Day 1 of Naked Potty Training...Day 3 of No TV

For those that don't know, I am completely cutting out television as an experiment of sorts...Dayton LOVES TV and always has. Since he was old enough to lift the remote and push a button he's been watching the boob tube. The problem (since he has grown up into a raging hormonal toddler) is that he throws fits when it is time to turn it off. Granted, any 2 year old has problems with transitions at times, but I have just gotten so tired of his fits and his constant asking to watch TV and his whining if a show comes on that he doesn't like. Now don't get me wrong, I love that the TV is handy to keep him occupied during the making of dinner or my daily shower, or keeping him quiet during Saige's morning nap but I guess I hate tantrums more than I feel the need to shower. Secondary to all of that, I dislike that the TV causes him to completely shut down and turn into a vegetable...repeating myself for the 10th time to come and eat or come and say hello to daddy or come and get a diaper changed, has gotten old. I am not against TV (though I've read a ton of articles on how negative TV can be for children) because I really have seen him learn some things from watching certain shows...so for now I am experimenting to see what happens. Of course, all of this has created EXTRA work for me because I am forced to spend every waking second occupying his time...which is really a wonderful thing...just an exhausting thing. Call me crazy, but I am also potty training and the motivation is twofold. First (and mainly), any of the preschools that we are trying to get him into require them to be 100% independent with the potty and since we are hoping (everyone please say a preschool prayer) that he gets into one come this January I figured it was time to start really working on it. That way, he has sufficient time to also learn public potty use and has time for any potential setbacks. I decided on the naked method because I've just heard so many success stories and to me, it requires the least amount of time & work...though I suppose there is more potential for nasty messes. I know they say you shouldn't even start until they are able to wake up "dry" from naps, but this isn't realistic in our house since we send him to bed WITH a cup of water. We also send him to bed with a cup at bedtime too. We do this because he has never been a big "drinker" and having lived in (and currently living in) hot states, staying hydrated is a priority (especially for an active boy like Dayton). Anyhow, I'm getting off track here....I've felt he has been ready for the past month or so because he is AWARE of needing to go and having gone...sometimes he'll tell me before and we head to the potty and other times I feel he's just being lazy and having too much fun (probably sitting in front of the TV!!) So we woke up today and I just told him NO MORE DIAPERS expcept at night night times. He's had a tee tee in the potty about 5 times today and on all occasions has initiated telling me he has to go. He has dribbled on the floor one time..said "uh oh", stopped himself and RAN to the potty and finished up in there. He held his morning business (even though he made about 50 trips to the potty with the intention of going) all the way until after lunch when his meal gave just the little push we needed. 2 minutes after lunch he said "need to potty" and we raced there...he immediately did a big business on the potty and screamed "ny did it" and then asked for a BIG surprise. I gave him a new book I had bought and put away with the intention of giving it to him on his birthday in October. I told him how proud I was and presented him with his book...he said "tank you mom". We read his book, I put him down for his afternoon nap (in a pull up of course) and so here I am...the proudest mommy in the world typing out my story... Now if I were smart (which I consider myself to be *insert smile*) then I would go and shower. Two photos for your pure enjoyment...Dayton's new fascination is putting on Dad's shoes after he's removed them from a long day at work with sweaty feet and doing a tap dance (very funny) and the other is Saige practicing her "what mom? I can't hear you" pose. Gotta love it!

Just Some Cute Captured Moments

Thought I would share a couple cute and fairly recent pictures of the kids. Father's Day was nice - Scott relaxed and actually read a whole book! Who knew he could sit still that long? We also started swim lessons that morning. Surprisingly, Dayton was excited about it and showed very little apprehension this year. He enjoyed the other kids, splashing and being thrown into the air. The only thing he didn't enjoy so much was blowing bubbles in the water...for whatever reason, he hasn't quite figured out that he should blow out and not suck in! Saige of course loved it all. She didn't fuss once and just smiled the whole time and splashed a ton. She also didn't get the concept of blowing bubbles in the water and choked a good bit, but at least she tried and she didn't cry once! There were a few other kids that did a fair bit of crying. We have 9 more weeks of it so we'll keep you posted!

Quality Time With YaYa

YaYa, I know you didn't want me to post your pictures on the world wide web for ALL to see, but too bad....the pictures of you with the kids are just too cute not to share! The kids LOVED their YaYa time and Dayton still talks about taking YaYa to the "aypote" and requests to "go wok and dogs come too". We look forward to seeing you all after Christmas!

The 10th Month Is Gone Already!

This used to be newborn is practically a little girl now - she has just started feeding herself, has mastered little finger foods, steps up and down one step without help, loves the beach and has no fear of the water, likes to make silly faces, stands for a good 30 seconds or more without holding on, likes to walk holding mom's hand and fusses every time mom gets out of sight or puts her down. Still no independent steps but she's a fast cruiser and is quickly mastering how to climb. The other day I caught her standing ON Dayton's school bus!