Working hard!

I had Jonathon 's IEP about 2 weeks ago.  We discussed some things that will need to be accomplished for him to be able to go to Kindergarten next fall.  We discussed how if I or them do not feel he is ready I have other options.

Over all Jonathon is doing well, but we still have things to work on.

The first important goal for me for him is back to potty training.....Jonathon has been toilet trained for some time now... Even though that is so there is still some areas that need to be tweaked a little.  For instance:  I used to have to check with him every 3 hours to make sure if he had to go or not.  As of this past summer I no longer have to do that.  He is fully potty trained.  But no I guess he is not "fully" yet.  Because I go with him....I help pull his pants down....I help him hop up if he needs to sit down....I help him down when he is finished....I help pull up his pants..well no one is going to do that in kindergarten.

So we went out to Kohls this morning and hit up a good deal and got 6 pairs of pull on pants/sweats.  No more jeans for now.  He had 2 pair of sweats that we have started working on him doing this on his own.  He doesn't do too bad.  He gets mad sometimes and wants mommy to just do it.  But overall he is doing great.  He just has a hard time pulling up the back of his pants.  I am sure he will figure it out before next fall.

I also had a new stool made again....actually this one is a platform for him.  It's about 2 inches off the floor and its square so its safe.  He is too tall for the plastic stool now, but not tall enough for nothing.  So we started out with daddy making one....which was nice....it just wasn't what I was talking about and it wasn't really safe....it kept sliding and it just wasn't big enough....sooooo.....Mr. Randy stopped by and we told him what we needed and.......when we got home today....we found a surprise!  He made Jonathon a platform....just right and Jonathon said "cool"  But then daddy got his feelings hurt and was going to take his outside and Jonathon stood up and said "NOOOOO"  He grabbed it and placed it on the carpet and started playing with his hot wheels on it.  A happy daddy then and a happy Jonathon.  It all worked out!!!

I will post pictures tomorrow of the new stuff!

Potty Training is Complete

                                                      Step 1

W

                                                      Step 2

I

                              I AM A BIG BOY NOW!!!!

This will be my very last post on Potty Training ~ Potty Training has been completed ~ June 18th I let Jonathon wear his underwear to bed ~ Jonathon has been wearing underwear full time ever since ~ I am proud to say ~ NO ACCIDENTS

Jonathon is starting to let me know when he has to go potty ~ he holdS his tummy and yells at me ~ if I am not in the room he comes and finds me ~ holding his tummy ~ if I ask Jonathon if he has to go potty ~ he will answer me yes or no ~ and I believe his answer now ~ I ask him if he needs to pee or poop ~ he answers and answers truthfully/correctly

Our goal is to get rid of his urinal this summer and use a step stool to stand on to pee ~ so he will be comfortable when he goes back to school in Sept ~ another goal is to get rid of his potty seat and get him to always sit on the big toilet without one ~ so again he is comfortable and ready to go back to school ~ and most of all work on him telling other people besides mommy that he needs to go.

So there could be an update on those things in the future ~ but I am PROUD and HAPPY to say :HOORAY JONATHON!!!!!  I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH AND AM SO VERY PROUD OF YOU FOR BEING FINISHED WITH POTTY TRAINING!  YOU ARE AMAZING AND MY MIRACLE! 

I see the finish line

around the bend!  I started the process of potty training with Jonathon Feb 21 2009.
As of April 5, 2010 Jonathon has been wearing underwear!!

Now he doesn't wear underwear ALL the time, but pretty darn close.  Jonathon wears a pull up to bed at night ~ when he gets up in the morning I take him right to the bathroom to go potty ~ sometimes he is wet ~ sometimes he is not wet ~ after going potty we take off the wet/dry pullup and put underwear on for the day.

I now ask Jonathon around 3 hours if he needs to go potty ~ he will now answer me "yes" and then we go ~ I now ask Jonathon if he needs to go "poop" or pee ~ he will now answer me.

Since Jonathon has been wearing underwear sometimes I catch him undressing from the waist down ~ I ask "do you need to go potty?" ~ and most always his response is "yes" ~ and then we hurry off to the bathroom ~ and 98% of the time he does go.

When Jonathon takes a nap, I put a pull up back on him ~ he understands its just for sleeping ~ and when he wakes up from his nap I give him a few minutes and then we go potty and change back into underwear ~ sometimes he is wet ~ alot of times he is not wet.

When I was leaving the house I put a pull up on Jonathon ~ even though since I started potty training he has only been wet maybe 5 times ~ he has been the easiest out of my 3 boys to potty train ~ but I never wanted him to have an accident and send him 10 steps backwards so this was my security blanket I suppose.

But as of April 19th I decided it's time ~ I no longer put him in a pull up when we leave the house ~ well ok only for 1 thing and that is when he goes to school ~ he has never come home wet ~ it's just a little of my security blanket left I suppose ~ I will be working with Jonathon all summer on how to communicate with the teachers about potty since he will go to preschool full time in Sept ~ cannot even believe I am saying that.
Anyway, we get up, we go potty, we put underwear on for the day!  He has been doing awesome~ I am so proud of him ~ My sister watched him on friday for a couple of hours ~ She told me that Jonathon walked over to her bathroom door ~ she then asked if he needed to go potty and he responded with "yes" AND he did go for her!  HOORAY!

That has been another worry of mine that he won't go for someone else, so this makes me happy.

Now today we had another break thru!  And this is why I say I see the finish line
This morning I was busy putting clothes away and getting ready to take a shower ~ Jonathon was watching t.v. in the living room and playing with his cars in the window ~ I knew he would be entertained for a little while with Elmo so I could hurry and get my shower done ~ I turned around in the bedroom and he was coming in kinda holding belly and pulling at waist of his pants ~ I said "Jonathon do you need to go potty?"  He said "yes"  I said "ok, lets go"  He hurried off ahead of me and went straight to the bathroom, I helped him up on toilet and OMG he went within milliseconds!!!   I was sooo happy that when he finished I let him know just how proud I was for him to come and find me and tell me he needed to go!  He is becoming such a big boy!
And usually I take his hand and walk him off to bathroom, I didn't have to do that he went right ahead of me!
So now I will start working on waiting for as long as I think he can wait and see if he tells me he has to go!  As far as I am concerned my son is potty trained!  He wears underwear all day except for sleeping.  Just because he doesn't verbally tell me ALL the time doesn't matter to me!

I won't give up ~ I will continue to work with him ~ I want him to be able to just go ~ Like I said "I see the finish line"
I am so proud of Jonathon!  He truly is amazing!!

Potty Training Update

I believe we have finally advanced to the next level of potty training.


Monday afternoon Jonathon had his first underwear accident.  I explained to him how he must tell mommy that he needs to go the bathroom "before" he actually goes.  There was sadness in his eyes and a few tears ~ We put a fresh pair of undies on and continued on with our day.


Thursday evening after dinner Jonathon was playing in the living room while I was cleaning up the kitchen when Gilbert said "Hey why does he do that"?  I look over to see Jonathon pulling down his pants ~ I quickly went over to him and said "oh lets go potty" ~ And he went


Just a few minutes ago Jonathon was sitting in the hallway looking at his Disney book and trying to take stickers out of the back when I heard "Mama"  "MAMA"  His tone changed quickly so I hurried over to him to him walking toward me with pants "soaked" ~ this time I did not have a tone like on Monday because he really did try ~ he called me ~ I just didn't get to him fast enough.  Which makes me sad, but it's a step I know we have to go through!


Makes me very very proud that he is finally getting it on his own to at least try to tell me!  I know one day Jonathon will be totally potty trained, but for now i will continue to be patient with him.


There are many days since last February when I started this whole potty training thing that I have wanted to take a BREAK!!!  But I have never done that ~ through my migraines, my tiredness, Jonathon being sick, my trips out of the house to wherever, not being able to sleep in EVER, and Jonathon having surgery we have never taken a BREAK!!  It's a long long road to success, but when you get this close there are no words of how a mother feels!!!!


Keep up the good work Jonathon we are almost there!  Mommy loves you very very much and is very very proud of you!

Someone Does not Like......

Public Bathrooms still!  We left the house yesterday morning at 8:30a.m. to go to an Eye Appt.  The eye appt. went great.  He is doing good.  His eyes are straight.  We picked up his new lenses.  We got an adjustment on his glasses.  We go back in 6 months.  After the eye appt. I had a few errands to run.  We attempted to use the restroom at the Dr.'s office on the way out......~ NOPE not gonna happen.  So we left ~ so far it has been 3 hours since last potty break at home ~ We had about a 30 minute drive to the next stop ~ when we arrived at store I immediately took Jonathon to the restroom ~ NOPE not gonna happen again!!!! ~ Finished shopping and continued on to the next stop ~ now it has been 4 hours since last potty break ~ got to next store ~ which is local Kroger we ALWAYS shop at and go potty at! ~ well NOT today ~ I still had 2 more stops to make before we went home ~ before we were supposed to go home ~ since my little boy refused to use any restrooms we skipped the last 2 stops and went DIRECTLY home.  In house straight to potty and of course he went!!!! 5 hours he held it!


I guess I could probably put him undies all day, but I'm not. Not just yet.  I really think he gets mad about having to sit to pee, when he knows at home he stands.  And he doesn't want me to hold him up.  Too bad public bathrooms couldn't just add 1 little toilet for the little ones and 1 shorter urinal.  Sure would be nice.


So I have decided that from now on we will be packing up "our" urinal and just taking it with us AND maybe from now on he will pee.


Don't have any plans to be out and about for a long time ~ so will update when we venture out again.

Updates

Jonathon has been recovering well after his ear tube/adenoidectomy surgery.  He is eating and drinking everything back to normal.


He is not wobbling like before when he walks ~ he is walking quite well I must say.  He is going up and down his stairs alot quicker too. ~ We go stepping on a daily basis ~ I guess this is good excercise for mommy!


He is beginning to talk clearer too ~ I know some may say this is really quick, are you sure, but yes I am sure.  We have added some words to his vocabulary already!


papa
Manny ~ Handy Manny
Minnie ~ Mickey and Minnie Mouse
Enny ~ Kenny ~ Kenny used to be nyny(nee nee)
Hello


Took a bath last night and I always blow dry Jonathon's hair in the winter to make sure he doesn't get a chill. ~ Jonathon does not like the blow dryer ~ last night he sat there and let me blow dry his hair without complaining!


Looking forward to going out in public ~ Curious to see how he is going to react in a public bathroom ~ Will the noise still bother him????  We will see, because tomorrow we have an eye appt.


My potty trainer is coming up on 1 year in Feb.  He may not tell me that he needs to use the rest room ~ but as long as I take him he has not had any accidents.  Yes he had the occasional dampness months back. ~ I have never had a poop accident! "AMAZING"


Today is Jonathon's 9th day wearing underwear! He wears a pull up when he takes a nap and when he goes to bed for the night.  Before surgery he was waking up dry from his nap and in the morning. ~ I have been pushing the fluids since surgery and he is back to waking up little wet from nap and whole lot wet in the morning. ~ last night I went back to cutting out drinks after dinner. ~ he gets a quick drink of water right before bed. ~ this morning he was just damp ~ not soaked ~ Otherwise he has underwear on all day and he has done an excellent job ~ I have not had one problem with him ~ now once in a great while he will go over to stand by bathroom door ~ this is his way of telling me he has to pee ~ he has a favorite book he reads in the bathroom when he has to go poop ~ Chuck and friends ~ Saturday night he brought me the book so I hurried up and asked him if he needed to poop and he went right to the bathroom door ~ we went in ~ put him up on the toilet ~ right away he pooped ~ we are almost there!  And I am one proud mommy of my angel Jonathon!!!!!


And today Jonathon goes back to school at 11:15a.m.

Potty Scotty - Urinal for Boys

Jonathon loves his new potty! Urinal. It is working out awesome! Now when we say "Lets go Potty" it doesn't take us as long to get him to stop what he is doing and going. I think he really enjoys the fact that he can go in there, not take all his clothes off, pee and be on his merry away in about 20 seconds!


He is becoming a big boy ~ and it is working out really well that he is able to tell me when he needs to sit to "poop". No accidents yet!


About my only complaint is that when you dump it, it kinda makes a mess on the very edge of the toilet. I just wipe that up with toilet tissue, but besides that I am very happy with the product and it doesn't take up any space in my small bathroom.


I would recommend this product to anyone that has a boy potty training. Not just special needs. I wish I had this years ago for Kenny and Andrew!


Outside public bathrooms have been a little better. We are using our portable/foldable potty seat . I haven't even tried holding him in the standing position again. He is at least urinating with the seat. But we are still having issues with noise in some stores and he really doesn't like his headphones anymore. I try singing ABC's (people probably think I am weird walking in and hearing that! :). I am trying to keep those stores in the back of my head and just avoid them for now.


I am very proud of Jonathon!


I really think technically Jonathon is potty trained. He never has an accident. He is sometimes just a tad damp, but that could be drippage after going or just before he goes. As long as we take him potty he is great. I cannot wait for the day that my son tells me all on his own that he needs to go. He has done this 3x. It's a start. And that's why I still say Potty Training!


And here is the link again to a great product!
http://www.pottyscotty.com/Urinal-for-Boys.html

Potty Training Update

So potty training is had some set backs.  Nothing major, just some things that Jonathon has to work through, I guess.


At home he is doing exceptionally well.  He wears big boy undies at home now for part of the day ~ he could probably go all day at home with minimal accidents, but when I know I am going to be busy doing something and don't want to take the chance of a major accident I put him back in pull ups.  Which I am not sure why, because I am very good at remembering to take him every 1-2 hours.  Minimal accidents(this is when he is just damp).  He has only been major major wet in a pull up 3x since Feb 08.  And sorry I have to say this, but this has been with his father, not me.  His father really needs to get on board more.  I mean come on, its been almost 1 year since we started potty training.....  Oh and another thing his father needs to do is get his lazy butt out of bed on the weekends and take Jonathon potty first thing in the morning.  NOT put him in bed with us and take him potty in 15-20 minutes.  SHEEEEESH!!!!!  Can u tell I am irritated?  Well I am.


Anyway ~ our set back is public restrooms.  Why I don't know.  It used to be only certain stores with certain loud echo restrooms(the mall, Meijer, Target)  Usually Walmart and Krogers are pretty safe.  Not this time around.  I spent the whole day out with my sis on Tuesday.  Jonathon literally held it all day ~ 7 hours we were gone......He would pee just a tad bit.  He just kept fighting me all day.  I even had his headphones and he still wasn't going to pee for me.  I figured I would just have to change him after he wet.  No, that didn't happen either.  I did continue to offer the restroom for the whole day and like I said he would pee a little, but when he got home, boy did he let loose.  I do not like him holding it and not sure what I will try next.


My next concern is tomorrow(Saturday).  I am going to a mom2mom sale to try and sell some of Jonathon's things.  He cannot go with me because this particular sale is located in a gym.  Jonathon does not doe gyms very well.  Actually not at all.  He would not tolerate it for more than 2 minutes.  He is staying home with his father.


First off, I am going to do this mom2mom sale even though I have issues about leaving Jonathon behind because winter is coming and I really don't want to store these items AND it's really close to home.


Second, I am worried about my little boy being left out and forgotten.  Pretty bad to say about his father, but I have issues.
1. His father cannot understand sign language_not like I haven't tried to teach him.
2. His father cannot understand his speech ~ I give up translating, I just refuse to anymore.
3. Jonathon won't ask for a drink unless he is extremely thirsty.  His father forgets to offer.
4. Potty Break ~ this is my big one.  I am so worried that he is going to forget to take Jonathon potty and he has been doing excellent for almost 1 year.  (no poopy pants EVER, and like I said minimal wetness)
5. Food ~ please feed my child while I am gone, he won't ask unless he is really hungry.


These are not things that just started, these are things that have been on going for 2 years and I just keep it to myself.  AND Jonathon is ALWAYS with me, so there is never any real concern.  Til now.  The longest I have left him is maybe 2 hours at the most for 2 years.  RIDICULOUS I know....Trust me it's not like I haven't tried.  But if I don't think you are trustworthy to watch Jonathon then you won't. And my hubby, well he don't have time.


So I will make a list of what and what nots and hopefully all will go well for Jonathon tomorrow.  One can wish!

Potty Training Update

Over the last month Jonathon has been giving me problems with certain public restrooms. Here is a list of our issues: Echo ~ not good

Blow dryers ~Life threatning

Automatic Flushers ~ Life threatning

And when I say Life Threatning, I really mean it. He will cringe, his face will get that look"HELP ME MOMMY" and the tears and screams will begin. And he won't go!

I do not want Jonathon to be "afraid" to use the public restrooms, and I especially do not want him to get an infection from holding "all" day when we are not home.

My biggest wake up call was the Detroit Zoo visit. EVERY bathroom we visited was sooo traumatic to him. He knew as soon as I said potty and the tears began. I felt sooo bad. And there was nothing I could do because he had to go. I ended up holding my hands over his ears to help with the terrible echo and loud blow dryers.(I just wanted to cry myself).

Soooo I put on "my mommy to the rescue" thinking cap and this is what I came up with..... By the way ~ IT WORKS!!!!! We tested it out at the mall last week. He did not give me a problem AND he never heard the blow dryers go off while he was peeing!!!!! AND it only cost me $2.50.....

Once again I have a happy Jonathon!

Update on what's new with us.....

I guess I have lost days again on blogging. I get so busy with all 3 boys that I just don't find the time to even turn on my computer and we have been very busy these last few days.

On Sunday August 23rd we traveled out to the Detroit Zoo. We figured out half way through that next year we will do some things differently. At the beginning of the zoo there is mostly inside animals(reptiles, butterflies, birds)etc.

We love to feed the giraffe(which are at the other end)and feeding time is 1p.m. Last year AND this year we literally had to run to get to the feeding on time.....plus eat OUR lunch. When we noticed that if we take the train when we first arrive and ride to the back of the park we can take our time seeing ALL the big outside animals(tiger,lion,zebra)etc. and be there for the morning feeding of the giraffe AND Jonathon won't be sleeping and miss some of the big animals(yes he took a nap on schedule and missed lots).

It started to mist(rain)around 1:30p.m. and continued off and on for the remainder of our visit. I was pretty bummed out~the animals went in AND it wasn't supposed to rain at all. I am very glad that I took the stroller this year instead of the wagon. Jonathon was able to nap comfortably AND I was able to cover him from the rain.

Kenny got to go in the dinosaur simulator with Randy, Andrew and Gilbert.(Jonathon and I stayed out). Kenny said it was very cool and really enjoyed the ride. I was told that I would never make it......(ok, no dinosaur simulator for me...). Further through the zoo Kenny did some one on one time with Dad(Gilbert). They walked thru Dinotopia(dinosaur exhibit). Was told that it was interesting too. Maybe next year we will take Jonathon through that one.(noise issue this year).

Monday evening Jonathon had an ENT appt.(check up). Alot of wax build up in his ears~we do peroxide drops once per month~no, not anymore, Dr. ENT thinks it is making his ears worse and drying them out really bad~we need to pick up sweet oil, 1-2 drops per ear once per week until our next visit. Tympanogram was taken~Right ear:Type A -Normal(Hooray!!) Left ear: Type B -Flat(Bummer!) Difficulty obtaining a hermetic seal bilaterally (L-R). SOOO Dr. ENT thinks that there could be some fluid. We go back in 6 weeks for a recheck. He is not too concerned just yet. I also asked him about Jonathon's noise issue~it was terrrible at the zoo. He informed me that it's not b/c of him having Down Syndrome, it's not an ear problem, some children just have noise issues.....Ok. Still makes me wonder. Just certain noises really bother him. I helped him out though(different post to come).

And I took my boys out to eat dinner at Olive Garden. Expensive? Yes. Did I NEED to go to Olive Garden? No. Did I WANT to go to Olive Garden? Yes. It was my dinner to my son who will be starting highschool in 2 weeks. It was my I love you for all you do and want you to have a great first year in highschool. It was my I am very proud of you and know you will do just fine. DINNER! (and of course Jonathon loves spaghetti too)

Tuesday - Took the boys school shopping. Left at 9:30a.m. and got back home at 4p.m. Terrible terrible shopping day. Kenny is ridiculous this year(no, don't like that)ALL DAY Long! I bought him one pair of jeans on sale for 16.99 and one tshirt on sale for 7.99. 1 pair of gym shorts for 6.00. Done ~ that's it ALL DAY LONG!!!!! I practically went to every store in the mall. And on this trip Jonathon threw his shoe out of the stroller, I did not notice til it was too late.....We backed tracked,we checked lost and found, we asked passers by......SANDAL is gone!!!!! Good thing summer is almost over. I guess I did get my $15.00 worth out of them.

Wednesday - seen Jc Penny was having a huge sale and it was on the $16.99 jeans I just bought Kenny, plus I had a 15% off discount for filling out survery. Decided I would go back and get" picky" Kenny more jeans that he does like.

First we had to run to Richmond ~ I sold my high chair on Craigslist and needed to meet up with lady who was buying it.(Hooray!!!) Then we ran to Krogers really quick to get a few items. Then I went to Kmart real quick ~ I have officially started Christmas shopping! I cannot believe I just said that, but it's true. I put some stuff in layaway. Then off to the mall AGAIN(crazzzzzy....)Go to JC Penny, get the jeans for Kenny and Andrew also got 2 pair. Soooo for 4 pairs of jeans I paid 64.00. Now these jeans were normally 36.00 per pair so I say thats a deal and my 2 oldest boys are done. I just have to get them gym bags for their clothes. Jonathon has been done since June. He was easy. one garage sale ~27 items for $27.00. All like brand new and name brand too.

OOOOHHHH , by the way, I was sooo stressed about going back to the mall that after JC Penny I walked down to younkers and Sears really quick to see if they had rain coats for Jonathon or winter coats. Of course nothing. So we get ready to leave the mall and Andrew says" WHERE ARE THE JEANS"!!!!!!!?????? OMG! I left them at JC Penny........ Thank Goodness I had my receipt and they remembered me AND I didn't drive all the way home first.

Which brings me to today! Cleaning, laundry washing and drying. Playing with Jonathon, movie watching with Jonathon, catching up on my computer, paperwork and RELAXING!!!!

As always Jonathon

We started potty training back in Feb. 08. Actually I started thinking about it and Jonathon let me know that "Yes" he was ready. So when we first started I actually was not "prepared" (no pull-ups, no big boy undies) but trust me, I hurried out the next day and got pull-ups for him. We call them big boy pants. During the day he wore big boy pants(pull-ups) and nap time and bed time I put him in a diaper.

Potty training started off very well~so well I was shocked. I never had to change another "poopy" diaper since Feb 21st. I just started to take him potty every hour and asked him every time if he had to go poop.Eventually through out the day of going every hour he would need and go "poop"(I never had a problem with him holding it). Another funny thing is that we never rewarded him either. Well not with candy or any type of food. Our reward was/is clapping hands and saying "What a good boy" You are such a big boy". "YEAH"!!! Sometimes we sat in the bathroom for 30 min, sometimes 3 minutes. Jonathon and I learned together.

He never liked the "big potty" (that scared him). So we started out with a potty chair and then I picked up a spongebob toilet seat that goes onto the toilet for when we went visiting. Eventually I took the potty chair away and to this day he uses the spongebob seat. I also picked up a foldable potty seat to take with us when we are out shopping or visiting(in case he ever has to poop). Spongebob stays home now.

I also taught Jonathon how to pee standing up when we were/are out in "public". I just hold him up. Works great. And alot of the times at home now we just go in there, I hold him up to pee. He likes it because it is alot quicker. And now that he is 2, I really want him to start standing to pee all the time. I have just been lazy and have to go back downstairs to get the potty chair back out;the bottom is a stool, which he needs to reach the toilet.(gotta do that). Now Jonathon is very funny(different), he will not "poop" out in public. He just doesn't~at least not yet. He waits until we get home. Ok. That works. I paid "very" close attention to his routine and things have worked out fine.

We also have some big boy undies that we wear every once in awhile around the house. We have made it up to 4 hours with no accidents. And I know that one day he will wear those big boy undies ALL the time and no more pull-ups. But for now mommy will wait.

As the months have gone by he has done excellent. He has never had a major accident;well ok he has had one, recently, but believe me it was NOT his fault at all. And I still feel bad, but I was trying to prove a point to my husband. After an outing a few weeks ago, Jonathon fell asleep on the way home;when we got home, my husband took him out of the van,(usually I do) so I told him that Jonathon needs to go potty. I continued to unload the van and he came back out quickly. I asked him what happen to taking Jonathon potty? He said "oh he is sitting on couch, I am letting him wake up first" Now I KNEW there would be a problem, but I ignored my husband, continued what I was doing and after about 15 minutes I went in the house. "To a whimpering Jonathon" I told Jonathon I was sorry and hurried him into the bathroom to pee. Too late~his pull-up was DRENCHED. AND I WAS MAD!!!!! And I let my husband have it!!!!! Needless to say he doesn't do that anymore. Not to get off subject, but there are times when I have to do little things to prove to people THAT I DO KNOW what I am doing and I am only looking out for my son.(no different than when Andrew and Kenny were little) Yes some things are approached differently, but my values ARE the same. Anyway~back to my story.

So potty training has been going great! He is such a big boy~I just can't believe it, it seems like it was just yesterday when he was born!

I have noticed over the last 2 weeks that he is changing on me again(all about growing up, I guess). His diet has changed a little;he is now eating more non soft foods(which is great in itself) so his potty routine has changed too. But its working. He is actually to the point that when we use the potty I am able to ask him if he has to go "poop" and he will tell me yes or no. AWESOME! We have just lately in the past couple of days started waiting 1 1/2 hours to almost 2 hours before using the potty. Why? Well he is still drinking the same amount of liquids during the day, but when I was taking him every hour he was barely going;telling me he can hold it longer now. So that is where we are at on that. Tonight I waited 50 minutes and still good and dry! And yes he has to GO!

Also for about 2 months now he has been waking up from his nap dry and waking up in the morning dry. And I have not been racing him off to the potty either time (nap or morning). I have let him take his time waking up(about 10 minutes) and then we go right away to the potty and he goes.(And his diaper is always dry). So we just save and reuse for next time. And sometimes he wakes me up in the middle of the night~usually 2:30a.m. to go. And he does go and then he goes right back to sleep.

The last couple of days he has been yelling at me when its naptime or bedtime when I pull out that "DIAPER". I was getting ready to let him wear big boy(pull-ups) at naptime and bedtime. We have 1/2 pack of diapers left and then I wasn't going to buy anymore. I wanted to pick up some nighttime pull-ups. Nope he is not waiting for that. He is ready. So he is telling me. Today for naptime I left him in his pull-up. He napped for 2 hours and woke up dry. Tonight for bedtime he is wearing a pull-up. Let me tell you, he was one happy little boy when he was finished in the bathroom and I told him he could wear his big boy(pull-up)to bed. He thoroughly liked being able to go to the bedroom and get his pajamas on "STANDING" up. I could just see the joy in his little eyes!!!! And that goes to tell you the meaning for my title "As always Jonathon will let me know" when he is ready.

Trust me I know I have a LONG way to go. But so far he is doing excellent. I must take him; he will not tell me. If I ask and sign potty, he will sign potty back to me. If I wait for him to tell me on his own it won't happen. He will have an accident. These are things that we will work on.

I just wanted to share with everyone how "OUR" potty experience is going so far. Thanks for reading. I am one PROUD mommy.

Whats new

We went back to Dr. Pediatrician on Thursday. Finish sinus medication. Keep using saline for the nose. Benedryl at night time for nose. And use your nose spray everyday until you go back to Dr. ENT in May. Medicine, medicine, medicine! Oh yeah and keep using the Pulmicort once a day.

I so cannot wait for the weather to change so we can be behind these colds. Of course I totally forgot about the Benedryl last night before bedtime. I never do that, guess I need to get some rest and recharge.

Potty training is going well. We have moved up to even wearing a pull up out in public. Jonathon wore a pull up to his dr. appt. and used the restroom twice while we were there and peed. He is becoming such a big boy! Yes we do have our occassional accidents. Mostly just damp(pee). He has only had 3 poop accidents with me. He had 2 accidents while my sis was watching him Wednesday night. But I am not concerned because she doesn't know our potty routine just yet and he always acts different when I am not around. I guess I need to get out more often. Maybe this summer.

Jonathon has missed alot of school lately, but I have learned the hard way when he is sick just to keep him home until he is better. I want him to get over this without catching something else. He is finally looking better, so hopefully we can go back to school on Tuesday next week.

First time this morning, I did not get the playpen out to put Jonathon in so I could take a shower. He is pretty good about sitting down and watching his Cars movie for a little while(30minutes or so). So I left the bathroom door open so I could hear him and so he could get to me if he needed too. He did great. He was right where I left him and is still sitting there right now watching his movie. No more playpen!!!!

I am soooo proud of you Jonathon and all you have accomplished so far. I am soooo proud to be your mommy! Makes me sad to see you grow up, but makes me happy that you are becoming such a big boy!!!!

Our First ENT appointment

I am not liking this new time change at all! Jonathon was up at 6:30a.m. this morning, I was really hoping that he would now sleep in until 7:30a.m. But no such luck for me. Of course he didn't want to eat at 7a.m. as usual because that was really 6a.m. so we skipped breakfast until almost 8a.m.

We started our day out ahead of schedule and then it went down hill fast. I even had everything packed last night except the cheez pons-these I had to hurry and cut up while he was waiting in the van to go.

We were supposed to pick up my sis at 10a.m. as she is calling me at 10:20a.m. wondering if we got our signals mixed up? Nope just me running late as usual and now with a potty trainer, we are always behind. But we made up good time getting ourselves to the doctor on time-actually early!

Then there we sat......and sat....and sat.....We ate some cheez pons, then we drank some water, then we ate some more cheez pons, then we read Clifford the Dog book,then rip it out of Auntie's hands and throw it-he is Quick! Then we sat.....and sat.....and sat.....Okay now I am wondering why they didn't even call our name for our paperwork. So sis and I took turns using the restroom and then finally after 1 hour we were finally called back.

Dr. ENT was very nice. Jonathon also liked him alot and was very comfortable with him. He asked many more questions than I imagined, but I was prepared(good) My sis said"He just learned our whole life in about 5 minutes" Guess she was impressed? Jonathon got to pick a sucker for good behavior. Of course he has no clue what it is and didn't like the crinkly paper so we put it aside for now.

Sooo our results are: The tympanogram is still showing fluid and dr. ENT also seen some fluid. Jonathon is registering on the chart now though where before he didn't even register. Could be because of his sinus infection. We are going to go back in 2 months for a recheck. Continue the saline drops and added a new prescription~nose spray~Fluticasone-1spray into each nostril once daily. Seems how he has only had one ear infection he is not really worried yet about tubes. A little concerned that this is his 3rd sinus infection since September and this one was so bad. Could be that his adnoids need to be removed. We go back May 11.

I will take these results for now. I am glad that the tympanogram has changed and he is at least showing up on the chart now. I still don't like the fact that he still has fluid in his ears. I am not looking forward to starting nose spray tomorrow. I hope he doesnt have to have tubes put in. Will not stress over it for now.(at least try not too) I do like this doctor.

Stopped off at the restroom when we were through to see if Jonathon needed/would use the potty. He didn't like it and was scared. So I decided to turn him around and hold him up. This worked like a charm, he peed for me and lots. Great Job, my big big boy.

Afterwards we stopped at McDonalds to grab some lunch. Tried a fish sandwich with Jonathon. He ate a little , but didn't like it so we had our normal applesauce and country vegetable baby food. Sis and mommy had coupon for buy one Big Mac get one free.

Packed everyone back up in the van and headed off to Walmart. Right before we drove in, Jonathon fell asleep. Exhausted! He had been awake all day since 6:30a.m. Now its 2p.m.
So I got the big stroller out of back and layed down the seat. Put Jonathon in covered him up and then covered stroller with bigger blanket for darkness. We were in Walmart for over 1 hour and he slept the whole time. Much needed rest. He woke up on the way out and was in a very good mood.

Now it's after 3:30p.m. and when we pulled out onto main road we could see Daddy's truck up ahead. But he accidentally left his phone on counter this morning, so had no way of telling him to wait up. We tried to catch him, but too much traffic and we had to stop on the way home to get medicine. Oh well, maybe next time.

Stopped to get his prescription filled, would take them 30 minutes. Sis had to stop off and pay a bill and her house was right around the corner so we went to her house so Jonathon could use the potty.(I checked him at walmart on the way out and he was dry). Got to her house and hurried to the bathroom, set him up on the big toilet and he peed a little and little poop. GOOD BOY!!! I knew his tummy was still full, so I turned him around and held him up and told him to pee like a good boy. And he peed a whole bunch. He learned today how to pee standing up(well standing,mommy holding you up)But it worked. He just doesnt like the bigger toilets.

Finished up, got our medicine, dropped Auntie back off at her house. Said our goodbyes and headed for home. Busy busy day. We left at 10:10a.m. and pulled in at 5:15p.m.

He Never Stops

I do have to say that Jonathon is something else. That is for sure. He just keeps on surprising me and bringing tears of joy to my eyes alot lately. Tonight I had paperwork to finish up for our appointment in the morning so daddy sat down to give him his bottle and rock him to sleep. After his bottle was empty I kept hearing Jonathon whine(like he was tearing up). I waited, kind of looked over, but didn't get involved with him and daddy. It didn't stop and then I heard Gilbert ask him what was wrong and why was he sooo sad. Well I thought it was because I have been the only one putting him to bed since he became sick last week. He hasn't wanted anyone else. I got up to go over and see if Jonathon wanted me instead. Gilbert informed me that he(Jonathon)was passing alot of gas.......I told Jonathon "Lets go potty" He whined a little because it's supposed to be night night time. I reassured him that it was ok, that we would go potty and then go back to rocking. Well......as soon as I got him on the potty he went.......We talked and played with his fishy for a few minutes. Got him up to get his diaper back on and.......He had peed AND pooped!!!!! What a good boy! We hurried and told daddy and did "Hoorays for Jonathon" I love you soooo much Jonathon!!!!! And that goes back to my title...He never Stops AMAZING me!

Attitude or Hungry

We did not have a very good day at school yesterday, which I was shocked because normally he loves Thursday school with P.T. and O.T. BUT I also did not feed Jonathon lunch before we went like I usually do. I wanted to work on some snack foods with O.T., but we ended up getting there late so I just didn't mention it. Well when we switched to work with P.T. at noon he was just miserable. Whiny, yelling, tears! I was very sad but did not stop P.T. from working with him. After school I had an errand to run and on the way there he was still miserable and yelling, whining at me. THEN it dawned on me"You did not feed him lunch" I pulled into a park and asked him if he wanted to eat. Of course he did, so I fed him lunch and felt terrible. I think I starved him and that made him grumpy! Won't do that again. Sorry Jonathon!!!!!

We now officially can climb up on the couch a million times!!! He won't even try to get up there if no one is sitting there. I will take that for now, but if someone is sitting there UP he goes. It's funny to watch him, he thinks it's a game. YAY for Jonathon!

Had our first Juice box yesterday. At first he didn't know what to do, I just showed him to drink like his sippy straw cup and then he took off. He does cough sometimes if he drinks too much at a time, but he did very well and we had another one this morning. I didn't realize that there was a difference compared to the straw sippy. Yep big difference and I am glad I decided to try them.

Potty training is going very well. I have no complaints at all! I have not changed a poopy diaper since last Saturday. Sometimes his diaper/pull up is a little wet,but he has not pooped in his pants at all. He is more than willing to go in and sit on the potty for me. Yesterday morning he actually woke up dry from all night. He is kind of learning the potty sign now and when I sign to him he will try to sign back. So I will take it. Of course he is not asking me to take him potty, but I believe he is doing an awesome job so far! Alot of hard work and time and patience, but that's ok. I will just deal with it. May take me 4 hours to get my shopping/errands done now instead of 2, but trust me this is definitely worth it. My baby is growing up!!!!

My Big Boy

I have been noticing for the past week that Jonathon has remained dry(diaper)for longer periods and at first I thought maybe he was becoming dehydrated. He had an ear infection and a low temp for a couple of days so I started pushing fluids on him to make sure he wasn't dehydrated. Found out that he was not dehydrated, but still was staying dry. Got to thinking about his big brothers and I remember they were potty trained before they were 2yrs. old. "Could Jonathon be ready as well?" Last Monday I stuck him on the big potty just to see. Amazingly he pee'd.But he was scared to death to sit on the big potty. So ok, I knew I saved the big brothers potty and told myself I need to get it out of the attic. I also wanted to pick up some pull ups. Didn't get any pull ups yet, money is tight and I needed diapers more(I thought).

Saturday I got the potty chair out of the attic and got it all cleaned up.

Sunday morning after snack, I went in to change Jonathon and noticed that he was getting ready to poop so I hurried up and took him into the bathroom and placed him on his potty chair to see what he would do. In a matter of minutes he pee'd AND pooped!!!!! I was and still am sooooo excited!!!! My baby is becoming a big boy! Now Sunday went great, every time I took him into the bathroom and placed him on his potty he went. He even pooped again for me. He only had one slight accident when I couldn't get the diaper off fast enough. Learning the hard way that potty training with a diaper is a pain in the butt. But we will deal until we get out this week to get some pull ups and Big Boy Underwear.

I made sure that when I first heard him this morning that I immediately got out of bed and took him into bathroom explaining that we need to use the potty. I really wasn't sure how this would work, but once again my little boy is so amazing, he went pee and poop!!!! And his diaper was only a little wet, not soaked like it normally is. And I know this is because he doesn't cry, and he is quiet in the morning. Eventually he will throw stuffed animals at us or shake the crib or yell up, but we can't wait for that anymore, because by that time he has already peed and usually pooped. That is why 1. glad I am a light sleeper 2. Why I jumped up right away. 3. Totally Awesome!!!

Today has been going great so far. He is still in the same diaper that I put on him at 6:10a.m. He has used the potty 4x and has went each time. The diaper is getting stretched and is really a pain. I cannot wait to get some pull ups tomorrow for him. I think it will be much much easier.

We will be staying homebound as much as possible until we get better at this. My concern is all the germs because he is not walking and doesn't stand for long periods at a time yet and sits on the potty. Some places you have those papers you can place on the toilet, but alot of places do not have them. So I know we are safe to travel to Krogers because they have them. Right now we use the potty every hour.

AND I know we have a long way to go. Jonathon will not ask me to use potty. I am trying to teach him the sign for potty. I tell him every hour " Lets go potty" And I walk him to the bathroom, I will not carry him. And when we are done we walk out of the bathroom back to where he was playing. So lots to learn, but I firmly believe if he was not ready, he would not go when I place him on the potty chair, and he would yell and throw a fit.

I am one very proud mommy!!!!!!!

And as if this was not enough for one day. Last night after dinner I was standing in the kitchen putting dinner items away as I watched my "BABY" stand up next to the couch and put his leg up on cushion and neat as you please GOT ON MY COUCH. Now the first time he was half way up and Andrew grabbed him. I had to tell Andrew "No let him get up there" So I was happy to see him do it again. He was up with his leg, pulled himself up on belly, grabbed the remote and slid down. Now I must be quick to return if I leave the room. Wouldn't want a catastrophe!!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!