It's a big day for Jack!

So, this is my blog and I can write about things that aren't normally appropriate to talk about, right?  Like Jack pooping on the potty?

Jack's been doing really well and letting us know that he needs to go to the bathroom when we're out in public.  Actually, he might be better at it when we're out than when we're at home.  We've been working on getting him to go #2 on the potty, but he's been avoiding it at all cost.

Last night after he was in bed, he called me and told me that he had to go. I was skeptical and thought he was trying to get out of bed.  Actually, I think he was procrastinating and trying to get out of bed.  So when he actually went, I think it suprised us both!

He was so, so, excited and we made a few phone calls and sent a few texts to share the big news. Here he is enjoying the popsicle that was promised if he ever pooped on the potty.  He cashed in immediately!

You can tell that this is a really big deal in our house.  Just look at the loot that showed up on our doorstep this morning from all of the proud family:

Better than the tooth fairy!

Audrey is 10 months!

Our little stinker is 10 months old!  She's had a busy month and I've taken a lot of pictures.  I know that I should probably put away my phone and not catch every single moment.  But I can't help but want to share every smile and milestone with Jacob while he's at work. He gets a lot of picture texts every day.  So you get to enjoy these pictures, too.

Audrey's been rolling over in her bed and seems to prefer to sleep on her belly.
She's been eating everything in sight.  (Except of course for those darn avocados, and now she's refusing bananas.) I know that she's got a hole in her foot somewhere.  I just can't find it.  This little girl eats all day long.

Sometimes meals get a bit messy:

She's starting to spin around like Jack used to do.

She's a full time thumb sucker and I'm loving it!

This month Audrey got to put on a bathing suit for the first time and splash around at Washington Park.

 She's wearing barrettes in her hair.

  We've seen Audrey's spunky personality shine this month.  She loves to laugh and smile but will quickly let you know when she's not happy.  She's got a few smiles now.  She wrinkles her nose and gives a huge smile when she's really happy:

Audrey is still fascinated with all things Jack.  She wants to play wherever he's at and I have a feeling that soon she'll be choosing what they do and where they go.  

Here is her 10 month picture in the big red chair and some stats from her 9 month appointment two weeks ago:

length: 28in - 75th%

weight: 16lb 10oz - 25th%

head: 45cm - 75th%

And I forgot to mention that on her 10 month birthday she cut her first two teeth!  She's growing up!!!

Potty Commercial

This commercial makes me smile.  And we had a very similar thing happen this week, minus the splashing and mess.  Jack managed to make it all of the way up the steps by himself without dropping a bit.  Way to go, buddy!

Potty Training 101

We've entered the world of big boy underwear and potty seats.  Last Sunday we didn't have church, due to the Flying Pig Marathon.  So I decided that since we'd have two adults in the house to help out, we were going to go for it.  I purchased the book Toilet Training in Less Than a Day which came highly recommended by my sister.  And anyone who has potty trained 4 kids can offer me advice any day.

I won't go through all of the details, but I'll tell you that by the end of day one I was a bit nervous that we started training too soon.  But every day since then we've seen really positive results and I think Jack's got the hang of it.

We've gotten out a lot this week, and he's even stayed dry on those errands. Yesterday he told me twice that he had to go to the potty.  This was a huge breakthrough.

And as I said in my Mother's Day post, Jack has stayed dry even through his naps for at least 5 days in a row.  Wow!  I didn't expect that to happen for awhile.

We have two more big milestones to reach:  staying dry overnight and pooping.  The biggest issue right now is that he doesn't want to go #2 on the potty, but he also knows that he's supposed to stay dry and therefore doesn't want to go in his underwear.  This is causing belly aches and tears. He was up twice in the middle of the night last night, which is amazingly rare for Jack.

So right now I am pumping him full of apple juice in hopes that it gets things going.  He's sitting on the potty, watching a show while I'm typing this.  I may be way off on this one. But for months he's left the room to go #2.  So I'm wondering if it would be easier for him to go if he was all by himself.  We'll see.  For now, a little TV while I catch up on this blog post isn't the end of the world.

I'm so very proud of Jack for doing so well this week.  I am amazed by his progress and feel like being 100% trained is right around the corner.  Way to go, Jack!

Here's a picture of Jack picking out his underwear on a special trip to Target.  He chose Mickey Mouse.

And here's a 'just because' picture:

Mother's Day 2013

I'm not going to lie:  Mother's Day got a bit ugly around here.  More accurately perhaps, I got a bit ugly.  Or at least my attitude did.

The day started off well at church and lunch and the kids even took really good naps.  Jack stayed dry all of the way through his nap (I've lost count, but I think it's been 5 days in a row)!  Jacob worked so hard to give me my requested Mother's Day gift:  a simple Sunday night dinner, where we would all sit down together and that everyone could eat the same thing.  No extra grilled cheese, hot dogs, or special meals.  Just a simple dinner.

That's where things started to go down hill.  Jacob made a great dinner, but Audrey's internal clock was stating that dinner time was not going to wait until the 5:30 time we set aside.  She wanted to eat now.  And during our family meal, Jack refused to eat dinner and continued to ask to get down.

With the people, the tears, and the pressure of the day, I lost control of my attitude and I just got grumpy.  It wasn't that my Mother's Day wasn't the way I wanted it.  I would have been frustrated any day of the week.  I just didn't choose to handle the chaos well and didn't choose to be grateful in the moment.

I say all of this not to complain, but to acknowledge that Jacob worked very hard to make the day special.  The meal, the gift, the day out on Saturday... everything was wonderful.  I appreciate the hard work and extra effort that it takes to cook for 11 people and honor three mothers at the same time.

I'm extremely thankful to be a mom.  It's a gift that I feel grateful to have and I don't hesitate to remind Jack and Audrey that I'm extremely thankful that God allowed me to be their mommy.  I'm thankful to Jacob for providing for us so well and allowing me to stay home and watch these kids grow up.  At the end of a stressful day, I'm still thrilled to be the person to nurse Audrey before bed and read books to Jack while cuddled up in his rocking chair.  I'm beyond blessed.  And four years ago on a sad Mother's Day when we were only dreaming of children, I wasn't really sure that this day would ever come.

So thank you to Jacob for honoring me yesterday, and thank you to my mom and mother in law for being wonderful examples for me.