day 1 of official potty training

i didn't meant to officially start potty training. but here we are. officially potty training. i bought these two books for reference: toilet training in less than a day and that's how i roll. the first book was very specific and regimented, and seemed like it would produce the results that it advertised (complete potty training in less than a day--this means walking to the potty, pulling down pants, sitting, peeing, pulling up pants, dumping pee from potty into the toilet, returning potty container to the potty, and flushing the toilet). after about an hour and 45 minutes of absolutely some of the hardest work i've done so far in motherhood, i realized, this isn't going to work for me. i mean, it started off very promising, but... cut to 4 completely soaked pairs of underwear later, we were both sweaty, semi-covered in urine, out-of-breath, and miserable. my back is still yelling at me.

so i put diapers on him.

then i started reading the second book. and i realized, i can't turn back now. we've already moved to underwear. putting diapers on him now is basically saying, oh, potty training is hard? that's okay, we've got diapers. you can wear those until you're 4, and that's okay with me. it's mixed signals, and i hate that kind of parenting. besides, i've done nearly all the big-ticket changes in mosey's life cold turkey. why start doing something different now? oh, and by the way, that second book is poorly written, but very funny. unfortunately, it was about 200 pages too short for my taste. it should be called a booklet, or a glorified pamphlet, to be honest with you. but, well, different strokes for different folks, right?

okay. so now on to share what i've learned in the past 24 hours. first. my shopping list:

• toddler underwear, preferably with his current favorite characters. initially, i bought 8. when i went through 4 in 1 hour and 45 minutes, i realized i probably needed more. i went back to the store during naptime today and bought 16 more pairs. i think that will be enough not to have to do laundry any more frequently than we already do it. 
• treats for mosey. i bought gummy fruit snacks, which he loves, and i like to think they're not as bad for you as straight up candy. when i saw how the morning went, i upped the anty a bit. i got some peanut butter m&ms. it was a good move. the desire for these special treats is very high.
• a jelly jar type of thing that shows off those treats for mosey but keeps them sealed (tightly, if possible, toddlers are very persistent). this will stay in the bathroom. 
• treats for mom. i read to do this in the second book up there. she mentioned two bottles of wine. after the morning i had, i decided what i needed were those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. i had one this afternoon. it was amazing.
• we had a cushy toilet seat for mosey already, so we used that today.
• i couldn't find a step stool in all of god-forsaken walmart, so i got a plastic milk crate. the height is nice, but the corners have hurt mosey on several occasions already. oh well. it works for stepping up to the toilet and the sink.
• i didn't have a peeing dolly (as the first book suggested), so i used a stuffed bear as our teaching tool and a squirting bath toy to simulate the bear going pee pee in the toilet. it worked very well. i just had to watch out that mosey didn't drop mr. bear into the toilet on accident.
• bed liners. i don't know if we'll need these for his bed, but we already have used it on furniture to help catch any pee pee during meal times so far. 
• more paper towels. i wasn't using the cushy potty seat this morning (just because they don't use it at daycare, and i thought, it'd be great if mosey could learn to hold himself up and pee in regular toilets). well, the problem is that the regular toilet doesn't have a splash guard for boys. this means that if he's got two sippy cups of juice in his bladder and he's peeing full-speed ahead with his penis sticking up, everything between the toilet and about two to three feet in front of the toilet will get a generous splash of urine. whoops. paper towels became very handy. our bathroom currently smells like a public stairwell, even after careful cleaning. :O\
• juice. 
• stickers. i bought this roll of 600 Cars stickers for $3. what a find! i used them today each time mosey felt his underwear and they were dry. it was kind of an adapted reward system from the first book's recommendation. basically, i wanted for mosey to learn that dry underwear is good underwear. wet underwear is underwear we can't wear anymore, and there is no prize for wet underwear. he seemed quite proud of all the stickers he'd gotten through the day (we taped a piece of paper on the bathroom door and then checked the underwear every few minutes; with each dry check, he got to put a sticker on the paper). 
• pull-ups. i'm thinking that we'll have to use diapers or pull-ups during naptime and nighttime for a while. he's always got a full diaper after sleeping. i haven't used the pull-ups yet.
• "friends-who-care" list. this wasn't purchased, but it was prepared. a list of all the people in the world that would be happy/proud that mosey was doing all the things he was doing. lots of praise and encouragement. 

the wet underwear count was up to 9 by the end of the day, i think. he full-on cried a few of those times, because i think he really knew that he shouldn't have wet his underwear. i will admit to you, i am having my doubts now that maybe i started too early.... but it's too late now. *shrug* hopefully, he'll be farther along before we have to go back to daycare on tuesday. 

lovelove,

drained momma

2-year old stats

we had a visit to the pediatrician last week. i forgot to update you.

• weight: 26 lbs 14.5 oz, 50%
• height: 35.75 in, 75%
• head circ: 19.75 in, 90%

in other words, moses lollipop head. at least for now.

also, he said, the next well-child visit is at 3. it seems rather strange to have it be a year from now after so many regular visits for so long. it's just as well. mosey got his hep A shot in the morning at the health department, so when he got to the actual doctor's office, he was super scared! it's probably better to give it some time before we go and see the doctor again.

ah, who am i kidding? we'll probably be back to see him with the new crop of illnesses next season. thanks, daycare.

lovelove,
mimi

underwear tantrum

so, at daycare, the teachers have been putting mosey on the potty. the goal is for the toddlers to be completely potty trained before leaving the 2's class. we have plenty of time, but i guess they get started right away. just as well. mosey is probably able to be trained at this point. he regularly has BMs on the toilet on the weekends, and his diaper stays dry a good part of the day. 

anyway, so i ordered some underwear for moses online. they came today, but i wondered if they were too big, so i slipped a pair on him tonight after his bath. they fit great, and he genuinely loved having them on. it came time to get his diaper and pajamas on, so i slipped them off. when i scooted a diaper under him, he broke out into the loudest, saddest cry you have ever heard from this toddler. i don't think he's cried so long and sad about anything in a long long time. i asked him if he liked his underwear, and he replied sadly, in almost a whisper, "yeah."

maybe we'll try to potty train this weekend, especially since it's labor day and we'll be home. i'll keep you updated.

lovelove,

mean momma

imagination

i didn't have much of an imagination when i was young. i remember thinking my friends were ridiculous for proposing that we play house (because none of us were adults and i couldn't imagine a house without adults). my lack of imagination was pretty bad, and through elementary school, i felt it was a real handicap to my education, especially when teachers said, "just use your imagination." i knew i was doomed.

well, now that our son is really talking suddenly, i can see that he does, to my great relief, have an imagination. :) the other day, while he was eating, he had his toast in a particular shape and said, "lion, roar!" then he flipped his orange wedge over and said, "turtle." then he took his sugar snap pea, waved it around horizontally, and said, "alligator!" i am still so impressed, days later.

lovelove,
me

yucky pie-der

we found out this morning that Moses is afraid of spiders. we were having a regular start to our day, with shane and mo in the dining room, when moses realized that he was staring at a spider. and screamed. shane picked mosey up and comforted him while he got a paper towel. he killed the spider and mosey said, "kee kyoo (thank you)." shane told mosey about how he doesn't like yucky spiders either. mosey said, "yucky pie-der." shane told mosey that he needed to tell me about it when i came out (i was in the bathroom showering). 

when i came out a full 15 minutes or so later, mosey wasted no time. he looked right in my eyes and said, "yucky pie-der." then went on to describe what happened in his mumbles. it was pretty awesome. 

he doesn't have a problem with any other insects. or pictures of spiders. very interesting.

lovelove,

me

it's the last day

so, mosey's been joining the 2-year old class at daycare over the last month or so, and he joined full-time this week. it's really weird, guys. he's suddenly a much bigger kid. well, smaller because all the other kids look so much older in this class (i mean some of them must be much closer to 3 because they're speaking in complete sentences and are so much taller), but i mean, they do things different in the 2's class. they drink from regular cups, they learn shapes, they use scissors (!), and they use the potty. wow. they do all kinds of amazing things that i didn't know that 2 year old kids did. but he's still my baby!! and still my one-year old for the rest of today.

lovelove,

sheba, queen of de nile

black beans, a joke, and a compliment

i wore my favorite bracelet today. my son pointed at it and identified what he knew, "black beans." indeed, son, my favorite bracelet sure does look a whole lot like black beans.

the other day, shane and i were talking about old friends, and we actually forgot the first name of the husband of the couple. when we finally figured it out, we both said, "jeff!" and laughed with relief. then our little boy yelled, "jeff!" too and laughed with us! he's been saying it ever since, whenever he feels like telling a joke.

also the other day, i was wearing a dress with flowers on it, and moses pointed at it, and said, "pretty!" i'm fairly certain that he was only saying what he thought flowers were called, since i'm sure everyone points at flowers and says, "pretty!" nevertheless, a complimentary word from my sweet toddler felt like a million dollars.

lovelove,
me :)

"sigh, fry"

little guy is coughing in the next room as i write this, and i wish so badly that i could just scoop him up and bring him into our bed. too bad getting him out of his crib is a sure-fire way to wake up him and instantly stir up tons of curious energy. poor guy. he's transitioning to the 2 year old room at daycare, he's still sick from over a week ago, he's covered in angry mosquito bites (like momma like son), and to top it off, he's turning 2 years old. it's gotta be a tough time in life.

also, shane and i just realized today that he's turning 2. in 11 days. what?? i sort of can't believe it and wish it weren't true. i'm sad about it honestly.

anyway.

big boy moses has had some significant (according to me) social developments as of late.

• he has not only mastered the dramatic NO of a toddler, he has also begun to say the word "yeah." and he says it plainly, just "yeah." i ask him questions and he answers, "yeah." i can really get used to that response. it's like music to my ears. soothing, lovely music.
• the other night, when mo took a while falling asleep (which, i have discovered happens when we go on evening walks after dinner), he just repeated, "momma," about a thousand times, probably hoping that i would give in and go play with him. i'm sure it'll probably get old over time, but for now, it was super cute. it kind of reminded me of this clip.
• he knows what "you okay?" means and he uses it once in a while when he senses something hurts or something. it's really precious. 
• on a related note, i was crying a little the other day, and mosey came straight up to me and said, "itchokay." that kid is too sweet! i canNOT handle it.
• he tells the dog "bresh you" (bless you) whenever he coughs or barks.
• when we swat (and kill) flies, he says, "sigh, fry," which translated from mosey-talk is, "sorry, fly." and no, we didn't coach him to say that. he seems genuinely remorseful for the fly's pain.

lovelove,

momma