Springtime

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day. While Justin and I did some yard work the boys had a blast playing outside on the deck. Tyler also enjoyed "helping" running around with his wheelbarrow. Carter kept trying to jump off the deck (which is only about 6 inches off the ground). It was so cute - he would bend his legs and say "two, two , two" and then step off of it.

Once the yard was cleaned up we got out the baseball tee. Tyler has been playing baseball again every time we go outside. However since I made them stay on the deck, he didn't have his tee out. He would hit the ball with his bat more like he was golfing. Once he hit it he would go "runnin" and run around the deck. Justin is so happy to see this excitement for baseball. Once we got the tee out, Tyler was in heaven and I must say he hits pretty well! Carter also got his first cracks at the bat. He thinks its more fun just to knock the ball off with his hands tho.

Potty training update: On Saturday we had 3 accidents (2 poop and one pee) and 3 successes. So far today (its nap time) zero accidents!!!! 3 pee success and 2 poop successes - way to go Tyler!!

And We Have Poop!

I will admit I was a little worried going into this day when it came to potty training. Tyler woke up a LOT last night. Around 4 am I finally put him in a pull-up hoping that would stop the waking up. It did, but he woke up in the morning soaked, almost through the pull-up.

In the morning he had another dribble accident and then nothing again until nap, which he woke up dry. Right after nap he also had occupational therapy, so we were all somewhat distracted during this time that I knew he had to go. He had two more dribble accidents during his therapy time. I was starting to wonder if yesterday was a fluke.

We went downstairs and I put in Cars, hoping that if he was going to do these dribbles, maybe at least some of then would go in the potty like yesterday. Well he had a few dribbles all in the potty and the next thing I know he is sitting there for a long time kinda squirming. I look in and he had pooped in the potty!!!!!!! What relief!

We went out to dinner tonight with him in underwear. Right as we were finishing and about to pay the bill he said he had to go. We went but there was a line and by the time we got to the stall he had dribbled a little and then wouldn't go again. On the way home he kept saying he had to go potty. When we got home he sat on the potty and did a full stream potty!!!! He was a little more damp, like he had dribbled a couple more times but he did awesome! He is trying to hold himself and wait til he is on the potty! He is telling us when he has to go! There is no turning back now. Hopefully the next weeks will get easier and easier. I am also hopeful that the dribbles will come less and less as well. Although I do appreciate that he only dribbles when he isn't on the potty!

And on an even happier note, my posts won't be about potty training anymore!

And We Have Pee!!!!!

He did it!!! Tyler peed in the potty!! This morning I didn't get him in time and he had already peed in his diaper. We had a playgroup today and he once again held his pee all morning. Right before lunch he did do a little dribble but I wouldn't call it an accident. For nap I put him to bed with a diaper and a liner. When I heard him waking up I put him on the potty and he went!!!!!

He wasn't so sure of it and I think it freaked him out more than anything. I played it up the best I could tho giving him extra m&ms, stickers, and calling daddy and Oma to tell them the good news. We then had to go get his blood drawn. While he screamed thru the whole ordeal, he did stay dry the entire time! When we got home we watched Cars (another treat for going potty). During it he kept saying he had to go. He kept trying an trying and would start a dribble and then stop. He would cry and sorts freak out. He then would say he was all done to only say he had to go again 10 seconds later. This went on for about 45 minutes until daddy got home. He then did a big potty for daddy. Yay Tyler!!!!

After dinner he was running around and started crying. He ended up having an accident, but that is expected. A few times later he asked to go potty, but he never did go again. He is in bed right now with his underwear on and a liner and we will see how tonight goes. I know we have a long way to go, but am ecstatic that he finally went!!!!!!

Favorite Things

I know I seem to talk a lot about how much Carter is talking but I really can't get over it. After he does something he isn't suppose to (like hitting or pushing) he says "orry". He also says "ank ou" and "peas" without us even asking most times - what great manners.

Today took the cake tho. I was changing his diaper at church and said I love you Carter. He responds "ove ou". He kept saying it over and over. Melts my heart. I also got some one on one time with Carter tonight, as Justin stayed home with Tyler. We went to the mall and Carter had so much fun pointing every thing out. He loves to look at the "water" (yes he says it very clearly) and practically feel out of his stroller trying to look at it as we went up in the elevator. At the pet store he told me some more new words as well: turtle, bunny, and puppy. How fun this stage is!

Day Four

I was hoping that last night we would have a little more progress. After nap I took Tyler out of his diaper (which was wet) and went bare bottom some more. He didn't have any accidents, but didn't go in the potty either. We had errands to run so we put him in a diaper where he went both number 1 and number 2 without a word to us about it.

Today we had to go to church. I woke Tyler up this morning and he was completely dry! We sat on the potty for about 10 minutes but he once again didn't go. About 5 minutes into breakfast he started saying all done and trying to get out of his seat. He then started to pee. Since he has yet to go in the potty I put him in a pull-up for church. Now I personally think pull-ups are just glorified diapers, but I didn't want to bring 10 extra pair of pants either. Tyler treated the pull-up as I thought, just like a diaper. He does call them underwear tho.

When he woke up from his nap after church (the boys fall asleep on the way home) he was still dry! I put him bare bottom and we played outside. After about an hour or so (and 3 separate trips to just try to go potty) Tyler starts crying. He was peeing all over the deck and was scared to death. I tried to explain to him that it was o.k. and this is what peeing is. We discussed how next time we would run and go into the potty. I was thinking we had turned a corner, maybe this would be a light bulb moment - nope.

Justin was home with Tyler and he had another accident right before bedtime. He didn't say a word and started crying after he had already started. I got him some covers to put over his underwear for when we are out and we are having a friend over tomorrow who just got potty trained so maybe that will help. We have decided we will keep at it til Sunday and if he still hasn't even gone once in the potty we may hold off again.

We both think he is totally ready - he has all the signs that he is. If he just went in the potty once we think he would get the hang of it, its just getting that one success that we are stuck on.

Potty Training Day Three

After naps yesterday we kept trying to go to the potty every 45 minutes or so. We even tried twice during speech (which went very well). He finally went again at around 5:30, during dinner. Another day without going in the potty once, we did only have two accidents tho. Today he woke up around 7:30 and I started him bare bottom. There was a few times I could have sworn he had to go, but he never did. Right before nap I was about to put a diaper on him, but he asked for his underwear. So we started nap today in big boy pants! I thought for sure as soon a I walked out the room he was going to go in his pants. Nope. I didn't hear from him for almost an hour an a half when he woke up crying. I think he started to go and then stood up and couldn't stop himself. We changed the sheets, tried sitting on the potty a little more and put him back in the diaper and back to nap. Maybe tonight it will finally set in???

Carter loves to go to the potty. Every time Tyler sits and tries Carter also wants to try. He won't sit on it for longer than 10 seconds tho so I am not holding my breath for this being easy for either of them.

Potty Training Update

Just a little update. Tyler woke up at 7 this morning. I got him up and changed his diaper. He then sat on the potty every 45 minutes (sometimes every 30 minutes). He finally went potty again at 11:15 - on the carpet! They are taking naps right now, maybe this afternoon we will make it to the potty??? Oh please make it to the potty!

Happy Easter!!!!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday as a family today. After church this morning, we read the Easter story. The boys then got their Easter baskets. This year we each got the boys Mack tucks and some cars from the Cars movie. Grandma and Grandpa have this toy in Montrose and its all Tyler would play with. Today was no different.

After naps the boys woke up and we had our egg hunt. The boys seemed to enjoy it, but don't really like Momy's rule of only one egg (with 5 jelly beans in it) a day. We also put Tyler in big boy underwear. Yes we are once again attempting potty training. We had two accidents today and no successes, but right after his last accident he immediately told me so I am seeing some progress. Hopefully being home this week (we are on Spring Break) will bring even more progress.

Hope everyone had a wonderful blessed Easter - He is risen!

Easter Eggs

While Tyler is still testing to the max and I was at my wits end by the time Justin got home, it was still a pretty good day. Tyler did great at church today even tho he had a new teacher. Usually when he is around new people he gets very quiet, but he was talking up a storm in class. I still can't get over how great this improvement is. Also Tyler is loving telling everyone Happy Easter.

We are trying to explain Easter to Tyler in words that he would understand, but I am not sure how much he is getting. To celebrate Jesus being risen we colored Easter eggs tonight (we will also do an egg hunt on Sunday and they will get their Easter baskets from us). As I was boiling the eggs beforehand all Tyler wanted to do was eat them. They seemed to really enjoy the activity. Carter even said "yellow" and "blue".

After they were all colored Tyler asked to eat one. We opened it up and he tried to hide from it! He refused to eat that one as did Carter. Tyler then asked to "eat blue egg" so we tried once more. Once again he wouldn't even touch it. I guess we will stick to scrambled.

Testing 1,2,3

Oh boy are we in a testing phase right now. Currently the biggest test Tyler has decided to do is when we are out and about. He is usually at his best when we are out, so this behavior has me even more flustered when it happens. His new favorite activity is when we are walking through a store and just sits down and refuses to move. Carter then decides he should also sit down - fun fun. Guess its back to the double stroller.

He also does this at church. When its time to leave he will either run away from me or just sit down and not move. I am trying my hardest to be consistent with him, but I will admit I am not always the best at this. Even though he is testing me more than usual, he is still doing great at church in Room 237. Yesterday he was in the smaller toddler room (230) with me and was differently in sensory seeking mode. He was either wrestling or hugging some kid all day long it seemed (he even gave another little boy kisses!). He did use his words tho and listened to both me and the teachers. He even said his prayers out loud! Tyler's OT suggested that if he is trying really hard to behave like he is suppose at church, then when he gets home he may have to let loose some. I think this is what is happening. I would rather have him act up for me than at church I suppose.

Carter is also now in the hitting phase. At church today he would go up to kids and hit them for really no reason. He enjoys hitting Tyler too. Tyler thinks its funny when Carter hits him, and then hits Carter back like some fun game. Carter doesn't really seem to like this game as much. Maybe that will stop the hitting? Time to buckle down on the consistency that's for sure.

Snowmen!

On Friday Justin was off in the morning so he stayed home with the boys while I went to work (Grandpa was visiting too!). We got a Spring storm the night before, which meant heavy wet snow - perfect for a snowmen!
I guess Tyler helped somewhat making the snowmen, but for the most part Justin did all the work. Carter, however, loved the snow this time, so the boys all had a great time playing. At one point Carter's boot came off. Tyler called to Justin "Carter needs help, help please". Carter didn't seem to care that his boot off, but Tyler, being one to make sure everything is always correct, knew he needed the help.

By the time the boys woke up from their naps the snowmen was already half melted - gotta love Colorado weather. Tyler kept asking what happened to the snowman's hat (it was buried under some snow).

On the haircut front - after church on Sunday we brought him to Cool Cuts 4 kids, hoping all the distractions and the fact that he gets really reserved in new places would help him. It did!! Tyler did awesome. He loved getting to sit in the firetruck chair and watch Thomas while the lady cut his hair. He did get a little anxious around his ears, but for the most part he did great! We were so proud we got him a new Cars car for doing such a good job. Phew!

Haircuts

Its quickly becoming a bad word in our house. Last night the boys both desperately needed haircuts. Justin cuts their hair and he usually uses the razor. Tyler has never handle haricuts well. He is usually crying thru at least half of it and always has his hands on his head and squirming away. So last night Justin used scissors instead, thinking maybe the noise of the razor and the vibrations is what sets Tyler off.

We do Carter first, so Tyler can watch. Carter gets his sucker (that they only get during haircuts) and Justin starts. Carter does very well, saying cheese at the camera and playing with Tyler during the process. Tyler is enjoying watching it, helping pick up the hair, etc. There were a couple times when Carter would squirm, but no big deal at all. At the end Justin did a great job and Carter looks so much older.

Now its Tyler's turn. We have been prepping him and he eagerly climbs into the chair to get his sucker. We spray his hair and he laughs! Could this be a good sign? Unfortunately not. Justin takes on snip from the left ear and Tyler starts screaming. He is covering his head with his hands crying all done over and over. I start singing songs to distract him and Justin talks him thru it and goes to the next ear. Once again the squirming starts up again (the screaming never stopped) and Justin even accidentally nicks his ear. At this point we decide the haircut is over. Tyler has somewhat trimmed ears but that's about it.

We hate seeing Tyler act this way. We know its most likely probably because of the sensory stuff, but it seems like every haircut is getting worse. When I see how well Carter reacts to them compared to Tyler on the other extreme, it just makes me sad. After haircuts was bath time, and since Tyler was already upset the washing the hair part also did not go well (we had been seeing some improvements here). Hopefully the OT will have some suggestions, because my shaggy boy needs a haircut without being traumatized.

Escape Artist

Today has been a pretty good day. The boys and I went to Focus on the Family to play at their play area. The boys love it as there is a big airplane they can run around in and I love it because its free and cleaner than the mall.

Carter is my little escape artist tho. I was trying to help Tyler climb up a slide and I look back and Carter is gone. I figured he was just in the plane so I quickly finished helping Tyler (who was crying when I got back to him because he thought I had left him up there) and went to search for Carter. He was in a whole other part of the building. I wasn't to concerned as Focus on the Family is a very safe place. Carter does this all the time. He loves to run away, look back to see if you are following, and if you are run faster while giggling with delight. If you aren't looking back he usually still keeps exploring anyway. I guess we need to practice a little more with holding mommy's hand and staying with her at all times.

Last night Carter also figured out he can open the silverware drawers and reach fun things like knives and scissors. This is something Tyler has never done, so it came as a total shock. Can't keep my eyes off this kid!

Movie Night and Cheese

Friday night Justin was covering a basketball game so the boys and I had a movie night. We have done these before and Tyler loves them. Carter's new favorite thing to do is say cheese whenever he sees the camera. Since Carter says cheese, Tyler does too and I am finally getting pictures of Tyler smiling!

Tyler had speech today and it was so-so. Every once in a while he just has these days where he is in a funk and doesn't want to do anything. I can usually tell within a few minutes after he gets up if its going to be one of those days, as it usually starts with meltdowns over little things. We think its somewhat related to the sensory stuff, but have yet to figure out what triggers it or what works to get him out of this funk. Considering he was in this mood today, speech wasn't his best effort. We have Young Life tonight, so hopefully we won't see any meltdowns there.

At last

Today was a new day for Tyler in a lot of ways. On Thursdays he is usually in the toddler room with Carter and me, as the next room up, Room 237, is for older 2 year olds and 3 year olds. Most of these kids are also mostly potty trained or in the process of potty training (which Tyler is not). The toddler room is a pretty big room and on Thursdays can have as many as 40 kids in there from 15 months of age to about 2.5-3 years old. Tyler usually has more meltdowns in this room and gets more into his sensory seeking modes. So I asked my boss if he could move up to Room 237 a little early.

Today was his first day in his new room. He did FANTASTIC!!!!! At one point I went and checked on him. It was perfect timing as the kids were sitting down and reading a story. Tyler was sitting there pointing to animals he saw in the book and talking!!! He was interacting during circle time! He had never done this before. Usually in the toddler room he doesn't even talk (on other days he is in a smaller toddler room, Room 230, and that's where he had some improvements, but that room isn't open on Thursdays).I had tears in my eyes watching him. Another staff member also told me at this time that he had been great all day. When they were playing with playdoh he was making it into giraffes and monkeys and talking up a storm. They even had planned on having another worker shadow Tyler to make sure he did ok on his first day, but she ended up switching rooms because Tyler didn't need any help at all.

When Tyler was brought to me at the end of the morning his teacher told me she saw a Tyler she had never seen before. He was talking and saying so many words she never knew that he knew. When she took him potty (he at least sits and "tries" at church) he said he was all done. She asked him if he wanted to try anymore and he said "no thank you". She was blown away. Now I know today was a little different because there was only five kids in that class today (usually there are 10-12). But I was still so excited to see how happy he was at the end of the day. That he didn't need to be calmed down once because he was too over stimulated. That, at last, the little sweet chatter box boy that I know at home is also at church.

Favorite Things

I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet. One of my very favorite things is how Carter gives kisses. He doesn't give them. If you ask for a kiss he will lean his head in so you can kiss his forehead. I have gotten one open mouth kiss from him, every other time its his forehead - priceless.

Tyler also gives the sweetest closed, pucker mouth kisses as well, complete with a "mwah" at the end. I can't ever get enough kisses!

Random Updates

We had a pretty good weekend. Carter seems to be feeling much better and we went to try out a gym class for the boys. The boys would both be in a mommy and me classes and they get to take it together. The boys seemed to like it a lot so we signed them up. Next week Justin will have to miss it so we will see how it goes with just me.

Carter is still amazing me everyday with his new words. I can't even remember half the words he says now, but it seem like at least once a day I am shocked by what comes out of his mouth. Off the top of my head here is some new vocab: ketchup, all gone, baa baa (sheep), water, bath, bike, and many others.

Tyler is also taking off. His speech is so much clearer and he talks nonstop. He is always pretending to be some animal (usually a monkey) or talking about our trip to the zoo and what animals we saw. His memory amazes me too. We play a game on the computer together to help work on his letters. He remembers so many of them, but also remembers parts of the games. For example he remembers if we do the letter H, at the end a hippo will come up, but if we do the letter M a monkey will come up at the end. So fun to watch! If he is not pretending to be a monkey he either wants to play basketball or throw his footballs. Last night he also insisted that he sleeps with them.