Don’t forget to tell Mommy…

I apologize now if you come by our house and I do one of the following:

1. Ask you to tell Mommy if you have to go potty

2. Forget to tell you that the bathroom door downstairs is missing

3. or offer you an M&M and do a dance when you go potty

Can you tell what Taylor and I have been up to the past couple of days???

After a few failed attempts at getting Tay to use the potty and figuring out the cost of two kiddos in diapers, I decided to get real about accomplishing this task.  It helped to see that a friend found a method that worked.  Armed with lots of juice boxes, capri suns, M&Ms, a bucket of surprises, LOTS of panties, and a sweet friend to text for moral support I entered into the world of potty training on Tuesday.  Here’s a look at our adventure:

Day 1:

Door removed from downstairs bathroom since a pregnant mommy can’t find through very well

 

We colored, practiced our somersaults, and drank LOTS of juice

T: 5, P:0, Accidents: 18

I was completely discouraged by naptime because 14 of those 18 accidents occurred before nap and one time Taylor even angrily told me to leave her alone when asking her to tell Mommy when she needed to go potty.  She LOVED the massive amounts of attention that Mommy was giving her and all the different games we were playing.  After waking up from nap(dry) and going on the potty it seemed to kinda click with her and the afternoon went much better.  When she got to pick a prize from the bucket for staying dry during nap, she insisted that I get to pick a prize too since I kept my panties dry during nap time too.  I love how sweet she is and how she is learning to share.(when she wants to)

Day 2:

 

We did puzzles, pretend call Daddy, and not sure about the last one(Daddy duty picture)

T: 13, P: 1, Accidents: 9

I think Taylor was just teasing me with a great afternoon on the first day because day two started off AWFUL!  We had lots of accidents, but a few were my fault.  I learned that when the author talks about being consistent in asking them that you need to.  I also played around with her hair style to keep it out of her face during this training process.  We had a whole different experience after lunch.  No more accidents and she even started running to the bathroom by herself!  She also informed me that babies wear diapers, big girls wear panties, and she’s a big girl.  I love it!

Day 3:

   

Today we practiced our flying skills while watching Tinkerbell and Mommy got braver(and the rain stopped) so we played outside.  After playing for a little bit, Taylor insisted that she needed her potty outside too. 

 

Bubbles were a must, tantrums occurred later(not potty related), and we played outside some more.

T: 6, P: 0, Accidents: 2

I finally felt like I could relax a bit because she was really getting this.  Taylor was running to the potty herself and could hold it long enough to inform me to wait outside the bathroom.  Then she exclaims ‘Look at me!’ to inform me that she’s going.  I should show the accidents as 1 because one of them is completely my fault.  She made it to the potty but couldn't get her panties down and I didn’t pay attention to where she had gone until it was too late.  Bad Mommy!  We had a few false alarms, but I would rather have those than accidents.  Favorite quote had to be ‘It not coming out’ or ‘Nothing coming out Mommy’. 

Day 4:

I know the method is actually only 3 days, but ‘day 4’ is when you have to leave the house and hope that said child remembers everything they learned while at home.  I was so nervous to leave the house, but didn’t have much of a choice today.  I had two outfits, waterproof pad, probably 8 pairs of panties, grocery sacks for wet clothes, wipes, post-it notes(to cover automatic sensors on toilets), sticker rewards, and her potty chair all in the car so that we could be gone for a couple of hours.  I know it sounds crazy, but I have no clue what to expect once outside the safety of our home.  After reminding her like ten million times, she told me when she needed to go, went, and acted like it was no big deal.  I was so surprised when we came home in the same outfit she left in.  I know not all trips will be like this, but it was nice to get out of the house.  Isn’t it funny how when you want to be home you have to be gone, but when required to stay home for a few days it seems like a lifetime???

To my little love Taylor: I award you with the title of Big Girl and the Badge of Patience.  You let Mommy tell you so often and were kind enough to only ignore me a few times, and stuck with the program for the three days.  You dealt with Mommy needing lots of potty breaks too(6 months pregnant causes additional obstacles) and were truly a sweetheart during this process.  Please bear with me over the next couple of weeks as I continue to remind you of our potty goals and as I dance around each time you keep your undies dry.  I promise that I won’t bring this process up too much to your future dates/husband.

(sorry she’s not looking at the camera, but she was busy telling me about her necklace and this was her smile)

Project Life Thursday

July 18th – We enjoyed Nana’s last day here in Austin with lunch at Hula Hut.  Taylor enjoyed looking at the lake and we even got a picture of Baby L 24 weeks(6 months) along.

 

July 19th – We had a swim playdate at Yaya and Pawpaws with Graham, Leili, Marie, Emma, Laurel, and Cyrus.  The kids had a blast playing in the waterfall and we look forward to doing this again!

 

July 20th – This week I am volunteering at Vacation Bible School while Taylor is in the nursery part of it.  I was on snack duty(hence the lovely gloves) and it took everything I had not to enjoy the snacks myself.

 

July 21st – Taylor’s not the only person enjoying the new playroom, but after all the work to put it together she enjoys using Daddy as a jungle gym the best.  Here she is ‘uppy-side-down’ and loving it!

 

July 22nd – Even the best days while wearing a tutu and tiara are rough!

 

July 23rd – Today was the last day of vacation bible school and Taylor’s teachers surprised me with these adorable pictures of her!  She loved going each day and kept asking to go see her ‘friends’ each morning.  This was a great test run for preschool in the fall to see how hard it would be to get her up and going each day.  Good thing she’ll only go two days a week because I missed our mornings together playing!

 

July 24th – Tonight we went out to the Kanetzky ranch to surprise PawPaw with a birthday/celebration of making NECA VP party.  Taylor loved running around with the other kids and got really excited about the silly string until someone sprayed her.  She also insisted that she wear her pink dress.  She is very much into pink, dresses, and bows right now.

Taylor Tuesday

The life of a two year old must be pretty rough if she even gets upset while wearing a tiara.

Project Life weekly update

Now that you know what Project Life is, here’s a chance to see it in action.  The book comes with stickers that you can put on each picture to mark the day of the week, but I finally remembered to add it in photoshop and use my fonts.  I’m curious to see how these print out.  Anyways… here is last week for us.

Sunday, July 11th – For the first time Taylor actually swam on her own(with arm floaties).  She was so excited that she kept asking to do it again and again.  I’m holding my hands up to show that Mama is not helping her.

Monday, July 12th – Taylor loves to raid my closet and jewelry box, but today she declared my red shoes her ‘dancing shoes’.

Tuesday, July 13th – I had to work today, so Jennifer and Graham hung out with Taylor while I worked.  Taylor reminded him that everyone has a little bit of princess in them and that tools are also an important part of life.

No picture for Wednesday

Thursday, July 15th – Taylor had asked for pink ice cream for dessert, but quickly pushed that aside when she saw Mama’s ice cream cone.  I was informed that she would eat mine while I could eat the pretend cone.  

Friday, July 16th – I can’t believe it took us so long to make it to the sprinkler park, but once there Taylor was in heaven.  A bucket also helps add to the fun!

Saturday, July 17th – Taylor took full advantage of Nana while she was in town and had her playing all kinds of games like a barrel of monkeys.

Have a great Thursday!

Project Life

I have been meaning to post about this for oh… 6 months now and am finally catching up on my blogging, if you haven’t noticed.  Project Life is a simple way of document each day of your life with one picture.  Last year I heard about doing a 365 project, which is the same theory, but you had to figure out your own format/book to put it in.  Becky Higgins made it simple so that all you have to do is buy her kit, take the pictures, print the pictures, and write a little bit about each day.  I buy a LOT of scrapbooking/stamping supplies and $50 is cheap for all that you get and it’s so easy to put together.  I end up waiting too long and trying to print and journal a month at a time, and it still only takes me about an hour to complete.  My goal is to start posting the previous week’s photos on here each Thursday to stay on top of it. 

I took these pictures back in April of my first two months of pages for 2010.  I was going to start the book on January 1st, but found it easier to start with the first Sunday of the year so that each open page set is Sunday – Saturday.  It is amazing how much Taylor has changed even since January!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You will notice that some days have a collage for the photo.  When big events happen and it’s too hard to pick just one photo, I do a photo collage in Picasa.  There are also days that I forgot to take a horizontal picture and didn’t want to lose too much of the picture by cropping the top and bottom, so I shrunk it down to be only 4” tall and added a solid background.  I also have several days each month where there just isn’t a picture and that reminds me that life isn’t perfect and I’m allowed to step out from behind the camera and just enjoy life.  Too bad my to-do list didn’t talk about scrapbooking 2010 or I would be able to check that one off my list. 

Tomorrow I will update you with what happened last week and I’ll continue the year from there.  I just saw on Becky’s blog that she is going to continue making Project Life, but around Christmas she will put out a different design!  I know what will be on my Christmas list :) 

Taylor Tuesday

This week's picture should be labeled 'proud mama Tuesday' instead of just Taylor Tuesday because once again we went swimming and after a bit Taylor was swimming all by herself(with arm floaties)!!!  We have come such a long way this summer from the little girl that only wanted to play on the pool steps and would scream if you tried to take her out deeper in the pool.  You will also notice that Taylor is smiling since she is loving her new independence in the pool!

A Weekend with Nana

One of the joys of Taylor getting older is that I get to witness her getting excited about certain events.  Nana(my mom) came to town this past weekend and boy was Taylor excited!  It didn’t hurt that Nana had a few surprises for her and a shopping trip planned, but Taylor had plans for her to play dolls, put together puzzles, sing a few songs, and read her stories at bedtime.  Taylor was also full of cute quotes.

some new princess’ to add to our doll house, taylor acquired these when i her to pick a toy at the store and she told Nana ‘Nana, you put these your bag’ so that Nana could buy them for her

   

‘just one more time monkeys, then i take bath’ or ‘two minutes i take bath mama, two minutes’

before Nana left on Sunday, we headed down to Hula Hut to partake in a pseudo Austin tradition and check off #11 on my 29 before 30 list.  it was YUMMY and they have the fried stuffed avocado that I love, so we WILL be going back soon!  i only have a few more months of ‘calories don’t count while you’re pregnant’ time and i intend on taking full advantage.

              

‘i go swimming in the lake?’ ~ ‘i no like that fish!’ ~ momma and taylor(and baby L)

          

three generations ~ nana and taylor ~ ‘look at the fish nana!’

Taylor also informed us ‘i go Nana’s house’ as we walked to the car.  She loves her Nana and continues to look for her when she gets up from nap or in the morning.  We loved your visit Nana and can’t wait for you to come back!!!