Potty Trainging Progress

MY SON ROCKS!  If i have not made that clear, let me state the fact now.  HE ROCKS!  We have been full on potty training since Monday morning and he has done AWESOME!  On Sunday, we played in our big boy pants and got a taste of what Monday and the rest of training was going to be like, but we really count Monday as his start date.  I took him to daycare (yes, i am not training him alone.  I have help from Kim - WHO IS AMAZING).  Immediately upon dropping him off, he was in big boy pants.... here is his training score card (as i like to call it).

Monday - Made it to the potty the first time, got a little side tracked on the second one and "dribbled" in his pants.  Diaper on for nap (which is when he goes #2 now) and then 2 more potty successes.  Put a diaper on him for the ride home, which he messed and then went potty twice that evening.  Diaper on for bed, which he messed.

Tuesday - Made it to the potty first thing in the morning (messed his night time diaper, but i was expecting that) and then made it to the potty each time during the day, except for nap time but the diaper was on.  Once home, he went potty again and then dribbled on my floor for his second pee pee of the evening, but stopped and finished on his potty. To me, we made huge improvements because he had learned to stop and wait till he was sitting on the potty. We put another diaper on him for sleeping.

Wednesday - Messed his diaper and did not do a morning pee pee in the potty.  Pee Peed all day, in the potty, and made no accidents.  Diaper was on during nap time again.  Once home, we went pee pee in the potty and then we went outside to play.  We were outside for a while and he told me he pee peed.  I thought it was in his pants because of the way he said it.  We slowly walked in from the backyard, slowly walked in to the house, and eventually made it to the potty.  The whole time telling him that he needed to let mommy know when he needs to go and so on.  Poor thing was probably freaking out because he had not got yet.  He did have 1 tiny drop on his underwear which he thought was him messing his pants.  I sat him down on the potty and surprise..... he held it that whole time till we got to the potty. I was one proud mommy!  He continued to rock the potty training for the rest of the evening. He slept in a diaper again.

Thursday (today) - This morning, I was in the shower and when I got out I heard LOUD screaming, high pitched which normaly means pain, and immediately thought that he decided to use this morning as the morning to try climbing out of his crib.  I had bad visions when i ran towards his room but when i entered, he was standing in his crib saying that he needed to go potty.  Poor thing.  I am not sure how long he was crying because he is never awake when i shower in the mornings, but the important thing is that he held it.  As soon as i put him on his potty, he started going and had a smile on his face that i know was from relief.  He was so proud of himself and so was his mommy.  Oh and his diaper was DRY!!!!!

All in all, training is going better than i could have ever imagined.  Seriously, i have heard so many horror stories of people trying and trying and their children not getting it or really caring less about the whole potty concept.  Harlen has picked it up amazingly and seems to really like it.  He gets SO excited and proud of himself and it melts my heart every. single. time. 

Until next time...... i will be handing out m&m's, doing potty dances and praising my son for his deposits to the potty bank. 

Potty Training 101

The time has come and Harlen has no idea what is about to happen to him.  My sweet little boy is starting on the potty training train and there is no looking back.  I know he is ready, but I am not sure that I am ready.  Potty Training means that my baby is becoming a boy.  The only thing that stands between me and having a baby vs a boy is that he still sleeps in a crib and uses a pacifier.  I am anxious, excited and lost about this whole potty training adventure but one thing that I do know is that I am one lucky mommy to have a daycare teacher that knows that the hell she is doing.  She keeps reassuring me that we are doing the right thing, that she will be with me every step of the way and that we will get through it together.  Saying that I am blessed is an understatement.  I thank my lucky stars, every single time that I drop him off or pick him up, that Harlen gets to spend his days with her (and her mother) and today was no different.  I dropped him off with a few extra outfits, 5 pairs of underwear and left knowing that Kim would help me in this crazy thing we call "being a big boy."  It is so hard for me to believe that we are at this point, but ready or not....... it is time. 

Here are a couple pictures I snapped of Harlen in his new "big boy pants."  I don't care what anyone says, seeing a little boy in underwear is one of (if not the most) adorable thing in the world.  His chunky thighs and tiny booty is probably one of the most precious things I have ever seen. 



Seriously....this kid is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

This pictures cracks me up.  "whats that mommy!"

 

 

 

Wish us luck and pray for an easy transition for him.  Until next time.....if you need us, we will be in the bathroom :)

Photo Dump

We have been busy, busy, busy lately.  I wanted to post a few (ok, well maybe a lot) of pictures of random stuff we have done over the last couple weeks.  We have had a ton of family time, mommy and Harlen time, shopping time (getting spring/summer clothes for Harlen), outdoor time, and tons of fun.  Harlen amazes me on a daily basis.  He communicates so well and surprised me sometimes with what comes out of his mouth.  He is speaking "full" sentences now and can have a pretty good conversation (for a 2 year old).  I absolutely LOVE our conversations that we have to and from daycare each day.  He fills me in on what he plans to do during daycare each morning and what he has to eat or what he played with during our ride home each evening.  It is amazing how you can hear his vocabulary grow on a daily basis. 

Anyways, enough rambling.... here is a glimpse into our daily life.

Playing with the classic, Slinky!  These two bring pure joy to my life.

A picture we sent to daddy while he was away for business. 

 

Shopping with the shades on! 

 

 

 Tried out Sports Clips for the first time. Harlen loved it there. He did awesome getting his 4th hair cut.

 

 

Finished product with a sucker as his reward.  Happy Boy!

 

 

Only my son would be obsessed with shoes.  He insisted on sleeping with his new shoes (no he had not worn them out of the house yet so they were clean and mommy approved as his sleeping buddy for the evening).

 

 

 Happy boy!  Fuzzy picture but LOVE his smile.

A boy and his best friend. 

I watched all 3 boys last Friday and these two decided to watch Spider Man with a pallet on the floor.  LOVE THEM.

Making breakfast with me this past weekend.  He wants to help with every little thing I cook.  Maybe we will have our own little gourmet chef someday.

Harlen had pink eye this past Tuesday.  After we picked up his prescription, we headed to my office for the morning so that I could get some much needed work done.  My office is not the best place for a 2 year old, but he was so excited to see where I spend my time after I drop him off at daycare each morning.

BTW- I hate trying to add a caption to my photos.  It never fails that something is wrong and i dont have the time to try to figure it out.  Sorry for the crappy formatting. 

 

Until next time.........

 

 

 

Girls Trip and Family Time

It has been a little while since I have written on the blog.  I made a pact with myself that I would write at least once a week and I was doing really good with it, but slipped the last couple weeks.  Things have been crazy, but when are they ever NOT crazy, and I have let this blog go on the back burner.  I am back now and ready to rid my laziness or make this a little more of a priority.  Over the last couple weeks, I went out of town (April 11-14) and then last weekend we had a busy weekend of spending time with family, which was much needed and oh so fun. 
To sum up my girls weekend, I got to spend quality time with two beautiful (inside and out) girlfriends of mine who I absolutely love.  I have not had a "girls trip" since before I was pregnant with Harlen so it was much needed and enjoyed to the fullest.  My best friend, Amy, and I set out on the road Thursday morning to Jacksonville, FL.  We had tons of girl talk along the way as well as jamming out to old school music and reminiscing about the years we have been friends (I am pretty sure it has been 17 years now - WOW i feel old).  We arrived in Jacksonville and were greeted by Alli J.  Allison is one of my best friends from high school who moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago.  Since high school, Allison and I have maintained a friendship that has been untouchable.  We may not talk on a regular basis and might have to schedule our phone dates but we make it work and i would not change a thing about our friendship.  We have one of those friendships that is strong no matter what.  I was lucky enough to have had two of my best friends all to myself for 3 whole days. I was on cloud 9 the whole time.  We did a lot of talking/catching up, sun bathing, eating and enjoying a few drinks together.  We had down time to relax, which was so nice.  It has been a long time since I have been able to sit through an episode of The Kardashians and not have a child wanting me to play with him, read to him and clean up after.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY JOB AS A MOMMY, but everyone needs a vacation from reality from time to time.  I thought about Harlen and Chris the whole time I was gone, but I also knew that me being gone was good for the boys as well.  They were able to spend 3 whole days together doing nothing but playing, reading, cuddling and most importantly bonding.  I have seen such an increase in the bonding between the two of them over the last few months and definitely way more since I was out of town with the girls.  I did not worry for a minute about the two of them because they were together and daddy would be perfectly fine doing the job of mommy and daddy while I was away. 

I sucked at taking pictures while in Jacksonville.  Here are the few that I did take.

Last weekend we spent tons of time with both sides of our family.  On Friday, we had dinner with my parents and nephews.  I adore these nights because I get to see Harlen interact with his cousins and it melts my heart.  Harlen adores Colton and I cant blame hm.  The two of them run, laugh, play, use their imagination to the fullest and take care of each other.  They have a bond that is absolutely amazing.  Kinda like brothers.  Colton is so good with Harlen and I never have to worry when the two of them are together.  They play very well with each other and are a pure joy to watch.  Husdson is obviously too young to participate, but i can see him running circles around these boys in a year or two.  I look so forward to having 3 little boys playing, laughing and loving each other. 
On Saturday we went to the Wilson Family Reunion.  It was fun to get out of the house and spend the whole day at Stone Mountain.  Harlen got to meet a ton of his extended family that he has never met before and see some that has not seen him since he was first born.  We enjoyed every minute of kicking the ball, playing Corn Hole, bouncing the basket ball, playing golf and baseball and eating and drinking with family.  My MIL planned the event and did an awesome job getting everyone together.  We are looking forward to the next one and meeting more family that could not attend this years event. 
Once the reunion was over, we went over to Millie and Papas house for dinner and to visit with out of town family.  We relaxed, played outside some more and enjoyed each others company.  One thing I want to make sure to mention is that Harlen had his first tick.  Well, not really, but as close as I would like to get.  I changed his diaper that evening and looked down when i went to throw it away and low and behold, a tick was crawling on it.  He must have picked it up from Stone Mountain.  We looked him over and did not find anything else, but my first reaction (after telling myself to no freak out) was to freak out.  I am not so good at the "don't overreact" type of parenting.  He was happy to find out that there were no bugs on him.  I think we might have freaked him out a little, oops!  All in all, Saturday was a great day and we enjoyed it immensely.
On Sunday we had a quiet morning and did a few things around the house.  Once dinner time rolled around, we loaded up and went back to my parents house for dinner.  My cousin and her mom were in town from California and we planned a last minute family dinner so that we could all get together.  It was a quick evening as we needed to get Harlen home and ready for the week, but it was still enjoyable. 

Here is a photo dump of some pictures I have taken over the last couple weeks. 

Until next time......

Spring has sprung!

I can not tell you the last time that I have felt this happy.  I feel like I keep saying that, but honestly it is the truth.  Maybe it is the weather and the instant excitement I feel for nice weather and outdoor activities but seriously.....this past week/weekend has been perfect.  I got to spend some much needed quality time with my little family of 3 and it felt so good.  This past weekend was perfect.  Perfect weather, perfect company and perfect adventures.

On Friday we had a low key night.  Harlen and I went to dinner with Allison.  We got to catch up, play and relax with a very special person in our lives.  What a great way to start out the weekend.
Side note: Harlen got his first splinter.  Just a splinter you say.... not to a two your old that did not like the idea of mommy "hurting" him to get it out.  The poor thing was screaming so loud and thought that i wanted to cause harm on him.  When he was screaming at the top of his lungs "NO MOMMY, YOU HURT ME, OUCHIE" over and over again, I started to sweat, tears welled up in my eyes and my blood pressure went through the roof.  My anxiety kicked in and i thought both Harlen and I were going to loose it.  In the end I was not going to be able to get it out alone so we decided to wait till daddy could be with us and calm both of us down. 

On Saturday, we woke up and did a little cuddling while watching cartoons and then got ready to head to the zoo.  This was Harlen's first trip to the zoo and both me and the hubs first trip in a very long time, since middle school.  We were all excited to be together, just the 3 of us, and soak in as much time together enjoying the nice weather as we could. We went to as many animal exhibits as we could and Harlen enjoyed getting to see some of his favorite animals up close and personal.  His favorites were the giraffes, tiger, elephants and birds.  We did not get to make it to the petting zoo or ride on the train so that will be the first place we go to next time. 

 

Once we were home from the zoo Harlen had a little snack outside.  He decided to drag his little chair over to the outside deck and look over the back yard.  He told me he was looking for the animals.  I think we need to work on the explanation of what type of animals he sees on a daily basis and what type of animals he will only see at the zoo. 

 

Daddy had plans to spend the night out with the boys so Harlen and I went on a date.  We had so much fun talking, playing and getting to spend the night together.  We went to a local pizza place by our house which turned out perfect because they had some games that he could play once he was done eating. 

 

On Sunday we did some choirs around the house which included washing the "bus."  Harlen had so much fun playing in the water, scrubbing the yuck off of the tires and using the hose.  We only had to change his clothes once, due to him spraying himself instead of the car.  All in all, he did much better at the washing/stayed entertained with the task than I thought he would.  I was predicting a half washed van and a child that would loose interest within 15 minutes.  He got a little bored once the outside was finished and wanted to go play in the backyard, but who can blame him.  Cleaning out the inside is the worst part. 

 

We did a little playing in the yard and then it was time for lunch and a nap. 

 

We decided to venture up to the bar, yes I said bar, on Sunday evening for dinner and some play time.  Sunday was customer appreciation day at Montana's and sister was working so my whole family, as well as the in laws, were there to eat burgers/dogs, listen to music and enjoy the weather.  Harlen and Colton had a blast together, like always.  Seriously, the bond between the two of these boys is like something I have never seen before.  They are adorable. They love each other so much and it makes my heart full when I watch the two of them together. 

 

I think it is fair to say that Harlen was tuckered out by the time that we got home.  Actually, he would have kept going if i let him, but as soon as I said "night night" he laid down and responded with "sweet dreams, mommy"  - I melt!  





This coming weekend is girls weekend with two of my faves, Allison and Amy, in Jacksonville, FL.  Chris will be home with Harlen all weekend pulling mommy/daddy duty.  I cant wait to hear how their weekend goes.  I am sure they will have a blast :)

Until next time.........