More Potty Training

Preface: Sorry for all this potty talk, it's a big deal around our house right now!

January 30, 2008

This week I've cracked down on the potty training. It's been going well, but geez, it's exhausting! On Monday we went to Walmart to get his "big boy underwear." I wanted to make a big deal out of it so Ryan would be excited. Of course he wanted Thomas underwear but they didn't have any in his size. I was worried that might be a problem, but we settled on dinosaurs (much cheaper than the character underpants!).

We started yesterday morning. We took his nighttime wet diaper off, said goodbye to it, put on the new underwear and set the timer for 20 minutes (thanks to my sister-in-law's suggestion). When the timer beeped we went in and he went potty. He's still had several accidents but the consistency has worked pretty well so far and I think he's starting to catch on. He's even pooped in the toilet twice! Yeah! Can't wait to only have one in diapers! More scrapbooking money for me! (Just kidding)

I'm not getting much done between taking care of Emery, timer beeps and potty trips, but I'm hoping Ryan will get the pottying down soon.

New Bed

January 30, 2008

Last week we made the transition to the "big boy bed." We were thinking of getting a twin size, but we found this cute toddler bed at the thrift store for $15 and decided not to pass it up. The bed was pink, but we spent a day painting it and it looks great.

The first couple of nights in the new bed were tough and he ended up in our bed at 3 am a few nights in a row, but now I think he's gotten used to it and seems to like his "big boy bed."

P.S. I made this blanket for Ryan for Christmas! One of my first sewing projects!

A Child's Prayer

January 24, 2008

Last Sunday was a particularly difficult day with the kids at church. I came home exhausted and a little grumpy. I was working on getting Ryan and Emery lunch and naps when Ryan knelt on the living room floor and said, "I want to say a prayer. Mommy, daddy, you kneel." Truthfully I wasn't in the mood to pray with him as I was frustrated with his behavior at church but Jared seized the teaching moment, followed Ryan's lead and encouraged me to pray with them.

"What should we pray for?" Jared asked Ryan.

"Our kids." was his answer.

*sigh* I was humbled. We said a prayer for "our kids," the day went on, and I learned a lesson from my child's prayer.

Rats in the Cellar

The other day I was listening to some BYU TV and heard a quote from C.S. Lewis that got me thinking. Here it is: (from Mere Christianity pg. 192-193)

“When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light. Apparently the rats of resentment and vindictiveness are always there in the cellar of my soul.

Now that cellar is out of reach of my conscious will. I can to some extent control my acts: I have no direct control over my temperament. And if (as I said before) what we are matters even more than what we do--if, indeed what we do matters chiefly as evidence of what we are--then it follows that the change which I most need to undergo is a change that my own direct, voluntary efforts cannot bring about. . . . We realise that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.”

Kind of deep, but I've been thinking a lot about it since I heard it and am relating it to being a parent right now. Ryan is two. He's a very good boy. But he still has tantrums and makes messes and tries to be independent as two-year olds do. I try very hard to be a loving, patient mama but sometimes when I am "caught off my guard" I sulk or snap or sneer or snub or storm. I'm grateful for the forgiveness of a sweet little boy and that I have the opportunity to try again if I don't react as positively as I should.

Comparing baby pictures

Thought it would be interesting to compare my baby pictures at 3 months with Emery's. We have a lot of the same features. I was much chubbier though!

Oh Really? Probably

“Really” and “probably” are two of my favorite words to hear Ryan say lately.

"What you doing mommy?"
"I'm making dinner."
"Oh. Really?"

"Ryan, are you going to finish eating your noodles?"
"No, probably play with trains."

"Daddy, where did Santa Claus go?"
"To the North Pole."
"Oh. Really?"

"Ryan, do you need to go potty?"
"No, probably not."

Happy Girl

January 16, 2008

Emery is a very happy baby and she's starting to be generous with her smiles and coos. Ryan can usually get some of the biggest smiles from her. So fun having this sweet girl...

One Day I'll Laugh About This

January 15, 2008

One day I’ll laugh about this. I know I will, which is why I grabbed the camera as soon as I realized what had happened. Ryan was down for his afternoon nap. Emery was asleep. And I was taking advantage of a few quiet moments. I could hear Ryan playing in his bed, which he normally does before falling asleep. But then he started calling for me. I didn’t go in because I thought he just wanted to get up. But he kept calling so after a few minutes I went to check on him. This was the sight I found. All his blankets and stuffed animals had been thrown to the floor and he was standing in his bed without pants or a diaper on. In his crib was a poopy diaper with which he had liberally fingerpainted the crib, the walls and himself. Normally I’m all over encouraging his creativity, but this? Thank goodness for baby wipes, Lysol, plastic mattress covers and bubble baths.

Rexburg Temple Open House

January 10, 2008

For Christmas this year Jared got our family tickets to go to the Rexburg temple open house. It was something fun to look forward to when the after-Christmas blaughs started to hit. Rexburg is about 3 hours from Logan so we left early in the morning and made it a day trip. We were able to go through the open house with Chelsea. It was fun to see her for the day.

The temple is gorgeous (of course). A couple of days ago we had a family home evening on the temple and explained to Ryan that we would get to go see the temple. We showed him pictures and told him angel Moroni was on top of the temple. We made sure to point to the Moroni when we were there at the temple. A few days after the open house Ryan was talking to me about our trip to the temple and he said, "And mommy, macaroni's on top of the temple!"

P.S. It was really cold and snowing so Emery stayed in the car while we took this picture.

Potty Train

January 4, 2008

It started with a bribe. I let Ryan pick a train from the store and told him he could have it when he went “poopoo in the potty” (he’d been successful peeing in the toilet many times already). He chose “Dennis” and the steel grey diesel sat on the bathroom counter as a reminder for several days. Every time we changed a messy diaper I reminded him what he needed to do so he could have Dennis. He sat on the toilet holding the packaged train many times, trying so hard. Then one day it happened and we had a potty party. Ryan got his new train but now that Dennis was in his possession he seemed content to go in his diaper again. Then Jared and I found Spencer, the coveted silvery-blue engine who according to Ryan is very strong. (He flexes his arm muscles and grits his teeth when he declares “Spencer strong.”) Spencer became the next desired potty train. Ryan eventually got his reward along with Salty the old ocean dock engine and Harold the helicopter.

Now he’s fairy comfortable using the toilet so it’s time to raise the bar. The new deal is Ryan must go “poopoo” in the toilet three times before he gets Culdee, the purple two-faced train. Explaining this delayed reward to a two-year old has been difficult, but we made him a sticker chart to help him visualize the process. It seems to be working (so far, *crossing my fingers*), at least he’s asking to go and isn’t reluctant to try. This evening as we were putting Ryan to bed he started crying that he wanted to go poopoo. I said no because he’d already gone twice today and had tried several times this evening. Plus, I’d just put a clean diaper on him. Jared asked, “How are we supposed to potty train if we don’t take him when he asks to go?” It’s a question we’re still pondering. Does he really need to go (again) or is it manipulation to stay up longer? We decided for tonight it was the latter and finished our goodnights. A little later we started to chuckle when we realized Ryan had latched onto Jared’s words as we heard him calling from his bed that he wanted the “potty train.”

2007 Recap

2007 was a year of change for us. In January we decided to sell our brand-new house and that Jared would quit technical writing and apply to graduate school. We also decided to take a summer sales job in California. In February we found out we were expecting another miracle baby. In March we were blessed with an offer on our house and we closed a couple of weeks later. In April Ryan and I moved to Washington until August to stay with Jared's parents and sister while Jared worked in California. Originally we were planning on moving to CA with Jared, but I was so sick during the pregnancy that the extra help with Ryan was appreciated. In August we all moved to Logan, Utah where Jared started a Master's in English. He is also a graduate instructor and teaches two freshman English classes per semester. On Septemer 11 Ryan turned two and his love for Thomas the train became evident. On October 12 our darling baby girl, Emery Jane was born (after only 2 1/2 hours of labor!). When I look back on the year it's hard to believe so much has happened. It was a hard year, but a very good year. We have changed a lot of our habits and are working hard to have a career Jared will love, get out of debt, and eat healthier.

I'm looking forward to 2008.