Hello Kitty, Bye-Bye Suckie!!

We are entering a who new era with Lauren this month. As you might have already read in some of the previous blogs that Lauren started potty training 6 days ago. She is doing fantastic, and we are all very proud of her!

Doug and I decided this week that since we were trying new things ~like Hello Kitty undies, that we might as well say Bye Bye suckie! Suckie is what Lauren has called her pacifier. In the last month or so she has used it only in bed for naps and bedtime. Last night was the night we said good bye. Not technically, I must admit, I did ambush her with the plan. We did our bedtime routine as usual, then up to her room for her favorite book (Opposites by Sandra Boynton, it's her favorite because there are pictures of balloons, she LOVES balloons!) Then she got a drink of water, lights out and then prayers and snuggles. She was really doing great, then all of the sudden,"SUCKIE, SUCKIE!!" I continue to ignore it and snuggle, then she said,"Poop!" (this still sometimes means pee) Well, being in the early phase of potty training, I always take them when they say that. I want them to always know and trust that Mommy will take care of their needs. So, I proceed to take her to the potty and she squirts out just enough to make the venture seem somewhat necessary. We go back to our snuggles, again says,"SUCKIE, SUCKIE", no response, then,"Poop". Ok, I see the stall tactics here little lady, nite nite Lauren. :) She did cry for about 10 minutes or so, then had a peaceful night! Yeah!!! You are such a big girl!!!!!!! I love you Lauren Claire~Mommy

Sledding and Santa...

Today while I was at class, it was a beautiful 50 degree day. Some of the snow was melting, but that didn't matter. Colette and the kids took advantage of the great weather and were outside playing in the snow. The video below is a shot Colette took of Brayton pulling Lauren in the sled.

After I got done with class, Colette and the kids picked me up and we went to play at a park. It was a little cold on the kids hands because the playground equipment was cold, but they still had fun going on the slides and climbing on the equipment. Of course we very close all the time, holding on to coat tails to make sure slippery wet shoes didn't provoke a fall.

We went to supper at Hy Vee, and then proceeded to Jolly Holiday lights. We knew Santa would be there, I used to volunteer to be Santa a few years ago, and Santa is free at Jolly Holiday lights. Whereas if you go to the mall, you have to stand in line for a very long time and pay $10.

We used the opportunity to reinforce being "nice" rather than "naughty" to Brayton over the past few days. We knew that if he knew he was going to see Santa, we could leverage that into good behavior, and for the most part it worked well.

There was a long line to see Santa today, but the kids waited in line very well. They never fussed. Brayton we could tell had to really go potty, but there isn't a bathroom there. When the time came to talk to Santa, Brayton was very excited. Lauren cried and didn't want anything to do with him. Neither would sit on his lap, I don't think that was a surprise. Maybe next year.