When No News is Good News

We didn’t update on DT’s potty training yesterday because there was nothing new to say. He is doing marvelously, and has still only had the one accident. Today he undressed, sat on, and pooped in the potty ALL ON HIS OWN. Very unexpected and very pleasing! We’re making serious progress here, and I think aside from an occasional accident and night time peeing, we ARE potty trained!

YAY, DANE THOMAS!

Last night we joined some friends to celebrate the 31st birthday of DT’s Uncle Brian. We ate at Macaroni Grill, where Dane refused cake (weirdo!) and quickly learned where the bathroom was. He hussafussed and hardly ate at all. Sophie and Dane talked and played and hugged a little. It was nice for them to see each other again. Hope to do it again really soon. Happy Birthday, Uncle B!

And sadly, I’ve felt pretty yucky today, and DT has something of a cough, and unbelievable teething-related post-nasal drip that causes him to hack and gag relentlessly. Because of this, you will cut us slack about uploading pictures. And because of this, we missed DT’s cousin Emily’s acting debut in her middle school play. There is an encore presentation tomorrow night that I very much look forward to attending. Congrats on a job well done, Em. And good luck tomorrow.

Progress Report

Today went splendidly in potty training world. Only one accident today because we haven't much had the opportunity to learn poop yet. But we were thrilled that we did manage to get one poop in the potty! First time for that, and we are so proud!

We went and got a second pack of big man underwear, so our collection now includes Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse Club. We also got some Pull Ups for while we're out and about. As of now, DT is still in a diaper while sleeping. Pretty soon, we'll have to pick up even more pee pee treats, because Dane is sure going through them!

He still mostly whines when he has to pee, and I'll ask him if he needs to go potty and he runs to it. He'll occasionally sign for it. But he's getting the concept down for sure!

This is without question the most intense pride we have experienced with our little guy so far. We're lucky and thankful that it's been smooth sailing so far. =)

Wish Us Luck!

Dane Thomas, our itty bitty tiny little baby, is (deep breath)... potty training. Yes, potty training! Here's the info...

We have two potty chairs and a potty ring that fits over the toilet. DT has acquainted himself with the potties, sitting on them while reading and playing. They have been a novelty. He'd peed in them a couple of times, but never showed interest or readiness for potty training. Recently though, he has been tugging on his diaper when it needed to be changed. He has long understood the concept of changing diapers and understands the words poop, pee, diaper, potty. When we decided he might be ready to train, we began putting him on the potty somewhat regularly, and lo and behold, he began to pee in it somewhat regularly.

We bought him "big man underwear". He isn't really as excited as you might imagine a three year old to be. He didn't pick them out because he didn't much recognize any of the characters to choose from, and they really aren't special to him. The smallest size I could find was 2T-3T. Dane is a tall, thin 19 month old. Needless to say they are a little big. But believe me, they are adorable. We also replenished our stock of what has become exclusively reserved for "peepee treats", Dane Thomas' very favorite flavored mini marshmallows.

DT still says very little, but he quickly picked up the sign for potty adapting it as he has every other sign, to make it his own.

For the past two days, except for nap time and night night, DT has been wearing his big man underwear. And in two days he has had one accident! Our biggest victory was at dinner tonight. We met Gramps at a restaurant and DT signed numerous times that he had to go potty. He trickled drops until he could hold the rest and then said he was all done, but the final time he really let go and peed for the first time in a public bathroom! So big!

So that made it official for us - We're potty training! Wish us luck and we'll keep you posted. Join us as we settle in for this fun journey. One baby step-- I mean, toddler step, at a time.

Finally Forward Facing!

At DT's 18 month appointment, I drilled the doctor with questions. He laughed and replied to each of my "Okay, one more thing..."s with "You said one more thing three things ago!", but put on a happy face and was super polite, answering in detail each inquiry with kindness and professionalism.
Something I was very curious about his opinion of was rear-facing versus forward-facing car seats for toddlers Dane's age. After discussing the statistics and weighing the pros and cons, we came to the decision to finally flip DT's car seat to the forward-facing position. We knew it would be more pleasant for all of us - Dane Thomas would be able to see us, it would be easier to get him in and out of the car, etc. and there was very little surprise to the whole ordeal.
Nonetheless, it was an exciting transition for Mommy. =) Of course, pictures were taken to commemorate the milestone. Here's our prince in his forward facing throne.

TJ's Twelve

I forgot to post about TJ's birthday.

Dane's cousin, TJ, lesser known 'round here as Travis James, recently turned 12 years old. 12!... 12!!... Tuh-wuh-elve!!! And so begins what I refer to as "Birthday Season" in the Spicer Family - where they have a birthday a month in their household from January through May. We had a small celebration that included goofing off and cake. Happy birthday, TJ. We love you more than Chuck Norris. =)

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had an average day in the Howard home. Jackie was surprised with a lovely homemade card from her favorite two Valentines! Daniel was sick and slept most of the day, and Jackie and Dane Thomas spent the day playing and relaxing. We stayed in and ate spaghetti for dinner (DT loves spaghetti and fed himself amazingly well) and had mom-made cupcakes for dessert.

I'll update later with a couple pictures. Hope this holds all of our Valentines over in the meantime! =)

Tennessee Trip

Last weekend Daniel went to Tennessee for work, and Dane and I tagged along. We were aware of the weather they were calling for, but if any of us were to be stuck somewhere, we may as well be stuck together. And a change of scene is always welcome with us.
Well, the snow started soon after we arrived and the ice followed. We weren't able to do too much, since the roads weren't drive-worthy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. We have a few more to share, but here are some pictures of our Tennessee trip together.

On the Lookout!

I got this lovely email in my inbox this morning from the neighborhood association.

"Animal Control stopped by (02-04-10) to tell us to keep all small animals and small children in after dusk for the next few weeks. A coyote has been spotted in our neighborhood and they are trying to find it."

Nice. Guess we'll be on the lookout for a while... From inside. =/

Blah.

We've been slacking off here with posting. There is just a lot on our plates right now. We're doing great, just a little hectic. Dane's a whirlwind of trouble, but that's not really news, now is it? We have topics, events and pictures to post and I'll do my best to get them up soon. We're all good here. Just a little blah.