Pee Pee in the Potty!!!

Over the summer I tried potty training Benny twice.

The first time I tried for a day and then after cleaning up multiple accidents on the floor and not having a single success with him going in the potty even though I knew that he had to go, I decided it wasn't worth it.

The second time he again didn't have a single success and I had lots of resistance. Every time I would ask him to sit on the potty he would say "not again" and I would physically have to put him on the potty with him screaming. After a day of that, I decided it wasn't worth it.

I had come to the realization that he might actually be in diapers when the babies got here and I would have four in diapers.

Whatever.

However, one day when I was praying I just got this feeling that I should try again and this time be the mean mom and not give up. I realized that with Benny everything has had lots of resistance. He doesn't do things unless he wants to. He doesn't like doing hard things that will interfere with his day and potty training is one of those.

It was easier for him to crawl instead of walk, so he didn't walk until he was 18 months old. It was easier to grunt and scream for things that he wanted, so he decided not to talk. It was easier to keep the binky, so he three when we made him give that up.

He is the type of kid that has to be pushed into doing things and once he realizes that it is actually a good thing, then he gets on board, but there is always a lot of resistance.

Potty training was the same.

This time Shad and I both buckled down. We took him to school late for a few days because he wouldn't go pee before the bus came. We dealt with him screaming on the potty as we forced him to sit there until he went because it had been 4 hours. He has the most amazing bladder control, which is great, but also a struggle because he would not let the pee go. I think a lot of it was due to his stubbornness. If he went pee then we had won and he lost.

However, after a week of this and only 2 accidents, he is dry and going on his own and even waking up dry in the morning in regular underwear. Once we got through that week it was a breeze.

We also found he was really motivated by these growing capsules. We went through three packages during a week and a half of potty training. Every time he went potty he got to pick one and put it in a cup of water and watch it grow into something. They really were "magic"!

Now he goes without them but he does sometimes say to me "I want a dino" or "I want a dolphin." I told him they were all gone and isn't it nice to be dry?! I think he really likes being a big boy and he makes sure to tell everyone when "the pee pee is coming" as he releases it on the toilet. It really was a huge deal to him once he figured that out.

Now if he can motivate Ruby to be potty trained by the end of the year maybe we will actually only have 2 in diapers!!

"How are you feeling?"

The most common question I get from anyone lately is "how are you feeling?" I think these pictures pretty much sum it up...

Last weekend was conference weekend. I gave the kids stickers to play with while we listened to conference. It kept them pretty busy during most of Sunday. This was their favorite place to stick stickers.

Ruby thought it was so much fun that she decided to do it again today as I was sitting at the computer.

When I look at these pictures I realize how big I really am. I am getting to the point where I don't really try to bend over to pick things up off the floor anymore. If I really want it I can usually use my toes to pick it up....or it can just stay there until someone else picks it up.

Every week that I clean the bathrooms and do the laundry I wonder how many more weeks I will be able to do this. At what point do I have someone come in and do these things for me?

I'm not really working out anymore as going up and down the stairs is enough of a workout for me. A few weeks ago I decided I wasn't going to walk with my friends in the morning anymore. After going almost 5 miles with them and being whipped out for the rest of the day I decided that it wasn't worth it. I was so sore and tired that I really couldn't do much of anything. Now I will occasionally walk two miles or do some prenatal workouts, but nothing like I used to do. It just isn't worth being on bed rest. I have also made it a goal to lay down for 30 minutes to an hour every afternoon as I find that I feel so much better when I do this. The weight is off of my pelvis when I lay down and I feel like I can breathe.

The greatest blessing with this pregnancy is that I haven't really had any issues with varicose veins which were terrible with my other pregnancies. I think that is a huge tender mercy as it has allowed me to still stand and make dinner and take care of my family. Hopefully it stays that way.

September in pictures

The month of September was packed with lots of stuff. We got into the swing of school and the weather was still hot like summer so we spent lots of time outside.

We went on a Sunday walk with the Noonans at Lake of the Woods and watched the sunset...

We went to a Labor Day BBQ and pool party at the Ruggieri's. Shad was pretty excited to bring out his "Rompem" and...surprise! James had a matching one. They were the talk of the party for sure. The kids had a lot of fun too.

Ruby has found a love of "coneys" and lines everything up while mommy gets ready or works around the house in the mornings.

Shad and I had the opportunity to go to the "Face to Face" with Elder Cook in Nauvoo. A handful of our YSA's were there and Jennifer Jensen was in the choir and Spencer Heslop was one of the hosts. I had to watch from the distance in a tent, but Shad was able to give some last minute help and held up a canopy to block the sun so Elder Cook could read the teleprompter.

It was such a neat experience and a great conversation with Elder Cook and two church historians. The information available to us now with church history is so great. Being right by the Nauvoo temple and the Mississippi River also made it so memorable. It was absolutely worth the 3 hour drive there and back.

The Noonan's were great and took care of our kids for us. Haken and Laney made a cooking show while making dinner. They had a lot of fun, even if it did take them 2 hours to make chicken enchiladas.

Elder Cook walking up to the broadcast location.

Gracie went to her best friend Joey's birthday party at Juniper's pizza.

My mom flew into Chicago for the bridal market so of course I had to go see her. Since she already had me registered from last year's bridal market I was able to get in easy. She brought the whole crew with her time time with Barb and two of their employees. I spent the day up there after dropping off Jennifer's stuff at her apartment in Hyde Park. I love spending time with my mom at market. I'm glad that they have it in Chicago.

Of course Grandma wouldn't come without bringing gifts for the kids...Fairy wings for the girls, mustaches and silly glasses for Jack, plastic animals for Benny, and a movie for Haken (with some of Grandpa's old European coins).

Haken thought Jack's mustaches were pretty cool I guess. I found a bunch of these pictures on my phone.

Shad arranged a midweek get away for us in Pekin. He had a teacher to visit there and a fun hotel that he likes called "The Harvester Inn" so of course took advantage of the free night stay. One of our favorite YSA's, Steph, came and stayed overnight with the kids and got them off to school so we could go.
We stopped at a BBQ restaurant in Peoria that was right along the Illinois River. It was a really great get away. We are trying to live it up before the twins get here and I am so grateful for people who are making it possible for us to do it.

Gracie, Ruby, and I had a girls night with Monica and Laney while the boys went to the priesthood camp out with the stake. We painted nails, watched Cinderella, and played games.

We had a neighborhood party in the cul-de-sac down the street. Shad made all of the smoked BBQ meat and the neighbors brought the sides. We live in such a great neighborhood. I love how many kids there are to play with. The weather couldn't have been better either.

Ate lots of snacks and played outside.

Went to the Mahomet homecoming parade and got WAY too much candy.

Jack had a field trip at the Lake of the Woods Museum and I was able to go with him.

Jack's friend Erin got baptized. He said he feels a little "left out" as he will be the last one to get baptized in his class. I'm so glad that he has good friends that he will be growing up with. 

Shedd Aquarium

During the month of September the Shedd Aquarium is free to Illinois residents. Every year I forget this and wished we would have gone. It normally costs $20 or more a person and it isn't covered in our museum pass so I just couldn't justify it. This year with one week left Shad and I looked at the calendar and figured out a day we could go as a family. Shad took the day off of work and we pulled the kids out of school. I am so glad that we did. It was absolutely worth it and going on a Thursday was genius as it wasn't very crowded at all.

We met up with one of our favorite YSA's Jennifer Jensen who now lives in Chicago going to the University of Chicago. I was really grateful to have her there as it took every bit of three adults to keep track of 5 kids in a big place like the Shedd.

We parked a mile and half away from the Shedd as the parking was much cheaper. The kids were good sports about walking but did complain about being tired a few times. Jack was great at taking care of his sister on the way there. The way back was a little different as Jack "felt like his legs were going to fall off." Gracie was lucky that she has a little bum and could fit in the stroller next to Benny and have a ride on the way back to the car. 

Before going into the Shedd we stopped at a picnic area and ate the lunch we packed. Haken had a lot of fun taking pictures. He is becoming a budding photographer.

Gracie's face in this picture always cracks me up. 

There was so much to see once we got into the Shed. These fish in the Amazon are huge! This place really was a dream come true to Benny who loves animals. He loved every bit of the Shedd.

So grateful to have Jennifer there with us. Ruby was her little buddy as she wouldn't get very close to any of the glass cages. She just liked seeing everything from a distance.

Super cool water turtle.

Benny's favorite fish was the lion fish as he wants to be a lion for Halloween. He was sure to make his best lion face for the picture.

Gracie's favorite fish was this bright pink one that we found towards the end. She wanted to make sure she got a picture next to it.

The dolphin show was for sure the highlight of the entire day. I couldn't believe that it was included in admission. We made sure to show up early so we got good seats. We just had to wait a little bit for the show to start.

The sea lion came out during the dolphin show. Benny really loved this part.

After the Shedd we walked a mile up lake Michigan to Maggie Daley park. It is our favorite. I didn't get many pictures there as I felt like I was constantly looking for one of our kids. It was pretty crowded. Most of the people there were with a Jewish family reunion or something. With so many kids I could hardly keep track of my own.

After the park we walked over the Lou Malnatis (our favorite Chicago deep dish pizza place) and had dinner. Overall I think we walked about 7 miles. I was pretty tired and we didn't get back until late. I was glad that the next day was Friday so the kids only had one more day to wake up for school.

It was such a gorgeous day! Absolutely perfect day to visit Chicago. I love this city and I'm so glad that we live close enough to enjoy it whenever we want.