Kasey Potty Training!?!?

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Update

So far he has peed on Elmo, then on Cookie Monster.  He was very concerned both times.  I'm going to take this as a good sign, suber it means he is aware of it happening.  Not sure he is ready for the full potty training treatment. If there is one thing I have learned...don't try to speed up the process too much out make it stressful because that doesn't work anyway!!

Potty training

He said potty, then he pooped, on the floor.  His reward was elmo underwear. The fun begins!!!

Third Time's a Charm?

Two days ago Kasey went poop in the potty for the first time.  He actually said poop before he made us a present that morning, so when he did it again later that day, we got the potty out of storage and within fifteen minutes, VOILA!  We were so excited!!! Pete even took a picture (I will spare you that).
Since then, Kasey often seems annoyed with his diaper, so he is definitely more aware "down there.". Then this morning he started yanking at his diaper and looking at me with a sweet "help me" expression on his face.  I got out the potty.  It turns out the diaper yank was an indication that he was actually in the middle of peeing, so I missed that moment.
He has been naked ever since but hasn't gone, despite my attempts at pumping him full of water 'n milk.  However, you can see that the potty curiosity is high. 
Don't worry, I have no anticipation that he will be potty trained any time soon.  After a frustrating and too stressful journey with Tomas, I have learned to let go and just flow with and encourage the kids' cues.  So, at this stage we are working on how to sit on the potty and what exactly it is for..."No, Kasey, your baseball and milk cup do not go in there.  No, Kasey, it is not a step stool.". Let the adventures begin!!!!

Open House and Babysitters!

Tonight was Open House at Tomas' school. No surprise, but kids are not allowed at Open House, so we had to find another arrangement for the kids. My awesome neighbor and friend, Heather, offered to share her babysitter with us. This was great because it meant the kids had a good level of comfort by being with their friends. Still, I was nervous because in reality, it was really the first time we've left the kids with a babysitter. Sure, they've stayed with Oma and Bada, and friends of ours have watched them, but that is not remotely the same! Needless to say I was feeling nervous about how it was going to go.

Tomas was thrilled to be having a "kid meeting" wile we went to the adult meeting at school. That was a great start!!!

Pete and I went to the open house. I was a hormonal, exhausted, emotional mess: nervous about the whole night and not in such a "go with the flow" mood. Unexpectedly for me, we had to bring the Cadillac to a show in our ongoing efforts to sell it. Like I said, I was not so go with the flow, so it turned me into a total mess. A good hug and a few tears later, we walked into Tomas' school. We were both so much looking forward to learning more about the flow of the classroom so that we can have some more details to ask Tomas about every day.

Tomas' teacher's name is Mrs. Carter. She is a petite older woman with 3 grown children who got a late start in her career. Mrs. Carter, is an enthusiastic, warm person who seems to truly love working with preschoolers. I am looking forward to seeing what she does for Tomas this year.

As expected, the open house talked a lot about general expectations for the year. Tomas is on par in regards to social development. It will be great for him to get to work on listening skills, not interrupting, and general socialization with peers. When it comes to academics, he is well ahead of the curve. Mrs. Carter says phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and letter sounds are the goals for the year. Well, Tomas has already achieved that, so I am curious as to how everything will develop as the year goes on. As Mommy and Daddy, we want to make sure Tomas stays interested and challenged at school, so we will be having conversations with Mrs. Carter in the coming weeks as to how that will happen.

We returned to the school parking lot to a text message from the baby sitter. Gabriella had an accident, and not the easy kind of accident...the gross stinky kind. Oh man! Not the news I wanted to hear! Maria, the babysitter said everything was fine, but we headed back to find out. Gabriella and Tomas were both in a good mood when we picked them up, so despite putting the babysitter through some grossness, the evening seemed to be a success. Phew!!

Further discussion

This video is a follow up to the previous discussion I had with Gabi about going potty. These kids are too silly!

Potty talk

A little discussion with Gabi about going Potty. She is definitely a girl...motivated by chocolate.