Poop & Pink Eye

So we've been working on potty training for a few weeks now and things are going pretty good.  We've peed in countless Pull Ups, underwear on the floor and even in the potty!  Caileb still insists on telling us after the fact that he has to go potty, but we are making baby steps!  Today we get to spend some mommy & Caileb time together since he has pink eye & cannot go to daycare, and what does Caileb surprise mommy with!?  A POOP IN THE POTTY!!!  Looking back I don't ever think I've been excited about poop, except maybe the time he finally pooped after being constipated for a few days.  It's amazing how much I am concerned about poop that isn't my own now that I'm a mother!

To wrap this up I am so proud of my big boy!  He is growing up so quickly and I just wish I could capture every moment in a life like video that I could revisit.  It seems like just last month I was still on maternity leave and enjoying spending every day at home with our new blessing and his complete dependence on me, his cuddling, and coos.  Now I've got a toddler who is all BOY and nonstop.  There are toys EVERYWHERE in our home, and I have stepped on more match cars and balls than I can count.  I remember when I was in my early twenties I swore that if I ever had a boy he would not get the little toys that I would injure my foot on, and look what happened!  I've had more foot pains from little toys & cars, but I am quickly finding that ALL TOYS are a danger to mothers... tricycles to trip on, big fire trucks to stub a toe on, power wheels that roll over feet and anything else in the path, balls to slip on or be hit with.  But the honest truth is that I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.  I LOVE CAILEB and everything about him!  I love his boyness, his quirks and his personality.

just one of the random things he does daily

Chronicles of the Potty (first 24 hrs)

Take 3...

We have tried this potty training thing with Caileb before, this past summer and right before Christmas, and it was a #failure!  After reading, talking, and observation I decided we'd give it a go... again!  This time we are doing things a little differently- the main difference is that he is in daycare.  They will take him to the potty with the other children that are being trained (I think there are 4 in his room) and I think that this will greatly influence him as he will want to do what the others are doing.  The other difference is that I am more prepared this time.  The previous times it was a decision that I made somewhat on the fly without really looking into his potty patterns or knowing what to do. <---- please do not interpret this as I know what to do, because I am still learning.

At any rate here is our progress so far...
2/9/11 sat on the potty every 15 minutes for 10 minutes until about 9pm when he made a liquid deposit! We put his diaper on for bed and he insisted on putting his underwear on top, so we let him!

2/10/11 Caileb crawled into bed with us early this am and was still dry, but he was still sleep so there was no need to try and get him to sit on the potty sleepy. I said a little prayer and hoped for the best. 7:45 rolled around and we were awake and DRY!!! We did our little morning snuggle, exchanged kisses and talked about how he was going to be a big boy and use the potty today. He was excited and we got up went to the potty and less than 10 second later "I pee peed!" He was beaming and I was thinking, no you didn't go that quick... but he had! 1 marshmallow for Caileb!

There were hi fives, dancing and lots of celebrations- when daddy woke up it was a repeat of the celebration! No telling how we will act when he actually poops in the potty.

Mommies of potty trained boys, please share you experience. What worked? What didn't?

Until next time...

UPDATE (10:30) Potty 3 - Underwear 0

Oh and now Caileb has decided to potty train Mickey Mouse!

UPDATE (12:10) Potty 3 - Underwear 1
Standing at the couch playing and what to my surprise should I hear? Tinkling water on the carpet. Caileb was astonished and immediately looked at me like "what just happened, that was supposed to be in the potty!" Cleaned him up and sat him on the potty, still there (he says he has to poop)!

UPDATE (5:30) Potty 4- Underwear 1 - Diaper 1
Diaper went on and Caileb went down for his nap. He peed (no biggie it's not like we expect him to miraculously stopping peeing in his sleep)! After nap (4:15ish) he sat on the potty for a bit- nothing. We had snack played and back at the potty by 5:20... and he quickly informed me he'd peed and was up quick as lighting for his HI FIVE. I was busy and didn't grab his marshmallow and he didn't even care- he is more interested in the HI FIVE and celebration of it all! I've convinced him to sit back on the potty to try and poop, but no luck yet. He usually goes in the am between 8 and 8:30 but nothing yesterday or today!? Any suggestions on how to deal with pooping on the potty?

go blue...

It's no secret that we are a family that bleed blue- two different shades (Kentucky & Carolina) but nonetheless BLUE!!!

Saturday we enjoyed breakfast as a family at IHOP (all you can eat pancakes!!!!!!!!) and got our day of to a great start! Let me start by explaining a little bit about Caileb... he meets no strangers (PERIOD). He may act shy, but he loves meeting new people and seeing how much he can charm them ;) We often are out in public and have random people coming up to us to tell us how our son was winking or smiling at them, or how he's been playing peek-a-boo across the way! This day was no different and Caileb made "friends" with several people around us- one couple in particular was an older couple and by the time we stood up to leave, he had charmed the little old woman over! We chatted with the couple for a bit and they complimented how cute and well behaved Caileb was (thank you old couple)and then they proceeded to ask us if we were MTSU fans. Ricas and I looked at each other, quizically, and after a little hesitation I said "well yeah, I guess" (not really sure of what this old man's intentions were). In response he gave us 4 tickets to the Blue Raiders Men's Basketball game last night (hence the title). As a reminder I am a UK fan and Ricas UNC, but it was great fun to spend a night out as a family doing something different from the norm. Since it was a fairly empty arena, we were able to sit just about court side- big plus for Caileb! We enjoyed watching the Blue Raiders play to a victory, although I was far more interested in the very random old gentleman that ran around the arena pausing near various fans to cheer and dance! I can't cross anything off my Bucket List, but MTSU blue is very close to UK blue so I am that much closer to a goal of mine!

the tickets... photographer got them a little blurried (must be his style)

on our way to the game...

he doesn't look quite as happy as i do...

 

but he does!

father and son enjoying some basketball

mtsu blue raiders

the blue raider (caileb wanted nothing to do with him)

"mom!? another picture... really?

final score 59-49 blue raiders

a picture of LOVE...

I spent a few hours with a coworker, Lauren, and her husband to capture a very special moment in their lives... they are having a baby!!! Visiting with them and seeing Lauren progress in her pregnancy reminds me of what it was like to be pregnant with Caileb and the anticipation that I felt as his due date grew closer. Lauren & Richard are expecting Baby Nathan in 3 weeks and I cannot wait to see him in person. Lauren & Richard were great sports and allowed me to practice a few ideas with them, and Lauren never complained once about having to get on the ground and then get back up... I recall how difficult that became as I got closer to my due date. Seeing the two of them together and the joy that they have in adding a new "Beard" to the family is pure LOVE! Congrats Lauren & Richard!!!

My Bucket List

I have been wanting to do this for a while now, but never took the time to actually make a list. So here goes my bucket list, things I want to do before I die! Some of these things I will accomplish within the year, others it may be quite a few years; but at least I have goals. This list is in no particular order... I will add to this list... and I may even take things off my list. I will blog about each experience and try to capture photographs when I can! Follow along with me and get ready for the ride- I can imagine it will be full of fun!!!


1. Go on our honeymoon
2. Have a girls weekend
3. Go to an Essence Music Festival
4. Get my Masters
5. Go to Las Vegas
6. Visit Savannah, Georgia
7. Run a 5K
8. Sing karaoke
9. Get out of debt
10. Learn to make pottery
11. Vacation at the beach
12. Take a trip to California
13. Work out consistently, at least 3 times a week (for longer than 2 weeks)
14. Travel outside the US
15. Buy a house
16. Create a trust fund for Caileb
17. Get a complete makeover
18. Photograph NYC (which I guess includes visiting NYC)
19. Fly kites
20. Establish myself as a photographer
21. Learn to knit
22. Photograph love- capture an image that summarizes the emotion (completed 1/16/11, read about it here)
23. Photograph sunset at a beach
24. Photograph sunrise over water
25. Discover my life’s purpose
26. Learn to say “no” without feeling guilty
27. Go to movies solo
28. Help with a Habitat for Humanity build
29. Pay for a stranger’s meal at random
30. Make a financial donation to a charity
31. Plan a party (other than Caileb’s birthdays)
32. Provide a complete Christmas for a family in need- gifts & food
33. Have or go to a painting party
34. Visit a vineyard
35. Go horseback riding
36. Go skiing
37. Spend a weekend at a 5-star spa
38. Go to a UK football game (my husband reminded me that I went to a game with a friend before we moved to TN, when I locate a picture I will mark this completed- until then I'll just say IN PROGRESS)
39. Go to an NFL football game (complete 12/19/10, read about it here)
40. Raise a happy & healthy child (in progress)
41. Be a foster parent
42. Adopt a child
43. Have family rituals & traditions to celebrate holidays
44. Create my family tree
45. Renew our wedding vows for our 10 year anniversary
46. Get together with extended family at least once a year
47. Make a difference in at least one person’s life (I hope this is in progress)
48. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
49. Plant a garden
50. Join a disaster relief effort
51. Create a cookbook (not original recipes, but ones that I enjoy and like cooking, something to pass on)
52. Go to a Broadway play
53. Watch a Cirque du Soleil show in person
54. Go to the Kentucky Derby
55. Hand out money to total strangers
56. Be a member in the audience of a TV show
57. Get a henna tattoo
58. Travel solo
59. Throw someone a surprise party
60. Go to a masquerade
61. Take a 365 day challenge (a few options)
Write in a journal
Learn a new word every day
Do some sort of exercise for 20 minutes every day
Save $3 every single day
Take a photo every day
62. Learn to, and go, snorkel
63. Swim with dolphins
64. Go white water rafting
65. Go on a cruise
66. Ride a mechanical bull
67. Walk through a corn maze
68. Go- go kart racing
69. Go whale-watching (well, maybe!?)
70. Visit Niagra Falls
71. Visit the San Diego Zoo
72. Milk a cow
73. Ride an elephant
74. See the Grand Canyon
75. Visit Yosemite National Park
76. Witness a meteor shower
77. See pyramids in Egypt
78. Go to an art museum
79. Vacation in St. Croix
80. Visit the Coney Island Boardwalk
81. Visit the Hershey Chocolate Factory

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!! Can you believe it's 2011... I can't, I recall thinking the world was gonna end in the year 2000 and here we are exactly 11 years later. It just goes to show that no man knows God's timing.

So here we are on 1/1/11 and there are tons of things that I could update you all on, but that would be way too much seeing as those the last post I made was back in June :(

Since then we have moved to a larger place, but it's still not OURS- I am really looking forward to start the home buying process (although there is not actual plan for this, just a goal that we know we'd like to accomplish soon).

We spent Christmas & our New Year in Kentucky with our family & friends and had such a great time. Being there for so long makes me even more excited about moving back home this summer- I just hope that we can find jobs!


As far as Caileb goes... he turned 2 back in November and he is so smart! He can count to 20 on his own, say his ABCs, knows some of his colors and shapes and has a great vocabulary! He LOVES transportation- cars, trucks, airplanes, helicopters, and trains; he loves all sports, watching monster truck shoes and playing hide-n-seek! Sometimes it's hard to believe that we have a 2 year old boy! Although he is out of the lovey dovey cuddley stage, he will still give hugs and kisses (although they are very limited) and every once in a while he will snuggle against me while I am editing pictures or looking at photographs! I think he is going to be into the arts- he request to paint with me, loves to look at photographs and will often try to take some of his own, and he is SO into music!


There are a few things that I want to accomplish in 2011 and many things that I want to do that I probably won't get done this year, so I am creating a bucket list! I am so excited to put down all the ambitions I have and to track my progress- I will document my journey here and will try to blog about the things that I cross off my list!!!

Bucket List #39

As a birthday gift from a good friend, Ricas and I attended the Titans vs. Texans football game. It was a perfect day for football- chilly, but not freezing! The amazing part about this day was that we were seated 3 rows from the field. It was absolutely amazing to be so close to the field and see the game up close & personal (although I must admit I spent more time gawking at the lenses of the photographers)! At any rate, the day was great fun and a good way to start our Winter Break. I would also agree that it was a great date with just the hubby- after the game we had a late lunch at the Catfish house and did some window shopping.