Play Dough

Today has been surprisingly a very fun day!  We leave for CA tomorrow to visit Chris's family, so I thought today would be a no nap frantic day in anticipation.  But, no!  We took a nice walk.  We visited the library and Cole did not run away from me.  Instead, he picked out several books and we read them all several times when we got home.  Then, after his rest time and Max's nap, we made this red play dough.  Thanks to my friend Mollie we have this amazing recipe.  It's so easy to make and easy to work with.  Cole chose red for our first batch, but I have a feeling we'll be making many more batches.  The photo of Max is from dinner last night...he's just so happy and oh, so cute!  I think it's because I gave him a few bites of cheese...yum! 

Fun at the Park

We had a playdate lunch today at Bryan Park with the moms and kids from our small group. We are so thankful to be getting to know them!  The boys had fun swinging the most.  Push me FASTER, Mommy!  Max ate his fair share of wood chips, too, I'm sure.  And...Cole peed twice while there, which in itself makes a successful morning!  

Potty Prison

One of our biggest potty training challenges has been containing Cole during nap time and bed time.  We decided to ditch diapers totally so he's been in cotton training pants all the time since last week, even at night after that first night that he came out needing to go.   So now he thinks that he can come out of his room to use the toilet several (and I mean A LOT) times when he's supposed to be resting or sleeping.  Tricky!  Often times it's a false alarm and he just wants to escape!  And obviously we want to make sure he goes often enough so his sheets and clothes are not consistently pee soaked.  AAAAHH!  We are not used to interrupted nap time like this!  

Our best solution so far has been to buy a small toilet chair for Cole's room. This way, he can go in his room during nap or bed time and not bother us.  It's been fabulous!  Except for the fact that Cole feels the need to have us empty the little pee tray after every use.    Normally he tells us by yelling through the door, we empty the tray, and then he falls asleep naked.  Today, though, I found the pee tray just waiting outside his door.  Like prison!  I imagine in prison when you're finished with your dinner bowl you just leave it outside to be picked up.  Cole must think he's in potty prison! It was convenient, though, because he communicated to me exactly what he needed done and I wasn't bothered at all!   After rest time was over I asked him why he put the pee tray outside the door and he said, (in a "duh Mom" kind of way) "For you to wash it." 

It's a process, and we're learning...

The Pee Is Still Coming!

Yes, the pee is still coming, but not without accident every now and then.  Cole is truly a champ, though!  The picture above is where we've been spending more time than ever before.   

One thing I've noticed about Cole throughout this process is that he loves cheering!  We ate dinner at Subway on Friday night.  I took Cole to the bathroom after we ate and took his potty seat along also.  He peed!  No problem!  When we walked out of the bathroom I gave a thumbs up to Chris and a few college students across the restaurant from us whooped and hollered for Cole!  It was hilarious.  So much for being discreet!  Then after dinner we went to Bryan Park and ran into some people we know.  We played on the playground and chatted with friends and as we were getting ready to leave Cole had to go again.  So I ran with him into a conveniently large bush nearby.  He dropped his pants and peed again!  Yay!  When he ran out of the bush he yelled, "I did it!"  and our friends whooped and hollered for him.  Two cheering episodes in one night!   

The Hilarity Continues

So for those of you who thought to yourselves after reading The Pee Is Coming post, "Whatever, she's crazy!"  Think again!  Folks, the hilarity of Cole's toilet saga continues.   Read on...

We celebrated Cole's great accident-free day by going out for ice cream tonight after dinner.  He stayed dry the whole trip!  We got home and he used the toilet like a champ a few times (including obnoxious dancing, M&Ms, and nakedness) and then I put a diaper and his pajamas on him for bedtime thinking that we definitely shoot for too much in one day.  Diapers overnight for a while still.   So Chris and I put the boys to bed and cleaned up the kitchen and the yard like we normally do.  I sat down to read in the cozy green chair in our living room, and did so for a while enjoying the quietness of our house.   Then, around 9:30 p.m., I heard the door open to the boys' room.  Cole pranced out naked and shouted, "Mommy, the pee is coming!"  So we dashed to the bathroom and he peed, just like he had been all day long.   I did the victory dance, and then put his hard earned M&Ms next to his chair at the table.   Then as I walked into his dark room, I said, "Cole, let's put your diaper and pajamas back on."  I walked toward his bed thinking that he had stripped there.  Oh no.  He clearly redirected me to the closet.  He had put his diaper in the trash can and his pajamas in the dirty clothes basket!   What a little organizer!  So we pulled out the goods and in a flash Cole was back in bed.  I hope it's for the night this time.  I mean, really.   I never imagined potty training to be like this.  Hilarious!  

The Pee Is Coming!

24 hours ago I never imagined I'd be writing a post such as this.   Yesterday afternoon I walked in to the boys' room after listening to Cole play and pound with toys for an hour and a half.  Cole was naked and happy!  Max woke up early, too, so you can imagine my joy.   I thought to myself, why not encourage Cole to use the toilet?  As usual, he screamed, "No, Mommy!  I don't want to!" and ran away into the living room.  So I changed Max, put him on the floor with some toys, and reached into the drawer for another diaper for Cole.  All of the sudden, I hear Cole running back my direction yelling, "The pee is coming!  The pee is coming!"  So what did I do?  I dropped the diaper, grabbed Cole, and dashed into the bathroom.  I whipped out the potty seat and the stool and gracefully (ha!) plopped Cole down on the toilet.  And you know what?  The pee came!   Cole knows the drill thanks to our nightmare potty training week in April, so he aimed and fired into the toilet.  I immediately did an obnoxious victory dance right there in the bathroom.  Cole's face lit up, he laughed at me, and he said  "Can I have an M&M, Mommy?"  Ug, we didn't have any M&Ms, so what did I do?  I whisked Max, Cole, and my purse away to Target to buy some M&Ms and other potty treats.   During our trip, Max rode in the cart and Cole walked alongside me.  He did fantastic!  We have been working on this for months!   Usually he runs away down random aisles, Max and I chase him down, and we leave sweaty and defeated.   Not yesterday.  The highlights of our potty prize loot included dark chocolate peanut M&Ms, a Spiderman light-up pen and yo-yo from the $1 section, and a shiny red Matchbox fire truck.   Upon returning home, Cole visited the toilet again willingly, in great expectation of a prize or a few M&Ms.  He waited, he waited, he waited.  The pee did not come!  Lesson number one.   Pee doesn't come all the time.   Disappointed, Cole stepped down and asked for a prize anyway.  I dropped an enforceable statement, "I love to give treats and M&Ms to boys who pee and poop in the toilet!"  He was okay with that.  Whew!  So the evening consisted of Cole playing naked and shouting every so often, "The pee is coming!  The pee is coming!" and us following as he bounced into the bathroom.  He has made it to the toilet (or the bushes outside) every time since then.  It's been 24 hours.   I don't know how many M&Ms he's eaten, but I don't care.   I haven't had to clean up any pee or poop.  And just a little while ago I was making lunch and Cole ran in to the kitchen yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!"  I ran to the bathroom with him to find that he had pooped in the toilet all by himself.   Our little guy has changed literally overnight.   

Coke ad

Have you seen the LeBron-Yao Coke ad?  It's cool.

Little (and BIG) Drummer Boys

Chris's New Ride

Chris drove home his new Honda Metropolitan today.  Thanks to this upgrade, no more riding the bus to work!  Yahoo! 

Diving & Snatching

Max is really in to snatching things away from us and diving after things this week!  It's really fun to watch.  We can't really hold him while we eat anything anymore because too many plates have already ended up on the floor!  Today Cole and I made up a game for Max called The Blow It Down Game.  We built block towers for Max to knock down.  He mastered it pretty quickly, so we started to move the towers farther and farther away from him.  He began to dive and then it got really funny!  One time he smothered the blocks with his belly.  Soon he'll be up and moving!  

The End

So tonight marks the end of the Michigan Experience 2008.  This year was a remarkable year up north for several reasons.  Number one, my dad and his three brothers joined forces and bought the cottage next door.   This happened in April, so the months leading up to this vacation have been filled with renovations and preparations.   It's a fixer upper!  So instead of jamming 22 Luginbills (including 4 Franks) into five bedrooms, there are now ten bedrooms between the two houses.    Hooray for personal space, two televisions, two refrigerators, two boat docks, and two porch swings!   Number two,  I've never spent almost three weeks up here.   Usually it's up for the week the whole family is here and then on to the next summer activity.  This year, though, we ventured out and visited places we usually don't go like Pond Hill Farm and Waterfront Park.  Number three,  all 22 Luginbills were here together for three whole days.   A few cousins have missed it over the last few years due to summer jobs, sports, etc.   So we took this opportunity to take a cousins picture similar to one we took a long time ago.  Mike, the longest, lounged out front and we all popped our heads out behind him.  Miles and Beckham, the newest cousins, sat in front.  As you can see, we all were thoroughly thrilled! 

So that's all until next year.  It's sad to leave such a familiar home-like place, but we're ready to head home.  It will only be a few months until we start talking about Michigan memories and Michigan plans for next summer.  I love that!  

Dreams

So this morning Cole says this in his cute, snuggly, raspy voice...

Anne: Good Morning, Cole.

Cole:  Morning, Mommy.  I loved my dream, Mommy.

Anne: What was your dream about?

Cole:  Nothing.

And he continued sucking his thumb and snuggling up in his green blanket.   

Buddies

Cole and Miles are good buddies and kind of cousins.  Their birthdays are three days apart, but Miles is actually my cousin.  So we're not sure what they are in relation to each other, but they're definitely buddies.  This afternoon the buddies got in a hugging accident.  Yes, they were hugging and they hugged right onto the dining room table.  Ouch!  A few minutes later, though, they shared a bowl of red peppers on the front porch steps.  Yum! 

Swimming with Daddy

Chris is finally here.  Yay!  It was a long 10 days without him.  He and the boys had fun swimming in the lake today.  In case you were wondering, Chris was making airplane like sound effects while spinning the boys around.  Hehe!