Potty Party

So you’ve never heard of a potty party?!?  I can’t imagine why…

Brody’s daycare teachers throw a “potty party” for each kid that is deemed “potty-trained.”  Ever since we started the potty training journey, Brody has been talking about his potty-party.  The great thing is, when the other kids at daycare have one, it’s incentive for the others to have one. 

Finally, we seemed to accomplish small success in going both pee and poop in the toilet.  #2 took a little (lot) bit longer, but we eventually got to the point where he did it, voluntarily, on his own.  Once at “home” (we were actually out to dinner @ BW3s…who knew that’s where he would decide to go!) and then again at daycare the next day.  So, his teachers promised him that if he keeps his underwear clean for one more week, then he gets his party.

One week and a few days later, he had his potty party.  So what do you do at a potty party?  Well…

First, you put underwear on your head:

Second, Brody gets to pick the snack (Oranges) and flavor of milk (Strawberry).  And his teacher got him a balloon.



Then, your parents come, and you get to make them wear underwear on their heads.   

Brody has been talking for months about how he wants his brother to come to his potty party.  At first we were unsure if Aedan was coming in utero or in person.  But at 8 days old, Aedan showed up to the potty party.  He did not, however, wear underwear on his head.

 

 As silly as it seems, it was important for Brody to be recognized as much as possible for being potty trained.  We’ve already had one minor set-back, but he’s come a long way in the last few months.  We’re very proud of him.

Tough Twos?

All the posts about the new baby, there hasn’t been a lot of posts on how Brody is doing these days.  I hate to call them the terrible twos, but he’s definitely full of challenges as he’s making his way to three.  So, I’ll call it the good, the bad and the ugly of the twos.

The Good

 
There are so so many good things about this stage, that I am sure I won’t do it justice when I get to the “bad” and the “ugly.”  For starters, the independence of a two year old is great.  He’s great at playing by himself, listens to directions and can even climb into his booster seat on his own.  This allows us to do a whole lot more as parents, which is great, but it’s also amazing to watch your baby’s personality develop even more by watching what he does when you’re not right there next to him.  I LOVE sneaking up on him when he’s playing and watch what he does / what he’s playing with.  Some of his favorites these days are: his Little People Zoo toy (listening to animal sounds), legos, playing baseball (his absolute favorite) and singing with Elmo.

Communication is also great.  He can tell us what he wants, how he feels and remembers things he’s done.  This is absolutely the best thing about this age.  The phrase “kids say the darndest things!” is so true.  Especially at 2.  He sees the world so differently that it often opens my eyes to how innocent and impressionable he is.  I often have to remind myself that he’s absorbing everything I do and to be careful about what I say.  My favorite though? “I love you mama”  Best words ever spoken by a sweet little boy.

Leading me to my little boy’s developing personality.  He may be rough and very much a boy, but he also has the biggest heart.  And he definitely loves his mama.  Last weekend he was being a little crazy and jumping on me.  When I said “ow! you need to be more careful, you’re hurting mommy.”  He said, “I’m sorry! I’ll get you some ice!”  With purpose in mind, he went straight for his stool, opened the freezer and then realized he couldn’t reach the ice.  So then of course he asked for help and held the ice up to my arm.  So sweet.

The Bad

Remember how great I said it was that he can communicate?  It’s also the “bad” of two year olds.  He can be stubborn, defiant and downright sassy.  He’ll argue with us over the silliest things (the difference between fog and smoke, whether or not his food is hot, etc), but it’s just how he is discovering and interpreting his world.  He’s also learning to push our buttons and is real good at it.  No one should be surprised by any of this though, he comes from two very stubborn parents and his Mom definitely has a sassy streak to her.

In typical boy fashion, he’s messy, high-energy and can get a little crazy at times.  But these are all things we’ve learned to love about him.

The Ugly

Here is where I would insert a super-cute picture of Brody posing in his big-boy underwear…but since it’s not something I think should be posted on the internet, you’ll just have to picture him in super-cute Nemo underwear.

So, the ugly?  Potty-training!!

**If you don’t want to read about a toddler’s toilet habits…you can stop here** 

He’s been amazing at peeing in the “potty” and has been wearing underwear for over a week with only 1 accident where he didn’t make it to the bathroom in time to pee.  He’s doing great and even started to tell us when he needs to go (as opposed to us reminding him to go).  The 1 M&M reward system worked great at home and daycare uses a sticker reward system that has been awesome.  Truly a peeing super-star.

However…he REFUSES to poop in the toilet.  We thought underwear would help motivate him to go, but so far it hasn’t.  Instead, at least one pair has ended up in the garbage and several pairs have had to be cleaned & sanitized.  Ick!  We’ve tried bribing him with absolutely everything (treats, toys, the party he gets to have at school).  I’ve tried pulling the “big-boy” card: “Only babies poop in their diaper.”  I’ve even tried making him feel guilty (not my best parenting moves) by telling him that Mickey Mouse is sad that Brody pooped on him (he was wearing Mickey underwear). 

It’s been a little stressful, but can be pretty hilarious at times too.  The new method I tried this weekend, was staying on top of him, watch for sign that he’s going to poop and then trying to get him to do it in the bathroom.  Picture 8 1/2 month pregnant woman running (well, waddling) through the house with 2 year old held at arms reach saying “no!! poop in the toilet!!”  Only to get there and have him poop, in his underwear, 2 inches from the toilet.

His teachers assure us that he’s not going to go to college in diapers, so it has to happen eventually, but it would be real nice if it happened sooner than later!

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I know we did. It was jam packed with 5 Christmases in 2 days, but was worth it since we got to spend time with so many of our families. More details to come…

11 Months!

Yes, the countdown has begun. We’re officially less than a month away from Brody’s 1st Birthday! And I say it every month (and will continue to say this for the rest of my life) but he’s getting so big so fast. I see it every day but every once and awhile it still catches me off guard when I realize how much he’s grown in 11 months. He used to be so tiny!

Okay, I’m wiping away the tears now and onto what he’s been up to…

Walking! I have to say we officially have a “walker.” He’s not perfectly steady on his feet, but he usually chooses to walk from one part of the room to the other. Many times (i.e. when he’s not tired) even when he falls, he’ll stand himself back up and keep walking. He’s not as daring as I thought he would be, since he will walk towards something that he can hold onto to steady himself before walking to his end goal. However, not surprisingly, he usually falls because he’s trying to walk too fast. He wants to run, but his feet won’t keep up!

Honestly, I think he’s been working so hard on walking and standing up on his own, that he hasn’t had time for any other skills. But there are a few other small ones he’s working on. Rumor has it, he can wave! I have yet to see it, so I still don’t believe it, but his daycare teachers swear it’s hilarious. He doesn’t go for the typical baby hand flopping up and down wave. No — he apparently swings his arms from side to side like he’s drawing a rainbow. Apparently him & another boy in his daycare room do this to each other after nap time. But he’s in no hurry to show his parents.

He’s added “na-na” to his “baba, mama, dada” rambling. I think he’s pretty sure what mama means, but he still will use it out of context. But many days he’ll say, “mama” directly to me while he’s coming towards me. So it’s hard to say. He’s also getting really good at turning pages while we read books & he loves to clap! He’s also “pointing” at things, at least that what we think. He actually uses his whole hand to point instead of just a finger, it’s pretty cute.

As far as personality, I do think we have a little shy guy on our hands. He adapts well to new situations in the fact that he doesn’t cry or freak out in new places. Or if we leave him alone & he cries, he’ll get over it very quickly. However, if we’re there, he does tend to cling to us a little bit until he’s sure of the situation.

More than anything, he never “shows off” in big groups. We couldn’t get him to clap at his cousin’s basketball game, but he loved watching the game and sat still for an hour to do so! At his Aunt’s graduation party, he walked a few steps but nothing like he does when it’s just us and him.

For now, I’m classifying him as an observer. He seems to love watching what other people (and kids) are doing before he jumps right in. And this is where his personality continues to take after me. I’m actually pretty shy in new situations, but eventually warm up.

Last month until we officially have a toddler on our hands! But at least there will be a fun birthday celebration!

And this last picture is his reaction to taking 11 month pictures — I’m outta here!

First Haircut

After dragging my feet for at least a month, I finally booked a hair appointment for Brody. Jason has been bugging me for awhile as Brody’s hair got longer and longer. I knew once he no longer had his baby hair then I’d really have to realize that he’s growing up!

We booked an appointment with a kids salon, knowing that we’d want someone with experience cutting the hair of a 10 month old. He barely understands the word no, so telling him to hold his head still was out of the question. Obviously, I was a little nervous — not just about losing his baby hair – but throwing a temper-tantrum in the salon.

The hair place had cars instead of chairs. You could pick anything from a pink Jeep to a blue mini-cooper-type car. We went for the blue one that was open. Each station had it’s own TV with a kid movie playing. I imagine this works well for kids that are a little older, but Brody has very little interest in TV, so it didn’t help much.

Overall – Brody was a trooper. He didn’t get cranky once and he held still very well. Every once and awhile he’s turn his head quickly to see something else going on around him. He loves to watch everyone around him, which worked well until they started vacuuming out a seat behind him and he quickly turned his head around mid-cut. In the end though, he hair looks great and it’s no longer in his eyes.

But he does look more like a little boy than my baby…

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Steady Feet

Brody is getting so close to walking! Tonight he pulled himself up using the cabinet handle so that he could walk over to the other cabinet — no hands!

So of course we tried for a repeat performance…but this is the best I could get on video.

I blinked

I blinked and we went from here:

To Here:

Yes, that’s a sippy cup, finger food and eating at a toddler table! He’s doing so well at growing up. I’m not going to lie, I don’t think I like it.

Choo Choo!

This weekend we headed off on another Autumn themed adventure. We celebrated my Mom’s birthday by heading to a local apple orchard. We had never been there before so we weren’t sure what to expect.

It was a little weird heading to pick apples and pumpkins in almost 80 degree weather, but we went anyway. I figured that despite the great weather, if we went during the football game, maybe it wouldn’t be so busy.

I was wrong.

Our main goal was to go on a hayride, yet we quickly discovered that the line was a 30-40 minutes long. There was no way any of us were going to wait in line in the hot sun for that long. So we looked for plan B. Luckily there was a train that passed through the farm that looked interesting, so we went for it.

The train took us through the some of the country areas that we were nearby and the conductor talked about some of the history of the railroad. He also told some pretty corny jokes, on the way there and back.

Brody didn’t take in the train as much as he would/will when he’s older, but he seemed to have a good time. Most importantly, he didn’t freak out when they blew the whistle right next us. Instead he gave the driver a look like “what the heck is that noise!”

And possibly the best part? The day ended with a decadent carmel apple and an apple pie to bring home to Daddy.

Pumpkins with my pumpkin

With Fall officially upon us we thought it would be fun to take Brody to pick out his first pumpkin. Along with our good friends and their daughter, we headed to a local farm to see the animals and pick out a pumpkin.

It was a little chilly out but we bundled up and brought along extra layers. Brody got a chance to see some farm animals, go on a hay ride and pick out his very own pumpkin (sort of).

We also let Brody play on the swings and slide for the first time. He didn’t seem too interested in the swing but loved the slide. He giggled the whole time and it was cute. Here are a few glimpses of his experience.

All of us had fun time and it’s always great to get Brody & Aubrie together! Happy Fall!

Brody is 7 Months Old

Babies grow fast and Brody is no exception. However, I honestly think his biggest month of change occured over the last month. Looking back at my post at 6 months, Brody wasn’t crawling or standing and still had zero teeth.

Today, Brody crawls like a pro, pulls himself up on everything and has two very adorable bottom teeth.

His new found talents have made him quite an explorer. He loves all the things he can get into around the house. He’s discovered the dog bowls, toys and tries to even steal the bones away from the dogs while they’re chewing on them. Luckily he hasn’t been bitten yet! We do keep an eye on them but the dogs are pretty good with him. He’s constantly falling over and bumping his head on things, but handles them surprisingly well. He came home with his first accident report from daycare when he tried to pull himself up on the shelves and bumped his eye. It was a small bruise that went away in a day.

He’s also doing a good job of forming sounds (instead of just squealing) and I think he loves the way his mouth moves when he says “ba-ba.”

We haven’t weighed him this month, but he definitely getting bigger, including his appetite. He now eats baby food 3 times a day along with 5 bottles of varied amounts. He food selection has greatly expanded and he’s made it through most of the fruits and veggies for his age group. In the next month or so he’ll try some meats and practicing with a sippy cup.

He’s still doing great at daycare and has become really good friends with a girl in the room (his girlfriend). They sit facing each other giggling non-stop and now that they’re both on the move, they chase after each other. It’s adorable. She’s also a tall girl and has a very similar personality to Brody, so it’s a natural match!