potty training day 1-5

if you don't like poop talk, you probably want to stop reading here.

and if you do (who doesn't? except the person who just stopped reading), here's the rundown for DAY ONE: 2 pee accidents in the morning. still no poop by naptime (and he always poops by naptime). woke up with a dry diaper(!) and soon after pooped in the potty!!! a crazy house party broke out after this. no more accidents all afternoon and right before bed peed for the first time in the potty. success. a very looong day though. he got really sick of me asking him so much if he has to pee. and even told me a couple times, "i need some space, mama". where did he even learn that? whatever.

m&m's for peeing in the potty...

a present for pooping in the potty...

watching "elmo goes potty"...

trying. where we spent most of our day.

outside. where we spent the rest of our day.

dinner. finally. means it's almost bedtime.


DAY 2 - Monday
i don't even know what is happening here:

one pee accident today outside. poop made it in the potty before nap. we even did a (much needed) family outing to house of yogurt tonight and wallace made it back with dry underwear. he wouldn't pee before bed and will probably have a puffy diaper in the morning. i'm noticing he's getting sick of me making him sit on the potty so much. tomorrow i'm gonna let him choose when to go. should get interesting...


DAY 3 - Tuesday
Shit. Yes, that’s right. On his bedroom floor. I left him naked in his room while putting Skye down for her nap. I came out and saw his legs dangling off the toilet downstairs. What a good boy…. I thought. And then I saw the log. At least he realized what happened and where he should have been. “Sawwy Mama” he says as I walked down. He’s so sweet. They say the 3rd day is supposed to be the worst. Ok, I made that up. He did wake up dry from the night before and emptied his bladder in the toilet after waking. But he also peed in his closet later in the day. You win some you lose some. Tomorrow is a new day.

DAY 4 - Wednesday
Rian took us out to breakfast this morning and after Wallace pooped in the potty at home, we ventured out to H&M to enjoy the kids sale. Both outings a success. If the day ended at 4:30 I would be telling you it was the best day yet. But it doesn't end at 4:30. And around that time all hell broke loose with 2 accidents in a row (first ones of the day) and meltdowns all around. Serious meltdowns. Both kids. But Rian came home early (I told him the Laker game was on waiting for him) and then 7pm came pretty quickly. Now I will sip some wine (perhaps the whole bottle) and watch our netflix movie. Delightful.

DAY 5 - Thursday
Wallace is getting good at realizing he's about to have an accident. Famous lines are "uh oh, gotta go!" right when he feels pee about to come. Or yelling "Mama, some poop is coming out!". That one will be fun to hear in the library. Or during church prayer time. Tonight while being tucked in he says he has to go potty. We thought he was playing us but sure enough he gets on the toilet and goes. A pretty good day. We also met some friends for an Easter egg hunt. And what's a good hunt without a pee break in the bushes?

lately

oh man, i love when this little guy wakes up from his nap. so cute and disheveled.

cooking dinner while my little ones play outside. it isn't always this easy.

us on an early morning.

been going to centennial farm a lot lately.

picnic dinner by john wayne. big hit for wally watching the planes fly overhead.



saturday morning breakfast routine. wallace helps rian with pancake ingredients.

then we juice some oranges.

then we eat.


our dland passes have officially expired. in the last few weeks we were there A LOT.

excited to tell me all about the bumper cars with daddy.

my cute girl messing with her brothers bike helmet.

Aunt Carol

Aunt Carol used to make me the best toast. She’d load it up with butter and cover it in sugar. I remember sitting on the living room floor in her Costa Mesa condo savoring each bite. My mom would never make something like this for me, I’d think. I was in grade school. Years previously, as a 3 year old, she had me walking down the aisle as her flower girl and much later, she had me working in her Balboa peninsula gift shop, learning to make the perfect bow and wrap the prettiest brown packages. It was there that she had me feel a lump she found next to her armpit. She was going to get more tests done. That lump became the cancer that took her life today. But there were many years in between that day in The Handmaiden and today when she took her last breath. Aunt Carol was here when I found out I would be having my first baby. She took me out to lunch and shopping all over town for everything “maternity” I would need. She watched Wallace for me while I went to have my hair dyed dark and bangs cut, a postpartum change I felt necessary. Wallace loved Aunt Carol. He loved wearing her wigs. He loved listening to her read to him. She brought such joy and energy to our family when we were all together. I will miss her long hugs and multiple kisses while whispering in my ear how beautiful she thought I was and how proud she is of Rian and I. Aunt Carol knew how to love people, how to be real and vulnerable, how to make someone feel fabulous, and how to have fun. She will be missed by many.

Happy Birthday!

That's right. Skyler turned ONE on Sunday. We celebrated with family and some friends on the big day.

SPRING

is in the air! rian brought home tightly closed daffodils over the weekend and throughout the week they've turned into this.

we're in between rain showers and it's been warm enough for the kids to eat lunch outside. i love not having to clean up crumbs!

february

wallace helping his sister out.

he likes to wear his mickey gloves when he reads sometimes.

dinner with the mellema's. the twins and skyler are the same size and love romping around together.

rian's been traveling for work about once a month lately, at the most. usually just for a night or two. but when he's gone, i invite these girls over to play after the kids go down!

art time with the kids of my thursday night mama's group.

our disneyland passes expire in a few weeks so we've been playing over there a lot.

skyler waiting for the monorail and picking up all sorts of diseases.

me and my little toddler in the back row. on our way to drop them off with aunt lolo & uncle bumble. rian and i got a free date night and played all over L.A. we spent the night at their place and enjoyed an amazing french toast breakfast made by lauren.

it was GORGEOUS in LA. it sure doesn't look like this everytime we drive up.

well...a few of us had some changes done to our hair. here is a before shot.

here is gypsy after her haircut. she's so sweet.

here is wallace getting a haircut after i butchered the front during a trim. and that's me with my brown hair.

poor gypsy gets really tired after playing hard. and she drools and naps with her tongue out.

another typical morning.

wally and his new haircut. giving a flower to his sister.


somehow rian and i scored a hot date each weekend this month. thanks to our amazing family members living close by! these pics were taken at this japanese place he goes to and has wanted to show me. we had gyoza, asahi, ramen and then hit up the theater to watch "valentine's day". bonus: didn't have to pick up the kids 'til morning!