'A portrait a week of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013'
This handsome little man is 3 in two weeks! Where has the time gone?!
43/52
'A portrait a week of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013'
Soren and I went 'adventure exploring' in our woods. He came up with a few super red leaves, a nut of some sort - but most importantly this BLUE tennis ball! The prized possessions of toddlers....
Love You, Too!
my buddy sippin' down some hot cocoa - so big!
Last week, I received my first, unsolicited 'I love you too!' from Soren. It melted my heart. I was leaving for work and shouted up the stairs - 'Bye Soren. Love you!'.
Normally he is so engrossed in play I don't get a response. But last week as I started to walk out the door, I got 'Bye Momma! Love you too!'.
I melted. Absolutely melted.
As if his current GIANT milestone potty training wasn't enough - he is truly getting SO big - SO fast! Slow down!
diapers, pail, wipes and warmer all packed away!
42/52
'A portrait a week of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013'
Our days are filled with trucks, trains - dirt, sticks and leaves. I am receiving my play instructions here. I'm in charge of the yellow dump truck.
Potty Trained
We potty trained - and you can quote me on this one, we had a blast! We followed Soren's cues and it ended up being really un-stressful and he is so proud of himself. As he should be.
A couple weeks ago, he started talking about the toilet and what goes in 'd'ere'. So, one morning - while Soren refused to wear his diaper, Rick put his seat converter on the toilet and about an hour after I got to work I received a lovely picture of Soren's 'morning constitutional'... in the toilet. Rick said he had gone in, all on his own - and went to the bathroom. Came out - declared 'I pooped! Innnn the toilet!'. And that was that. We started potty training.
Since he is in cloth we went straight to underwear. It didn't take long for him to realize that walking around soiled was no fun. We would set a 'toilet timer' together and check in on him every 20 minutes. Sometimes just practicing sitting on the toilet while reading a few stories (extra book time - everyone wins!). Every toilet success we had was a celebration with high fives and 'great job bubs!! You're SOOOO big!'.
We opted out of candy and toys. We've had a lot of success with simple praises - so we thought we would stick with that and sure enough it worked. After a week and half - Soren started walking in on his own, pulls down his pants and goes to the bathroom. He now moves the stool over and even washes his hands after wiping (and pulling his pants up, of course...). I can't believe it.
The best part about this is how proud he is. And he should be! His attitude towards just about everything has changed now - he is growing even more independent!
I have to say - the whole experience was pretty fun for us too. It is amazing watching little ones figure these things out. Seeing them become their own people with their own ideas. So independent from us.
Next step - using public bathrooms. Like most - he is a bit tentative (but let's be honest, do you like using public restrooms??). So far, he just holds it. But there will come a time we will be away too long! So far, 6-ish days - no accidents (knock on wood).