Staycation: Day 2, Ballard Locks

After breakfast on Saturday morning we went to the Ballard Locks to see the boats and the salmon.

Notice the HUGE change in weather from the previous day at the zoo.

Eric and Kaylin watching the jumping salmon in the locks.

Silly Kaylin and Carter

There is a viewing area built into one of the weirs of the fish ladder. Most of the salmon we saw were Coho (Silver). There were also a few Chinook (King) and Sockeye (Red). I have a hard time telling them all apart. They just look like dinner to me. Ha ha.

Max had a busy day.

We stopped by Dicks on the way home for some burgers. When we got back to our house, we watched UW kick USC's trash and then while BYU was getting blown out we went to a park for a BBQ.

It was a great weekend!

Staycation: Day 1, Red Robin and Children's Museum

After naptime at our house, which didn't really work out as planned since the kiddos weren't really in the sleeping mood, we went to Red Robin in Factoria for dinner. Eric's birthday was Thursday and Brandon's was that day (Friday) and we wanted them to be embarrassed by the RR employees singing to them. Also, Eric had a coupon for a free burger.

Kaylin decided that it was better on the other side of the booth with the Greens. Or maybe she just really wanted some of Brandon's fish and chips. For those of you who know Kaylin's eating habits, YES, she ate some of Brandon's fish. Shocking.

After dinner, we headed through the ghost of a mall to the children's museum. The children's musuem at the Factoria Mall is free from 5-8 on Friday nights (are you noticing a theme here?). Kaylin still insisted on holding Carter's hand. I'm sure we'll be able to black mail them with these pictures someday.

In case you thought it was just the kids having fun, here are some pictures of Eric.

While Eric was sitting down a little boy asked him to come put on a puppet show. Too funny.

Eric also enjoyed the gears.

After the children's museum we all headed back to our house for the night. The plan was for the adults to play games while the kids slept, but we were all too tired. Instead we just watched tv and had some snacks. All 4 Greens decided to sleep in the same room. We slept great that night... I'm not so sure about them.

Staycation: Day 1, Point Definace Zoo and Aquarium

For the past four years we have always taken a camping trip with our friends, the Greens. For various reasons, it didn't work out this year. We still wanted to do something, so we opted for a "staycation". They came to our house last Friday morning for breakfast and then we headed off to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. The Greens have a family pass and they get 3 guests in for free! Score! Thanks guys!

It was a beautiful Seattle day. Here is a view of Mt. Rainier from the zoo.


One of the first stops was the petting zoo. I've never seen a petting zoo at an actual zoo before. And the only animals to pet were goats. Anyway... Kaylin enjoyed feeding the goats, which translates to throwing a food pellet into the goat pen and then running away while laughing.

That's about as close as she got to the goats.

Kaylin and Daddy looking at an animal, I'm pretty sure it was a tiger.

28.5 weeks preggo.

Kaylin insisted on holding Carter's hand. He obliged about half of the time.

There was a fun playground near the entrance. Kaylin and Carter enjoyed playing on it while Max had his meals.

Kaylin used a public restroom for the first time while we were at the zoo. I think she decided to try it out because Carter was using the bathroom. She insisted on taking off everything but her shirt and socks. She did a great job!

Day after the Potty Party

Kaylin did a great job today. She didn't have a single accident. She did pee in her pull-up during her nap, which I definitely expected. We went out for a couple of hours after Eric got home from work and I put her in a pull-up again. I took her into the bathroom at one of the stores and at the restaurant and told her that she could use the toilet in these bathrooms. But she refused to use them. She did want to go into the bathroom while we were waiting for our food, but she just wanted up on the changing table. I told her that changing tables were for babies who wore diapers and big girls who wear underwear like her use the toilet. She didn't want to use the toilet and we went back to our table. I'm not too concerned, she hasn't even used a big toilet or one at any place other than home. We'll keep working on that.

Day 2 was a definite success.

Potty Party Day! - afternoon and evening

Before I begin my long post, here's the quick summary:

1. Kaylin was a CHAMP.
2. I give this book 5/5 stars.
3. I am exhausted and I have a headache.

During Kaylin's nap I got things ready for the afternoon. I put her potty chart on the wall in the bathroom along with a new sheet of stickers (fyi: she only used 2 stickers from the new sheet and otherwise stuck with the smiley face stickers that were the favorite from the morning). I put her present, her underwear, in the bathroom. I also put a plastic bag in a plastic bowl for the accidents that would certainly come.

I did not follow my original plan to get Kaylin up at 2:00. It took her until somewhere between 1:30 and 2:00 to fall asleep. I let her sleep until just after 3:00. I decided that I would be better off letting her get some sleep. Plus I would still have 4 hours until the Big Kid Celebration to complete our tasks which I decided would be enough time.

I woke Kaylin up a little bit after 3:00. She was not happy. I followed the plan in the book to tell her that Baby stayed clean and dry during the whole nap and we should go get her a treat and a sticker. Kaylin said, "No! No treat for Baby!" Uhhhh... I wasn't quite sure what to do. This was not going according to plan. Knowing that Kaylin usually needs some time alone to wake up, I left her in her bed for nearly 10 minutes. When I came back she still wasn't too excited about getting a treat for Baby, but I was able to convince her.

After Baby's sticker and treat it was time for Kaylin to open her present.

Woo hoo! Big kid underwear!

She looked at most of the pairs while dropping them on the ground. Notice that Baby is also on the ground, poor thing. She then put them all back in the bag. I had her pick out a pair to put on. She wasn't too sure about it, but she went along with it.

We then felt that Kaylin was clean and dry and she got her own praise, sticker, and treat.

After that, I pumped the girl full of juice. She was in heaven.

We spent the first hour or so in the back yard. Kaylin wanted nothing to do with the couch or the potty books. Instead we blew bubbles and "painted" with water. While drinking juice of course. The juice hit her within 30-40 minutes and she WENT IN THE POTTY! I was slightly shocked. I figured she'd go in her pants the first time for sure. She even told me that she needed to go potty. I was impressed.

Before the Big Kid Celebration, she had 2 major accidents and went in the toilet 6 more times, for a total of 7 times before the party. Both accidents were on the wood floor and weren't too bad to clean up. She also had one small accident in the bathroom that was so small that no pee even came out of her underwear. She was going pee every 15-25 minutes. The book said that the goal is for the child to go in the potty 4-5 times, so I was thrilled with Kaylin's 7. She was also rewarded many times for having dry pants, usually once in between each time she peed.

Kaylin was very excited about her party. Once the guests arrived it was time for her to open her present, a doll house!

It looks like Carter is pretty excited about Kaylin's doll house. And yes, Carter is not wearing pants either. I think he wanted to make Kaylin feel more comfortable ;-).

After presents it was time for cake and ice cream, Kaylin's favorite!

Kaylin and Rachel chowing down. Rachel is so well potty trained that she got to wear a skirt :-).

After dessert we had Kaylin "throw away" her diapers. Don't worry, I'm keeping them for liners for her potty if we go on a trip or I might give them to someone. Kaylin said, "No more diapers for Kaylin!"

At the end of the night Kaylin decided that she wanted to put the picnic blanket on the floor and get her picture taken. I tried to take a few other pictures throughout the day but she wouldn't let me, she would leave what she was doing so I couldn't take one of her. Kids are funny.

Cheese!

During the party Kaylin went in the toilet three more times and had no accidents.

Stats:
Potty in toilet: 10
Big accidents: 2
Small accidents: 1

Overall, she probably told me that she needed to go 3/4 of the time. And yes, I know that 10 is not evenly divisible by 4.

When I put Kaylin to bed I put her in a nighttime pull-up. I'm not crazy. As the book suggested, I told her it was a disposable pair of big kid underwear. I pointed out that they were pink and had a princess on them. Kaylin decided the princess was Cinderella (it wasn't) and finally determined that she was okay with wearing them.

The book also said that I was supposed to get a present. So Eric, if you actually read this entire post, I know your birthday is next week, but I'm the one who really deserves a present.

I will keep you posted with the follow up.

Potty Party Day! - morning

I read Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day - Proven Secrets of the Potty Pro by Teri Crane earlier this summer. It teaches you how to have your toddler potty trained in a short period of time. It is an intense one day program followed by normal potty training maintenance. Kaylin wasn't quite ready for it, according to the quiz in the book, but she was very close. I think she scored 7/10 and you need to score 8/10 or higher to "pass". At the end of the summer I knew she was ready for it. I checked the book out again and this time she scored 9/10 on the readiness quiz. I picked a date about 2 weeks out for our Potty Party day. TODAY is that day.

This is going to be a long post because I know that some of my friends are very interested in how today goes.

I had two weeks to get all of my supplies together. You're supposed to have a theme for your party, but Kaylin isn't really into themes. I chose to go with streamers and balloons for the decorations, with a letter garland in the bathroom because she loves letters. I put together some activities she rarely (or never) does and checked out lots of potty books and one potty DVD from the library. I prepared treat cups. I outlined the process in the book so that I could look over it throughout the day more easily.

Last night I decorated. Here's what our kitchen and family room look like right now:

Notice the waterproof picnic blanket on the couch. That wasn't as important this morning as it will be this afternoon.

The present on the potty is Kaylin's doll's underwear.

I got up early so that I could be completely ready to go by the time Kaylin woke up. I followed the book and when I got Kaylin up I said, "There's a present for Baby (her doll) in the bathroom downstairs!" Kaylin was super excited and kept talking about it while I changed her diaper and got her dressed. We rushed downstairs to get Baby's present. Kaylin LOVED all of the crepe paper in the doorways. She was very excited to open Baby's present. There were 10 pairs of underwear for her doll. I decorated them with fabric markers to make them more interesting, which ended up being a good idea. Kaylin looked at each pair and every time Baby had to change her underwear Kaylin would decide which pair Baby should put on.

Here is Kaylin and Baby in her new underwear checking out all of the potty books:



The rest of the morning consisted of alternating between an activity, like reading a book or playing a game, and a potty activity for the doll. The doll rotates between staying dry, peeing in the potty, wetting her pants, and pooping in her pants. I had the baby pee in the toilet three times, once first thing, once in the middle, and once immediately before lunch to end on a good note. She stayed dry 8 times, wet her pants 6 times, and pooped in her pants (a junior mint) twice. The book outlines a dialogue for each type of incident. The doll got a treat (I used pretzels, Teddy Grahams, mini ranch flavored rice cakes, and one time an M&M) and a sticker on her chart every time she stayed dry or peed on the potty. After giving the treat to the doll and telling her why she was getting it, Kaylin got to eat the treat if she promised that someday she too would stay dry/pee on the potty. Kaylin loved this. She would tell me that she promised to do that and then would share the treat with the baby.

Kaylin was really funny when the doll "pooped" in her underwear. The book tells you to be all concerned about it, so I was. The first time the doll "pooped" Kaylin just about started to cry because I was so sad. She enjoyed flushing the "poop" down the toilet.

Kaylin did a good job with her baby. She would tell her that she needed to practice sitting on the potty when she had an accident. She helped tell the doll that she needed to go pee-pee in the toilet and not in her underwear. She was very excited for Baby whenever she was dry or peed in the potty and would cheer and hug and kiss her.

The second half of the morning was harder. Kaylin was losing interest in the books and activities. I could usually get her to do something for a minute or two and then I'd have one of the dialogues about the baby (wet/dry/etc.).

We started just before 8:30 am and had lunch just after 11:30 am. It's a busy morning and you're rotating through activities every few minutes. Lunch time was Baby's Big Kid Celebration. She got a present and lots of praise. We talked about how big Baby is now (hmmm... wish I could stop calling her Baby) and that she doesn't wear diapers anymore. I told Kaylin that she could have a party when she doesn't wear diapers anymore either. Kaylin was very excited about this. I told her that some family and a couple of potty-trained friends would come to her party and we'd play, eat cake, and she would get a present. She wanted her party right then.

At 12:00 it was naptime. Normally she goes down for her nap between 1:30 and 2. But we were busy all morning and she got up a little earlier than normal, so I'm hoping it will work out. We need enough time this afternoon for her to potty train. As of 1:00 she was still awake in her room and I think I still hear her, so hopefully she won't be too tired when I get her up.

The plan for the afternoon is that Kaylin will get up from her nap around 2:00 and then I will tell her that Baby stayed dry the whole time she was napping. Baby will get a sticker and a treat. Then I will tell Kaylin that Baby and I have a present for her. Kaylin will open her present, underwear. I will help her put on a pair and then immediately we will feel that her pants are dry. She will get a sticker and a treat right then. The rest of the afternoon I will get her to drink as much liquid as possible, which should be easy since Kaylin LOVES to drink. I will keep checking for her to be dry and she will get rewarded if she is. She will also get rewarded for sitting on the potty, even if she doesn't go in it. If she has an accident (this is why the waterproof blanket is on the couch), then we will sit on the potty for practice. The goal is that she will pee in the toilet about 4 times this afternoon.

I'm mostly worried about keeping Kaylin on the blanket. I know that she's not going to want to sit there for long, so we might have to play on the floor in the kitchen. Kaylin likes to play on her own in the bonus room or her bedroom a lot, which doesn't work today. I hope that she doesn't get overwhelmed with me being around her constantly and making her stay in specific areas.

I will post how the rest of the day goes late tonight or tomorrow.

More baby presents

Our friends Kim and Dale had their baby boy at the end of last month. Well, Kim had him, but we'll give Dale some credit too.

I of course had to make Kim some fabulous baby presents. Here's what I came up with:

Hooded towel.
I LOVE these things. Kaylin still uses hers and probably will for a very long time. So big and cozy for little people.

Bath mitt
This was my first attempt. I used a hand towel and embellished with felt. In case you can't tell, it's supposed to be a cat.

Burp cloths
One can never have too many burp cloths, as I learned quickly after Kaylin was born. Dale requested that Kim make about 5 million (give or take), so I tried to help her out.

Aren't I so environmentally friendly? I wrapped the burp cloths and bath mitt inside the towel. I know, I'm cool like that.

Happy new baby, Kim and Dale! We love you guys! I'm sorry I can't give you some magic sleep potion or something. This will have to do.

the reception

I'm finally posting the pictures from Christopher's reception. I didn't take very many. The reception was held in my parents' back yard. The weather was beautiful which we were all grateful for.

There was lots of great food: fruit, different desserts, and these...

Yup, my brother's favorite, peachios and appleos. YUM!

Eric and shy Kaylin

This is what Kaylin did for most of the reception, eat grapes.

Macey and Kaylin, once again we failed to get a cute picture of the two of them together.

Larrabee State Park

My new sister-in-law's family drove in from Sacramento on Thursday night before the open house. Friday afternoon we took them to Larrabee State Park for a picnic and low tide.

There were purple star fish everywhere

The girls enjoyed Uncle Christopher turning over rocks to find crabs.

Kaylin and Grandpa in front of the bay and islands.

Great... they discovered sea kelp.

Lake Whatcom

While we were in Bellingham, we were able to take the boat out on Lake Whatcom two times.

My attempt to get a picture of both girls. And yes, this is the best one I got.

Kelsey and Macey on the tube.

I don't think it was the most comfortable tube ride for Kelsey. She was about 25 weeks pregnant and was holding a squirmy 2 year old. But it was a short ride and not wild. Macey loved it. People asked Kaylin a few times if she wanted to go on a tube ride and she said, "No, I sit."

Mom, Dad, me, and Kaylin

Kaylin loved riding in the boat. She loved to watch everyone tube and wakeboard. She wanted everyone to go in the water again, but she still refused to go in herself :-).

26 Weeks

I have been terrible at taking pictures of this pregnancy. I wanted to take a picture every 4 weeks. During week 20 I didn't have a camera, during week 24 I was in Bellingham. And I just didn't take any pictures during that time. I guess I'm just lazy.

Here I am today, at week 26.



Only 14 weeks (plus/minus) to go! It's going by really quickly.

I've been feeling great. Sleeping is a slight issue, but not too bad. I have definitely started the "nesting" phase. I have a 2 page word document with all of the things I need to do. This includes cleaning/organizing and baby/birthday/Christmas presents. This list does not include the various things I want to make for the baby and her room and for Kaylin and her room. I've been trying to pick a couple of things from the list to do each day. Plus I'm trying to finish Kaylin's scrapbook and the quilt for her twin bed.