My Timing is Questionable

The week I chose to start potty training just happens to fall when I would have been expecting our second baby, had I not miscarried in April. Coincidence? An effort to distract myself? Who knows. The result has been a heightened level of emotion and tiredness that leaves me feeling uncomfortable, to say the least. I'm used to feeling emotion, but typically I feel it, process and move on. This week, however, has just been one big emotional grab bag. It feels like everything is just close to the surface. That lump in the throat that won't seem to fully show itself or just leave me alone.

So, as I write this, red-eyed and splotchy-faced, I couldn't even pinpoint the culprit if I tried. My life is brilliant right now. I'm not sure that I could be more content, but I am sure that my arms could be full.

Day Two

Just a few notes from day two.

Number one is going great. She was not keen on the idea first thing in the morning. I think she thought it was all some kind of strange experiment yesterday. Once she gave in, she did great.

She didn't poop once today. This could get ugly. Back to the battle of the wills.

Also, we haven't gone anywhere during the day in two straight days. That's a lot for us, and I think we are getting tired of each other's company....

Wish me luck.

Red Letter Day

Sophia had no accidents and many pees from 11 a.m. until bed. I used the trick Sarah gave in the comments. Every time she asked, I said yes to drinks - more juice than usual, but it paid off. (Thanks, Sarah!) No poop yet (since the frustration and vinegar this morning), but I am certainly not complaining. For a first day of potty training, I would call this a complete and total success. Definitely not what I expected.

Sophia actually had a ton of fun today. She got a LOT of personal attention, and a few treats. She also got to stay at home, which is what she always prefers. She always forgets how much she loves to go out until we GET out. It's the getting there part that can be rough.

Anyway, terrific day. I'm definitely pooped. Pun intended. How exhausting! Even though the day could not have gone much better, it's just so tiring to be ever vigilant. And this is just the start. Does it get harder when the treats stop? I'm just curious.

Here she is showing off . . . in a knight helmet for some reason.

 

This is Sophia with a very chocolate mouth after eating a treat that Grandma bought her yesterday.

 

I'll update you tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Now I know...

...that it's a battle of the wills. Sophia had some advantage over me coming into the day because I still held some doubt that she was physically ready to potty train. Now, at 9 a.m., that advantage is history. She got up at 7 this morning, and I put her straight into big girl panties. Since that time, Sophia has not pooped or peed even a little. So I guess she is physically able to hold it.

Now we'll just have to see who wins. During that two hours, she has only *willingly* sat on the potty twice. No accidents yet, so I've got that going for me. Still, it's only successful potty training if there's pottying going on...



Addendum: It's now 9:50. The house smells like vinegar (from cleaning) and frustration. Needless to say, Sophia: 1, Mom: 0. That's just the battle, not the war. It's on.

Feeling Christmasy

We went to Springfield this weekend to visit my parents. A trip to Silver Dollar City yesterday was almost surreal as we looked around at Christmas lights and snowmen in nearly 80 degree weather!

 

I managed to get into the Christmas spirit, though. Eventually, I had to force Sophia to put on her fleece. She probably didn't even need it, but it definitely made me feel better. Just as it was getting dark, we went to the kids rides with no expectations. Last time, Sophia sat down in the frog, looked around and screamed until we let her out - all before it started. So I expected the same this time. Fortunately, she didn't have time to think about it. She was happy to get into her seat.

 

And didn't realize she was nervous until it had already started...

 

Anyway, she got over that pretty quickly. One ride is definitely her maximum at this point. I'm fine with that as there were incredibly long lines for everything! I love a crowd at Silver Dollar City at Christmas. I think the crowd gets happier as it gets closer to Christmas, though, because I could tell there were some who were not yet in the spirit...

We managed to do everything we wanted. Watched the big Christmas tree. Also a little loud and intimidating for Sophia, although she adored it when it was solid blue. That was her favorite. Inspired by a family wearing red in front of red Christmas trees, we decided to get our picture in front of the gold Christmas trees given our wardrobe choices. Sophia wanted in on the action, and this is a picture of our family the way we are at any given moment.

 

We ended up staying until a little after 8, which is a relatively big deal for Sophia. It was lots of fun. On the way home, Sophia somehow coerced us all into singing Christmas songs and carols for a very long time. We also discovered that while we have no lack of confidence, we do have a lack of lyric retention. Oh well. We just need a few more tries to brush up...

Oh yeah, and tomorrow Sophia starts potty training. Booooooo

Check In

 

I don't really have anything to say. It's been a normal week for the most part, with some pockets of emotion thrown in. Maybe there will be something to say about that on another day.

For now, I'm looking forward to celebrating Aaron's 7th birthday tomorrow at Flipz, heading to my parents house, and going to Silver Dollar City for the - yep - Christmas Festival! It will be 75 degrees there tomorrow. Unbelievably, it was 15 when we went last year. So I'm going to have to force a Christmas spirit, but I'm not complaining. Trust me.

Check ya later.

Henri's First Visit to the Big Park

We have our own park up the street. It's a great park. It has a sand volleyball court which serves as a great big sandbox (at least after checking that it isn't a great big litterbox) and playground equipment. However, it has a serious lack of swings. That poses a problem for Sophia's enjoyment.

So on a beautiful day like this, we can be found at big parks like Bethel Park. They have recently added a fantastic playground area that dwarfs anything but Cosmo Park here in Columbia. The other thing about this park that I sometimes overlook - is the lake.

 

Anyway, today being the beautiful day it was, Casey and I decided to load up the kids and head to the park. This being Henri's first outing to the big park, imagine Casey's pleasure at discovering that he so enjoyed it! He slept, but we could tell he liked it....

 

After some kids started spreading cottonwood or cattail fuzz or something on the wind, we decided to take a walk around the lake. That was a great decision. The three big kids really enjoyed the nature hike. We realized we're biased, but goodness...

 

Also, I swear we saw an otter in that lake (it's really more of a pond). Does that happen? Do beavers look just like otters save their tail? I don't think any of us got a good look at the tail. Regardless, we felt like we had made quite a discovery! The boys rushed to the other side of the pond just to see if a log sticking out happened to be the elusive creatre. No such luck.

 

It was a gorgeous day. As always thankful for such great playmates for Sophia within a stone's throw (literally, although that's not a good idea. The same kids who were spreading allergens had earlier been throwing rocks at the playground equipment while some little girls climbed on it.... Sigh.)