Adeline and Potty Training

Adeline has been dry in the mornings since she was 18 months old and has been taking her diaper of and requesting diaper changes since Christmas.  I knew it was only a matter of time before she would force us into potty training mode.  Three weeks before we were flying to Utah she decided she was going to potty train herself.  I was not on board with this idea because Rigby was still having several accidents a week and we would be traveling soon; so, I tried to trick her and put her panties over top of her diaper-it didn't work.  

As I was putting away groceries one day, I heard some grunting coming from the bathroom.  I figured it was Rigby, so I went in to help him wipe.  To my surprise I found Adeline on the toilet!  She had a few accidents for two days and then for two weeks she had no accidents and went potty without any rewards or prompting from anyone.  In addition to this, she refused to use the little potty chair or use the training ring on the big toilet.  She wanted to be like everyone else and use the regular toilet!  Who knew potty training could be so easy!!! 

Well, that fabulous dream didn't last too long.  Unfortunately, the trip traumatized her and she un-potty trained herself the day we flew to Utah.  We learned that she hates being away from home.  I guess un-potty training herself and throwing tantrums was how she dealt with it.  Within two weeks of being back home, she was potty trained again.  However, Scott has been working from 8:00 a.m. until 10:30/11:00 p.m. most nights and weekends, and so the stress of that has her regressing again.  Some days she can have four or five accidents and other days she will have none.  Most of the time I have to escort her to the bathroom and do everything for her.  I am pretty sure she is using it as an attention getting/stress coping thing.  Hopefully when Scott's work calms down and the Fall school schedule begins, she will be fully and independently potty trained again.  I am going on 7 months of cleaning up daily accidents from either Rigby or Adeline.  I am so DONE with cleaning poo and pee off of carpets, tile, and clothes!!!     

I will leave you with a picture of a little surprise I found in my kitchen the other day.  Yuck!

P.S.  After cleaning up the 3rd or 4th accident the other day, I said, "I am so tired of cleaning up poo and pee!"  Peter looked at me and said, "Well, you do have a carpet cleaner now."  I guess in his eyes it should be an enjoyable experience since we have a carpet cleaner now-I wish!

Peter's Kindergarten Graduation

Peter is officially done with Kindergarten!  It is amazing to see the differences between the beginning and then end of Kindergarten.  Peter knew most of his letters and sounds at the beginning.  The first couple of months he struggled to catch onto some of the rules and expectations and had a few notes sent home.  In contrast, by the end of the school year he has become a very good example and leader in his classroom; he can also read books and write sentences!  I LOVE the process of watching my children progress-especially at this age.  It is just magical!

Here is Peter singing during his Kindergarten Graduation Program.

Peter & Ms. Kotteman

School papers from the 1st half of Kindergarten:

He tells me that art and math are his favorite subjects and that he wants to be an artist when he grows up.

School papers from the 2nd half of Kindergarten:

The next three pictures are of a book that Peter made.  He wrote about how he loved Mom, Dad, Rigby and himself (I guess he forgot he had a sister).  He was also learning about what illustrators, authors, and publishers were so he listed himself for everything and stapled his book together. 

One of my favorite things is when he brings home papers that say he loves his Mommy and when he draws pictures of him and I together.  Here is Peter with some crazy looking teeth towering over me.

His coloring got much more neat and precise.

When he wants to his handwriting can be very neat.

I love seeing the little details he picks up on and puts in his drawings. 
This picture is of himself with blue eyes:).

I typed this story up for him while he made it up. 
It is actually a song about pumpkins that he learned at school and he just substituted pigs.

This is something he made at home.  After I taught him how to draw bats, he decided he needed a bat army and drew about 20 pages worth of bats!

Starfish Sandy - Marigny Elementary Mascot

The school theme for the year was cowboys, so he drew a horse shoe with a starfish inside.