Changes Galore! Part 2: Hello Underwear!

Hi Loved Ones! It's funny that I had planned to write a series of blog posts about "changes" that we are experiencing, and we were suddenly hit by a big unexpected change that has kept us busy and with little time for me to blog.

Just as a heads up, Daniel and I are off to Florida tomorrow for 4 days to visit my cousin Manuela, her husband Paul and their 3 adorable children. We are excited with this unexpected vacation! This will be the first time ever that Jonny is away from Daniel overnight but I think it will be a great break for him too. He will get to focus on the World Cup (he is soooo excited about it!) and not worry about all the other home and parenting responsibilities! I hope to update you when I get back!

Back to Part 2 of the "changes" series...

We decided to start potty training Daniel just over a week ago! Things have not gone as well as they were going when I started to write this blog about a week ago, but we originally started training Daniel using Lora Jensen's 3 day method. He was doing absolutely great, but then in the last couple of days, he has started to REFUSE the potty completely. Uhm... this is not supposed to happen according to Lora Jensen... But anyway, since Daniel will now just scream and cry with just the thought of using the potty, we decided to just let it be and try again sometime later... But in any case, since I already had photos and all, have a look at how the training went the first few days!

Day#1: Encouraging start!

We said good-bye to his diapers and pull-ups on Day #1 together and put him in underwear. He had several accidents in the morning but in the afternoon, went pee-pee in the potty twice!

Enjoying special breakfast made by Papai before putting on underwear...

Excited about the underwear...

Gave him lots to drink including juice (which he rarely gets) and he had his first tea (which he liked, but only took a few sips)!

We were stuck at home for 3 days and so we had to do lots of fun things - he loved the painting!

Enya came over on the first day and showed Daniel how to use the potty several times which I think helped...

He got a new truck after going pee-pee in the potty for the first time!

Happy big boy at the end of Day #1!

Day#2: Uhm... is this really going to work?

Day 2 was difficult... one accident after another and he couldn't care less about the potty... but he had fun playing nevertheless! :-)

Day#3: The day it all really clicked!

Day 3 started with a small accident in the early morning and then he went pee-pee in the potty several times that day, no more accidents. Wow, it all seemed to have worked!

We even got to play outside again... yes, still in his underwear (it's part of the method)

More tea...

And then he discovered the sofa in a new way...

Day#4: No accidents and we are back outdoors!

Yes, no accidents all day and we thought this was it!

This is his potty training chart. He gets a sticker each time he successfully uses the potty! He really liked this for the first few days...

Day #10: Back in pull-ups...

It's sad to report but we decided to put Daniel back in his pull-ups during the day for now because Daniel started to adamantly refuse the potty. Don't know exactly why (though we suspect that he got freaked out by realizing that he would also have to use public toilets when we were out and that he also had to do #2 in the potty), he is just not motivated to do so. Yesterday he was excited when he discovered he could pee standing up, but since then, has shown no more interest...

So basically, for now, 10 days later, the 3 day method did not work for us... We will try again soon. In some ways it was a good method to use because it got us started and it definitely taught Daniel to recognize when he has to go. But, it hasn't helped him want to use the potty himself. So now, we are praying for him to actually WANT TO do it like a big boy!

Anyway, it is all totally fine (well, now it is, you should have seen our disappointment 2 days ago! :-)), just part of the changes we are experiencing around here...

In a month or so I'll update again on how the potty training is going...

And now... back to packing since we are soon leaving for FLORIDA!!! YAY!!!

Changes Galore! Part 1: Hello Blanket

We are currently going through a season of lots of changes and developments in Daniel's, and therefore, our lives! Lots of exciting things are happening around here and I hope to keep you updated on them!

As a prelude to something very special that is happening this weekend (suspense intended!), we finally said good-bye to Daniel's SleepSack last week. Daniel has been wearing one to bed at night since he was 4 months old, after we said good-bye to the swaddle. We just loved using a SleepSack; when he was smaller and unable to move much, we didn't have to worry about a blanket being stuck over his head and later as he started to move around, we knew that no matter in what position he was in (it's amazing how much he moves!), he would always be covered and never feel cold. But, as he started to outgrow his latest SleepSack, we decided that it was time for him to just have a normal blanket and so last week (at age 2 and almost 3 months), we told him that he was going to nap with a new blanket and...he LOVED it! We had to change the whole routine of putting him to bed (before we would lay him down in the dark, already in his sack, now we put him in bed, cover him with the blanket then turn off the light) but he adjusted to it immediately - so cute!

Jonny and I too have now adjusted to this change but continue to visit his room several times before we go to bed (and sometimes in the middle of the night too) to cover him since the blanket does not stay on (he is so cute asleep, we love visiting him at night!)! But it's summer here now and we are keeping the house a lot warmer so he is fine (in case you get worried, vozinha! :-))

It's funny writing about this now because it seems like such a small thing but to us, this change WAS a big one! :-)

Here are some photos of Daniel the morning after his first night with his blankets. We are actually using the large swaddle flannel blankets that he used as a baby as his new blankets! See how content he is with the blankets!

A Very Special Memorial Day

There are some days that are extra special; days that I just feel extra blessed. This past Monday was Memorial Day Holiday, and it was one of those extra special days.

It started with a sweet visit to the Memorial Park to clean and put new flowers on Jonathan David's grave. As Jonny cleaned, I held Daniel and told him about our first son, his older brother in Heaven. He listened quietly... I am not sure how much he understood, but it was special to tell him about Jonathan David. Next year Daniel will be three and I know he will understand much more... It's sad having to tell him about death at such a young age, but it is a reality that we all have to deal with at one time or another. My prayer is that because Daniel has a brother in Heaven, he may long for Jesus and our true home more - the same way as we have because of Jonathan David's life.

(For fun, look at Daniel last year on Memorial day - from baby to boy!)

We then returned home and had my dear friend Perla from Honduras over for lunch, with her two daughters, Wilsen and Libny, and her mother. They were visiting the U.S. because Libny had just recently graduated from college in Pennsylvania! Congratulations again Libny, I'm so proud of you! Our reunion after almost 3 years was emotional and so special. They are all so dear to me and our bond runs deep. I was also so happy to see Wilsen who got married only 5 months ago. Perla has been an amazing single mother and it is so wonderful to see how the girls are doing so well.

Daniel was shy for the first hour or so (he is going through a very shy phase with people he does not know), but I was thankful that he ended up playing with the girls before going down for his nap. He also had a cute moment with Buffy on our bed just before going to sleep (see photos below)!

Later that afternoon, we went over to the home of our friends (the Taracenas) for a cook-out (American word for barbecue!). We enjoyed hanging out with friends and Daniel had a blast playing in their huge yard. He loved going up the hill, throwing down a ball, running down the hill into Jonny's arms and catching the ball again. He did this over and over again and you can see how much he sweated!

I'm so thankful that I have been able to blog about this special day so that I can always remember it. Thank you Lord for a special Memorial Day this year!

Ahh...Summer!

Today was our first day back at the pool and it was just glorious. The pictures express better than I could ever describe, the joy that was experienced. Enjoy!

P.S. For fun, have a look at Daniel almost one year ago at the pool... he has grown so much!