4th of July Weekend

We had a great time over the July 4th weekend. We spent 5 days with Kirk’s family in Delta, CO and attended the Cherry/Porterfield (Kirk’s mom’s side) family reunion. It was great visiting with everyone including those we haven’t seen since our wedding almost 11 years ago. Sarah had a blast with her cousins Ann Marie and Maura along with their doggies Sophie and Angel. She still talks about the doggies to this day. Kirk was able to get on the Gunnison with his dad and cousin for fishing too! It was a blast.

We were able to finally retrieve the Cessna after it being out of commission with the annual and prop refurbish. We got it just in time for our Vegas trip this weekend without the kiddo.

Kirk and the boys - cousins Matt and Chris.

Water fight! There were many squirt gun fights during the weekend with Ann Marie, Maura, daddy and cousin Chris.

Maura reading "Robert the Rose Horse" to Sarah. Sarah enjoying peas right out of the garden. Sarah was able to pick the first cherry tomato from Papa's garden. Playing with the doggies.

Sinus Upate

I went to an ENT/allergy doctor in Durango for a second opinion. His thoughts - no surgery. Instead, let's do allergy testing come late fall to determine what gets me in the spring. From that we can start allergy treatments. If I start to develop a cold or sinus problem, then it's steroid time along with a major saline flush with this Nalgene type bottle he gave me. That's going to be fun. Then if it gets worse, we will try an antibiotic flush. (never knew that existed) If allergies are the culprit the surgery won't do any good. So I think for now, the surgery option is being put on the shelf alongside my tuck and new boobs. :-)

Decisions...decisions

I had to post these pictures just because I think they are so neat. No, they are not pictures of a future Johnson but of my head. I went to a Ear Nose Throat doctor in May after getting sick of dealing with recurring sinus infections. After spraying stuff up my nose and then shoving a long scope up to my eyeballs (not fun by the way and totally not expected!), the doctor suggested I get a CT scan. So I did just that and went for my follow-up last week. I have a deviated septum which you can see in the pictures. I also have some mucus layer building up in my sinuses and the drain holes are blocked which explains why I get infections easy. So I have two options...1. spray steroid in my nose from now until ?? or 2. get sinus surgery. They would fix my septum, make the sinus drain holes larger and clean out the thick layer of mucus. The issue with the surgery is it's surgery. It requires that I go under for the hour long procedure. I freaked immediately and told the doctor I'd talk it over with Kirk. I have an appointment with another doctor in Durango after the July 4th holiday for a second opinion. You know, it makes me wonder that if I went under for a nose repair, why not make it worth the anesthesia and get a tuck, suck and my boobs back. ha!

Just Dance

I finally pulled some video off the camera and had to post this gem. This is Sarah pre-potty training rocking out to Lady Gaga while sitting at the computer. Too cute!

Happy Daddy's Day!

We had a nice daddy's day celebration. It started last week when a shipment of Alaskan halibut and salmon arrived from 10th and M Seafood in Anchorage. We were missing good fish so I ordered a box of treats. We enjoyed swimming at the Durango Rec Center followed by a great lunch at Steamworks Brewery yesterday. Kirk was able to go fishing on Saturday and enjoy the sunshine (along with the afternoon down pour). I was registered to run the Steamworks Half Marathon on Saturday in Durango but sold my slot Friday night to a person on the wait list since I was battling a head cold, smokers cough and laryngitis to boot. So, I'll have to shelf participating in a half marathon for a later date. But I did get out for a 5 mile run on Saturday morning regardless of the head/chest crud.

I'm happy to report that potty training is going really well both at home and at daycare. The trainer pants are nice and aren't too bulky so that helps while at daycare. She's had one accident in the past two weeks at daycare and a clean slate at home for quite a while. So, I think we have this one in the bag.

Slowly but surely

The potty training saga continues but we are slowly gaining on it. Sarah is doing tons better at home and also managed through a doctors visit without an accident. As expected, daycare poses a different challenge. Monday was difficult for the both of us. She wasn't too interested in seeing mama leave and had a couple of accidents during the day. I wasn't too keen on leaving her either after talking to the teachers and daycare director regarding their limitations with potty training. But the teachers are being helpful, one in particular. I think she is willing to help because she has little ones herself. Sarah is the only one in the room right now in big girl panties. The rest of the class consists of one girl and the remainder are boys. All are in diapers. But I did witness something neat when I picked her up today. After she finished going potty as I was coming in, a little boy then wanted to follow her and sit on the potty. That's great! She still has an accident on occasion but it's usually when she is outside playing and becomes distracted. Or she has a hard time getting her panties down before sitting on the potty and gets wet.

The main limitation of the daycare is they are required by state law to contain all human bodily fluids especially with not have anything in the common play areas. So, no accidents where the other kiddos can frolic. I found an item call PODs for potty training kids on the internet on Monday. It's basically a panty liner for potty training kids. After reading some of the reviews by moms about the product, the majority suggested to save your money and purchase regular women's panty liners. So, that is what Sarah has in her pants while at daycare. It helps contain any leaks but still lets her know she is wet. In the meantime, I've ordered trainer pants that are very close to regular undies. We will see how those work out for daycare and long car trips.

For my friends who read this blog and potty training your little one (who may also be in daycare) is still on the horizon, here is some advice.

1. Do try the 3-day program. I think if anything it reinforces that you as the parent need to be as nurturing as possible during the potty training process.

2. Talk to your daycare. After having discussions with friends both in Anchorage and Houston, it sounds like the BP daycare centers got it together. However, it doesn't hurt to get on the same page and also figure out what is needed to help the process for both kiddo and teacher.

3. Plan ahead. The thing I wish I did was get cotton trainer pants just in case. I did buy a pack of Pull-ups before we started mostly as a security blanket but they are still sealed and setting on the closet shelf. I don't think I'll ever use them. But perhaps the organic cotton trainers might work. We shall see.

4. Don't get discouraged. I've had many people talk me from the ledge this past week or so. Thank you!

There you have it. Other than potty training, life is good in the Johnson house. I have a half marathon next weekend in Durango which I haven't been hard core training for so we will see how that works out. Then we are off to Delta, CO for a family reunion the last week of June/4th of July.

Come on Potty Train...whoo whoo!

All aboard the potty train! It's been one heck of a few days here at the Johnson's. What a way to burn vacation time, right? Well it wasn't a nice sunny day on the beach drinking fruity beverages with small umbrellas. But I wanted 5 solid uninterrupted days of mommy and me potty training time. We are still in the midst of potty training boot camp - extreme love edition. We are now on day 5 of the "100% guaranteed" 3-day training program (as advertised by the author of the book that our friends shared with us). I can only say that for the most part, our experience was pretty darn close to that of the Yancey family.

Before I begin with a small recap of the experience to date, I'd like to thank Kristin, Katie and my sister-in-law for the encouraging words and sharing lessons learned. Thanks!

Day 1 - Wed

The day started well with getting Sarah excited to wear her new big girl princess panties after breakfast. For the next several days, all she will wear is a t-shirt and panties. I've also been a broken record in repeating over and over that she should tell mommy when she needed to go potty. And for every successful capture in the toilet, she would get a couple of jelly beans. For the first day, it's like talking to the wall. As Kristin and Katie had to explain to me, your precious child up to this point in life had free reign on going whenever in their diapers. There wasn't anyone trying to convince them otherwise for two years up until now. So there was a lot of clean up, wet panties and startled looks as the pee trickled down her leg. We did manage, however, to contain all BMs in the potty. I watched Sarah like a hawk the entire day as instructed in the program. I would wait for the concerned poopy face and knew there was little time in getting the gift in the toilet versus, well you know where I'm going. She also woke up dry from her nap. Whenever we would get the slightest bit of anything in the toilet, we would praise like those way over the top college cheerleaders you see on TV. And, follow the praise up with jelly beans. The end of Day 1 couldn't come soon enough.

Day 2 - Thurs

I started at 3:45am when I went to check on Sarah to find she was wet in bed. That's part my fault because I felt bad about Day 1 being so difficult that I let her have the usual amount of pre-bed water which is a bunch. I planned ahead and had her sleep on one of those mattress covers that go over the mattress pad. I just put that on top of the sheet. So, it was easy to pull that off the bed and get her changed into new clothing. I also sat her on the toilet for a whole 20 seconds before she claimed "done". Day 2 seemed more frustrating than ever for both Sarah and I. We had one success right after lunch when she ran up to me and said "mama potty" and all the pee ended up in the toilet. Hallelujah!! She also had a dry nap. But from that point until 5pm, nothing else made it in the toilet. She was done with being a big girl in big girl panties and wanted to revert to being a baby with diapers. But at 5pm, while we were playing she had the half panic poopy face then said "poop". We were able to get the adult size gift in the toilet and offer a HUGE amount of praise right as Kirk walked in from work. This is when I also started the potty sticker chart to up the ante in addition to the jelly beans. We had one sticker out of four needed to get the first fairy doll because she a. told me it was coming and b. the deposit made it in the toilet. That was big. Oh, fairies are the favorite now including the "Tinker Bell" movie which is super cute.

Day 3 - Fri

We started with a dry bed because the water input was cut down to a minimum beforehand! We were off to a good start. At this point, I knew she was starting to get the point somewhat at least in verbally communicating that she had to go. Unfortunately, timing is everything. There was little to no forewarning. She would come up to me and say "mama poop" (*poop during the exercise to date = all bodily releases from down under) But as she was telling me, the pee was trickling. How do you explain to a 2 year old on day 3 of potty training the concept of forewarning? I'm still trying to figure it out. So the morning was full of accidents but another dry nap. After a long nap (not normal for Sarah), I knew she had to go. She had the look but was refusing to the highest. So I offered her two M&Ms to sit on the potty. She reluctantly sat down, enjoyed her M&M's while I read "Olivia Saves the Circus". Not two pages in did you hear the beautiful sound of liquid hitting the potty. And at this point, we moved from using the toilet attachment on the adult toilet to using the small kid potty Kirk's dad made for Sarah. Life was good. This got her a sticker. So 2 stickers down, 2 more to go. Later in the evening, she was on a roll. She came to me and said "mama poop", we made it to the toilet and she pee'd no problemo. Another sticker! Then after a while, she came to me again, said "mama poop" and deposited her BM right in the toilet. Hallelujah! She got 3 jelly beans, got to tell Kirk's parents on the phone and earned the 4th sticker which meant the big prize. Drum roll please....she got a Tinker Bell doll! Life was really good and Sarah was on cloud nine. The doll never left her sight. We had to put Tinker Bell in a special water proof cup in order for her to enjoy bath time. I was beside myself and drank 2.5 glasses of wine that night.

Day 4 - Sat

Another dry bed in the morning! It seemed the running streak from the previous night took a break and we were back to the lack of forewarning in time to contain all the liquid. We did have one success mid-morning. She had another dry nap and post nap I did the M&M sit on the potty convincing routine with success. She told us about needing to go poo in time to collect the gift and earn another sticker towards the next fairy doll.

Day 5 - Sun (today)

Another dry bed in the morning. She refused to go potty after breakfast though was looking suspicious. I was trying to give her space without physically picking her up to go sit on the potty. However, we are still challenged in the forewarning arena. While cleaning up, Kirk and I repeated that pee was yukky and made her help wipe the floor (OK, before you think of us as ogres, she held a clean paper towel and wiped down a clean spot on the tile floor). The past two successes so far today involved me saying I had to go but needed Sarah to show me where the potty was and sit with me. Both times we both went successfully. More jelly beans! Now if we get through nap, after nap and the evening poo with no accidents, she will have earned the next fairy doll. My brother and sister-in-law (parents of three kids) had to reiterate to me this morning that she is 2, is trying to figure it out, I should be happy with the progress to date and nothing in life is a guarantee including a 3-day potty training program. Give it another couple of weeks.... In the meantime, I'm looking forward getting out in the public with my daughter once again at a place farther from the mailbox down the street.

We tried to spice it up around here since we are stuck at the house. I piled Sarah and all her critters in a basket and pulled them around the house.

But being the process driven engineer, it's hard to do that sometimes. Now, our next hurdle is putting Sarah back in daycare tomorrow. I'm afraid that the progress made to date will be lost or become handicapped. They told me before we left last week that they wanted to put her in a diaper at nap time because "they only wash linens once a week". I told them absolutely NO DIAPERS will touch my child's body. I will do the daily laundry and bring tons of clothing plus spare linens. I will also replace the cot if in anyway it becomes damaged by my child in the coming weeks. Sigh. The saga continues...