A Thing of the Past

You see this?

We are happy to say that Pull-Ups are a thing of the past! Yes! Seriously! No, I can’t believe it, either. We are so proud of Benjamin for sleeping in big boy underwear and keeping them dry at night, and he is proud of himself. It only took forever… if you remember, he was day-time potty trained, for the most part, back in April ‘11, but night time and naptime were a different story. Naptime came first, and now we can say that bedtime has been dry for over a week now.

Can’t say how relieving this is! But most of all, I’m just really excited for Benjamin because he is so proud of himself for keeping his underwear dry.

A little brag about a big milestone! Aw yeah, Benjamin!!

Our Easter Adventures

 

Easter had me all nervous. As most everyone knows, Thursday was the first day of our hardcore potty training. By Saturday he was supposed to be fully trained, if we had stuck with the method we had initially decided to use. However, by Friday afternoon we had decided that the method wasn’t the right one for Benjamin {as we know him a lot better than someone who just wrote a general method to cover a wide range of personalities}. We decided to change a few things in the method {we added no-nos, according to her, ha!}, and as soon as we did, we started seeing a change. The last time I updated you about the process was Friday, and as it happens, until yesterday evening, Friday had been the last day that we had to mop up any accidents. Saturday Benjamin did very well and we were so proud of him!

Anyway back to Sunday. I was so nervous because all weekend we had stayed in the house and had not gone anywhere… okay maybe a brief trip to the deck but that is all. We stayed home. We got some Pull Ups for Bible Class {we called them Bible Class Undies so that he would not think it was a diaper}. We took his potty to church and stuck it in the nursery bathroom.

Sunday he stayed dry all day long except at naptime. We were able to enjoy our Easter day without mopping up any accidents or switching out wet undies for dry ones. Success!

In fact, we spent the afternoon at some friends’ house and even had an Easter egg hunt for Benjamin.

 

 

 

We had such a good time. We are so proud of Benjamin and his success with Potty Training. He isn’t totally trained, but the good news is he even kept his bed dry all night last night. Progress! We love our big boy!

Potty Training Update

I don’t want to go into all the dirty details here, so I will be brief.

{ha, a pun!}

Yesterday was day one of potty training. Carl was at work so it was left up to me to get the job done, or at least start the process. We had decided to follow the 3-Day Potty Training Method, and I was certain that it would be a perfect fit for Benjamin.

I ended up breaking down a few times within the first five hours.

If you haven’t tackled all-or-nothing potty training {I mean, potty training with a purpose, not just on a whim}, you might not understand why I had my breakdowns. But I do know there are those of you who do understand. It’s exhausting, discouraging, frustrating, and boy does it try your patience.

After his nap we had better success, not perfect but better. I went to bed feeling pretty good about it, thinking that today would be so much better after we all were sort of familiar with it all.

Wrong. Wrong. wrong wrong wrong.

This morning was worse, it seemed. Carl and I both were getting pretty discouraged and we questioned whether or not he is really ready for the potty. However, we pressed on. Before lunch, it got better.

What have we learned? Methods aren’t always the answer. Sometimes you have to deviate from the ‘path’ to find what fits for you. I felt very discouraged because I was doing what the method said and I felt like we were getting nowhere. Maybe I didn’t give that method enough time, I don’t know, but we have found a different way that seems to work so far for us.

It is all a learning process. For the kiddos and for the parents. It’s a good time to pray for patience because you’re going to need it. It’s a good time to exercise that patience and self control and kindness and compassion and understanding toward your child who is learning more about his body and the various functions, wanting so bad to please but sometimes just not understanding or getting there fast enough.

A quick thank you to a few friends, Lisa, Rebecca, and Amber, for their advice and understanding and empathy, support and encouragement! There are others, too, who have offered consolation when I thought I was losing my mind, and I am really grateful for that! Where would we be without each other?

A bigger thank you goes out to Carl who has been patient with my short fuse the last couple of days and who has been running to Wal-mart for me when I needed a few things. I am so blessed with a loving, kind, and understanding husband!

Anyway, Benjamin should wake any minute … and then we are back at it again!

Growing Up

I have been looking at old pictures of Benjamin lately. I know that pretty much everyone who has ever had kids will tell you straight up that you should enjoy every moment while they are young  because they grow up entirely too fast. I have found this to be extremely accurate. I feel like just yesterday Benjamin was doing his first ever Easter egg hunt through the house {with Daddy’s assistance, of course, ha!}. He is just not the same baby as he was back then, in fact I realized today that BabyCenter sends me emails calling Benjamin ‘your preschooler’. Preschooler? My baby? Already?

But it’s true. He isn’t such a baby anymore. In fact, as many of you probably have heard already via Facebook, Benjamin will be hardcore potty-training starting tomorrow. I don’t know how many of you know of the 3-Day Potty Training Method, but that is what we are going to do and we are praying that it will work because first thing tomorrow, all the disposable diapers go bye-bye and the cloth ones get put away. Cold turkey.

I admit that I am pretty nervous about this whole process. This means that there is no going back. No falling back on diapers. Go big or go home, right? Well we are going big. This means that I will have to be right with Benjamin every waking minute of the day for the next three days. I have to catch him while he is in the process of ‘going’, each and every time he goes. Tonight we went on a last minute walmart run to buy one more pack of “big boy unnies”, a bunch of drinks, some special dinosaur cups, and some bananas.

So I apologize, but I won’t be around much the next three days. I won’t be able to do the Morning Glories posts because it takes my attention away from Benjamin for too long. Hopefully the next time you hear from me will be with good news about Benjamin’s potty training. Say a prayer for my sanity if you will, ha! And maybe Benjamin’s too because I am sure by the end of it we will be tired of spending so much time together.

So my big boy is growing up. I think he is ready. And I think I am, too. But we’ll just have to see when the three days are up! Bye-bye diapers! 

Benjamin, you are sixteen months old!

Sixteen Months Old!

This past month flew by, Mister Ben! I am sure that as soon as I blink my eye, I'll be saying, "Benjamin, you are Sixteen Years Old!" I wish I had toothpicks to prop my eyelids open so I won't miss one second of it! You are always doing something different or learning something new and it is so exciting to see you explore new things. You are just precious and perfect in every which way!




You have 12 teeth now, sir, and you have two more coming in! That is fourteen all together once you get those two in, and that to me is a lot! You love to use those teeth, too, don't you? Your favorite thing, hands down, is Nana's eggless fudgy brownies. I can't count how many times you ask for one during the day {though usually you only get one if you've been good}. It's funny to think that you are still underweight! At your 15 month appointment you were only 21 pounds! You are in the 20th percentile for weight and 25th for height. I always thought you'd stay on the higher end of the scale but you've proven me wrong!





You are so silly. I tell you every day that you are just a silly billy. You are always either preaching at us or dancing around! You like to stand on top of things and feel so proud of yourself when you do. You also like to reach up and turn doorknobs {I think of this now because as I type this, that's exactly what you're doing, goober!}. You like to woof like a dog and you like to hiss like a snake, and it is so precious. One of my favorite tricks that you do though has to be praying and then saying, "AAAAMEN!" It's precious!



You usually take one nap per day but sometimes you'll bless us with a second nap! You have a lot of energy, young man, and I am sure you'll only have more for me to deal with! You sleep so well at night! You've been sleeping through the night since January and my life has changed ever since! haha! Seriously, it's been a blessing to be able to keep up with you, though you're so active that mommy sometimes needs a nap as well.





You have such an inquiring mind. I have never seen such a curious child. You like to see how things work and you like to check everything out. You don't say too many actual words yet but you certainly voice your concerns and love to hear your voice echo back to you - can you say preacher's kid?? haha!



This is also what we have in store for us this coming month. Yesterday we bought you this potty and today was the first time you sat on it. At first you weren't too sure, but you've requested a few times to sit, and so you have. While you haven't done anything yet, you are showing interest, and dear Benjamin, you are breaking your momma's heart with all this growing up! Go easy on your mommy, okay? Don't start saying real words for a while yet, and let me cherish your jibber jabber a while longer. It's just too precious to let go of.



I love you, my Blonde-haired, Blue-eyed, darling boy! Even if you are starting to not be a baby anymore...