Potty training, Brooke update, and good thoughts

Today was such a good Monday. Usually, Mondays are the craziest, stressful, getting back to reality after a nice weekend break day, but today was better. I think it was because of one thing I did; I got up early. I used to get up early before Brooke was born, but then I became a slacker and slept in till 6:30, when the boys get up.

I set my phone alarm to have that pretty song from the Keira Knightly ‘Pride and Prejudice’ movie to play, the one at the beginning of the movie when the sun is coming up. Seriously, the best music to wake up to.

I got up, slowly, somehow exercised on the treadmill, felt better, got food done in the kitchen, while the boys started to wake. (Someday, I will relearn where to put the stinking commas in a sentence. Goodness, I let that one go!)

It just helped so much to get started early. I also read a neat parenting blog post last night about not yelling at your kids. Ha! Yet, I wanted to try hard to work on that today. I told the boys that if I start yelling at them, to tell me that I’m yelling. I was going to close my mouth and just not talk if I felt like yelling. Breathe deep and pray. Thankfully, with that mindset, I didn’t raise my voice today. I was shocked and so proud of myself, and the boys reacted today tons better. No meltdowns from Ethan, took the kids to the park, and had time to have fun, little moments with the kids. Gosh darn it, I want every day to be like this!

Ok, potty training! Third time was a charm for Kevin. We decided we’d give it another try, and totally not expect miracles. Yes, expectations were super low, which made it so much less stressful. Shaun took Kevin to get pick out a little Lightning Mcqueen potty. All I can say is that getting the little potty was the ticket to success. The first 3-4 days Kevin was naked just drinking lots of juice and sitting on his potty in the living room.

To help with potty training, we decided to get Netflix. Wow, what a help that was. We haven’t had TV since January, and I kept renting dvds from the library, but I love the simplicity and convenience of Netflix. Basically, my friend convinced me of the greatness of Netflix for moms and kids, and it has been a huge help. Especially when I’ve taken the boys to Brooke’s doctor appointments, and they get tired of being in that small room. They watched Curious George on the netflix app on my phone. Oh, huge help!!

Anyways, Kevin shocked us on the first day of training by going poop in his potty, his first success. Go, Kevin! We had a little sticker chart, and some junk from the dollar store for the end of the day.  Being naked totally helped in the potty training. Then, by the end of the week, we attempted to put underwear on him. It took a little bit to understand not to wet them, but by the second week, he did great. He even has done well going out, and waiting to go potty in a restroom, not in his pants. I was ready to faint in complete shock and happiness of how well he was doing.

So, I don’t have any pics of that to show, since he was never wearing clothes, but I can honestly say that with boys, it really helps to wait, awhile, till maybe they are 3 1/2 yrs, and then try to potty train. It was SO easy, and he really got it down. Oh, relief to only have one kid in diapers!

Now, for Brooke. After a series of events, we got Brooke to a gastrio.. something, a stomach doctor. We need to get Brooke to gain weight. 12 pounds for a 10 month old is a bit small. The doctor recommended some liquid vitamin supplements. She’s been taking them for about 4 days now. All I can say is that since she’s taken the vitamins she has become a lot more spunky, vocal, and moves a lot more. She rolls like crazy now, kicks her feet everywhere, smiles and is so sweet and bubbly, and has been doing tons of great tummy time on her own. We do exercises to help her with sitting up and such, but I can see a big difference in her since she’s getting some extra vitamins. So, we have a long road, but it’s taking a good turn:)

One of those fun pinterest activites. I froze toys and letters in a big thing of ice. Boys loved it!

Is this picture not the most hilarious thing ever? This is my Ethan, and his craziness. I just crack up looking at this. Boys are just so dang funny. I have no idea what Brooke, a girl, will be like when she’s older, but I sure know a little about boys:)

One day, I had a neat thought, a mini vision I guess, about Ethan. I wrote it down as fast as I could remember seeing it in my head. Here’s my notes:

“Dropped Ethan off at BYUI for college. Saw the familiar campus in the background behind him. Got emotional remembering my time there. Ethan stood tall in front of me. He was so tall and had that same wonderful smile. He turned out fine, smart and friendly, a true leader amongst friends.

All the struggles from his young behavior will be gone, as we continue to love and help him. How blessed we are to have him sent to our family.”

Isn’t that beautiful? Just made my little mama heart feel better. Made sure to give him a huge hug that day.