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.