A Sense of Accomplishment: Potty Training - What worked for us!

Silver was born in December and by January I was ready to only have one kid in diapers. I knew that River was capable of going, so here are my thoughts on potty training and what worked for us! There are so many different opinions about potty training. I realized there is no one right way or wrong way to do it - consistency is what it's all about! I read an article that said that the earlier to do it the better – her opinion around 2 years old was a great age for it, after 2 ½ they tend to get stuck in their ways and it’s harder to train them after that. I’ve also heard to do it when they’re ready – she was 2 1/2 and definitely ready!

River was waking up dry and was good about going potty if she didn’t have anything else on. I had friends that said to let them just wear a dress with nothing on underneath – this worked really good until we had to go somewhere, as soon as anything was on her, panties or diaper, she would not be dry for long.

Potty training was about learning how River told me she needed to use the bathroom. I stayed home for a couple of days so we wouldn’t have the distractions of stores, friends, etc. About a week or two before we started we told her “yucky” for poop in the diaper. I also fed her LOTS of fruit and drinks for those days – while we were in that mode learning, have lots of opportunities for going. Watermelon, peaches, real juices, etc. With straws, ice, popsicles, little cups, etc.

Once we started wearing only big-girl panties I avoided the padded training underwear – it felt too much like a diaper, and I wanted her to wake up wet to learn that we need to wake up in the middle of the night to go instead of waking up in the morning wet.

We stayed positive during those first couple of days, instead of punishment or time-outs for accidents, we stayed positive and had fun. We had her potty chair set up in her bathroom. We had talked for about 2 weeks about being a big girl and wearing only big girl panties. We went on a trip to Salt Lake and prepped her saying that we were going to be big once we got home from our vacation. We came home and that night I told her it was the last diaper. She was actually really excited about the idea. In the morning she got up and told me she was ready to be in big girl panties. We had a little party when we threw away the last diaper. It really helped to have Baby Silver and Big Girl River, it helped her distinguish that she was a lot bigger than Silver and could do so many big girl things.

We did a lot of praise for those days, telling her how big she was and how proud we were of her. She only asked for her diaper a couple of times, and with a distraction of a game or a “big-girl” activity like the computer she got her mind off the diaper.

We dressed her only in a T-shirt and her panties. This was SO important so that I could see the instant that an accident occurred, I could RUN her to the potty. The whole point is to catch them during the accident – every accident. I would simply remind her that she needed to keep her underwear dry and when she needed to go to let me know. I learned that Accidents are part of the training. If she started in her underwear and I ran her to the potty, then she could finish in the potty and felt good about herself.

We also didn’t ‘try’ to go. We didn’t sit on the toilet for a long time trying. I would let her see if she needed to go, and if nothing, then take her down. Also, instead of asking her if she needed to go, I would just say “Tell mommy when you need to go, okay?” My whole goal was to get her recognizing when she needed to go. She won’t learn her body’s signs of needing to go if she’s just sitting on the potty. Also, I think it helped her feel in control. We also did a pop quiz every so often for her to check if it was dry – I knew it was dry, but it was about giving her praise for staying dry and having her feel good about her accomplishment. We did a lot of praising and reinforcement. It was not only attention for the accidents, but TONS of attention for the dry times. Children thrive on Praise! I would call my parents on the phone and brag on the phone in front of her so she would know how proud I was of her.

I tried everything to distinguish between big girl and baby – I only put her underwear on standing up instead of laying down to change her underwear. Laying down = baby, standing up = big girl.

I learned so many things potty training River:
*Praise a Child – they thrive on that!
*Be positive – make it a positive experience for them, and by extension for you!
*Consistency – Kids thrive on something that is the same every time and that they know what will happen next. It’s been about 5 months now that she’s been potty trained and it is Fabulous to only have one kid in diapers.

**It gave her such a Sense of accomplishment, I can do this! I’m a big girl. She started doing so many more things after that, because she made the switch in her mind, that She’s a big girl and can do great things!

Smile that Frown away!

River definitely needs a little while to slowly wake-up, especially after naps. She's been woken up early a couple of days now from her nap and we've been talking about being happy.
In our Ladybug Preschool we made a darling lion out of her handprints with a happy & frowny side.

This is the Cutest video! Here is River singing:

If you chance to meet a frown
Do not let it stay
Quickly turn it upside down
And Smile that Frown Away!

No one likes a frowny face
Change it for a Smile
Make the World a better Place
By smiling all the while!

It's a great lesson for me to remember: SMILE! My girls and Colt make me smile :)

Computer Fun!

Wow, there are quite a few sites for interactive preschool games. Counting, shapes, colors, abc, music, animals, coloring, etc.It's amazing to see River move the mouse and click on the different things. Most of the Fisher Price games have big animals or icons to click, so it's easier for little hands. We also talked about the keys and which ones to push. We had quite a lot of fun playing these games.
Fisher Price site:
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=gamesByAge&mcat=game_toddler&site=us
visit our ladybug preschool blog for more great sites!

Ladybug Preschool

I've been thinking lately about having River go to Preschool. After talking it over with Colt we agree that these years are so important to have experiences with Mom and form that bond. I don't think River will have any problems with social - she makes friends so easily and she is very very smart! I'm going to start our own Preschool - we call River our Ladybug, so we're starting the Ladybug Preschool. We've started a new blog for our preschool projects: http://ladybugpreschool.blogspot.com/
I don't want to look back on these years that we'll never have back and regret that I didn't do more things with her. My goal is to do at least one new thing or one learning thing with her each day.
Today we colored owls and then glued on beans as feathers, eyes, etc. River had a blast! It was a mix of 15 different kinds of beans. We talked about small, bigger, biggest; matching, bumpy, smooth, separating them out into the different ones, etc. On hers, she got to put the beans wherever she wanted and to put the glue on. On the one I was doing, I asked her to give me a red bean, or a spotted bean, or one that matched this one for the eyes. She ended up doing 5 owls throughout the day and had a lot of fun!

Tuppence & Time

Colt and I were driving home from St George the other day. I actually enjoy this drive because it gives us around an hour and a half to talk. We were talking about restaurants and Cafe Rio. Colt said that Cafe Rio's big mistake was that they didn't expand fast enough and thereby didn't capture market share which let Bajios, Chipotle and other similar chains spread more quickly.
"There's more to life than market share."
This leads me to the question: "What is your definition of success?"
Owning your own business, it's easy to get caught up in money, and success. It is a hard balance to earn enough $$ to provide for your family, but not get so wrapped up in it.
When is it enough?
What we spend our time on we literally spend our life doing. What do we trade our life for? We trade our time, indeed our very life, for money $$. Is it worth it?

This will sound kind of weird, but one of my favorite places to be is a cemetery. I used to go regularly and I took River for the 1st time yesterday. I really enjoy being there in the lovely kept grounds with the quiet and the memories. There is something that is inspiring there for me. I love to look at grave stones and wonder what their stories are: What did they do with the time they had?
Some have 1 year, some 20, others 55 there was one we noticed with 101 years on Earth.
What do I do with the time I have?
We never know when our last day will be. Looking back on our life, what will we have done with it.
I like to step back from the every-day activities of taking care of a family and reflect that life passes one day at a time. It builds minute upon hour upon day upon week upon year. One day at a time builds up your life. I went to the Seminary graduation yesterday: I had Silver and River and asked the parents of the graduating Seniors: "Does it really go that quickly" They said Yes! One day you're asking yourself, with a 3 year old and a baby: "Will this day never end so I can get these kids into bed" and the next they are out of the house on their own.
What memories are we making?

Water Balloon breaking on Baseball bat!

In parenting classes I have taken they ask what the goal of parenting is? My answer: To Raise responsible adults: Everything I do is to prepare them to one day be a contributing member of society as an adult. I enjoy working with the YW because it gives me this perspective: My little baby girls are going to be YW before long - it impacts how I raise them now to realize that they will be teenagers and then adults.
We don't know how many years we have here, that is up to the Lord. What we each have is 24 hours a day to choose how we will spend it. We will all choose that based on our priorities, but we have all been given the same amount of time in a day.
This concept to me is similar to $$ - We all have different incomes and amounts of money (kind of like years on earth) to work with, but how we choose to spend it is up to us. I sometimes wonder why people spend their money in a certain way, but then Colt reminds me that we all have different priorities and that things that are important to me are not important to others, and things that are important to them are not important to me. It helps me to see things this way: that my way is not the only way.
We need to be wise stewards with both our time and money.
I loved Elder Hales talk about this in last conference: Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually. He talks about the need to have things as an addiction, which it is:
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-2,00.html

With time and money we can ask Where did it go?
As a financial advisor, Colt helps people invest their money. It is amazing how consistent money saved now and compound interest can turn a modest investment into a sizable sum come retirement. What a great feeling knowing that you are investing in your future so you can take care of yourself at that time. Like kids leaving the house, it will happen before you know it it will be upon you and then it will be too late to save.
Colt has also taught me to spend money on things that build memories. I am pretty miserly sometimes - it is important to us to spend money on gas for trips to see family and have an adventure/experience.
It's amazing how little expenses can add up. The "latte factor" some advisers call it (a coffee every day at a coffee shop can add up to quite a sizable amount in a year). For an LDS community :) this could be junk food, movies, clothes, beauty products, anything that we regularly spend money on.
After the comments about market share on our St George trip, Colt and I laughed about the two Tuppence songs on "Mary Poppins". Mine would be "Feed the Birds - Tuppence a Bag" (literally I LOVE feeding birds - we have to buy extra sugar for our food storage so our Solutnees will be taken care of) and Colt's would be "Tuppence invested in the bank"
Here are the words:

If you invest your tuppence Wisely in the bank
Safe and sound
Soon that tuppence, Safely invested in the bank,
Will compound

And you'll achieve that sense of conquest
As your affluence expands
In the hands of the directors
Who invest as propriety demands

You see, Michael, you'll be part of Railways through Africa
Dams across the Nile
Fleets of ocean greyhounds
Majestic, self-amortizing canals
Plantations of ripening tea

All from tuppence, prudently
Fruitfully, frugally invested
In the, to be specific,
In the Dawes, Tomes Mousely, Grubbs
Fidelity Fiduciary Bank!

Now, Michael, When you deposit tuppence in a bank account
Soon you'll see
That it blooms into credit of a generous amount
Semiannually

And you'll achieve that sense of stature
As your influence expands
To the high financial strata
That established credit now commands

You can purchase first and second trust deeds
Think of the foreclosures! Bonds! Chattels!
Dividends! Shares! Bankruptcies!
Debtor sales! Opportunities!
All manner of private enterprise! Shipyards! The mercantile! Collieries! Tanneries!Incorporations! Amalgamations! Banks!

You see, Michael, Tuppence, patiently,
cautiously trustingly invested
In the, to be specific
In the Dawes, Tomes Mousely, Grubbs
Fidelity Fiduciary Bank!

Early each day to the steps of Saint Paul's
The little old bird woman comes.
In her own special way to the people she calls,
"Come, buy my bags full of crumbs.
Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do.
Their young ones are hungry,
Their nests are so bare;
All it takes is tuppence from you."
Feed the birds, tuppence a bag,
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag.
"Feed the birds," that's what she cries,
While overhead, her birds fill the skies.
All around the cathedral the saints and apostles
Look down as she sells her wares.
Although you can't see it, you know they are smiling
Each time someone shows that he cares.
Though her words are simple and few,
Listen, listen, she's calling to you:
Feed the birds, tuppence a bag,
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag."

:) Oh, that makes me smile. Colt's not that bad :) In fact, he would buy the Bag of Bread to support local industry and people making a go of it any way they can. (he can NEVER pass up a little kids lemonade stand)!
I love that man and his entrepreneurial spirit! (Welllll, some days his entrepreneurial spirit tries my patience.....but....I love him anyway!)

Here's some pictures and 2 videos of our Family Night tonight:

Scoot and Wave

Here are some CUTE videos from the River archive! River started to crawl about 2 days before she walked. Before that she got around everywhere with this scoot - it was pretty creative way to get around:

River had the cutest wave - she would twist her wrist around. We called it her princess wave:

Sing, Sing, Sing!

River absolutely LOVES to SING! She'll ask me to sing, and then do another and another. I've begun singing from the children's hymnbook, start at the beginning and sing every song to her. When she asks for another, I go to the next hymn.

In the Leafy tree tops:

Apricot Tree:

River also likes to dance. She's like Mommy, she likes her dancing music turned up! She says, "Mom, I like louder songs!" We turn up our music and kick up our heels. We like to dance to almost everything: latin, country, classical, kids songs, piano, Voice Male, acapella groups, Croatian music (ooohh, Croatian music is awesome for dancing). But our favorite to dance to are John West's songs (He is married to Tadi, Colt's aunt). John writes songs that have a fun beat to them. His website: http://www.johnathanwest.com/ We dance to his music almost every day!

Here's to fun times! Make the most of today!

The Eensy Weensy Spider!

Here we have River singing Eensy Weensy Spider to Silver. EnJOY!

Family Traditions - Popcorn Blast!

We have some Great family traditions! Colt wrestles River every night and tells her made-up stories. Colt has an amazing imagination - he makes them up as they go and River really gets into them. River has turned into a good story-teller too! Her story went like this - There was a purple dragon with little wings that was flying everywhere. She was a mean dragon and came up to River while she was hiking in the forest. River got out her backpack and pulled out a yogurt and shared with the dragon. After that River and the dragon were friends and the dragon let River ride on her back and they flew around.

This is something that we would like to make into a Sunday night family tradition: Popping Corn. We spread out a blanket and had a picnic with our popcorns. Then we started catching popcorn on our tongues! It was a blast!

April Quote Board

River: Mom, can I watch a movie?
Mom: We're going to have lunch first - you can watch after lunch.
River: Mom, can I watch a movie please?
Mom: You can watch after lunch. River: But......But......But......I said PLEASE!

River loves making up her own words:
Solutnee: name for her hummingbird.
Glubbers: "Mom, I think Silver will get her glubbers on your bed."
Hhhmmm, glubbers is a good word for it!

"Ohhhh, you washed my blankie just for mmeeeee? That was very nice!" -River

River's Prayer: "......and please bless our bodies to be strong so we could wrestle......"

River: "You wanna play hide and seek with me? OK! I'll go hide behind the couch, you count to 10, and come find me, okay?"

Highly Dramatized:"I have a BIG Job!" ......Panting....."I have to take care of Silver AND my Mom. They are Sssssssick!"-River

Sadly, with a big sigh: "I don't have a cow tongue. Only Daddy and Paca have cow tongues" (Colt and Ron can touch their tongue to their nose - she figured out that was just like the baby cow Lorna)