Adventures in Potty Training

So a couple of Saturdays ago (the 15th, to be exact) Chloe decided to start potty training!  I didn't want to push her into it because I've heard from a lot of other moms that it goes smoother if you let them do it in their own time, so that's what I did.  That particular Saturday night she had a rash on her bum and every time she peed she would burst into tears and start sobbing "owie butt cheeks!" (my bad for teaching her the term butt cheeks...), so I told her that if she would pee in the toilet, then her bum wouldn't hurt.  This was during dinner (appropriate, I know), so probably about a half an hour later she told Ronnie she needed to go potty.  She's told us this many times and we've spent a lot of time sitting on the edge of the tub, waiting for her to go, so Ronnie didn't think anything of it.  I was sitting in the kitchen and a few minutes later I heard "Chloe's pooping!" so I ran to the bathroom (probably more of a waddle-jog) and sure enough, she'd done it!  We were both totally shocked, especially since she pooped her first time actually using the toilet!  Of course we made a HUGE deal with lots of laughing and clapping, followed by a potty treat.  The only thing I had in the pantry was a bag a tootsie rolls, but I figured it was appropriate since it looked pretty much like what she had just done ;)  She was super excited and had to call Nana and Papa to tell them that she pooped in the toilet!  The next day was Sunday so we weren't counting on her going again since she would be in nursery (even though we're the nursery leaders), but about halfway through another little girl said she needed to potty so I took both of them and Chloe pooped again! She kept it up all day long and went potty for the first time that evening.  Monday I had to work at the daycare, so again, I wasn't anticipating her using the toilet there, but she did it!  She is such a cool girl!  She didn't go in her diaper again until that night, and has had very few accidents since then.  She's continued peeing in her diaper ( I think number two is easier for her to catch...which is fine with me...), but is getting better at that too!  We bought her some Rapunzel underwear and put them on her once, but she pooped in them, so we're going to stick with diapers until our Costco box runs out.  To her credit, she did tell me she needed to go, but I wasn't fast enough.  We now make a mad dash to the bathroom any time she says she needs to go.  We have been amazed at how quickly she has caught on and are always impressed by how much she comprehends.  Way to go Chloe!  Just in time for baby sister :)

Big Girl Bed and Bye Bye Binky

Out with the old....

And in with the new!

Passing the binky to baby sister :)

We've been prepping Chloe for her big girl bed for a couple of months now by telling her that when she gets a big girl bed, we're going to throw binky in the garbage.  She would get super excited and yell "Binky in da garbage!!!" and do a little dance, so I'm not sure that it ever really sank in.  At the beginning of this month the big girl bed finally came and we were pleasantly surprised when she caught right on!  After she helped Ronnie set it up, we started taking down her pack n' play and she started to get a little upset.  We explained to her that baby sister needed it now and that she had the big girl bed and asked if it would be okay if baby sister had it.  Her face lit up as she said "baby sister have it!"  Then we told her it was time to throw binky in the garbage and I guess it sank in this time, because she was not happy about it.  We tried to explain to her that big girls don't have binkies, but it wasn't doing the trick.  Finally we told her baby sister needed it and that changed her whole attitude.  She grabbed her binky and tried to plug it into my belly and that was the end of it!  We laid her down, read a book, sang songs and prayed, then as I turned to leave, she softly asked "Mom....teddy bear?"  She doesn't normally sleep with one, but I guess she needed a little extra comfort :)  We turned out the light, shut the door, and that was it!  Not a peep!  I kept telling myself that it was too easy, but she went right to sleep!  Later that night (or maybe it was early the next morning)  she started crying hysterically (I think she was just disoriented) so Ronnie went in and calmed her down and she went back to sleep.  A few minutes later, she started crying again and when Ronnie went back in she told him that she needed a new bandaid for her owie on her finger.  He told her she was okay and she seemed to go back to sleep.  A few minutes after that she came running into our room saying she needed a new bandaid, going back and forth from my side to Ronnie's, trying to convince both of us that she NEEDED a new bandaid.  Finally we got her back to her bed and she stayed the rest of the night.  Since then she's been great!  She wakes up crying every now and then, but calms back down quickly and rarely gets out of bed during the night.  She only asked for binky a few times and let it go quickly  after we reminded her that she gave it to baby sister.  I keep thinking that she'll figure out she can get out of bed and play with her toys or turn the light on, but so far she hasn't even tried!  I am always in awe of Chloe and how much she comprehends and usually obeys.  It's already very apparent in her personality that she likes rules and that she likes other people to follow the rules too.  She's always the one telling the other kids to share their toys or to put their shoes back on (even if she doesn't do those things all the time).  Good job big girl!

PS  The last picture is of Chloe in her first Mummy Tuck!  I thought that all kids got Mummy Tucks from their Dads and that that was their proper name, but Ronnie told me that he'd never heard the term, even though his parents tucked him in.  I love it when you think something is common, only to find out that it was just your family that did it :)  Thanks for the Mummy Tucks Dad!  Love you!

Ronnie's New (2nd) Job

Well if the pictures didn't tip you off, I guess I'll just have to tell you-Ronnie got a new job working at Canyon Media Group aka the radio station!  He's been working there for the past 3 months and is really enjoying himself.  He gets to work with his cousin Kelton (the goofball in the bottom picture) and fix towers and computers and all manner of technical things.  He generally works in the back in his little man cave, but gets to venture out now and then and has even been on the radio a few times.  It's been really fun having a place for us to go and visit Daddy and take him his birthday balloons or drop in for a surprise lunch date (the added stability is pretty great too!).  Life is wonderful and we feel SO blessed :)

Happy Dirthday Ronnie!

 Chloe cradling her owie that she got from the dishwasher

 This time last year we had just barely moved in with my parents to prepare for our "big move" and now we're back in our own place with baby #2 on the way.  Time moves so quickly, changes happen so fast and it never turns out how you pictured it would...it usually turns out better.  Sometimes I think about how different our lives would be if we had moved to China and how we probably wouldn't be getting ready to welcome our sweet little girl into our lives.  The Lord is definitely in charge and knows what he's doing!  Hard to believe that another year has passed and that we celebrated Ronnie's 26th birthday at the beginning of this month!  The celebrating began on Saturday with a family party for Ronnie and his brother Miles, so  I made him a circuit board cake in honor of his nerdiness.  Sunday we ate dinner with my family and had Ronnie's choice of the "Ultimate Burger" and of course, root beer floats.  Monday night we did presents because I had to go in for some blood work on the actual morning of his birthday :(  He got socks galore (one of his biggest frustrations in life is not being able to find socks), a few movies, floats for his airplane and some sunglasses.  Tuesday Chloe and I stopped in at the radio station (where he works part time) with balloons and peanut m&ms (which Chloe calls "Yummy Yums").  That night we went out to Basila's and enjoyed some tasty Greek food.  Seriously amazing food.  Eggplant lasagna for Ronnie and pesto gorgonzola for me.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!  Chloe was the cutest all week long saying things like "Happy Dirthday Daddy!" or "Daddy's Happy Dirthday cake??"  She recently started singing almost the entire song and especially loves singing it at the grocery store.  Acoustics maybe?  Anyhow, Happy Birthday Ronnie!  We love you and your silly self soooooooo much!  You make our lives so happy and full!

30 weeks and an Update

30 Weeks

Ronnie's lobster face after spending all weekend at a flying event

Our little pilot flying the flight simulator

Ronnie and his Mom at the marathon

Grandpa Larry taking a snooze while we waited for Cindy

Go Cindy!  Just moments away from the finish line

Congrats to Cindy and Andrea for finishing the marathon!

Fall has been a busy time for us!!!  This is the first of many posts to get us caught up...first is me at 30 weeks, feeling (and looking) a lot bigger than I was with Chloe.  Next is a picture of Ronnie the day after he got back from a flying event called "The Swarm" in Lehi.  The picture does not do his sunburn justice-he was seriously lobster red.  He was able to go up with his brother on a Friday, spend the night working on airplanes with a fellow pilot and then fly all day on Saturday (hence the sunburn....no wife there to remind him to lather up!)!  From what he told us it was a really cool event where they all flew "foamie" wings and tried to crash into each other.  They were super durable so you could crash and then go right back up.  They also had activities like limbo and bowling (all with rc airplanes).  Needless to say, he had a blast :)  Chloe LOVES airplanes, just like her Daddy and can now maneuver the flight simulator all by herself.  Her Dad is very proud and I'm glad for a Daddy/daughter activity that they can enjoy and that gives me a break!  She can still spot an airplane a million miles away and loves going flying with Ronnie.  Chloe is getting SO silly and is a little ham all the time-we love it!  As always, the marathon was the first weekend in October and we knew a lot of people running this year! It was fun to go and cheer them on and first be inspired and then reminded of why I will NEVER run a marathon.  And yes, that means NEVER.  I give kudos to anyone who can do it, but it's just not for me!