Potty Pros

I am still kind of in shock about how well the kids did with potty training. I had heard from other moms of the whole process dragging on forever and then I heard from others that their kids caught on right away. Mitchell had the hang of at the end of day 1. Casey and Maggie had a few accidents on day 2 but after that they totally got it too. I have to say that I was NOT prepared for how exhausting those first 3 days of training were! But that was it, it didn't go on and on.

I think what worked for us was that we didn't push them at all, they just seemed ready (they were 2 months away from being 3). It never bothered me talking with other moms whose kids were already trained at our age, I knew it would happen sometime and I was totally going for the path of least resistance. However, the fact the they had to be trained in order to go to pre-school this fall was my motivator. We took the kids shopping a few days before and they got to pick out their undies and we talked a lot about it in the days leading up to it.

Another thing that I think was key for us was just going cold turkey, no pull-ups during the day. I really think our kids wouldn't have really gotten it if they were still wearing something that was so much like a diaper all day. Another thing we did (that I read about) was to not ask them if they had to pee but rather to say, "Tell mommy or daddy if you have to pee". I'm not sure if that made a difference or not but it didn't hurt. And staying home for a few days straight really helped too. We spent a lot of time outside or just hanging out upstairs on the hardwood floors and of course lots of water.







Oh and of course good old competition and bribing....smarties!!! Maggie was the sneakiest in the beginning with the rewards - she would do her thing, get her smartie and then literally 5 min later she claimed to have to go again. And sure enough she would get a drop or two out so of course she deserved another smartie, right? She's not just good looks!

The thing that I was dreading the most was public washrooms but it actually hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I was picturing being out alone with them and 1saying they have to pee and taking everyone to the bathroom, only to do that again in a few minutes when someone else who said they didn't have to go, now had to go. But we just make sure they go before we leave the house and they are are pretty good with making it through a morning without having to go again (especially the boys). And of course we leave a potty in the van for when we need it. They've also peed in a bush or two which they were so excited about.

Right now, they are still in diapers for naps and overnight and although Mitchell is dry sometimes we'll keep things this way until they are dry a little more often. To be honest, because they sleep so well right now I really don't to be up changing sheets at night (x3).

Last Bit of Summer

In the midst of me falling behind on the blog and being busy I missed a lot of summer pictures, so I'm going to put a bunch in this post. We had a great summer with the kids, they're at a nice age where we can do so many things with them.

I took the kids to visit a friend from work at her acreage one day. They were SO excited because there were horses, kittens and a dog. They had a great time bringing the horses hay, Maggie especially having the horse eat out of her hand. The boys were a little more reluctant and just threw the hay in.




Looking at these pictures now I feel sorry for this little kitten, it doesn't look too comfortable!




After a while Mitchell and Maggie took off running for hills, but Casey was very upset about leaving the kittens behind and was crying for them to follow him...what a softie!


We were outside everyday, either in the backyard where there was so much to do or out for a walk (I'm squeezing them into the stroller as long as I possibly can) or a run on the path behind our house.




Daniel built a sandbox this summer for the kids and they loved it! Mitchell would have stayed out there all day everyday if we would have let him.


We also were at the spray park a lot which as you can see, the kids loved (and what I love is that it's about a five minute walk from our house).



We celebrated our niece, Michaela's 1st birthday this summer. The party was great, complete with an elephant ride from Grandpa for all of the boys.




We also spent some time at my parent's at the lake. We always plan at least one weekend of the summer where all of my family is there at the same time and it's always a lot of fun. Princess Maggie found her spot and had the boys pull her around.




The tube was a blast with even being in the water!




The kids were interested in the boat this year. Everyone liked being in it when it was parked.


When we were actually on the water Maggie and Casey were a little hesitant and not overly thrilled, but Mitchell really liked it.




He even wanted to drive the boat with Uncle Dave and then stay in and go for another ride with the big boys.



The kids usually have a second breakfast with Grandpa...

...and fight over who gets to sit in his chair - although at this moment everyone was sharing.

What a great summer!