We are officially potty training! We were hoping to start over the weekend so that Jared could be around to take it in shifts or get Jack out of the house if the going got tough. But Alice had other plans. She was so excited to have her potty seat arrive, and so intent on pulling off her diapers constantly, that we ended up starting on Tuesday. She took the reigns entirely. I was still dragging my feet, hoping to wait until Jared could be home on the weekend. I needn't have worried though--she basically potty trained herself. She didn't have a single accident the first two days. She went both ways in the potty and even had some successful outings. I didn't pump her full of liquids. I didn't need to use any rewards. I didn't set a timer and give her constant reminders to go. She would just wait until she felt the need, yell "frog!" or "potty!" and run herself to the bathroom. Our biggest problems those first few days were (a) she is very independent and wanted to do 100% of the wiping herself, and (b) she was very upset when we changed her out of her undies and into a pull up to sleep (she's still in a crib--we tried transitioning her out of the crib this week but it was just too much change at once).
We've had one or two accidents since then, but overall she's doing great. I know it'll be a few months before things feel easier without diapers than they did with. (I forgot about needing to keep a car potty handy and being aware of where the nearest restroom is on every outing, and having backup clothes in case of an accident.) But she's excited to be taking on this milestone and we are so proud of her. We love our Alice Lark. And now some photos from our week:
Our Jack is 7! That number feels like the beginnings of "big kid" years and out of the little boy years. Bittersweet. Jack chose to celebrate with a pizza dinner, then bowling and arcade games at Fat Cats. Grandma and Grandpa Haines came, and then we went back to our house for cake and to open presents. He had a wonderful day, and it was a reminder that we don't need to do something elaborate to make it a great birthday. Jack getting to do exactly what he requested--bowline and arcade games--was the perfect, happiest birthday he could have had. Jared had a happy birthday too because our bowling lane kept glitching, so halfway through the game when the kids were starting to wear down anyway, he requested a refund and we were able to move onto arcade games and cake before it got too late.
We're starting to get some warmer weather, and Alice wants to spend all her time "outside." She's starting to talk more, and she is basically begging to be potty trained. We ordered a potty seat that looks like a frog (she chose it). It arrives today, but she has spent the last 24 hours yelling "FROG!" to let us know that she wants it here now. When she says "frog" it sounds more like a particular bad word, so it's a bit of a jump-scare when she yells it out of nowhere. We will start potty training later this week once we've prepped physically and emotionally. Wish us luck. And now for some pictures from our week:
