First (half) day check in.

Well, I have good news and bad news,the good news is that Lyla only had two accidents. The bad news is that those two times were the only two pees. Our potty is still BRAND SPANKIN NEW. It has yet to see a DROP of pee. We didn't even open the bag of M&Ms today...I did put a good dent in my Red Vines for patience.... The other bad news is that she is refusing diapers and pull-ups for bed. YIKES! I had to put her in panties then secretly insert the pull-up into her PJ's and quickly pull them up. But I guess it is good that she WANTS out of her diapers, right?

Let it begin!

I came home from the grocery store today fully armed with princess panties, a bag of M&M's to reward Lyla with, a bag of Red Vines to reward myself with and an excited little girl ready to pee pee in her potty. She was ready to start right away, so we are about 21 hours ahead of schedule. 20 minutes in- peed in her Snow Whie panties. I then found her potty filled to the top with her blankie, a snake, a rat, a baby outfit, a ball, and a watch. Unloaded potty. Thankfully it has NEVER been peed in. She is currently sitting on her potty in the living room watching Elmo's It's Potty Time! C is cheering her along.

in a blink of an eye...

There was a moment today that I about lost it. J witnessed it. I left C's school with Lyla under my arm like a sack of potatoes, kicking and screaming and hitting me, and C following behind whining and crying. "I don't want to go home with them", I thought. J must have sensed it coming, because he was waiting in the parking lot b/c he happened to be driving by at pick up. Luckiy he took a kid so that I didn't give them away. We went from that at 3pm to this at bedtime... L: Mama, I need a big hug! (Lyla gives the BEST hugs ever by the way). Now I need a tiss. (Lyla also gives kisses for a really long time. Maybe too long if she was older). There, now I can go night night. Night night mama. I love you. Wait, just ONE more tiss. Now ONE more hug. Ok, night night. Love you. Nothing is sweeter.

Climbing, climbing, climbing

Dear Carson, You are a monkey. A 4.5 year old monkey who can NOT resist the temptation to climb on everything you see. I mean everything. I'm sure someday you will stop, and I'll miss it. So for today, I am not going to tell you to not climb on my furniture and (literally) up my doors, because I don't think you can help it. Instead, I'm going to be thankful that you are a happy, healthy boy who CAN climb and remember that soon enough you will be able to keep your feet on the ground. I hope. Love, Mom

Potty Training Round 2

So despite the fact that Lyla has NEVER EVER peed in the potty, I have decided that she is going to be cut off of diapers. We will be potty training during Fall Break...stay tuned for potty training fun!

Carson's first fight...

Yes, it has already happened. C got sent to the office because he got in a fight. At first this horrified me, but then I got the whole story from Carson: "Well Mom, we were standing in line to go potty and I wanted to know where he lived. So I asked and he didn't hear me so then I tapped him with my foot on his leg and he turned around and hit me on the head. So I hit him back. Then my teacher took us to the office and gave us a talk. And he had to have an ice pack, but I didn't. (shrug) Guess I'm just tougher." Yes, I nearly drove off the road at this point because I was laughing so hard. After talking it over with J, he agreed with me that we aren't going to punish C for finishing fights, just for starting them. So of course, we had to address the reason it started....he used his FOOT to get someone's attention. His response "ok I'll use my elbow next time, like cowboys do". Ok ok. Let's clarify here..."C use your finger to tap someone. Your FINGER. No one will ever think you are hitting/kicking with your FINGER!" Oh geez.

It's been a good ride

My dear sweet Carson, This time next week we will be preparing to send you to the big Pre-K. Wow. I can hardly believe it. My friends have all been asking me how I am doing with you starting school and I've been like, "Fine. I'm happy about Grove and I think he has great kids in his grade..." all the while not being very sure why they were asking me that question. Then a few days ago, you said to me, "Mom, I'm starting school soon and then I'll turn FIVE!". And then it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. My time with you as my little baby boy is ending. And, sweet sweet boy, what a wonderful ride it has been. You have been a blessing to me since you were a newborn baby who started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks. You knew I needed sleep, and I thank you for that. Espcially since I worked. Speaking of working, you never, ever, made me feel guilty about that because you were always so happy to stay home with your Jessie or to go to Mothers Day Out when you got older. And even though you were so happy to stay, you greeted me with open arms almost tackling me down most days when I got there to pick you up. You have been easy going, sweet, eager to please us, adventurous, absolutly beautiful and have been MORE than I could have ever DREAMED of. It has been an incredible joy to watch you grow into the sweet, tough, funny, little boy you are. I pray that you hold onto your joy and your love as you enter this new world. I pray that you know, really know, how special you are. I pray that you know how LOVED you are. I pray that you STAY who you are despite age. Bottom line sweet boy, I'm oh so proud and excited for you to grow up, but I may just not be that ready to let you go. To let you be more influenced by friends than by your family. To spend more time with your teachers than with me. To not have my special time on Fridays with just you and your sister while dad works. I have LOVED being home with you. You took care of me through a pregnancy, and you could barley talk. You have taught me how to slow down and enjoy the moment. You have been my little buddy. The love of my life. And while I know we are SO far from being done raising you, and that you still need me for SOOO many reasons, this is just an end of a very special time. And I just want you to know that you are the best thing I have every done. And it is an honor to be your mom.