Potty Training part 2

A few months back I wrote briefly about how potty training had been going and the fact that Hunter had been using the potty at school but for whatever reason refused to go at home. Well I'm happy to report that as of last week he has FINALLY started using the potty at home as well and is doing so well with it that I think he will be fully day trained within the next few weeks (fingers crossed)!


He had been doing really well at school, using the potty almost everytime he had to go but still wouldn't go at home and then one night right before bathtime, while I was in his room putting clothes away, he sat on the small potty and peed. He usually would sit on the potty while the tub filled with water but never actually did anything so when he yelled "mama, I did it" I didn't really believe him until I saw it for myself. We cheered, danced around and gave him some candy. Then two nights later he did the same thing but this time pooped. I couldn't believe it!

Since then we've been able to transition him from the little potty to going on the toilet (with an attachment on top so that he won't fall in), which is SO much better. Seriously, cleaning poop out of those small potties is pretty nasty. As I had suspected he just needed to go once and then it would be pretty smooth sailing from there, he just had to get over the big hurdle of going that first time and then realize it's not so scary and actually fun!

For now he's still wearing diapers or pull-ups but he hasn't pooped in his diaper in over a week and he usually pees in the toilet unless we are out somewhere and don't make a point of asking him if he needs to go. Even last weekend when we were out of town for my brothers wedding he had no trouble going in the hotel bathroom or having us take him during the reception. He's gotten pretty good about telling us he needs to go but we still have to ask him frequently. I've put him in underwear a few times for short periods of time and he's done with that and starting next week he's going to be solely in underwear during the day at school (and pull ups at naptime), per their request. Obviously we will have to pack several pairs of underwear and extra clothes each day.

I'm so proud of how quickly he's caught on now that he got over that first big hurdle. It's like something in his brain just clicked and I really think that waiting until HE was ready was the best way to do it. We didn't push him and tried to keep the whole process casual so as not to traumatize him or have him regress shortly after. We still have a ways to go before we are completely diaper free but I definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel now and hope by summer's end he will be totally day trained (and maybe night trained as well if we're lucky)!

Life Lately- Catching up

It's been a few weeks since I posted. There wasn't any specific reason why other than just laziness and not having too much to share. But the past few weeks have been fairly busy and since this blog is pretty much the way I remember everything I figured I should put something down before I forget everything.

Kristian and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on May 22nd. Hard to believe it's been 4 years already. We went out to dinner the next night. Nothing fancy but it was nice to get out just the two of us for a quick bite.

We got to dogsit my mom's new puppy, Annie, for a week while she went on an already planned vacation. Annie is a miniature long haired dachshund just like Moxie. My mom is so in love with our dog that she finally broke down and got one of her own. Annie and Moxie hit it off great and became best buddies. Annie was Moxie's little shadow following her everything and they were constantly chasing and wrestling each other. It was pretty stinkin cute.

For Memorial Day weekend we went down to my in-laws beach house which is pretty much tradition. Hunter had a blast digging in the sand and playing with grandma and Papa. He absolutely loves the beach house and we are so excited to watch him spend summers and holidays down there as he grows up.

There have been some major developments and advancements in the potty training department but I will save that for a separate post. We also just got back yesterday from my brothers wedding! It was a beautiful, wonderful day and I have a ton of pictures to post, hopefully later this week.

Life Lately

As usual May has shaped up to be a pretty busy month. In fact the past two months have been pretty jam packed with plans every weekend.

-Last weekend we celebrated Mother's Day by going to see both of Kristian's grandmothers (both of whom are in their 90s). At his paternal grandmothers house, most of the extended family was able to come over so Hunter got to see many of his aunts, uncles and cousins. He even got to meet one of his great-aunts for the first time. He was a bit overwhelmed and shy the whole time. We then went to Kristian's maternal grandmothers house which had a smaller group and Hunter did much better there. It wasn't the most relaxing Mother's Day but it was nice to see everyone. I also got to see my mom later that afternoon. 

Me and my beautiful mama.

Kristian's grandmother with all 9 of her great-grandchildren and of course MY child was the only one who wouldn't look at the camera and smile. 

-The day after Mother's Day was my birthday. It wasn't terribly exciting since I had to go to work. But I came home and Kristian had decorated the dining room, cooked dinner and gave me a few gifts. My little guy was excited to help me blow out the candles on my cake. 

 

-In other very exciting news my brother and his fiancee bought a new house, and it's one block up the street from us! It's literally a 5 minute walk and I'm so excited! The house is huge and gorgeous and they got a fantastic deal on it. I'm incredibly jealous because their house is on the street that Kristian and I love and have always said if we had the money we would buy pretty much any of the houses on that street. It's the last street of single family homes before you get to the townhouse section where we live. They have an amazing multi-level deck which will be great for cookouts and we can't wait to spend a lot of time over there hanging out. It doesn't hurt to have another set of free babysitters close by and I'm so excited about the prospect of being so close to any future nieces or nephews. 

-This past weekend we were invited over to our neighbors house for dinner. Hunter and his little girlfriend Jordynn got to have date night while the grownups ate. We all then went outside so that the kids could play with the other young neighborhood kids that were out running around. There was a group of about 7 kids drawing with chalk and chasing each other until almost dark (and way past Hunters bedtime) while all the parents chatted. It was just a perfect spring evening. 

The lovebirds.

-The other piece of exciting news is that my mom adopted a miniature dachshund puppy that she named Annie. She brought her over yesterday and we all fell in love with her. Hunter laughed while the puppy gave him kisses and Moxie chased her new cousin around the yard. We also get to dog sit next week while my mom goes on an already planned vacation and we are thrilled. We may not give her back!

-The next few weekends will be busy with a trip to the beach house for Memorial Day and my brothers upcoming wedding in June. This year seems to be flying by!

Old friends are good for the soul

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of flying down to FL to visit one of my dearest friends, Kristen, who I have known for 15 years. She gave birth to twins back in March and I couldn't wait to see her, meet the little ones and have a weekend full of newborn snuggles. I was also able to play several Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games with her 3 1/2 year old son Smith who reminds me so much of Hunter. I can't get over how big he is, such a handsome little boy.

The flights down and back were pretty seamless, which was a comfort since I'm not a big fan of flying. After having a quick lunch at the Chili's in the airport we headed back to her house where we pretty much camped out for the weekend. We only left on Saturday morning, sans babies, for pedicures and some relaxation which we both needed. Later that day she had a 'sip and see' at her house for some of her friends and coworkers to come meet the babies. All of her friends were incredibly nice and I had a wonderful time meeting everyone.

Even though we didn't go to the beach or do any "typical" Florida activities I had such a wonderful and  relaxing weekend. Despite a lot of crying and fussing (from the twins) I was surprisingly at ease. I guess when the chaos around you isn't really your chaos it's not as stressful. And it's hard to be stressed out when you have an adorable newborn sleeping on your chest for 45 minutes.

I have to give Kristen a ton of credit, she's doing an amazing job. Twins are no joke. Honestly it makes having one newborn seem like a piece of cake. They both always seem to cry and fuss at the same time and just trying to feed or bathe them both at the same time could be an Olympic sport and Kristen seems to have it all down pat. Just the thought of taking them both out to the grocery store or Target would send me into a panic and Kristen is already a pro maneuvering that double stroller around.

Even though Kristen and I only get to see other in person maybe once or twice a year we never have trouble picking up right where we left off. We were both able to vent about current life stressors and laugh and reminisce and I just wish we lived closer so that we could do it more often.

 

Not long after I arrived I had Miss Grey napping on me. I could have held her all weekend. 

 

Another nap with Grey. Such a cuddle bug. Also, it only increased my desire for a little girl one day. 

 

Mr. Wynn was also a fan of passing out on me. Such a little stud muffin. So hard to believe my little boy was ever this small. 

 

I made many jokes about becoming sister-wives. We have this twin thing covered. 

 

Much needed pedicures and girl time with one of my favorite people. 

 

When I got home my two favorite guys (who spent the weekend at my in-laws beach house) greeted me at the airport. Hunter came running up to me yelling "MAMA" and holding flowers. And yes I almost burst into tears. 

humpday confessions

Today I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers Kathy for her Humpday Confessions. Kathy is the queen of gifs and is awesome about responding to all comments which I love. 

1. Last Friday I got to leave work early for Good Friday but instead of going to pick up my son early I went to Target. It had been a stressful week and I wanted some retail therapy. I spent about $100 in 15 minutes so mission accomplished.

2. I've always been a bit sad at the thought of leaving Hunter overnight but next week I'm going to FL to visit one of my dearest friends and her new twins for the weekend and I'm really not sad about leaving Hunter. I desperately need a bit of time away and I will be enjoying lots of baby snuggles.

3. I really really hope my husband gives me a very nice birthday/Mother's Day gift next month. I deserve it. 

4. As much as I want to have another baby, once Hunter is in bed at night and I'm able to just veg out on the couch and catch up on my DVR I think to myself  "it's really nice not having a newborn keeping me up all night".

5. We hid most of Hunters Easter candy and we will probably end up throwing most of it out. None of us need to eat that much candy.

Easter 2014

For the first time we decided to host Easter at our house for our parents. It was nice being able to stay at home where Hunter had all of his toys to play with and we didn't have to rush out the door or deal with traveling to someone else's house. Because our neighbors who have young kids were also going to be home we planned a little egg hunt for Hunter and his two friends Zachary and Jordynn.

We couldn't have asked for better weather and lunch was delicious. We had ham, asparagus, homemade mac n' cheese (from my mom), pineapple souffle (from my MIL), salad and rolls and chocolate pecan pie and sweet potato pie (from our neighbor) for dessert. It was fabulous. 

 

On Saturday night we dyed some eggs. Hunter lost interest pretty quick once we had to sit and wait for the dye to take affect. 

 

After he went to bed the bunny dropped of his basket which was full of some small trucks, fun socks, books and a few edible treats. 

 

Hunter seemed to think Easter was a mix of Halloween and Christmas with the presents and candy left for him. Needless to say he was thrilled. 

 

Me and my love. 

 

Hunter had just woken up for a nap and wasn't in a smiling mood at that moment. 

 

Hunter with Grandma and Papa. 

 

Hunter with mama and Nana. 

The egg hunt went really well, we had over 100 stuffed eggs for 3 kids. At first Hunter wanted to open each egg and eat the candy, once we convinced him to go find the eggs first he was off and running. He even broke a sweat and filled 2 baskets!

 

Once the hunt was over the kids enjoyed some cookies and pretzels together. They really play nicely with each other and it's pretty adorable to watch. 

 

We had such a wonderful Easter with our family and friends, we were definitely very blessed this year. 

Friday Five

1. This weekend I'm going to my future sister-in-laws Bachelorette party in D.C. I can't even tell you the last time I went out for drinks and dancing in D.C. I used to do it all the time back in my younger, single days but since being married and having a kid I just have no interest. In fact I told Kristian I have no idea what to wear. What do people wear out to clubs nowadays? I packed up all my old Ho clothes a long time ago. It should be fun assuming I can actually stay awake past 10pm. #SoOld #SoLame

2. I'm actually pretty excited about Easter next weekend. We are having our parents over for a late lunch and we are even planning to do a small Easter Egg Hunt out in front of our houses with our two neighbors that have a 3 year old and 2 year old that Hunter is friends with. I can't wait to see the kids run around and look for eggs. Sad that I'm more excited to watch my kid hunt for Easter eggs than to go out dancing at midnight in the city. My how times have changed!

3. My friend and neighbor Aimee gave me these sandals the other night. She ordered them off of Zulily for her daughter thinking they were a toddler size 6 turns out she ordered a women's size 6 by mistake. She can't return them and I happen to wear a size 6 so win for me! They are really cute and comfy.

4. I am loving the warmer weather and longer daylight hours in the evening. We have gotten back in our routine of hanging out in front of the house in the evenings once I get home from work. Hunter gets to play with his two little friends while I get to talk to their parents and have some social time. We are so lucky to have such nice neighbors and the fact that they have kids the same age as Hunter is a huge bonus! Also, Hunter has suddenly gotten very good at riding his balance bike. He will now get a running start, lift his feet and glide down the sidewalk for several feet. He keeps saying "Go fast, go fast" He will give me a heart attack one of these days.

 

5. There still isn't much progress in the potty training department. We tried the underwear thing but he didn't seem to care when he peed in the underwear. I had hoped it would bother him enough that he would be more willing to go on the potty but no such luck. I really just don't think he's ready. He will still go once or twice a day at school but he has no interest in going at home and I'm okay with that. He'll get there.