two weeks ago {potty training week}

wow. I'm seriously behind on this blogging thing.  I realize that means I should probably just bag it, but I also know I'll eventually get around to it and so I don't.
So for posterity's-and my-sake, here is some of our life {since last time} in a nutshell:

4.11 {Monday}
--We started potty training!  I had been talking it up for about a month and telling Grayson that April 11th was potty training day.  He was pretty dang excited too & if asked what was coming up would happily reply, "Potty training day!  Yay!"  So funny!  I told him other babies needed his diapers and he was going straight to big boy underwear.  We did just that.  Taylor took Beckham for me the whole day so Gray could have my full attention and I set the timer for every 30 minutes. When it would ring, he'd say, "potty timer!" and run to the bathroom.  He did awesome!  He peed 22 times on the toilet successfully, pooped 2 times on the toilet, had 7 tiny wet accidents, and stayed happy all day.  Lots of juice, potty treats, singing the potty song, and talking about what a big boy he was.  Put a diaper on him at bedtime, but so proud of him on day one!

Another exciting thing today was getting a water softener!  Zac and I had talked about having one installed since we moved in because the water is super hard {30 on the scale when 10 is high}, and our skin is totally dry & itchy.  I love the taste though.  Zac's parents had one installed recently & the guy gave us an offer we couldn't resist, so he came and put it in.  Happy day!

4.12 {Tuesday}
--Another day spent completely at home for the sake of training, and it went well.  Better than day one.  23 successful pee trips, 1 successful poop, 3 tiny wet accidents, and lots of telling me when he needed to go.  Still wonder when his bladder will get bigger as he is having to go about every 15 minutes.  I'd say it's because he gets an m&m everytime, but half the time he doesn't want a candy afterward...Whose kid is this anyway?!  I'd love to get food every time I went to the bathroom! (:

I have to comment on how proud I am of both Grayson and myself through this so far.  I am not the most patient mama as a general rule, I expect a lot out of my oldest, and I am somewhat of a perfectionist.  Zac had advised me to expect accidents, and I'm no dummy-I knew they would happen, but I had high hopes & was still a little worried about my reaction when accidents would happen.  Grayson has been so happy, so sweet, and just done amazingly well.  He has far surpassed my expectations and I'm just so proud of him and his ability to adjust to new things so well.  I'm proud of myself for not raising my voice, for keeping my cool, and for being patient.  And I'm super glad I haven't had to clean up or deal with any poop accidents!  Another good day!

4.13 {Wednesday}
--Today was busy & great.  As far as potty training went, Grayson did fabulously...even with a much more chaotic day.  First Amber & girls came over for a while to hang out.  He went a couple times while they were here & just acted like it was no big deal.  Woohoo!  It was fun having them here-although it was even crazier than usual!

I decided to brave getting out of the house in the afternoon-albeit sticking within a 4 mile radius the entire time-and it went great!  First we stopped at Grami's so I could exercise & he did great telling us when he needed to go there.  His favorite thing at Grami's is to play with the legos while I exercise-he talks my ear off the entire time and says things like, "exercise is sure hard work, isn't it mom?"  {This is usually said at the point where I start huffing & puffing!}

Second we stopped at Jaeger's so I could work with Kelsey on the logo for my upcoming website.  He did great there too.  Last, we stopped at Uncle Bob's house to drop off his birthday treats.  He was at the shop, so Grayson got out and delivered them & I insisted on a photo which was the highlight of Bob's day, I'm sure.  I think they are both dang cute though, and sure am glad this good man was born.

 I started heading home and Grayson about had a meltdown because he wanted to see Alison & the girls, too.  We backed up a bit & visited there.  He went to the bathroom there & just did great!  After we got home he said he wanted to brush my hair & I just couldn't resist the offer!

Then we pretended I had a restaurant and he & Beckham came there for dinner.  He talked in a funny voice the whole time we were pretending and kept telling me I was the best chef ever & that he loved my restaurant food.  Love these kinds of days.  The day's summary: 20 successful pee trips, 0 poop, & NO accidents!  Yay Gray!

4.14 {Thursday}
--Today started out great because Grayson woke up dry!  I have been putting him in a diaper at bedtime until he's all the way day trained & has a series of mornings with a dry diaper because I didn't want to deal with the mess.  He's great with diapers at night because even if he has to go an hour after he goes to bed, he'll tell me & come out and go, then get the diaper back on.  But today was the first day he woke up super dry-go Grayson!  I had a meeting in Meridian, so Taylor watched the boys here so Gray was still in his element.  My meeting was fabulous and I got errands ran at Costco by myself which is blissful, but always end up with more than I plan on.

Grayson did great!  She even had a couple extras here {Garrison & Layla} & he went potty through being distracted with friends, again.  Layla LOVED Beckham and would follow him around and try to hold him, pet him, pick him up, etc.  She's only 8 months older, so it was quite comical.

When I got home, I took the boys over to Kelsey's with me to finalize a couple things & the boys had fun playing with Jaeger.  Potty summary today: 13 successful pee trips, 0 poop {starting to worry a bit about this one!}, & NO accidents!  Woohoo!

4.15 {Friday}
--Another wake up dry morning!  He's continually surprising & impressing me.  Grayson got to go play at Grami's with Amity this morning because Julie was having surgery on her knee and I was having a class reunion meeting at my house.  I kept Beckham because he just entertains himself & is easy peasy.  Grayson loved being a big boy at Grami's and did awesome there.  He just goes when he needs to; no questions asked.
We got a lot accomplished at our reunion meeting & I'm so looking forward to it & hope lots of people come.  It was fun to chat with a few girls from my class too.
After it was over, Bex and I went to get Gray and Miami.  They played so well together {other than one time when Grayson hit her & we had to do the whole apologize, hug, forgive process}, and I got lots done while they entertained each other.  Rock picked her up around 4 & we were sad to see her go.  So sad, that we kept one of her shoes... (:
Zac left early this morning for work & to get the Acura serviced and then ended up staying over all day because he was going with Layne, Talon, and Taylor, to the MMA fights in Boise.  That meant I didn't have a car all day, so we just cozied up at home.  The boys went down around 7:30 and I had all these things I wanted to get done {blogging, reading, catching up on Hulu shows, etc.}, but ended up just chillin on the couch, watched "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend," {cute show}, ate my favorite medifast meals with a diet soda, and then found books I want to read on Amazon.com and put them into my library queue so I don't forget....quite the party girl, right?

I went to bed about 11 & Zac got home around 12:30.  He had tons of fun and I'm excited to go with him the next time.  Potty summary today: 9 successful pee trips {he's obviously learning to control his bladder because he can go A LOT longer in between now}, 2 successful poop trips {finally!}, NO accidents!

4.16 {Saturday}
--This morning was spent cleaning & playing.  Gray woke up a tiny bit wet I think because he had been in bed for about 13 hours, but it's a process, right?  Aunt Doll came over to babysit in the early afternoon so I could attend a tri stake women's conference in Nyssa.  The speaker was Sister Thompson {2nd counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency} and she was hilarious!  I got to sing in the choir which was fun-I miss singing regularly-and it was just nice to be reminded about why we do what we do; because we love God and want to please Him.  My mom sang a sweet song-the only thing that made me tear up a bit, and her voice is so beautiful.  A few things Sister Thompson said that stuck out to me:
-Hurry along as fast as you can, stay on the path, don't take any shortcuts!
-Choose Heavenly Father; He can move mountains.  Walk with Him.  He will abide in me and I in Him.
-Become a holy person
-Satan is trying to lead away women.  There are lies on the news continually, but also lies we tell ourselves; we aren't good enough, our kids are making bad choices & it's our fault, we will never measure up, etc.  This is a tool that Satan uses because he knows we are pretty good about not giving in to the big temptations, so he attacks us from the inside.
-Satan tries to subtly get us off track {1/2 truths} so we get down on ourselves.  Don't give in!
-To protect ourselves we must: continually pray, read scriptures, study together, attend the temple, do service, listen to inspiring music, visiting teaching, etc.
-She told a funny story I want to remember about one day when she was working in the yard of a new home she'd just bought {she was & still is a single woman}.  She was working hard, sweating a ton, and had a long way to go.  Her home teachers came around back and she thought to herself, "Yay!  Help has arrived!"  They looked at her, said, "We can see you're busy, so we'll just stop by another time," turned around, and left.  She was surprised they hadn't offered to help and the more she thought about it, the more upset she got.  She thought, "What a rude thing to do!"  She was pretty ticked...then slowly, she began thinking about a time a couple weeks prior when she'd gone visiting teaching with her companion and they'd stopped at one of the women's homes they visit.  Her children had answered the door and said, "Our mom is sick."  Sister Thompson and her companion said, "Oh, we don't want to bother her while she's sick, so we'll check in later."  She realized she had done exactly the same thing!  Visiting teaching isn't about a checklist.  It's never done.  It's not about teaching a perfectly spiritual lesson or getting in the people's homes one day a month.  It's about being a friend.  Being in tune with the people we get to visit.  Taking over dinner/cleaning duties when our sister is sick.  Taking her kids so she can actually get a nap.  Randomly calling or sending a card.  Really getting to know someone you may otherwise not have.  Such a great reminder!
-She also told a cute story about her great nieces aged 5 & 7.  The 7 year old was sick and couldn't do her chores and her mom asked the 5 year old to help.  She said no.  Her mom-trying to teach her-said, "Honey, what would Jesus do?"  She said promptly, "He'd make her better so she could do it herself!"  Haha!  It's so easy to feel that way, isn't it?
-Feast upon the words of Christ.  Read for revelation.
-Prayer is absolutely essential.  Don't go without it.  Not even half a day.  Pray about all things-big & small.  He wants to hear it.  {For me this equated to thinking I need to be more diligent in praying about parenting stuff when I'm frustrated because I truly knows He is aware of me and my individual frustrations and just wants me to come to Him}.
-Go to the temple with something on our minds that we are seeking an answer about.  Leave it at the temple doors and immerse ourselves in the work we are doing there & the spirit we are feeling.  The answer to our questions will come.  It may not come while in the temple.  It may not come that day, but within time, it will come and we'll realize the revelation is there.
-Someone will receive revelation and answers better in the temple than anywhere else.

After I got home, sweet Doll left, and I took the boys & dropped them off at Grandma Wendy's.  Zac was working on the tractor & joined them a bit later.  I ran to Ontario for groceries, a trip to the library, stopped & visited Amber for a bit, and headed home.  We hung out at Cleaver's for a while & Grayson had a comical bathroom experience & conversation, and we headed home, got Grayson in bed, and I read while Zac & Beckham watched car videos on youtube.

Beckham fell asleep before we could get him in bed & then Z and I hung out together.  Potty summary: 8 successful pee trips, 1 successful poop trip, NO accidents.  Go Grayson!

4.17 {Sunday}
--Church was nice today.  I had an early morning meeting & Grayson refused to let Zac do his potty routine with him in the morning {a source of frustration for Z & myself}, and was a bit wet when I got home & helped finish getting them ready for church.  It was a nice day at church, both boys were good in Sacrament meeting, Gray used the bathroom before nursery, and did great the whole time in there.  He LOVES nursery and I am glad he had another year in there.  He loves his teacher's and it's just a great part of his week.  Beckham loves getting loved on by one or both Grandma's each week and is getting pretty wiggly, so I'm sure they'll love it when he is big enough for nursery this Fall! (:

We ate lunch at Pete's after church and headed home for "naps."  What usually happens is Beckham and Zac take a nap and Grayson and I cuddle up for a movie/books, which is a good little tradition.  Bex didn't nap long and after he woke up, I turned some music on and danced with the boys till Zac got up.  They eat this tradition up, and so do I.

We put the boys in bed exceptionally early {after they cleaned up their mess with the threat that Gunny Sack was going to come & take all their toys if their room didn't get cleaned-which he's done several times the past month & it's been quite effective}.

Then we spent the evening talking and setting goals, which I love doing with Zac.  He is genuinely interested in what I have to say and gives such great input.  Love him.

*Just a couple notes on potty training that I don't want to forget:
-Will definitely repeat the idea of just getting rid of diapers {except for nighttime} and going to all undies, all day.
-Love the whiteboard chart idea with lots of marker colors.  Grayson LOVED getting to color in a square after going potty each time & it's easier & cheaper than stickers.  It satisfied my perfectionist personality too to be able to visually see it for a whole week.
-When he had accidents, I'd say, "Uh oh, you had an accident, let's go sit on the potty because pee goes in the potty," {even when he didn't have to go anymore-thank you Julie for this wise advice!}
-Definitely make up fun potty songs & dances to do the first couple days.  He still asks me to sing the potty song every once in a while randomly & he will sometimes say funny things or do a dance when he's done.
-Make sure I know next time which treats are favorites.  M&M's were a definite hit for successful pee trips, Oreos were great for poop trips.  Skittles got eaten by Dad. (:
-Loved carving out a week of time where we didn't have to be a lot of places.  2 days cooped in the house all day was long enough before we had to get out though.  Also, definitely have somewhere else for other kids to go for the first day so the potty training child gets all the attention.  We both enjoyed that & because he had all my attention all day, he was more prone to staying on top of it.  We both had positive attitudes because our attention wasn't distracted or split.
-Definitely wait till the kid is ready.  Grayson hadn't been initiating it, but I knew he could pee on the toilet when prompted or asked.  Pooping was a fear & totally out of the question though, so I was dragging my feet.  We talked it up for a while which helped him, and the day we started, I could just tell he was ready.