Wordless Wednesday

Lunch with some friends from high school....love them!

Potty Training

The thought of uploading and discussing Christmas pics is still too much for me, so I've opted to talk about potty training. We've been working with Miles on using the potty for a while now. I thought seriously about training him in August using the 3 Day Potty Training method, but I just didn't think he was ready. We pushed it to the week after Christmas b/c daycare is closed and Darrin & I were both off of work. I knew daycare would be a huge help in training him, but I wanted to get a jump start at home so they wouldn't have such a big job. We waited until we got finished with all of the Christmas stuff and officially began potty training on Wednesday, Dec. 28th.

I read the 3 Day Potty Training method but chose not to do it b/c that is not what they do at daycare. The 3 Day plan tells you to constantly remind the child to keep their underwear dry, but don't take them unless they start to have an accident or unless they ask to go. I see the point, but Ms. Lee Ann at daycare said that she takes them every 20 minutes at first and then spaces the time in between potty breaks longer and longer until they are trained. She said it usually takes 2 weeks. Sounded good to me, so that is what we did.

I did like a few of the points in the 3 Day Potty Training plan. One thing it mentions is to get rid of all the diapers with your child. It shows him that he is a big kid now and that he does not wear diapers anymore. So, Miles and I packed up all the diapers on Wednesday morning.

His first pair of underwear...

The whole experience has gone far better than I imagined. The first day he had 4 accidents....3 the next, 2 the next....and then none the next with the exception of #2, which we won't discuss in detail....instead I'll just say that that part is a work in progress....."Phase 2", if you will.

On New Year's Eve, we had plans to go to Darrin's sister's house to spend the night. I was worried about what this might do to potty training, but we moved ahead with the plans. We drove an hour to Paducah to go to the mall...shopped for a little over an hour...and then drove 20 minutes to Crystal's house....all in underwear, and without an accident! There were potty breaks, of course, but no accidents.

I've always said that I didn't want to reward my child with food or candy. We started off with a bowl of stickers, toys, games, cars, etc....by the end of the week, we were using Smarties, Fruit Loops and Angry Bird gummies. By the end of day 2, he was completely over going to the potty every 20 minutes. We had to get create and increase the prizes. At one point, he was throwing Fruit Loops in the potty and aiming at them. Whatever it takes, right? I put on his Buzz Lightyear underwear yesterday and told him not to pee pee or poop on Buzz b/c he didn't like that. He came to me later and said very sadly, "I pee pee on Buzz".

To date, he's only told us once that he needed to go....and for that he got a push up for dinner compliments of Daddy...

As I said, it has not been as bad as I thought. I envisioned Darrin and I completely frustrated with him and each other. I'm happy to report that we have not lost our cool even one time. That's big time. Today was Miles first day at daycare. I was thrilled when I picked him up and he still had on the same clothes I dropped him off in. He had zero pee pee accidents and....well, we are still working on "Phase 2". Very glad that the hardest part is over. Ecstatic that daycare is helping this week. Looking forward to having a potty trained child very soon.

Build A Bear

So...I took a little, unintentional break from blogging. I've been off work for a week & a half and any resemblance of a routine has been nonexistent. You would think I would have had more time for things like blogging, but it just didn't happen. We spent Christmas Eve morning with Darrin's family, and then that night and Christmas day with my family, and then celebrated again with Darrin's family on the 27th. The rest of our vacation has been consumed with potty training, organizing & decluttering the house, and playing a LOT of Monopoly on the XBOX.

It's been a fun & productive vacation, but I think Darrin and I are both ready to go back to work. I have so much to blog about that it feels overwhelming. Posting Christmas pictures feels way too daunting for tonight, so I opted for our first trip to Build A Bear. Here goes...

To my dismay, Miles loves stuffed animals. I always said that I would not waste money on stuffed animals (dust collectors) for my child, but he really loves them. He plays with them, totes them around, sleeps with them, etc. So, we got him a Build A Bear gift certificate for Christmas. Darrin, my mom and I took him the day after Christmas to redeem it. The rule was that he got to pick out whatever he wanted and there was to be no steering or influencing him.

Darrin and Miles studied the bears to find the exact one that Miles wanted. This bear was a close second, but did not make the final cut...

After his bear was chosen, it was off to stuff him. He like to push the pedal and fill him with "snow"...

Getting a heart for his bear...

Time to sew him up...

...and give him a bath...

After he picked out his clothes and accessories, it was time to name the bear. When Darrin asked him what his name was, he said "Rumpelstiltskin" without hesitation.

Waiting for Rumpelstiltskin to be dressed...

And there you have it...the finished product...a camo bear, in a Titans' jersey, with Converse shoes, holding a football. Excellent choice. Clearly he was not influenced by anyone b/c we never could have created such an awesome bear.

He was very proud and carried him through the mall as long as he could...

Sweet dreams Rumpelstiltskin...

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Ho Ho Ho

Santa visited daycare today. I had to bring a small, wrapped gift for Santa to give Miles. They do this every year. I didn't go last year, but the pictures that Miles' teacher took were precious. So, I couldn't wait to go this year.

Here are all the kids waiting for Santa....of course Miles is right next to Ms. Lee Ann...

Miles was very excited when Santa came out. He kept saying "Santa, Santa, Santa"...

Waiting for Santa to call his name...

He was such a big boy & walked right up to get his gift...


Miles, Amelia, and Avery Reece...

After all the kids in his class got their gifts, they went back to their room to open them...

The moment he realized it was an Angry Bird (the only thing he wants for Christmas if you ask him)...


What a sweet picture of Miles & Avery Reece...


I'm so thankful that Miles' daycare does neat stuff like this. It was complete chaos and I know it would have been much easier to not get all the kids stirred up by Santa & presents....but it sure was cute & they had a great time. Ms. Lee Ann said that Miles showed his Angry Bird to everyone he saw today. Now the countdown is on to the real Santa. 4 more days...

A Must Have

If you have a little one and don't have flashcards, I highly recommend them. They play with them at daycare, so I thought I would try. So much of what we play has zero education to it. I know everything doesn't have to be productive, but flashcards are like a game to him so we might as well play.

Tonight he asked to play with them. Darrin and I were amazed at how many new letters he learned in a 30 minute time frame. I would pick a few letters that he knew and add some new ones...then the next round, I would add some repeats that he just learned and add some new ones. He picked them up so quickly, and I think he had more fun with these than anything else we played with tonight.

I got these at Barnes & Noble. They are called "Ready for School".