Grandpa's Chain Gang

We have been in MT for a week - and we met Sean's sister Erin and her two kids Sean Patrick & Kade. While Grandpa was in the hospital, the kids worked on getting logs split and piled in the garage up at the cabin.

Here is a video....more pictures to follow of our trip....

Potty Training Update....

Brennan is a real potty champ. He's really had remarkable success - particularily with peeing. Poop has been a little bit slower. We had our potty party on a Sunday. By Tuesday, Brennan still hadn'ed poo'd in the potty, so Sean asked him if he wanted a diaper....he said "yes, papa." Within 10 min of the diaper, he pooped.

After talking with him about it, and reading some stuff on the internet we figured out that he was literally afraid of letting the poop out. When Sean pushes B on the swing, he plays the "Get Out of Here" game. He says "Get Out of Here" and then pushes him as hard as he can. Brennan loves it. Sean explained to him that poop is the yuckies and that his body just wants to "Get It Out of Here." That really seemed to connect with B. On Friday morning, we had several "false starts." Sean went to go take the garbage out, and I went to go shower. When Sean came back inside, Brennan proclaimed that he had pooped in the potty. Sean was a little doubtful until he checked it out - and I came running when I heard him hoop & holler. Now we have a tradition of "running around" with each successful poop in the potty....with Sean and Brennan galloping around the dining room like Honey and Arnold (Grandpa Jack's horses).

We started to use bribes the day B actually used the potty. On Thursday, when Sean asked B what he wanted as a prize if he put poop in the potty, B said he wanted a lawn mower - a real one....so, Sean took him to the Home Depot to look at them. Luckily for us, I guess, he didn't poop in the potty until Friday - and that day he said the prize he wanted was a cake. That was much easier.....below is a picture of him with his "Poop Cake."

Practice with Babies...

Our neighbors recently had a baby and Brennan was very excited to try and hold him....until he started to cry....

Happy 4th of July!

Pouring rain at the Fireworks show - but we went and Brennan love it - although afterwards he said he didn't like the "boomers."
Of course, the flags handed out at the Issaquah Down Home Family 4th Parade were quickly dismantled for the sticks and their drum stick potential.

He absolutely LOVED collecting candy....of course most of it is candy I won't actually let him eat, but whatever.

Fire pit and Fishing...

We celebrated our first real nice day of the summer by opening the fire pit I got from Sean's mom for Christmas and roasting marshmellows. We also set up a tent and B & Sean slept in it until about 1am. Anyway, it was fun, and Brennan loved eating marshmellows of course. Who wouldn't

We also took his new fishing pole out to a nearby lake and tried to fish. Unfortunately all the good spots were taken when we got there so we lost a couple of lures in the trees before we gave up. We then decided we needed a little boat.....but the boat we got was way too small for the three of us and it was impossible to row/steer, so everyone was quite crabby about it all....hence Brennan's look in the picture below. We took the boat back, so we'll try out fishing from the shore from here on out.

Fun & Milestones in June....

Brennan graduated to a big boy bed on 06.14 - in preparation for him impending Potty Party scheduled on 06.20. Even though I know it is unlikely he will be potty trained at night for quite some time, I wanted him to have the ability to get to the potty if he wanted to.

He's handled the transition fairly well. Although, the first night I woke up at 2:30am to find him crying and in the middle of his bedroom floor. Initially I thought he had fallen out, but in hindsight I don't think he did. Neither of us heard him fall out of bed, he had Teddy with him, and he was literally in the middle of the floor. I think he got out of his bed and got disorientated.

He loves the fact that we can "rest with him just a little bit" every night before he goes to bed. And, since this is my bed that was in the office (that I've had since college) I am happy to oblige him....its a comfy cozy bed.


Our Potty Party was on Fathers Day. We had been given the "How to Potty Train Your Kid in Just One Day" book - and can honestly say we would not recommend it after having been through it. I was more stressed preparing for the potty party than I have been in a long time! It is too much to ask of him as a 3 year old, and us as parents.

BUT, in any event, our party started with Brennan opening a present which was teddy with big kid underpants. He and I spent the morning teaching teddy how to use the toilet. Teddy had successes (yellow colored water & play dough for poop), and accidents, and through it all he got stickers on his potty chart, wild enthusiasm, and treats. By the time teddy was done, Brennan was completely done with the treats, and the stickers, and totally didn't want to sit on the potty.

We had been out late the night before, which didn't help his disposition, so I had to put him down for his nap before we had any successful trips to the potty. During his nap we were both able to decompress and cry a few tears of frustration......and eventually we had success. He is really doing great with peeing in the potty now.....poop is a whole other issue.

On Tuesday Brennan spotted the M&M's in the cabinet and asked for some, I opened the treat tray I had set up for the potty party and told him he could have those (same M&M's just in the potty party tray).....he say "No, I don't want those, they make me pee." Sean and I both cracked up....obviously he thought the treat tray was some conspiracy to make him pee....

Here is the festive bathroom decs....all recommended in the book. Our theme was "Superheros." I made a "rocket ship" around his potty.

Here is Brennan in his big kid pants fixing on the garage. Sean was right there, so he was perfectly safe, just in case any of the grandparents want to get on my case for letting him be on the ladder. By the way, it was his idea to go get all his tools and belt - necessary to fix the garage of course.

Cassidy and Jen (old neighbors who are in London for 2 years) came to spend the day with us on Tuesday 06.22, and Brennan was SO EXCITED! I wasn't there, but I guess when the doorbell rang, Brennan pushed Jen out of the way to give Cassidy a hug and said "I love you when you are home!" So, cute! We had a good time going to the park and playing in the sprinkler before they had to go. We miss them so much so it is bitter sweet to just get to see them for just a few hours. But, this was their only day in Seattle (they were here for a wedding in Eastern WA) so we were very lucky to see them at all. They will be back in August.

More fun with grandparents....