Thursday, August 5, 2010

What I go through for Potty Training

Darcy will be turning two later on this month. Several weeks ago she started showing all the signs that she was ready to be potty trained. I, on the other hand, was not ready! It was right before our big family vacation to California and I just didn't want to worry about it right then. But I didn't want to miss the window of opportunity either. So before and during the trip I just tried to encourage her to go on the toilet whenever possible but that's about all.

Last week I decided I should just jump in and see if she could do it. So she's been wearing underwear for the past several days. The first few days were hit and miss, mostly because I would get distracted and not pay close enough attention to her. It's hard to give undivided attention all day long to one child when you have four kids! But despite my shortcomings she steadily progressed.

The method I use for potty training tells you to have your child wear underwear and then watch them closely. When they start to pee you say, "Pee pee's coming" and you pick them up and run with them to the toilet. Hopefully you will make it there in time for them to do some in the potty. Eventually they learn to say "Pee pee's coming" on their own before it happens and then you've got it made.

Well, yesterday Darcy started telling me her pee's were coming early enough that we were able to get to the toilet in time most of the day. So I was very happy!

This morning I was walking back to my room when I heard Darcy say that pees were coming. I wanted to keep the momentum going from yesterday. So I turned around and ran back to the living room where she was to help her get to the toilet in time. I grabbed her under the arms and started running with her through the kitchen towards the bathroom. Just as I was about to turn the corner to go to the bathroom my feet slid out from under me and WHAM, I landed on the ground...Hard! (Unbeknownst to me, Cody had spilled the watermelon on the floor right there and was in the process of cleaning it up. But the tile was still all wet and very slippery!) Somehow I managed to keep Darcy from getting hurt. I must have shifted her into my right arm as I fell because my left forearm hit the floor first, then my knee hit the wall and dented the drywall, then Darcy's head hit my right jaw. It was crazy because I didn't even see it coming and then it all happened so fast.

My whole body hurt and I felt like I'd just been hit by a car. I asked Darcy if she was okay and she said yes. So I got up and helped her get to the toilet. I'm happy to report that we made it in time, even with the unexpected crash en route!

It's late in the afternoon now and I have a huge lump on my forearm where I hit the tile. It's going to be a big nasty bruise! My neck is sore and my jaw still hurts too. But Darcy has been dry all day long so the sacrifice was worth it!

Funny Quotes

  • Darcy came up to me the other day with a permanent marker and said, "Mom, is it okay if I use this pregnant marker to draw a picture?" January 2012
  • Darcy was in a bubble bath the other day having a great time. She made a beard out of bubbles and put bubbles on her head to make herself look like Santa. When it was time to clean off the bubbles I parted the bubbles to get down to the clear water and she said, "Oh, I didn't know there was water down there!" December 2011
  • Darcy calls hangnails or snags on her nails "Pinchies". She says "Mom, can you get this pinchie off my toe?"
  • Whenever we do something fun Darcy always says, "Lets to dat adain." I love her little voice when she says it.
  • Every morning Cody comes into my room while I'm still in bed and tells me, "Mom, it's light outside. It's time to get up." To which I reply, "Okay, let me get dressed." So now when Cody is getting dressed and I call to him his response is, "I'm getting my dressed on!" I love it. No more getting dressed at our house...its now know as "getting our dressed on".
  • I like to make fruit smoothies for breakfast sometimes. Cody calls them Smoot Moolies, so that has become the name for them at our house. The other day when I was making a smoot moolie Cody asked if he could help me make it. I said he could so he jumped up on the counter and picked up a banana. He proceed to peel it and then handed me the peel and said,"Here's the armpit mom." I wasn't sure if I heard him right so I asked him what it was called. He said, "The armpit...you know the thing that the banana is in." November 2009
  • This afternoon when we were driving to the store I had a funny conversation with Cody. “Does Matt have a house?” Cody asked. “Well, Matt is here to buy a new house.” I replied. “Ooooo, that sounds fun!”Cody said. About a minute passes and then he says “How is he going to carry it?” I’m trying my hardest not to laugh. “I think he needs a big rope.” Cody said, happy that he figured out a good solution to the problem. I just love Cody…he keeps me laughing all the time. January 21, 2010
  • I was really tired one afternoon so I flopped down on the couch and said, "I'm pooped out!" Cody came over and snuggled up to me on the couch and said, "I'm having poop time too!" July 2009
  • When I told the kids that James was going to be going to California, Cody sat up straight and excitedly said, "Like Lightening McQueen! He went to California!" October 2009
  • The other day James said to Cody, "How's my buddy?" Cody got a very serious look on his face and said, "Name's Tody!" (He still can't pronounce C's very well.) The only things he will let us call him, other than his name, is big boy or funny kid.
  • When we were first potty training Cody he said he needed to go to the bathroom during sacrament meeting at church. So I took him to the bathroom and sure enough he did his business in the toilet. This was one of the first times he ever did poops in the toilet so he was really excited. When we walked back into sacrament meeting (we were sitting near the front of the chapel) he loudly proclamed "Daddy, I did giant poops in the toilet!" December 2008
  • Cody comes up with cute names for things. Mostly because he has troubles prononcing some of his letters. Some of my favorite names are "Daddy's Toke-Toke" for Coke, "Dr. Seuse" for Dr. Pepper, the "lurnal" for urinal, and "peanutbutter jam" for peanutbutter mixed with honey in a bowl.
  • Shelby had a hard time saying her G's when she was little. So we were working with her on how to say Grandma. She could make a growling sound pretty well, so we we had her growl then say grandma, so she used her best growling voice to say "GRRRR AMA"
  • The sun was shining in Cody's eyes the other day and he pointed at it and said, "Mommy, that circle is burnin' my eyes!" January 2009
  • Heres a list of funny words our kids have come up with for things: Fwaps (Cody's word for patting Darcy's back), bednight snacks, square noodles (ramen noodles), peeps, giant poops, dishwasher (Cody says this is where we wash clothes), low-low (lawn mower), regular grandma (Shelby's way of describing the difference between Great Grandma and her (regular) Grandma, oopadaisy (Shelby)
  • When we were building our house Shelby and Dallin spent a lot of time here with me working on it. One day when I was putting up the finish trim I couldn't find the hammer. I was looking all over for it and just didn't have any luck finding it. Shelby (2 yrs old) made two fists with her little hands and said, "It's okay Mommy, you can use my bammers!" November 2005
  • When Dallin was 1 yr old, he used to love making car noises. His favorite noise to make was the sound of tires screeching and then a crash. So EVERY time we would apply the brakes in the car we would hear his little voice from the back seat..."errrr kshhhh"
  • When Dallin was about 3 years old, he always liked to sit between James and I on the couch. But his way of saying it was cute. He would say "Can I sit in the tween of you?"
  • When Dallin was about 4 years old, I let him and Shelby skip naps because we needed to go somewhere. As we were driving on the road Dallin said, "Wow, look at all these people who are skipping naps too!" I guess he thought everyone had naps during the afternoon! Summer 2005