I am so thankful we had a wonderful family weekend in Ely. The weather was goregous and the scenery was unbelievable. It was an emotional trip with lots of tears shed over memories of my dad, but it was nice to be in a place he loved and the place where his journey sadly ended. We felt his presence the whole time we were up there and everywhere you looked, you'd have reminders of him. I think he was watching out for us and helped us potty train Izzy too! She is (dare I jinx it!?) almost 100% potty trained, with the exception of #2, which takes a little more time. She did go #2 once on the potty, but hasn't since. Over the course of the four days, she had one accident, which was our fault. She asked to use the potty when she was in her high chair, Pat went to get her out since I was holding Bobby, but she wanted me to do it. By the time I got to her, she had started to go. I don't know if I count that as an accident. We put a pull up on her for the long ride home and she made it the whole ride home without an accident. We stopped five times, at her request, to use her potty and 3 of the 5 times she went. I am hoping her success continues at daycare this week. It started with the "it hurts" when she had to go and developed into the, "I have to go potty, it doesn't hurt mommy!" I can't believe how far she came in just four days. I think she really enjoyed the extra attention from us. Leave it to Izzy to start to outsmart us though. She refused to use the potty the first day, so we gave her an M&M for sitting on it, 2 M&M's for going potty, a sticker for each attempt, and after 5 attempts, she'd get a sucker. Day 2 she figured it all out. She realized she could just sit on the potty quick a few times in a row and get M&M's and get closer to her sucker. She also realized that if she only went a little bit, she'd get 2 M&M's and then would go again a minute later and get 2 more, etc. This went on for quite awhile. I guess it was a good workout for her bladder and a good lesson in bladder control. We had to change our method pretty quickly. She continued to find ways to beat the system. Hopefully she won't need any rewards at daycare this week, but Deb reassured me she has M&M's for potty treats on hand at all times. I can't believe she is old enough to be potty trained. I will say it was SO nice to only have one in diapers throughout the day. I brought a bunch of diapers with us, but only used a few for naps and bedtime.
I am sure I'll be overwhelmed this week, so I figured I'd write a longer post and include a ton of pictures to make up for my lack of posts. :)
Izzy kept petting this puppy (which is part of a lamp).
Love these two!
Working hard on his head control. He did roll over once this weekend, but total second child, I was grabbing something to pack up and Pat was making breakfast, Izzy shouted, "Bobby rolled over mommy!"
Swimming, she was crying because it was cold, but when I asked her to smile for a picture, she did. :)
Pretty proud of her dilly bar treat for going #2 on the potty.
I will sure miss these snuggles during the day.
This is how everyone gets potty trained right? We spent almost the entire day (with the exception of nap time) at the sandbar. We left her potty in the water, she'd go, wash it out, and continue to play.
She loved having all the juice she could have to help her practice going on the potty. She will not be happy when she doesn't get juice anymore now that we are home, just milk and water.
Mr. Bobby!
Weeeeee!
Morning snuggles...we all still look a little tired. :)
Izzy always wants to be a helper!
My swimming buddy.
Bobby was content just taking in the fresh air while we swam.
Whoa, where are you giving me a bath?
Pat ran into the liquor store to pick up a jug of water, Izzy insisted she had to go potty right then. Totally normal scene right?
We went to the park in town, Bobby and Daddy relaxing while Izzy played.
Miss Independent turned around right after this picture and said, "Mommy, stay there!"
Weeeee
This was Izzy's idea, which was seconded by Pat.
Oh the cheesey smile.
Ahhhhh, paradise!
Swinging at the Lodge.
Swingin' on the same swing I used to swing on when I was her age at the Lodge.
We had to stop to play at the park and get ice cream from Gordy's!
Adding a sticker to her sticker chart.
Potty training with a view.
So proud of my big girl!
Bobby sporting his gear from the James Gang....He is getting too big!! This is 3-6 months and it was a little big, but not that big.
However, Izzy can still fit in them!
Totally normal....
Boating is hard work...
Mr. Social...always checking everything out!
She is sooo in love with her brother!
We played a game of "Don't Spill the Beans", I see why it says ages 3-5. It is way more fun to put all of the beans on and knock it over than do one at a time.
Izzy being silly and joining Bobby in his bed.
She was so proud of herself for taking his outfit off and helping change his diaper, I wonder if daycare will find this helpful!? :)
Riding the pony at the cabin like I used to as a kid.
Miss Independent liked to go exploring to find us if one of us went downstairs.
