pride and joy.

I have spent the better part of my momma-hood with something that I like to call “milestone mixed emotions”- and while the title is fairly self explanatory, I will expound. From the moment he was born I eagerly anticipated all those major things that happen in a (baby) boy's life. The babbling and cooing, the sitting up, the crawling, the walking, the end to the bottle, the talking, the disappearing pacy, being potty trained- and while those are the most recent ones, the later of the milestones do and have crossed my mind. You know the ones I’m referring to: school, girls, driving, graduating, college, marriage and all the life moments that happen in between, all the possibilities- all of which are truly an exciting part of life, but when thought about a the smile that crosses my face is accompanied by the shedding of a tear. With every milestone that Lo comes to I am there cheering him on, praising him, encouraging him…I am his biggest fan (along with his daddy, of course). But when I’m not busy being a cheerleader and I’m in that quiet spot that in a days time we all get to (eventually), I feel in my heart, not only a massive amount of pride and happiness but a bit of a heaviness. It’s no secret, I have always been very open with y'all about the fact that I am a major sap, especially when it comes to my kid, and with every milestone that we have met and conquered together there comes what I like to call "cocktail tears" (it's salt water with a mixture of a lot of happiness, pride and a dash of sadness because, hello, that baby boy is becoming a big boy…inevitably so.)

Getting down to what this post is all about...I am so pleased to announce that we have ourselves a potty going big boy!!! It’s a very exciting announcement, for not only me and his daddy but for Lo as well, he is SO proud of himself and it shows every time this little grin comes over his face when he has succeeded in the potty. Our quick success came as an unexpected surprise to me, to us. I have heard horror stories when it comes to this milestone, therefore, I was mentally prepared for what could possibly be in store, I had it in my mind that there was a possibility that it was going to be difficult and possibly even more difficult than what I was prepared for- as a parent we know that things don’t always go the way we have planned, they have minds of their own, after all. I am ashamed to admit that, the fact that I had automatically assumed the worst of the situation, I should have known him better than that.

Monday- I spent the day getting prepared and reading over the route in which I had planned to take, Tuesday was our first day, making today our sixth day and I don’t consider us potty training anymore… My heart swells with pride as I write that he is one heck of a potty champ- in all of our “training” days and beyond he has not had not one accident, he has self-initiated since day one, woke up dry from night-night every night and done his business- if you know what I mean. There aren’t words to describe how happy I am and the amount of pride that my heart feels. I know I’m gonna be biased, he’s my kid- and if parents aren’t biased about their kid(s) then honestly I worry about them, lol- so I just have to take a moment to state the obvious...he is wonderful, the absolute best, super duper smart, just perfect- I cannot sing his praises enough. I am one proud momma and if his daddy had a blog he would say the exact same thing- since he doesn’t I’ll say it for him, WE ARE SO PROUD!

I might as well get down to it, confession time...as happy and as over the moon excited about the whole thing as I am, there are moments when it hits me, ya know it being- bye bye baby- hello big boy and I have the darndest time catching my breath. This milestone is so “big boy official” (to me) more so than any other. Seeing that little tooshie in those big boy underwear has to be one of the cutest and heart-wrenching things I have seen to date. In the past few days he has been transformed into a big boy and for a momma that is an admitted cry baby I have had my fair share of “there is something in my eye” kinda moments. If I could, I would keep him little forever, but I know that is a non-existent reality. With all that being said, the happiness is triumphant. I am so happy for his success, so happy that he is a big boy, so happy and thankful that I get to be a witness to his life- to all the milestones big and small. So that’s why I have been blogger M.I.A this past week, totally worth it (as are most reasons for my blogging absence, lol). I thought about blogging “it” mid week and then the fear of the “jinx” kicked in and I just had to refrain- I mentally could not get passed the thought of that possibility (yea, I’m a weirdo or at least that’s what my hubby thinks, lol). One more time- it’s just gotta be said…Momma is so very proud of you, Mister!

I’m so happy to share a few pictures highlighting our potty training experience/success: On Monday we made our way to Wal-Mart to get prepared for our days ahead. He picked out his big boy underwear and Momma got stocked up on potty prizes... When we got home I started right away making our potty prize box. I got a cardboard box, cut a hole big enough to reach in and grab a special prize out of and wrapped it up in some really fun wrapping paper. We then told him what it was and sat it to where he could see it but not reach it. When he went during one of our timed intervals he got something smaller like a sucker or piece of gum- when he told me that he needed to go he got to reach in and grab something out of the prize box. When he "did his business" he got an even bigger prize. Tuesday came and it was time to get down to business; potty, potty and MORE potty. Five minutes on, ten minutes off until there was success and then twenty minutes off, repeat. This day, literally felt like it lasted FOREVER- no lie. But, totally worth it. We read, played with stickers and made potty time a fun game. The potty timer would ding and he would say, "potty time!" and run to the bathroom, pull his underwear and pants down and well, you know. We said goodbye to diapers forever on this day. Day one was a complete success. Day two and beyond: Potty, potty and more potty. Just for my own nervousness he was in a pull-up for the first three nights (a complete waste of $8!), all of which he stayed completely dry (SO PROUD!) Self-initiation was in full force- no more timers. The exhaustion set in and my "mr. no napper" napped. He was worn completely out, bless his little baby heart, lol (momma was too). By Friday we had seen the house enough since we had been NO WHERE since Monday- needless to say we were ready to get out. Although (again) I was a little nervous to change his routine and scenery, mid day we headed out to see daddy at work. We packed up an extra change of clothes and underwear (not needed) along with the potty (needed) and headed out. He did GREAT, of course, honestly what did I expect?! He was so excited to get his award for being a potty champ- I got all the elements, made it up, printed it off and laminated it...he loved it. It's presently hanging on the fridge- he's so proud of it...and of himself, rightfully so. Six days of amazing potty training, although I don't consider us even "training" past day two really. (honestly, it's like he has been going potty for years, lol.) Yesterday, he got his big potty prize...a red bike (he has been wanting one- so we thought, whats a more perfect time!). He was so excited, he said, "this is SO cool!" I am so glad that he loves it- he deserves that and more in my opinion. In addition to his potty prizes and new bike- he got lunch out at McDonalds. He eats McDonalds quiet frequently- but not there, we usually get it to go when we do. He loves to eat at the tables in restaurants, therefore, we had a celebratory lunch for our big boy. Daddy decked out the bike with a horn and tag, while Lo over-saw (as you can see, lol)... ....and then he rode, and rode, and rode some more.