What a difference a day makes.

Today was a new day. Not easy breezy... but soooo much better than yesterday. I couldn't take being confined to the house, and honestly, I think it really helped Henry too that we got out this morning. When we were here yesterday, all he could think about was the potty. We went to a friend's today, somewhere Henry feels comfortable, and he did great. 4 trips to the potty, 2 successes, and no accidents there. One at home, but that was it. He's really getting the hang of it, and I'm seeing the light. I'm still worn out since he won't let me out of his sight, but I can handle that. Looking forward to the weekend and the extra set of hands to give Aubrey some attention!

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

So this will not be the pre-school graduation post I promised yesterday. Rather, a short update on the potty trials. It was a very, very long day.

The good... this kid has some stamina. He woke up at 6:15 am screaming for me. That's at least an hour earlier than he normally wakes up. He needed to go potty. Brian said his diaper was practically dry! CRAZY. After such little activity yesterday, I felt sure he'd let it all out at night. More good... he peed on the potty no less than 12 times (I stopped counting) and pooped once (thanks to a little fiber boost). He stayed dry at nap time too, even though he had on a diaper. The morning went pretty well, and he was fine with sitting on the potty and was successful each time he said he had to go, and it didn't take long (I loaded him up on liquids).

The bad... well, the whole afternoon really. In contrast to yesterday when he held it so long and refused to sit on the potty, he hardly left the potty this afternoon. We sat and sat for what seemed like hours, probably because it was, with little success. He would hold himself and say he needed to go fast. But once he sat, nothing would happen. This all started right at nap time. He couldn't settle down and didn't want to wet his diaper. So we sat on the potty for an hour and a half straight until he finally let it go. He was still holding himself afterwards and saying he needed to go. I was soooo frustrated. I finally just laid down next to him until he fell asleep.

The ugly... this continued after he woke up at 4:30pm until nearly 9pm!!!!! He is usually asleep by 7pm. I was in tears, he was in tears, and Aubrey couldn't settle down either. Poor kid was neglected all day and bore the brunt of my frustration since I didn't want to let Henry see it.

Giving up is not an option, and it's not because I don't want to be weak or backtrack. I'd happily be a quitter on this one! Ha. But really, it has clicked in his head and he won't let it go in the diaper either, so that wouldn't help us. Tomorrow is a new day though, and who knows what we are in for. I just hope we can get out and about soon. Maybe that will help to distract him, and Lord knows I could use a margarita! Happy hour anyone :)

The future of America...

It's late, and after the last marathon post, this will be short for now. But I couldn't resist posting this sweet photo of our preschool graduate! More tomorrow...

Potty time!

Well, we are in full on potty mode with Henry. I hadn't planned on starting until tomorrow since school and all the associated end of the year activities would be complete by then. But low and behold, on Monday afternoon we ran out of diapers. I had a few stashed in the car, but I wondered what Henry would do when I said they were gone. His reply, "I wear underwear now!" And that was that. Of course, we had two accidents and no successes that day, but yesterday was better. It was his last day of school and I hated to send him there in underwear, but he insisted. Of course, he come home with two sets of wet pants. After what seemed like hours, he finally had a successful trip to the potty. He went two more times later and had only one accident. He was so upset when he did and cried for dry clothes. It broke my heart, but also gave me great hope! Aubrey was not easy to train. She just didn't care about wet pants that much. So this seems like a big deal to me. I could see the lightbulb come on by yesterday evening. He started making funny faces and stopping what he was doing, and I think he realized he needed to go. We would run to the potty over and over, but it took a long time for him to let it out. Poor thing. He was wiped out. We had pushed through nap time and his usual poop (sorry to be blunt) time, and he was really struggling. He was holding everything in. He woke up with a dirty diaper this morning, but I could tell he still needed to go. He was so uncomfortable he couldn't eat breakfast. I couldn't get him to sit on the potty at all this morning. We had to get Aubrey to school for her last day and I was so stressed he would have an accident on the way there. Finally, we just had to go. Little guy held it in from 7am until 10am when he was in full on tantrum mode over sitting on the potty and finally wet his pants. I was not upset about the accident, but by the fact that he was clearly NOT wanting to sit on the potty. How was this going to work? He had no problem sitting yesterday. Today was so stressful. Aubrey was graduating from pre-school and i was afraid I would miss the whole thing. After his accident, he cried over wet clothes again, but still didn't get that to stay dry he HAS to let it out on the potty. He pitched several more fits and refused the potty. Finally, we just had to leave to get back to to pre-school for Aubrey's ceremony. Thank goodness Brian returned from a business trip just in time to go with me. Henry was so uncomfortable he could hardly walk. After several trips to the bathroom at his prompting, he still refused to sit once we got there. I missed a good portion of Aubrey's ceremony but finally he could take it no longer, and while kicking and screaming no, no, no, getting up and down from the potty over and over, he finally went pee pee. He was instantly a happy camper.

Once home, I got him down for a nap and put him in a diaper. I felt sure he would finally release it all. He cried for me over and over and I finally held him until he fell asleep, which has never happened (a least not since he was a baby. He did wake up with a dirty diaper, but otherwise dry. I knew the second I took his diaper off that he needed to pee, but he screamed no and was holding himself trying to keep it in. He finally peed on me and the floor. Nice. I was super frustrated by this point. Mainly, because he is trying to hold it in for soooo long! It's crazy. The good news is he has pretty good control, he seems to know when he needs to go, and doesn't want to wet his pants. The bad news is he doesn't want to do it AT ALL, so he's making himself sick.

Tonight I got him to go one more time and sit several times without screaming. HUGE improvement from this morning. But peeing only one time between 3:45 pm and 7:30 pm is NOT good. Tonight he had a hard time going to sleep. He would call for me and he was holding himself. Trying not to pee even though he had on a diaper. He was super gassy too, but just is scared to let it go. By now, I know he's really constipated and I'm sure he can't really get it out without a lot of work and pain. We will be loading him up on fiber tomorrow for sure! He is torn between wanting me to hold his hand and be with him while he sits, and not wanting me to watch. He never once pooped at school this year, and almost never does it anywhere but our house, where he can be alone. I know this is a huge part of the problem.

So, it's definitely a roller coaster. The is very different from how it went with Aubrey. Better in some ways, more frustrating in others. It's only been 2 1/2 days, and we've made some huge leaps. But if I can't get him to relax and not fear letting it out when he sits on the potty, he will be very unhappy for a while! Breaks my heart and wipes me out at the same time. I have dreaded this moment for soooo long. I know now not to expect him to be potty trained overnight. It was more like 8 months with his sister, but I can't help but loathe the process. I hate seeing him in pain, I can't take my eyes off of him, the house is a mess and poor Aubrey is having to take a back seat for a while.

This post is way too long, and too much information, I'm sure. But I just had to get it out, and it helps to think things through. He's a trooper, for sure. He has only once requested a diaper, and that was short lived. There is no going back now, and at least we're underway. We will all have to sacrifice over the next few days, and maybe weeks, but he will get it! Praying more for his comfort than anything else. Thankfully, there is nothing we have to do until swim lessons on Monday. I think the crazy schedule of the last few days made it really difficult for both of us. OK, enough of this. I will move on to way more excited things in the next post!

This look sums up how he felt most of the day. Hang in there Henry!

Vacation! all I ever wanted!

Brian and I just returned from a much needed, long overdue, true vacation without kids! Our first big trip in 6 years! We've been thinking for almost a year about making it happen, and I'm so glad we did! We have some friends getting married this weekend in St. Lucia, and our original plan was to go to their wedding. We tried so hard to make it work, and even lined up my parents to come and watch the kids. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't make it work. Luckily, my parents were still on board to come to town, so we found another way to get away that worked better for our time and budget. Despite our thoughts that we would NEVER spend any length of time on a big boat again (sorry Navy), we decided to take a cruise to the Western Caribbean.

We soaked up a lot of sun, took naps, read books, and ate too much for 7 glorious nights! Wow. We were definitely skeptical about taking a cruise, but all in all, we really enjoyed it. Mainly, we just enjoyed spending time together, and not having to cook, clean, or stick to any schedule. We swam with stingrays in Grand Cayman, snorkeled and zip-lined in Honduras, drank cold beer in Cozumel and sailed our own hobbie cat in the Bahamas. We watched movies under the stars, played putt-putt on the top of the ship, ate fresh seafood, and attempted to sleep in. The cruise left out of Fort Lauderdale, and a highlight of the trip was spending a few hours with some dear friends from the Navy who live close by before our plane left to come back home. Thanks Judd, Deena, Jensen and Mia for spending the day with us! What a treat.

The kids had an amazing week with GiGi and grandad! I can't thank them enough for the gift of time they gave to us. And what a treat for the kids too! There is nothing like being spoiled for a week :). So, now it is back to reality, for both the kids and us. I can honestly say I didn't miss them much. I knew they were having a great time at home. Only after spending time with our friends, and they're precious kids, did I long to get home and love all over my babies. The hugs this morning were extra sweet. Can't think of a better Mother's Day gift!

We were having too much fun to take many photos, but at least I have a few. Now, it's time to dream of our next trip. Hopefully it won't be another 6 years!

The view from our room

First formal night. Nothing like the photo through a mirror.

In Grand Cayman, on the way to Stingray City

Stingray City Sandbar. What it looked like when we first arrived.

The reef where we snorkaled afterwards. Notice the change in water color. There's a 6,000 ft drop off right there!

The stingrays decend

That's me keeping my eye on the stingray's barb.

I'm thinking whoever took this photo needs a lesson on timing. I was right next to the guide petting the stingray, but somehow this "cameraman" didn't get the shot until I was climbing back into the boat.

Luckily we were the first group to arrive at the sandbar. This is what it looked like when we left.

Second stop, Roatan, Honduras. We rented a car with a couple of Canadians and explored the island.

Zipline!

West Bay, Roatan, Honduras. The water was beautiful and so were the fish.

Beach and good Honduran Beer

We took a break from the beach in Cozumel. Mexico and instead found a restaurant/bar with a great view, shade, and cold beer. We spent well over 2 hours here. Can you blame us?

Formal night number 2

Princess Cays, Bahamas

Our ship, the Crown Princess. Slightly more comfortable than the USS George Washington.