I'm Going to Try, Again

I don't know why I let so much time go these days between getting on here...

Evan's potty training is going GREAT! Last summer, we were doing well, but I knew that sending him to school and to my mom's was going to be tricky...and it was. So potty training throughout the year was hit and miss; BIG miss at school.

But this summer, it's been wonderful, and he will be going back to school without a diaper!

His vocab is still very limited, but luckily, it's not to difficult for him to say, "pee," which he says for both, very convenient.

Other vocab? "No Deal!" Yes, he's been watching game shows with his brother this summer, plus Matt has that game on his DSi. Other than that, he still really isn't putting words together. His biggest vocabulary comes when we're identifying animals....still. Yep, loves his animals. I know more about wildlife from watching Animal Planet than I ever have in my life!

The older boys are doing well. Tonight, they are going to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game with Matt's Best Buddies. I adore Matt's BB, she goes above and beyond...a true friend with a huge heart.

That's it...I just really want to get back into this...I know I've said that before! lol

He Told Me

This evening, Evan told me that he needed to use the bathroom! It was so exciting that I can't remember exactly what the word was he said. I think it was a cross between "potty" and "poopy"---"poppy"...but I'm not sure! I just know that whatever he said, I said back to him, "You need to go potty?" and his fist went on the top of his head (his version of signing "yes"), and he said "es." We went to the bathroom, and within seconds, HE WENT POOP!!!! Yea!

A couple of days ago, he didn't have anything on the bottom half, and he came to me with a diaper and said, "diaper." I brought him to the bathroom, and he went. I'm so happy that he's finding ways to communicate this need. (I really need to get on the ball with making the picture cards for this...it's not that difficult.)

For the first half of the summer, potty training was intense, and we had good results. For the second half, we eased up a bit because he was started to get a bit defiant about sitting on the potty. At first I thought that all that work was for nothing. BUT, easing up has had really good results. He sometimes wears underwear and sometimes a diaper, but now when I ask him, he seems more relaxed about it and isn't refusing like he had started to do before we eased up. Sometimes he will go in his diaper, but he's quick to take it off when he does.

Potty Training Continues

Potty training is going exceptionally well---I'm impressed with him! We had a little bit of a setback when he was sick for a week and the in-laws were here, but he's back on track.

In the beginning of this, he would often pee just for the sake of peeing. Now, he is able to hold it for usually a couple of hours. We've even made a couple of trips to the store with underwear instead of a diaper. We also go on our long walks without a diaper.

One thing that has changed recently is that he's not as willing to go whenever I say, "Do you need to go potty?" It's like he realizes he doesn't need to go all the time! So some of the times when he gives me his "No....no....no," I've honored his request even though it's been a couple of hours. Sometimes this results in him doing just a little in his thick underwear, and then he proceeds to take them off. When I see him getting undressed, I always check the underwear, and if damp, we head to the potty where he does the rest! Now, him taking off his clothes doesn't necessarily mean he's wet them...he prefers the "no clothes" look. We're working on that.

As far as poop, we win some, we lose some!

What happened today was UNBELIEVABLE!

He was wearing underwear and a onesie...the easiest way to ensure that some clothes are on. He hadn't been in a while. I was in the kitchen, and I heard him go into the bathroom. By the time I got there, there he was.

Sitting on the toilet.

Without his Elmo potty seat.

Hands on the toilet seat and bottom in the water!

Amazingly, he wasn't too upset about it, but I think it startled him a bit. While trying not to laugh, I gave him lots of praise and took off the wet stuff. Then, after sitting on the Elmo potty seat, he went! I have a feeling he had already went a little, but not all of it. :)

Not sure how he got on the toilet. His stool was by the sink.

What I need to do--should have done already--is to take picture of the toilet. We haven't used any pictures for communication, but I think we need it in this case. Signing bathroom doesn't seem to be working--yet, and he doesn't have any word for it. A couple of times, he has come to me and I could tell from his body language that he needed to go, but it's subtle--very subtle. I'm not sure what's going to happen when he starts school in a few weeks, but I want to have some sort of system that they can work with that he's already familiar with.

Yeah, he starts school in a few weeks....

Poop and More

We went out to eat on Saturday night with the in-laws...somewhere that Evan has never been. He gave the usually few screams as we pulled into the parking lot and fussed all the way to the table. It was fairly crowded, but luckily, we found some tables in the corner that we pushed together.

Soon after we sat down, he got really upset--with tears. It was rather noisy, but his reaction still seemed a bit extreme. It didn't take long to figure out that it was the noise of the ice being dumped into the ice bin that bothered him. Really, though, it's not like we were right next to this ice bin! I carried him around for a while to get food (a buffet style restaurant), and he was content while we did that--not happy, but content. He wouldn't eat much, only applesauce and a few meatballs. He was right next to the window, so he frequently pointed outside while saying (whispering) "bye bye."

On to today: He had diarrhea six times today!!! Amazingly, 4 out of the 6 times was on the toilet; the other 2 were in a diaper. Although this time it "may" be a bit of an illness, there is something not right with this kid's bowel movements. Friday and Saturday he only went once on both of the days--on the toilet :)--, but both times it was pure diarrhea! He has NEVER been constipated a day in his life. That's sound like a good thing, but unfortunately, he is quite the opposite. I've tried narrowing it down, but I don't think it's as simple as that; there just seems to be so many foods that give him icky, runny poop! Example: Cheerios or any other cereal that I can get him to eat! That one I'm 99.9 percent sure about. Sometimes, when was take a food out of his diet, there seems to be a change for the better, and we think, "Oh, that was it." But then after a week or so, it's back to icky. He has slight ridges in his nails, and from what I've read on-line, that can be a sign of malnutrition/malabsorption. He has a doctor's appointment on Friday. I'm wondering about an allergy to gluten, but I want to get the doctor's input on all of this before I make any drastic changes. It could be something completely different.

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

In other Evan news, he recently walked down our stairs with just holding onto the railing with one hand and the other hand against that same wall. I was standing at the bottom of the stairs while he was doing this, with my heart going thump thump very loudly.

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

The number of shows on TV he can watch without getting upset is getting smaller and smaller. These shows, in order, are now out: Super Why (that was the first to go), Dora the Explorer, Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Club House, Winnie the Pooh, and, this one, which he just got into not too long ago, is still touch and go: Blue's Clues. He also recently started watching Veggie Tales, but there are scenes that make him really upset. A new one for him is Sesame Street, so far, so good; he's in love with Elmo, but I can be fairly certain that relationship is going to deteriorate quickly. The one that he likes that seems to cause the fewest problems for him: Tom and Jerry. Really, though, he doesn't watch much TV with "his shows. " He takes note of the games shows his brothers watch, NASCAR, and most recently, Monster Trucks. Matt and I watch that together in the mornings at 7. It's actually quite entertaining...for now.

Success!

Maybe it was something in the air yesterday...just like Ian, Evan had a major accomplishment yesterday!

Evan went poop in the toilet yesterday!

I have to say, the day definitely didn't look like it was going to head in that direction. He had diarrhea--3 times before noon--and, well, I won't write the details on that. But, because of that, I thought we were going to take a day off of potty training.

In the evening, though, because it had been a while since the diarrhea, I put the training underwear back on. Although he's been doing fairly well with keeping them dry, he wet in them. So, I brought him to the bathroom to get him out of the wet stuff, and I put him on the toilet and asked him if he needed to do more...often when he does go in the underwear, it's not a lot. I put him on the toilet, and he started pushing! And out it came...he pushed some more...and out more came...and again!!! I was sooooo proud of him!

The potty training is going better than I expected. I'm thankful that I'm home this summer to be able to work on this...it is a full time job!

Its Gonna Take Time

Day 4 potty training: Actually, a better name would be "getting accustomed to the fact that someday he will be using the toilet on a regular basis." But I guess potty training is much shorter and easier to say.

He's doing fairly well with it. I've decided to use the underwear instead of the pull-ups so that he notices a difference. Of course, diapers/pull-ups are used for sleeping and out of the house trips. I'll also use them for days when we may need to take a break. This isn't anything that I'm thinking has to be accomplished soon; I'll realize

Its gonna take time

A whole lot of precious time

Its gonna take patience and time

(anybody recognize the lyrics? I've been singing them quite frequently throughout this process).

In the beginning, I was met with some resistance to the idea, but now he seems to be starting to "get it." When I ask him if he needs to go, I either get, "No!" or his hand on his stomach as he says,

"Peaz" while trotting towards the bathroom.

Sometimes, if it's been a while and he doesn't respond with either, I make the decision that it's time.

The biggest reward for him is being able to put toilet paper into the toilet---little pieces at a time. He has been accompanying me to the restroom for at least a year now--he's quite insistent on it--I sometimes have to sneak in so he doesn't know I'm in there. During the trips when he is with me, he feels it necessary to get the toilet paper for me. Thanks, but it's usually--okay, never--enough.

Anyway, when he's on the toilet, I let him get a couple of pieces to put in the toilet, and then he's not allowed to have more until he goes. Also, while he's sitting there, I use the power of suggestion. I point and say, "Wow, look, here comes the pee-pee!" He then looks, and makes it come out! And now that I'm doing that, I DO remember saying that with the boys when they were going through potty training.

Now, the number 2's, I don't know how we're going to get that accomplished...his are so loose.

I Think He Can, I Think He Can...

My first day of summer vacation was yesterday! Hooray! I thought I'd feel so wonderful when that day came, but really, I felt completely exhausted all day yesterday--not a way to start vacation. I think it was a combination of just plain winding down, and the fact that the day before when I was cleaning my classroom, the overhead abruptly slid from my hands (I had grabbed it by a compartment that opens--oops) and hit me in the temple...ouch. Really, ouch. There was a little swelling right away, but that went away with some ice, and the bruise/red mark left is very small.

I feel so much better today and ready for the break. Sooo, I decided that today would be the day to start potty training. What!!?? Yeah, we'll see how it goes. I think I've typed these words before---I DON'T REMEMBER POTTY TRAINING THE BOYS. It's so bizarre, because I DO remember potty training Chel--it was right before she turned two. I remember the little potty chair, setting it in the kitchen, and giving her M&M's for rewards. I know the boys were potty trained when they were 3, and that once Matt was trained during the day, he never had an accident during the night, and that when Kyle was around 6 or 7, I told him he wasn't going to wear diapers to bed anymore (even though they were wet every morning), and from that night on, he never wet the bed. But that's it. I'm guessing it wasn't easy, but maybe like childbirth, I've forgotten just how "painful" it was. lol

Day one with Evan:

I put the thick, big boy underwear on him this morning after he woke up around 7:30.

Around 8:30, I started taking him to the bathroom every half an hour. He protested, but the Elmo potty seat helped distract him a bit.

I poured the warm water.

Nothing...until 11:00....he clapped, smiled; I clapped, smiled. And I thought to myself, "Look how long he can stay dry-- 3 and a half hours!" Well, no. First, he didn't drink very much in the morning.

To sum up the next hour, he went pee 3 or 4 times---the first unscheduled time he had taken off the underwear, and I saw him looking down there. As soon as I saw a single drop, I said "no" and rushed him to the toilet. He went a little. He then went a couple more times--a little each time--in big boy underwear. Sigh.

We'll see how it goes. I definitely don't want this summer to become a stressful time. I'm thinking I'll buy some pull-ups to take some of the pressure off of following him around, although I'm fairly certain he won't want to keep those on.

Besides the fact that I'm on summer vacation,

part of my reasoning for doing this is that he doesn't like to keep a diaper on...especially when he goes to bed. I have to put the diaper on, a pair of underwear over that, and then a onesie to keep him from taking it off. And during the day, he'll often take it off right after he wets in it, or like the other day, poops in it.

~~~~~~

It's been absolutely lovely having Chelsey home for the past month. In just a short time, she has taught Evan where his hair, ears, nose, teeth, eyes, belly button, elbows, fingers, knees, toes, and "tooshy" are! After we ask him where they are, he'll point to them and then say them fairly clearly.

His favorite is his tooshy.

He gets on his hands and feet, sticks his tooshy up in the air, and says "tooshy." So funny. Sometimes when we ask, he starts to point to the wrong body part, but then catches himself and corrects himself. Funny again. Yesterday, I grabbed the camera to try to record this, but he had been doing it a while, so his "performance" was a bit week. I'll try again when he's refreshed.