Is It Possibly This Easy?

Jonathan may have turned three this month but we have not tried to potty train him. My mom made a stab at it when he stayed with her in April, but he was just not ready yet. When we went to the pediatrician for Jonathan's three year old visit, we spoke to the doctor about it and he told me that Jonathan was definitely ready but just stubborn.

With this advice in mind, we decided to start potty training yesterday. I know there a bagillion different ways to go about it, but we decided to do a small scale big boy party first thing yesterday morning and also, from the time he got out of bed, he wore underwear (except at naps and night, when he will use a Pull Up). We talked it up all week and he seemed into it. So at six thirty yesterday morning, I got him up and took off his diaper. He had a small breakdown when I asked which underwear he wanted to wear but it was short lived and he choose Wiggles. We had donuts, got potty gifts and busted out the M&Ms. I sat back and waited for the bevy of accidents I thought were sure to occur.

But here's the thing--there WERE NOT a lot of accidents. He had one yesterday morning and it made him quite upset. I told him it was not a big deal, cleaned him up and we went on with our morning. I reminded him every thirty minutes or so to try to go to the potty, but he also decided to try to go on his own sometimes. When he ran in yesterday and did number two in the potty, I teared up, I was so happy and relieved that he was able to do it! He liked the underwear so much that he wanted to wear them during nap time. I didn't want to push the Pull Up issue but a wet bed after nap time made him rethink his stance. The rest of the day, we had what I will call 1/2 an accident as he started to have an accident but finished up in the potty. Last night, when he went to bed, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

My mother, when I told her this, was happy about the news but also cautioned that today may not go as well. However, it's been even better. He got up this morning with a dry Pull Up. As I type this, there have been no accidents and he's been going to the potty pretty much unprompted. Infused with a new confidence, I took him to Target this morning IN UNDERWEAR (I had back up underwear and clothes in the car, of course). We ended up going to Babies R Us and Toys R Us, too. No accidents. I am elated but I am also concerned--am I missing something or was he just ready?

He wants the little potty in the living room for now and I am totally OK with it. He likes to empty the contents in the big potty himself and then wash out the bowl. Quite self-sufficient, that little guy. I didn't want to embarrass him by taking any "action" photos on the potty but here are two of him at the sink cleaning up. He is so proud of himself right now and rightly so!

Zoo Birthday Party

We celebrated Jonathan's birthday this year with a party at the Louisville Zoo. At his day care, you are supposed to invite the whole class but the Zoo limits the party to 20 guests, including adults, so that was not an option. So we invited several of our friends and their children, making it a win-win situation as Bryan and I had people to play with, too :)

Here is the bulk of the lineup. There were nine children and it was very difficult to get them all into one picture. Or it was difficult for Cindy to get them all in one picture as she was gracious enough to honor us yet again with her picture taking prowess. Jonathan did not want to stand still for a picture, thus the stink pot look on this face.



I made the Pablo cake Jonathan wanted and it was a ton of work! So I sold the pan on Ebay for more than I paid for it. That made me quite happy.




As part of the party, you got to choose two animals to pet. We chose the box turtle and a hedgehog. For some reason, the hedgehog did not make it into any of the photos but the turtle was pretty cute, too:





The party ended with a train ride. The zoo train is one of Jonathan's favorite things in the whole world. Can't you tell by the last picture with him waiting for it to arrive??

Third Birthday Pictures

This is a bit out of order as my last post was about the Fourth of July, but these pictures are too wonderful not to share!

Just like last year, Jonathan and I spent the afternoon of his birthday with my fantastic photographer friend Jon. And the results were spectacular! Jon told me during our session that he and his family may be moving to L.A. in the next year to eighteen months. I told him our annual photography sessions are about to get A LOT more expensive for me!

















Man, I am just crazy about this kid!!

Fourth of July Fun

The Fourth of July this year was super rainy. Unfortunately for us, that is the day for which we had Day Out with Thomas tickets. It was at the Kentucky Railway Museum, a soggy hour's drive away. Jonathan didn't seem as into it as last year but I think that was mostly the weather as it really put a damper on things (ha, ha!). Anyway, it was definitely not a picture-inspiring event--I literally took one picture.

Later in the day, the weather cleared up. We went to Joe and Cindy's house for a little cookout. The rain stopped long enough for the kiddos to do some sparklers. As promised, here are more of Cindy's fabulous pictures. Jonathan thought it was cool to be so close to fire but he was not overly fond of the odor put off by the fireworks:





After the kids used up all the sparklers, Jonathan moved on to bubbles. He is really into bubbles right now and has become quite the pro:





Maybe next year he will physically be able to stay up late enough to see fireworks since that is my favorite part about the Fourth!

Archeological Dig

My friend Cindy shared some great pictures with me that she took while we were at the Children's Museum in Indy. She also took ones from the Fourth of July and from Jonathan's birthday party at the Zoo, both of which will be the subject of future posts. My blog is in for a real treat as she is quite a talented photographer! Also, the Rebel kicks the butt of my Easy Share any day of the week!

At the museum, they have an incredible dinosaur exhibit and one of the highlights, at least for Jonathan, was where you put on goggles and "dig" for dinosaurs. At first, he choose the pink goggles. He often picks pink items, if given a choice, on the premise that it's Mommy's favorite color. I'm lovin' some momma's boy in those moments!





Caroline was trying to give him a lesson in magnifying glass usage...



...but he preferred to use it this way:



I just love this series of pictures so much that I had to throw these in too.




After a long day of exploring, this is how my lucky guy ended the night, wedged between two cuties, watching the Curious George movie. He's living the good life.

Cold Pricklies

As many of you may recall, I went skydiving in January to kick off my thirties. The plane we rode up in was really small, holding the pilot, my instructor, me and a guy named Paul. Paul seemed like a neat guy, very experienced in skydiving. He talked to me all the way up, reassuring me about how incredible it was going to be. He was literally holding the airplane door closed on the way up and, when my instructor and I jumped out of the airplane, he jumped out right after us. When I opened my eyes after the initial scare, Paul was right in front of me, "floating" and waiving at me. I remember being happy that he'd hitched a ride up with us because he really put me at ease--if he could jump out of an airplane thousands of times, surely I would be completely fine to do it once!

I was, therefore, quite surprised when Bryan emailed me this article on Friday. The one he sent me actually didn't have the picture; I found that on the obits page of our local paper. All I had initially was his name but I immediately got goosebumps, thinking the odds were pretty good that it was him. Once I found the picture, I knew for sure.

It just really made me think about how, in an instant, a tragedy can change everything. It reminded me of how you need to live each day to the fullest. as much of a cliche as that may be. Paul obviously truly loved skydiving and spent his last moments doing something that was his passion. May be all be as fortunate when our time is here.

When Bugs on Your Food is a GOOD Thing

Bryan has a great guy he used to work with, Steve, who was incredibly nice enough to volunteer to work on our kitchen not just once, but twice, making it exactly two more times than I did I worked on the kitchen. So when he asked me to make cupcakes for his son's birthday party this weekend, I was totally into it. I am in LOVE with the previously mentioned cupcake book. This was my first time melting chocolate and using it as a medium. It was a bit time consuming, but the the results are so worth it...

And Then He Was Three...

Today is Jonathan's third birthday! I am forever amazed at how quickly the time has passed since he was born three years ago! It fees like just yesterday that I was writing a post about him turning two! Now I look at Jonathan's sweet face and I feel the same emotions as the first time I saw it, but even more intensely. In sum, I am smitten.

Memory lane...

Fresh from delivery. I melt looking at this picture, how sweet and innocent he is.



In a flash, it was his first birthday and he was eating cake for the first time. My, how things change that first year!



Then one year ago today, we were at the zoo for his birthday. As I watched him playing in the water, I remember looking at him, marveling about how incredible he was and how lucky I felt to be his mother.



And here he is today, three years old. Already a little man and with more personality than you would think could fit in his 24 pound body. Which is why he was opening birthday gifts before seven a.m. this morning.



Happy birthday Jonathan! You captured my heart three years ago when I first laid eyes on you. I suspect that you have no intentions of returning it to me. And I wouldn't have it any other way.