Potty Mouth Update

Today was by far our longest adventure while in potty training mode. We met up with our sweet friends the Jones at the Children's Museum. This place is incredible and overwhelming at the same time. They have science areas, playgrounds, a mini city, a splash area, butterfly gardens and nature centers just to name a few areas.


Little did we know that the Museum was celebrating Superman's birthday which made the day even more "super." The kiddos loved playing together and the Jones' oldest, sweet Miss A, was wonderful with Gavin. She would let him hold her hand and was like a little mama bear to him.


When it was time for potty break number one, we searched for the nearest restroom. And what did I behold with my eyes upon walking in........ two boxes for kids to stand on. Granted they were for washing hands, but I didn't hesitate to scoot one of those into the stall. Needless to say that made for a happy mama and a dry toddler (maybe I should start saying preschooler.....nah!).


We visited the restroom later on with another success and we may just be visiting the Museum more often this summer.

Potty Mouth

Tonight I had every intention about finally posting some of our summer adventures starting in early June and maybe even getting to share some of Gavin's birthday photos, but I have decided to blog about our newest adventure: potty training! Those two words usually stir up several feelings from parents: horror, worry, and fatigue just to name a few.

Well, I knew Gavin was getting ready for this next stage a few months ago. With his love of routines, he was already going before bath and bedtime, but I had to wait until school was out for the summer to really focus on this new endeavor. So, less than two weeks ago, he started wearing big boy pants emblazoned with his new friends, Mickey, Mator, Muno and Thomas.

I am so proud of how he has done. He has had maybe two accidents which occurred in the first two days. Nap times and nighttime are going to take a little longer, but that's to be expected.

Here's where I need a little help. We have ventured out for some local errands, trying to only be gone about two hours max. That was until today. We met D for lunch and then went to the bookstore Mardel. I knew it was time for a potty break and thankfully Mardel has a large family restroom. Here's my dilemma: Gavin has always stood up to go to the restroom. He uses his little frog potty at home or when he goes at the grandparents' houses, he just moves their scale over and stands to give him a little extra height. As nice as Mardel's restroom is, they didn't have a scale. He was finally able to go by sitting on the toilet (covered in toilet paper) but it was quite awkward for both of us. I was also trying desperately to keep his hands from all over the toilet.

I have a couple of options. I need to invent some germ contained pop-up stool, have Gavin grow two inches before I grow many more inches in the coming months, or receive lots and lots of ideas from those of you who have been there. Please help!

12 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of baby: About 2.1 inches - the size of a plum - and weighs around .49 oz. It looks like my belly button is poking out in this picture but it's actually the drawstring on my exercise pants!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I have actually lost six pounds, but I did the same thing with Gavin and more than gained it back.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet.

Gender: Hopefully we will find out in five or six more weeks. Gavin thinks it is a girl.

Movement: None yet but sometimes I feel a flutter and wonder.

Sleep: Now that school is out, I am more than making up for lost sleep. It’s a good thing for afternoon naps because I have been waking up around 3:30 in the morning lately. I am making that trek to the restroom and having a hard time falling back to sleep until about 6 a.m.

What I miss: Having more energy and not having so many food aversions. I am also having trouble breathing through my nose. I almost forgot- Diet Dr. Pepper!

Cravings: Sometimes cold things, but most of the time nothing sounds good. And chicken might as well be liver because I can’t stomach it at all. They say every pregnancy is different and boy is this one! With Gavin I craved sausage and beef. Right now I might as well be a vegetarian.

Symptoms: Most definitely nauseousness and I have had some sciatic nerve pain already.

Best Moment the past few weeks: Getting to see how much our sweet pea changed in just four weeks on the sonogram and hearing a very healthy heartbeat.

Fun Fact: My actual due date is January 6. However, Gavin was ten days early so it’s possible to have a baby in 2011 or 2012.

Three and Thriving

When did this happen? I now have a three year old?! And he is the sweetest, funniest, and most loving three year old I know. I think he gets the same feeling of overwhelming love for us that we have for him. Sometimes, he walks up to my face (if I'm sitting on the floor), looks in my eyes, squishes my cheeks and says, "I love you Mama." Oh to bottle that up. He is also very loving to his stuffed animals especially Ra Ra his rabbit and Brown his tiger. He will have one-sided conversations with them and often gives them his standard two-sided hug, kiss and even a noozle (Eskimo kiss). I'm hoping this same kind of love carries over to his new baby brother or sister. And when he gets around his cousins, he can't seem to get enough of their attention.


Sometimes, I think he may not know how to tone down his affection and that's ok. Well, until he's dating that is.

Gavin's personality has been pretty evident from he was just a few months old, but it truly has seemed to grow full blown the past year. Weren't you this small just yesterday?

He loves to laugh and usually always has a smile.


In fact, the few times he does get upset, we can usually shake him out of it quickly. We told him it's in his DNA to not be able to carry a frown for long.

Lately, he's been coming up with characters to imitate, like a squirrel, He also has another one but we haven't quite figured out what it is except it sounds rabid. Other times he is a wild man, running from room to room playing race cars or spaceship. Gavin loves to wrestle with his daddy, play ball and be a big helper.

He still has that independent streak in him. I think part of that is the age but it's also his personality. He's got his colors down, counts to ten pretty well (except he doesn't like seven), is starting to learn to count to twenty and is working on learning his letters.

Just this week, Gavin told me something that I hope is the beginning of a long, fruitful and faithful journey. He was sitting next to me at the table and opened our Bible. I asked him what it was, and he said, "Bible." I then asked him what it said, and he responded with, "God loves me so much!" I'm tempted to bottle him up at this age, but I know there is so much more in store for him. Happy Birthday my little boy. Your mama loves you to the moon and back!

MIA

I have definitely been missing in action here in the blog world. Since school let out we have been going non-stop. We have taken two trips to Dallas in a matter of a week, had doctor's appointments, and are currently getting ready for a little boy's third birthday party. Usually I am up to my arms in birthday crafts, but this year two other things have consumed me: nausea and energy drain. Coupled together they produce a big double whammy. I usually get my appetite and a little energy boost around nine at night but two hours later I'm ready to crash.

Anyways the best part of the past two weeks was definitely going to the doctor and hearing the baby's healthy heart beat and even getting a second peak. Last time, Baby Moore looked like a grain of rice was growing in my belly. Now, he/she actually looks like a baby. There was even a little arm bud waving. Amazing!

Well, I am off to try to accomplish some birthday planning while I have the energy this morning. I'll have lots of fun things to post about in the following weeks including a Wild West Showdown, front yard football, Dallas trip pictures and more.