8.29.2009

We're Back!

We are finally back from our extended stay in Utah, and somewhat rested. We had a fun and busy schedule while we were there. We went to the cabin (where we went fishing, and four wheeling, and for walks to see the turkeys), we went hiking and swimming, we chased lizards and hunted for snakes, Jordyn played with cousins and had her first sleepover (Erik & I went to Vegas and left her with Aunt Heather for the night), and celebrated several birthdays, but the main reason we traveled to Utah (and then to Colorado and then back to Utah again) was to see Uncle Colt and Aunt Karen get married! Slowly, over the course of the next month (or more) I'll hopefully be able to catch up on all that has happened over the last several weeks. Until then. .


P.S. This is how most of the wedding shots I got look, Colt, Karen & Jordyn or Karen & Jordyn. Right now, Erik & I are wishing we would have left Jordyn with them, she's not adjusting to being home very well.

7.21.2009

Summer Fun

I haven't been very good at updating the blog this summer, we've been busy taking babies for a walk,
swimming in the lake with Daddy, eating Popsicles,
going swimming, warming up in the sun, making cupcakes, feeding the horses, drinking Kool-ade, playing on our park, and playing with friends, and tomorrow we are headed to Utah for an extended vacation so things probably wont get any better. I hope you all are having a fun filled summer as well!

7.18.2009

Sweet Success


And when I say sweet, I mean SWEET!!! Jordyn has gone diaper less for 3 days (except wearing them to sleep). She's still having a few accidents, about 1 a day. Today, she made it to the gym, 2 grocery stores, and most of the day without having an accident. She's doing so well, that we're even going to attempt to go to church diaper less (wish us luck!). I've had a few people ask for hints and tips on potty training and to be honest, I don't have many. Jordyn has pretty much potty trained herself. We got her a potty chair just after her 1st birthday, and it's sat in the bathroom ever since. She'd go sit on it and she'd play with it, but for the longest time it was nothing but a new toy. A couple of months ago we started putting her in "big girl panties" when we were at home, and that usually ended up with a wet spot on the carpet. Then about a month ago she was watching a movie (and wearing her panties) and Erik told her not to be on the couch. A few minutes later she went up to Erik and said, "don't pee on couch." Erik being the great dad that he is took it as a sign and ran her into the bathroom where she went on her potty. She was so excited and proud of herself (and the fact that she got money as well made the whole thing that much sweeter). A few days later while she was running around in panties again she told me that she needed to go potty, so I told her to go, she came back a few minutes later and said she'd gone on the potty. I went to check and sure enough she'd gone; she did the same thing again later that day. From then on, we were more consistent about keeping her out of diapers while at home. Once she got to where she wasn't have many accidents at home (if any at all) we decided to try quick trips to the store in panties (trips to get 1 item, or even trips to get ice cream cones for being such a big girl). Finally, earlier this week we decided to be brave and take her on a LONG outing with her panties on. We were headed to see Houston's mounted patrol horse and figured that if she had an accident in the barn no one would care (or really notice for that matter). She did GREAT! No accidents at all. We got a bit over excited and took her to Wal-mart later that evening and she humbled us by having an accident in the middle of the store. We have since learned that we have to take her to the bathroom when we first get into the store and then again before we leave the store (and if it's a long trip make her go again in the middle of the trip). So that leads us to today, day 3 of no diapers. She got a "pineapple juice" after the gym since she kept her panties dry. She still has a few accidents now and then, but overall she's doing great. Here are a few things that I've learned from this experience that might help, but then again they might not because each little one is different. Good luck!
- Pull-ups are not worth the money, Jordyn treated them the same as diapers and didn't even attempt to make it to the potty when they were on.
- Money is a great reward; small candies & stickers didn't work for Jordyn (ice cream cones or other sweets that aren't given on a regular basis work well also)
- Be prepared for accidents and understand that they happen
- Don't tell your little one "don't go pee in your panties" all they hear is "pee in your panties" and that's what you get. Saying "remember, we go pee in the potty" works much better.
- give them praise for even trying, even if they don't go, or if they miss the potty completely. When Jordyn has an accident we still say "Thank you for letting me know that you needed to go potty" (her accidents are usually due to her not telling us soon enough that she needs to go).
That's all I can think of, but as this is still a work in progress for us I will update if I think of anything else.

7.15.2009

Best Friends


Here's a picture of Jordyn and her best bud, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is 2 yrs older than Jordyn but you'd never know it when you see the two of them play. They get along great and love playing together, which is great especially since Elizabeth lives one street over from us.

7.12.2009

Children's Museum

Last week we went to Houston's Children's Museum to get out of the heat. It was a bit crowded (it seemed like the rest of Houston had the same idea we did), but we still had fun. We love going to their "Tot Spot" (a place for only those under 24 months) and letting Jordyn just run and play.

7.08.2009

Potty Trained. . . Almost


Yes, my little one is almost potty trained. We like to say that she's "house trained". She'll go on the potty whenever we're at home, but forgets to tell us when she needs to go if we're running errands. We're working on that but it's a slow (and so far unsuccessful) process. Our hopes is that by her birthday she'll be completely out of diapers.

7.06.2009

Playing with Fire

A few days ago, Jordyn and I were playing outside in the evening (the only time it's cool enough to even be outside) and I had a citrinella candle lit to keep the pesky bugs away. Jordyn decided to put the lid on the metal bucket the candle was in. The bucket quickly got hot and we ended up with this. . .




*you would think that she learned not to play with hot things, but she didn't. On Sunday she grabbed the hot metal plates on my hair straightner and burned a different finger!