The Potty Dance

Lex is running around, holding himself and dancing.  So I ask him, "Do you need to go potty?"  He says, "No, these are my style moves."

In which "Fire in the Hole!" means "Pee on the Cannon"

When I was telling you about the cannon that was near the World's Largest Rocking chair, I left part of the story out.

And then Lex saw the photos I posted, and he asked to see the photo of him peeing.

He was disappointed when I informed him that I failed to photograph that particular moment.

So, since he seemed interested in remembering the story, I've decided that it must be fit for storytelling.
(Be warned, we are going to talk about pee following this cute photo, so if you want, you can just scroll down to the next post....)

You see, while he was standing up there on that cannon, Kevin and I walked away a little bit.  We were the only ones around, and we were looking at all the crazy stuff on the porch of the gift shop, which was closed.  First, Lex yelled, "Fire in the hole!" and then he yelled, "Mommy, I need your help!"

He had climbed up too high, and he couldn't get back down, and he had to pee.  So, when he yelled, "Fire in the hole!" he went ahead and put some fire in the hole, so to speak, before I could get over to him to help him down to pee in the bushes.  Which was about par for the trip.

Lex peed in the bushes all over the fine state of Missouri on our trip.  It was his first long trip without pull-ups, and we only had to stop once on the whole way there for him to pee on the side of the road.  He did really well.  His only accident was up there on that cannon, and I can forgive him that with ease.

In which Lex decides to be done with diapers...

Please note:  Lex has been capable of using the little potty for ages.  Months and months.  But he insisted on wearing diapers, because he said he was "the baby."

Then, one day, there were no more diapers.  I quit buying them.  He was forced to switch to pull-ups by default.  I offered him the choice between pull-ups and underpants.  He tried the underpants for about 5 minutes, but then decided on the pull-ups.

I knew that the pull-ups phase wouldn't last forever, so I was buying the small pack, once a week.  It wasn't as convenient as buying a huge box and being done with the shopping for a month, but I didn't want to be stuck with 3/4 of a box of pull-ups when Lex decided to switch to underpants.

Well, after months of that, I finally got sick of always needing to run to the store for pull-ups, so I bought the dang big box.  And you know what happened.

On Friday evening, Lex pulled off his pull-up, declared, "I hate these things," and walked over to the trash can and threw it in.  Just like that.  The little man was ready for underpants.

He did really well Friday night in his underpants, but I put a pull-up on him that night before bed.  I told him that if he kept it dry, he could wear underpants at night from then on.  So, he kept it clean and dry, and that was the very last pull-up he has worn.

On Saturday, he had a good number of, "oops, Mommy" moments, but nothing too big or messy.  On Saturday night, he slept in underpants, and he never had a single accident that night or Sunday!

He's still learning, but he's done with pull-ups for sure.  And I have 3/4 of a big box of them sitting in the changing table drawer now.  Just like I knew I would.

Lex is Two and a Half Years Old!

Lex has officially been two-and-a-half years old since last Friday. I swear he has been getting older every day since then.

I started talking to him about potty training about a month ago. Seriously talking about doing it, you know. We got out Connor's old underpants collection. I can't believe how many pairs of 2T-3T underpants we have. Thomas the Train underpants. Wall-E underpants. Elmo. Cookie Monster. Toy Story. Nemo. Monsters, Inc. Lex picked out a nice pair of Buzz Lightyear underpants and wore them for about 10 minutes, before he declared that he was done with them. Because he was the baby. He wanted a diaper.

Then, Lex started informing me regularly that he is a baby. He is Mama's Baby. He is Daddy's Baby. He is Connor's Baby. Does he want to go potty? No, he is a baby. Does he want underpants? No, he is a baby.

But then, something happened. I think he realized that turning two-and-a-half was a big deal. Suddenly, he is okay with being a big boy. He has even told me a few times in the past few days that "I'm a big boy, Mama." I'm not pushing it with the underpants, yet, though.

In other news, Lex is as outgoing as ever. He loves making friends and always finds playmates, wherever we are. He has suddenly started having a taste for books. He used to run off after just a few pages, but now he wants to read stories over and over and over. His favorites right now are by Mo Willems. He loves the Pigeon books, and he loves Happy Pig Day!

He eats just about everything, and will try anything I put on his plate. His new favorites are carrots and celery with ranch dip. He also inhales raisins by the bowl full.

He loves coloring, painting, bubbles, soccer, stuffed animals, Legos, cars...there really isn't much he doesn't like...

...except he doesn't like to be called pet names. If you call him anything other than Lex, he will inform you that, "I'm not a stinker/snuggle bug/cutie pie. I'm Baby Lex!" If he has made up his mind to run off or otherwise cause trouble, though, he won't respond to Lex. He will only stop if you call out his full name: "Alexander Beckett!"

He also likes to pick out his own clothes. The other day he had an idea that he wanted to wear one of Connor's shirts. I couldn't talk him out of it, so we went into Connor's closet and he got a 4t-sized Buzz Lightyear shirt and we put it on him. And it fit. Insofar as t-shirts go, I guess the boys are already close enough in size to share some clothes.

Stop the Presses! Hold the Phone!

I think Lex may be potty training himself!

I can't honestly say that I'm potty training him, and yet there is potty training activities going on.

Lately, I've stopped changing his diapers on top of the diaper changing table. This is mostly due to safety concerns. Our diaper changing table is located near a window in our loft overlooking our two-story foyer. Lex has become very interesting in trying to leap from the diaper changing table on the second floor to the first floor below during diaper changes. Therefore, whenever he needs a dirty diaper cleaned, I just move the changing pad from the changing table to the floor and change him there. This switch has moved him closer to the potty that sits next to the changing table. This has inspired me to ask him if he wants to sit on the potty whenever he is getting a diaper changed. Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn't. He has peed in the potty a couple of times this way, and a couple of times before bath time, but I couldn't honestly say that it was anything more than dumb luck. Luck or not, we always made him feel like a special big boy when he peed in the potty, in hopes that he would associate it with a positive experience.

It turns out that it worked.

Yesterday, when I was unloading the dishwasher, Lex came to me, clearly in distress, and told me that he needed a diaper change. I figured his diaper must have been really full and uncomfortable, so I took him upstairs to change it. But his diaper was clean. I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty, as per usual, and he said yes. Then he did his business. Both kinds of business. On the potty. And that's when I realized that the distress I saw in him was actually the pee-pee dance. I just wasn't looking for that in him yet.

I was so proud! So happy! He figured it out all on his own! But, since I hadn't actually done anything to facilitate his use of the potty, I figured that I couldn't reasonably expect it to continue.

But today, when we were getting ready to leave the house, and I was buckling him into his car seat, he told me that he needed a diaper change. I knew his diaper was clean, so I asked him if he needed to use the potty. He said yes, and soon enough he had done his thing in the potty again!

I haven't had to change a dirty diaper in two days now! He clearly can recognize when he has to poop, and he doesn't want to do it in his diaper now. Good for him! I honestly can't say that I blame him...

Hopefully soon he will kick the wet diaper habit, too. Do you think he'll just take care of that all on his own, too?

Lex peed in the potty! We aren't really potty training yet, but I have been giving him more opportunities to sit his little bottom on the potty. On Friday afternoon, after a diaper change, he sat on the froggy potty and he peed. He was very interested in the pee in the potty, and we did a *very* happy dance of joy. In fact, Daddy walked in the door from work during our dance of joy, and he did a happy dance, too.

I got a new dishwasher, and I didn't even have to light the old one on fire. Which is convenient, because now we are going to try to sell the old one on Craigslist. For like $2. Oh, and the new one is so quiet that there is a light that tells you when it is running, because otherwise, you wouldn't be able to tell. I love it. Love.

We went outside last night to view the Perseid meteor shower. Lex got a good view of the full moon, some stars and a few airplanes. Then he was all tuckered out so I put him to bed. Connor and I stayed out later, and we both saw a nice big meteor with a long tail. So, successful night, in my book.

15 Month Well-Check: Lex Edition

Today we went to the doctor for Lex's 15 month well-baby visit.

Okay, let's back up for a second. First we had to leave the house, and that was an event all of its own.

I was all ready to leave the house to go to the doctor and arrive just a little bit early. It was 9:25 am. I had my coat on. Connor had his coat on. I picked Lex up to put his coat on and discovered that he had a stink in his diaper.

So I took Lex upstairs and changed him. While I was putting his coat on, Connor announced that he had to go poop. Just like that, by the way. So, he took off his coat and went to the bathroom.

Then, for some reason (such as I have ticked off the demi-god of timely arrivals), Connor got his pants and shirt and underpants all wet. So, I had to fetch him some clean clothes and get him changed and then put his shoes and coat back on.

Finally, I could buckle the boys into the car and start it up. It was now 9:55, and we had to be all the way across town in 15 minutes. In the snow. Not going to happen.

So, we arrived to the doctor's office five minutes late (not bad at all in my book, considering what we had been through), and I get us all checked in. Just as the nurse calls Lex's name for his appointment, I notice a stink. From his diaper. Again.

We weighed him and measured his height then, with him stinking it up all the while. And just FYI, those little examination rooms don't air out quickly. I changed his diaper while we were waiting for the doctor, and wouldn't ya know it, but as soon as the doctor walked in, Connor announced that he had to go potty. Again.

What did I do to deserve this? I had the nurse walk Connor to the potty. The doctor asked me if he could go in there by himself, and I answered that he could. He can do it at home (this morning excepted, of course). After a few minutes, the nurse came to get me, though, because Connor was all wet. Again.

Lex did most of his 15 month check-up all by himself, as I had to go to the bathroom and fetch Connor and change his clothes. Again.

But, the good news is that Lex looks healthy. He is ahead of his class (so to speak) with his gross motor skills. He is walking, running and can climb both up and down the stairs (as well as on top of various household objects). The doctor said that she wanted him to be talking more by his 18 month check up. I think that as long as he keeps expanding his vocabularly, he should definitely be talking more by then.

As it is now, he oftentimes spouts out entire sentences that he expects me to understand, and I can only pick up a word or two. So I know that he wants to communicate with me. He just needs a little practice. He's also picking up the sign language like crazy. (Newest favorite sign? Please. Which to him means, "I want it really badly.")

Vital Statistics:

Height: 33.5 inches
Weight: 26 lbs 4 oz

I have no idea what percentile those figures fall in, because unfortunately, I had to go to get Connor in the potty at that moment, and forgot to ask.

Bath time can be tricky

Dear Bloggy Friends,

Yes, I know that I owe you posts about this weekend when we visited Dill's Fall Fun Fest and the Circleville Pumpkin Show, as well as photos from Lex's birthday party, among other things. I will get to all of that soon enough. But first, I have to tell you about bath time last night.

I had to clean up the kitchen and dining room after a smallish birthday celebration with my parents and brother, so I asked Kevin to get the boys into the bathtub since it was getting late. So, while I was vacuuming up Chinese take out off the dining room floor and scrubbing dried icing off the tables and chairs, Kevin was in charge of the bath.

Our boys like to take their bath in the large garden tub in our master suite. I honestly can't say that I blame them, as there is more room in there for their 32,165 tub toys. So, Kevin took them up there and apparently got them all undressed. I guess Lex was running around totally naked while he was getting the rest of the bath ready.

Once I finished cleaning downstairs, I headed upstairs to see how the boys were doing. Everything was well in hand, so I sat down on the bath mat to watch and keep them company.

That's when Kevin started telling me a story. He told me about the naked time, and about how all of the sudden, a perfectly round little turd popped right out of Lex (pop!) and landed right on the bath mat (plop!). You know, the bath mat I was sitting on.

So while we were discussing the steps already taken to clean the bath mat and the remaining steps that needed to be taken to sanitize the situation, we both looked up just in time to see Lex drinking from a small body wash bottle that Connor had taken the cap off of and set down.

Of course, Kevin snatched the bottle away from Lex, but it was too late. He was already blowing bubbles. So I got a cup of water and tried to wash his mouth out. After 5 or 6 dixie cups full of water, he wasn't blowing bubbles any more, so I dialed Poison Control to see what else we needed to do.

Carmen at Poison Control was super helpful and very friendly, and her main concern was that it had been a body wash from Bath & Body Works. That company is apparently notorious for putting a lot of alcohol in all of their products. So, she had to look up the exact scent in their database. It turns out that Mandarin Lime is alcohol-free, so the main concern was whether or not Lex had ingested enough to get an upset stomach. Since it was only a 2 ounce bottle, and just a little more than half was left, I figured that he couldn't have had more than 3/4 of an ounce. We were instructed to try to dilute the soap in his stomach by giving him some more water of milk to drink.

So, I dried the baby off and nursed him, and he never got sick. We put him to bed, and everything was fine.

This morning Poison Control called again to check up on Lex, and I was happy to report that he was fine. I'm still so pleased with their service there!

With love, and bubbles,

Julie

P.S. All the bath mats are clean now, too. As well as my jeans.

P.P. S. Remember the first time I had to call Poison Control?

Overheard at Our House

At Lunchtime:

"Connor, do you want some broccoli? Look how fun they are; they look like little trees!"

"No, Mommy, broccoli is not good for me. It's got lumber in it."

"I said it was like a little tree, not made from a little tree!"



At Potty Time:

"Look, Mommy, saxophone turds!"

(I hear this one a lot. I guess most turds look like saxophones to him. With the exception of the ones that look like chicken nuggets. Thanks a bunch for that one, Daddy.)

(Actually, I can't complain too much. If looking at the turds in the potty is what it took to encourage him to use the potty instead of a diaper to do his business, then I guess that's a win.)

Potty Training Report

This picture really doesn't have much to do with this post.

Except for the fact that Connor looks so grown up here.

In the middle of April, I started a potty-training project with Connor.

Wait, let's start before that.

We used to buy so many varieties of diapers at the store. The way we used to buy milk. We would buy size 3 Pampers Baby Dry for Lex, size 5 Pampers Baby Dry for Connor for daytime wear, size 5 Pampers Easy Ups for Connor for when I could convince him to wear them, and finally, size 5 Pampers Overnights for Connor.

I decided around the beginning of April that this was madness. So I declared that Connor was a big boy who would only wear diapers at night, and that he would wear the Easy Ups during the day. Cross the size 5 Pampers Baby Dry off the shopping list.

Then, after convincing him that the Easy Ups were a good fit (even though he didn't like them because he would feel wet sooner than in the Baby Dry diaper), we started our potty training project.

For two weeks, I gave him a sticker on his Elmo Potty Chart every time he would pull down the Easy Up and sit on the potty. This was important, because he needed a ton of practice with the whole pants up and down thing.

Yes, my child is almost three, and he still cannot dress himself. When he was a bit younger, this didn't distress me at all. In fact, I could see a bright side: he was never taking his clothes off and on. Which meant that after I dressed him, he stayed that way until I undressed him. Easy peasy. He's just never been interested in doing it himself.

But now, he can do pants by himself. And that is important to to the potty project.

During the two weeks we did the sticker chart, I had a vision of how potty training would work. Once Connor could demonstrate that he understood the concept and could keep the Easy Up dry, we would switch to underpants.

Then, one day, it hit me. I kept telling him about wearing underpants, and telling him he would get them once he could stay dry, but he had no idea what I was talking about. All he knew was diapers. So, one day, I just put him in underpants. We had an underpants party.

The first day, he had a 100% failure rate, but at least he knew what I was talking about. Finally.

The second day was only a 50% failure rate, and within a week, we had our first diaper-free and accident-free day. Progress has been quick since then. The next week, we had three consecutive accident-free days. He always did best when just left alone. He would simply "get the feeling" and then run to the potty, unprompted.

We took a break from the whole project on Mother's Day weekend, as we did some long distance traveling, and Connor wasn't in the mood. When we got home, he was ready for his underpants again.

I was fully prepared to bribe him to get him to the point that we are at now, which is pretty much potty trained during the day. I was prepared to give him M&Ms for small victories, and bigger things, like Matchbox cars, for bigger victories. But it turns out that was not necessary.

We do little things around the house instead. Those dinosaur lights we hung up on the first underpants day? They are still in the kitchen, and Connor gets to have them turned on whenever he is wearing underpants. Penguin can wear underpants, too, but only if Connor is. These two little things are all it took to keep Connor excited about wearing underpants.

BTW, for the first part of our potty training, I was putting him back into an Easy Up at nap time. Then, Kevin encouraged me to let him try to nap in underpants. Kevin told Connor that he knew he could stay dry at nap, and that's all it took. Connor has never wet the bed a nap time. And often times he says to me, "Daddy said that I could stay dry at nap." It really made an impression on him.

Let the Potty Training Begin!

I decided that it was time for Connor to try out underpants. I kept telling him about the difference between diapers (or pull-ups) and undies, but he needed to experience it for himself.

So, yesterday afternoon, we went sans diaper.


And because Penguin does everything Connor does...Penguin wore underpants, too.

We declared it "Underpants Party Day."

Yes, he is laying on a waterproof blanket.

We hung up a string of dinosaur-shaped lights that Connor and I had purchased at his request many months ago, but that I had stashed in his underwear basket while cleaning one afternoon and forgotten about, which was the perfect tie-in to our underpants book.


I honestly couldn't have planned that any better if I had tried.

Connor went through five pairs of undies between naptime and dinner, but he alerted me each and every time he went potty, as soon as it was happening. This is a marked improvement from the past, where he would just deny that his diaper was wet, because Pampers are so darn good that the kid can't feel any wetness, despite the fact that the diaper is holding the equivalent of his body weight in pee.

I think that we may go sans diaper whenever we are at home (and I'm not too distracted by something else) for a while and see where it takes us.

I have already discovered, though, that the potty takes a definite back seat to the lawn mower.

Kevin called me out to see this. He said that their conversation went as follows:

"Connor, let's go inside and get you a new pair of pants."

"No, Daddy, I want to finish mowing first."

And so he did. In wet underpants. And that is why we all love him.

Wordless Wednesday

Overheard Last Night

This post is dedicated to my husband, who overheard this exchange in real time, and laughed so hard that he cried, and then said that I had to share it with all of you.

*while changing a diaper before bed*

Connor: "Are there turds in there?"

Me: "Yes, some little ones."

Connor: "What are the turds doing?"

Me: "Nothing. Just waiting for me to clean them up."

Connor: "Are the turds going to get me?"

Me: "No."

Connor: "Why are the turds not going to get me?"

Me: "Because they are just turds."

Connor: "Now what are the turds doing."

Me: "Nothing. I just put them in the diaper pail."

Connor: "What are the turds doing in there?"

Me: "I have no idea. I've never been in a diaper pail before."

Connor Says Funny Stuff Sometimes

We were having a conversation about the difference between wearing underwear and diapers, and Connor was very actively listening to everything I told him.

He then regurgitated the main points of our conversation as follows:

"When Nonnor is big, I wear Mommy's panties."

Morning Recap

6:20 AM (earlier than usual) Connor wakes up. He comes into my room and tells me he is ready and needs his diaper off. We take his diaper off, and he goes and sits on the potty, and actually uses it! A lot! So, I forgave him for waking up so darn early.

7:30 AM We watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Specifically, the episode where Minnie made muffins, so we made blueberry muffins for breakfast.

**Sidebar**

Sara, we don't have Noggin, so I still don't know about all those cartoons you told me about. I checked, and we'll just have to stick with Disney.

10:00 AM We go to a park. I've been promising to take Connor when we had a chance for days.

11:00 AM We leave the park and go to run some quick errands. Connor runs around the post office as fast as he can.

11:45 AM We are pulling into our neighborhood, and Connor is talking about lunch. 30 seconds later, he is fast asleep. Hello! What about lunch? Nap time isn't until 1:00 PM, kiddo!

**Sidebar**

How did he manage to stay awake until 1:00 PM at daycare every day? I've been home with him for four days so far, and he has fallen asleep before lunch on two of those days!

Connor just peed in the

Connor just peed in the potty for the first time! Daddy is doing a great job taking over for me!