All aboard

All aboard the potty train! Chooo Choooo!

It was with much eagerness and excitement that I planned our recent "potty party" weekend, the event that officially kicked off our transition into big boy underpants. Andrew wasn't quite as excited, of course, but he gave it a shot (motivated mainly by the promise of two M&Ms for peeing in the potty, four if he pooped.) At the end of the day, Andrew had earned 12 stickers on  his potty chart, ate two dozen M&Ms and pooped in the bathtub and on the floor in our dining room, but not in his potty.
I have learned this is par for the course. Potty training is a process. Some have told me it's too early and that my son is too young and to those people I grumpily mutter under my breath -- who asked you?
I know my son. I know how smart and capable he is and I know he has excellent control in the peeing and pooping department. He has no fear of the potty, as he has been sitting on the potty at least once a day nearly everyday since he was about 11-months-old.
Yes, it's hard. Yes, it's going to take time. But I think that is true for every child. Those stories you hear about people potty training their children in one day. They are true. The parent dedicated one entire day to juicing up their kid, running them to the potty, rewarding them for trying and all that jazz. But the potty training didn't happen in one day -- oh no. The potty training happened over many days, weeks, maybe even months. As I said, it is a process.
So, we are just at the beginning of this process. I have to remind Greg of that because he wants instant results. I take pleasure in the small victories. The first day, we had success with Andrew using the big potty, something he has not wanted to do before. We've also had three consecutive days of dry naps. That is a big deal.
So, our potty train is chugging along. I'm not sure when we will be able to add the "ed" to the potty train (as in potty trainED) but that's OK. Everyday, Andrew is learning to potty and I am learning more about him.
And, I have to say, that little tushy looks darn cute in his big boy underpants.

Here we are

There is no going back and recapturing the past. So, I will simply share these photos of our reunion taken by Shugar Shots Photography back in November when Greg came marching home. There were no cheering crowds, no posters, no media. It was just me and my boy, dressed in his "Best Day Ever" T-shirt and waving two little flags when Greg stepped back into our daily lives. Andrew took his father's return in stride but there were some hiccups, as we expected. At first, he wasn't sure Daddy could do anything -- change a diaper, get him a drink, give him a bath and still, there are times when only Mama will do. After 15 months of going it alone, I can assure you Mama is happy to step aside and let Dad give it a shot. Yet, Andrew is still a Mama's boy, even as we approach the four month mark of Greg's homecoming. But our world is much different than it was and there has been so much change in his life -- his entire landscape is new -- that I tend to cut him a lot of slack.
We left our little trailer house (which Andrew was certain was a train car) back in December and after a brief visit home for Christmas, we came back to Louisiana to begin the last leg of our Air Force life. Retirement looms ahead and Greg and I are both thrilled and terrified by the thought of it. For now, Andrew and I have settled into a pretty good routine here. He and I enjoy slow, cuddly mornings, long afternoon naps and a pretty happy existence. He goes to a Mother's Day Out program at a local church one day a week and I use that time to shop or run errands or have a quiet lunch with Greg. We go to the library for toddler story time on Friday mornings. We visit the parks and playgrounds and take walks around our neighborhood. We talk to Grandma and Papa on the phone. We jump on the trampoline in the backyard and we watch Thomas the Train. I've stepped out of my comfort zone in an attempt to have a social life here, joining the MOPS program at a local church and attending events for spouses in Greg's squadron. It has made life here less lonely and bearable. The heartache of leaving our family is still there, but has been eased by a visit from a good friend we hadn't seen in many years and a meet-up in Dallas with a couple of good friends for my birthday. Andrew and I will head home for Easter and that keeps me going.
I intend to begin to blog regularly again because I know the moments are slipping by and how easily I forget the little things that make parenting this boy so magical and funny and infuriating. Our decision on whether to try for another baby remains up in the air. For now, we remain focused on our Andrew and that is enough. It is more than enough.