Really? Seriously!? But Im not ready!!

Apparently, Eli has potty trained himself. No kidding around!! This week he has pooped in his diaper only twice! The first time we were at a friends house playing, and the second time was when we had friends over playing! Pretty both times he didnt want to tell me he had to go because we were playing with friends. I seriously cant get over it though! I didnt think he was ready but apparently thatrs not the case... maybe its me thats not ready!! But Im enjoying it thats for sure!

He'll tell me when he has to poo, and off we go to his potty. Sometimes he'll tell me he has to poo but really he has to pee. Thats happened a few times today. I just cant get over it! I had someone ask me when we started potty training and the thing is we havent!! We let him see us go to the bathroom, we're not shy about it. We tell him what we're doing, and when he used to poop in his cloth diaper we'd take him into the bathroom to put the poop into the toilet. I know alot of poop and pee talk, but I cant believe he's potty training himself! He is so proud, and loves the praise we give him. I hope it sticks after we get back from Mexico because it is so nice not to have to wash as many diapers, and let me tell you clean up is so much easier!! I never thought that at 20 months Eli would be poop trained, and on his way to being pee trained too!! What?!

So today Katherines DTS ended and they are on their way home! Mom and Dad left to go pick her up yesterday and they should be home sometime this weekend! I cant wait, but am also nervous. She has seen alot while she was in Brazil and Im sure she has alot of strong feelings about coming back too! Regardless, when Eli looked at a picture of me, Kristin, and Katherine tonight and yelled "AUNTEEEEEE" it warmed my heart! I cant wait for him to see her!!

Feeling so Blessed!!

Well we've had a great day!

I was super stressed yesterday after talking to a few friends about going to the passport office. I heard that the wait was on average anywhere from 2-4 hours, and there is no way my almost 2 year old was going to sit and wait. Not only would I be stressed but he would be stressed as well by the end of it. I talked to my awesome girlfriend and she said it wouldnt be an issue for me to drop him off at her place. Great! Life saver!!

So last night after my art class my dad said he would go stand in line early for me. But then this morning at 6am my phone rang. He suggested that he come here, I could go to the passport office for 7:30am, and get it done!! Brilliant! So thats what we did. Off I went to the passport office for 7:30a.m, he hung out at my house waiting for Eli to wake up. On my way there I prayed that it would go smoothly, there wouldnt be any issues with the forms, or documents needed, and it would be easy. Boy, was it ever an answer to prayer! Right from my dad coming over this morning, to how quickly things went there. I was in line at 7:30 with 19 people in front of me. But things with quickly, all of our documents were correct and there wasnt one little hiccup! I was out of the passport office and home before 9am!! And Eli's passport will be ready for pick up 5 days before we leave for Mexico! Thank you Lord!! And that you to my great friend, Alex who was willing to watch Eli last minute, and to my Dad who got up bright and early to come over for me!

I came home and Eli was so happy. He was showing my dad his "karate"! Nothing better than walking into the house and hearing your little guy giggling and laughing till his hearts content! What a blessing! Once my dad left I tidied up the house, did the recylcing, packed up the bottles for the bottle depot, and cleaned the kitchen. We took the bottles in, washed the car and went to visit a girlfriend.

Once we got home after our little outing, Eli came to me and told me "poo poo" so I took him over to his potty, took his diaper off, and he sat down. I left him to do his thing, and he came to me and said "poo poo" so I went and checked his potty and sure enough!!! I was letting him walk around naked, and he continued to sit down and poop 3 more times!! I couldnt believe it. And, he even peed in the potty too!! Im just blown away and so proud! Im wondering if maybe I should run with it if he's willing to attempt to start using the potty. Im not even enforcing it or pushing it, he's doing it all on his own!! Any tips from anyone about potty training, or advice??

Oh also, I had a girlfriend ask if we've gotten Eli's shots for Mexico. Yes we have, we went a month ago and got them done, however we dont need both Hep A & B, just Hep A. So thats what we got done and we're all set to go!! Less than 3 weeks, and I have a feeling its going to come up very fast!!

Maybe not luck of timing . . .

Maybe it wasnt luck of timing. Im talking about my previous post. Eli went poop on the potty once this weekend. Chances are that one was luck too. But, today as I was getting ready for the day Eli came into the bathroom and said "poo poo" and sat down on his little potty. So I quickly took his pants and his diaper off, and he sat and pretended to push. He got up a few times, and then sat back down. I left the bathroom briefly and when I came back there was a surprise in his potty for me!! I was completely shocked! It was his idea to sit and try to go!! How proud was I?? Very!!

We went off to run our errands today and then came home. He came to me and said "poo poo" and went and sat down on his potty with his clothes on. I took his clothes off and he sat down for a bit. I went to go make lunch and went back after a few minutes to check on him. He was standing in front of his potty and sure enough there was another treat for me in his potty!! Again, I was totally shocked!! I didnt ask him if he had to go, he told me and off he went!! I am so proud!!

This weekend, I was supposed to head up to my cousins place out of town for a girls night. Because of the crappy weather conditions the roads werent great so we decided not to go. I went over to my girlfriends place in the evening to visit, since Andy had a whole bunch of guys over to watch a UFC fight. We were talking about our upcoming trip to Mexico when she suggested maybe I should double check about what documents I need for Eli to travel. So I did. I thought he would just need his birth certificate. Nope, not the case. I need to get him a passport. Good thing I checked because we would've been hooped had I not. So tomorrow we head downtown to apply for his passport.

Hopefully tomorrow goes smoother than today did. He was not happy about the passport photos but the lady at costco was creative and suggested we put him in a cart. He wasnt happy about it but he was more willing to sit in the cart over the little chair. But we got it done. Our next stop was a lady who Andy found on kijiji. We've been looking for a wetsuit for Eli for mexico but would really like to have some floaties. I didnt think we'd be able to find one, however my dear husband did on kijiji and for the perfect price of $10!! Off I went to check it out, and to get Eli to try it on. There was our third HUGE fit (the first was at costco when I tried to get him to take his picture, the second was when I took the keys from him!!) when we undressed him and tried to put this suit on he LOST it. Luckily, we were in her home so it wasnt as embarrassing. The suit fit once we finally got it on!! Great!! My whole morning consisted of him having tantrums, and was completely frustrating.

Cross my fingers that tomorrow while we're at the passport office he behaves, or maybe he shouldnt behave and we'll get it done quicker? Doubt it!!

Luck of timing

Last week when my mom babysat Eli, she got him to go pee on the potty. Once he was done, he proceeded to take some toilet paper and wipe.... apparently he's seen his mom pee a bit too often.

Today, Eli came to me and said "poo poo" I said "Do you have to go poo poo?" he said "Yup," so I replied "Okay lets go poo on the potty, c'mon Eli!" Off we went to the bathroom, quickly... took his diaper off and plopped him on the potty, the big potty even. He hopped off and I put him back on, and told him to push. Well he did, and sure enough he pooped on the potty. He told me was done, and I wiped his bum, which he decided he also needed to as well. He grabbed some toilet paper, wiped his bum, and proceeded to wipe in front as well. I had to laugh. Im not ready to potty train him (yes thats right, since its all about ME) but it sure was easier having him poop on the potty instead of in his diaper. He also didnt feel the need to yell "Stinky!!!!!!!!!" after he pooped today as compared to when he goes in his diaper.

This is sure an interesting age. I think today all chalks up to the luck of timing and me getting him into the bathroom quick enough, but it sure felt good to get him to go on the potty!!

Art work pictures

Okay, so I ve been taking my art class for 4 weeks now. I cant say Im entirely happy with it, but this is my work so far.


Id love to hear your feedback!!

 

This yellow and blue one isnt done yet. It needs something, I just dont know what.

And here are a few Ive done on my own time. These ones were done before I started my art class.

Really? Again?

The time has come... yet again. Can you guess what Im talking about? Think hard, really hard!!

Over the past few days, Ive noticed something that Eli has been doing more than usual.... can you guess? He's been cranky, and moody, but I just assumed it was him cutting a few teeth.

I decided today that it was time to call the doctor to get things checked out. We went and met with a new Dr that we're going to start going to. She works right behind our house, and when I called at 10:30am this morning I was able to get Eli in for 4:00p.m. So what has Eli been doing more than usual? Tugging at his ears, sticking his fingers in his ears, twisting his ears, covering them up with his hands.

Let me tell you how happy I was when we walked into the office and the nurse said she could take us right into the room, we followed her in, took Eli's jacket off, and our dr was in within 5 minutes. Checked one year, good, checked the other ear... really bad. The tubes are still in his ears, but the one ear is very inflamed. On to the antibiotics. She told me she wants to put him on a different antibiotic that is more expensive but is also more effective. Great! We have benefits so Im not too worried about the cost.

I decided to go to Save On to get the perscription filled because I had to grab some groceries, usually I go to wal mart because I heard its cheapest. Well, I gave him our insurance info and off I went. When I went back to pay he told me that I didnt have to anything! Not a scent!! Really? The perscription was close to $50, and I didnt pay a scent!! Funny thing is last week I was praying about our finances and that God would work all the details out. And here is one little thing that just worked out. We could've afforded to pay for this but it was taken care of!!

So, Im asking you to pray for our little guy. Im feeling frustrated and at my wits end again at what to do with the poor kid who cant get 6 months of relief without an ear infection! Seems like he just doesnt get a break. Im also feeling a tad bit sorry for myself that I cant do anything to help him more than what Im doing. Poor me, right? Try being the kid with the ouchie ears, I know, I know. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!!

Snow issues and people

This week so far has been a pretty good week. Its going by fast so far which is good. My little sister has a few weeks left of her DTS, and I cant wait to have her home. We havent talked to her that much this week because her team has ventured out to help near the landslides. This makes me extremely nervous but I trust that God is taking care of them. In fact, as I was sitting in church on Sunday asking God "Why are you sending her there?!" He said to me, "Ill take care of her. Do not be afraid." So needless to say, Im trying not to worry, but Im looking forward to hearing from her at the end of the week and her being out of harms way!!

Last night Andy and I went to visit our marriage counsellor whom we've been seeing for over 4 year. We saw her for our pre marital counselling, and she told us at that time she likes to see couples every 6 months to a year. So, Andy and I have aimed to visit her every 6 months to a year. We also got to visit with our awesome friends who babysat Eli. We always feel great leaving our hour session because we both know coming out that Andy and I are both willing to continue working our butts off at our marriage. But something else happened as we were heading into the office. We parked in the back alley behind our friends place and decided to walk to Val's office since its less than half a block from our friends place to her office. As we were walking there was a couple in their early-mid 30's trying to get out of their parking spot. They were both fairly dressed up, and looking helpless. The guy looks at us and yells at Andy "Hey you!! Come here, take the keys so I can push the car out." And said "Uh no, you drive Ill push." The guy says "No, here take the keys, you drive, man." I meanwhile got in front of the car and he says "No, not you! Your boyfriend, he can push." This guys girlfriend was standing there dressed up in her nice pants and boots looking so embarassed. I said to her, "Its okay, Ill push." This guy goes off again, "Okay, we're going to rock it" He's in the car, Andy and I are pushing (or attempting to push!!) the car back. And Mr.saab is yelling at us to rock it. Good luck. We didnt get the car moved, and we told him that we had to go because we had an appointment. He says to me, "Your boyfriend, he's a good guy." I said, "He's my husband, thanks." I couldnt believe the attitude of this guy when he wanted our help, and how rude he was.

Previously before we dropped Eli off at our friends place, we got our vehicle stuck. Andy pushed, and I "rocked" or attempted to. A young girl about my age also came out to help, then another girl, and then an older woman. All 4 of them are pushing, meanwhile a guy on his bike goes by and says he has some traction spikes and will go get them. He went and got them, placed them under the tires and out we went. We have to get some of those. Anyways, I was so thankful that all those people helped us. Its interesting to me the 2 different experiences. The guy who told us (didnt ask us!!) to help him, and was incredibly rude. And then us, we didnt ask anyone to help us they just offered we had by the time we were out 6 people helping us!! Im so thankful theres nice people out there.

SO... today after I went to bible study (we're studying Jonah, and interruptions of life) I went to get my wires trimmed on my braces. As I was leaving I came to an intersection where there was a big coke truck waiting to turn and an older lady walking with her walker on the road. Because of the freezing rain from last night the roads are icy and wet. I continued on my way and all of a sudden something ( or maybe SOMEONE????) said to me, "You should go offer that woman a ride home." I could turn around, but kept driving, and the thought kept pushing, "Go offer her a ride." So I turned around and tried to find her. She was trekking through a smooshy, icy, wet parking lot, clearly struggling. I pulled up beside her. "Excuse me, can I give you a ride home? Its so wet and icy you shouldnt have to walk through this parking! Its really dangerous." "Oh thank you, I would appreciate that so much." I got out, put her walker into my vehicle, and helped her in." it was so icy, I was afraid she was going to slip walking around the vehicle. She didnt live far from where we were, a 1 minute drive by the time we got her home. She told me the taxi drivers wont drive her because of her walker, so she had to walk to the mall to get her meds. Really?! A taxi driver wont drive her to her destination because of her walker?! I was annoyed at that! But Im so glad I listened to that voice, and gave her a ride home.

As I made my way home, I felt so blessed. Why? Because I have a reliable vehicle that is big enough to offer a little old lady (who when I looked into her eyes, reminded me of my Grandma) and I was able to put her walker in my SUV without a fight or unsure of if it would fit or not. I felt so good that I had listened to that voice and was obedient in what we being told to me.

Having to turn around and go back looking for her was a bit of "Interruption" but who knows what wouldve happened had I not. Maybe she wouldve slipped and fallen, it would've taken her a good 15-20 minutes to get through the snow filled parking lot (or dare I saw ice rink!?) and for me to turn around and help her out was nothing.

I am so thankful at how blessed we truly are.

Joy

It absolutely blows my mind how a child can bring so much joy to a family!! I really notice how Eli changes the family dynamics and mood when we have family dinner with my whole family!!

Tonight was one of those nights. We had family dinner at my parents place, and while we were eating dessert we plunked Eli down on one end of the table and he hung out happily drinking his tea. Yes, Eli loves tea. He had it at my older sisters place one time and now everytime we turn down their road he says "Tea???" So he sat and drank his tea and played in his cup. Kristin would pour him a bit more once he finished it and he would continue drinking it. At one point, she asked him to tell her a story and he just started blabbing away! Who knows what he was saying but he had no problem letting us know he had something to say. She would then say something along the lines of "Oh really? Can you tell me more." And off he would go... including waving his hands around. We all sat and laughed and just enjoyed listening to his "stories" while he soaked up all the attention. It was such a joy to spend time with my family and listen to him chat away.

We are so blessed. I know I say this all the time, but it really is so true!!
This weekend was incredible. Fully of relaxing, and spending time together! No one can complain about that!