The Day I Realized Joshua Was All-Male

We started potty training Joshua just before he turned 2. He picked up on it fairly quickly and did well for the most part. When we moved to out apartment at the end of September, he started reverting back to accidents in his pants (accidents of the poopy kind). I attribute some of it to the move, some of it to the major digestive troubles he has had recently.

I had to come up with something to motivate him. We were in the progress of taking sugar out of his diet, so the mini-M&M's that he got as a reward were no longer an option. And quite frankly, when you get m&m's as a reward the bar is already set high... So, I thought MAYBE I can teach Joshua patience along with potty training. So I designed the chart pictured above, got multi-colored star-shaped stickers and we began our new phase of training.

I explained the new system to Joshua and told him when he filled up the chart, he would get to go to the store and pick out ANY toy he wanted (granted, I did not reveal that the store was the Dollar Tree, and all the toys were $1.00). So we began and it went really well. So well, in fact, that I decided to reward him after the first 8 stickers. He was quite excited and picked out a smiley face balloon as his "toy".

We continued on and while things took a little longer (due to some of Joshua's recent health problems) he finally finished his chart yesterday! :)

I knew he has been wanting a Francesco (character from Cars 2) so I decided instead of the Dollar Tree, I would take him to Target to get this car that he wanted. In addition to Francesco, he also got a Monster Jam truck too (one of his favorite things to watch is Youtube videos of former Monster Jams). He was very excited.

Here's where the title of this post fits in: This morning, we put a new potty chart up (to continue with training). And Joshua walked out of the bathroom and said to me, "Mom, I know what I want when I fill up my next potty chart, I want a tv and a remote for my room"

I laughed at him and he cracked up too (He MUST have realized how absurd that request was). :)

Sleeping with Budgets and Other Tales of a 2 Year Old

We have made many changes in our life (mostly financial) and it's no surprise that some of the things we're changing has rubbed off on Joshua.

The other night, as Jim was working on our budget, Joshua was at the table next to him writing on his papers. When it was time for bed he grabbed his paper and said, "Mom can I sleep with my budget?" (of course I let him). The next morning he stood by my bed rustling his budget (which is how I woke up) :)

Today, when at Walmart, we passed by the toy clearance section and there was a Tow Truck and Excavator (Joshua calls it a Digger) that he FELL IN LOVE WITH. He asked if he could have it and I told him that it wasn't in the budget, but we could have a budget committee meeting with dad when he came home and talk about adding it to the budget.

When he woke up from his nap, Jim was home from work and he ran out of the room saying, Daddy I want to buy a digger at Walmart and mom says we need to have a meeting. So after dinner, we got Joshua's piggy bank (actually it's a monkey) and told him he only had enough to buy one (with the help of Mom and Dad) and he was very possessive of that money in his bank. But, he eventually decided that he would like to use his money to buy the digger.

Preaching to the Multitudes

Ever since our January Meeting, when Joshua's interest in preaching was sparked, he has been pretend preaching as part of his playtime. He came to the realization recently that his foam mats stacked together could be a make-shift pulpit and his blanket spread on the floor somewhat resembles a pew, and his lov-a-lees (that's what he calls all his stuffed animals) sitting on the "pew" make for a nice congregation... (we're taking a bit of creative license on this one folks) And what do you get when you put all these pieces together? A really cute little boy preaching in his "Sunday best undies"- be advised, his message is short and it's more of a video about the hard work that goes into preparing for a sermon

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Conversations with a 2 year old

We had a wonderful spirit-filled meeting this weekend at Little Union. During the course of the meeting, Joshua told Jim and I at least 3 times that he wanted to preach. The first time I was not present when he said it. The remaining times, I "brushed" it off with the comment, "let's work on your song leading first" (he loves to get up before services and pretend to lead singing)

Then, Sunday night, as we were putting Joshua to bed we had this conversation:

Joshua: I gonna preach, daddy

Jim (raising his eyebrows at me): Well Joshua, if God has called you to preach, then you need to pray that God will help you to learn the scriptures and learn to be a good servant

Joshua (immediately folding his hands and bowing his head): Dear God, please help me to be a preacher, amen

Can you say lump in throat?

Joshua's Favorite Toy

Is it the wooden train set from Mimmy?


no, sorry!


It must be the ABC Train (battery operated) from Poppa and Gigi?


Um, negatory!


It must be the Doctor kit or broom/dustpan from Aunt Ki-Ki!

Try again!


Well, then it has to be the HUGE dumptruck and blocks from Grandma and Grandpa, right?


Wrong again!


You mean to tell me, Joshua got all of these totally awesome toys for Christmas and they are not currently his favorite? Well, what, pray tell, could possibly beat out all those great toys?

You would be correct if you guessed a big box that has been turned into a playhouse- and as you can see it's plenty spacious for Joshua and a house guest (aka- daddyboy)

Christmas Came Early

Ok, so maybe you all don't think potty training breakthroughs are worthy Christmas presents... But let me paint a word picture for you.

We're going on a month and a half since beginning potty training. I have yet to transition Joshua from "nakey baby around the house" to "when you have big boy underpants on, you tell mommy when you have to go". We've had occasional moments where he I have asked him if he has to go and he says yes, (like at church) but today, we were pulling into the driveway having been out running errands and such and he says, "MOM I have to do poops" I coasted into the garage, grabbed him out of the carseat (car seats may be handy for major traffic accidents, but they sure aren't potty training friendly), and rushed him in to the house... and the guy held his "business" until we got to the potty!

(insert HALLELUJAH Chorus here)

Potty Training Week 1 Recap and Week 2 Happenings

Well, if you had asked me last Monday how I thought Joshua would do with Potty Training, I would have told you he was not ready, I was not ready, and we should all call the whole thing off. However, after the attitude adjustment(s) Tuesday through Saturday were a breeze. It's a little bit surreal that he picked up on potty training so well. As I mentioned in previous posts, we went with the "nakey baby" method (which is a little difficult when the weather in FL throws you a curve ball and gives you frigid arctic air in the middle of November) With the heater on, and a pair of socks and shirt, we went with the "nakey bottom" method. By the third day, Joshua was pretty much running to the potty on his own when he needed to go. I would remind him several times throughout the day. But he had really grasped the concept quite well. On Wednesday and Sunday, he and I sat on the back pew (towel on the pew) and he wore his big-boy underwear. He did great. No accidents at all!

Our lesson for week 2 is to get Joshua used to wearing underwear and the complications that come with that. I will say this about little boy underwear, I don't know why they make little boys undies so tight around the waste, he cannot get them off by himself. But that didn't hinder him in any fashion. He did great all day yesterday and would come and get me when he needed to use the potty. We even made it up to Walmart wearing underwear instead of pull-ups and no accidents the entire time! Anyway. We had one accident last night, the "I've got more important things to do" culprit appeared. But, we knew that would happen eventually. All in all, I would say that the Lord has greatly blessed this to be an easy transition. And I am truly thankful for that!

So we will just stay close to home this week and work on our potty training with underpants on and occasionally venture out to Sams and Walmart.

Potty Training Day 4

Can I just say, I am about as proud a peacock as a mamma can be. Joshua has taken so well to potty training. I am so thankful! Having said that, next weeks potty training will not be "nakey baby" style but big boy underwear style. He does great when he's naked as a blue jay, however he doesn't understand the concept of having underwear on... so we will stay in most of the week next week in nothing but our skivies (well, just Joshua, I will wear clothes) :)

If there is any wisdom that I may impart (which is actually what I learned from my big sis "143") is to barricade yourself in the house (don't plan outtings- although we had a couple of trips to the grocery store/library/eye doctor). We stayed in the house for the most part and did absolutely nothing but potty train. Now, this may only work when you have one child (or in 143's case one big kid and one little kid). But I definitely think it had everything to do with how quickly Joshua learned!

YAY!!!! We may actually be potty trained before birthday #2~ :)

The Joys of Potty Training (aka Potty Training Day 3)

WOW~ Another great day today. It was off to a shaky start as we had some errands to run today. But after naptime, Joshua was on the ball with potty training. At one point he felt his "piddles" coming out and without me even telling him, ran straight to his potty! WOO HOO! (if we could only get him to remember his aim while ON the potty) :)

And then again, I saw him do a bit of a "poopy jig" and he ran to his potty and had another success! Plus, we put a pull up on him for the car ride to church and he stayed dry. When we got to church, I took him and showed him the potty, let him sit on it and he went potty while sitting there! WOO HOO- I then put big boy undies on him and sat in the back of the church with him and he stayed dry. I took him out twice to go potty, but he really didn't have to go, so we tried one more time before we left to come home. Then put him in a pull up for the car ride and that little man stayed dry even on the car ride home!

WAY TO GO JOSHIE!!!! MAMMA AND DADDYBOY ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!

Potty Training Day 2

Whew! Today was a GREAT success! I will no longer be looking for gypsies to sell my son! :) Joshua had a great night sleep. While he woke up with a wet pull-up (I was much expecting this), he sat right down on his potty and went #2~ (T.M.I., I know) (I was half expecting that too since he had not gone at all yesterday!). Then he did his piddles a little later and we were off to a great start.

At lunch time, he had a minor accident in his booster seat, but on a positive note, he seemed upset about it and we got up several times during lunch to sit on the potty and he eventually went piddles! HOORAY FOR JOSHUA!!!

We had a dry pull-up after nap time! HOORAY AGAIN! And as the day progressed he started doing a little jig every time he needed to do piddles and he would RUN RUN RUN to his potty!

And aside from one minor fit (of course while I was on the phone with my pastor) we had a much better attitude today! WHEW!

I don't think I could have taken two days like yesterday in a row, so THANK YOU LORD for helping Joshua to have a great day today! (And thanks Amanda for the encouragement!)

Almost Thou Persuadest Me

Persuadest me to what you ask? Hang up the towel on potty training and sell my son to the gypsies.

So you may have guessed Potty Training Day 1 was not as successful as one would hope. Now, mind you, we had no accidents on the floor, BECAUSE JOSHUA DECIDED TO HOLD IT IN ALL DAY! I put pull ups on him while I was getting ready to go to the eye doctor this morning (and he did "piddles" [as we call it] in the pull up), but when I went to the eye doctor and when he went down for his nap (both occasions he had on a pull up) he stayed dry. "YEA!" I thought, until I realized the boy wasn't going to use the bathroom at all, not on the floor, not in the pull- ups, not on the potty.... Grrr!

But would you believe that was not the worst part of the day. Apparently, the "Terrible Twos" myth/legend is rearing it's ugly head 16 days early. And not even over potty training. Let's just say we had an all out Battle of the Wills over me telling him to come and put his shoes on... I have never seen such defiance in this child as I saw today (it's no wonder, look at who his parents are haha)

Then daddy swooped in and intervened when he came home from work. With a little strong arming (if super gluing a child to a potty was not a crime, I would so be there) and a full 8oz glass of watered down ice tea, we finally had two successful potty attempts. Followed by another battle of the wills this time between father and son... You want to see a temper, just tell Joshua it's time to clean up and get ready for bed (That went on for what seemed like an eternity) I had to take some Motrin after that (but on a positive note, I folded all my laundry while Jim calmly battled the little booger)

All I have to say is AMANDA MIZELL (and any other parent of multiples) you have my utter respect in the potty training department! :)

October Happenings

I took on the pleasurable task of babysitting for all of the nieces/nephew (except for baby Kinley) a couple weeks back. Before the other kiddos got out of school it was just Joshua and Lindsey. At lunchtime, Joshua and Lindsey got a special treat of eating in the living room while watching Barney on DVD. They were GLUED to the tv as you can see... but I must say, I didn't have to get on to either of them to eat.

We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Miss Lucy Elizabeth Franklin. I literally slept with my phone next to my ear JUST IN CASE I got the call in the middle of the night. I am very happy to say that I share a birthday with the cutest Lucy Goosey in the world!

(Birthday day was spent at the hospital w/ the Franklin Family)

(Birthday evening was spent with my in-laws and this delicious cake that my mom-in-law made for me)

(Joshua and Grandpa hanging out)

Since I was on call JUST IN CASE, I put off the potty training (I didn't want someone else to be responsible for that while I was off making googley eyes with Lucy). So we will commence potty Training on November 1.

In preparation of potty training, we converted Joshua's bed to a toddler bed and I must say, he has taken to it as if he has always slept in a big boy bed. The very first naptime, he stayed awake for 1.5 hours singing and playing in his bed, but he never got out. I disciplined a couple of times and he finally went to sleep. But it's been smooth sailing ever since.

We had a great photoshoot with Bethany last weekend. She's such a great photographer and is so patient with us (Joshua does not cooperate when it comes to posing) Here are just a FEW of my favorites (it was hard to narrow them down)

(Jim was plum wore out after the photoshoot. So Joshua let him take a nap with Puppy and Gator blanky!)

(me and Joshua just hanging out and being cheesey)

Glimmer of Hope

Perhaps Joshua is not a perfect heathen. We took Jim's mom to a viewing on Saturday (for the passing of a relative). While walking around in the lobby of the funeral home. Jim and Joshua had a nice conversation about the angel statues and Jim told him a little about angels. When all of the sudden Joshua told Jim, "Dadda, I see God" at first Jim didn't understand him, so he asked Joshua what he said and he repeated himself. Jim asked, "where do you see God?" to which Joshua replied, "at church"

As Jim recounted this story to me, I had to fight back the tears. As a parent, my biggest prayer has been that Joshua would love the Lord as much as Jim and I do. Who could know the extent to which he "understands" (except God). But I would like to think that he HAS seen God, and I pray that he continues to seek HIM and grow in grace and knowledge!

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire!

Would this face lie to you? Well, as a matter of fact... this little guy told his very first lie this weekend. Picture a very tired little boy, a long church meeting weekend and a new version of the boy who cried wolf. (Jim titled it, "The boy who cried poop")

Because of Joshua being tired and ornery, Jim was holding him during the church service (mostly trying to restrain him). When all of the sudden he wails "DADDDDDYYYYYY.... POOOOOOOOOP..... DIAPER CHANGE" Of course to which I immediately grab the diaper bag and head to the nearest changing table with him. Only to find out... there wasn't a THING wrong with his diaper... not even wet... How do you explain to a not even 2 year old about lying? I did as best as I could to explain to him that he was bad for telling us that he needed a diaper change when he really didn't- and after church Jim touched on the "Boy who cried poop" story (and as a side note has decided it would be a huge seller in the book stores and we would make $millions)

He tried it a couple more times and then on Sunday while I was holding him in church he told me he needed a diaper change. I told him that he needed to wait until preaching was done... only to have him leak all out of his diaper and I had to get up and go change his diaper and overalls (of course before preaching was done)... Grrr

I have a feeling we are in for some trouble with this little guy... On a separate but similar note, I will be starting potty training VERY soon! I think if he's old enough to lie about pooping, he old enough to poop in the potty! :)

I'm Not Sure He's Quite Ready

Since Joshua's major binky breakthrough we purchased a potty chair for him because it seemed the most logical next step in the growing up process. I came right home, put the potty together, grabbed a book and the camera and captured on film Joshua's first introduction to the potty. Perhaps, it was a bit pre-mature. Just watch the video and see.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I am not sure which is my favorite part. Was it the immediate attempt to stick his head in the potty, the potty seat hat, or the foot in the potty? What I didn't capture on film was his extreme disdain for me making him sit on his potty without a diaper. For now, it is a new favorite thing for him to sit on his potty (with his diaper on) so we'll try that out for a while see how it goes. No pressure!

Gajilinth Haircut

I feel like I have cut Joshua's hair more than any other mom has cut a child's hair in 18 months. The last hair cut went fairly well. I cut it while he was taking a bath. However it is not his FAVORITE thing.

He has recently been showing much interest in Jim's electric razor. Jim pretends to shave Joshua's face when he is shaving. So we thought we would give the electric hair trimmer a try. We were going to do it on Sunday, and got busy and forgot. Then we were going to do it on Monday, but it just got too late, so I couldn't wait any longer. While Jim was at work yesterday, I got out the hair trimmer, sat down with Joshua in my lap and the longest comb (#7) on the trimmer and went to town.

I don't know why I haven't been using this thing the whole time. It made his hair cutting a cinch, and the results were FAR BETTER than when I was going willy-nilly with the scissors! :)

Major Breakthrough

(Joshua @ 5 days old with his coveted binky)

Ever since Joshua's last dr. appointment (April 19) we have been trying to ween him from his pacifier (aka binky). After reading Amanda Mizel's account, we decided we would try the cutting of the nipple method. Slowly we have been nipping a little off each week. We were immediately able to get him back to only using it at naptime and bedtime.

Last night when I put him to bed, I noticed that he had his puppy dog's tail in his mouth (not an uncommon thing) so I offered his binky to him and he didn't seem to care if he had it or not. So I brought it out of the room and put it on the kitchen counter. I thought, "we'll see how long this lasts" (thinking I would be going in to his room in the next 15 minutes to give him his binky). But he went to sleep and had no trouble.

This morning, Jim was holding him while I prepared his morning milk and he noticed the binky on the counter. He pointed and smiled and said "Binky". Jim and I told him that he didn't need that binky. I asked him if he wanted to throw it in the garbage. He smiled, shook his head "yes" and said "garbage". So, we handed him his binky, opened the garbage can and he threw it in there. Didn't even bat an eye.

We are now binky free! The doctor said no later than 2 years old and here we are at18 months! THANK YOU LORD!

Now off to Walmart to look for a new potty...
I don't guess potty training will go that smoothly (but a mom can always hope)

My Mother's Day Card

But don't be fooled by this silly card! My hubby made me French Toast for breakfast (Yum) and cleaned the kitchen, got Joshua dressed for church, told me to sit and relax before church (which is how in the world I wrote this blog before church). And tonight, he and I are going to attempt to make homemade ravioli (and of course homemade sauce to go with it) together.
(I am SUPER DE-DUPER excited about that part. I just love trying new things in the kitchen)

Everything is Just Ducky...

It's hard to believe that in the 14 1/2 months of Joshua's life, this is the first time we have ever taken pics/video of him taking a bath. Mostly because I have never been keen on the idea of taking my eye off him for a second (not even to turn the camera on)- I am very paranoid of him being in the bathtub. And now, in order to conserve time, he mostly just takes a shower with me... (sorry if that is TMI for some of you). I am still paranoid that he will slip and fall in the shower (even though we have a non-slip bath mat. ALL THAT TO SAY- I was hanging up clothes in his closet the other day and thought I would occupy him by blowing up his rubber duck bath/pool and let him play in/with it while I hung up the clothes.

He liked it so much that I started thinking it might just keep him occupied and contained in the shower too and I was right! He had so much fun. And Jim got home just in time to get the camera and snap some good photos and video of him splashing. I also took some video of him playing with the duck in the living room. If you listen carefully, you can hear him "grunt" when he picks it up... and the whole time he is chatting away... not too sure what all he is saying, but it's the most talking he has EVER done!

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Ravioli Fun

Joshua is really enjoying Big Boy food. And he is doing exceptionally well using his fork (with a little assistance from mom)

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