37 Weeks

(I wasn't quite ready for the picture, but Scott took it anyway! haha)

With only 3 weeks left in my pregnancy, I am feeling...
-scared out of my mind
-elated
-HUGE
-inadequate
-excited
-nervous
-ready

There has been so many emotions running through my mind lately, that I am having a hard time figuring them all out. Will Tayden be okay? To nurse or not to nurse? Will I ever have time to sleep? What does this little boy look like? Is it going to be harder than I expect? What if I am not good at having two kids? How to I balance my time? Is Tayden going to be a good big brother? Do I remember how to calm a crying infant? Have I got everything ready? Will we really be able to handle everything that comes our way?

Although my mind is constantly going a mile a minute, I am sure of one thing. More than anything, Beckett is a blessing. These questions will be answered and in the end...we will be a family. An eternal family and everything else will work out. That is all that matters.

And, before I go...can I brag about my oldest son? Tayden has been in underwear for a week and half now and doing amazing. I can pretty much count on him being dry all day and feel confident taking him places. I am so proud of him. He caught on so quick and it has made my life so much easier. I hope there isn't too much regression when the little one comes. I have to tell one little quick story. Last Sunday, Tayden was taking a bath before church and started yelling from the tub, "Mama potty! Mama potty!". Well, last week when he said potty it could mean one of two things: there is a potty or he needs to go potty. I thought he was showing me the toilet. A few minutes later he started screaming....hysterically. Scott and I rush to him to see what was wrong. We found our master of disaster huddled in the corner yelling, "poot (poop) scary!" He had pooed in the tub and was terrified. Like shaking and refusing to get back in the tub. Every time he saw the tub he would retell the story in his own babbling words about his poo. This whole week we have had to convince him that his 'poot' is not scary, its actually nice. So today before he got in the tub, he told me, "Mama...poot nice." And I responded...."Yes, your poop is nice." Its been a little traumatic for him, be we are slowing making progress.

Well, as we speak I have a foot lodged in my ribs. It fairly uncomfortable. Actually really uncomfortable. So I guess you can add that to my list of feelings.

Can't wait to meet my little jungle monkey.

Winter Blues

I have a good friend who has one of the best blogs to read...ever. She writes brilliantly and more often than not she rights exactly how I feel. As I was reading her latest POST about how hard the winter is with a toddler, I completely felt her pain. As I was reading comments from her readers, I realized we are not alone. A lot of stay at home moms are faced with challenging winters keeping their toddlers happy. So, for those of you that are going through the same thing, here are some ideas to keep that little one happy and keep mama sane.

Savvy Source

Buzzle

Family Play and Learn

Thanks Erin for posting! Hope this helps!

Zero

zero.
none.
zilch.
nada.
naught.
null.

No matter how you say it...the fact remains the same. Tayden has not had one accident today. He has been accident free since 11:00 am yesterday...church, nap, night and all.

I am one happy mama.

Day 3 of 3

So here we are. The 'last' day of potty training. Tayden only had two accidents today and went potty on the toilet many times. However, we did have one set back. He got a rash. We are not sure if he is allergic to the new toddler wipes or what is going on...but it seems to be bothering him quite a bit. We put some ointment on it and because I didn't want to get our clean house all oily, we decided on a pull up. (Its much harder for Tayden to get his hands down a pull up than underwear) No good, no good at all. So we had a slight regression, but are determined to work through it. Hopefully it will clear up in a day or two. So, although we aren't 100% done in 3 days, I feel confident we are 90% there. He really is doing well and its encouraging to know we are done with diapers. I am sure there will be accidents to come, but am also sure they will decrease with time.

So, that's the update.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Day 2 of 3

Well, as promised by the book...day two was harder than one. It is quite common for a slight regression on day two. The kiddies realize it is much easier to potty in a diaper and continue to play than to actually have to stop and use the toilet. It also didn't help that I had to deviate from the program due to a few unexpected hiccups in the day. Such as showing our house, which actually never happened due to scheduling conflicts. (I don't really want to talk about it.) So we had to go to my moms for a few hours and I paid less than 100% of attention to him. Anyway, Tayden had five accidents ranging from a major one to a few minor ones. However the set backs, we did see some major progress. He stopped mid stream and finished on the toilet every time but one. He also told me multiple times he had to go potty as he ran to the bathroom yelling...."Potty Potty Potty!" He pooed in the toilet 3 times and understands the concept. I think tomorrow will be fantastic and have high hopes for the last day. It is supposed to be the easiest so we will see if Tayden complies with the statistics. Wish us luck.

Day 1 of 3

Today was an exciting day at the P house.

Tayden started potty training.
We are doing the "3 Day Potty Program".
Its 3 rough days of staying home and doing nothing but potty training.
Its been amazing.

(Fresh out the bath with his baseball unders)


We said bye bye diapers and hello big boy unders. He was shocked after his first accident, which was followed by 2 minor accidents, and then a miracle.....8(ish) pee pees in the potty! And even better....a poo! I didn't change one diaper today. Hallelujah!

Lets just hope tomorrow we have the same luck. And Saturday we will be home free! Literally...home free. I can't wait to leave the house!

And a picture for the road.

Look at the follow through. He might be loving basketball as much as he loves football.

New Years

Today was the perfect start to the year:

Tayden had his ball.
Sitting in his camp chair.
Next to his Dad.
Drinking some juice.
Watching football.


Who could ask for more?

Happy New Year!
Along with everyone else, I have set a new years resolution. In years past, I have set three or four for myself, but this year I am focusing on just one. Family. Home. Evening.
I am going to give it my best to hold weekly FHE.
I think it will be so good for our growing family.
I can't wait.

Something else I can't wait for...to hold my new baby boy. He should be making his arrival in 5 weeks....35 short days. Hooray!!!

Happy 2011!