Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The Potty Post

I should probably wait a few more days before writing about this because it really seems like potty training Margot was too easy.  I learned my lesson the first time around and decided to not even think about potty training until she was 3 years old.  We did give it a try over spring break, just because I was off for the week and we had really been talking up the idea of no more diapers.  On Monday of spring break, I said, "Heeyyy, Margot!  Wanna wear these beautiful, brand new, big girl panties?!"  She took one look at them and said, "No."  I said...."Okay."  I was kind of glad she wasn't interested because I really wasn't looking forward to cleaning up pee all over the house.

Between April and June we tried again on a Saturday.  She wore her cute little undies for a couple hours and then announced, "I went pee pee!!!"  I cleaned up the mess and decided to forget it and try again later.  I always offered the panties first thing in the morning and she always said no.

Once school was out, I decided it was time to kick the potty training into high gear.  We posted a sticker chart on the wall, we agreed to give her M&Ms each time she went, and we bought other toys as prizes for 1 day on the potty, 2 days on the potty and 1 week on the potty.  Let me show you how well that went after one week:


She was extra un-interested.  I still wasn't pushing, just gently reminding her of all the wonders that would come her way if she maybe just tried to go on the potty for a tiny bit.  Mind you, before we started the week of training, she had sat on the potty countless times, but never saw any action.  That week, she wouldn't even sit.  It was a total power issue.  Control.  I think she even mentioned, "You're not in charge of MY BODY!"  Which is true.  So I backed off.  We left the sticker chart up, but I decided not to mention it any more.  I even considered emailing her preschool director to ask if maybe she could start a little late because she might not be potty trained by August.  Ha!

Then she turned 3.  The day after her birthday she and Sylvia were playing outside in the baby pool/sprinkler and they wanted to put on their bathing suits.  Margot LOVES her bathing suit!  I told her I wasn't putting her in a swim diaper because she's too big for those, so she could either pee in her bathing suit or pee on the potty.  She chose the potty!  Many times.  I could see that she finally knew how to stop the business from happening and how to wait until she got to the bathroom!  I parked a tiny potty outside in the front yard (yes, I did!) and she used it for exactly one day.  I hate tiny potties.  After that first day, it was big potty in the big bathroom all the way!  I was shocked at how easy it was.  There was no training involved, although I may have shrieked and clapped and put a sticker on her chart the first few times.



On the second day, she had one accident while she was eating lunch.  On the third day she had a tiny, half-accident before she was able to stop herself and get to the potty.  Since then there have been maybe two more tiny half-accidents, but that's been it!  Grammy took her shopping for brand new underwear, she got to pick any dessert she wanted on Friday night (she chose sprinkles), and we converted her bed into a toddler bed so she could start using the potty at night.

This week has been our week of night time potty training and it's going just as well, to my surprise!  We're using pull-ups for naps and night time, so if she goes in her sleep we don't have to worry about it, but so far she's gone to the potty in the middle of the night each night.  The first night, she called out for me to come help her and I was super proud of her.  On the second night I told her, "You can call out for Mommy and I'll come help you...ORRRR.....you could go to the potty by yourself, if you want!"  At 1:30am I heard her little feet hit the floor, I heard them pitter-patter to the bathroom, there was a minute of silence, then I heard the water run, then I heard her pitter-patter back to her room!!!  SUCCESS!!!  My baby is so independent!  I couldn't be happier for her.  What a kid.

Honestly, the only challenge has been getting Margot to stay in her bed at the beginning of the night.  She's always had a hard time falling asleep and now she can get out of bed and wander around!  Just now she came into the kitchen while I was typing and said, "Mommy, I'm really, really...disappointed."  Ha!  What is she talking about?!  I've put her back in bed three times tonight, which seems to be our nightly average, so I'm hoping she's done.  I'm just glad we're making this transition during the summer when I have all the time in the world to deal with it!  She'll figure it out.

So....lesson learned: don't sweat potty training until your kid is at least 3 years old.  Let them run the show.  Eventually they'll figure it out!  Our experience with Sylvia was completely different because I was a crazy nut job who thought potty training was something I had to accomplish.  We're still dealing with the aftermath of that mess, poor girl!  I'm interested to see how it works with Albert when he's old enough.  I can't even imagine teaching a boy how to aim!  I'm excited to try the "hit the sponge in the water" trick.  Let's hope he's as easy to train as Margot was!

Let's also hope I'm not jumping the gun and calling the job done too early.  She may be back in diapers tomorrow for all I know!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Margot Turns 3! On Father's Day! Then She Decides to Just Grow All the Way Up!

Margot Louise...


She has been talking about her "Hello Kitty Birthday" for months.  All she wanted was a Hello Kitty plate and a Hello Kitty blanket.  (All she wanted for Christmas was a blanket, too.  The girl has a thing for blankets, I guess!)   She asked us every day for WEEKS, "Are my friends coming to da party?  When are my friends coming?  Will my friends sing Happy Birthday?  When will my friends sing Happy Birthday?"  and so on and so on every day and every night for what seemed like an eternity.  Last Saturday, her friends came.  Her family came, too.  We partied the HECK out of Hello Kitty and Margot was in heaven all afternoon.  Now I know why parents make a big deal out of birthdays.  It gives me so much joy to see her this happy.  And at this age, making her happy is sooooooo easy.  It will never be this easy again, so I try to soak it up and remember it and never let it go.  Here are the pictures from her BIG DAY!




Since Margot isn't in day care or preschool yet, most of her "friends" are actually the kids of my friends from work.  I thank God every day for landing me in a school where lots of young families get together often to play and talk and do life with each other.  Having them over to our house made Margot feel so special!

Sylvia made Margot her very own Play Doh eggs to open!


World's Best Grandpa


Grammy and Sylvia made the cake and some cupcakes.
This next picture cracks me up!  Eight kids in the playroom.  None of them were saying a word to each other!  Each kid was in their own little bubble, just playing away and minding their own business.  I had to take a picture.  It was the quietest and busiest room in the house!


Margot's BFF..."Dat Baby Colton!"

Margot and her Godmother, Miss Ann!

Albert and Miss Katie!
Her party was over by 4:00 on Saturday and her actual birthday wasn't until Sunday, which was also Father's Day.  Mamie agreed to spend the night so she could be with us all day Sunday and she also agreed to pitch her tent in the backyard and take the girls for a little camp out!  She is a brave, brave lady!  The girls had an absolute blast!


Margot got new Hello Kitty pajamas from Grammy and a new pink sleeping bag from Grandpa.  At first I was a little bummed that I wouldn't get to put her to bed like usual, because I always get a little weepy the night before a birthday, but then I realized that a camp out is a much better way to spend your last night as a 2 year old!  (She came inside at 2:30am because she was wet and needed a new diaper and new jammies, so I just kept her inside after that...but she had TONS of fun while it lasted!)


I didn't get many good pictures on Father's Day, mainly because we were all exhausted, but I can tell you that Sylvain loved his present.  The kids painted a mug for him at Color Me Mine and it has little fingerprint fish all over it.  (We stole the idea from our friends Lindsey and Stella!)  Sylvia was so excited about the three little fishies hiding on the inside of the mug that she just had to show him as soon as possible! 


We went to the Butterfly Show Sunday morning while we waited for Sylvain to get home from my brother's bachelor party in Nashville.  After he opened his gift and everyone napped for a little while, we went to dinner at Flipdaddy's and had a lovely time.  The weekend was busy and exhausting and wonderful, so I was looking forward to a lazy Monday where everyone could stay home and play with all of Margot's new toys.

Monday arrived and brought with it some big, BIG NEWS.....

MARGOT DECIDED TO WEAR UNDERWEAR INSTEAD OF DIAPERS AND SHE'S BEEN GOING ON THE POTTY EVER SINCE!!!!!  Whaaaa?????!!!!!!!  I'll write a whole post about it later, but let's just say this girl was all, "Well, I'm 3 now so...guess I'm done with diapers!"  I couldn't believe it.  Could. Not. Believe IT!  She's so awesome.