Flashback

Last week was full of flashbacks for me.  It brings back to many memories that have all been smashed into such a short amount of time.  4 years ago we were childless and hoping to be pregnant soon.  Then June started to carry new meaning....

3 years ago last week I was laying in the hospital pregnant with the boys.  I was having preterm labor.  I was taking medication in hopes of stopping labor and staying pregnant.  At that point it looked like I was either delivering very soon or if labor stopped I would be hanging out in the hospital for the next couple of months.  I was utterly depressed by that thought.  Every night when Nate left I cried.  I hated being left there.  I knew it was for the good of my babies, but it stunk.  Then miraculously labor was stopped and they decided I would be happier, sleep better, eat better and hang in longer at home.  Thank the Lord I went home.

2 years ago we were hoping to have just 1 more baby.  Our life was already crazy.  What was one more?

Then 1 very fast year ago a beautiful, feisty little girl made her way into our family.  Holding her and watching the way she sucked her thumb just minutes after being born are moments I will never forget.  Remembering the way she knew my voice brings tears to my eyes.  I held her and rocked her last week Thusrday night, the night before her birthday.  I just looked at her and wondered how that year went by so quickly.  I'm thankful we're past the long nights and figuring out what she needed to feel better.  Still, it was hard to realize my baby is 1.  She has made our family so complete.  She has wrapped her brothers around her finger.  She is a strong and noisy little girl.  (My mom claims she reminds her of me).  She has a toothless smile that will melt your heart and snuggles up to me to let me know that she is my baby. 

It's so strange to think that we're entering a new stage of life.  We're past the honeymoon/young couple stage.  We're past the deciding to have a baby stage.  We're past the expecting babies stage.  We'll never again hold our newborn child.  It's a strange feeling.  I'm sad and relieved all at the same time.  I think back to what it was like to dream about what they would look like, talk like, cry like.  Then I think about not sleeping and I don't ever want to do that again!  I suppose the end of every stage is a bit bittersweet.  So, now we welcome a new era of life. 

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl.

A look back at potty training

I thought I would take a look back at potty training for all of you.  I probably didn't talk about it much at the time because it was one of my least favorite stages thus far.  Anyone who tells you that it's easier to have potty trained kids is lying.  What it really means is you have to clean 100 pairs of pooped in, peed in undies.  You have to know where every bathroom is in every place imaginable.  You have to watch the clock so that everyone can go at the appopriate "scheduled" time.  It's like their little bladders have timers.  It's done though.  They boys have been officially trained for a while now.  They are still not all dry at naptime and bedtime, but we're making progress.  Aiden and Noah take naps in undies (although Noah still has some accidents if he's in a real deep sleep).  They will stay dry at night a couple nights a week too. Reese, not so much. 

Here's a look at what training 3 little boys looks like:

 

What you don't see is Noah peeing all over the floor.  He was too tall for the first potty we got him, so we had to get a different one that was taller. 

 

Aiden was trained first.  Then it took Noah a couple of weeks and Reese a few days.  I'm a little fuzzy on the details.  I think I mentally blocked a lot out because I didn't enjoy it at all.  My mom likes potty training.  I put it right there next to having 3 newborns at nighttime.  Terrible.  That's why she was the one who started training Aiden to get the ball rolling. 

 

We spent days just sitting on the potty and then cleaning up the pee that didn't make it in.  Days cleaning out undies and spraying cleaner on the floor to make sure the pee didn't stink the joint up.  They were thrilled when they finally went and got a mini oreo.  We decided to go big or go home.  No sticker for pee, a little cookie.  It was worth every calorie and potential cavity to get them to pee on the potty.

 

Now that they are all trained and able to hold it long enough to find a bathroom it should be great, right?  Wrong!  Somehow Noah manages to pee everywhere!  Which reminds me...how on earth is a mom supposed to teach little boys how to stand and pee?!?  I found a trick that helped immensely.  Instead of "aiming" they hold onto the back of the potty and lean forward.  No pointing needed.  It works WAY better.  The only problem is Noah like to aim and misses pretty much every time.  I clean our bathroom multiple times a week and sometimes multiple times a day and I can still catch a hint of that pee smell on a humid day.  Ugh.  I guess we'll have to retile when they stop peeing on the floor.  That's only about 16 years away. 

 

I'll share with you a final picture.  It's the first time wearing the special new undies they got when they were all trained.  Enjoy.  They'll be mad at me for this some day...