Virginia Beach in the Fall

We kicked off our trip to Virginia Beach with a stop at Jackson's Great-Aunt Lil's house!  Jackson had a good nap in the car and then we had a nice visit with Lil and some yummy snacks :)  Jackson also got this super-cute apron while we were there--perfect in which for him to carry his tools!

We left Lil's and drove about 45 minutes to the beach, checked into our hotel, Doubletree Virginia Beach, and then headed to find some dinner.  We ate at Qdoba and then ran next door to pick up a few groceries to keep in the room.  

The next morning we headed down to the beach!!!  Jackson was so excited to finally get to the actual beach and to get to play in the sand!  Our hotel was not beachfront--it was about a mile from the beach :(  We went ahead and walked it this first day, but scoped out the parking situation as we walked.  We ended up finding an excellent little FREE spot to park in the rest of the days :)  Jackson got right to work with his bucket and shovel.  He had NO interest in going in the water :(  

 I checked out a bunch of books about the beach before our trip, and Jackson loved reading about making sandcastles, so he was thrilled to have Daddy help him build a few!

 We also built a road for Jackson's little trucks to drive down!

 After playing at the beach for a bit we walked down the boardwalk to play at the playground at Neptune's Park.  Jackson LOVED that!  We walked back to the hotel...and had no nap :(  We did spend the afternoon at the pool before just hanging out in the room for the rest of the evening.  Jackson ate some dinner and Josh and I ordered pizza from this pizza place we found a couple of years ago that has yummy pizza and delicious garlic knots!  

Since Jackson had gone to bed late Sunday night, woken up early Monday morning, not napped Monday afternoon, and spent lots of time in the pool and outside, this was how stories before bed ended (at 6:55pm):

On Tuesday morning we took Jackson bowling for the first time!  We went to an AMF lane, and it was GREAT!  Jackson LOVED it!  He and Josh were mostly bowling buddies--they were such a cute team!  We did use bumpers, but Jackson beat me in each game...

 We used a Groupon for two hours of bowling, and Jackson only petered out at the tail end.  BUT, we got to use this awesome dinosaur slide helper:

 Jackson really got a kick out of being able to bowl more on his own!

 Due to the no nap situation on Monday and Jackson not sleeping well at all the first two nights, we decided Jackson has outgrown the Pack-n-Play!  What a sad story (and inconvenient time to discover it...) :(  We just bit the bullet and laid him down for his nap in the second big bed in our room!  He fell asleep and did great!!! We were SOOO proud of him!!!  He slept in his own bed for the rest of the trip.  He did fall out once each night, but didn't seem traumatized...

 After his great Big Boy Nap, we went to the beach in the afternoon.  I forgot what a beautiful time of day it is to be at the beach!  This time we drove to our newly discovered parking spot and walked to the part of the beach near the fun playground Jackson liked so much the day before.  This worked out great because Jackson could go back and forth between the playground and the beach, and Josh and I just had to settle our stuff once.  

We went back to the hotel, got Jackson cleaned up, and then we walked a few blocks down the street to Beach Bully BBQ--SOOO good!  We LOVED our food, and the atmosphere was pretty cute too!

On Wednesday morning we went to the pool at the hotel before Josh got ready to go golfing!  Jackson and I hung around the hotel--playing with trucks and reading books in the lobby--until it was naptime.  Once nap was over and Josh was back, we headed to the playground we discovered last year: Grommet Island.  Jackson had fun, but it was more fun last year when he had a playmate :(

 A big storm was rolling in as we left the playground!  We managed to get through dinner and back to the hotel before it really started pouring!  I must admit we went back to Beach Bully BBQ for dinner because it was THAT good!!!  

 On Thursday I redeemed one of my favorite Hanukkah presents from this past year: 24 Hours Off-Duty While at the Beach!!!  I wanted to spend the day with Josh and Jackson, but not be in charge of the routine aspects...or the chasing... ;)  We all headed to the beach and Jackson and Josh alternated between the playground and the sand while I relaxed in my beach chair with a book :)  It was heaven!  We even got to see a bunch of dolphins playing out in the ocean!  After a good naptime, we went to the pool before getting ready to go down and eat dinner at Max & Erma's (the restaurant in our hotel).  We had a yummy and relaxing dinner before heading to the boardwalk for a nice walk and some more play time at the playground.  Jackson was the most excited about making sandcastles before we got to the beach, but the playground at Neptune's Park was definitely his favorite thing!  After playing at the playground, we went back to Max & Erma's for dessert--they have an all you can eat ice cream sundae bar!!!

 Clearly, we all enjoyed THAT!

Friday was our last day :(  We went to the playground in the morning and then Josh took Jackson to the pool while I finished up packing.  Jackson was pretty tired out, so we ended up eating an early lunch and hitting the road a bit earlier than we had planned.  

We had SUCH a good time--these fall trips to the beach are SO nice!  I really liked the Sunday-Friday schedule we were on.  The hotel was busy, but not overly so.  I didn't feel like Jackson was a nuisance if we wanted to hang out in the lobby or anything, so it was relaxing to just hang out there.  We still prefer to stay beachfront since our favorite thing is walking on the boardwalk, but this was a good lesson to learn in the fall rather than the summer...

Boardwalk on Dwellable

Potty Training Update

Jackson is doing AWESOME!!!  We are officially declaring him day trained :)  I was pretty frustrated at the beginning of last week.  He didn't have many accidents, but he also was holding his pee all morning!  I just couldn't find the feeling of success I had expected in that.  Everything came to a head on Wednesday when Jackson and I were out and about a lot, and he had a big accident in his carseat :(  It was my fault because we were in the car for so long and not at home enough.  But, I just felt very frustrated at that point.  I really was convinced I had started too early and even though Jackson really WANTED to go on the potty, he just wasn't ready : ( On Thursday, however, he started speaking up when he had to go potty, and he went on the potty almost every time he said he had to go!!!  I was SOOO excited!!!  He has just continued on that way since :D


The big test was Sunday when we were in Annapolis for the day (more on that coming later).  There would be no break for a nap with a diaper, and we would be out and about with only public restrooms at our disposal.  Jackson did great!  He stayed dry all the way to Annapolis, and then he told us a few times during the day when he needed to go.  He went each and every time we took a potty break!  He isn't the least big phased/scared of public restrooms!  YAY!  


Jackson is super proud of himself too!  That is a really fabulous thing to see :)  Last week he seemed to have a love/hate relationship with his Big Boy Undies.  SOOO excited in the beginning, then he would protest putting them on each time a bit, and now he asks for them all the time!!!


We are just so proud of Jackson--he is getting so big!

Potty Training!!!

BACKGROUND

I really hadn't decided on a certain time when I would work on potty-training Jackson.  I do believe boys take a bit longer and that potty training is the most successful when the child is ready!!!  That being said, Jackson has been showing HUGE interest in the potty for the past few months.  I will admit that I succumbed to some peer pressure (there was none placed on me, I just got caught up in the potty frenzy), when some friends with older children were really working on potty routines.  I bought a potty chair a while ago (around when Jackson was 18 months, maybe?) and he was terrified of it!  At that point I had had a few conversations with friends about potty chair vs. just starting on the big potty, and there were definitely mixed beliefs.  A bit later I decided to capitalize on Jackson's love of Elmo and buy a potty ring to go on the big potty.  That worked like a charm, and Jackson no longer was scared of the potty, but liked to sit on it and read books!  Excellent!  We did that for a while whenever he was interested, but he never did anything while on the toilet.  Fast forward to February when Brandi took a weekend and used 3-Day Potty Training with Kaitlyn.  After a few times of observing KK using the potty and getting turns on it at both her house and Rachel's house, Jackson started talking about the potty more!  He started talking about trying to put his peepee in the potty and he was super interested in flushing, washing his hands, and watching Josh and I go to the bathroom.  (We would even receive praise sometimes!)  So, I decided that after our two-week trip to Evanston, I would try the three day thing...  I know Jackson's emotionally ready and really excited, so I figured we'd take that and run with it!  Here is our story:

T-Minus Two Days
Jackson and Mommy go to Target to pick out special Big Boy Undies and yummy drinks!!!

T-Minus One Day
Mommy washes new undies!

Day One
We woke up, got dressed, and ate breakfast.  Then I brought out all the Big Boy Undies so Jackson could choose his first pair!  He put on his undies and we prepared to hang around the house :)  The idea behind this specific program is you put your child in underwear, stay as close to them as possible for the three days, and catch them in the act of having an accident to take them to the bathroom.  You praise them for staying dry, telling you when they have to go, and when they actually go in the potty!  I was SO nervous approaching this first day!  My stomach was literally sick :(  I just didn't know what to expect.  So, Jackson had on his Big Boy Undies, had a special vanilla milkbox to drink, and we just went with it.  In the first couple hours he had about five accidents.  We rushed into the bathroom each time and then changed his undies.  Jackson definitely did not like the feeling of pee running down his legs, and definitely let me know!  After the first few accidents, Jackson protested putting new undies on, but I pushed for him to wear them.  Then I remembered that lots of people swear by the naked approach.  So, I didn't push him to put his undies on, and just let him go bottomless.  Once we had that established, we had a successful bathroom visit!  I was SOOO excited!  There were literally tears in my eyes!  LOL  I think he had had two milkboxes and two juiceboxes by naptime...  Right before naptime I caught him right before he had to go and he had a nie, long pee in the potty!  YAY!  I decided I'm focusing on daytime dryness first.  We have gotten into a great sleep routine, and Jackson is a very heavy sleeper.  I just don't think we need to stress ourselves or him out about waking up to go potty while he sleeps at this point.  At naptime I explained to Jackson how proud I was of him, but that staying dry while we sleep is a little trickier, so we are going to keep wearing diapers at nap and bedtime.  He totally just went with it!  So, he had a nice, long nap, and we picked up where we left off after naptime.  I must admit I was feeling pretty good at naptime.  Because Jackson and I communicated so well right before, I was kind of hoping the feeling of having to pee had clicked.  I think I was a little ahead of myself...  I continued to pump him full of liquids and ask him to check if he was dry continuously.  He did really great!  He stayed pretty dry and then had another successful potty visit around dinner time.  He was REALLY proud of himself after he got so much praise from us :)  That was pretty awesome to see!  All in all, Day One was a success!

Day Two
When Jackson woke up I immediately put him in Big Boy Undies and got him dressed.  Jackson had slept pretty late and Brandi was dropping off KK and Liam soon, so Jackson and I hurried over to Target to restock our yummy drink supply!  He did awesome and got such a kick out of checking to see if he was still dry--he was our whole outing!  I know it was just luck since he hadn't had anything to drink, but a success is a success for him!  Thursday morning was a bit harried with all the kids, but that's my fault for thinking I could still concentrate on Jackson as much as I needed to :(  I was pretty frustrated with myself for not getting us on as smooth of a path as the first day, but that's ok!  I continued to pump Jackson full of liquids this day and tell him often, "Just let Mommy know if you need to go potty!"  I did determine that if we can actually get an answer out of him to whether or not he has to go to the bathroom, it is an accurate answer.  That's good to know!  LOL  Thursday was a beautiful day!  I really wanted to get outside to enjoy the weather, so I chanced it and took Jackson out to play after naptime.  We took our drinks and Jackson rode his trike, played with bubbles, and drove his Cozy Coupe.  He did awesome staying dry and then told me he had to go potty!  He didn't actually do anything once we got in the bathroom, but I was so happy to was starting to think about telling me.  Right around dinner time, Jackson started towards the stairs and asked for a diaper!  It dawned on me that he had to poop!  So I excitedly rushed him to the bathroom and he had an awesome potty experience in all ways (I'll just leave it at that)!  I was pleased to see him peeing a lot at once since I had started to worry on the first day that he didn't know how to empty his whole bladder which would leave us with lots of small experiences and more chances for accidents.  We were so proud of him!!!  By this time of the whole program, I could tell it was tiring him out!  Poor guy! It's hard work to learn how to do this!

Day Three
On Friday, I changed Jackson into Big Boy Undies and we went down and ate breakfast.  He drank two milkboxes and half a juicebox and still hadn't peed by noon!!!  I couldn't believe it!  I had diligently been asking him if he had to go, reminding him to tell me, and asking him if he was dry.  Finally around noon, he started to have an accident, but we caught it in time and most of it went in the potty!!!  WOO HOO!!!  We left at that point to run a quick errand at Walmart (stayed dry the whole time!), and then we came back home for naptime.  Friday afternoon we took a walk after naptime (stayed dry the whole time!) and hung out at home.  Before we left to go to a neighbor's house for dinner, I demonstrated how we should go potty before we leave the house.  Jackson went after me and he got a whole pee in the toilet!  True, I initiated that one (you are supposed to let the child tell you when they need to go and not remind them constantly), but I consider that a success :)  While we were at our neighbors' Jackson did have one accident, but it was later than he's usually up, he was super busy playing, and he's still very new at this!  

CONCLUSION
I'm still a little nervous that I started this too early.  Maybe Jackson was emotionally ready, but not really physically...  But, we are going to keep on trucking!  As demonstrated Friday morning, he has a pretty strong bladder, so that's a great foundation!  We just need to get him to tell us when he's ready to go, but that will come.  So, I think we are in a good place with Jackson and what we want to accomplish.  In terms of this specific method, eh.  I didn't feel any connection with the author as I read it, and I know she has tons of success stories, but there are  an awful lot of generalizations about what ALL children can be expected to do.  It definitely works for some people, but we are still tailoring it to our needs.  My goal now is to get our lives back in our routine where we aren't staying home drinking ridiculous amounts of liquid, and to see how it works in "real life."  I will carry extra clothes with me for a while, probably, but I think Jackson is definitely on the right track, and we are SOOO proud of him!!!