Potty Training FAIL

I am so discouraged as I type this post.  After struggling the last three weeks, I have decided to take a break from potty training Kyleigh.  And I can't tell you how much this feels like failure.

Kyleigh was doing such a great job before we left on vacation.  I knew it was risky to start training her before vacation, but I went ahead anyway because she was so interested.  The three long days of potty training over the Fourth of July turned out to be a success and Kyleigh seemed to catch on rather quickly the rest of the month.

Fast forward to the first week of August when we were on vacation.  I continued to put her in underwear, unless we were going to be out of the house for an extended time period.  Of course she had accidents, but I expected that.  What I didn't expect was the MAJOR regression that followed once we returned home.  Initially, I thought it would just take a week or so to get back into our routine.  However, we've been home for almost 3 weeks and there is no sign that she remembers "the urge."

Sure, if I put her on the potty, if she needs to go, she'll go.  However, if I've lost track of time or if we're out and about and she needs to go, there is no warning.  She just pees wherever she is (yes, first time ever we had an accident while at the store). She won't alert me until after she's peed.  I've been observing her over several different scenarios and there is no indication she remembers the urge.  She'll only pee if I happen to get her on the toilet in time.

I'm trying to now figure out why I didn't stop her training a week ago when she peed while sitting in the cart at Target.  I was at my wits end already, but I plunged forward.  Did I continue because I thought in another week she would remember?  Or did I continue because I already put in so much hard work that she was going to be trained whether she was ready or not?  Or did I continue because I couldn't bear that thought of buying her diapers again?  Or did I continue because I felt that in some way I failed as a mother (whoever is reading this - I am saying I felt this way, not that it is true.  There is a difference!!)

If I'm truly honest with myself, it's the last reason.  I thought she was ready by her interest, so I went ahead with the training weekend.  It turns out that her body isn't really ready (if it was, she would remember the urge, how can anyone forget that?), and how can I as a mother not know that?  I kept telling myself that I failed in this area of parenting.  Now I know this isn't true and for the health of my family and my own sanity's sake, I am not believing this lie any longer that I've failed.  She's only 2y 3 months (on Tuesday). potty training can wait a few more months. 

I'm not going to lie and say it's okay.  Or that I feel a burden has been lifted off my shoulders now that I'm not training her anymore.  No, that's not at all how I feel.  I still feel discouraged.  Were the last two months for naught?  I'm trying to learn from this situation how I can be a better mother in the future, despite that I don't like how this situation is ending.

Reagan's First Day of Preschool

We've been anticipating this day since the beginning of summer.  We talked about going to preschool several times this summer and every time we discussed it, Reagan was thrilled!  A few weeks ago, though, something changed and he wasn't as excited.  I started to get a little nervous that when the day arrived, he wouldn't be emotionally ready.

Fortunately, that was NOT the case!  Last Tuesday, we met his teacher, Miss Jessica.  Last night, we read two stories about going to school: Curious George's First Day of School and Clifford's Day at School.  I also talked with Reagan about the process of dropping him off in his classroom (hang backpack in hallway, hugs and kisses goodbye outside of class).  Nothing seemed to phase him about this new chapter in our lives!

I asked what he wanted for breakfast and he requested poppy seed muffins and waffles!  A little carb heavy, but it's a special day and I wanted to make him what he wanted.  The morning was more than chaotic!  Even though we were up early, the time seemed to slip away rather quickly.  I got the muffins made, but Ryan had to make the waffles while I was juggling getting ready and getting the girls dressed.  Reagan couldn't get dressed until he was done eating.  Mom couldn't take a chance of getting syrup on his new shirt before the pictures were taken ;)

After breakfast, the melt down came.  Reagan was very upset that Mom and Dad were not going to stay at preschool with him.  Even though we discussed this several times, he still thought we would leave the girls at the FAC (supervised care in the Y) and hang out with him during school.  I was able to calm him down and he seemed to finally get that we weren't staying with him.

We took a few pictures in front of the house before dropping the girls with Katie and heading over to the Y.  Despite the craziness of the morning, we left the house on time and arrived at school about 5 minutes before class began.  Originally, Miss Jessica asked the parents not to come into class because it would make the transition more difficult, but all parents walked their kids in class, so we did, too.  Since Ryan hadn't been to the classroom before, Reagan showed him where some of the toys were. After a few minutes of us standing in the corner watching him play, Ryan suggested we leave.  We waved goodbye to Reagan and he ran over to us for a hug and a kiss goodbye.  We walked out of the classroom and there were no tears - he seemed very happy.

Miss Jessica is on the left

(Random sidenote: when we left the room, Miss Jessica still wasn't there!  Kinda strange that on the first day, the teacher was late)

Fast forward 2.5 hours....I walked into the classroom to sign Reagan out (you have to sign in and out every time) for the day.  He was so excited to see me :)  I took a picture of Reagan, Miss Jessica, and Miss Nicole (the aide) right before leaving and Miss Jessica said he had a great first day.  I was so relieved!  We decided to celebrate his first day by taking the kids to lunch at Chick-fil-A!  On our way to lunch, Reagan didn't really say too much about school.  The only info we got was that they read a story about school buses, they didn't play outside because it was raining, and they had goldfish and banana for snack (I asked him about snack).  I tried to pry more information from him, but he had nothing else to say.

All in all, I would call today a success!  I am handling this new chapter okay, but then again, I had Ryan home all day and I also got to eat lunch at CFA :)  It helps that Reagan wasn't crying when I left, so I feel very encouraged.  There is a small piece of sadness, but mostly just happiness.  I have to remind myself that kids are going to grow - they won't stay small forever.  This is a natural phase of parenting and instead of being sad that Reagan is growing so quickly, embrace this moment.  Cherish the huge smile and hug I receive when I pick him up.

The two sweetest moments of the day: after bringing the girls home from Katie's house, Kyleigh walks down the hall and then back to the kitchen and asks, "Where's Reagan?"  I never considered how much of an impact this was going to be on her.  Then, when Reagan climbs into the van after school is over, the first thing he said to Kyleigh was, "Kyleigh, I couldn't have done it without you." I don't quite know what prompted that sentence because Kyleigh had nothing to do with school, but that's what he said.  I think they missed each other.  (Tear, melt my heart!)

Learning Time Update

I am very happy to report that the kids LOVED learning time this summer!  There were times they weren't so interested, but by the end of July, Reagan was asking for Learning Time.  This was such an encouragement for me :)  I didn't go in the exact order I originally laid out, but we did cover lots of subjects.  Below are some of my favorite picture from our various activities!

Shapes:
Even though the kids know their shapes, we did a few activities regarding shapes.  I gathered several different sized squares and circles and had the kids sort the squares together and the circular items together.  I also drew on papers and had the kids trace the shapes with marshmallows - one of their favorite activities of the summer!

 

 

Weather:

The highlight of the weather week was the song "What's the Weather Like"  The kids are still singing this song randomly.  "What's the weather like?  What's the weather like?  What's the weather like today?  Is it sunny?  Is it rainy?  Is it cloudy?  It is cold?  What's the weather like?  What's the weather like?  What's the weather like today?  Is it stormy?  Is it windy?  Is it snowy?  Is it hot?  What's the weather like today?

 

Reagan is working on his Cloud Jar and watching the "rain" go through the clouds



Transportation:
Cars, planes, boats...what else could a kid ask for?  I really wanted to take the kids to the Palwaukie Airport because they can listen to approaching planes communicate with the Control Tower, but we just didn't make t.  We did make some paper airplanes and fly them through the house - that was fun!!





 

Sports:

Honestly, I don't really remember what we did for sports week :(  I know we talked about sports and we went outside to "play" basketball, but that's all I remember!

 

A great jump shot!

 

Our little dunker!

Zoo Animals:

We focused primarily on lions during zoo week.  This was a lot of fun because our main activity after zoo week was visiting Lincoln Park Zoo and seeing the lions there.  The kids really enjoyed making their lion faces and then telling everyone about the marshmallow eyes ;)

 

 

 



 Letters:
I only worked on letters with Reagan.  The only reason for this was due to Reagan's refusal to take naps in the afternoon, so this was a perfect time to work together while the girls slept.  Hands down, this was Reagan's favorite.  I incorporated matching and gluing, tracing, and Do-A-Dot paints for every letter.  It took us several afternoons to go through the entire alphabet because we only got through 3 worksheets a day.  Again, Reagan LOVED this and always asked to do this Learning Time.  It was also a special time for me to spend with him because I was just as involved as he was.

Matching letter and then gluing into correct spot

Tracing letter with pen

 

Using Do-A-Dot paints

 

 

Learning Time this summer was a success!!

Kyleigh's 2nd Birthday

It dawned on me the other day that I never wrote a post about Kyleigh's second birthday.  I feel like a terrible mom!!  Just one day shy of 2 months late, here I am writing a post about it!

The main celebration was about a week before her birthday in Lodi.  We were already in CA for a wedding and it was really nice to be able celebrate with the whole family (less Uncle Jeffrey and Aunt Megan).  So, on Sunday May 25th we had a backyard BBQ with Grandma/Grandpa, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Michelle, Jacob, Cooper, Mimi/Papa, Great Grandma/Grandpa Hust and Great Grandma Jones.  We made gourmet burgers - sweet onion BBQ with smokey cheddar cheese and bleu cheese burgers.  I don't remember all of the sides, but I remember there were a lot!

We didn't really have any special plans for the afternoon - just eating and opening gifts.  It was just a very relaxed afternoon spent with family. 

Backyard BBQ with Family

Sweet Kyleigh



Yum...Cake!



On Kyleigh's actual birthday, we had dinner at home and then I bought gourmet giant cupcakes from Mariano's.  Let me just say Kyleigh LOVED her cupcake!  After she ate, she opened the gift we gave her (puzzle and shoes).  It was a simple, but wonderful night with just our family of five. 

Happy Birthday, Kyleigh!

Dig in, big girl!!

So happy

Reagan and Kyleigh - July 2014

Here are my notes (a lot of them!) from this month:

Reagan:

• First night of wearing "big boy pants" overnight was 3rd into 4th and he was dry the next morning!
• Very bossy; tells Kyleigh what to do
• Improved pedaling on his tricycle (early month)
• Rides tricycle very well (end of month)
• Pooping his pants again (see previous post) - possibly jealous of Kyleigh's success at potty training
• Picked up Kyleigh's poop and brought it upstairs to me (cupped in his hands)
• Pooped behind a tree at Kilmer School
• Had his first sugary cereal and LOVED it (Golden Grahams)
• Had his first cavity filled and it did not go well :(
• Tells people about everything - from mice in the basement to his hospital stay in January
• Started talking back to us and giving us attitude
• His mind moves faster than his mouth - ends up saying "and then" 10x before he can finish the sentence
• Often talks about "when I'm a grown up..."
• I love listening to Reagan recap the day for Ryan - it's always interesting to see what he remembers and what he decides to tell Ryan
• Sometimes really sweet with Kyleigh; at church he saved his last veggie straw because he wanted to give it to Kyleigh
• Still saying "Saturway" instead of "Saturday" Can say all other days of the week just fine
• Favorite movie (end of month) is Blue Mountain Mystery DAILY! Recounts the story and repeats word for word sections of the movie

Kyleigh:

• Obsessed with telling me how to drive. "Go" "Red light, green light"
• Can now open doors around the house - oh boy!
• Insists on removing all clothing, including underwear, from waist down to use the potty
• "No, it's called a mooooooootorcycle"
• Loves nail polish and asks to see it on any woman. Also touches strangers' toes if she sees it
• Talks about people's eyebrows constantly
• Trying to "read" books on her own
• After 3 weeks, she will now use the toilet and doesn't need the insert
• Makes a statement and when you acknowledge or repeat what she said, she responds with "no, it's a ____________"
• Delay tactics at the table; won't eat and then says she's all done and when we take her plate or milk away, she wants it back
• Rarely gallops anymore; mostly runs everywhere
• Takes her pull up (or underwear) off when she poops BEFORE telling us
• Really good at saying "thanks, mom" after I give her something
• Yells "Scout, dinner time" every night after filling the cat bowls