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(Look at his gasp!)

I have heard horror stories about potty training.  I have a friend who potty trained her boy four months ago, and he still refuses to poop on the potty.  He has the potty part completely down, but won’t take the next step.  So you can imagine her frustration when her boy wears pull ups that he never potties in, but always poops in.  Kind of defeats the entire purpose of potty training — don’t you think?

Then I have Trilby and my mom (mostly Trilby) always wanting me to get Scout potty trained.  They try to entice him by saying things like, “your friends or cousins don’t wear diapers….do you want to wear them?” or “when you poop in your diapers….you STINK!  It’s yucky! Do you want to be yucky and stinky?”  (to which he says…that he does want to wear diapers, and does want to be stinky).

So one morning when Scout woke up, my mom pointed out that he was completely dry for the 5th day in a row.  She was really trying to urge me, but I wasn’t dying to potty train Scout in the first place.  I always see mothers rushing their frantic kids to the potty in the middle of shopping or a movie, and I didn’t want that to take over my life just yet.  More importantly, I wasn’t that bothered by changing diapers.  I already have to change Navy’s so another set of dirty buns didn’t seem like that big of a deal to me.
In an attempt to humor my mom, I decided I would see if Scout wanted to go on the big boy potty after he woke up dry.  He said he didn’t, and I wasn’t going to push the issue.  But when I saw my mom peering at me in my peripheral vision, I said, “Come on Scout…let’s just try.”

We got on the big boy potty, and Scout had absolutely no problem.  He went potty immediately, and then we ran to get him a treat to celebrate.  I told him to tell me if he needed to go again, and I would help him, and the rest is history.  Scout wouldn’t let me help at all, and went into the potty about six times throughout the day to use the facility.  He had the potty part, the washing his hands part, the flushing part, the coming and making me look part, and the getting a treat part down to a science after day one.  My mom was so impressed that she took him over to Costco for a box of Pull Ups right away!
Then about three quarters of the day through, he called me in to show me his potty.  To my amazement, it wasn’t potty…it was poop!!!!  My boy had literally potty trained himself!  When I told him I would have to wipe his bottom, I told him to turn around.  I started cracking up like crazy because he had a dingle berry that was half bubble gum.  And to top it off, it wasn’t wiping very easily because the bubble gum was still sticking to his booty.  Poor guy — who has a very immature mother as I was dying laughing the whole time.

My mom and Trilby, and everyone else for that matter were amazed at the ease of my potty training experience with Scout.  He seriously was shown one time, and had it completely mastered.  What a smart little dude!

UNTIL….

The next day Scout got right up and went potty without a problem.  He got his treat, and did it a few more times.  At this point, I was bragging to everyone about my little boy.  I even told my friend mentioned above that I was going to try and make a few bucks on the side by writing a book entitled, “How To Potty Train Your Child In One Day”.  She gave me a courtesy laugh.  I guess karma got me when Scout pooped into his pull ups that afternoon.  Then again the next day.  Again the next.  He has never had a potty accident, but he spent the next two weeks pooping in his Pull Up.

I was starting to get frustrated, because I didn’t understand why he had reverted.  Then when I finally asked him why he wouldn’t go on the big boy potty to go poop, he said with a sad little face, “because if I go poop, I will get a dingle berry.”  CAN YOU BELIEVE that I was the reason he reverted.  I keep asking my self why I couldn’t be professional about the dingle berry!?

Well, it did take about two weeks, a tricycle bribe to get him pooping on the potty, and his new Nemo underwear he was going to get to wear before we saw results.  I told him that when he pooped on the potty for three days in a row, he got to wear his big boy “underwearpants” and go and pick up his trike.  Funny how when the bribe was just right, he had no problem doing it.  Smarter than I even thought!

Well, I am proud to say that I have a big boy on my hands.  He is SO excited to be in the elite crowd with Jake and Cade and Trey.  Too bad I delayed the process, but the story might even be worth it.  Can you believe that I even have pictures, but they are stuck on my stinking broken camera?  What a rip!

(Cutest Big Boy buns I’ve ever seen!)

Calin announced that she didn’t feel good, so Scout went over to her and told her,

“NayNay, I know what will make you feel better.”

Calin — “you do? What would make me feel better?”

Scout — “Fruit Snacks make you feel better all the time.”

Calin — “They do?”

Scout turning to me — “Go and get NayNay some fruit snacks right now.”

So I did.

Upon returning with the fruit snacks for NayNay,

Scout announced, “I feel sick”.

Icka was playing with her cousins (Camden to be exact — but I don’t blame), and I heard the scream every mother dreads.  You know — the scream that informs me that she is hurt instead of ornery.  I ran in to find a bloody mouth.  I figured she had bumped her lip or something.  Come to find out, her bottom front tooth was knocked loose.  So after calling a couple of doctors and Megan (who is an expert on kids knocked out teeth), I figured that gently pushing it into place and watching over the next few weeks is the only option I have.  So I am watching, and crossing my fingers that I don’t have a darling little girl with a gray tooth for the next seven years.  (No offense to those of you who do.) The poor thing.  I was worried all day long, and kept holding her and checking on it.  Tristen couldn’t believe that I was so worried all day long.  (I wonder what kind of mother that is going to make her?)
After looking through the pictures Megan took of Icka’s birthday party (the jump house party that we had the day after the incident), I came across the perfect picture of her crooked tooth.  Now imagine that I told the orthodontist that my daughter had perfectly straight teeth just a few weeks back…and now look:

Isn’t that so sad.  But I guess if it is white and crooked, I don’t care too much.  It just adds character and a new nickname — Snaggletooth.)

When I heard Bryan was out of town, I packed up the kids and headed to San Diego to surprise them.  The surprise was on us when we got there, and they were nowhere to be found.  Luckily it was only 30 minutes of hanging out in their empty house before they came home.  We had a great time…until Navy had to go to sleep in a foreign closet, and Scout was expected to not talk as he went to bed (because it was a school night for Doey).  Besides the going to bed part, we all had a good time.   Megan even canceled working in both Chloe and Trey’s classrooms to hang out with us this morning.

The highlight for the kids was definitely feeding the ducks at Lake Poway.  I love the juxtaposition between Scout and Navy.  Notice him backed away from the ducks, and Navy is right there where all of the action is taking place.

We then hit the park.

And when we headed home, I told Scout that if he took a nap in the car on the way home, that he wouldn’t have to take on at home.  He was all over that, but stinks for him that squinting like he is napping — and really napping are two different things.

My favorite was when he wanted to open his eyes, he would put his hands over his face and peek through his fingers.

Classic!

After my mom seemed a little unnerved that her bath looked like a total mess, (due to Picasso and Rembrandt Denison) she asked Scout when he was going to clean it up.  He said, “Never….Nonnie, it is my artwork.”  Hence…..it is still currently on display.

Ickity Dickity Dock had her very first birthday party.  It was heart themed, because we all heart Navy.  I ordered a jump house/slide (not heart themed, since there is not even one in existence!), and people kept asking me if she was too young to enjoy something like that.  Well, not my little Navy!  I had a hunch, and I was completely right.  She was in complete heaven as she could bounce, jump, dance, roll, climb, slide and mostly be with her cousins and brother all day long.  The party was a hit, and I have one bazillion pictures to prove it!  And these don’t even include Megan’s eight bazillion pictures!

There were hearts everywhere.  I don’t have any pictures of the decorations, but I know Megan came through.  We served heart shaped pasta salad, sliders with heart toothpicks, heart water, italian cream sodas with heart cups and straws, etc.  Then of course Megan came through with an entire candy table of heart candy….that’s my girl!

Icka would kick like crazy so that whoever was holding her would let go.  She loved the slide!

She didn’t quite make it up, but she was constantly trying to climb the ladder to get down the slide again. (To think that Scout couldn’t even walk at this point in his life.)

Some hot hired help in the kitchen.  He was cutting up Pecans for the tasty cinnamon rolls my mom made for dessert.  I am not sure, but did he shape them into a heart for me?

Icka was so exhausted, I had to put her down for a nap in the middle of the party.  When I went to get her, she was completely in dreamland, and was not happy to wake up.

We tried some dinner for her, but look at that stinky look she is giving Papa.  I don’t think the food was quite working.

But once she was back in the bounce house, she perked right up.  Here she is running across.

But then she was attacked by her stalker Royal.  He might be a little obsessed, because every time he sees her, he tackles her and just lays on top of her while hugging her within an inch of her life. I love it, but Britni worries for Navy.  Little does Brit know that I have a toughy on my hands, and she is just around the corner from beating him up.  Look at her pushing him away with all of her might.  Probably has something to do with our talk about how she can’t date until she is 16.

Present time was great.  (Look at Colby getting in trouble in the back!)

She especially liked her books, that I have already read to her dozens of times.

Of course Megan and Trilby couldn’t let Scout go a day without a present, so he opened a few too.  Here he is getting big boy underwear, and is obviously ecstatic!  And he had already played with his floor puzzles that were another big hit.

Icka found a chair that wasn’t occupied, and obviously had to climb it — because that is what dainty and ultra feminine little girls do.  At least her new tutu helped in the cause of being girly.

Her teeny tiny cake had her baffled at first.  Look how cautious she started out.

Then she started to eat it like a dog (her latest way of munching down).  I love how Scout is gasping in this picture.

I was hoping for a WAY bigger mess, but maybe she is more dainty than I thought.  I hope not!  I love my little tomboy.

After she was all cleaned up, and put into heart P.J.’s, she walked around with one of the heart decorations around her neck.

She is the cutest little thing in the world!

I am in total love.

We all definitely heart Navy!

Micah called me last Friday and told me he had a babysitter set up, and he was taking me on a date.  Little did I know we were going to frequent the tasty Ruth’s Chris for some sizzling deliciousness.  Thanks babe.

Speaking of needing naps….Scout’s latest trend is spending a few outings in timeout each day.  The worst part is that he is getting timeouts because of his conduct in his original timeout.  This particular day, his timeout was in the bathroom with the door closed.  When I went to graciously let him end his due time early, I found him playing in the lotion and making a massive mess.  He then went in for his double-deckered timeout, while I cleaned up.  Little did I know that I had another surprise waiting for me under the toilet seat cover.  He had also taken every bit of toilet paper (3/4 of a roll) and put it in the toilet to make a wet and soggy mess.  Thank goodness he didn’t flush!  I couldn’t bear to put him in a third timeout, so instead…I showed him the mess, explained why it was naughty, and then loved him and read him books for a bit.  Poor guy!  Just look at that tired face — with the remnants of his black eye.