Using the toilet like a big boy

Carter has a thing about going potty in every public restroom we come across. We are at a community center for their Indoor Playground time the other day and Carter wanted to use the potty three times. This particular time I saw him decide he had to go and not mention it to me. He went out the door and into the bathroom by himself. I caught him before he locked the door:

He is not using the toilet to a point that I would say he is potty trained. He is very helpful in telling me when he has just gone, or when he doesn't want to do what it is time to do (like nap or bed).



Potty Training Success

We decided to go swimming with Daddy because he was off.

Carter was in the water with Daddy and told him that he needed to use the potty!! David put him out of the water, and he walked into the locker room bathroom. He sat on the potty for a while, but it was not very comfortable. He decided to hold it. He held it until we got home!! I am so proud of him. We are not in underwear yet, but I think we might be close.

Snow

We got snow this week. The weatherman is calling for up to 10 inches tomorrow!

Carter was less than thrilled. Don't be fooled by these pictures. We captured his best faces.

We went on a walk with some friends today in the sled & he cried the whole way. He wanted Daddy not Mommy. Daddy happens to be home today because of the snow.

Just to compare with last year:

Thanks to our neighbors for letting us borrow their sled! He hates it. But I think it is great.

And, what are the chances that David's camera and mine are on the same number sequence? We put the pictures that we both took in the snow, and they had the same numbers. It was kind of cool.

Bye Bye Croup

Croup can apparently be deadly. I am glad they didn't tell me that when he had it as an infant. The airway swells up and they can't breathe. The doctor told me to keep Carter in cool damp places to keep the swelling down - so that is what we did. Within 2 hours of our doctor's appointment we were at the pool. The next day I remembered that the Children's Museum has a water exhibit so off we went. We played in the water for a good 30 minutes. The day after that we went swimming again. The next morning, his croup symptoms seemed to be pretty well gone. He has a runny nose, but what toddler doesn't right now?

I didn't get any pictures from us swimming. However, I did get pictures at the museum.

He wouldn't take the glasses or the hat off for quite a while.

This is his new "GASP! That is really cool!" and accompanying face:

Croup and Poop

I'll start out with the poop. Carter peed in the toilet for the fist time today!! I sat him down on the toilet and he peed before I could come back with books. He peed all over his pants - of course. Then I asked him if he needed to poop. Yes he said he did. Then he did it. I was so excited. He finally knows what it feels like to actually go in the toilet. I am hoping that it will be a little easier from here on out - now that I can remind him of how he did it.

He was so excited. He asked to call "Grandma and Jordan" and "Pop Pops". So, he called my mother and my father to tell them what a big boy he was. They did not answer so he left a message. Of course we also called David at work. By then, his hoarse little voice (see story below) made it hard for anyone to understand him. So, we went off to play.

On the croup part. Carter woke up multiple times during the night crying for daddy. I called the doctor and they talked to him on the phone. They said he has croup. Nothing we can do, but keep him in a cool moist place. So, we went for a walk this morning, and I have been moving the humidifier around. He just looks so miserable. All I have to do is look at him and he says to me "I'm okay mommy. Are you okay?"

On the bright side, I took this picture yesterday as Carter moved into 3T church shirts. He is such a handsome boy. I love the bumps and bruises. He is such a boy.

Growing Up Too Fast

The toddler bed is going great - now that David put a new lock on the front door. We haven't had any problems with going out the front door. However, last night he slept for about 5 hours before waking up. He came to our room at about midnight wanting me to put him in his crib. He would not go back in his toddler bed. He tried to climb back in the crib.

Friday my father "Pop Pops" came to visit. Carter was really excited to show him pictures that I printed out for him. We got to this picture:

We asked Carter who was in the picture and Carter said Lydia was his girlfriend!! This is the first I've heard him say that. Luckily SOMEONE was video taping this. It certainly wasn't me. I got my camera out and got it again. I merged the videos together. In between Carter was trying to explain that he takes Lydia to "The Show". Whatever that means. So, in the second part of the video he is merging his thoughts together about Lydia and "The Show":

My wonderful husband

Carter woke up and told me "Daddy is happy." I asked him why daddy is happy. He said "Because he loves mommy."

I went to a church activity last night for the women. David's phone was ringing when I left, and I didn't really get a chance to say good-bye like I would have liked to. I felt pretty guilty about it - he always kisses me before he goes out the door, followed by an "I love you". After almost 8 years, I still get to hear it every day.

He apparently got off the phone in enough time to play ball with Carter and wash my car.

I love that he thinks of me like that. It was dark and cold, and he loves me enough to think about me and do something that he knew would make me really happy. I know it seems like a silly thing, but he knows how important keeping my car up is to me.

I also love the fact that he loves me enough to make sure Carter knows he loves me. Except on Christmas night when Carter tried to kiss me like daddy kisses me. That was not cool.

"The one called Mariah" - Aunt Donna

Aunt Donna named the car Mariah - it was hers before. I believe she got it from this poem Question the Wind.

Thanks Aunt Donna.

Operation Toddler Bed Fail

He went down great last night! But I spoke too soon. This morning at 4:00 AM I heard "Mommy, Daddy, I'm awake!" Then I heard the front door swing wide open, followed by the screen door. David jumped out of bed in time to corral our toddler back in the house and put him back in his room - in his crib. It was a very rude awakening. Just yesterday I was telling David that we needed to put some sort of alternate lock on our front door - since we knew Carter could get out on his own. He has never been unattended in the house for it to be an issue. Apparently I have found a time when I cannot be watching my child well enough.

Since we were on the subject of the front door. I have been doing some remodeling. Well, painting. We tiled over the funky linoleum a little while ago, but the pink trim was still off, and it looked horrible. I finally convinced David to put some trim up. The pink door was a little much for me, and the scratch marks on the paint really bothered me. I got a few comments about how my dogs are destructive. My dogs don't scratch at doors. What bothers me about the scratch marks is not the comments I get about them, it is the people that think my dogs did it and don't say anything. I don't get a chance to correct them. Then, they leave thinking I have destructive dogs.

Without the trim:

Do you like the green? It was the color I had. I think it goes well together. David thinks green and purple are a horrible combo. He couldn't think of anything better, and says that as long as I like it, he doesn't care. I can paint over it if I get a better idea. It was better than pink.

Operation Toddler Bed

Day 2 was a success. We heard the pitter patter of footsteps just after we crawled in bed, but they quickly stopped and we heard nothing more.

Day 3 was even more successful than the first two. David put Carter to bed without having to sit in his room with him. We will see how the morning ends up.

Naps have not been so easy. He ended up napping in his crib today. Baby steps.

Operation Toddler Bed

I realized that I was putting the cart before the horse when we started working on potty training. Carter was still in his crib, and needed to have unobstructed access to the bathroom if we were going to transition him. We decided a week ago that it was time to move him to his toddler bed officially.

Carter was against it from the beginning. So, we started him out in his crib and moved him after he was asleep. We did that for one week. Last night we put him in his toddler bed to fall asleep.

It was a success!! We put him down at 6:30 PM. He cried at first, but I sat in the chair next to his bed. After less than 3 minutes he tells me to go tell Daddy that he's okay. I went out and didn't see him again until 8:30 this morning!!

He got to wear his big boy fire jacket that I bought a couple years ago.

December is a busy month!

The title explains it all. I have not been able to keep up on all the funny things that Carter says and does because I get so bogged down with the larger events I want to put up. So, here is the month of little quirks in a nutshell.

Carter and I have been working on doing a craft. We do crafts at our story times and playgroups, but he is never interested. However, we make an extra effort to include my family who are not close.

What is Blue doing, I asked. "Doing a craft!" Carter responded.

I didn't know Carter was an artist. I do not appreciate his art.

We made him clean it off.

In case you haven't seen my eraser:

I had to put a gate at the pantry. He could reach right over it. So I put it up a little higher. Well, then he crawled right under it. Grrr. 

What are the animals doing? "They are dancing". Of course, I don't know why I didn't see it before.

Big loud crash. I came out to find this. At first all he did was lay there, but by the time I got the camera out, he perked up.

All his pretzels are covering a fruit. He ate the "Banana" next.

He was hiding. It is the furthest corner of the house, and the one with them most stuff in it.

We got the opportunity to sit in a police car. He got a sticker that says "Junior Officer".

He was so excited to push the buttons and make the noises. What fun!!

This piece of ham is apparently a tie (where does he get this stuff?):

I learned the proper way to put on underwear:

What is the ducky doing Carter? He is supposed to be over the spout.

"He's watching the 6". Aren't we all?

Went to a friend's house and they had goggles. It was so hard to get them away from him when it was time to leave.

They set up tables for the kids. Carter found an opening, but no chair. He found his own chair and made due.

Blue wanted to build a tent. Steve spent the entire episode with a hammer, a screw driver, and a tool belt. Carter decided he needed a tool belt tool. Afterwards, we went to his crib to build a tent too.

He has been so helpful with his vacuum!! This was just a couple days worth of "Yucky Things" he found:

I am constantly amazed at the things he says and does. I need to make a post for some of the funny things he says. I also have some fun Davidisms that lead me to believe it is no accident that my child is the way he is.