Could he really be potty trained?

Potty training has been a long process. When it comes to life altering changes, Jack is in no hurry. He takes his time and when he's ready, he's really ready. (like starting to walk at 20 months!) It has been one year since I bribed Jack with a bubble machine and over a year and a half since his first potty success.

But now, Jack is on Day 4 of underwear only (except at night) with no accidents! He even went to summer camp yesterday for 4 hours and came home wearing the same clothes! Yay! As a reward for staying dry at school, he got to pick out a prize and he has not taken them off from around his neck (see above).

We are so proud of him!

A Peek into the Boys' Shared Room

We finally took the plunge. It was a night that I'd been dreading pretty much since deciding that the boys would share a room back when I was pregnant. We had imagined that we'd wait until Wyatt was sleeping through the night before we moved him from our room. A full night sleep still seems very far away and he is just too big for the co sleeper, so we had to do something.

Wyatt slept for the first time in his crib on Saturday night. We wanted the first night to be on a weekend when we had no plans, just in case we had a rough transition with little sleep. But we've had no problem...we're all getting the same amount of sleep as we were when Wyatt was in our room. He does still wake up twice during the night, but Jack doesn't even seem to notice and sleeps right through the wimpers and cries, and me coming and going from the room. We really talked it up to Jack over the past couple of months, preparing him for Wyatt's move into his room, and he's adjusted so well. He even woke up one morning after Wyatt was up and out of the crib and came to our room crying, so upset that Wyatt wasn't in his bed. I think he's really proud to have his little brother in his room. I know that we are bound to have some rough nights, but I am just so relieved that for now, it's working out. 

I thought this would be a good time to share some pictures I took of the boys' room a few weeks ago. (I love saying, the boys!)

Sources:

Curtains, toddler bed, toddler bedding, chair, bookcase, rugs, under bed storage: Ikea

Dresser: Craigslist, painted BM potpourri green

Crib: Amy Coe, Babies r' us

Bunting, crib skirt, bumper, pillow on chair: Handmade by me

Jack and Wyatt letters: Ebay, The Writing on the Walls

Growth Chart and Quilt: Handmade by my Mom

Rocking Horse: Mine from when I was a child, Handmade by my Grandfather

P.S. We removed the bumper from the crib based on the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

I am joining the fun at Thrifty Decor Chick where you can see lots of other kids' rooms!

Big boy bed!

We'd been telling Jack for awhile that soon he was going to start sleeping in a big boy bed, so it wasn't a surprise to him when we brought one home last Wednesday (it was FINALLY in stock at Ikea). He was SO excited! I'd been a little worried about how the transition would go, since I've heard some stories from friends whose kids would get up all hours of the night and get out of bed and play or wander into their parents' bedroom. I guess Jack was ready though, because that first night, we didn't hear a peep out of him until the next morning when he called for us to get him up! And as I type this, he is going on hour three of his nap, so I think he is officially done with the crib. I was actually a little sad when I realized that we wouldn't put him down in his crib anymore...very soon, though we'll have another little guy that will fill that empty bed...Have I mentioned that they are going to share their room?  

He helped Rob put it together...He wanted to be involved every step of the way. 

When bedtime finally came, he didn't even hesitate to climb in. 

I loved being able to read his book right next to him in the bed.

All tucked in with Gobble-Gobble by his side.

Potty talk

Jack's been more and more interested in sitting on the potty lately. Though, that might have something to do with the animal crackers or chocolate chips that he gets if he at least takes off his diaper and sits down on it...Well anyway, a friend of mine bribed her son with a little $2 bubble machine that she bought for him once he pooped in the potty. We were at their house on Monday, and Jack LOVED this bubble machine...I told him that when he goes on the potty that I would get him one...he talked about it all day long...and would even look at me with side eyes and whisper, bubble machine, to me. I just kept telling him what he had to do to get one. Well it only took one day of waiting because last night after his bath and before I could even dry him off he went right for the potty and peed! And wait there's more! Today before his nap he asked to sit on the potty again...He sat for a few minutes and by then I just thought he was stalling to avoid his nap. He asked for a book and so we read. Midway through the third read of the same book, he started making the poop face...and he pooped in the potty!!!! He was so proud of himself and was grinning ear to ear. So after his nap, we are going straight to store to get him that bubble machine.   

Potty talk

I'll be honest, I don't really have a plan for potty training just yet. It's not that I haven't thought about it though...way back in May I did some research on potties and based on lots of great reviews, I decided on this one in a fun red color.  Right now, my plan is to wait for Jack to start showing some signs that he's at least interested a bit. At this point, I don't want to pressure him and/or chase his little naked behind around the house with the potty if he's not ready. I do talk to him about what goes in the potty. He calls his potty by name (poddy) and he knows how to flush the real toilet. He LOVES to sit on the potty with his clothes on. But if I ask him if he wants his diaper off, he says no and if we try to put him on the potty when he's naked, forget it.  His straightens his legs out and resists.

Well last night he did his usual hanging out on the potty with his clothes on and I asked if he wanted his diaper off and he said, YES! Wow. Rob and I were shocked.  So I took his pants and diaper off.  He then pointed to his potty and asked us to put water in it. I guess that's logical since he knows the real toilet has water in it. He sat right down and PEED!  We were even more shocked and not prepared for that at all...We have to figure out how to make sure his boy parts are pointing in the right direction next time...In the end, Jack ended up with two animal crackers and a bath.  :)

Fast forward to this afternoon...I tried sitting him on the potty and he was not interested.  So with his diaper off, we made our way upstairs to get him ready for his nap. He wandered around his room with no diaper for no more than 5 minutes...I didn't even realize what happened until he was in his crib and I was picking books up off the floor when I saw a puddle...Oops.  At least he missed the area rug.  :)

Jack sitting on the potty taken sometime in July

Del's

Jack had his first taste of Del's Lemonade the other day...He loved it!  I was intending for him to have just a  couple of sips of mine, but after every taste he had, he was frantically yelling, "mo-wa, mo-wa, mo-wa!" He ended up having just about half!  Next time, he's getting his own!

Guess who's walking! (Really!)

Hi! I am back.  There is so much to catch up on. I am going to have to do this in a couple of installments.  But first, I must share with you that Jack is officially walking!  Friday, July 9, was the big day. He was doing his usual letting go of whatever he was holding on to and looking awfully proud of himself, when I asked him to walk over to me (like I've been doing for months).   But he actually did and there was no going back!  Everyone told me that when he finally starts to walk, that he would practically be an expert and it's true, he is.  In those first few hours, I don't think he fell even once.  He was so happy, he just kept walking from room to room with a big, fat grin. All of a sudden, at 20 months, we've got our toddler. Enjoy this video that was taken within minutes of the first steps!

I guess we can call this Story #1

So there I was, getting the mess off of Jack's cloth diaper in the bathroom, when I hear little hands fidgeting with the door knob of his bedroom. I usually just let Jack run (crawl) free in his room when I am doing this oh so fun task which usually only takes a minute or so. Well, today our genius Jack figured out how to lock his door. Yup, he locked Mommy right out. Of course, I completely panicked. I tried the little "key" that we keep above the door jam, but that didn't work. So I ran downstairs to get some tools. I returned with a screwdriver, a pocket knife (?) and my cell phone to take off the doorknob. I got the bolts out and the knob off, but this didn't help me get any closer to unlocking it. Continuing to panic, I started banging on it with the other end of the screwdriver. Jack started to cry. I called 911. A police officer who was close by and heard the call was here in about 3 minutes. He was very nice and and didn't waste any time. We went right up and he managed to get the door open with the cork screw in the pocket knife. Jack was completely fine and I saw that he had kept himself busy emptying the drawers of his dresser. The whole ordeal was probably only 10 minutes long. I didn't even get the officer's name. I am also kicking myself for not getting a picture of Jack with him to post. Oh well. Instead, here is a shot of Jack in his cozy coupe police car taken shortly after he was set free. :)