Allyson the Tapper

This morning Allyson had tap and ballet class.  They recently moved into a new studio, so the girls are getting adjusted to their new rooms, which are very nice.  Today her teacher called us in the room to watch the tappers perform their routine . . . this was a first!!  So glad I had my phone in my back pocket!  I think Allyson was in shock with us in there and could not focus, although I'm really not sure how much more she would have done with us out of the room either.  At least now I have it on video and we can practice at home!!

After ballet and tap we went to Bullritos to eat.  If you've never eaten there before, you get a bag and fill out your order.  Jase likes to write his name and fill in some of the items he wants: Chips and Queso, small drink, etc.  Well today after I paid I got my receipt and looked at it.  Notice anything that should not be there?

If you guessed COOKIE, then you're right!  I asked the lady "did we mark cookie on one of our bags?" She looked at the bags and sure enough on Jase's bag, Cookie was marked!! I later asked him if he marked Cookie and he said yes, that he wanted one!!  I just had to laugh.  I told him that he cannot just mark Cookie, we pay extra for that!!  I got a reader on my hands!!

The kids are growing like weeds, especially little Finn!  I weighed him tonight and he is 14.80 lbs!  Hard to believe it!!  I weighed Ally too and she was 29.2 lbs and Jase is right at 50 lbs!  I cannot believe Jase is 50 lbs!!  Crazy!  He was just shy of 40 lbs at 4 years old.

We are into week 3 of big girl panties.  All and all she is doing great.  Only 1 potty accident in the last week.  Poop now is a different story.  She finally pooped in the potty yesterday . . . let me tell you BIG DEAL!! We were doing a Potty Sticker Poster for every time she pottied or pooped, she got a sticker, and then every time she landed on a 5 or 10 she got a prize.  Well, she was going so much in the potty, most days she was eligible for 2 prizes.  And they are small prizes I had bought a while back: Princess stickers and pencils, etc.  We have now moved on to every time she poops in the potty she gets a prize.  I stocked up on some cute things at Dollar Tree last week.  She normally poops everyday, but since I have been on her about pooping in the potty, some days she will not go.  When she pooped in the potty yesterday I told her that I was so proud of her and she says "it's still gross!"  I told her that we all do it, but it is better if we go in the potty!  I sang the Potty Song from the Elmo Potty Time DVD we have; it talks about everybody using the potty. {My kids respond better to music!}  So glad we are making a turn in the right direction with this!

Here's a picture of my baby boy today.  We were sitting in the chair together and I had the back door open because it felt great outside.  The light was hitting his eyes just right and they looked so blue; I had to take a pic!!

Let's Try This

Last night I was talking to a friend and she said that her daughter was doing great with going tee-tee in the potty, but would not poop in the potty.  She ended up doing a reward poster with her and after she pooped in the potty 5 times then she would get a prize.  I had actually bought a pink poster board on Saturday and had planned on doing a Potty Sticker Poster for her, since she LOVES stickers, but wasn't really going to do a reward, bust just allow her to randomly put a sticker on the poster if she tee-tees or poops in the potty.  Well after talking with my friend, I decided to do a reward after she is successful in the potty every 5 times.

I made a little chart and explained to Allyson about getting a prize every time she puts a sticker on number 5 or 10.  Today before her nap she pooped in the potty so she was able to pick out her own sticker (fairies, princesses and ballerinas) and put it on the chart.  I am still trying to explain that she only gets to add a sticker if she goes on the potty.  She thinks I should just give her a sticker just because, but I'm sticking to my guns!! I am hoping this will make her excited about going in the potty more often.  And it's not that she doesn't like to sit on the potty, she was probably on it today for over an hour . . . not kidding.  If she gets up and I ask her if she went in the potty and usually she tells me "I didn't" then I will take her back in there and sit her down.  She will stay there for 5 or so minutes and then repeat and repeat.  Tonight Shawn said "just put a pull-up on her already".  I told him we have been doing this all day and we have to keep at it.  This WILL pay off!!

As for swimming lessons . . . MUCH better today.  Allyson only cried for 5 minutes or so and then was great after that.  In all seriousness, I know God heard our prayers for little Ally.  And Jase did great too!  He was jumping into the deep end and swimming, then floating on his back and then doing the back stroke . . . all on his own!!  So big!!  Here are a couple of clips of them today (if you're interested); I mainly take them for Shawn, since he is at work and I know he wants to see how the kiddos are doing.

Potty Training Blues

I'm not sure what happened to that "gung-ho" attitude I had last night about potty training, but it has already left this morning.

We woke up, like 45 mins ago, and I sat her on the potty and nothing. Her pull-up from last night was pretty full, so I thought she must have already went this morning. I explained that she needs to listen to her body and go tee-tee and poo-poo in her potty today. I let her pick out which princess panties she wanted to wear and she went with Rapunzel. Jase tells me, just put her in a princess pull-up. I explain to him that this is what we did with him and it just takes time.

I go in the laundry room to start a load of laundry and when I walk out I ask her if he needs to potty as she is standing there with her legs squeezed together and tells me yes. I said ok, let's run to the potty. We get in there and take off her panties and they were soaked. :( Here we go I thought. I take the Rapunzel panties off of her and she throws a fit. She wants to wear them. I tell her she will have to pick another pair out and of course there is not another Rapunzel pair in the 7 pack! She is trying to grab the wet panties, so I scoop them up and tell her that I will wash them and go add them to the load I had just started. I clean up the two puddles in the living room and Jase asks what I am doing so I tell him that Ally pottied in her panties. His response "you should have just put a pull-up on her!" Thanks Jase! We go back to the bathroom and I find another big puddle! Allyson Kate!! I mean the potty splashed up against her training potty . . . if you're that close, sit on the potty!! I wipe her down again and she settles on another pair of panties. Her wipes are in a drawer in my nightstand, along with pull-ups and diapers. I am bad, I ask her if he wants to wear a princess pull-up and she says no, a Minnie one. Ok, a Minnie one it is!

I'm not sure if I am up for this!! Hopefully it's because I am almost 32 weeks pregnant and I do not have my get up and go right now. And in the back of my mind I am thinking that I will have another to potty train after her!

She is now watching Elmo Potty Time! We'll see how this goes!

Dear Lord, please give me patience.

PM update:
I did not actively continue with the potty training today.  She was content in her Minnie Mouse pull-ups and so was I.  After she woke up from her long nap, I sat her on the potty with a book and left her there.  She ended up taking a poop!! Two days in a row!! And both times she was reading a book; I think I will install a magazine rack next to her training potty!! When we were getting ready for bed I had her sit on the potty before putting on a fresh Minnie Mouse pull-up, gave her a book and she pottied . . . I see a trend here!! My mom said that when I was little I would sit on the potty and ready forever on there, maybe it runs in the family! Although now, I'm all business in the restroom . . . in and out!! Of course these days I have little ones who are in and out of the restroom while I'm in there.  ;-)  I do not have any preconceived goals for tomorrow, I am playing it by ear and basing it off of my energy level!!

GAG!

One day last week I heard Ally talking up in her bed, so I made my way up the stairs while saying "Is my Princess awake?" I was waiting to hear those 3 little words from my sweet girl "I love you," but instead I got these 3 words: "Mom, I poop!"  Here we go!!

Poop on her sheets, pillow cases, clothes!! GAG!! I had to hold back from gagging! She went straight into the bath and afterwards I cleaned up her she bedding.  Her diaper was still on, so she must have stuck her hands in there.  Yuck!  We have been staying on her lately about keeping her hands out of her diaper!

We have been talking about potty training more lately, but she is not completely ready yet.  Half of the time when I put her on the potty she has nothing to do with it and will want to hold me while she is sitting there.  I plan on making a big push over the summer, when we are home everyday.  I signed her up for 3 year old preschool in the fall and she has to be potty trained for that class, so the pressure is on.

We just finished lunch about an hour ago.  I got the kids cleaned up and they went into the living room to watch a little TV while I sat at the kitchen table to work on some things.  Ally walks up to me holding out her hands and said she pooped.  (She has been getting better at telling us she pooped and to change her.)  Well she had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, so I am HOPING that I did not wipe her hands very well and that brown crusty stuff was peanut butter.  One sniff and I knew...POOP!  This girl!!

As I'm cleaning her up, I tell her again, "do not put your hands in your diaper" and she responds with "it's nasty and yuck?"  She knows what is going on!  I hope this is last of poop issues, either for a while or for good with her.