Summer Bucket List Update

We've crossed a few more items off of our summer bucket list! Last weekend, we took the kids for a swim at the local rec center. Jo was in heaven! She loved the walk-in pool with the splash features. We also went and visited Andrew at work for lunch (photo above). Finally, we didn't make it to Bonnie and George's house, but they came out this way to visit us and brought us some of their home grown tomatoes.

I'm starting to worry we won't get everything done by the end of summer! I'm giving myself until the literal last day of summer (September 21) to try to get everything done. We shall see!

* Watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July.
* Bake a berry stars & stripes cake with Oliver.
* Run through the sprinklers.
* Go to a splash park.
* Play in the "creek" at the Children's Mordecai Gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
* Watch our first parade.
* Ride the outdoor train at Belleview Park.
* Visit a petting zoo.
* Take the kids for a swim.
* Have a real outdoor picnic on the grass with a picnic basket.
* Watch a sunrise.
* Go for a hike in the mountains.
* Go on a road trip.
* Go out for an ice cream cone, and eat it outside!
* Make our own ice cream, and let Oliver choose the flavor.
* Pick and eat vegetables out of the garden we're growing at Grandma Judy's house.
* Eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine at Aunt Bonnie & Uncle George's house.
* Throw water balloons.
* Go tent camping overnight.
* Look at stars in the sky.
* Visit Andrew at work for lunch.
* Take the train downtown to visit Grandpa Larry for lunch.
* Go to the Fireman's Museum.
* Use sidewalk chalk.
* Blow bubbles.
* Take Father's Day photos with the letters that spell out "DAD" again.

Baby Steps in Potty Training

Joanna is making definite progress with her potty training, but it is a long process. She now actively tries to pee when we put her on the potty. I took a tip I read online, and we now set a potty timer every 10 minutes once it is close to when she needs to go. Oliver loves setting the potty timer!

She still has lots of accidents. It's as if she realizes she is supposed to be on the potty but doesn't understand she's not supposed to pee everywhere else! All I do is tell her pee-pee is supposed to go in the potty. After an accident, I'll put her back on the potty, and she will usually squeeze out a little more and cheer.

So, we are still having regular accidents but also more regular successes! I'd say she has two accidents a day and two successful potty attempts a day. She is most definitely not trained yet, but it's good to see progress. We'll just keep it up and hope she continues progressing. It's been almost two weeks now!

Oliver's Cooking Show: Strawberry Popsicles

We're still trying to get everything back in order from spending all spring and summer updating and selling our house. I'm finally getting around to posting the 5th episode of Oliver's Cooking Show, which I filmed back in May! Here he is making simple strawberry popsicles.

                                                         

Two Points!

I think Jo is starting to get the hang of the potty thing... sort of. She farted on the potty twice today. Both times, she jumped up, clapped, and yelled, "Yay!" Both times, she insisted on bringing her potty to the toilet, dumping in the imaginary poop, and flushing it.

That's progress.

...right?

Our Potty Training "Progress" So Far

So far, potty training is going okay. Joanna is very willing to sit on the potty. She hasn't yet made the association that she's supposed to do anything with it. Let's just say that Joanna sees her potty as a really great chair! It's so fun to sit on.

We've also run into a problem I didn't foresee. Joanna must be part camel because she can wait hours to pee. I am not joking that she has been regularly waiting 4-5 hours in the morning to finally go. We bought a pack of those Horizon milk boxes. The kids love them but typically only get them as a special treat since they are a little pricy (more than a dollar a box). I read that many kids need to use the bathroom about 45 minutes to an hour after drinking lots of liquid. Even if I pump Jo full of milk and water, that little girl can hold it 'til the cows come home!

I'd based my potty training plan off of what worked for Oliver. The idea was to try to keep her on the potty as much as possible around the time she needed to go (without forcing her). I'd utilize books and Barney & Sesame Street videos. When she went, I would cheer and applaud and give her a treat! Eventually, she would start to learn that going to the bathroom in the potty is a very good thing. Oliver started to understand the association after about a week. During that first week, more than half of his bathroom breaks were successful (done on the potty). That helped him learn what the potty was for.

Joanna is different. I'll wait a few hours and put her on the pot. I'll read to her, let her watch videos, even feed her her meals! She'll get off for a while, and then we'll try again. Rinse and repeat, until she finally goes. Sometimes, it's on the potty, and, sometimes, it's on the floor. We're having about 1 successful potty attempt a day, and I'm not sure if that will provide a strong enough association for her to learn to use it.

I'm working on adjusting the potty training plan to fit Jo's needs. She tends to go to the bathroom as soon as she wakes up from sleep. So, I've started putting her down for nap time in her undies instead of a diaper. When her nap time is nearing the end, I open the door and listen for her to start stirring. The moment she starts to wake up, I bring her over to her potty and offer her something like a cracker. She happily snacks for a bit and then goes. This has been the technique that has gotten me the most successful potty attempts so far.

For now, I plan on just sticking with the training. We started on Saturday, and today is Wednesday. I will probably continue with the rigorous training through Labor Day and then reevaluate if necessary. I know Joanna is developmentally ready for the potty, and so I see this as just a matter of me setting aside enough time and focus to catch her when she goes!

Our Potty Training Plan

So, we set a foundation for what will hopefully be successful potty training (link here: http://becky-shattuck.blogspot.com/2013/08/potty-training-my-21-month-old.html). What's next?

At this point, Joanna doesn't even know what peeing is. I mean, she's always worn a diaper. So, now that the foundation for potty training is there, our first step in training is teaching her what it is to pee. This will involve wearing underwear during the day and having accidents. Our goal isn't to punish her when she pees on the floor. It is to teach her that she peed. So, when Jo pees on the floor, I will tell her what she did. "Joanna! You peed! There's your pee-pee!" Then, I will tell her where she is supposed to pee, "Your pee-pee needs to go in the potty, Jo!" I will show her the potty. Then, we will clean up the mess together because, as I said, toddlers love helping!

If Jo poops her pants, then I need to remember not to tell her it is gross. If she is ashamed of pooping, she won't want to do it. She will hide it. If she poops, I need to tell her what she did. "Joanna! You pooped!" Then, I will drop as much of the poop as I can in the toilet, so she can see where it goes, and we can flush it together. She can even wave bye. "Bye, poop!"

Once Jo has an accident, I will make note of the time. If she has an accident at, say, 8am, then I need to be ready to put her on the potty at about 9:30am. Oliver always had to go about 1.5 hours after the last time he went. I had to learn his schedule. Joanna's schedule might be different. So, I will need to learn her schedule. I assume her schedule will be similar to Oliver's, but I can't know until I try! My mom told me kids often have to go to the bathroom right after eating. It might be a good idea to give your child his/her meal about an hour after the last accident. When your child is done eating, then try the potty.

Yes, those are undies on her head. Jo loves her new undies!

In the beginning, I know Joanna will not use the potty when I put her on it. She doesn't even know what peeing is much less peeing on command. I will base her training on what I did for Oliver. This is how I started actively potty training Oliver, right when he turned 20 months old:

1. I learned his potty schedule. He peed about every 1.5 hours. I learned his pee schedule by taking him out of diapers. You aren't going to know when your kid pees if he/she is wearing diapers! Potty training your toddler involves underwear and accidents. Oliver's schedule was 1.5 hours, but I need to be prepared for Joanna to have a shorter, longer, or more sporadic schedule.

2. I put him on the potty shortly before the 1.5 hour mark from the last time he went. Oliver went like clockwork, which really helped in his potty training. I hope Joanna goes regularly, too. If not, potty training her might involve more accidents. That's OK. I am prepared!

3. I then did my best to keep Oliver on the potty as long as possible without making it a punishment. The potty was his special seat to watch videos and read books. He had a special book just for the potty: Lama Lama Holidays. He only got that book when he was on the potty. He would usually sit on the potty for 30 minutes at a time.

4. I sat next to him when he sat on the potty. Remember how I said the goal is to teach Joanna what it means to pee? I needed to be there with Oliver to tell him when he peed. It would be very easy for a kid to tinkle in the potty and not notice--not realize they caused the sound. I was there to tell him right away when he peed!

5a. About half the time, he peed in the potty before the half hour was over. If he peed in the potty, I celebrated big time! I cheered for him and clapped and gave him a high five. I gave him chocolate chips. He got to help me pour his pee-pee from his little potty to the toilet and flush it. It was such a celebration! He was so proud. It was very important I was sitting there with him. If I missed when he peed, I wouldn't have celebrated him at the right time, and he might not have learned the positive correlation between peeing in the potty and celebration.

5b. If Oliver didn't want to sit on the potty anymore, I didn't make him. I didn't want the potty to be a punishment or a bad thing to him. If he got off the potty, I simply turned off his videos or put his potty books up. He only got those on the potty! Sometimes, he would choose to sit back down. If he sat back down, we continued to read and watch Sesame Street videos. If he didn't choose to sit back down, I would put back on his undies and let him play. This almost always led to an accident, of course. That's OK! Accidents happen. Remember what I said in the beginning of this post: I don't want to punish my kids for peeing. I want them to learn what it means to pee. When Oliver had an accident, I told him what he did. "You peed! Uh, oh! That's supposed to go in the potty!" We cleaned it up together: not as a punishment, but just because it was something we needed to do. We also changed his underwear right away. By keeping him dry, he started to hate the feeling of being wet. He didn't want to pee in his undies anymore!

These first steps in potty training took a solid week. That week, we barely left the house. Potty training a toddler is a pretty big commitment (which is why I've been putting it off with Joanna until now). For an entire week, Oliver and I hung in or near the house so I could be sure to get him on the potty when it was time. I didn't mind if he had an accident outside, of course, but I didn't want to drive around and do errands with him in his diaper. If he had lots of accidents in his diaper, he wouldn't really learn about what it means to pee. I don't think his potty-training would have been as successful. So, if you can, pick a week when you can be home a lot to start potty training. That is what we're doing this week. It really stinks to be stuck at home for a week, but I think one week is worth it to be mostly diaper-free and potty trained during the day!

So, that is the plan I used with Oliver. It is the plan I'm following with Jo. I started our week on Saturday. Tomorrow, I will update on how these steps have been working out for us over these past few days. Will I be tearing my hair out? Will I push back potty training? Will I be happy I started? Will Jo have successful potty attempts? To be continued.

There are No Tie-Up Shoes for Kids

Oliver has finally outgrown his size 7 shoes. He has sandals that still fit him, but those won't do for long! Last week, I took him to Target to pick out some shoes. The only requirements I had were that they were comfortable, fit well, and could lace-up. He's going to be 4, and I figured that's a good age to teach him to tie shoes.

Right?

Apparently, the retail market doesn't agree with me. I took him to Target. Most of the shoes were sold out in his size (back to school and all). It struck me as odd that I didn't see any tie-up shoes on display, though. All of the shoes were either velcro, no-lace, or fake laces (elastic bands that look like laces).

I went online to Target after I got back. I am not lying when I say there are *no* toddler boy's shoes that tie-up. I went to the kid's shoes just to see. Would you believe there was only one pair? They were uncomfortable-looking oxfords. Does that seem weird to other parents? Not only can toddlers not get lace-up shoes, but neither can kids? I went to Old Navy's website and Babies R Us website. I found one or two pairs of dress shoes that laced up, but no sneakers.

OK, I then figured Amazon.com was the way to go. They sell lots of brands! They couldn't fail me! Right? Wrong! Unless I wanted to spend $100 on a pair of Air Jordans, I couldn't get Oliver lace-up shoes there either. What the heck!?

Frustrated, I sought out other parents' opinions on Facebook. I had 3 friends reply, and they all complained about the same thing. One said she never found her kids lace-up shoes, so she made a toy shoe by punching holes in a box for them to learn on. Another said she had to finally go to a sporting goods store and spend good money on a pair of basketball shoes to get some that would tie up. Another said her son didn't get to learn how to tie his shoes until almost seven years old because he never had tie-up shoes, in spite of her wanting them for him.

I thought I was going to have to go to a sporting goods store, as my friend had, but I decided to check a few more places before resigning myself to that costly fate. I finally found a pair at JC Penney. They have cute Chuck Taylors with real laces. The laces look very short, and the photos shoe the laces knotted at the sides instead of tied. They're also listed as "slip on," which has me a little worried. I might have to cut off the short laces and make a stop at a shoe store to pick up extra laces, but at least they will work!

Jiminy! Finding a pair of lace-up shoes was all but impossible! Have any of you gone through this? Did you give up? Break the bank?

Belleview Park (Updated Summer Bucket List)

Belleview Park (north side of Belleview, east of Santa Fe) is almost always packed full of families! Kids play in the creek that winds through the park, and there is a playground, a train, and a petting zoo. We go here to ride the train semi-regularly. Oliver currently loves trains. I guess we'll have to go to the railroad museum sometime soon, huh?

Jo was thrilled to play in the creek! Truly, to Jo, there is nothing better than standing in water, throwing rocks. She spent over an hour in the creek.

Oliver wasn't interested in the creek this time. He told us he was too big for the creek and just wanted to ride the train.

Oliver was so excited to ride the train! Tickets now cost $1.75 each, but Jo rides free (because she's under 2 years).

We made it back to the petting zoo for the first time this year! It also costs $1.75/person. It was kind of a dud, to be honest. Jo was afraid to pet any of the animals. Oliver checked them out for about 5-10 minutes and then wanted to go. Oh, well!

Summer Bucket List 2013:

* Watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July.
* Bake a berry stars & stripes cake with Oliver.
* Run through the sprinklers.
* Go to a splash park.
* Play in the "creek" at the Children's Mordecai Gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
* Watch our first parade.
* Ride the outdoor train at Belleview Park.
* Visit a petting zoo.
* Take the kids for a swim.
* Have a real outdoor picnic on the grass with a picnic basket.
* Watch a sunrise.
* Go for a hike in the mountains.
* Go on a road trip.
* Go out for an ice cream cone, and eat it outside!
* Make our own ice cream, and let Oliver choose the flavor.
* Pick and eat vegetables out of the garden we're growing at Grandma Judy's house.
* Eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine at Aunt Bonnie & Uncle George's house.
* Throw water balloons.
* Go tent camping overnight.
* Look at stars in the sky.
* Visit Andrew at work for lunch.
* Take the train downtown to visit Grandpa Larry for lunch.
* Go to the Fireman's Museum.
* Use sidewalk chalk.
* Blow bubbles.
* Take Father's Day photos with the letters that spell out "DAD" again.

Happy (Early) Anniversary!

Andrew's aunt and uncle are coming into town from Texas next weekend, so we made plans to celebrate our wedding anniversary (6 years!) a week early. Grandparents watched the kids, and we spent the weekend in the mountains! For the first day, it felt really, really nice to have some space from the kids. I started to miss them today, and, by the evening, I was happy to be home to them. Sometimes, a couple days away is exactly what I need!

Andrew and I tried to hike to Hanging Lake with the kids last year. When we got to the trailhead, we saw that it pretty much went straight up. There was no way we could hike it with the kiddos. We had to turn around then, but we tackled it this weekend together! The trail was hard because it was so steep, but we had a lot of fun. I even packed a picnic for us to eat when we made it to the top! It was stunning. We had a great time.

I blogged about our mountain adventures on my travel blog. Those entries are here. 

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from the hike:

This afternoon, Andrew took me berry picking (again!) at the Goose Creek Trail in Lost Creek Wilderness. We didn't have to hike very far at all! We found dozens of raspberry bushes all along the trail. I picked them and tried to decide what I would tell Oliver we could make with them. He loves making new things. Maybe we will try to make a raspberry-topped cheesecake.

 

The kids got to hike, too! My parents took them to Rocksborough State Park. Apparently, the kids were more interested in exploring the dirt and rocks than hiking, but they had a good time!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 94: Water Hand Prints and Footprints

Oliver helped me come up with today's toddler activity for Jo. We've been getting some afternoon thunderstorms recently (yay, rain!). A few days ago, he tracked wet footprints all over the back patio. We ended up having a lot of fun making hand prints and footprints on the cement. He loved it when my in-laws' dogs tracked paw prints to look at, too!

I decided to recreate that fun with Jo. I got a bucket of water, but I bet this would work even better with a baking pan full of water. I showed Jo how to make hand prints with the water.

Jo had a lot of fun in the water! She wasn't able to quite "get it" yet, though. She would put hand prints on places that were already wet. She had fun and mimicked what Oliver and I were doing, but I don't think she was fully grasping that the point was to leave prints behind. I mean, that's totally OK. She had fun! I just wanted to point out that she was still a little too young to fully understand the cause-and-effect of using water to make hand prints. So, this activity was fun but might be best for kids who are a little older.

I give this activity a B grade. It was so easy to do! It's nice playing with water when it's hot outside, and the kids had fun. Jo didn't really understand the point of the whole thing, though, so I might as well have just plopped her into a toddler pool with a bucket. Actually, that probably would have even been more fun...