Aiden has shown lots of signs that he is really ready for some full-on, lets-get-serious-about-this POTTY TRAINING.  Honestly, he has shown signs of this for quite a long time.  I think I first blogged about his potty successes back in January of this year, when he was only 1.5 years old and would sit on his potty seat and do the deed (actually, both of the deeds, if ya know what I mean).  Of course, it wasn’t consistent and he still wasn’t really ready to get rid of the diapers at that time.

My idea was to go easy on the training.  I didn’t want him to feel pressured and begin to hate potty time.  So we just cheered when he did decide to use the toilet and didn’t make a big deal out of it if he went days or even weeks without showing an interest.  In the meantime, we bought the Elmo’s Potty Time movie, which we all love to watch (parents included)!  Then spring and summer rolled around, and my little nudist started to strip off his clothes and run around naked.  Imagine my surprise when we realized Aiden was NEVER having accidents when he was naked.  If he had to go, he would run to the bathroom, do his business, and that was that.  No accidents.  When he wore diapers, however, he’d forget and just go in those.  We tried big boy underpants but at the time, he didn’t seem to see the difference between those and his diapers.

Now, we are only a few months away from baby girl’s arrival.  Plus, Aiden’s almost 2 1/2 now.  I made the decision to start today with a more intense potty training mission.  We got Aiden suited up in his coveted Buzz Lightyear underwear, to which he said, “we don’t pee on Buzz!”  Every 20 or 30 minutes I remind him to use the potty if he needs to go, and I’m using a timer to remind ME to remind HIM!  And get this:  we went out of the house for THREE hours this morning, with NO ACCIDENTS!

Here’s how we did it.  I took one of his small potty chairs and put it in the car, along with a change in pants and underwear.  Everywhere we go, I give him the chance to take a quick potty break in the car so he doesn’t have an emergency when we are grocery shopping or at the playground.  This is especially nice when you consider that some public bathrooms (Hi WalMart!) aren’t the most appealing for a germaphobe mother and her toddler who touches everything!  So even though we were out of the house, Aiden still used the potty (and went every single time) about five times.

We got home, had lunch, and he’s now napping with a diaper on, because I am not insane.  Ha!  Other than naps and bedtime, I am trying to keep him in his cute big boy underwear and on a good schedule.  I’m sure we will have accidents, but that’s part of the process.  I’m very hopeful that I can help him learn this important skill and get this work out of the way BEFORE the stress and work of a new baby enter the picture.  We’ll see how it goes, but so far my big boy is doing a great job!

Since I am finally moving out of the “she’s just chubby” into the “Oh, she’s looking pregnant!” stage, I figured I should post some belly shots.  I’ll be 24 weeks on Wednesday, and I need to take some new pics.  Here are the two most recent:

20 weeks (half baked!):

And at 22.5 weeks:

Maternity pants are in full effect around here!  I don’t feel much different, size wise, than I did with Aiden around this stage.  I actually think I have gained less weight at this point than I did in my first pregnancy, which is fine by me!  Little girl is moving all over the place and it’s nice to feel her flipping around.  This could very well be my last pregnancy (I always knew we’d have two kids… but beyond that… who knows!) so I am trying to appreciate the little moments.

I’m lucky that I am feeling very healthy and having a textbook pregnancy.  My headaches seem to have tapered off, and my only other issue has been some lower back pain.  Not too much to complain about! We’re enjoying getting her room painted and decorated, so I’ll have some photos of that soon.  We have a couple of name ideas floating around, but we decided that we will wait until she is born to “officially” name her.  We liked meeting Aiden at birth and seeing what he looked like before officially naming him, so we’ll follow the same pattern this time.  Time keeps marching on… it won’t be long before she is here! It’ll  be February before we know it!

Seriously, this boy.  He’s awesome.  He makes me laugh every day.  Today’s example?  We had Aiden’s weekly art class scheduled this morning, and I needed to get us both dressed and ready to get out the door.  He was occupied with his toys in the playroom on our first floor, so I ran upstairs to get myself ready while he played.

As I dressed, I could hear him giggling and talking to the dogs.  He loves our animals and has really taken an extra shine to them lately.  Then I started hearing it.  Thud.  Thud.  THUD.  I couldn’t quite figure out what he was doing, but I figured I should run downstairs to investigate.

I came upon a scene that must have seemed like heaven to the dogs!  Aiden had crawled up into his seat at the kitchen island and opened the big cookie jar where we store dog treats.  He was throwing the treats down to his very willing co-conspirators, who were quickly scarfing up the evidence.  Oh, and he was munching on a Milkbone of his own, too!  I had just refilled the jar last Friday… but after that escapade there are only FOUR bones remaining!  I think the dogs have realized a clear benefit to having a kid in the house. They just got more treats today than they would normally get in a month.  Lucky doggies.

I love my boy.

I was unsuccessfully trying to force Aiden into sleeping last night (what’s that you say? I’m not allowed to chain him to his bed? Shucks).  Bedtime is not our best time in this household.  Let’s just say that my child really would much prefer to stay awake and party with everyone instead of going to bed at a reasonable time.  If it weren’t for my need for sanity and desire for a window of child-free time in the evening, I seriously wouldn’t fight him about bedtime.  But Mama needs her down-time, too, so it’s an 8:30pm bedtime for you, little buddy.

Anyway, I had him in the bed and lying down with his head on the pillow.  However, he kept putting his fingers in his mouth and pretending to bite his nails.  Because he KNOWS it pisses me off.  And if I’m gonna torture him with bedtime, then by god, he’s gonna make it hell for me, too.

“Aiden, honey, stop biting your nails.”

“No, Mommy.  *YOU* SHOP (stop) IT.”

“Aiden Michael, don’t talk to Mommy that way.”

“Mommy.  I. NO. HEAR. YOU.”

And then I laughed.

He doesn’t know how to refer to himself.

(looking for his shoes)  “Mommy, where’s your shoes?”

(Mommy, correcting his grammar)  “Where are MY shoes?”

(Child, wondering why Mommy is asking about her shoes when he clearly is otherwise occupied)  “I no know!”

~~~~~

“Mommy, lookee diss!  Hurry up!  Lookee diss! Holy moley!”

~~~~~

(While driving in the car)

“Aiden, stop putting your fingers in your mouth. We don’t bite our nails.”

“No, Mommy.  Aiden bite nails.”

“Please take your fingers out of your mouth.”

“No mommy.  Aiden bite nails.  YOU DRIVE.  Mommy, TIME OUT!”

[Mommy unable to come up with a fitting retort]

~~~~~

“Aiden, what should we name your baby sister?”

“Ummm….  BUZZ!”

[Toy Story obsession, anyone?}

~~~~~

(Leaving Gymboree)

"Daddy, drive this way!"

"That way?"

"No Daddy, THIS way."

"Okay, I'll go that way."

"NO, THIS WAY."

"Where are we going, Aiden?"

"Lunch.  Donals [McDonald's] burder, ice cream! Drive through!”

~~~~~

(Waking up his Mama)

“Mommy? Good mordin.”

“Hi, baby.”

“Mommy, snuddle Aiden?”

“Sure, sweetie.”

“Mommy?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you, Mommy.”

~~~~

“Mommy?”

“What’s up, babe?”

“Aiden draw!” 

“Really, what did you draw?”

“Um, I no know.  On LEGS!”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

Woo am I on fire today… here’s my second post of the day!  This one is gonna be short on words and long on photos, since I managed to upload all the pics from my camera this afternoon.

My superhero.

Hanging out on his big boy bed.

Love this picture.

Aiden and his Great-PopPop, riding their scooters together!

I’ve been feeling guilty about my lack of posting here, particularly because I documented my pregnancy with Aiden so much better than I am documenting this one.  Poor second baby will be lucky if we take any pictures of her at all, at the rate I am going!

….  And if you are very perceptive, you might have noticed what I just said in that previous sentence.  Yes, IT’S A GIRL! Aiden was right all along, and he is getting a baby “sisser.”  We are thrilled.  I’m honestly not a big shopper, but I can’t resist the urge now.  I’ve already purchased a couple of pink sleepers and PJ’s for her. 

Even better than finding out she’s a girl… she looks gorgeous and healthy.  The thought has crossed my mind many times that we have been so blessed with a bright, healthy happy son.  I wondered if we were pushing our luck hoping for a second child to be as healthy and wonderful.  It is such a relief to know that she is just fine.

I’m just over 20 weeks… I guess that means I’m half baked! I am really enjoying feeling her kick and move.  She is a very active baby and I’ve been feeling movement for a couple of weeks now. And I’m feeling so much better.  No more nausea, fewer headaches, and more energy.  Of course, I’m getting fatter, but I’ll take that any day over feeling like poo.

I have some ultrasound photos which I’d love to share, but of course the computer up and died, and we have yet to reinstall our scanner for me to import the images to my desktop.  I also have great new pics of Aiden, which are still on my camera.  MOMMY BLOG FAIL.  I’m a disgrace.

I’m sitting here in my (mostly clean) and quiet house while Aiden takes a nap.  It’s pouring outside, and I’m enjoying the sound of the rain.  I just ate an entire bag of popcorn and it was delicious.  The only thing I am missing is a good book… I think I need to hit up the library again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m now in the second trimester! Woo hoo.  And also: where is this renewed energy and huge appetite everyone speaks of? I still feel exhausted but the nausea is a little bit better.  I’ve noticed that I am getting more headaches and unfortunately, anything more than a really mild headache triggers almost instant puking for me.  It’s really quite fun!  I don’t know which is better… the “I’m going to choke and die while vomiting” feeling, or the “this vomiting is going to make my brain just pound out of my skull” feeling. 

I had an appointment with my OB yesterday.  All looks great with the little BabyBean and I heard the heartbeat again.  Simply amazing that there’s a little baby in there!  My doctor actually gave me prescriptions for a headache medication and a nausea medication that she says will help if I get stuck in that awful headache/vomit circle again.  I don’t plan on using them unless I really need them, but it’s good to know that I have more than just some acetominophen in my arsenal.

Oh, while I’m talking about the Bean, wanna see his or her first picture?  It’s only a MONTH old, which really bodes well for this poor kid’s baby book.  It will be lucky if I remember to fill in the birth date and weight, if my current track record is any indication!

Isn’t it a cute widdle big-headed blob?  Say it with me… Awwwwww.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Aiden has that weird Hand Foot & Mouth virus, where you see red spots on the hands, feet, and inside the mouth.  He started with a fever on Monday night and two days later… red bumps all over.  He’s feeling much better but we’ve been stuck at home for much of the week since we didn’t want to infect any other kiddos with his disease.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And here are a few adorable pics from our recent beach and boating vacation in Chincoteague, Virginia:

Learning how to fish with Daddy.

Beach time!

Riding in the “scoot coupe” scooter car.

Ready to go fishin’ on the boat!

Driving Gram’s boat!

Aiden caught a fish!

And I just realized that I have a million more (okay, maybe a dozen more) photos that are just too cute not to share.  So I’ll come back and post those in a separate entry.  This is enough for now! Have a great weekend!  We are planning on going to a kiddie amusement park and Aiden loves kiddie rides.  It should be a really fun time.

I’m wondering if I just need to flesh out any issues I have on this here blog, because things have been remarkably better since my bitchfest yesterday.  After hitting “publish” I decided to forgo resting during Aiden’s nap, and instead cleaned up the house, cleaned dishes, worked on a few emails related to my writing gigs, and had everything all organized by the time A woke up.

I was afraid I might regret my decision to skip my own nap, but it turned out just the opposite.  With the house clean and all loose ends tied up, Aiden and I went outside and enjoyed a really nice playtime.  We watered our new trees, picked berries from our raspberry bush, and filled up his kiddie pool.  When Daddy got home, we had hot dogs on the grill and enjoyed some family playtime.  It was a nice evening.

Speaking of Daddy, I realize that I don’t talk about my hubs on this blog too much.  But I just have to mention this:  last night I was telling Jas about my blog post and how overwhelmed and tired I am feeling.  His response:  “I know, hon.  That’s why I talked to your mom today and set up a day for her to watch Aiden next week while you go to the spa.”  He just decided out of the blue that I needed a break and set it up for me as a surprise!  It was really sweet and thoughtful and I want to give him a little public credit for being so nice.  Thanks, honey. 

Today’s been a pretty good day.  I’ve been slow to get moving in the morning, but Aiden and I went to the playground for 45 minutes and then made a grocery store run.  Next up… lunch at home and Aiden is down for a nap while I write.  I’m going to try and clean up again while he rests and figure out plans for the rest of today.

Right now my big question:  what to do for dinner?  I have the ingredients for Shrimp Feta Pasta, or Grilled Salmon, or Beef Kebabs.  Just not sure which one I’m in the mood for tonight.  Any suggestions?