This has been quite a week at our house. We usually have somewhere to go almost every morning, but I realized that I will never be able to potty train Christopher if we are never home, so I decided to drop a few things. I miss them terribly, but know the kids need a break from the chaos. I say all that b/c I finally see it paying off. Here goes:

Sophie has said her first word, "dada". This was Christopher's and so we have been trying with all our might to say, "mama" around her as much as we could. We know this is silly b/c they say d's sooner than m's, but it was worth a shot. Brandon wanted it for me, and I must admit, I would have loved for me to be her first word, but knew it wouldn't happen. So I tried dada again and she said it. Several times. When Brandon got home we got her to do it again and he was so happy. I knew he would be and though he won again, I'm just happy she loves her daddy so much. I get more than enough loving from her that I can share some.

Next, I've tried every trick in the book to get Christopher excited about going potty. Big boy underwear, following friends to the potty, suckers, bubbles, chocolate, everything and he could care less. The mention of the word would literally send him running away. Then one day he said, "Mommy, go potty by myself!" and took off running to the bathroom. I caught him right as he was trying to sit and I couldn't believe it but he went! I decided then and there we would get serious about this and I'd follow his lead. I made a potty chart (yes, I actually researched this on the internet) and every time we have success he gets a sticker to mark it and a sucker as a reward. I learned the trick is he has to tell me he needs to go, I can't ask him. He'd never gone more than twice in one day, so I told him if he goes 3 times he gets a prize. This word apparently has been used too often b/c it didn't excite him. Day 1- went twice. Day 2- went once. Day 3 - SUCCESS!!! But this wasn't without some hinting. I told him he'd get a new truck if he went potty again. He paced around the house after that saying, "My new truck's coming soon." Finally he runs back to the bathroom and he gets his new truck. Today has been great, he has gone all day with his big boy boxers on (minus naptime) and went three times before lunch. After naps he decided he had to go again, but wanted to stand up this time. I've never been so excited to see someone stand up to pee before. It was hilarious! I am so proud of him and hope that this sticks. It has made staying home all week totally worth it!