Do the potty dance!

So I know it has been forever and a day since I have posted anything on here.  There are a few good reasons for the lack of posts.  The most notable being I am mother to a 23 month old and 10 month old. 

After taking almost an entire week to unpack and get back into routine after a wonderful vacation in Gulf Shores, I decided it was time for a few changes around here.  On Tuesday, 3 days after we got home from vacation, I took the pacifiers away from the girls.  We had a late night and the girls stayed up almost a full 2 hours past their normal bedtime.  I knew they would fall right to sleep without needing the pacifiers.  That was all it took the next day they napped no problem and except 1 really cranky day neither has seemed to notice the lack of pacifiers!

Since that "parenting" milestone went so well, I decided to take the leap and start potty training Nalley.  I know many of you will say, "she is so young.  She is not even 2 yet."  But, I could just tell she was getting ready.  She would tell me when she had filled her diaper and she would try to help me change her diaper by laying on the ground and unhooking it for me.  Needless to say, she was very aware of how it all worked. 

I bought some "big girl" pants.  They are hilariously small and still look huge on my little teeny tiny Nalley girl.  She hardly weighs 20 pounds and doesn't have the cute little kid belly.  She has a six pack because she refuses to sit still or move at a normal pace, she runs everywhere!  So the smallest underwear I could find were 2T/3T sized for kids who weigh 27-36 pounds and have a 19-22 inch waist.  They are going to need to be altered!!  If anyone knows of any place I can get them in a smaller size let me know.  We also bought a little pink potty chair for her to use.

I knew this was not going to be a fun time.  She is stubborn and really likes things her way and hates change.  All of these characteristics are fantastic at times.  For instance, she like to put her toys away in exactly the same spot everytime and throws a fit if it is not put away properly.  But going potty in the potty is a huge change and she definitely fought me for most of the first day.  I would sit her on the potty and make her stay until she went.  She would cry and fuss and get off the potty but eventually she would go.  She would get very excited and clap her hand at her achievement but the next time was just as much of a struggle.  After one whole day we were both exhausted.  I could see the improvement.  Our time in the bathroom had decreased from over an hour in the morning to around 30 minutes in the evening with a lot less fighting, probably just from exhaustion.

We had made it through the first day with only 1 accident.  Tuesday was terrible.  We were both tired.  Leron was gone all day at a business meeting.  Felicity had had enough of playing by herself on Monday.  Neither girl took a good nap and Tuesday afternoon was accident city.  Nalley did seem very ashamed each time which I figured was a good sign.  Exhausted and frustrated, I went to bed Tuesday night bound and determined to not let one bad afternoon derail this potty train.  (I wonder where Nalley gets her stubborn streak??) 

If Tuesday was hell then Wednesday was heaven.  Starting right from when she woke up, she went to the potty, told me when she had to go, would only take about 30 seconds in the bathroom and would hurry away to keep playing.  I thought I was having a dream!  I think she pottied 12 or 13 times without a single accident and without any prompting from me.  So now it is Sunday afternoon.  She has been 95% perfect only having 2 accidents.  The first was when she was having too much fun playing with her cousins and didn't make it to the potty in time.  The second was last night and I take most of the blame for that one since we had a very off schedule and late evening.

Not sure how I got so blessed to have wonderful kids who make me look like a good mother but I thank God for them everyday!

God Bless!
Hannah
The Farmer's Wife

Dear Mom and Dad, Thanks!

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for a wonderful family vacation. Thank you for putting up with a 12 hour car ride with the last 30 miles in bumper to bumper traffic.  Thank you for renting such a beautiful house on the beach that I could never have afforded on my own.  Thank you for assigning rooms for the week (even though most of us are grown it alleviated a lot of potential fighting).  Thank you for establishing rules for the week.  It is nice to know no matter how old I get you will always have my best interest at heart.  Thank you for ordering pizza the first night allowing me to relax and unpack without figuring out dinner. 

Thank you for going to the store with me the first night.  It was a crazy adventure.  Without you there I would have never gotten enough food and lets admit it with out me you would have never found the peanut butter, jelly or bread.  Thank you for building a sand castle with me and taking the girls into the gulf.  Thank you for buying a 2000 piece puzzle because lets face it a week relaxing on the beach (while the perfect vacation for most) just isn't really Leron's thing.  Thank you for requiring us to make dinner one night.  It definitely gave us a feeling of ownership over the vacation and encouraged us to do our part to make sure everyone had a good time. 

Thank you for taking the whole family to mass on Sunday.  It is great to know that our faith doesn't take a vacation.  Thank you for taking us out to dinner for an adults only night out.  Even on vacation, a night away from my kids was a welcome break.  Thank you for taking Leron to Fort Morgan.  It was by far the most fun he had on vacation.  Thank you for 7 days of family time and all the whining, complaining, temper tantrums, selfish behavior, antagonizing, outbursts, slammed doors, running out of rooms and fights that come with it.

With such a large family, it would be easy to say it isn't worth it.  It isn't worth the time, effort, money, discomfort, confrontation, or exhaustion.  But in the end, you said a whole week of good memories is priceless.  Thank you for putting family above everything else.  Your selflessness is an example I strive to emulate.  I hope one day I am able to see past all the obvious reasons why a family vacation would be a total disaster and see the joy, happiness and lifelong memories it will provide my family.  (Even though it most likely won't be a beach vacation, Leron is my husband afterall.) 

Thank you again, maybe one of these days we will all chip in and send you guys on your own vacation although knowing you, you may insist we all go with you!

With lots of love and gratitude,

Hannah

Everyone on the last full day of vacation in our family shirts.

The back of the kid shirts in numbered order as we entered the family... Not pictured Dad is 0 and Mom is 1.

Michael (Platinum) 2
Laura (Pet Peeve) 3
Hannah (Farmer's Wife) 4
Leah (Crisis) 5
Rachael (Shortie) 6
Joseph (Adolf Hipster) 7
Matthias (Golden Child) 8
Gabriella (Princess) 9
Jen (Would you Rather?) 10
Brian (Prom Date) 11
Leron (Farmer) 12
 

We are pretty cute from the front too!

Just too cute!! Cousins enjoying their family vacation!

God Bless!

Hannah

The Farmer's Wife