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...