I Have Not Had to...

...change a poopy diaper since Sunday! (and that one wasn't even my kid...it was in the 2 year old class at church).

However, I have had to clean poop from the floor a time or two after I foolishly insited Autumn did not have to go potty again as she'd just went. Since her success is so new to her, she's trying to go all the time. And yesterday she was watching the boys play Wii and said, "I have to go potty" but she'd just been so I said, "You know where it is" (helpful, no?) and she had to get off her pants and her diaper and make her way to the potty. When I checked on her I found a few Autumn droppings on the bathroom floor but more in the potty! Poor thing had to take so much time getting her clothes off, moving the step stool from the sink to the toilet and then climbing up on the big potty that she couldn't quite make it in time, but I was so proud of her all the same!

Today it was the same thing, she'd just gotten off the potty and told me she needed to go again. I told her, "You just went" so she didn't head in there and 30 seconds later she's walking towards the potty and Dalton is gagging going, "Uh, Mom? Come look in the living room". Yup, more Autumn droppings (she wasn't wearing pants)...but on her way to the potty. So gross but at the same time: progress! I hope I learn my lesson very soon. :)

She went potty before her nap, woke up dry, went potty again, we went to get Easton and went to swimming lessons, she was still dry, she went potty before she put on her swimming suit and swim diaper, she wanted to go again after swimming, and then on our drive home she told me she needed to go. I believed her this time! :) But...I was like, "We're going to Target! Hold on!" but when I picked her up out of her seat I felt her warm her diaper on my hip. So close!

She showed off her new skills for Daddy when he got home tonight (he hasn't gotten to see her (or the rest of us) much since Sunday).

I have a feeling that the new-ness will wear off before long here and she won't be as excited and we can stand in long Disney lines with the security of diapers but we shall see. She's very excited about her 'panties' (I really hate that word, by the way, and am having a hard time making myself say it). However, I'm not even trying panties for a long long time. I'm fine with her taking off her diaper (and leaving it off sometimes) if she wants to go (again and again and again) but I'm not ready for the rest yet! We are NOT potty training.

WooHoo!

Warning: this is about potty stuff. If you don't want to hear the toileting happenings of my toddler, you best be on your way... :)

So Autumn has had a few pee pees in the potty recently. Yay! I'm not trying to potty train her at all just yet. In fact, I'm pretty sure I don't even want her trained/ing before we go "see Jack Sparrow" (see post below) because I think diapers are way more convenient for travel and lines and such. In fact, I remember going to Disney with a very old, but un-potty trained, little sister for the same reason.

But, at the same time, I'm not exactly going to discourage her from toilet useage here and there, if she wants. I might even bring it up if it makes sense...right before she hops in the tub, for instance. Or like tonight at dinner she made a face and told me, "Poopy" and I asked, "Do you want to sit on the potty?" and she said yes so we headed to the regular sized potty and she sat and did her business! Dalton was home with us and was so excited for her! It was a big time! Her first twosie in the potty! :)

Neither boy had any potty success quite this early. Like, never even went once. Easton was really close to 2.5 before he could make himself go. And he trained really quickly and easily after that--for a short time. Then he got sick, regressed, and we went back to diapers for a few months. Dalton surprised me and trained super quickly at 2 years, 4 months without much real "training" on my part.

I don't know what's in store for Autumn, of course. Just a few days before Dalton really started getting the hang of it, I'd blogged that "he's not ready" yet 5 days later he was! What do I know? This is only my 3rd kid... (and first girl!)

But I did want to talk about this milestone, even if no successes happen again for months, it's still exciting today. So we made a movie. I have to apologize that it gets blurry but I had my zoom lens on and no time to go upstairs to get the shorter one to make a movie. So I can't zoom out any more when she moves and therefore it gets blurry. But this movie is way too funny not to share. (No bodily functions are shown, just a cute shot of some bun buns at one point):

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After we watched the video about 4 times and watched a little "Mama's Telling Me" and a video of her dancing at the fair the other day and one from her birthday she decided she needed to go pee. She ran to the potty and went. And again and again and again. She kept hopping up there with nothing left. But she kept flushing. Kept tearing off the teeniest piece of toilet paper (not even a whole square...more like what you'd put on a shaving nick). :) I think with the boys (Easton) I was encouraging them to use the potty so much that maybe they didn't want to. You know how defiant toddlers can be. And now the reverse psychology thing is happening and I was telling Autumn to quit going in the bathroom every 2 seconds and flushing when it was still flushing from the last time she was in there and it's backfiring and maybe she wants to be in there even more?

Oy.

Bottom line...we're excited about today and not expecting (or even hoping necessarily) for any more success any time real soon.

Toodles and graham crackers! :)

Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day", Mateys!

Ahoy, me hearties. Tis time for a festive pirate lunch for me land lubber:

An eye patch around his lunch box with a note from mom about what today is.

Inside the wee lad (that's more Scottish than pirate, huh?) found this:


Avast! Thar be treasure under that thar map:


I sent him in his Jack Sparrow shirt and his note told him how many more days until we go see Jack Sparrow again (it's awhile!). Arrrr!

Wordless Wednesday: Reckless Abandon

What's for Lunch???

I'm very strange...but most days I take pictures of the lunches I'm packing for Easton. I'm not really sure why...but since I have them, why not share them, right? Plus, my Angry Bird sandwich is floating around on Pinterest and because it was from my Facebook account, there is no link attached to it for those 12 people who might want some more specifics on how I did it. Now there could be a link, I guess.

I know many of my blog friends struggle with what to pack for lunch and even if we're not "struggling" it's always nice to get new ideas from one another. About once a week E orders "hot lunch" and a few times he's taken a preservative-filled Extra Cheesy Pizza Lunchable which I don't photograph. Plus he's had some repeats here and there so I haven't photographed those...and here's the rest:

I already posted Easton's lunch from his first day of school with his attempted heart shaped hard boiled egg:

That is our Lock & Lock box holding obvious things.

I also posted his second day of school and what I packed versus what came home:



That is just a cheap ol' Ziploc divided container I bought in a 2 pack from Walmart. They are eerily similar to these pricier Easy Lunchboxes. Yay me! I didn't even know they tried to sell the same thing for more before I bought mine.

Here is his super cool Pottery Barn Kids Bento.  If you can't tell what some things are...mini Oreos, strawberry fruit leather, Reese's Puffs cereal, Scooby bones grahams and then his juice and yogurt:



Some cut up pita triangles here with an individual serving pack of hummus, a fruit leather and a few pretzels:



Here's a Kit Kat treat, a buttered multigrain roll, another of our fave fruit leathers from Target, Goldfish, a star shaped hard boiled egg, and a Babybel cheese:



Here we've got an applesauce, a mini bagel with cream cheese, and some veggie straws:



I cut up the fruit leather this time, who knows why. :)  Then a few mini Chips Ahoy, pistachios, and hard boiled eggs with his vanilla yogurt and a chocolate milk (half full), he can't drink it all.





This one was fun, I drew a face on his buttered bun with some food safe writers.  Easton was excited but said that he felt funny afterwards (he brought home his treat). :(


I'm pretty proud of this one even though the idea was copied from here.




This little blue "party pick" was just from a pack of a bunch from Walmart.


But this is all my own, thank you very much. :) However, it was for Dalton's lunch.

It's a peanut butter sandwich and I cut it into a triangle with a knife and used kitchen shears to round the corners.  I cut some nori (sushi wrapper) for the tail and the top feathers.  The eyes are slices of banana with chocolate chip pupils.  The angry brows are cut from the crusts I removed from the sandwich and the beak is from a slice of cheddar I free handed.  I wish I could've thought of something better that would "go" with the rest of the food a bit more but it was very spur of the moment.  Then I cut a small piece out of a paper towel for a stencil of sorts for his chest.  I was able to cover the rest of the sandwich and sprinkled powdered sugar in there. 

Perfecto!

It was definitely worth the little bit of time it took:



Today for E's lunch I grilled some beef sausage on the George Foreman.  While it cooked I buttered a mulitgrain roll (which he didn't even notice and brought right back home, when I asked it was clear he didn't even realize it was there and even though he was eating a lollipop after dinner he said, "I want to eat it now!" :)  I also sent some peaches and veggie straws.  He ate all his peaches (and asked for more at dinner) but didn't really do much with the veggie straws.  I cut up the sausage and stuck it in the thermos, added in a long party pick and a ramekin of barbecue for dipping. 


Last week I learned that our two Thermoses (Thermosi?) leak.  We had picked out some soup and when I tested them, they both leaked.  I knew I could still use them to keep things like chunks of sausage warm though.  Now I'm on the hunt for a not too big, not too pricey, leak-free Thermos.  I love being able to send some variety.  If Easton's at home he eats a single vanilla yogurt and water for lunch.  No wonder he still hasn't hit 40 pounds in 1st grade, eh?

Today We Remember...Where Were You?

I was 23. I was at work in Boulder. But it wasn't a regular work day...I had to report for some group inservice training that Tuesday morning. I remember getting gas. I remember listening to an O-Town CD instead of the radio on my drive in. I remember thinking people were being very quiet on my commute...that people were just looking different when I stopped at the gas station and my walk up to the 2nd floor. I didn't think too much of it at the time...

I think once I'd reported at the hospital, the first tower had been hit and the second plane was just about to crash into the south tower. I don't remember who told me. I don't remember my reaction. I don't think we watched any coverage live as it happened.

I remember a lot of us felt like we should be able to go home instead of staying for training. I know people were going to keep having babies that day, but they already had staff there to cover all of them. But the hospital kept us there.

I know I called Ben (my ex-husband) and woke him up with the news and told him to watch the TV. I know I talked to my mom who was teaching at school that day and was struggling with wanting to go pick Lauren up at her middle school just to keep her close.

We weren't really speaking to Jessica much at that time but knew she was supposed to be in Denver (from Texas) the very next day and not knowing when she'd be flying...not that she was coming from the east coast...just that, at the time, we didn't know what else might happen/be happening on other flights around the country.

Back in my hospital conference room, I remember hearing various reports as the morning went on but I don't remember anyone crying. I remember one nurse sitting next to me saying, "They should let us go home, our country is under attack" and it just occured to me right then that that's indeed what was happening. Before then, an "attack" on America just didn't cross my mind even as a possibility. That nurse was Cindy...she was our main nurse when we had Dalton years later and her daughter was one of the 3 of us C-sections scheduled for 09/09/09 (and the only one of the 3 of us who actually made it to that day).

I remember Ben was working that night so once I'd left work, I just watched all the coverage. It was right around then I discovered I needed glasses, I couldn't see the TV as well as I should have.

Then, I remember feeling very anxious for days and days afterwards. This image gave me nightmares and I was afraid to sleep by myself:


I remember being very proud of George W and Rudy Giuliani around then. I started to read Revelations in the bible and couldn't ever get very far.

I watched a program about the flights that hit the World Trade Center last night and said to Jason how I think I was glad we didn't get to watch the events unfolding that morning. It was bad enough reliving all of it later.

It's a little strange to think it's only been 10 years. Because that part of my life feels so long ago, it feels like all of that happened so much longer ago too.

I was relieved both then and now that there was not a single person I was worried about. I didn't know anyone in New York or DC. My mom got ahold of Jessica that day so I didn't worry about her. I can't imagine how hard it was for people who did have loved ones in the area.

I am impressed with how America really came together during that time, though. I never felt so united with America as I did that September and I'm still proud to be an American!

Autumn's Actual Birthday

September 7th was Autumn's due date back in 2009...and as it's been awhile since I last blogged, I thought I'd cover her actual 2nd birthday. I know I talked about her party but the actual day is a big deal to us too.

Both her brothers had school that morning. Jason took the day off work as is his tradition and took both boys to school while Autumn and I stayed behind and showered and did her nails and other girly things. Jason got home and I shouted down to him to look at the blog at the picture of her crib card so we could remember the time she was born (I can't ever remember her birthtime and I struggle to remember what time Dalton was born too). Anyway, I like to take a picture at the exact moment of birthtime so at 8:48 I called down my request to J and at 8:49 he called back, "It's now!" and I had him come running with the camera. Here she is at exactly 2:


Once we were all fancy she picked Starbucks for her birthday breakfast. She had a birthday cake doughnut and lots of my chai Frappacino. I had her pick the table and she picked some chairs outside with a small end table in between...only she climbed up on that like it was her seat:

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It's unusual for Miss Miss to have both Mom and Dad to herself but we had a nice time. After Starbucks it was time to head to Target for her birthday portraits:






As we were choosing which poses to order, Autumn did a little business of her own in the corner. We were heading to the car to change her but still had some time to kill before it was time to get Dalton from school so I asked J, "What now?" and she was all, "Change Autumn!" :) But, we ended up heading back into Target and got to hang out in the pink toy aisles:


We then went to get Dalton from school where he took Autumn by the hand and showed her all around his classroom so sweetly. Then we took those little two over to Chickfila to play for a bit:





Dalton was the best big brother helping her to climb up the structure over and over again. He's so sweet to her. Easton is too. Anyway... We took some Chickfila home for lunch and then Autumn had her nap.

When she woke up, we all went to pick up Easton from school and hurried home so Autumn could finally open her presents from us! She posed with them:


And then she assumed the position on Dad's lap:




It was a Belle costume with plastic high heels which she immediately put on.




She could walk in those things better than I can right off the bat!


She opened some more things...books, a little purse, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang in stuffed form (no Pete, of course), new Beanie Boos carefully selected by each brother, a cheap, pink, heart-shaped IKEA rug for her room, clothes from our pen pals which she was very excited about! The boys have never liked opening clothes (except for costumes) they just pull them out with the tissue paper and keep looking for the gift inside. But she was like, "Oooh! Clothes!" :)



She opened a very special stool from G-Ma and July. G-Ma has made personalized stools for Easton and Dalton as well and now Autumn has one of her very own too!






They sent her a little Barbie and a cute little denim purse too. She was very excited! Thanks, Alabamaws!




Finally all the packages were opened and she realized that the piece of furniture they were sitting on was a pretty cool gift too!




It was a perfect gift idea for our girly girl. It sits in her room and she loves it. She often sits there (instead of in front of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) while I do her hair.


I'm thinking she'll need some stuff to go on it (like a jewelry box) for Christmas. :)

Now that the presents were opened, we headed over to Chuck E Cheese. It must be the S kid tradition...Easton first went there on his 2nd birthday. We took Dalton there on his 2nd birthday and now Ah-num. It's a good time and being a weekday in the late afternoon there wasn't really too many people there:










Easton doing a little virtual reality game. He was suprisingly good at it:


Dalton on the horse game:


Eventually little Diddles wanted to do a little SkiBall. Unfortunately in his excitement, as he tried to hurl a ball up the ramp, instead he rammed his little thumb super hard into the metal frame. Oh the poor boy was so hurt. :( I checked him out to the best of my athletic trainery/EMT ways and we got him some ice but it was already swelling up pretty good. Sweet boy noticed and was like, "What's happening?!?!" I think he thought it might keep growing like a cartoon or something. Poor fella. He and I sat to the side to ice and so I could evaluate it a little better. At first I was really afraid we'd have to take him to Urgent Care:


Jason, Autumn, and Easton continued to have fun and we watched them. I saw them head to one game we'd already tried and shouted to Jason, "It's broken!" However, given that I was sitting there with a laid up Diddlebug, he thought I meant D's hand (instead of the game they were at) and the look on his face actually cracked me up. Oh what a mess. However, his hand didn't seem to be broken to me although even now he's still got signs that he'd been injured.

Once Dalton finally felt like getting up and about again, he wanted to go check out the blue screen by the stage where kids can sort of insert themselves into the videos Chuck E's is showing. Well we were doing that and I noticed that Chuck E's curtain was opening and mentioned it to Dalton. The dude flipped out. In a bad way. Terrified. Screaming and crying and desperate for me to get him out of there. Parents were looking wondering what could've possibly happened to my child. I found all of it rather amusing. You see, Dalton had told us that now that he was four and a half he would no longer be afraid of such things. He has even been brave enough to high five Red Robin recently. I reminded him, "You said you weren't going to be afraid anymore since you're 4 1/2 now" and he said, "I tried." Ha!

We had some pizza and then walked across the parking lot to get some FroYo to finish up the day of festivities:




We headed home and got ready for bed:

My big 2 year old girl. In her new princess slippers:


I think our Miss Miss had a great day all about her!