Our Trip

Well the drive went okay. The first leg of our trip Layla cried two of the three hour drive because she didn't want to be in the car seat. Half way through the drive John was seriously considering buying Layla and I a plane ticket to fly on the way back home so we all wouldn't have to endure the screaming. However, day two of our trip was much better and we had renewed hope that she would get more used to the car seat. We have really enjoyed being in this beautiful city. We have enjoyed catching up with old friends and seeing the beautiful mountains. I have loved showing my parents around and they have been great about keeping Layla while I was in meetings. I am so thankful my parents were able to see some different cities while they were here visiting. 

This is our version of a potty break because there are no rest stops along the way. You pull over on the side of the road and hope your kids don't fall off the side of the mountain while you take them potty!

Success!

Zeb is potty trained! I don't have any pictures to prove it but I do have video. Maybe I can get John to post an awesome video of Zeb teaching Kayleigh's baby doll how to use the potty. It is hilarious. Anyways, I have to say I am very amazed at my little man. The morning I decided to start I had a very serious conversation with the Lord. I prayed for LOTS of patience and very LOW expectations. The Lord far exceeded my expectations. Zeb was just ready and seemed to pick it up quite quickly. I think he likes to be like his big sister. I love not having to use diapers any more for at least a couple of months before it all starts over again with our new little one!

Potty Talk!

Last week we had some friends of ours over that live about 3 hours from our city. We don't get to see them that often but when we do it is a treat. They have a little girl that is 3 years old named Kate. Kayleigh and Kate played so well together. So well in fact that we found them in the bathroom both using the potty at the same time, giggling and making faces at each other. They were so funny.

Kayleigh's Potty Training Reward

We have been telling Kayleigh for months that if she would start using the potty she could ride the train that passes by our house several times a day. She had been on this train before at a friends birthday party and loved it. So after several days of successfully using the potty we decided that it was time to reward her and take her on the train. This train is a real passenger train in our city that you can ride for about 22 cents per person one way. We all had a great time riding the train. We rode it to the end of the line and watched the engine come around and attach itself to the other side of the train so we could ride back to where we started. The kids thought that was very interesting. Kayleigh's friends Bright and Zion joined us for the ride.

Here we are waiting for the train to arrive.

Hanging out on the tracks.

Not sure what kind of faces Zeb and Kayleigh are making here. They really did have a good time I promise!

Kayleigh Did It!!!

Kayleigh is successfully potty trained. Well at least for the most part. We still have a few accidents every now and then. However, we are going on our third week of no diapers and it is going great. She seems so much older now that she doesn't use diapers any more. We are so proud of her. I have to give a lot of credit to my friend Danielle. If you read my previous post about trying to potty train her then you know that my problem was that she was holding using the bathroom until she was in pain. Danielle suggested that I stick her hand in warm water to make her go while she was on the potty. It worked! This helped her to realize how to go on her own and the rest is history. Thanks Danielle!

Potty Training Take 2!

My personal New Year's resolution was to potty train Kayleigh. Lets face it wiping two bottoms at least 3 to 4 times a day especially in the morning when they are both poops is getting a little old! I'm moving Zeb to cloth ( more on that in another post) and trying to transition Kayleigh out diapers all together. I have tried two unsuccessful days to potty train her. The first day was not planned she looked at me and told me that she wanted to use the potty so my all means I wasn't going to discourage her. That day was not a success. Nothing happened not even a drop! So on this past Tuesday I told John I was buckling down and really doing it. I read this book about how to potty train your child in a half of a day. Before you laugh, I don't believe this is true. I believe in the method they suggest but I don't think she will be completely potty trained by lunch time. So we start out that morning and the book suggests that I show her how to use the potty using a doll. Kayleigh was really into this because she gets treats if her baby uses the potty. When it came time for her to use the potty she did not do it. To give her credit there was a drop or two but that was it. Here is the problem....she basically drinks a ton of liquids and then holds it for so long that she begins to hurt and then starts crying and gives up. Once the diaper is back on she finally uses the bathroom. I can't get her to use it in the potty! Any advice or suggestions are welcome. My plan was to have her potty trained before we left for Thailand but I don't that is going to happen.

Here she is teaching the baby to take off her panties.

Here she is teaching her baby to sit and use the potty.

Breakin Green Beans

The other night I decided to have Kayleigh help me make dinner. We were having green beans and I thought it might be fun for her to break them with me. Check out this face! It looks like it took all her might to get this bean to break in half! She actually had a great time and wanted to break more even when we were finished. For those of you that have been wondering how the potty training has been going well it hasn't. Zeb's nap schedule has been really off lately with lots of crying so I have decided to put the potty training on hold until we can get him on a more normal schedule. My other mom friends that have gone through the potty training experience have shared with me that it takes 100% of my concentration. So I just moved Kayleigh to the XXL diapers. I vowed I would not ever put her in this size because I was determined to potty train her before then. I mentioned to John that the XXL diapers come in smaller packs and were more expensive. John said it was the diaper company trying to tell me that it was time to potty train! More on that when it actually happens.

In all fairness I thought I would include a picture of Zeb. I feel like we mostly show you pictures of Kayleigh probably because Zeb still doesn't do much but lay around and laugh at Kayleigh. I thought this was a cute picture of him. For most of his life he hasn't taken a passy until some friends of ours sent us this one. He really likes resting his finger in the loop.

Kayleigh Used the Potty

Lately, I have been thinking about potty training Kayleigh. I made a deal with John that when Zeb started to sleep through the night I would start. We need to get one child out of diapers so we can start saving a little money! So, I got a potty from a friend and placed it in the bathroom. I have been talking this potty up a lot. I have no idea what I am doing so I have been waiting to get a book on potty training from a friend. The other day Kayleigh looked at me and said "Mommy I pee pee in the potty". She was jumping up and down so I thought I would give it a shot. I took off her diaper and she ran into the bathroom and actually pee peed in the potty! I was so shocked. I gave her an M&M for a reward. I haven't hit the potty training hard core yet because we have had to go somewhere most days this week but I am hoping that this is a sign that the potty training will go smoothly!