The Potty, Puke, & Jumping Castles

That was my weekend in a nutshell.

The Potty
Brandt has seemed to master potty training within the past week and over the weekend he started going by himself without us reminding him. And he hasn't had any accidents (knock on wood) even when we're out in public. He still wears a diaper for his naps and overnight, but I've recently noticed his nap diaper is dry when he gets up so I'm thinking we will be ready for no diapers soon. We bribed him in the beginning, giving him a hotwheels car every time he used the potty. Then I downgraded to M&M's and that seemed to work as incentive, too. But really, it wasn't all that hard. I feel like he was ready and I didn't force him and now he's totally comfortable with it.  So comfortable, in fact, that last night when I was giving Lily a bath he walked into the bathroom holding a bag of cookies, sat down on his potty chair, peed, and got up and walked out.  Never once letting go of the bag of cookies.  We'll have to work on bathroom etiquette ...

Puke
Lillian spits up a lot, so that's nothing new for me, and we've had 5 instances of projectile vomit. Like exorcist vomit, so it really freaked me out the first time she did it. And then there was the time she threw up all over a friend's couch ... that was fun, and by fun I mean horribly embarrassing. So I felt like the powers that be were making up for lost time because Brandt spit up maybe 4 times when he was a baby. And then on Saturday Joe came home from taking him to Movers & Shakers, the zoo & the park and Brandt didn't look so good. He was lying on the couch when all of a sudden we saw that he was about to throw up. Joe managed to get him to the bathroom in time but of course I was freaked out because, 1. He never throws up, and 2. His birthday party was the next day and I was worried he was getting sick and we'd have to cancel. Fortunately it was just motion sickness from swinging too much at the park, and he was fine after he threw up and took a 2 hour nap.

Jumping Castles
If you want to traumatize my son just inflate a large jumping castle where he can see it. We had Brandt's birthday party at Old Pueblo Gymnastics and the party package included a jumping castle. The last time he was around jumping castles he freaked out a little (ok, a lot) but it was 6 months prior so I thought I would try again. Definitely a no-go. We asked them to deflate it 10 minutes into the party because Brandt wouldn't even go into the room to play with other things while it was up and he kept asking to go home. Eventually he warmed up to his party and played & ran around and had a really good time. BUT, he kept mentioning the jumping castle the rest of the day. And he had a hard time falling asleep last night because he kept thinking about it. And he woke up in the middle of the night, too. And probably the 3rd thing he mentioned when he woke up this morning was the jumping castle. So I managed to scar my kid for life because of the jumping castle at his 3rd birthday party. Swell.

Favorite on Friday

In honor of my anniversary yesterday I thought I would post a favorite related to my wedding & honeymoon.  If you are ever in Grand Cayman, go to The Wharf and make sure you order the lobster bisque.  It's wonderful, and Joe and I had it probably 4 of the 6 days we were in Grand Cayman.

If, like Joe and me, you can't get to Grand Cayman anytime soon, I also recommend the Ritz Carlton.  Joe and I had our beautiful reception there and the food and service was amazing.  Which is to be expected since it's the Ritz Carlton.  My parents were so generous and supportive with helping plan our wedding and reception, and the Ritz Carlton was perfect.  I highly recommend the filet mignon ... and carrot cake.

Family Resemblance

My mom posted some baby pictures of her and me to compare with Lillian's baby pictures.  Kind of interesting.  I do think Lillian looks more like my mom, although I need to see some of Joe's baby pictures too.

A Comparison

The Potty

We're making progress with Brandt.  Only because we've been bribing him with new HotWheels for everytime he goes on the potty.  That's getting expensive so I switched to M&M's.  My sister-in-law said that's what she used with her boys so I'm going to try it.  Lately he's been in underwear all day except for his nap & bedtime.  I know it's kind of a TMI subject but I'm excited we're moving in the right direction.

My Decision

I bought the Graco Mosaic for the following reasons:

1. Brandt prefers to walk wherever we go and I think once the novelty of the Sit N Stand wore off, he wouldn't be interested anymore and we'd be stuck with the bigger stroller.

2. The Mosaic still holds the infant car seat but it's not as big as the old Quattro Tour or the Sit N Stand.  I tried pushing the Sit N Stand at the store and it felt more awkward because it was longer.  And the carseat would be way out in front with the Sit N Stand.

3. The Mosaic is lighter and smaller and collapses like an umbrella stroller so it takes up less space in the back of my car.

4. I always have the option of carrying Lillian in the Bjorn and pushing Brandt in the stroller if need be.

Ultimately, my goal was to have less bulk and awkwardness with my stroller so I'm hopeful that the Mosaic fulfills my needs.  I'll be testing it at the zoo tomorrow.  But I know I'll still have stroller envy.