Guess who figured out how to officially smile for the camera today?!?!
And it is the absolute cutest thing in the world... scrunched nose and all!!
I realized the other day, that he had no idea what I meant when I would tell him to smile for the camera. I'm not sure how or why he made the connection today, but he did!!!!
So funny. Like he figured out the most fantastic thing in the world, and just ran with it. It was apparently the perfect fit for a "ham in the making"!!
It is starting to get really warm here, and our little buddy now loves the beach and the water. He is starting to get his balance down when it comes to the waves, too. Fun to watch.
He has come to absolutely love water. In all forms!
The only thing that I don't love about this age. A more active child equals more accidents and boo boos. :(
Also, eating is a hit and miss. One of the best things I've read, was to watch what they eat in a week and not a day. SO SO true. Sometimes he eats fantastically and sometimes... not so much.
Yesterday at lunch was a good one. :)
Everything has been pretty good lately. We are trying to rent this one house that is on the river, so, cross your fingers for us. We are offering a little lower than what the owner is asking.... so, we'll see.
Then Eric wouldn't have to leave his family, for hours at a time, to go fishing. ;)
and I had to record this cause I thought it was so funny. Ryden said this the other day, and it took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. haha..... I can see the resemblance. :)
Eric is still working crazy over-time. It kind of stinks. :(
I know this isn't news for most of you, but I have decided to go down a new path when it comes to my choice of careers. Since we have moved back to Florida, I have, as of yet, gone back to work. Well, now I know why.
I have decided to change directions.
To start, I am going to become certified as a doula. I think that will be enough to get my feet wet, and help me figure out where I will want to go from there.
Whether it be for further education to be a childbirth educator, lactation counselor or even the possibility of midwifery down the road.
Who knows? One thing I do know, is every since I had Ryden and experienced birth the way I did,
I have become so passionate about all of this. I feel it in my core.
And to make things even more tempting, I spoke with the only midwife (that I've found) in Vero, and she said that there are only two working doulas in town, and they work for her. She said, Vero is ripe for more!!!!!
Seriously!!! Here is one of the joys of having a boy and a dog. And I warn you, the gross factor is MORE than there.
and honestly, the more I say, the more he opens his mouth and loves it. So, I have learned to try and stop Ilsa and not him. Even though, that isn't of much help considering that she would do that ALL day long!!
Sometimes the cuteness only kinda makes up for the yuckiness!!!!!!!
Man, the weekend passes as quickly as it gets here. But at least this one was welcomed with visiting family and fun.
I'm glad I remembered to take some photos. Even if it was only for a few minutes...... :)
Grandma and her two littlest boys.....
Family.... :)
My boys.......
OH, how I love them so!!!
and this one of Cindy's face cracks me up. Apparently, the bird was TOO close to the kids... haha!
There are a few more photos. If you want to see the rest..... here is the Set on Flickr
I love us. I love my family. And most of all, I love being around them more often.
Btw.... Ryden stayed dry all weekend. Even with the excitement of family staying with us, going to the fair (which he LOVED), going to the picnic or.... you name it!
Today completes two weeks of dryness on his part. I believe he is potty-trained, and I feel safe saying that for sure.
When I first started with the potty, Ryden was so young. I am not sure where I really thought we would end up. I hoped for the chance to give him the choice to stay dry from early-on, and maybe even early potty independence in the process. But I never wanted to put any grand expectations on him. And one day, I just figured we could try. And this is where it has lead.
Even though Ryden had the head start of using a potty for much of his life and considering he is definitely brilliant ( :) )... I know that he is not an exception to most toddlers.
Just ask any grandparents (pre disposable diapers) to tell you at what age their kids were potty-trained.
And having the time to do it, the patience and the consistency is also part of the success.
This was never a race... just the chance for him to decide. :)
Right now, Eric is working lots of overtime. It's 10:20pm and he is just leaving work.:(
He works so hard and his family misses him dearly. I know he feels the same about us. Another :(
And I am getting bored out of my gourd!!
One thing I am SO THANKFUL for is my mom. Without her, I would probably be socializing with absolutely no one!! And we all were getting over colds from last week, so, I think I might even have a severe case of boredom with a mild touch of cabin fever. You feelin' me?
So, here I am.... blogging. The only thing I could think to do to entertain myself until Eric gets home is upload sweet little videos of the nugget. Not to mention, effortlessly avoid cleaning.
The dig here also got a fancy, new look today. You like? I figured we have all grown, why not the blog. :)
As for Ryden... he's just peachy. Sleeping and probably dreaming of his lamby, balls, choo choos and everything else a boy would dream of.
He is also still a "boy of the potty" much to my delight. I keep waiting for him to regress, but I think I might be able to chuck that fear down the potty real soon. :)
Last week was a week of no misses! Well, technically, there was the start of a miss while I was holding Ryden- which also happens to be the same day he started to do a potty dance and I thought he was dancing. :)
But right when I noticed, he had already stopped, we went to the bathroom and he finished there. That was on Thursday.
So, from Monday which was Day 6 until Sunday he had 1/2 a miss.
I think I might call this a potty learning success. I really do believe after almost two weeks we are pretty much there!
He usually tells us every time he has to pee. Though sometimes we remind him first. He also does his potty dance which is really cute.
And to top it off, last night, for the very first time, he stayed dry the entire night!!! I am so proud of him that he is already making that connection. I hope he continues with it.
He was also sick last week. So, to have success, even through all of that, says A LOT!
One thing funny... now, instead of getting a cookie, he would rather you give him a piece of toilet paper to put in the potty when he is finished. Like we do... haha!
I am going to continue to remind him about going to the potty, especially when we are out and at new places. I don't want distractions and confusion of where the potty is to lead to accidents.
So, for everyone reading this... if you have a toddler, no time is too early. It doesn't hurt to try. As long as you don't mind helping them every time, dryness is an option for them to have.
Ryden turns 19 months on the 25th and I believe, without a doubt, he will be a complete success story by then. Sooner than I had thought but not hoped.
Today was probably one of our most successful and least stressful days of all. Ryden went long periods holding his pee (even upwards of two plus hours) and requested the potty on his own several times (well, by chanting "I pee!").
and I obliged. happily.
The best part was when my mom came over this afternoon. At some point, I had asked him if he had to go to the potty or he just said that he had to pee (can't remember). I started to walk with him to the bathroom, but he stopped and looked back to see if my mom was coming. Well, she was still sitting in her chair, so, he walked back over to her and grabbed her hand. "They" then walked to the bathroom where he proceeded to show off his madd potty learning skills!!!
It was so funny.
Very obvious as to what he was doing.
I knew he was a ham (he is his dad's son), but this one topped the cake. I guess he liked the extra fanfare. :)
and he is starting to feel better with his cold.
I'm not sure if I am going to keep updating his potty saga daily anymore. Not sure if I should move to weekly updates now that things seem to be following a similar suit each day.
I'm not quite sure what all this means, but I like it. I know he isn't there yet, but he is a whole lot further than he was a week ago. Who would have ever thought this is where we would be!?!
He did initiate the potty a couple of times today. He also went quite a few times more than yesterday, and is starting to hold it for longer intervals in between going. I have backed off from bothering him every thirty minutes or so. And I have started to only ask and remind him instead of mentioning it AND putting him on the potty. If I know it has been a LONG time, I might mention it while walking him over to the potty.
Seems to be working. :)
He also went on and on saying Pee before bed tonight while I was putting him down. So, I undressed him (he is still in a cloth diaper for over-night) and took him to the bathroom. He did a big pee and still went on and on saying, "I peed!!!"
haha... I told him he was fantastic.
He is still saying Pee to gas which continues to crack me up.
The day he starts telling me he has to go, and I only have to remind him in new places and when he is REALLY distracted, I will consider my work done. Until then, we shall see. :)
