Catching Up - Part 1 (Potty Training)

I am going to try to catch up the blog and get all some of my pictures and memories posted, so someday when Jack isn't so small I can look back and remember when he was.

I'll start with potty training...

I had put off potty training for long enough (my goal was for Jack to be potty trained by 2).  I wasn't feeling well the weekend of December 10 and I knew we wouldn't be going anywhere, so I decided to put Jack in underwear.  I was still not ready to potty train, but I figured it was worth a try and we'd just see how it went.  Well, that Saturday was HARD!  I think Jack must have gone through at least 5-6 pairs of pants and underwear that day and I thought for sure we were not going to make it through this!  (Thank goodness for tile floors!)

Sunday was MUCH better!  I think he only had one accident that entire day and we were now full blown potty training!  I sent him to school that Monday in underwear and we haven't looked back.  I was so worried that first day that he would have a lot of accidents.  I think I must have packed 3 or 4 changes of clothes, just in case, but I don't think he had an accident at all that first day in undies at school.  (I had sent him to school in underwear a few times before when I was toying with the idea of potty training, but I just wasn't ready to commit to it.)

If you have ever potty trained a child, then you know how hard it is and how much commitment it takes from everyone involved and how much time a day you spend in the bathroom!  I think we must have spent half our time in the bathroom that first week!  And, he went through a short phase where he refused to poop in the pot.  It was so frustrating for me, because I knew he could feel it coming, but just would not go sit on the potty.  Luckily that little phase didn't last long or we would have been buying a whole lot of new underwear! And speaking of undies, the ones from Gymboree are my absolute favorites!  They are thicker than the cartoony ones and have such cute little designs on them.  Some of them even come in boxer briefs.  Adorable!  

Our first true test of the potty training didn't come until the Wednesday evening after we started.  You see, Jack and I have date night every Wednesday where we go eat at our favorite Mexican place and then go shopping.  I took 2 changes of clothes on this little trip, because it was the first time we'd be out in public without a diaper.  Mind you, this is only 3 days before we were having family Christmas at the lake and I had A LOT of shopping left to do.  We made it through dinner fine - I think we took at least 2 trips to the potty - then it was off to Target.  We went to the potty at Target before starting our shopping and I thought things were going well until I was in the middle of my shopping trip (shopping as fast as possible because I had a 2 year old without a diaper with me and I had a lot of shopping left to do after leaving target) and Jack said he needed to go potty.  We made a beeline for the bathroom, sat on the potty and nothing happened... So back to shopping.  Again, Jack said he needed to potty, so back to the bathroom we went and that's when I gave up and put a pull-up on him.  I don't believe pull-ups play any beneficial role in potty training, but they sure did allow me to get my shopping finished without visiting anymore bathrooms around town!

It has now been 6 weeks since we started potty training and I'd say he's doing really, really well!  He only wears a pull-up to bed at night and sometimes wakes up in the morning dry.  He takes naps in underwear and very seldom has an accident during nap time and almost never during the day.  I think when the pull-ups run out, I'm going to test him through the night.  I didn't get him potty trained by 2, but he is potty trained before 2 and a half, and I'm happy with that!

If you have a potty training toddler or small child, check out this potty seat.  I don't believe in using the kid sized potty that you have to dump out, so this little seat has been a life saver and Jack can even get on the regular potty all by himself now!

Fireman or Baseball Player?

 Needless to say Jack dressed himself this morning!

Nothing better than jammies, Mama's Christmas socks, tennis shoes, fireman's hat and a jacket!

Cutest little boy I ever did see!

Same day, different outfit, but the fireman's hat stayed on ALL. DAY. LONG!

Thumbs Up, Daddy! 

The Wilderness

This past weekend we loaded up the truck and headed to the lake Wilderness for a little rest and relaxation!  My mom met us there on Friday, then my Memaw and Grandad came to visit for the day Saturday. 

At the entry to my parent's neighborhood there is a little pin that houses a couple of donkeys, GiGi and Willie, and everytime we go visit Jack loves to feed the donkeys and deer.

GiGi and Willie LOVE bread, apples and carrots, but I forgot to put apples and carrots on the grocery list, so hot dog buns it was!

It's funny to think back to the first time we took Jack to feed the donkeys - he was so scared and would jump everytime they would hee-haw.  But now he walks right up to them!

Jack really likes the bread too!  He'll take a bite first, then feed it to them.  Quality assurance testing, I suppose!  HA!  GiGi is hungry!

But, Jack has gotten a little stingy and doesn't like to give the donkeys the last of the bread.  When he got down to the last piece, he headed for the golf cart and was ready to go home!

Poor little deer didn't make it up to the fence in time for some bread.  Next time we'll bring you apples, litte deer!

Boy of Many Hats

Is Jack a fireman?

or a chef?

Is he Dr Seuss?

or the next NFL football player?

Nope...

For now, he's still just my sweet little boy!

First Movie Date

A few weekends ago we had some friends over to eat BBQ and watch our Rangers play in the ALCS.  I should preface this with the fact that we don't have too many friends with small kids that we see often, so I was excited when I found out Randy's friend and his wife were bringing their little girl.  We'll call her P.

Of course all of the adults were hanging out on the patio enjoying a few adult beverages and watching the game, so I decided to put Lion King on for Jack and P in the living room.  Us mamas were hoping it would keep them entertained and contained for a while! 



I popped popcorn and got them apple juice - it was like a real little movie date!  But, that little set up did not last long! HA! They went back and forth between the playroom, the movie and outside. A 2 and 3 year old's attention span is not very long!! At one point they came out of the playroom holding hands. I wish I would have gotten a picture of that. Too cute!

We can't wait for P and her parents to come over and play again! 

We had so much fun!

Happy Fall, Yall!

An impromptu trip to my parent's this past weekend led us on an unexpected trip to a pumpkin patch! Ok, maybe it was just a small Fall display in front of a small town courthouse, but it was still fun to take pictures.

I think this is such a cute picture. Jack really liked Mr. Scarecrow! Notice how he's trying to hold his hand - sweet boy!

Had I known we were going to stop to take pictures with pumpkins and scarecrows on our way to the grocery store, I certainly would have dressed Jack for the occasion! Oh well, maybe we'll make it back sometime before Thanksgiving and he can wear his new turkey shirt.

This was his Thanksgiving shirt last year. I can't believe how much he's grown in just a year! Look at that chubby little face! :)

Such a little Turkey! I was scared Jack was going to knock down the turkey or break him in some way! He ran into him and bounced off like he was in a bouncy house before he finally plopped down in front!

Happy Fall, Yall! 

A cold front is coming in tonight, so highs will be in the upper 50s/low 60s for the next few days!  I've got my chili fixin's all ready to go!  YUMMY!

In totally unrelated news - my Etsy shop has a facebook fan page!  Are you a fan?  If not, please go "like" Sunfire Creative and refer your friends!  I'm giving away ONE FREE SHIRT to the person with the most referrals today.  Contest ends at MIDNIGHT CST!

Jack Funnies

Two is a HARD, but very funny age!  For example...

The other morning I was getting ready and Jack was in the bathroom with me.  He was playing in one of the drawers and came across the dental floss.  I tried to take it away, but quickly realized that taking it away was going to lead to a full-blown tantrum, so I gave him a piece of the dental floss and he proceeded to floss his teeth and put the used floss in the toilet. 

Then, I was in my sewing room filling some orders on Saturday and I knew Jack was in there playing, but he was being awfully quite (usually he's being a crazy toddler and throwing all of my fabric off the shelves), so I turned around to see what he was up to...

YES!  Silly boy found a snowman filled with candy that I can only hope was from this past Christmas and started chowing down on it!  The look on his face when I caught him was priceless!

I guess I probably should have taken the candy away, but he was being so quiet, that I just let him finish enjoying it! 

Saturday evening our friends' daughter was going to her first homecoming dance.  We were at their house before she left getting everything ready to go to the track and Jack was so funny!  He was outside helping the guys and watching their every move!

Before we left we wanted to get a few pictures of the pretty girl with her dad and Pawpaw and Jack stood there for a little bit watching as we took pictures, then all of the sudden he just walked up and got in the picture like he should have been in every one.  It was hilarious! 

And, just in case you haven't seen this recipe floating around on Pinterest, I'm posting it here because it is sooo good!  And, you really should try it!

Southwestern Egg Rolls**

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photo credit

Ingredients

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

12oz bag frozen corn, thawed

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken

chopped jalapenos, to taste

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

salt & pepper

cumin

cayenne pepper

chili powder

garlic

egg roll wrappers

oil for frying

Method

1.  combine all ingredients (sorry, I don't measure spices, I just taste along the way), except egg roll wrappers and oil.  Mix well.

2.  Position egg roll wrapper so that one corner is toward you.  Put 1/4 cup mixture in center of egg roll wrapper, roll up half way starting at the corner closest to you, then fold corners pointing out over and continue rolling.  Wet last corner with a little water to seal. 

3.  Fry egg rolls in skillet until brown and crispy on all sides - about 2 minutes per side.

 I served these with Avocado Ranch and they were SOO good!  To make the ranch, I followed the directions on the Hidden Valley Ranch packet and added a whole avocado and cayenne and blended with an immersion blender.

**Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.