Samantha loves Dada

Summer time

We have had a really great summer. In June I ran a half marathon with two friends in Deadwood, SD. It was beautiful. We ran through the Black Hills. All I can say is that I finished, and I finished painfully. I'm glad I did it but it will be along time before I do it again. We went to Denver in June and took Samantha to the Denver Zoo. It was so much fun. She knows her animals and would say hi to all of them with a wave. She did really good until it was time to leave the wild horses. This girl loves horses. We got ice cream to make it all better before we headed out of the gate. Will and I had our first alone date without Samantha. We went to a Rockies game to celebrate Father's Day early and Samantha stayed the day with the Pahls. It was really nice and we had a blast.

The summer has been full of fun at the park with friends, getting back into working out after having to recover for a couple of weeks after my run, and we are hosting a Financial Peace University class at our house every Monday night. I really recommend it to everyone.

Samantha and I just got back from Colorado. We stayed at my Dad's house and my cousin Robbie and his wife Amy along with their kids, Bailey and Eli came to visit for two days. We packed as much as you can do in two days as possible. Monday we took them fishing in Creede and then they rode four-wheelers around the barn and then Tuesday we went to the Colorado Alligator Farm, San Dunes and they rode horses that night. Samantha threw the biggest fit, so Papa took her for a little ride when they got back. We had so much and Samantha loves Bailey and Eli.

Samantha is doing really well. She has grown so much over the last few months. At her 12 month apt. she was 25% in weight and 50% in height. At her 18 month apt. she was 60% in weight and 75% in height! She is still talking up a storm and can tell you pretty much anything now. The next two weeks we are doing swim lessons, and she loves the KidsZone at the rec center so that is great for me because I can work out. We will go back to that this week too. Overall, the Hart house is staying joyfully busy, but balanced with rest and sweet Samantha time.

Diaries of a Potty Training Mom Part 5

Well, here we are. The last entry we are going to make. There are no real new changes. I'm just trying to figure out what to do now. She really knows what to do and isn't afraid of the potty and our issue is still pee. I think what I'm going to do is just do panties when we are at home and maybe she will get better and better as she learns her body. That is really the only issue is her knowing in time to get to the potty. We will see. Potty training is no science thats for sure. Would love to hear from you all. Thanks.

Diaries of a Potty Training Mom Part 4

Can I just tell you I love my husband? I do. This morning before potty training started he took care of Samantha and I went to the gym for an hour and a half. Awesome! I felt ready to go when I got back. Also, he did a great job potty training. He wins the award for potty training, I get a C-.  He got Samantha to go pee in the toilet this morning!! Whoop Whoop!

When I got home Will had to go to work, I know its a Saturday, but we are thankful for a wonderful job. I was up and I immediately failed. After several attempts to potty I was convinced she did not need to go actually and while in the kitchen I hear from the bathroom, "Oh no!" She was in the bathroom, by the toilet, and had an accident!! We could have done it!!! I was so mad at myself. I told her sorry and that it was okay because it was Mommy's fault.

After nap, Will came home and we needed to get out of the house so we went to KMart. Big fun in Gillette, Wyoming what can I say. Samantha has two teeth that you can see are just about to cut threw and the poor little thing is suffering, so KMart didn't go so well. We came home and went back to potty training, but we could tell it was just frustrating her and we decided to just leave her alone. I can't imagine how annoyed I would be if someone asked me 15 times an hour if I needed to go potty. Then, then... we pooped in the potty!!! Sam came running into the bathroom saying, "Hurry, Hurry!" And we went potty!!! Two success amidst the messes, but thats okay! All panties are washed and ready for tomorrow. I think we will take a break in the morning and go to church and then train in the afternoon. We have seen that she does much better when we just let her be and follow her cues and clean up the mess when we need to.

Tomorrow is our last day and we will see how we do before I decide what is next. Maybe you can help me. Any motherly advice from those of you who have journeyed this journey before is welcomed.

Signing off...
A much more encouraged PTM

Diaries of a Potty Training Mom Part 3

I am so glad there will be only 5 parts to this saga!! What a long day! We stationed ourselves in the bathroom for 90% of the day. Snacks, drinks, and a movie in the bathroom. That little sticker saw me yesterday take the top of the princess potty and put in on our potty to see if it was one of those that converts and clips to a regular potty. It does. And so, she would not sit on the princess potty. No, it was not until I figured out that she had to sit on the big potty. I put the potty part of her potty on the big potty, then she would sit on it. We did this all morning until 11 when I put her and myself down for a nap and then again from 1 to 3. I gave up at 3 and put her in a diaper. She would pee on the floor, run into the bathroom and then sit on the toilet. Every time! She pooped in her diaper which I'm thinking is what woke her up from her nap so we didn't even get to try that today. After sitting on the bathroom floor for oh 4 to 5 hours my back is killing me. It was funny when we went out to dinner because she said hi to everyone. We laughed because you could totally tell she had been inside all day and needed some other interaction.

I'm going to stick to what I had promised and I'm not going to quit until Sunday night. I think although we didn't have any success today we did have progress. She did sit on the potty, the big one no less, yesterday she would do no such thing. And, she did recognize that she need to go to the potty even if it was a little late. I think this will be gradual for her, so hopefully in the next couple of days we can see some more progress. Baby steps, right? Okay, I'm having some wine and going to bed.

Signing off...
PTM

Diaries of a Potty Training Mom Part 2

Today was suppose to be our kick off to real potty training and like plans of all mothers, plans change. First, Samantha slept until 10. Now I am not complaining about that at all. It just moved the rest of our plans back. Therefore, we went to the gym at 12 and took a nap at 2 and really didn't potty train until 4.

How did it go? Not good. I think her teeth are hurting her because in general she was a little crabby and wasn't interested in the potty at all. Would not even sit on it. We continued on though. We wore panties and cleaned up 4 messes, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Overall, we had no successes today, but I'm not going to give up until Sunday. Tomorrow we are going to stay home all day and try, try again. I did learn about how long between each potty she goes, so I think that will be a huge help.

After really potty training from 4 to 6:30 tonight I think tomorrow may be a long day. I pray for a happy spirit from Samantha. I hope that once she goes she will see and then continue easily. First half day down....

Potty Training Mom

Diaries of a Potty Training Mom Part I

I realize I am becoming a horrible blogger and now only blog like once a month. I also should just change the name of the blog to Samantha, but honestly she is all I would ever blog about anyway. She has grown up so much and her vocabulary grows and she is now talking in sentences, which freaks us out sometimes. It just takes us a back when she actually answers us now.

We are now starting on a new journey and I thought it would be funny to blog each day about it. While in Denver Samantha really started showing signs of potty readiness. We have been practicing sitting on the princess potty since she was 12 months and she has always done great with that, but last week she started telling me when she needed to go, getting toilet paper and wiping and then flushing it,  and I was like I don't think I'm ready for this. So, last Friday we tried a day of pull-ups and potty training. I could never catch her to get her to pee in the potty, just always in the pull-up. Then, then I saw that she was ready to do #2 and rushed to the potty. Success!! Saturday, nothing. Sunday 3/4 times #2 in the potty!! Monday, nothing. Tuesday, success! Wednesday, success!!! Not only that, but she tells me when she has to go. It is something like, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!!" Then we frantically strip down and start the process. One time afterwards, I was celebrating saying, "You did it, You did it!!!" Samantha replied, "I did it!" It was a great moment. Today she really showed me she was ready when at a coffee shop she told me she needed to go and with my help sat on the big potty, not afraid, and went #2. That was the real sign that, "Mom, I know you are not ready, but I'm doing this."

So, what is next. After consulting expert moms, I came to the conclusion I was dreading. Although I am not ready, Samantha is obviously ready and we must proceed. Pull-ups are too much like diapers and do not encourage potty use. Today, I bought 20 pairs of pretty panties and washed them and tomorrow afternoon after working out (for my sanity) and a nap we will start hard core potty training. This means clean-ups and going through lots of panties. I really was hoping with pull-ups I would get to avoid this. Nope. We will not leave the house Thursday afternoon until maybe Sunday for church. Maybe no church on Sunday. We will see. (I don't know if I could do that to the nursery workers.) And, I'm going to document on the blog so the next blog posts are going to be titled Diaries of a Potty Training Mom. I am sure they will be entraining. So....

Signing off... Potty Training Mom

P.S. Please send prayers and chocolate.