Potty Training Update

Like this really matters to anyone else. But this is what I'm living right now, hence this is what I have to blog about! ha!

We are currently on day #3 in the process. We ended day #1 with just about an even tie of successes on the potty and successes on the floor. Ahem. I was pretty pleased with the amount of successes for his very first day, AND I ended up with some freshly scrubbed floors, as well, so that was good.

Yesterday went VERY well considering Kev took both boys to breakfast and didn't have them home until 10:00, AND we went on a date in the evening. Usually, I do nothing but stay home for the first three days. However, we put a pull-up on him and he stayed completely dry in the morning, and he even peed on the potty for Grammy and Grampy at night. There were only two accidents during the whole day, AND he even pooped on the potty while I was half distracted talking on the phone! Not bad.

And today, as of naptime, he has had only two partial dribbles in his undies for accidents. He finished off dribble #2 on the potty, so I count that a half success! And, he is also understanding that when he has to go, to yell for me and we make it to the flush BEFORE he lets it become an ocean on our floor!

We are getting 'er DONE!

Jesse's Version......

I overheard Jesse singing these familiar tunes today...only with his own spin:

"Away in a Manger no crib for a bed
the little Lord Jesus stepped on His sweet head!"

Hmn.

And: "Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what your piggy toes are!"

Well, at least they rhyme!

Let the Good Times Roll!

Well, today is the day that I have decided to bite the bullet and begin potty training Jesse. I woke up feeling up for a challenge, so we shall begin. I waited until Kaden was 2 1/2 and found that age to be quite successful, so now that the wildness of the holidays is tapering down, I have decided that we may as well give 'er a roll while I have a few days in succession to be home.

Everyone has their own method and their own way of doing this. To be honest, this was the one event that absolutely paralyzed me when it was time to teach Kaden. I wondered how in the world I would be able to communicate to this child that when he knew his bladder was full, and instead of going in his diaper, he needed to empty it in the potty instead.

I talked to a lot of seasoned moms until I found the method that I thought would work for me and my personality. I much prefer taking several days to focus soley and completely on that one task until it is somewhat conquered rather than go for weeks and weeks. I don't have the patience for that method.

I also decided to start the training with him sitting as opposed to standing. That way, if number 2 takes place while number 1 is getting accomplished, it will ALWAYS land in the toilet - not the floor or the undies. Standing comes later....along with the aiming at the Cheerioes and all that.

So, this is what we do:
Step one: Talk it up BIG for a couple of days before. Make it almost as exciting as Christmas! Seriously.

Step two: Buy lots of salty snacks and yummy fruit juices. The saying goes: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink," right? True. True. But you CAN salt his food! So, we eat lots of salty snacks to encourage the desire to drink! Plus, all of the yummy juices give good incentive, as well.

Step Three: First thing in the morning, he goes right into big boy undies. No pull-ups, and none of those fancy schmancy things that supposedly feel cold when you start to pee. I tried those with Kaden, and they felt too much like diapers. Peeing in those didn't bother him.

Step Four: Buy lots of little treats and have them in FULL view all day! (More incentive.)

Step Five: Roll up all rugs and things that will get peed on, and lay down the rules that no sitting on the couches or beds are allowed while we play today! Bring up the plastic camp chairs instead.

Step Six: Pray for boatloads of patience and stamina to keep up the excitement.

Step Seven: Prepare for many an ocean along with the few successes!

Step Eight: Set up a nice little reading station for them in the bathroom during their "sitting spells."

Step Nine: Set the timer for twenty minutes. And every twenty minutes ALL. DAY. LONG. give 'er a try when the buzzer rings.

Step Ten: Reward any and all successes with M&M's or gummy bears.

Step Eleven: Look on the bright side - all mistakes will give you cause to scrub your floor, which will mean, by days end - your floors will be REALLY clean!

Here's where we are at today as of naptime.
Let's just say that my kitchen floor, the boys' bedroom floor, and a certain area at the foot of our couch in the living room is now sparkly clean! But, on the other hand, we have also had five successes thus far.

Five out of eight. Not bad.

Merry Days.....

Well, we are home from celebrating Christmas #2 with my family up in the County. It was a bit of a whirlwind visit - they usually are - with us getting up the evening before Christmas Eve day and leaving the afternoon after Christmas, but it was lovely nonetheless.

Mom spread out the gift giving by giving the kids little gifts all throughout the days rather than having them unwrap everything in one fell swoop on Christmas morning. I liked this way a lot better, and I think the kids were able to savor and enjoy each gift a little more, as well.

We just had a really great time visiting with whoever stopped by, watching Christmas movies, playing with our new toys, and the highlight for all of us was tying a sled on behind the four-wheeler and doing laps around our driveways. It was QUITE hilarious watching the kids taking tumbles from Daddy whipping around a corner a little too quickly! Good times! Can't wait till they get older and then we'll really be able to fly!

Neither of my brothers were here this Christmas. This was the very first Christmas that it was JUST our little family there. It felt kind of weird and much more quiet, but we still had a really great time. And the cool thing is that my brothers were actually able to celebrate together in Texas as they are both in the Border Patrol down there. So, family was able to be together all the way around - just not under the same roof.

And now we are settling back in at home. I'm slowly taking my trimmings down and getting reorganized. The kids want the tree up for a few more days, so it shall stay for a little longer. And this week we shall just be simple and still - savoring our new prizes and enjoying being in our cozy little home.

Here's hoping your Christmas was merry!

I Kept My Word......

I have always said that - as far as memory making things go - what I do for one of my kids I will do for the others. And I must say, that now that Number 3 is here, I understand why each successive child gets a skinnier baby book, fewer pics in the albums - let alone a picture ALONE all by themselves, and a far less strict Mommy when it comes to such things as - oh shall we say - no junk food the first year of life, no hot dogs or processed food. Period., no t.v. the first year of life....etc. etc. etc. - all of those things.

I don't think Kaden had a hot dog the first TWO years of his life. And I KNOW that he didn't have any junk food until a little cupcake on his first birthday. I am embarassed to admit to you today that - although neither boy gets them very often - if you ask them what their fave food is, it will be - hands down - hot dogs. Ah well. Can't win em all.

As far as little Rancey Pants goes, he is on a strict Mama's milk diet, but everything else might be a little slacking. He sure as heck isn't getting the amount of baths that his brothers did in a week. I like to console myself by saying he's a winter baby and the house is cold. But there are many other areas, as well, where I'm just a whole lot more chill about this time around. I still like a rhythm and routine - I am a schedule person - but it's a little more loose this time. If the boys wake him up from a nap, not a huge deal. I'm not impressed, but on the grand scale of life, it's no biggy. If he doesn't sleep through the night consistently for a couple more months, I don't care. And if he needs to eat before the three hour mark, not a huge deal.

I'm relaxing. A bit, anyway. :0) And I am thoroughly enjoying him. He doesn't scream like my others.......

My biggest stresser in this little guy's life thus far has been my lack of getting out a baby announcement for him. I could really give a flying flip this time around, nor do we have the time or money to do so, but I made a solemn vow to myself that I would be fair across the board.

So. It's done folks. It's definitely not top notch, it looks quite unprofessional, and I got his length wrong on the stats. But it's done. The hospital gave me a program that would give me some free announcements, so that's what we did. Both Kev and I are convinced the program was possessed, but we got 'er done.

Dear friends, please don't be offended if you do not receive one of these beauties. You are NOT missing out. We didn't get many done and they are mostly going out to immediate family, but at least he will have a little announcement to place on the front page of his very own - non-existent-at-the-moment - baby album.

Our Little Celebration



We had our little family Christmas this week-end. And it was SO much fun! At about 6:30 in the morning, Jesse crawled into Kev's side of the bed and whispered: "Please, Daddy. We have Christmas now?"

We all went downstairs together and snuggled up on the floor while Kev read the Christmas story out of the kid's Bible. And then we just took our time unwrapping all morning. If the kids wanted to stop and play with anything, we let them; and we just waited until they were ready to move on. They didn't even get anything huge or overly amazing - but that's what's so much fun about this age! You can get some very fun things very cheaply!

Then we had a yummy breakfast of pancakes, their very own individual applesauces, strawberries and bananas, and "pink milk."



And we just stayed in our p.j.'s all morning and played. So much fun.

An El Cheapo Christmas Gift



But super cute and crafty.......

A Booker Christmas

It's been a busy week at the Booker household.

Sunday night we had our Christmas program at church, and both Kaden and Jesse had a part to play. They were so super adorable, and we were so proud of them. During every practice, Jesse was THE loudest bell ringer and belter of the songs, but when he got up on stage in the evening, he got a little gun shy looking out over the crowd. He didn't sing one word, but he rang his little bells, and he looked SO STINKIN' CUTE! And Kaden sang a couple of his songs with his class, as well. Such a difference from last year's program and this one. Last year, he cried during the practices, and he hid behind a friend during the evening program. This year, he marched right up on stage, caught our eyes first thing and gave us a silly grin, shoved his hands into his pockets, and sang every word! We were so proud!

I had my whole family here from Monday until yesterday. Dad came down to get his pacemaker replaced, so they stayed with us during that whole procedure. Hopefully, this new two-lead line to his heart will greatly improve his quality of life. That's what we're praying for, anyway. And then, my big bro Clay flew in from the Border Patrol Academy for a couple of days. I haven't seen him since super early on in my pregnancy, and I probably won't see him again until Ransom is over a year old, so those few hours were precious.

And NOW - onto our Booker family Christmas!!!

We always have our own little family celebration apart from the ones we do with the Grampy's and Grammy's. We really want to establish our own family traditions that the kids look forward to each year. And we like to draw it out - just doing simple things, but making it LAST.

So, last night we got pizza for supper and played Pin the Nose on the Snowman:



None of us were so great at it, but it was fun!



Then, we gave the boys a little Christmas movie and camped out on the floor together to watch it. This morning, Daddy made us a big breakfast, and then the boys opened one "together gift." It was a big wooden fire truck that they had to put together using screws and screwdrivers - things they love to do. They thought that was pretty rockin' and it took them all morning to do.

After that, we thought it would be fun to go to the dump and run out of gas and have Grampy come and rescue us. That wasn't really part of our plan for today, but you know, things happen.......

Tonight, we're going to do a fun Nativity story that's very interactive (a gift that Mom gave us for Christmas last year, and I LOVE IT. It's called "What God Wants for Christmas" - and has all these little boxes for them to open), and we're going to let them open matching dinosaur p.j.'s. Then, if I'm feeling brave and not feeling the need for much sleep tonight, we might all camp out in our bedroom together for the night. I'll let you know how that goes......

And tomorrow, we'll read the Christmas story, have another fun, big breakfast, do all the rest of our little gifts, and just lounge around in our p.j.s and play, play, play all day!

This is totally my most favorite Christmas celebration of them all. It's simple. It's fun. It's quality time. It's laid back. It's not excessive. And I love, love, love it.

A Boy's World

These past couple of days, I have been looking at my home and my life through the eyes of someone who may not have any little boys underfoot in their lives. It's very loud. And chaotic at times. And almost always messy. And anything that I've tried to make "pretty" still manages to have some little boy flair to it.

For example, I glanced down at my centerpeice arrangement on my table - it's just a bowl of pinecones, dried oranges and pomegranates, and round twiggy balls - and right there, smack in the middle is a big plastic eyeball! Legos and k'nex peices have found their way into almost every nook and cranny of this place. Daily, I come across a half-eaten apple that's been left somewhere. And their teeny, super adorable nativity set that I would love to have be the ONLY thing that sits on their dresser - well, it's surrounded by about 20 plastic war jets, a huge k'nex helicopter, and two lego towers!

Everything they do is loud and intense - the laughter, the plane noises, the ideas of what might be fun....building a tower out of the couch cushions and flying onto them, or sudsing up their heads with hand lotion when they're supposed to be washing their hands for supper, or stripping naked and streaking through the house screaming like banshees before bathtime, or even their snuggles - they're rough and often end in a wrestling match!.... It's slightly nuts-o.

This morning over a cup of coffee (and the chaos that abounded) Jesse had come into our room twice to try and wake us to tell us that he was hungry....(he first brought up a bag of cheese and shoved it in my face followed by a carrot and the comment: "Mommy. I just HUNGRY!), Kev glanced over at me and commented: "Remember when it was just the two of us?"

I do. And I wouldn't change those five years for all the world.

But, nor would I change this chapter of my life either. It's FULL. Full of wildness and chaos, but also oh so full of LIFE, and LOVE, and childhood innocence, and play, and fun.

Last night in the car on the way home from some final Christmas shopping Kaden and I had a cute little conversation.

Me: Kaden, will you always love me - even when you grow up?
Kaden: Yup.
Me: But, will you still come home to visit me and have a cup of coffee - even when you're a grown man?
Kaden: Well, I'm probably still going to stay in the family.

Phew. He is so tender and sensitive. So wanting to please us and make us happy.

And Jesse - for all his clumsiness, and bull-in-a-china-shop-ishness, and the Many MANY messes that he makes for me to clean - he really just brings me so much joy. He LOVES me with this unconditional sweet abandon, that is just so precious and tender.

And sweet little Ransom...it's like he's always been here. He has just fit right in, and I am SAVORING him.

Life is FULL. Sometimes a little too full and we have to revamp schedules and priorities. But, despite the crazyness of it all - it really totally and completely rocks. I KNOW that I'll have a spotless house again someday with no toys to trip on, no rotten food to find, and no squabbles to referee. And I know I'll miss it. So, for now, I want to savor this adventure and drink it all in.

This chapter will be gone in the blink of an eye...........

Two-Year Old Theology

Jesse's breakfast prayer this morning:

Thank you God.
And Jesus.
Both happy.
Jesus fall down.
Daddy pick Jesus up.

Hmn?

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Whew! Life has felt a little nutty lately.

I so badly want to soak in and savor the season, but it seems to be flying by so quickly I can barely catch my breath. We went up for the week-end to attend a "Quint Family Christmas Party." That was something. It was fun, slightly uncouth and off-color - as we're all hoodlums, but really nice to see the extended family. We also went to a really nice Christmas concert and took the kids for a really fun four-wheeler ride, as there was no snow yet. That made for a crazy week-end, though, and it makes me feel behind going into this week.

So, because of feeling this way - I cancelled two appointments that I had this week that can just wait until the start of next year. And already I feel better. :0)

I've never had a newborn during the holiday season, either. So, that makes things a wee bit busier. It also makes me sloooow down and focus on the things that are really important. For that, I am thankful. And he is just a delicious little bundle of joy. He really is. I can almost say with confidence - not yet, because Kaden's screams came later in his infancy - but I can almost believe that he is going to be a fairly mellow baby. Or mellow-"er," at least. I'll take mellow-er. He still isn't a fantastic napper during the day, but he does awesome most nights. He usually only wakes up once in the night, and last night - for the first time - he gave me an eight hour stretch! Wow - didn't that feel like Heaven. I'm not holding my breath on that one, either. We'll see if it stays consistent.

Anyway, back to the title of my post.

We always head up North for Christmas day, so our little family celebrates our own Christmas with just us sometime before then. As of yesterday, our Christmas was 12 days away. Each of these days, heading to our countdown, I want to do something fun with the boys to get us in the Christmas spirit. Some things will be really simple, some more elaborate, but the whole point being just to have fun with the kids and make memories together.

Yesterday, being day 12, we went to a family's house and made wreaths with a whole whack of people. The boys had fun - which was my goal - but it was a little hairy for me. A lot of chaos, a lot of pitch, a fussy baby, a huge poo explosion - you know the drill. I was wiped for the rest of the day! But, we got a rockin' wreath that Kaden and I made together, so that's cool.

Today, Daddy took the boys to breakfast, and when they return we're going to make a gingerbread train together. I like to decorate them and have them sit out and be admired for a few days. But, I know how this is going to go down. We're going make it, admire it for .2 seconds, and then the begging to eat it will begin! That's okay, I guess.

So, we'll see what the rest of the days hold for us. Happy holiday season, friends!