-y house, but it'll just be for a week (hopefully!)

We're basically going cold-turkey: putting Caleb in underwear in the morning and letting him figure it out! Today he was giving some signs--kind of messing with his diaper and getting that contemplative look in his eye--so I plopped him on the froggy potty and we had our first poop/pee success! Reminds me of the first time I put him in a cloth diaper. Both instances, he pooped on the first run. Doesn't want to make it easy on his mama!

I'm not sure these "successes" so far are Caleb knowing what to do, or me knowing what to do. We'll find out this week! I'll keep you posted!

Is it time?

The potty training discussion has been going on at our house for awhile now. While we were (and still are) fully prepared to wait until Newbie2 is born and our house has settled a little--probably by the time Caleb is 2 1/2--Caleb himself is showing signs of readiness. As a matter of fact, he only lacks 2 of the "readiness signs" on this checklist. He can't pull his pants down on his own, and he doesn't seem to be able to recognize a need to pee yet, though he does know when he needs to poop.

Our potty seat is Baby Bjorn, and I would highly recommend it. It's very stable and easy to take on and off the toilet. Caleb can take it off himself, and he even tries to put it on himself, so I know he'll catch on to it pretty soon. That will be handy when he's using the potty consistently. The toilet won't always scream "toddler!" when you walk in the guest bath.

In general, Caleb is compliant about toilet training. Yet he can be fickle about it. Yesterday he had an all-out crying/screaming fit because I asked him if he wanted to go potty. After I got him calmed down, I explained that he had to choose: go to the potty or put on a diaper (he was wearing training pants at the time). He whimpered, "Diaper...." So that was that. Off went the big boy pants, and back into the diapers. I thought it was interesting that he was able to make a choice like that, though. It shows he has more understanding of things than I thought.

Speaking of training pants, I have two problems with them. One, they're expensive. Gerber has three pairs for $15, and from what I understand, we could potentially go through more than three pairs in one day, and there's still the next day, and the next, etc. Also, unless potty-training takes an inordinate amount of time, it seems that most concerted efforts take less than a week or so--certainly less than a month. So I'm spending $5 per pair of training pants that will only get used for a month. Second, training pants don't come in Caleb's size. He's almost 18 months, but without a cloth diaper, he's got the heiney of a 12-month-old. Gerber's sizing chart shows that they offer an 18-month size, though I've never found them on the shelves.

So, I rigged something up. I bought a 5-pack of 24mo boys underwear for $7. I stuff one with a newborn insert from my cloth diapers, and then roll the top elastic over a couple of times to get a better fit. It works pretty well, but it is kind of bunchy and probably not as comfortable as the pre-made kind. I guess I could whip stitch the inserts in and take them out later. But for now, this works. If/when Caleb has accidents, it gets his underwear all wet, but doesn't just drip down everywhere.

Speaking of, though, I've read and heard from other mothers that sometimes that's what it takes. No training pants or pull-ups, just normal underwear. A few experiences with that will remind a child that he really wants to go to the potty instead of stay in that mess. So maybe I'll have to take out the diaper inserts and see what happens.

So far we've done this all very casually. I use the training pants only after Caleb has successfully used the toilet--mostly because that's when I know for sure that it will be awhile before he has to use the bathroom again. And while Caleb's used the toilet successfully several times, it's certainly not consistent. Our biggest inconsistency is Caleb's willingness to sit on the potty, though once he's there he's fine. He really enjoys looking at books while he's sitting, so that's a good enticement for him. He's also brought his blanket and puppy along, and anything else that he's interested in at the moment.

I'm kind of thinking that if I took a week of concentrated effort, Caleb would be potty-trained. And if it doesn't work, we could wait another month and try again. And if that doesn't work, we can wait until after Newbie2 is born. Anyone have thoughts on this? Suggestions about potty training?

21 Weeks

At 21 weeks, Jon can now feel Newbie2 kicking! That's about the same time he felt Caleb, too. I always like the time when Jon feels the baby, because for the most part pregnancy is very one-sided, and this gives Jon a chance to be a part of it. He's certainly a part of it in other ways--dealing with my moods, tolerating my extra naps and extra helpings of food--but this is something he experiences with our baby.

By this time in our first pregnancy, we were able to call our little guy by his name, Caleb. However, we are not quite so on top of things this time. The name discussion has kind of been tabled for awhile. Neither of us feels a huge rush, and we don't have strong preferences for the names on our list. I don't feel bad about that, but I did really like having a name for Caleb. It helped me picture him better.

So Newbie2 our son shall remain, for a little while longer at least. He's 10.5 inches long now. My uterus has grown to above my belly button! I can't believe he's already so big, and that I'm halfway through the pregnancy.

Other things to note: I have very sharp pain in my tailbone when I'm sitting on hard chairs, just like I did with Caleb. Thankfully all the chairs at church are soft, except for the youth chairs, which I think were chosen more for the cool factor than the comfort factor. Not expecting any pregnant people in the youth group, I guess. I've also found it harder to stand up from sitting, and I'm starting to move like a pregnant person (hands on back or reaching for extra support), though I don't feel like I should be at that point, yet! Heartburn has also hit me. I'm not sure when that happened with Caleb, but it seemed to be later on. It hasn't been really bad, and I keep forgetting to buy Tums at the store. Maybe tomorrow.

Caleb hasn't seemed to notice my belly (any more than he noticed my belly before, because he really loves bellies). Jon thinks my belly is cool and always compliments me, which is why I love him.

My sister-in-law just had my second nephew on Monday. The whole day I had an icky, nervous feeling. Not just because I was worried about Karen, but because it made my own impending labor/delivery very real. But when I got to see pictures of baby Seth, it made my own little Newbie2 very real as well. I can't wait to hold him, to see Caleb grow into a big brother, and to adjust to being a bit larger family.

19.5 Weeks

We're almost to the halfway point! I can't believe how quickly this first half has gone, yet Christmas (when we found out) seems so far away.

Newbie2 is about the size of a large heirloom tomato, so says my weekly update from BabyCenter. I think he must be sitting lower than Caleb, because I have to go to the bathroom all of the time, which I didn't have to do with Caleb, even at the very end! My belly is definitely growing, and I officially made the switch to maternity clothes yesterday. I've been wearing them for the past few weeks, but mostly just mixing maternity pants with non-maternity shirts. Now I'm all prego, all the time!

One thing I learned about myself during this switch is that I own 33 pairs of pants. What does that say about me? Granted, I've changed pants sizes since I've gotten married--sized up and then back down recently, and I have the pants I wear primarily when early pregnant or after delivery (an extra size larger), and then there's the pants that people have given me, and the pants that I've had since my college years and I love them. I'm a sentimental pants-owner. What can I say? But I do see a need to purge some pants once I've had Newbie2 and settled back to a normal weight. That's another year from now, or so. Maybe I can look at it more objectively by that time.

Newbie2 is still "Newbie2." No name, yet. We've got some good contenders, but I'm just not quite ready to decide, yet.

I guess I forgot to mention on here that we finally made it to our first appointment with our new doctor! Dr. W seems like a nice lady. She reminds me of Dr. K in a way, though without that "you brought my child into the world" bond. Waiting an hour in the waiting room was a little more of a challenge with a wiggly 1-yr-old, but Caleb did okay. Hopefully that wait isn't typical. The doctor didn't do a whole lot, though we did discuss my pregnancy and delivery of Caleb, and any specific thoughts and wishes I had. She seems pretty open to a natural delivery, though she insisted on a hospital gown and an IV. I asked if I could just have a hep lock, and she agreed, though she said she would require fluids once I'd been in the hospital for 12 hours. I'm okay with that. Last time they started my on fluids right off the bat (because of the induction, I think), and I was huge and swollen by the time all the cameras came out to take pictures of the brand new baby. Not that I cared at that moment, but I'd rather just drink a lot of water.

Speaking of drinking, I forgot to ask about eating during labor. Last time my nurse was set against it, but I snuck Gatorade and peanut butter crackers, anyway, something I'm thankful for since I had such a long labor time! So I'll ask about that next time, or rather inform her that I will be bringing sustenance for myself. We'll see how she takes that bit of information. :)

Otherwise, the visit was typical: blood pressure was great, uterus was where is was supposed to be, baby's heart rate was just right, and we set up an appointment for four weeks later (I think the first week of May...can't remember right now).

And that's about all I can think of right now. I've maintained about 10 pounds of total weight gain the last couple of weeks, but I've really noticed my belly growing this week, so that may be about to change! (Truth check: I weighed just now and it said I'd gained 5 pounds, so I'm discounting that one and I'll weigh again later and hopefully give a better report!)

16 Months: My Child

I feel like there's so much to say about Caleb at this age. To try to keep things short(-ish...), I'll make a list. And I'll warn you, this might turn into a brag list. Like one of those you get in a Christmas letter from a random friend and their perfect children. But, this is my blog. Skip it over if you like!

Caleb likes to:

• Sing! He's started humming this week, and puts a low "happy...happy..." in there, which is his favorite song, "If You're Happy and You Know It." He can clap, stomp, and turn around to the song.
• Read. The boy loves his "boots" (not like the shoes, but pronounced like "book" just with a "t"). He will read them over and over again. His favorites: Frog on a Log, Animals, Colors, and the If You're Happy musical book. Also a shapes book I think is hideous (bad design, bad colors, bad drawing...) but of course Caleb loves.
• Talk! He's always been a big talker, but I've kept track of more than 65 words that he now says on his own. He has a few sentences...maybe.... He says "uh" in place of "I want." So, "Uh bapple" or "uh puppy" for an apple or his puppy dog. I've heard him say "stop it," too, but he was just repeating was I was saying, so I don't think it counts.
• Have blankets. And lots of them! Some kids have stuffed toys, some kids have a favorite blankie. Caleb has 5! I thought I was in luck because I wouldn't have to worry about always keeping the one blanket clean and ready for him. But I'm getting a little worried that each blanket has become precious to him, and he needs them all. He's happiest if his crib is lined with blankets, like a mama bird lines her nest with feathers.
• Hold keys. Keys are magic to Caleb. If he wants to go outside, he stands at the door, reaches for the handle, and pleads, "Teys, teys!" When we leave the house, Caleb wants his own set of keys for the car ride. Correction: Caleb wants Mama's keys. He spots keys from a mile away, in someone's hand, stuck in a filing cabinet lock, in my purse, or in Jon's pocket.
  
• Flush. Give that boy a toilet with a handle he can easily push and he's a happy camper.
• Throw things away. I think he asks for napkins ("nanuts") just so he can go throw them away when he's done. He's not allowed to play in the trash (he's finally learning), so this is his only chance. He lingers and looks to see if there's anything interesting inside the trash can.

Caleb does not like to:

• Get his diaper changed. Jon has better luck than I do, but many times I'm in a full-out struggle to keep Caleb on his back on the changing table. I give him all kinds of distractions to keep him still long enough for the change, but sometimes even that doesn't work.
• Give things back. "Finders keepers" is his motto, especially when it comes to things he really shouldn't have: writing pens, glasses, etc. I get a little stumped about how to handle this. I ask for it back, I tell him to give it to me, and try many other verbal techniques, but end up having to wrench the coveted item away from his little hand. I'm teaching my child that if words don't work, use force. Not sure what to do about it though!
• Take naps. Some days he goes down without a peep, even pointing to his crib and asking for blankets. But others (or another nap on the same day) are hard-won or never happen. We're trying a one-nap-a-day experiment this week. I'm not sure it's the solution, though. It's 1:30, Caleb's been in his crib for at least 30 minutes, and he's still awake. Of course, he did get his leg stuck between the crib rails, which it took me awhile to realize. So we basically started over about 10 minutes ago. So I guess today is a different story than most days.
• Come inside: Like every little kid, the outdoors is a world of wonder, and coming inside almost always leads to a small tantrum.

Speaking of tantrums, Caleb has 'em. When we informed him tonight that it was time to go to bed, he balled up his fists, his face turned bright red, and the corners of his mouth dropped about three inches. He sent up a wail that should have brought us running, but only made us laugh, poor kid. Many times his tantrums come in the form of dropping face-first to the ground. I just walk away from it, and they haven't gotten too bad.

Another thing that doesn't quite fit into the list, but that I want to remember, is his new habit of wanting me to experience what he's experiencing. If he's touching all the different textures in a book, his hand will take hold of my finger and guide it over the textures so that I can feel, too. If he's pushing buttons, he'll press my finger onto the button as well.

Caleb is a precious boy. He's gentle and sweet with enough mix of independence and stubbornness to make things interesting. We enjoy parenting him very much!

Lil' Pooper

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a day for the history books. My proud mama heart couldn't be fuller. Caleb went poo poo in the potty.

I don't have any pictures, you will be sad to know.

Here are the events of the day:
Jon was pulling morning duty when I heard a familiar refrain from Caleb, "Poo poo...." We've been trying to be more diligent about responding to Caleb's efforts, and I was thankful that it was Jon's turn. I went to fetch a clean diaper, and Jon had Caleb stripped down and on the big boy potty by the time I got there. Jon and Caleb talked a little, Jon reminding Caleb of the job he was to do, the job that Caleb himself let us know he needed to do. But Caleb wasn't worried about his intestinal obligations, and blithely stated that he was all done and ready to get down. So goes the general potty saga.

I was recruited for morning duty while Jon got ready for the day. Caleb and I were sitting at the table for breakfast when Caleb announced, "Poo poo...." This time the announcement was accompanied by a few grunts and a reddening face.

I considered my options. The most obvious was to leave things as they were and wait until Daddy was on duty again. The second scenario was that I would peel off Caleb's diaper just in time for something stinky to happen. The third was that Caleb would actually be successful at using his potty (and not just for reading and singing, as it has been so far), thus cementing in his mind what the potty is actually for.

Sighing, and hoping for the third scenario, I confirmed with Caleb his need to poop. Then I asked if he needed to go to the potty, to which he responded with his sing-song, "No..." that lilts up and sounds like he's laughing. I love that no, and ask him funny questions just to get him to say it. But that's off topic.

I was in a hurry by this time, realizing Scenario Two would be coming sooner than I wanted. I undid his booster clasps and swooped him into the bathroom. Off came the diaper (no poop so far, whew!) and on Caleb went to the big boy potty. I handed him a book in case things got boring, and reminded Caleb why we were there.

But he didn't need much reminder. Within the first minute, his job was done! I was a little incredulous and waited a bit longer. Then I yelled to Jon for help, because I wasn't sure what to do next! I forgot to bring wipes with me...Jon reminded me that I could use toilet paper. Oh, yeah.... Caleb popped up from his seat and I cleaned the cleanest heiney I've ever cleaned for having just pooped. Amazing how much nicer it is without a diaper to squish it all up!

On with the new diaper, flush the toilet and wave bye bye to the poop (a tradition we started when we started flushing the poop from his diapers), and then a triumphant hand-washing. All the while Jon and I are congratulating Caleb on his accomplishment.

Later in the day, I hear Caleb give a little toot. I ask, "Caleb, do you need to go potty? Do you need to poo poo?" Immediately, Caleb stands up from his play and heads to the potty. He lays down on the floor for me to pull his pants and diaper off. For a kid who hates getting his diaper changed, it was a little surprising! I plopped him onto the toilet seat and....nothing. Within seconds Caleb was done, in his opinion. We waited a little longer, but sometimes a toot is just a toot and nothing more. I thanked Caleb for his willingness and let him flush the toilet, anyway, for his efforts.

And that was that! Three tries today, and our first success. I have no idea if it will progress, or if we'll still be stuck potty-training a year from now (when I had expected to start potty-training). Maybe he'll catch on. I gotta admit it would be really nice to not have two in diapers, but on the other hand I don't want to pressure Caleb at all, and I'm sure a newly-trained toddler would be as much hassle as one still in diapers! But there's the story for the record-books nonetheless. If it doesn't happen again for awhile, we'll know when it happened first. Because this day and age is all about information. There is no such thing as Too Much Information.

Am I right?

Hello?

Another PJ pic

A little boy in PJs and his blanket...what could be more irresistible?

Easter Egg Hunt

Bright and early this morning was Caleb's first Easter egg hunt! We got there right at start time, and saw children spread from under the pavilion like ants, baskets in hand and parents cheering them on. Jon and I quickly caught the spirit of the race for eggs, and coaxed Caleb: Let's go! Let's find all the eggs and fill your basket! Come on!

But Caleb, being the relaxed boy he is, was more content to saunter toward the action.

Once he found his first egg, he caught on pretty quickly, but was still in no hurry.

I realized that he had the better approach, especially as I saw parents yelling (in a nice way, but still could be disturbing to a small child) for their one-year-old to run, run, run for all the eggs!! Seriously, what was he going to do with them all anyway? We had to turn the eggs back in, and most of them were empty. The candy Caleb did find, we weren't going to let him eat! So, we sauntered.

We bumped into our friends Zach and Beth and their son, John. John is only two weeks older than Caleb, so they get along really well together. John--also not affected by the frenzy of the hunt--seemed to think it was more fun to put eggs in Caleb's basket than his own.

Adding more eggs.

Our family

My wonderful husband who makes my life so great.

And my wonderful son who makes my life so silly!

Reason #248 for why I like having a kid: I get to go down the slide!

Why we're not keeping this toy

None of this actually belongs in here. The toy was given to us, but I don't think it came with the right balls at all. The green ball is permanently stuck in the tube, along with a red one you can't see up in the yellow shaft of the toy. I had to take the entire thing apart to get all of Caleb's toys back. He was glad to see his magnets for his fridge toy, and we put his dollar in his piggy bank. He would have loved to have stuffed the balls back down the hatch, but I would not let him! The toy? As much as he loved it, it's going back to the ones who gave it to us.

All in a Day's Play Pt. 2

Come on, Mom! Let me show you how the afternoon went, too!


It's time to show off my sliding skills!

First, sit down carefully.

My arms are just long enough to keep hanging on!

But it's time to let go...

...and push off!

Wheeeee!!!

Gettin' up for another round!

Hm, I've never looked under here before.

Looks interesting...

I'm goin' in!


Coming out the other side!

I seem to be a bit stuck....


There we go!

Back on the slide!

And that's how it's done.

I'm a big boy in my big chair! Thinking of what to do next....

Let's play with my ball! You can roll it down the slide...


Throw it....


Push it....


And even take it on tryke rides!

But one of my favorite things to do in the day is when Daddy gets home. We take a walk around the yard. Sometimes Daddy pulls me in the wagon, and sometimes I pull something else in the wagon!

All in a Day's Play

Hm...what to do today? Let me sit in my thinking spot and think.


Think, think, think.

I think I'll take a drive!

Check out my sweet wheels! But time to get off....

...to rush the photographer!

Maybe I'll do a little sliding....

I love to slide, and can do it by myself now!

Take a break to say hi to the puppy next door.

Tuning my piano....

Brushing my hair with the brush...never mind that it's a paint brush!

Back to work on some tricks on my tryke!

I wonder if I could get this open...it sure would be nice to go visit Daddy.

Here's a pretty flower! I think I'll pick it.

And give it to Mommy!

What a great day.