Potty Training

This post is long overdue. It feels like we have been potty training for months, and well, that's because we have. There are so many stories on the internet, from friends, and in books that describe potty training as something simple if the timing and tactics are right. I have no doubt that's true for many folks, but we have not been so lucky.

We officially started our first potty training session back in May, but with our influx of family visitors over the summer, potty training got complicated and never stuck. I'm sure a number of things we did impacted our mission. I personally hesitated to train him earlier in the year because it is a hard thing to do with a newborn in tow, especially in public. Even at home it was difficult; if the need for Owen hit while I was feeding Tucker, it was extremely difficult to rush Owen to the bathroom and help. So, we waited until early summer and when that failed, we waited a few more weeks and then started again and then again. We tried different tactics like bribes, prizes, charts, candy, loud supportive cheering, and anything else under the sun we could imagine. Finally, shortly after Owen's third birthday, something clicked and he decided he was ready to go to Ms. Kim's 3s class and that was that. We had a bag full of prizes and made a huge deal of every success and every attempt and pretty much over night, he was potty trained. It wasn't perfect, but after a few days and a long, messy week in his twos class, the next Monday, he was enrolled in the 3s class and very aware that he was potty trained. We couldn't have been happier. We were anxious for this milestone because we really wanted Owen to move up to the preschool class and he couldn't move up until he met this prerequisite.

Now, we've reached November and overall Owen is potty trained. We have just experienced one long week where he started to have a few accidents again. We realize we need to stay on top of the prize bag and bribing and mainly we need to continue to emphasize the new routines and habits.

For the record, we do bribe with TV shows. It works and it can't last forever. It just can't.

Happy 10th Month Birthday Tucker!

Happy 10th month birthday, Tucker!

This past month has been a big one for you, Tucker! Your first two teeth came in last week, just a couple of days apart. You have started to eat more and more finger foods and so far you really like bread, eggs, and sausage. You often make loud sounds when you want cheerios, puffs, or teething biscuits and you have started to sign for "more". You have become a cruising fool and love, love, love to stand up on your own. You walk around with whatever push toy you can find and often crawl to areas you really don't need to be in, like the bathroom. Two of your new favorite games are crawling upstairs and sitting in big boy chairs. Every time music is on, you start to dance and bounce, you are so cute!! We love to watch you play peek a boo - where you hide behind the blanket and then move it quickly and laugh when you see our faces. And our neighbors and your teachers really get a kick out of your newly developed waving skill. You are growing so fast, Tucker! We love watching you become a little boy.

Halloween - Adult Party time!

This year, we were invited to a fantastic Halloween party. It's an annual event, infamous among our friends' crowd. Now we understand why! The costumes were amazing. The reigning champs came as the Jamaican Bobsled Team - and if you can believe it, they came with a home made, working bobsled that also had a built-in bar! Incredible. Everybody in attendance brought their "A" game. One couple decorated their car and dressed up in Dukes of Hazzard get-up, one guy was a decked out Predator, Mary Poppins and Bert-the Chimney sweep joined the fun, and Lady Gaga appeared with 3 costume changes, just to name a few.

We joined in with our friends to be the Peanuts Gang!

The party was lots of fun. The Peanuts Gang even took a ride in the bobsled!! To quote the fun hosts, "it was an epic night".

Happy Halloween 2010

We busted out our super hero costumes for a quick trick or treating trip around the neighborhood tonight. We visited with a few neighbors and passed out a bunch of candy. Our stroll through the neighborhood was short, but it was fun to see the spooky decorations and the kids in their costumes.

A police officer stopped by to meet the kids and pass out candy. Owen loved her visit.

Trunk or Treat 2010

Last night was our annual Trunk or Treat event at Owen and Tucker's school. As usual, the event was great fun. We were dressed as super-heros this year. We built our theme around Owen's Halloween costume choice, Spiderman. Tucker was Super-man, Kris was Batman, and I was Mrs. Incredible. Our trunk theme was Gotham City. Fun! A bunch of our friends attended and they all had great themed costumes and trunks. It was a pretty impressive showing! Owen spent most of the night running around and dancing with his pals. It's so cute to see them all dressed up, playing and dancing. Tucker slept most of the time in the stroller, but he woke up towards the later part of the evening, in time to join the big kids in the dance area. He loved it!

Owen with his 3 best buds: Colton, Morgan, & Ricky

Owen with some of his good pals

dance party

Happy 9th Month Birthday Tucker!

Happy 9th Month Birthday Tucker!

Today we had Tucker's 9 month appointment and Owen's 3 year well visit and we received healthy reports for both boys. They each had their blood drawn for blood counts and anemia and they both received a flu vaccine. Owen had the nose mist and Tucker had the shot.

Owen also tested his eye sight and hearing. He passed the hearing test with flying colors but froze on the 2nd half of the eye test, so he'll be tested again at year 4. The doc says that's very normal. He weighs in at 27 lbs 7 oz and is 35 3/4 inches tall.

Tucker has had a big month. He's officially crawling all over the place now on his hands and knees. He has started eating puffs and cherrios and will soon be practicing with more finger foods. He can sit up from any position and pulls himself up and continues to cruise all over; he's even taken a couple of steps as he is pushing the high chair. According to his doctor, Tucker has healthy stranger anxiety and is on track with his sounds. He's now regularly saying "ma ma" "da da" and "na na". Kris is convinced is second word is daddy! He still doesn't have any teeth, but two are bothering him and we expect they'll come in soon. He is still a big boy at 20 lbs 2 oz, but at this age, that's is just 50th percentile! We've had a few rough nights this month with some teething pain, but he is usually very happy. Like his big brother, his happiness is definitely correlated with food and good naps. Just the other day, his morning nap was 2 1/2 hours. I had to wake him up for his lunch time breastfeeding session!

Tucker's stats:

Height: 27 3/4 inches (Owen 26 3/4 inches)

Weight: 20 lbs 2 oz (Owen 18lbs 12 oz)

Head: 18 inches (Owen 17.7 inches)

We love you so much Owen and Tucker!!! You make us so happy.

so precious

A big day for Owen

We took Owen for his first dentist appointment today. He was a champ- he wasn't scared at all and didn't complain or fret as the hygienist worked on his mouth. The office is perfectly suited for young children, equipped with child friendly staff, a toy room, animal murals, large stuffed animals coming out of the wall, and two - yes -two screens playing a kid friendly movie viewable from the big chair. He went in smiling and walked out smiling and holding two new prizes. We couldn't have asked for a better first time experience.

We also found out that Owen earned the Student of the Month award today!! He is enrolled in the phonics program at daycare where he works along side two other children and his teacher three times a week for twenty minutes. He learned the alphabet and the corresponding sounds right around his second birthday and these sessions build on that foundation. They practice writing letters and he also will be learning how to identify the first letter of a word by its sound. Although it is far from perfect, he has already started to learn how to write "e", "g", "r", "w", and "b" - and he loves to play his "phonics" games with us. For example, we'll ask him what does "mommy" start with and he will enthusiastically respond back with "m". It's so cute and so much fun. His teacher is full of praise and of course that makes us happy.