The Tender Mercies of Potty Training

Disclaimer: This post contains a lot of potty talk, which shouldn't be a surprise given the title.  If words like pee and poop gross you out then 1) you're probably not a mom and 2) you shouldn't read this post.

We started potty training last weekend.  Originally I planned on waiting until around Christmas, but I knew Austin was ready and I decided that I'd rather spent these few weeks cleaning up urine and be able to enjoy the holidays.

On Friday we went out and bought some cool undies, treats and toys.  I made Austin a potty chart that night, and I was even sort of excited to see what would happen.  Well, the first day was terrible.  Austin didn't successfully make it into the potty once.  It was so frustrating because sometimes we would put him on the potty for a few minutes, he wouldn't go, and then he would pee two minutes later.  Luckily, he would hold it for two hours in between accidents, so I wasn't cleaning up pee all day long.  By the end of the night, though, I was pretty defeated.  I wanted to quit.  I thought maybe he wasn't ready after all, but I figured we'd give it just one more day...if for nothing else then to pinch his cute diaper-free tushie a little more.

I know the last one is blurry, but I just love it.  Austin's always flying down the couch like a maniac.

The next day he had an accident in the morning, so we weren't off to a great start.  I took him in for a "quick try" about a half an hour later.  After sitting there for 30 seconds Austin said, "I'm all done Mom."  I told him we'd try for just another minute -- and he almost started peeing immediately!  He was in shock.  I whooped and hollered more than was probably necessary, but I was just so thrilled!  He didn't have another accident the remainder of the day.

In fact, he only had TWO accidents all week!  I was beyond proud of our little monkey man, and glad I stuck it out a second day.  I felt like we had a potty trained toddler on our hands.

And then the weekend came.  I don't know if I just had too much confidence in him, or if I wasn't being as attentive to how much he was drinking or how much time had passed.  We ran a few errands on Friday and Saturday and he peed almost EVERY SINGLE TIME we drove anywhere -- and I had usually taken him to the bathroom just minutes before.  He had three accidents in his car seat and one accident in the checkout line at Costco.  Talk about mortified.  Luckily I had a change of clothes for him, unlike the day before when he peed on his shirt (and undies and pants...but I had those) and had to wear my scarf through the remainder of our errands.

In addition to the potty training set back, Austin has been particularly naughty lately.  Maybe it's a case of the terrible two's.  Or maybe it's because he's been waking up before 7 and not napping as well, so he's sleep deprived.  Or maybe it's because it started raining after an 80-day dry streak, and he's not used to staying in the house.  Whatever the reason, he's been more than his usual handful.

So, I was ready to quit this morning (Toren was in Utah for the BYU game) after Austin pooped in his underwear, dumped olive oil all over the kitchen floor, and peed in the closet...and whined incessantly about everything.  I decided that we weren't going to church because I was just so overwhelmed, exhausted, and not in a very good mood.  I pulled myself together, though, and decided that a day like that is when I/we most needed to go to church.

As I sped to the church building because we were running late (of course), I said a quick, pleading prayer that Austin wouldn't have any accidents at church.  I brought two changes of clothes anyway, but dealing with pee at church would have just set me over the edge.

Guess what?!?  He had no accidents!!  He peed on the potty three times at church and came home completely dry.  I admit, I was shocked.  Based on the lack of success we'd had the two previous days being away from home I was sure he wouldn't make it through church.  While driving home I said another prayer thanking Heavenly Father for answering my small, seemingly insignificant prayer. It reminded me of Elder Bednar's great talk on the tender mercies of the Lord.

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live."

You can read Elder Bednar's whole talk here.

This was truly a tender mercy for me, and one that I will be able to look back on often and remember that if the Lord loves me enough to answer my prayers about pee at church then he loves me enough to answer my bigger prayers too.  I'm so grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord to remind me that there is much more to this life than laundry and spilled olive oil.

Quick Austin Update

I'm taking a quick break in my blog catch-up to give an update on Austin.  As a mom, I feel like I've finally reached a point where I don't spent all day counting down to nap time and bed time.  I swear 18-months to 24-months was probably the hardest for me...thus far.  Far worse than the newborn days.  Austin's become much more of a pal now that he can fully communicate and actually do fun things with us.

That being said, he has also reached a new level of naughtiness and disobedience lately too.  I struggle daily to appropriately and patiently discipline him with love and peace...while getting the results I want (i.e. for him to pick up the fishy crackers he dumped for the 5th time).  Hopefully someday I'll feel like the struggle was worth it!

A few days ago I was changing the laundry, and when I came out of the laundry room Austin had escaped upstairs.  As I walked up the stairs to retrieve him I was overwhelmed with the smell of baby powder.  I ran up and discovered this:

And then I found Austin who looked up at me as said, "Look, Mama, I making powder!"

Our days are more successful if I have a few activities to engage Austin in to keep him busy.  The downside is that often these activities will still only keep him entertained for 5 minutes.

Or, they backfire completely:

You can't tell in the picture, but Austin caked the nasty, green slime all over his hair too.

Luckily he's a total cutie.

Bliss at the Cabin

After our return from Rexburg is when the really fun of the summer started.  David, Mandy, and my cutest, newest nephew, Kellan, flew in from Ohio, my dad flew in from Thailand, and Laura and Scott drove up from Utah.  Laura and Scott's wedding was two weeks away and we had a lot to do before then.

First, though, we enjoyed a relaxing week at the cabin.  It was so nice to be there with my whole family.  Austin loved having all the attention from his aunts and uncles.  He was totally spoiled.  Of course, sweet little baby Kellan got all the love and attention he could handle.  Austin didn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight.  In fact, he loved his little cousin "Keyan."  But, really, how could you not?  He's just so adorable.

So, back to the cabin.  We had a blast.  I probably took in at least of 6 hours of straight suntanning/book reading/girl chatting a day.  The men caught and prepared some tasty crab, too.  Nothing beats crab that fresh.  I could go on and on, but I'll just let the pictures make you jealous.

While we were all together we took some family pictures.  Aren't we a good lookin' bunch?

I've been wanting a good picture of Austin for a long time now.  Needless to say, today wasn't the day.  He was interested in anything but looking at the camera.

Luckily when we got home we were able to get a better-ish one.  At least he's smiling.  Isn't he a cutie?  I'm grateful for my talented brother who took all these great pictures.

Oh, and of course Austin spent a lot of quality time in his "nothins" --  just like a little boy should.

As did his crazy uncles....

We sure do love the cabin!!!

Quick Trip to the Burg

My favorite sister graduated from BYU-Idaho this summer.  My mom and I drove over for the ceremony.  I was so excited to go.  I hadn't been to Rexburg since 2007, and a lot has changed since then.  Plus, I LOVED college, and was just excited to relive my glory days a little bit.

We left late Wednesday night and drove five hours to Spokane.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there was some sort of conference in town and most of the hotels were completely booked up.  The only available room we could find was a Jacuzzi suite -- complete with kitchen, 2 bathrooms, huge open Jacuzzi, couches, and (of course) a black light and stars on the ceiling.  It was very romantic...if you're into the stars on the ceiling type of thing.

We slept for a few hours and finished the remaining 8 hours to Rexburg.  Well, we actually drove straight to Idaho Falls to meet Laura and Scott for dinner.  My BFF, Amanda, and her husband, Jason, joined us too.  They were actually driving from Salt Lake to Spokane for the weekend.  We enjoyed a delicious Texas Roadhouse meal while we laughed about all the stupid things we did in college.  I sure to miss my BFF.  Maybe someday our dream of living right next door to each other will come true.

The next morning we woke up early and went to the Rexburg temple.  The last time I saw it the temple was still in construction.  It really is quite stunning with all the surrounding farmland.  Afterward we took a little tour of campus and the new bookstore.  All the changes are AMAZING, but it was also quite sad for me.  It just looked so different.  To be honest it looked a little less "ghetto."  It looked nice and sophisticated, but I kinda liked the charming ghetto-ness that I was used to.  I stalked up on a hearty--but necessary--amount of chocolate-covered cinnamon bears at the bookstore.  We polished off the afternoon with a trip to Craigo's (which I think has a new name, but whatever).

The graduation was that night.  Laura and Scott were both participating in the program (in the choir and Laura said the opening prayer), so they were able to sit on the stage.  That also meant that they received their diplomas first.  We were able to sneak out with them and take picture while all the other graduates were still walking.  And then we were back on the road -- just 24 hours after we'd arrived.

It was a great trip.  I was able to reminisce on my college years, but also to appreciate the fact that those years are over.  And I'm so happy with where I am now.  But maybe I'll do a little blog walk down memory lane in a future post.  Congratulations Laura and Scott!!

Couples Retreat: Disney Style!

A few month before my mom arrived she called and said that Toren and I should plan a getaway while she was home for the summer.  She said she'd love to have a little one-on-one time with Austin.

That night we had flights, a hotel, and tickets to Disneyland booked.  The last time we went on a vacation by ourselves was when I was 7 months pregnant with Austin.  That was a great vacation, but this one was WAY BETTER.

One of the (only) perks of Toren traveling so much is that he really racks up the flight miles and hotel stays, so we were able to fly and stay for FREE.  We got a slight discount on the Disneyland tickets and I brought coupons for our meals so it was an incredibly affordable trip too.

We flew out early on a Tuesday morning and by the afternoon we were walking into the Happiest Place on Earth.  We just love Disneyland.  Remember we started our Honeymoon off there?

We tried to take as many pictures as possible, but it's hard when you're too busy working the Fastpass system like champs and riding an average of 3 rides an hour!  It's quite exhausting being expert Disneyland vacationers.

Notice all the Fastpasses I'm holding?  Yeah, those were all redeemed in ONE evening.  See, we're professionals.

And, of course, the picture of a picture...pictures.  Don't we look like we're having a blast?

I really do love rides, but let's be honest, they're a little scary too.  Don't tell me you've never experienced a ride like this:

A flashback of the It's Tough to be a Bug show.

We arrived back in Seattle on Saturday afternoon.  We were gone for 4 nights, which was by far the longest I'd ever been away from Austin.  I didn't worry about him AT ALL.  I knew he was having the time of his life with my mom.  And that's what made it the BEST vacation ever.  I still check the ride wait times on my phone....just in case we need to hop on a quick flight down to enjoy a little Disney magic.  THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH MOM!!!!

4th of July at the Cabin

We headed up to my grandparent's cabin on Whidbey Island to celebrate the 4th of July.  Remember the fun we had their last summer?  Well, this time Austin was was nearly exploding with excitement.

We love the cabin because there is literally nothing to do but have fun.  We went on a few walks, played in the sand, soaked up some rays, ate lots of delicious food, and even caught a few naps.

Of course we did our version of fireworks (i.e. just sparklers).  I thought Austin might be freaked out by the spark so I created a little shield for him with a plastic cup (bottom right picture).  As usual, I was wrong.  He had no fear and asked for more as soon as one burned out.  He went through 8 boxes on his own!

Oh....Hello There Blog....

Wow...this has officially been my longest blog hiatus ever.  Three months!!  And this has probably been the busiest three months of the entire year.  Truthfully, I needed to take something off my to-do list for a while, so the blog got the boot.

I'm finally feeling like I have things (sort of) under control again and life is settling back into a routine.  I am actually excited about getting caught up on the ol' blog.  I have a lot of work ahead of me, though.  Like I said...it's been a busy few months.

Summer is my favorite time of year.  I'm a warm-weather person, and I love to be outside.  It seems like there's just so much more to do when it's nice a sunny out.  Plus, the summers are when we get to spend lots of quality time with Nana!!!  Austin was thrilled when she arrived.  He wasted no time in checking her suitcases to make sure she brought him some goods.  Of course she didn't disappoint.

This time it was a new Angry Birds t-shirt and awesome backpack.

P.S. These pictures were only taken 3 months ago and that t-shirt is already too small for Austin.  It's so crazy how fast they grow.

First Trip to the Dentist

I was certain that taking Austin to the dentist for the first time was going to be a terrible experience for both of us.  Welp, wrong again.  He LOVED it.  We went to an office that is specifically for children, so they do a great job of trying to make the experience fun and easy for the kids.

The hygienist showed us a short video about a dinosaur who goes to the dentist for the first time. I'm not sure Austin got anything out of it, but it was a nice effort on their part.  Then they brought us to the dentist chair and the hygienist assured me that it's normal for the young kids to freak out about sitting in the chair alone.  She said he might need to sit on my lap and they'd be happy if they got a little peak at his teeth with the mirror.

Again, I was shocked with Austins response.  He thought he was pretty hot stuff sitting in the chair.  He was in the zone once they put the headphones and cool shades on him and showed him that Cars 2 was playing on the ceiling.  He opened his mouth on command and even let the hygienist give him a full-blown cleaning and fluoride treatment.  He kept asking for her to spray more water in his mouth.  The hygienist said she couldn't believe he was only two.

When the dentist came he was just as agreeable.  Austin's teeth are healthy and he has no cavities.  We'll be back in 6 months and hopefully it'll go just as smoothly.  I actually always loved (and still do) going to the dentist.  There's no better feeling than super clean teeth.  Maybe Austin just inherited this freaky trait from me.

The only blip we had was that as we were leaving Austin kept screaming for candy.  Perfect timing, kid.

Two Year Check-Up

I took Austin in for his 2 year update last week.  I was  a little worried that it wouldn't go over so well, considering he screamed through his entire 18-month check up.  I was pleasantly surprised.  He loved it.  He walked around the lobby like he owned the place.  It was a quick appointment and the doctor assured me that Austin is right on track for his age.


He's growing like a little weed.  It feels like every other week he's going through a grown spurt and eats like a bottomless pit.  He's spends all day long chatting, and is as busy as ever!  Every day I'm thankful that I get to be his Mom.


Austin's 2 Year Stats:
Weight: 30.4 pounds (87th percentile)
Height: 35.25 inches (82nd percentile)


At 2 years, Austin...


...asks all day long what I'm doing.  He just follows me around and every minute or so asks,  "Mama, what you doing?"  
...is starting to attempt to climb out of his crib.  He hasn't completely made it out  yet (instead we find him dangling from the railing, screaming), but it's time we transition him to a toddler bed..
...loves to dance and force Toren and I to dance too.
...is into watching Spider Man and Spongebob on Netflix.
...asks for a band-aid every time he even mildly hurts himself.  I just tell him he's not bleeding and doesn't need a band-aid.  So far he's been okay with that answer.
...loves Finding Nemo.
... absolutely loves going to nursery at church.
...can count to six (but he always skips 3 and 5)
...when asked how old he is, always replies with "nine!"

....wouldn't knowingly eat a vegetable to save his life.

...loves "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man," which he calls "The Rock Song."  We only sing the first verse, but he can do all the hand signals.
...points out all the buses, firetrucks, planes, motorcycles, semi trucks, helicopters, etc. when we're driving around town.

...loves to have us sing the "ACBC"'s with him.  "W" is his favorite letter to say.

...has a few favorite books - The Very Busy Spider, Goodnight Moon, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Are You My Mother, Go Dog Go!, and Ten Drowsy Dragons.

...took his first trip to the dentist...and loved it (post to come).

David, Mandy, and my adorable little nephew, Kellan, are coming to stay with us for Laura's wedding (YAY!).  In preparation, we got out a few of our infant things for them to use during their stay.  Austin begged me to let him take the swing for a spin.  Can you believe the difference 2 years makes?!?!  

Weekend Trip to Oregon

We love having Toren's family so close....especially since my family is SOOO far away.  The 2.5 hour drive down to Oregon is easy enough to allow us to visit for the weekend every few months.  We were just there in April for Blairs homecoming, but when after we heard that Aunt Maren and the cousins were making the trek to Grandma and Grandpas we just couldn't miss out.

We got in Friday night, and the boys wasted no time in wreaking toddler havoc.  It's fun to see the three boys interact together.  They're sure a wild bunch.  We gave grandpa his Father's Day gift so he could try to get some use out of it that weekend (the road is on the backside of the shirt, so when the boys drive their cars over it he gets a back massage).  Cute idea, huh?  I found here, through Pinterest.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the zoo.  Remember Austin's first trip to the zoo about 2 years ago?  He's a little bit more interested in the animals now.  And he even donated 50 cents to help save the rain forest!  Austin went without a nap that day, which isn't something he normally does.  By the time we were leaving the zoo he conked out.

On Sunday night we celebrated Austin's birthday.  He had already found all of his presents earlier, but we made it official with a delicious cake and proper candles.

We planned to head out on Monday afternoon, but not before we took the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese's.  This was Austin's first time, and he LOVED it.  He was a little scared of some of the moving rides at first, but with the help of Uncle Blair and Grandma he got right over that.  Toren and I even had a chance to play one of the basketball arcades.  He beat me 2 of the 3 games we played, but I beat him once!!  You bet I rubbed that in his face the rest of the day.  Of course I only took one picture of our fun day:

As usual, I wish I would have taken more pictures throughout the weekend, but it is what it is...

When Aunt Rara Comes to Town

It's been a tradition for Laura to come home from school and visit us for Memorial Day weekend.  She came in 2010...just days after Autsin was born -- making her the first person on my side of the family to see the Little Monkey.

And then she was here in 2011 to celebrate Austin's FIRST birthday.  And I'm pretty sure this began his obsession with Aunt Rara.  He seriously can't get enough of her, and he asks about her every day.  I admit, she is pretty cool.

So, of course she came this year...and brought her fiance, Scott, with her.  Austin talked about them all day before we picked them up from the airport.  But, true to Austin's style, once we picked them up he was stone faced and seemingly unamused...or even quite unhappy...that they were even there.  With enough tickles and smoochies, though, they got Austin to open up.  And it was all downhill from there -- the show off was unleashed!

Laura and Scott flew in on Thursday evening.  On Friday we went downtown to see some of the sights.  We visited the troll under the bridge, gasworks park, and ate some amazing burgers and onion rings and Red Mill  Burgers (which was featured on the TV show Man v. Food).  We came back and the boys (minus Austin, who went to bed) went to see the Avengers, while I hosted a bridal shower for Laura.

Saturday morning we had tickets to go to the Mariners game, and we decided to visit Pike's Place Market before heading down to the stadium (no pictures of that).  It was the perfect day for a game.  The M's lost, but we all had a great time.  Austin loved cheering "go Mariners!" at both appropriate and random times.  I wish I would have taken more pictures at the game...or really throughout the weekend in general.  I don't even have physical evidence that Scott was with us.  I guess they'll just have to come visit again!

Just found some evidence.  Aren't they cute?

Austin Turns TWO!!

I can't believe my little baby is TWO years old (as of May 27th).  The first year felt like an eternity to survive, but the second year sure flew by.  And I fear that it only gets worse!!

When Austin woke up we gave him quite the overwhelming attention.  We kept saying "Happy Birthday Austin!"  And, groggily, he'd reply "happy birthday..."  He didn't quite get what all the hullabaloo was about.  We told him there was a surprise downstairs -- to which he couldn't resist his excitement (he does know what surprises are)!

His first birthday surprise was an awesome train table and train set.  We got the table and multiple train sets for FREE from some good friend that were desperate to get it out of our house.  We were honored to help them in their time of need....  Plus, Austin LOVES it.  Doesn't he look quite irresistible in the little train hat?

I was snapping photos right and left, of course, which Austin could only tolerate for so long.  He lost his patience with me and told me to "GO!"  Then he hid below the table.  He's got a little attitude sometimes.

Aunt Laura and Uncle Scott were in town (posts about their visit coming soon), and we invited  Nana and Papa Spader over for dinner that evening.  After our delicious meal Austin opened his presents.  We could have given him any ONE of his many presents and he would have been more than satisfied.

Nana and Papa gave him a monster truck and some squirt guns (which have already been taken away for squirting me in the house multiple times).  We got him his very own lawnmower and a trike (which we're actually borrowing for the summer from another good friend for FREE...we love our friends!).  My creative sister bought Austin his very own wallet and made him his own license, cash, debit and credit cards.  It is so cute.  He likes to keep his wallet in the trunk of his bike...for obvious reasons.

And then....the cake!  I wanted to do a real cutsie cake just for Austin, but then I got lazy and decided to do a delicious cake for all of us.  I completely forgot to buy birthday candles, so Austin had to blow out tea lights.  Luckily we only needed two of them.  Austin -- and the rest of us -- approved of the cake and ended the night feeling stuffed and satisfied.  Happy Birthday Austin!

"Painting" the Deck

At least once every day Austin will go to the back door and scream "aside! aside!"  And, lucky for him (and me), we had some beautiful sunny weather a couple weeks ago and I could let him go "aside."  He could spend hours outside just beboppin' around.  Unfortunately, though, we just had landscapers rototill and fertilize the yard so Austin could not go on the grass.  He was only partly amused with hanging out on the deck, so I had to come up with some fun things to keep him busy and off the grass.

Enter paintbrush, spray bottle, and lots and lots of water.  The first day he spent TWO hours straight "painting" and spraying.  It was heavenly.  I can't wait until summer is officially here.

P.S. Don't you love his sun hat?  My mom got it for him in Thailand.  All the school kids are required to wear them during recess to keep their necks from burning.  Austin loves it.  Thanks Mom!

The Perfect Easter

I was so excited for Easter morning.  Since I was young I've never been able to sleep well the night before Christmas and Easter.  And, if anything, it's only gotten worse since having Austin. It's not about the gifts, either.  It's about all that comes with these holidays: family, food, love, and the peaceful, joyful feelings that come from reflecting on our Savior.

So I was wide awake at 6 am ready to go.  I put a delicious french toast casserole in the oven and then waited patiently for Toren and Austin to wake up.  And when they did they were not disappointed.  A trail of candy-filled Easter eggs led Austin to his Easter basket filled with bubble bath, color wonder markers and coloring book, and a mini suitcase.  He was so happy.  Toren got new basketball shorts and I got new Pyrex pans (yay...).

I'd been looking forward to going to church because I had the most handsome outfit for him to wear.  My good friend, Kristine, sent me this outfit before Austin was even born.  I've been waiting for TWO years for him to wear it.  The wait was worth it, don't you think?  THANK YOU KRISTINE!!

After church we all took great Easter Sunday naps.  When we woke up we headed out to my aunt and uncle's house for a big family dinner.  The weather was beautiful.  We ate (way too much) while the kids romped around in the backyard.  It was the absolutely perfect Easter Sunday.

Having a little baby only deepened my love for the Savior and His Plan of Happiness.  Every day I'm grateful for the sacrifice he made on behalf of me and my family, and my knowledge that he lived, lives, and that I can live forever with Him and my family.