Potty Training

I'm going to make this fairly sweet & short. I tried potty training Niran at 18 months & due to various issues it wasn't accomplished the many times I tried. When we got to North Carolina I was going to try again & never give up. I really wanted something to motivate him, a reward or bribe, whichever you call it. I call it a reward for his accomplishment, but I had no idea what we were going to use. A couple days before we were to start again we were driving home, telling Niran how he was going to start potty training like a big boy. About a block before the house he said he had to go potty. We ran him inside and he went, just like that. Daddy & I were cheering him on and without talking to Daddy I told Niran "If you can keep going potty like a big boy, Mommy & Daddy will buy you a bike!" Why I didn't think of it sooner I don't know, maybe because we had bought the bike for his birthday the weekend before. Yes, it was 1.5 months until his birthday, but it was a great sale! He was very excited for this. Every time we were at Walmart and he saw the bikes he wanted to ride them (he did some times as well). Now it was time to figure out how to track his progress. That night it hit me. CandyLand! I would make a board game on poster board, much like CandyLand with the final prize being his bike! I ran it by Dusty the next day & he liked the idea as well. I got the poster board & the prizes then started working on the game board itself. We weren't able to start on a Monday because the idea came so late and the board wasn't easy to make it. We did start Tuesday morning, after a very late night for me, and here is our progress!

Aug 9, 2010 - It has begun! Niran's Potty Game! He was very excited about his game!

Each space represented a success in going potty. Every 15th success he won a small prize. When he made to the end he would get his new bike. If we waren't quite ready to say he's potty trained & should get his bike I was prepared to extend the board to allow more time.

His 1st Prize! The first week started out slow of course, but by the end of it I knew he had it. It was just a matter of continuing to reinforce going potty every time before having an accident.

Bubbles, this landed as his first trip to the potty one morning. Daddy came home from PT to him going crazy chasing bubbles done. We ran out of bubbles that morning.

His Woody & Buzz Lightyear cars. He won these at two different times, but he was very excited to get both. Probably b/c he loves car that much. The Woody car marked the halfway point. After that it went pretty quickly.

His dry erase books, one of his favorite prizes! He actually did very well his first time tracing the letters!

Last prize before the big one! Another prize he loves, it's a bath toy. The last few days of his game went VERY fast. He was getting a prize a day. I was hoping that he would do well enough so Daddy could be there to see him get his bike. The day Daddy left for training (he left at midnight) Niran had a few accidents because he wanted to play instead of going potty.

The morning after Daddy left for training he did it! It was the second trip to the bathroom for the day. It seemed like ages before he went. I was so excited I had the bike setup outside for him, but he just did not need to go this morning. I was even loading him up on fluids.

Yay! He did it! I told him that we needed to go get his bike. He was so excited talking in Niranese. Put his shoes on and tried opening the door before I was ready.

Sitting outside was his bike & helmet. He was so excited and got on & rode for a little while, but it was a bit warm so I brought him and his bike inside so he could ride around for awhile.

All the hard work paid off. We had one set back when he broke his leg. It was really hard getting his chonies off over his cast as well has trying to get him in the bathroom quickly. The accidents became too frequent and I did not want issues with his cast so back into a diaper he went. Once he was out of his cast he knew exactly what to do. We still have night time training to do, but we're waiting a few more months to start that.

Myrtle Beach

I never did do the post for Myrtle Beach. Well, it was Springmaid Beach, which was also the name of our hotel. It was so nice to be able to walk out of our hotel room & right down to the beach without having to drive anywhere & find parking. Plus it wasn't very crowded. There was a nice couple of vacation from their kids. Well, actually Grandma & Grandpa had offered to take them so the made a last second trip down. They were very nice. They rented beach chairs & an umbrella and allowed us to use them even when they weren't around. They even offered to watch the boys so we could go swim without them. I didn't take them up on the second offer, I didn't feel comfortable enough allowing strangers to watch them, but hey it's the thought that counts right? Well, we spent as much time as we could at the beach and here are some photos from those visits. I think Niran loved it & I know Calvin will as he gets older.

The view from our hotel room. We were on the top floor over looking the pools for our building as well.

As soon as we checked in we walked down to the beach. It was pretty empty due to overcast weather, but as you can see the boys still had fun.

We walked the hotel pier as well. People fished off it and we were able to get a good shot of the many Myrtle Beach resorts.

Probably the only proof that I was there too. Well that and someon had to take pictures!

It was very difficult to get Niran away from the beach. We had to force him to rest & drink water in the shade or even leave. We had to take turns taking him to the water.

Calvin wasn't a huge fan of the waves so he hung out in our little beach tent most of the time. He really loves water now so next time I'm sure he'll have fun splashing and running from waves.

One morning we got up very really & went down to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was a bit odd to look up the coast to watch it since you usually picture yourself looking across the ocean, but the little piece of land we were on sticks out changing the angle.

This Niran while we waiting for the sun to come up. He wasn't supposed to go into the water, but eventually did make it. I love this photo of him from our trip.

Pirate Adventures

Dusty heard about Pirate Adventures from a friend. I had seen it in a search of activities to do at Myrtle Beach, but didn't think Niran would be "old enough" for it. Dusty said to do it anyway. I decided to have this start out for our trip. On our way there it rained and rained and rained. We wondered if they would cancel it with the weather. They did delay the start hoping the weather would clear up a bit. It didn't, but that didn't stop us. We went out to "sea" in a misting rain!

We started off by getting Niran dressed up as a pirate. He didn't really want to participate at first, no vest, no hat, no tattoos, no socializing. The only thing he wanted to do was get on the boat and set sail. He's never been on a boat and he was very excited to get on one since that was one of the first objects he was able to identify.

Daddy was smart and bought him a Jolly Roger flag. Actually just buying Niran a flag is smart. He loves flags! That helped encourage him to get dressed up. This is him as a pirate, a very proud pirate. I love how he says pirate too.

Listening to instructions before getting on the boat. He was a tad nervous or maybe annoyed that we just weren't getting on the boat yet.

Mommy and Calvin ready to set sail. Calvin had gotten a mild cold so I opted for the yellow trash bag to help keep us dry. Dusty said that he looked like a sailor with his yellow trench coat and blue hat. I love my sailor! He did great on this trip. No fussing at all, just hung out, watched the excitement and dozed a little. Oh and if you plan on putting a child in a carrier and walking around a boat remember your balance is waaaaay off!

Our ship! The Sea Gypsy III

Quietly listening to instruction. When Niran first got on the boat he sat in the back with Daddy & me. He was taking in the moment of being on a real boat. He kept saying he was on a boat and just looked around wide-eyed. He finally decided to join the other kids when the fun really got going.

They were told to put the ear on the map and listen. What they were listening for I don't know, but I think it's cute that he listened to her!

Shooting the bad pirate!

This was a fun little activity for younger children. They have a story the kids get to participate in. It is 100% for the kiddies too! Mom & Dad just get to watch and take photos. I would let Niran do this again the next time we go down. He is loving pirates even more because of the trip! His hat and flag are a couple of his favorite toys now!

Medieval Times

Our a very long drive to North Carolina Dusty was telling me about this place that had jousting tournaments (at the time he couldn't think of the word jousting and it drove him crazy trying to remember). He said he was going to take Niran to see it and he did offer to let me come if I wanted to. He added that on at the end and it made me laugh. Top priority, Niran and him go! When he discovered this place was in Myrtle Beach he told me to book our tickets. Calvin and I tagged along. A evening with exciting entertainment and good food, who could pass that up?

Dad and Niran in front of the castle.

And the show begins. Niran couldn't take his eyes off of the events.

Yes, we were front and center for the show! That's our knight there, the black & white knight. He didn't win, but he had more guts than most of the others!!

Daddy taught him how to boo for the bad guy!! It was too funny!

Calvin didn't make it very long. The show started about 30 minutes after he was due for another nap. He did great though. No fussing!

I wish I had more pictures of the show, but our camera doesn't do very well with action shots. We do have three dvds if anyone really, really wants to watch the show! But this is a must if you have the chance! I'll have to pull the photos out from the table and with the King and scan them so everyone can see how important we are. Well, at least see a good family shot.

Ripley's Aquarium

Friday morning we went to Ripley's Aquarium. We thought Niran was going to love it. I'm not sure if he loved it and wanted to see everything as fast as he could or he just wanted to get through the aquarium. He went through every exhibit so fast and started dragging us around if we didn't go fast enough. I'm sure one day we'll be able to take him back and he will really be able to enjoy it. I think for now we'll stick to watching videos & movies of fishies.

Manta Rays - Dusty and I both got to touch one. I tried to help Niran touch one, but he freaked out. I think he just wanted to put his hands in the water.

Fishies!

Take a break to play. This is the same fish that Dori & Marlin meet in the deep, dark waters.

Speaking of Marlin & Dori!!

Looking at his "face"

He thought this squid was pretty neat.

A picture with a real shark. He's so cute!

Niran & Calvin Visit the Doctor

When we move to a new installation we are supposed to go visit our doctor within the first 30 days. I waited for paperwork from our doctor to get here, then made the appointment. Here we have to book a month out!! But they did get in and are now all current on shots, which means I can put them on the waiting list for daycare. Calvin's wait for 6weeks to 12 month care is a year...yeah, do the math on that one! I'm going to see about putting him on the waiting list for 15 months so he can continue breastfeeding if he wants until he's one.

Niran - 2/3 year check up
I never got his 2 year check up done in AZ, so they combined it for me. Niran loves his new doctor. She had him giggling like crazy. Her pocket froggy also had a talk with him about going potty like a big boy, which has helped a lot. He got his shots the same day and he now hates being in the immunization room (the doctor & immunizations are in two different rooms. Immunizations does shots for all doctors. You don't need to see the doctor to get shots and you can go in as soon as its time for your shots. Calvin went before his appointment). He ended up having a bad reaction to one of the shots. I had to call the RN and talk her. It's getting better now (2 weeks) and just looks like a bruise. Poor guy was pretty miserable for awhile. Okay, now stats!!

Height: 37 inches (40th percentile)
Weight: 31.8 lbs (60th percentile)
Talking: He's still progressing in his talking. We now have many conversations with him and he can generally tell us what he wants. He's always asking what something is and most of the time will repeat what it is before walking away.


Calvin - 6 month
He's good on seeing the doctor until 12 months, but I'm not sure about shots. They didn't tell me about that so we will go back in 2 months just to double check. He had a great face for shots, he had a scared get out of here fast look. Doctor was very impressed with him and his development. Everything was right on or ahead of schedule (she said not to worry about rolling tummy to back, he'll figure it out eventually). We are just very behind on standing with minimal support (holding his hands while he stands). I never thought to even try yet. He's already doing very well with it. We are also completely done with bottles. He took no more than 10 ounces (probably closer to 5) from bottles in his 7 months of life. Now we're on to sippy cups alone, which so far isn't going well. I haven't been able to convince him to use Niran's starter cups, so we'll be testing some other brands this week. The doctor said not to worry about it too much, which I'm not. It'd just be nice to go out to eat and give him a sippy cup instead of nursing him. It'd be nice to take a break at some point. 7 months down, 5 to go!! Ready for stats? These are approximate since I lost the paperwork =( I'll find it and update this though. His appointment was the day we left for our vacation so it doesn't surprise me it's lost.

Height: 27inches (50-60th percentile) <---yes he's catching up to his brother!
Weight: 17lbs 8 ounce (40th percentile)
He has two teeth (I think more on the way), he can sit up on his own, but still falls over, he's trying to crawl, he's working on that pincer grasp, and he's doing very well with solid foods now that I know he's picky about texture not taste!

They are both growing so quickly. It's amazing! They are still best friends. Niran calls Calvin "bebies." He did say Baby Calvin last night. When we asked him who he was he would say "you" I realized that needed to change so I started with "bubba." He says he's "bubby" now. I never thought we'd have pet names like this for the boys.

Next Milestone: Crawling!

Calvin is a pro at rolling from back to tummy. He started his attempts at only 2 weeks. Freaked me out and I wouldn't let him practice until 4 months which he accomplished as if he had been doing it all along. Well, he was, in his bed at night. And yet this sweet chunk cannot roll from tummy to back. No matter how much I try to encourage him, he just won't. He's been very happy with his current mode of transportation. Scooting backwards and flatspinning. At least that's what I think he does, I don't really ever see him do it.

He magically appeared under there. He's also the one getting into the cables. Just like his big brother did!

This week he has been attempting to get on his hands and knees and he's done it with great success!! Wednesday was the first day I caught him actually make it on his knees. Last night he got up for a good 15 seconds and just held it! I was sooo excited. I got the camera out and was able to get a short video and some pictures. I'm sure its not too surprising that he is very proud of his accomplishment. Niran has been crawling around on the floor showing him his next steps. I need to enjoy this freedom I have now. Any day now I won't be able to keep him in one room any longer!!