How "Bout Them Cowgirls?

Sophie loves her pink, western-style boots a whole, whole lot. I couldn't resist sharing this picture.

Pottywatch: The Sequel

Since I carefully documented Will's pottytraining in a series of posts, I figure I should record my experience with Sophie as well. All too quickly, the memories seemed to run together when you have multiple kids.

In the last couple months, I saw a couple of signs that Sophie was ready to pottytrain, mainly 1) good communication skills and 2) requests to be changed. Additionally, she has always had Will's example, so I didn't think the toilet would be too intimidating for her.

I put it off for a few weeks, since we have so few days at home and we try to get out of the house most days.

Last Monday, Maddox was sick so I was unexpectedly at home with the kids. Since I'd made no plans, it seemed like as good a day as any to try to train her.

I couldn't locate "Toilet Training In Less Than A Day", but I thought I remembered the basics and what parts had worked best with Will. (We adapted the book's instructions as we saw what worked - and didn't - for us.) I located the wetting doll and her bottle and we got started.

Sophie had a few accidents on the first day, but always told me as soon as she had them. She loved her "un-na-na" (she really does speak clearly but she's gotten stuck on the "un-na-na" pronunciation) and she got lots of stickers for "dry pants checks" and those were a hit. (I used candy for Will, but Sophie is finicky and with Halloween so recent, candy is not such a special reward right now.)

I was impressed that when she was dry, she was very dry, and could stay that way for a long time. I was unable to get her to drink much, which would've been helpful so that she had more opportunities for success. The hardest part was that when Sophie didn't want to sit on the potty, *SHE DIDN'T WANT TO SIT ON THE POTTY!!!* There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Long-term readers, friends and family remember that she's been quite opinionated since birth and this doesn't seem to be easing.) Overall, I was pleased with the day.

On Day Two, I had to go to work. My parents had arrived Monday evening and received the thrilling news that they would be helping to pottytrain my child. By the evening, my mom was a little discouraged. Sophie had three accidents and again fussed about sitting on the potty. I really didn't think three accidents was a bad record at all, except that she didn't really use the potty until that evening.

Wednesday was a terrific day. Sophie had one very small accident and began to tell us when she needed to go. She went before and after class Wednesday night at church.

Thursday was accident-free. She was telling us when she needed to go and was able to go much more quickly once there. We were still having some false alarms, where she changed her mind about needing to go, but those seemed to decrease as the day continued.

Although I know we will still face challenges and have accidents, I am deeming her potty-trained until further notice!! I am thrilled at how easy this went. I hope it is not too good to be true.

UPDATE: One more week has passed, and Sophie is still doing great. She has had maybe two accidents all week, I think. I still can't believe how easy this went!

Why Does Mimi Laugh So Much?

The above was Will's question for me a couple of weeks ago when Mimi visited. I thought it was very sweet and am glad we all get to enjoy Mimi's sunny personality. I love to watch her "soak up" the kids while she is here, since we don't get to see each other as often as we might like.

We love you, Mimi!

Consistency

Sophie speaks clearly for a young two-year-old. Still, she is not without her idiosyncracies.

Recently I realized that she is nothing if not consistent. Hence, words that rhyme still rhyme when she says them, only with a reinvented sound. For instance, "cah-yahr", "stah-yahr", "guitah-yahr". Car, star, guitar - with added Sophie pizazz.

A Typical Conversation With A Four-Year-Old With Perfect Hearing, According To His Pediatrician

I am looking at Amy's blog.

Will: Who is that? Is that Keaton?

Mom: No, that's Luke.

Will: Luke who? Luke Skywalker from Star Wars?

Mom: Does that *look* like Luke Skywalker?

Will: No.

Mom: It's my friend Amy's little boy.

Will: Whose little boy? Sara W*****'s little boy?

(Yes, Sara - he actually called you Sara W***** instead of Sarah Palin!)

Mom: No, Amy's little boy. Sara's little boy is named Camden...

Will: Sara's little boy is named what? Sandra?

Mom: No, Camden, and her baby's name is Scott.

Will: Oh.

Brownie Batter Bliss

Will on politics

"Mama, I am SO SAD that my President didn't win!" - Will Flanigan

Halloween

Due to the fact that she managed to both pee AND drool on her "BaowlerEENa", Sophie got to wear two different costumes this year. Early in the day, we took "Hippie Mimi" to the zoo and had a great morning. But by dusk, Sophie's costume was unsalvagable. Thanks to a consignment sale, we had a ladybug ready in the wings.

By the way...

Please note my Google ads to the right. Not so you can click through, but because they are unintentionally quite amusing, at least to me. A few days ago, my post regarding Will's fascination with Scotch tape resulted in an ad for tapewarehouse.com (or something similar).

I most recently saw an ad for bedinabox.com. I got a brief, big kick out of thinking this was related to my Halloween post above about Sophie peeing, but then I realized there was an earlier post about the kids' new beds.

2nd Annual Ring Farm Expedition

A few weeks ago, we visited the Ring Farm with a bunch of friends. Unfortunately it got dark before I took a group photo, but I believe there were 33 of us, about half kids and half adults. We had a great time and enjoyed the corn maze, pumpkin patch, firepit and particularly their new 40-foot slides (also known as drainage pipes)! Thank you to all of our friends who came with us!