Potty Training Day 3

I just called Lauren's Daycare to check on her progress. They said she sat on the potty a few times today and didn't go but has also sat on the potty and gone to the bathroom! So far NO ACCIDENTS!!!!!!

Go Lauren!!!!

So that was at 12 noon today. when I picked her up at 5:30 her report card said that she had gone pee pee on the potty 2 times today and had 2 accidents that afternoon. I still say that is a success since this is just day 3!

5:50 p.m -
Lauren went pee pee on the potty at home!

6:20 p.m. -
Lauren went pee pee in her panties but told me

6:30 p.m. -
Lauren went poo poo in the potty!!!

6:40 p.m. -
Lauren went pee pee in her panties

7:00 p.m. - 9:15 p.m. -
My daughter has totally learned how to work her mommy! We sat on the potty about 8 times from 7-9:15! Each time we would get off the potty (especially from 8 p.m. on) Lauren would say "pee pee potty" and I being the good mother I am had the big "what if she really has to go?" question in my head...so each time she said she had to go I would take her. Trust me it was frustrating especially when at 9 Kraig came in and looked at me like I was crazy and said "it's 9!" I was like "I KNOW!" but tried not to yell. :-) But in the back of my head I knew she was partly saying it so she didn't have to go to bed, but at the same time I didn't want to lay her down and then have her wet the bed 5 minutes later. So even though it was hard work and a frustrating 2 hours...I'm glad I stuck with it...see below.

9:15 p.m. -
SUCCESS!!!! Lauren finally went pee pee on the potty!!!!

After that she said one more time that she wanted to go pee pee but at this point I knew she was just working me so I told her no and put her to bed. ;-)

Hopefully she will do just as good at school tomorrow or even better and not have any accidents at all!

Potty Training Day 2

Today went better than yesterday...but we still had some accidents.

3:00 a.m. -
I woke up to go to the bathroom so I assumed Lauren probably needed to go as well. I woke her up thinking she would be a zombie like she was at 9 p.m. the night before. Well she was a zombie, but the longer I sat her on the potty the more she woke up. Finally she woke up and started crying saying "no potty, no potty" so I didn't want to torture her so I put her clothes back on (still dry by the way) and put her back to bed.

3:30 a.m. -
She started crying when I was leaving so I went over and rubbed her back. The next thing I know she is saying "pee pee potty" so I thought 'ok she is telling me she needs to go!' So I swooped her up and took her to the potty only to find out that when she was saying "pee pee potty" she was actually going pee pee. :-( So I changed her clothes and put her to bed with us. :-)

7:00 a.m. -
woke up

7:30 a.m. -
Pee Pee in the potty!!!!

7:50 a.m. -
Poo Poo in the potty!!!

8:40 a.m. -
We were about to give her a bath and Kraig asked if she needed to go to the bathroom. She said yes and went into the bathroom...pulled down her own panties and sat on her little potty and went pee pee! :-)

9:40 a.m. -
Lauren said she needed to go to the bathroom so I took her but she didn't go.

10:00 a.m. -
Lauren said she needed to go to the bathroom so I took her but she didn't go.

10:20 a.m. -
Lauren said she needed to go to the bathroom so I took her but she didn't go.

10:40 a.m. -
Lauren said she needed to go to the bathroom so I took her but she didn't go.

10:45 a.m. -
Lauren went pee pee in her panties but ran in and told me. At least she is realizing what it is now.

11:20 a.m. -
More pee pee in her panties

11:30 a.m. -
Pee Pee again in her panties

11:40 a.m. -
One last pee pee not in the potty. :-(

12:00 p.m. - Nap time

2:00 p.m. - Woke up wet from her nap

2:30 p.m. - Lauren went poo poo in the potty!!!!!

2:45 p.m. -
Lauren said she needed to go to the bathroom so I took her but she didn't go.

3:00 p.m. -
Lauren said she needed to go to the bathroom so I took her but she didn't go.

3:30 p.m. -
Lauren went pee pee in the potty!!!!

5:20 p.m. -
Lauren went pee pee in the potty!!!!

6:00 p.m. -
We asked Lauren if she needed to go potty and she said yes...but she didn't go.

6:50 p.m. -
Lauren went pee pee in the potty!!!!

8:00 p.m. -
Lauren went pee pee in the potty!!!!

8:15 p.m. -
Bedtime

9:30 p.m. -
I woke Lauren up to see if she needed to go pee pee since she was still dry. She didn't go and started waking up again so once again...I didn't want to torture her so I put her back to bed. She slept until 6:30 this morning when we woke her up only to find that she had just gone pee pee.

So no one ever said this was going to be easy...and it was a lot of Kraig and I repeating ourselves saying "Tell mommy and daddy when you need to pee pee ok!" with a lot of non-responsiveness...but the book says that even if they don't respond they are hearing you. So I sent her to school today with 12 pair of big girl undies, 7 pair of pants, 5 shirts and 4 pair of socks. I know that seems like a lot but I have no clue how she will do at school. This morning while we were giving her a bath, Kraig said "do you want to wear big girl panties today" and she said "YES" very enthusiastically so when we got to school I said "are you going to go in and tell Hannah that you are wearing big girl panties?" and she said "yes" but of course when we got there she was just worried about playing with Hannah...but I did tell her teachers to not put diapers on her all day and if she has an accident to just change her clothes and put her on the potty. So right before I left I asked if she needed to go pee pee and she said yes...I took her to the mini toilet they have in her room and she sat there for about 5 seconds and said she was done. I had to get on the road to go to work so I told her teacher that she might do that all day too but her teacher seemed fine with it and said "once they realize the praise they get from doing it right she will want to do it 20 times a day"...so hopefully she will continue to be a big girl at school too! :-)

I'll keep you posted!

Potty Training Day 1

The life and times of a potty training mother!

Today we started the day out by changing Lauren into "big girl panties". A few hours in she had still not gone to the bathroom...then all of the sudden we were in the kitchen and I looked over and she started to pee pee in her panties. So I instantly scooped her up and took her to the potty and we sat there for a short time where I explained to her that we go pee pee in the potty and that now that she is a big girl we keep or panties dry. So after that we put new panties on and played. Then it was nap time. I did what the book says to do and I didn't use a diaper. I put her down for her nap in panties. When we went in 2 hours later she had gone pee pee but it didn't wake her up. :-) So we changed her and got a snack. After she had her snack I noticed her normal 'standing still routine' so I said "Lauren tell us if you need to go pee pee ok?" Well she didn't say anything but continued her 'standing still routine' so I knew something was about to happen. So I said "hurry...lets go to the potty!" So I again scooped her up and ran to the potty. We made it! She poo pooed on the potty AND her panties were still dry! So then a few hours later and a million "tell mommy when you need to go pee pee"'s later I was doing laundry and saw her standing in the hall. She started peeing but just a small amount. So I continued with the scooping her up...running to the bathroom...and changing her panties. Now a few hours after that she just said she had to go pee pee but we went in the bathroom and nothing happened. Hey, I'm just happy she told me! The book says "don't just sit there and wait for it...make the bathroom times short and sweet and if you have to sit on the potty...tell them good job...go do something and a few minutes later see if they need to go again" So in a few minutes I'll ask if she needs to go to the bathroom. :-)

So 7 hours in and we have 3 pair of wet panties, 1 set of wet sheets and 1 successful poo poo in the potty!. :-) I'll let you know how the rest of the day goes.

THE REST OF THE DAY -
5:00 p.m. -
Lauren - pee peed in her undies
Me - Scoop her up running to the bathroom saying "hurry to the potty" and changing her undies

5:40 -
Lauren - pee peed in her undies
Me - Scoop her up running to the bathroom saying "hurry to the potty" and changing her undies

6:00 -
Lauren - pee peed in her undies but came out and told me
Me - Scoop her up running to the bathroom saying "hurry to the potty" and changing her undies

6:20 -
Lauren - pee peed in her undies
Me - Scoop her up running to the bathroom saying "hurry to the potty" and changing her undies

6:50 -
Lauren - pee peed in her undies
Me - Scoop her up running to the bathroom saying "hurry to the potty" and changing her undies

7:30 -
Lauren - pee peed in her undies
Me - Scoop her up running to the bathroom saying "hurry to the potty" and changing her undies

8:00 -
Lauren - pee peed in her undies
Me - Scoop her up running to the bathroom saying "hurry to the potty" and changing her undies

8:30 -
Bedtime without sippy cup of milk! I've been wanting to get rid of the cup of milk before bed because the dr. says that the sugar in milk is not good for teeth. Even though we are supposed to give her the cup of milk and then brush her teeth I still don't want her having that as a crutch to go to sleep. So tonight she went to bed without the milk! I'm happy about that!

9:30 - The 3 day potty training program I'm using says that if your child normally wakes up wet to either wake them up 1 hour after they go to bed or 1 hour before they normally wake up and take them to the potty...I decided to try the 1 hour after bedtime.

I got Lauren out of bed...she was a total zombie! I sat her on the potty and just kept whispering "go pee pee for mommy" over and over thinking maybe even in her sleep she hears me and knows it's ok. I'm balancing in a squat position so that her head can rest on my shoulder (totally uncomfortable for me by the way...but the only comfortable part of it was her snuggling me so it was worth it!). After a minute or two I thought 'this is never going to work, but I'll give it a little bit longer' and sure enough about one or two minutes later she went pee pee!!!!! I doubt she even knew what was going on because she was still asleep resting her head on my shoulder but I told her "good job! Mommy is so proud of you!" just in case she understood. :-) Then I rocked her for a second and put her back to bed without any problems! I'll let you know if she wakes up dry in the morning.

We are using the 3 Day Potty Training Guide by Lora Jensen. http://www.3daypottytraining.com/

Granny and Papa's

Lauren stayed the night at my parents house along with my niece Katlyn and nephew Austin while Kraig and I went to the DU Sponsors dinner. When I went to pick Lauren up this is what I found Saturday morning.

They were all watching a movie! Look at Katlyn and Lauren's feet...both up in the air! :-)

Katlyn loved to play waitress my mom said.

Lauren wanted to put on her own big girl panties...

And Austin wanted to play his game.

I love you guys!

Thanks mom and dad for watching the kids! I know Lauren was sad to leave!

Potty Update

Ok, so I know I've posted in the past about Lauren going pee pee in the potty. Well, yesterday was another first! We were at home in the living room and she went to the hallway and pointed to the bathroom and said "poo poo potty" so I said "do you need to go poo poo?" and she said "yes!" So I of course took her in and undressed her...she just sat there and went to the bathroom!!!! I was so excited because the one time she went #2 on the potty was because I made her or she was going to go in the bath! LOL...so this time #1 for her to tell me she needed to go before she went was huge and #2 for her to go and act like it was no big deal is telling me that she is ready for the full weekend of potty training. Which is perfect because this weekend was our planned stay at home weekend anyway! Up to this point we have been out of town or had the Race for the Cure, etc..but this weekend we are able to just stay home and only work on this! I'm so excited! I'll let you know next week how it goes. :-)

I've got other post that I need to update everyone on but I'll have to do that later when I can load photos. Have a great Wednesday!

Playing Guitar

Race for the Cure 2009

Sadly I know too many women that have been affected by Breast Cancer in my own family! Because of this I walk for...

• Mimi Katherine Ellison
• Grandma Verna Tackett
• Aunt Lois Corbitt
• Aunt Linda Hinkle
• Aunt Brenda Johnson
• Cousin Diana Jones
• Cousin Patricia Sparks
• Mrs. Debby Baker

All SURVIVORS! Aunt Brenda Keep fighting!

Melissa, me and Lauren, my mom and co-worker Alex.

Melissa, my sister, my mom and Alex.

They had 16,000 plus participate this year!

Lauren, Me, Melissa and Tammy (sorry about my hair Melissa!)

Look at my big girl ready to do her part to help find a cure!

Thanks for walking with us this year! We had a great time! I pray there will be a cure for cancer by the time Lauren is old enough to start wondering if she has breast cancer if not before!

Hot Springs Village

The weekend of April 18th we visited Nona and Poppa Louie in Hot Springs Village. Lauren had a wonderful time coloring, eating, playing, picking flowers, etc. So below are some of the photos from our trip. Thanks for entertaining us and oh yes...the gourmet food!!!!

Lauren coloring

Lauren wearing her flower, Nona's tiny shoes and holding her garden bag from Nona and Poppa Louie!

Two flowers...

Lauren loves to twirl hair...her own or anyone that is around...so Kraig was laying on the couch and she wanted to snuggle him...so we put her on the couch and she started twirling his hair! What a ham!

This is the wonderful, southern home cooking we get when we go to Hot Springs. These are Nona's awesome Potatoes! They are fat free too! Haha I wish! Man are they good!

These are the rolls made from scratch...did I tell you Nona is a great cook?!?!?!

She also made Banana Bread and her famous breakfast casserole. I'm surprised I didn't gain 50 pounds during the 2 days I was there!

Nona and Poppa Louie playing Wii.

1st Ear Infection of 2009

We took Lauren to the Dr. last night because she has had a cough for the past 2 days and daycare called yesterday and said she was running a slight fever. So by the time we could get her in (6 p.m.) she also had a runny nose. So I took her to the Dr. and it turns out she has her first ear infection of 2009. :-( She ran a fever off and on last night and was waking herself up from coughing so of course, Kraig and I got her and snuggled her all night to make sure she was ok. Neither of us got much sleep but I think Lauren got more sleep in our bed than she would have in her crib. Although, the extra feet kicking my side in the middle of the night, or getting a slap in the face was a rude awakening each time...but hey, I dealt with very little sleep when she was younger, so I can handle a few days of little sleep if it makes my baby feel better. She slept naked all night (diaper and socks only) because she was so hot, and she is still hot this morning and coughing, so I'm staying home with her. She is on the antibiotic called Cefdinir 125/5ml and she takes 6 mls one time a day for 10 days. Last year she had a few ear infections back to back and they said if she got 1 more she would need tubes. Well, she didn't get anymore last year, so I pray this is not the start of multiple ear infections for 2009!

22 Month Update

So my baby girl is now 22 months old! I can't believe it! Only 2 more months and she will be a 2 year old! Crazy how time flies by so quickly. Well, it's been a while since I have posted on her milestones, so I wanted to make a post of all the things she is doing now because I know if I don't post it I will forget when it happened. :-)

22 months -

• You weigh 27.5 pounds


• You are about as tall as 3 bounty papertowels stacked on top of each other


• You have 13 teeth now and I think your 14th is coming in (front point teeth)


• You will dance to any music that is on by yourself but most recently you want mommy or daddy to dance with you and you cry when we want to stop because we are tired :-)


• You have recently learned (in the last month) to jump and it's so cute!


• You have gone pee pee on the potty 5 times in the last 3 days!


• You still use a paci at night


• You like to feed yourself


• You try to dress yourself


• You love to read books...the other day you read a book to your bunny!


• You love Dora and Boots, Sponge Bob and recently Barbie Princesses


• Your favorite movie right now is Bee Movie (I was afraid you were going to hang on to Shrek forever!)


• You love to run


• You love being outside...we have screaming fits when it's time to come back inside


• You can sing your ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and our Night Night song that was passed down from my mother


• You can count from 1-20


• You can point out butterflies, hearts, flowers, lights, cars, earrings, mouths, eyes, ears, hair, noses, head, shoulders, knees and toes (hehe), hands and fingers when you see them


• You know your Papaw, Nana, Papa, Granny, Poppa Louie, Nona Donna, Aunt Tammy, Uncle Kody, Katlyn, Austin, Aunt Kristen (Kissy), Uncle Brian, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Ryan, Uncle Spencer, and baby Kieran


• You absolutely LOVE mac-n-cheese!!!! I mean you could eat it 24/7 and you would be on cloud nine!


• You say you want apple sauce or an apple, but when I cut up the apple you won't eat it


• You have friends at daycare...Hannah, Sarah (Kristen Alexander's little girl) and "Big" Will.


• You love your teachers Miss Michelle (Shell), Miss Sharon, Miss Chelsey, etc.


• You went to the movie theater for the first time at 21 months old and did great!


• You love our neighbors Mark, Missy and Hayden and their dogs Harley and Murphy


• You want to help us feed the dogs as often as you can by opening the back door and saying "get back"


• Your new thing is to lay in our bed and pull the covers up to your neck...you look so cute too! It's hard to put you in your bed to sleep because of this!

Oh baby girl...you are even better than what your father and I had dreamed of you. We are so lucky to have you in our lives that I can't even put into words our love for you. When I was pregnant with you, I thought I knew what love was...but until you arrived, I could not fully feel that love 100%. Now that you are almost 2 years old and are just the most amazing little girl, we are just so blessed to have you in our lives! God has truly blessed us and I pray that one day you are able to feel the love we have for you when you have a child or children of your own. Just looking at you recently makes me want to cry because you are no longer my "baby" but your are my "big girl" now and I just look back and wonder where the last 22 months have gone! I remember sleeping with you for the first time at the hospital and just feeling so happy that you were here I didn't mind feeding you every 2 hours for 10 weeks straight! I look back now and think "that wasn't so bad"! Everything that that seemed so hard at times now seems so easy...it's all about keeping it in perspective. You are a true light from God and I'm so happy he gave that light to us!

Thanks for being the amazing daughter you are!

We love you!