Potty Training

Potty Training? Yes, POTTY TRAINING!!!! We have been in the midst of potty training for a week now and so far so good. This is like the 3rd time I have attempted to potty train Isaiah, but this is the 1st time I had a plan and stuck to it!!! After reading a great book "Potty Training in 3 Days," I knew we were both ready for the task ahead. When Isaiah woke up from his 4 hour nap last Wednesday with a dry pull-up, I knew he was ready! The first day went great. He was excited and going on the potty most of the day. By Sunday he hadn't pooped (even in his pants) since before his nap Wednesday!! We still have not conquered the pooping on the potty part YET, but peeing has gone pretty well! Earlier this week it was one accident after another, and I was ready to give up! Of course this is exactly what the book says will happen, then all of a sudden it clicks. (So far we haven't reached that full click, but we are almost there.) :) All in all, I am very impressed by Isaiah's efforts and attempts! Remember, he is not even 2 yet!!!! So, how did I do it?

1.) Make a plan before you even attempt to do it!
2.) Make sure you and your child are ready!
3.) Commit to staying home 3 days with your child (OK we didn't do this part perfectly, but oh well!)
4.) Get rid of the diapers and pull-up and DO NOT LOOK BACK (this part was huge for us, when Isaiah woke up, we told him the plan, he went and threw away his pull-up, was on board, and ready to go! Now, I'm cheap so I didn't trash the diapers like the book instructs (I do have another kid remember) but I did make a conscience effort to never put one back on him.
5.) Pick out a potty seat with your child. We already had one from the baby shower so we skipped this fun step, but I do recommend looking for one with a very high front scoop for little boys! :)
6.) Let your big kid pick out their new undies. Again, the book recommends no training undies either so they can feel the wetness on them, but we already had some and with doing constant laundry, we needed them frequently! Also, I found some at a garage sale this summer for 50 cents for a 3 pack, I thought it would be perfect for training, and so what if they are used!!
7.) Watch their signs and signals; for a few days, Isaiah would run up to me say mom, then run to the potty; then he denied having to go; now I know when he needs to and we run to the potty. In order to help you with this step, I recommend lost of juice!!! We usually don't do much straight juice, so this was a special treat for Isaiah. Once you have them figured out, you can go back to your normal drink routine.
8.) Praise, Praise, Praise!!! When they do go on the potty praise like crazy! We even used small rewards like m&m candies. (my cousins will be happy to know the m&m system is back, they want to be rewarded when they pee even though they are in their 20s!) The toughest part about all the praise, is not scolding when they have an accident! We (dare I say it) SPANK when a child is out of line, so remembering to talk through the accidents and praise him for trying to get to the potty was not easy!!!!
9.) Keep at it, as I said before, when you are ready to give up, don't they will get it!!! Yesterday was the 1st accident free day (other than poop, but we will get there)!
10.) Scream it out! WHAT!?!?!!? Yes, I have to admit that on our accident only day, I had to walk out of the bathroom (with Isaiah attempting to go on it) and head out for a loud scream at the top of my lungs!! Honestly, this is something I NEVER do (unless I am at a sporting event and the refs are terrible hehe) but it felt good! I was calmed down and ready to start over with my little pee pants boy!

In the end, this week will be quickly forgotten and all I will remember is how well he potty trained at such a young age! Besides, he just looks so much cuter in his big boy undies!!!

I'M BACK!!!!!

After MONTHS away, I felt it was time to dust off the computer and head back to the blog. It is amazing how laziness can totally take over if you let it! A lot has happened since my last post (go figure it was in February). First of all, for the most exciting news... we had our 2nd child in April. Naomi Rae was born in a quick 3 hours! She was 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long. A big difference from her brother Isaiah who was 9 lbs 5 oz and 22 inches! In September we bought our house, and we are now finally all done with the painting, siding issues, finishing the baseboards, and finishing the kids' bathroom. It was a long few months, but we all survived!

Naomi has been growing like crazy and doing new things all the time. She is now almost 4 months old. She has found her toes, almost rolled over from her back, loves sitting up (in the swing, in the bumbo, or when she's being held), she loves to "talk" to us all the time (must be a girl thing) ;), and she LOVES attention. My husband and I laugh about our little attention hog. Before church a few weeks back, she was loaded in her car seat ready to go while the rest of us were finishing up. She stated to fuss so Ben walked up to her to check on her. As soon as she saw him she turned it off, then he walked back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth, and you guessed it, she started to fuss again!! All we can do is laugh about it because otherwise it would drive us insane! She is a great baby so far. She sleeps 7-8 hours through the night (she spoiled me and started that at 2 months old!) occasionally she will go 10, she is a great nurser and will take the bottle on the few rare occasions when I pump, and she loves people. It makes it easy taking her places and putting her in the church nursery when she doesn't care who holds her, as long as she is being held! Isaiah was like that too. So far I am surviving as a mother of 2 under 2! In fact, that is something I HATE hearing when I am out and about! It is nice to hear "your kids are so cute", or "they are so well behaved", but I cannot stand the age comments "they are so close in age, you must have your hands full!" After thinking about it for awhile and letting it bother me enough, I have decided I am going to start saying "yes, full of blessings!" I can't wait to see their faces then!

OK, I am done with my rant now! Back to the kids. Isaiah is my good helper!!!! He likes to put the dirty diapers in the diaper genie (which I love especially because we have a dog!), he gets me a new one for her, he turns on her music for her when it goes off on the swing and play gym, and he is the PACI KING! Anytime that paci is out, even if she doesn't need/want it, he runs over and puts it in for her! I just love watching their interactions! Isaiah is almost 23 months now! WOW! It seems like just yesterday he was my little baby needing me all the time! Now he is the big boy helping mommy! He loves to swim in our pool, play with his trucks, play catch (this boy can sure whip the ball), and he is very into hooking up his tractors and implements, and trucks and trailers! He is a little OCD about it to be honest. ;)

Another thing that has happened since my last post... I TURNED 25 THIS SUMMER! YIKES! Sometimes it seems so unreal, and then there are times when I could really careless how old I am! I have all 4 grandparents still alive, my parents and in-laws live just around the corner which is always a huge blessing, and we have so many family and friends that love us to pieces. God has richly blessed us so it makes it easier to deal with the aging process! Oh, that reminds me, we are now up to Goetz Grand baby #20!!! Isaiah is #16, Naomi #19, and number 20 was born in early July. Thanel Richard evened us back up with 10 boys and 10 girls! On the Oman side, Naomi put us up to #4; Isaiah is # 2 and the only boy! But he loves it! :) 

We have also been so busy with everything around here that I almost thought about deleting the blog all together, then as I was reading a fellow blogger's post, I was reminded that sometimes we need to share our hearts or simply be heard!!! Lucky for you right!?! ;) Anyways, the business has been growing like crazy, Praise the Lord, and that means everyone has to work together. Ben has to pull longer hours meaning that the kids and I have to work around that; there is constant paperwork and invoicing that I have to do on top of bill paying, which trickles down to the kids needing to learn how to play alone for a while. Actually, that is a great skill for them to develop anyways! We just made it through another fair season as well. I am a local club leader, and Ben and I are both project superintendents. Sometimes we wonder why, but we really do love it! :) We leave for vacation tomorrow (the annual Goetz camping trip), and you all know how getting ready for vacation is---- not relaxing!!!  Other than that, we will finish out our summer playing around the house and hopefully getting back in the swimming pool (it has been so chilly we haven't swam for 2 weeks!). Ben and I will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary on the 9th!!! I love that man with all my heart! He is such a blessing to us and a great father! Thank you Lord for my Benjamin Samuel!!! I am looking forward to Bible Study starting back up in September, and I joined MOPS this year as well! I am really excited about connecting with other Christian moms closer to my age!
Well, it is time to finish up a few things around the house while the babies are sleeping! Until next time (which hopefully won't be too long),  remember, that if I can do it, You can too!!!