Potty Training a Bust

I officially called off Colin's potty training around 4:30 this afternoon.  The day had not been completely horrible.  It was pretty even across the board as far as attempts, accidents, and successes.  BUT...one of my biggest concerns in doing this was Colin's defiance and disrespect for my authority.  It's been a hard battle.  One that is partly just a 2 year old thing, but something that also takes some consistent discipline..and that's something that I really have to work on. 

In the morning, he had a small accident in the kitchen.  I took him to the bathroom and told him to wait while I went and found him some clean underwear.  (I did have a pile stashed in there, but I ran out and forgot to replace.  Ugh!)  Of course he didn't stay.  INSTEAD he choose to go into my room, on top of the living room rug I had rolled up and moved out of the way, and finish peeing on it.  :) 

So I admit.  That was half my fault.  I should have put him on the stool to see if he had to go anymore.  But to be right there, and not even try!?

As a whole though, he did pretty well in the morning.  A few successess and a few accidents.  He even pooped in the toilet today before his nap!

After nap time it kind of seemed to go down hill.  When the timer would go off Ryan and I would get all excited and say "It's potty time!!!  YEAH!!", but it was taking more and more convincing to get him to get up and go to the bathroom.  I knew he was due for a good pee cause he sucked down a whole cup of koolaid since I woke him up from his nap.  We had already made it through two 15/20 minute rounds with no success, so I KNEW he had to go.  Man, was he fighting it though.  The timer went off, we went to the bathroom, and I couldn't get him on the stool.  So I sat down and was trying to ask him why he didn't want to go pee and he said he was scared.  So I said, "Well, ok.  Let's pray about it and then you can try."  I wasn't even two words into our prayer when he started peeing all over the floor...and my feet.  Ugh! 

I guess it frustrated me because we were RIGHT THERE!  One foot from the toilet!!!!  If he would have gotten up on the stool WHEN I told him to, he wouldn't have had an accident.

At that point I made a decision.  He wasn't ready.  I can't drag him to the bathroom kicking and screaming.  Although I can discipline him for not obeying me when I give him a command in other things, I can't discipline him for not going pee when I tell him to. :)

And as much as I want him out of diapers, I'm not sure I'm 100% ready.  I am already at my max capacity for tension.  We are at the end of a year deployment, and I'm feeling it.  I realized that I was telling him it was ok if he had an accident, that they are part of the learning process, but my actions weren't exactly saying the same.  I was getting frustrated and annoyed.

We had started potty training Ryan a few months earlier in age then what Colin is now.  It was a longer process, and it took a while for him to get it.  I guess I was hoping that since Colin was a little bit older, he would be able to catch on quick.  And he is definitely at the stage where he wants to do everything himself, so I was hoping this would just be another one of those things. 

All in all...it wasn't a complete failure.  I am a bit disappointed that he's still in diapers, but he's at least peed in the toilet now!  So we can work from there.  I'll keep doing some "pre-potty training" and tyring to talk it up so that way about a month or two down the road we can try again.  And I know that having Tim home is going to make a HUGE difference, for the better.  (If only that were tomorrow!!!!!)

A Potty Party!!!

Today we started our first day of "hard-core" potty training for Colin!  Some say it might not be a good time since we're about to go through a change with Tim coming home in three weeks..but for me, at this point ANY progress is good.  Colin has shown signs in the past of being ready, but I have not acted on them or been consistent in any type of toilet training.  I had every intention of doing this a few months back in February, but then Colin caught the flu the few days I had scheduled it and I haven't had three free days back to back, until now.

Sunday night after the boys went to bed I "prepared" the house.  I rolled up my living room rug, removed the rugs out of the bathrooms, collected some of his favorite books and stored them in the bathroom, got his sticker chart ready, his jar of Peanut MM's, and (my favorite) I hung streamers from the bathroom door!

I wanted to try and get Colin excited about going pee in the potty..so we had a little party!!!  It was just us and my friend Sarah and her boys came over to play later for a bit.  We started the morning with chocolate chip pancakes and Caprisuns!  After we cleaned up from breakfast and I got myself together, we put on our cool  party hats and Colin got to open up his potty gift!

 Big boy underwear of course!!!

Then he got to help me make the koolaid he picked out!  (I've been pretty successful at switching my boys to water all day, with an occasional Gatorade..so koolaid is a real treat!)

For each attempt he gets one sticker and one MM.  For a successful pee, he'll get two each.  After a few days, he'll only get the MM's for a successful pee.  We even bought some little party horns and bubbles to blow if he peed in the potty!

 

We ended the day with 10 attempts, 5 accidents, and 2 successes!!  Right around 5 PM I was thinking that maybe he's not ready yet.  He hadn't peed in the potty ONCE.  By 7 he tinkled for the first time (from what I saw), and the next time a GOOD successful pee!  He was even leaning into it!!  I'm SO thankful for that little bit of success at the end of the day!  It was very rewarding and encouraging for me.  Praying the number of successes go up tomorrow!

6+ months

Blaine has grown so much in the last two months.  The week we were in Oklahoma there was dramatic change in about a two/three day window in his behavior/awareness.  In the last two weeks he's finally rolled over!!  YEAH!!!!!

In the last two weeks he's gone from just learning to roll over to sitting up for extended periods of time on his own!  I love it when they start sitting up on their own.  It's the cutest thing!

Here's just two more pics of our handsome man!

We had his 6 month appointment last week and he was 20 lbs, 6 ounces, and 27 1/2 inches!  He's pretty solid though so his 20 lbs feels more like 22/23.

Ok..and one more video.  (I can't help it..he's just so stinkin' cute!!!)

Stylin' in a Onsie

Last year for Mother's Day my dear husband bought me a sewing machine.  At the time, I had recently seen this post on my friend's blog that showed those little onsies with a tie sewn onto them.  I loved them and it was the very first thing on my list to make with my new sewing machine.  I also wanted to make some though that looked like a sweater vest.  I had made a few for my nephew and a few for my friend's new baby.  I never got around to making any for myself so I was super excited when I found them in a box of clothes Liz gave to me when we were in Oklahoma!  One day I'll make some more!  It is one of my absolute favorites!  And this isn't the best picture..but you get the idea.

Way Back When: Easter

Yeah...I'm still trying to catch up.  Maybe if I stopped taking pictures I could get caught up..but I don't really see that happening.

These first few are from Easter morning after we got home from church.  Everyone was kind-of tired and hungry, so I tried to make it as painless as possible.

Later Sunday afternoon we headed over to our friend's house (Matt & Sarah).  They were kind enough to host a big Easter dinner and egg hunt for a few families. 

Blaine was one day shy of 6 months on Easter so I tried getting a few shots of him out front while we were waiting for everyone to show up.  He's so handsome!!!

 

The rest of the time we just enjoyed hanging out with our friends. 

Ms. Milly

This is Sarah and her second, Cameron.  (He recently turned one and I wanted to share the newborn pics I took of him last year, but I can't find them.  Stink.)  He's such a cutie!!!

 

Ms. Sofia

Ms. Andi

And Ryan inspecting all his loot.

 

To be honest...I have about 4-8 more pics from the get together..but my computer was giving me issues downloading them, so I decided to call it quits.  Hopefully I can move forward now!

I didn't really plan anything Easter related for the boys this year, in the worldly sense, so I know the boys (especially Ryan) really enjoyed the egg hunt.  It was kind of crazy the week before since we had just gotten back from Oklahoma and then we learned that Tim's Grandpa had passed away, so I was busy unpacking and making other preparations for Tim coming home. 

There were two major things in the few weeks prior that I think gave us a good view of Easter this year.  The first thing was our memory verse for the letter "R."  Exodus 20:8, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy."  The little devotion that went with it talked about the importance of every Sunday being special because of the fact that Sunday was the day the Jesus rose from the dead.  That reminder alone was good for me, but it was also a great way to start talking about Easter and why Jesus did what he did.  Out of His love for us.

The second thing that brought up a lot of conversation about Easter was a few weeks later when Tim's grandpa passed away.  I was able to explain to Ryan that because of what Jesus did for us Tim's grandpa has left this earth but is now singing praise songs to Jesus in heaven.  There was even a moment at the party where Ryan was out back with Matt and Will and he told them "My Grandpa died."  Matt told Sarah and I later he was like.."Oh man.  What do I say?.  How do I explain this to him?  Am I going to have to go into theology with him?"  But Ryan's quick response smoothed over the issue..."But it's okay cause he's in heaven!" 

I'm so glad my son has the mind to understand, but I've been praying for his heart to perceive what this means for him.

Photo Shoot: Bo & Liz

While up in Oklahoma I was able to take a few pics for Tim's sister's family. 

Meet (officially) Bo, Liz, Elijah, Jack, & Baylee.

Unfortunately I didn't get as many as we wanted.  We had good intentions of getting some single shots of each of the kids, some of just the kids, some in their OU shirts (good thing we missed that one. hehe), etc.  We even planned to split it up on different nights, that way the kids didn't feel so overwhelmed all at once.  The night we planned to do Baylee's it was SUPER windy.  Poor girl couldn't really look up without the wind taking her breath away.  Plus it kept blowing her over.

The night we did the family ones we had met for dinner first.  We were also trying to wait a little later for some better light, but the later we waited the crankier all the kids got.  At least the younger ones.  Including mine.  And Elijah was very distracted by Ryan and Colin who were running around playing and helping PaPa up in the garden.  It's so hard to sit still when your friends are playing! 

I love the way Liz's eyes pop in this one!

So..not my best, but a few manageable ones.  We miss them so much and always cherish our time together with them.

Catching Up

Ok...so it's been a while.  I have a whole months worth to catch up on.  A LOT of pictures.  So...back in the begining of April, when my back went out, Liz (Tim's sister) drove down to help me out for a few days.  She left her older two at home but brought Baylee with her.  Baylee is 10 days older than Blaine.

Last time we were together, which was about two weeks after I had Blaine, we didn't get any pictures of them together.  One would always be sleeping and the other one would be awake.  So here are a few...

Then, after I was able to see a chiropractor and get an adjustment, we carpooled up to Oklahoma.  It's always a joy for us to go up and visit with Tim's family.  I took many, but here are just a few.

He's So Close!

Yes, my baby is 6 months, 1 week, and 2 days old....and we are still encouraging him to roll from his back to his belly FOR THE FIRST TIME!  :)  He's been quite content just laying around and hanging out.    He just found his feet about a week and a half ago.  Both are normally things you'd normally see around 3 to 4 months.  hehe.  I love how every baby is different and they all seem to get it eventually.  He seems to be getting frustrated though and frustration leads to motivation.  (No matter our age/circumstance that seems to ring true.)  You can see in the video though that after trying for a bit he decides it's better just to lay there and suck on his left fist.  I have a feeling it will be soon though!

Pure Goodness

Back in October when Tim flew in for his R&R his flight time was moved up and I was caught unprepared.  We were still at church and I didn't bring either of my cameras with me.  This time I had a doctors appointment that same morning but made sure to bring everything with me.

Ryan was just talking non-stop and Colin was ready to start wrestling right then and there.  :)

I Will Rejoice and Grieve.

Last night right before going to bed Tim and I learned that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. 

Although I'm a Christian and I know Christ has called me to share Him with others, it is not always at the forefront of my mind.  When my path crosses with someone else I don't always consider where they stand in their relationship with Christ.  The bigger picture is not always my picture.  But today my heart felt heavy.  For a while I was thinking I was kind of crazy and getting things mixed up with the emotions of Tim leaving  back to Iraq again today.  And although, my heart is heavy for that, I honestly can say I can feel my spirit grieve for Osama Bin Laden's soul.

I know what he represented here on this earth was wicked and it caused pain in the lives of many. 

For his ways of wickedness to die, I rejoice. 

For one of our missions as a country to be completed, I rejoice. 

For the change this might bring for the people of the Middle East, I rejoice. 

For his soul, I grieve. 

Can you imagine the force with which reality must have struck him after he breathed his last?!  To stand before our God and for Him to say, "I knew you not."  To have everything he believed so strongly in and fought for to finally be covered in the light of the truth.  For the blinds to finally be removed from his eyes, yet he no longer has the ability to make the choice to walk in it.

Some have said "Justice has been served."  But isn't death and separation from God the justice we all deserve?  We ALL have sinned. 

"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  Romans 3:23 

No one of us is greater.  Only by accepting the grace of God that he extends so willingly are we saved from our justice.  Oh how he wants each of us to accept that grace and have a relationship with Him.  And how much more must His heart grieve at the loss of one?

“Say to them, ‘As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his ways and live.’” Ezekiel 33.11

I am still a proud American and Army wife. 

I still believe there are just causes for war. 

It was a victory for our country but a loss for the kingdom of Christ. 

For this I will rejoice and grieve.