Potty Talk

HE DID IT!!!!
After a few accidents and a lot of frustration on my part, McKade has finally gone poo in the potty! I knew he was scared to do it in the toilet so I got out our little potty chair that sits on the floor (the old fashion kind) this morning. We sat together for over an hour this afternoon, but nothing. Then for an early Family Home Evening activity we watched a movie before dinner. Towards the end, he announced he had to go and ran in and sat down on the little potty and went. YAY!!!! The best part is that he now does everything by himself. No more asking and prompting, he'll just go whenever the need arises. Every kid is different, and my boys proved that with this potty training thing. I'm just glad it's over. (well, the tough, frustrating part is anyways.) He hasn't wet the bed yet, and proved he'll get up to go like he did in the middle of last night. So it wasn't completed in a day, but I'll take 4 days over a few weeks or more! I didn't post a picture of the afterword celebration because he was being too shy for the camera.

PT

Yup, it's that time. (Well, according to my pediatrician, we should have started at 18 months!) Potty Training Time. McKade's time to "grow up." Since we potty trained Dallin just before his 3rd birthday, we decided to do the same with McKade. Tyli will probably loose the diapers at or before 2, as she is wanting to be potty trained more than McKade.
We started yesterday, following many of the guidelines from a book we bought on line called Toilet training in Less Than A Day. So far, so good. By noon yesterday McKade was going by himself and using the toilet, all except for #2. He has so far refused to do that. I have a friend who's little boy would hold it, but eventually he got the hang of it, so I'm not too worried. Any tips? We've been accident free for almost 24 hours (except for a little incident that just occurred because Dallin refused to get off the toilet to let Mckade on!) and I am so proud of my big boy! Tyli stands at the door and says "go pee pee" the whole time McKade is occupying the bathroom. (Which is making McKade laugh like crazy.) He has really good aim, and does better standing than sitting, which is nice. I love watching him celebrate afterword by jumping up and down in a circle with his underwear still around his ankles. Now if only we can get him to go #2...

My children are growing like weeds!

We just got home from Dallin's 5 year appointment and Tyli's 18 month appointment. It was fun. Actually, it was better than usual because I had Cauley there to help out. McKade kept wanting to talk with the Dr., and Tyli was her usual happy self at the Dr.'s and cried any time anyone looked at her. Dallin was just nervous. Anyways, here are their measurments for these ages:

Dallin: (5 Years old)

Height: 45 1/2 inches (90%)

Weight: 46 lbs. (75%)

BP: 106/70

Tyli: (18 Months old- actually almost 19 now!)

Height: 35 1/2 inches (97%)

Weight: 26 lbs. (70%)

Head: 19 1/2 cm (97%)

They're still big, but not as monsterous as before. (thank goodness!) At least Ty has hair to cover her huge melon!

Dallin's has decided he likes the tooth fairy so much...

Before we left for Idaho, Dallin got his first loose tooth. It stayed in during our trip, despite the fact that it laid down ready to fall out the whole time. (my mom says he was just to scared to loose it in Idaho.) He lost it the first night we got home. The next morning Dallin woke us up to inform us that he had indeed been visited by the tooth fairy, but only got 4 quarters. Anyways, three days later, he has his second loose tooth, leaving me wondering if he's going to have any teeth left in his cute little face for when he starts kindergarten in 2 weeks!

Happy Anniversary, Babe!

Eight years ago from today Cauley and I were married in the Idaho Falls Temple. Does it seem like that "long" ago? Depends who you ask! (Just kidding.) Happy Anniversary, Babe! I love you more and more each day!

Having so much fun...

We are in Idaho right now visiting my family. I always have so much fun when we get a chance to head north out of the heat. So far we have had many adventures, starting with our first ever family hotel stay. (well, with our 3 kids that is.) I want to show pictures, so I won't give away all our fun times, but we are sure enjoying being with family and friends here in Idaho and Utah. My highlight so far was being able to be at our good friends Seth and Jane's wedding in Bountiful this last weekend. They both looked amazing, and I couldn't be happier for them! There is more planned for the family to accomplish within the next 3 days, including family pictures- which are always not so much fun!, so I will have to post about everything once I have more time.

Growth

When Dallin was born, I remember holding him all the time, loving his "scent" and looking into those beautiful, mysterious eyes. About a month later when the "severe" case of colic started setting in, life wasn't so pleasant. Two days later I found myself telling him "I can't wait until you're older!" Time passed, and so did the colic and chronic ear infections.

Dallin grew quickly, almost too fast for some of his clothes. He was introduced to friends like Cooper and Logan. Oh how I wanted him to crawl! We were so desperate we would bribe him with phones or fruit snacks if he would just "inch" toward them. He crawled, of course, on his own schedule. Walking was much the same. I should have had him figured out by then that he does everything on his own timing. He's as stubborn as his mom!

Still, he grew, bigger and bigger. His words changed from "ewok talk" to real words, and eventually sentences. Even though my college education was in child development, I never had to encourage his vocabulary skills much. This part came natural, and he was able to communicate very well by 18 months of age. I loved this time we shared together, and wondered what the future would hold.

With each passing year of his life, I found myself becoming more and more strict. I would "make him obey" and be quiet in public while other kids would be running around screaming and hitting their siblings. I restricted who he was allowed to play with because I didn't want him picking up bad habits like fighting, fowl language and being spoiled by getting whatever it was that he wanted. He has ALWAYS been expected to say please and thank you, two of the most important words that much of society today lacks, and respect his elders, even at a very young age.

As his mother, I thought I would always know what was best for him and when. He proved me wrong from almost the time he was born. Today is no different. Cauley and I had decided earlier this year to wait on sending him to Kindergarten next fall. He would be bigger, older, more mature, and smarter. Plus, that way I could spend one more year with him, influencing his life the way I would like, the way Heavenly Father intended. Truth be told, I wasn't ready to let my little guy grow up, to let go of his innocence.

For his 5th birthday last month, both of his grandma's gave him easy reader books. He was so excited! That night, we sat down on the couch and imagine my surprise when he read me the first book, with help on only a handful of words like "wheels" and "night" and "highway." I excused myself to the bathroom where I cried, knowing that I was only holding back my little boy from the life he deserved to live.

Yesterday marked a big day for me. I actually filled out the paperwork for him to start Kindergarten this fall. He was so proud, marching up to the school, leading the way. The school, unfortunately was closed, but Cauley got the enrollment forms from the district office. He acted different, knowing he's going to school with the "big kids" and that means getting to grow up. He tried to be too much of a big brother by carrying his sister around the house and I even caught him trying to change McKade's stinky diaper, which I would have let happen if I hadn't seen the mess that had already started! He even keeps asking if I have any laundry that needs folded.

Lucky for me, he still wants to be a kid. He rode in the basket part of the shopping cart at the Fry's Marketplace Grand Opening this morning, begged for cookies and popsicles, and even sang songs with his brother to pass the time. When we got home, we all reveled in a game of "Duck, Duck, GOOSE!" and hide and seek before I claimed I was tired and needed to fix lunch. I am glad that he is still little, and loved kissing his cheeks which still had his pizza he had for lunch on them!