Potty diaries

I decided last week to start potty training again since I am feeling much better lately and would love for it to be done before the next one arrives. It is getting really difficult to get up and down for diaper changes now that I am getting big.

So last week I started to keep a log of when Benjamin had a wet diaper and his behaviors concerning going potty. Then a few days later I took off the diaper and shorts and he was nakie. I set his little potty in the middle of the living room and re-introduced him to what the potty was. We also bought big boy undies so he can go into public and not have to wear a diaper.

I tried to make him sit and go, but there was no success with that. So I sort of gave up trying to make him and after his nap he sat on the potty and went all by himself! We praised the heck out of him and he kept up the habit. He gets a marshmallow every time he goes in the potty. He likes the praise and the reward. We have figured out that if it is his idea, he will go no problem. When we force him to sit and say "Ok go potty," he doesn't. So now our process is he goes when HE knows he has to go and then he comes and tells us proudly.

Yesterday he slept through his nap dry, but he woke up this morning wet. All night is a little harder, so we will work on that too. I started to put a diaper on him when he sleeps, but then I found out it confuses them. They think they can go in them, and it confuses them. So I haven't put a diaper on him in over a day. He has had accidents, but he is learning. My mom said I didn't like waking up wet and learned after one accident, but I was a girl and heard they are much easier. We shall see.

I think what we will do next is take his potty with us to the store and practice going while out of the house, and wearing undies at home and pulling them down to go. I usually take a clean pair of undies and a change of pants with us in a zip lock bag in case he has an accident.

Does anyone have any ideas of how they did potty training in public? I feel like he has got it down at home, but has trouble with the big potties at the store.

Color week

I went on a little mini vavation this last weekend to Utah for my good friend Ally's wedding. WHile I was there I had so much fun. I also was able to see a bunch of friends that I went to highschool with in South Dakota. So much fun!!! Anyways, I really missed my boys. It is so good to be home.

While I was gone, Daniel was with Ben. He noticed that he was really whiny like he was bored a lot. So I decided to start school with him. I looked up a bunch of cites and am starting really simple both for his sake and mine. So this week is color week. We are learning all about colors and doind different projects and lessons with colors.

Yesterday we painted and colored with crayons. We talked about the colors he used and what happened when you combine them. We used different techniques with the hand and fingers. He really likes paints. Then we moved onto crayons and this is where we really talked about the different colors.

Last night I had to prepare a little for todays lesson. We started with four ice cubes and each had one drop of food coloring. Red, yellow, blue and green were the ones I had. This morning I put the yellow and red together and blue and green where in their own baggies. I put a few clear ice cubes in also so he could see that change. I talked about the different colors and the tempereature of the cubes. We used our warm hands to melt the cubes. It was fun to watch the color cubes leak their tint to the clear ones. The baggie with yellow and red made orange by the end, so we could see the colors combine. Then for a snack today Ben had a popsicle that I made from apple juice. So there we introduced a color and temperature. Ben had a lot of fun with this activity and kept trying to eat the ice! Oh and we watched a baby signing time that included opposites of hot and cold, so it was fresh in his mind for the activity today.

Tomorrow we will be going outside and discovering the many colors and textures with nature. I am so excited for this new adventure of planning and teaching Ben new things. Everyday we use flash cards of the alphabet to help Ben learn the name and sign of each letter.

Prayers

Our little family would really appreciate your prayers. We are going through a rough transition with Daniels work. This is a really humbling time for us, and is taking a lot of faith to not to give into worry. I can't give a lot of detail now, but will after it has passed. Please just keep us in mind and in your hearts!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Hamman Herald

A family newsletter May 2010

Daniel - Travolta on skates

Daniel has developed a unrequited love for skating. He has introduced Benjamin to this fun experience, and Ben LOVES it. The smallest skate size they have is 8, so they are a little big for Benny, but he still enjoys it. Daniel goes almost every weekend and takes his brothers with him.

Daniel has had some pretty big changes lately. He has decided to change jobs. This great opportunity fell into Daniels lap and he decided to go for it. He started yesterday and he says he has his work cut out for him. Lots of improvements he can help with. He now works for a company called Morell Hospitality. They supply water for the United States military, but they also own a hotel called The Lodge of the Ozarks. It is a full service hotel, meaning they have a restaurant, convention center, etc. He is the Front Desk manager. He is super excited and motivated to work for this company. I am excited for the salary and benefits.

Benjamin is growing up so fast!

We went to a play place last week and they had a really steep, scary, dark slide. I went up there with him and before I could get ready, he was hanging by his fingers, dangling down the slid. I thought I needed to save him, but he smiled and let go! He giggled the whole way down the slide! I was so surprised Ben actually went down all by himself! SO he continued to do this over and over again. I thought to myself, “Yes! I can sit down and relax now,” and then quickly thought,”Oh no! My baby is growing up and doesn't need me any more.” Good thing I have another on the way to fill that void.

Ben has contracted some illness that creates huge amounts of green goop that creeps out of his nose and eyes. I am continually wiping his face. He woke up yesterday with a little cough and produced a fever later on. By the end of the day the green goop had made an appearance. I spent the whole day on the couch comforting and soothing him. By the time he went to bed I was exhausted. He woke up this morning with one eye fused shut with this green goop which had solidified into green crusties. I flushed his eyes to his discomfort and they seem to be ok for now. Poor Benny. Today he looks like someone drew a line down his face and one side looks like me and one side looks like Daniel. Do you remember a song from when you were little about John's mom is Chinese, John's dad is Japanese...poor John, because he got one eye that points up and one that points down. This reminds me of Ben.

Prom is the bomb!

I have been feeling wonderful lately so I stay really busy. I am half way through the pregnancy and am so excited to welcome another baby boy. I belong to this group called MOPS. It is Moms Of PreSchoolers. We get together once a month and socialize and have speakers. This last Tuesday was the last one for the year so it was a Prom. I cannot fit into my prom dress due to a little bump, so a friend of mine, Claire, bought be this dress at a half-of-half store for $6. I loved it! We had so much fun and I can't wait till next year!

Photo of Brittany and Aimee...due the same time.

Recently I finished a quiet book for my cousin. It took me 6 months to finish...there was a few months of couch confinement due to morning sickness. I recently gave it to her and I now have to start one for Ben! It turned out really cute! The front page is a tree with tons of textured leaves. The second page is a barn with finger puppet farm animals. There is a pig, chicken and horse. The page that it accompanies is a garden with vegetables that you can pick out of the ground. Lettuce, carrots, radish and egg plant. The next two pages are sports themed. One is a baseball that you can take off and put back, and the other is a football that you can lace up. The

next page is a magnet page. One is an under the sea where you can place sea creatures any where and the other is a sail boat you move along the water. The next page is a pick nick basket with a blanket and you pull out utensils and set the table. The next one is a telephone with a pull off receiver. The next one is a robot with stretchy arms and legs and a spaceship that blasts off to the moon. The last two pages are a mailbox with letters to Ethan, the little boy, and a zippered pocket with sock puppets.

How garage sales save my life

Growing up my mom would buy everything for us kids at garage sales. We lived in the mecca for garage sales, so it was smart and cheap to do. I loved going when I was a teenager. It was the thrill of the hunt. I loved to get deals on clothes and shoes in particular.

Now that I am a mother, and on a strict budget, I find garage sales fit the mold. I have never bought Benjamin an outfit at the store. I have never paid more than a dollar for a shirt, shorts, pants, or shoes. I do splurge and buy the occasional church outfit for $3, but that is as far as it goes for Ben. Now that I am having another boy, I don't have to buy any clothes or toys. I will have to buy a stroller for two and a swing that plugs into an outlet, but because I use garages sales, I can afford to buy one or two nice things I really need or want.

I have been praying and wishing for a grill for Daniel for Fathers day this year. I start looking ofr gifts early, so I am not rushed and have time to find another gift if I can't get the first one. So, back to the grill, I have been searching at garage sales for a while and knew that I probably would have to break down and tell Daniel what I wanted to get him and if we had a little left over that month, we could maybe buy the cheapest thing at wallmart. So I was at this sale and asked about this great looking grill, even though in my heart I knew it would be way to much. The guy said $20 and I thought that was fantastic, so I started to ask some other questions ad by the end He sold it to me for $10!!!!!! We would have to buy a propane tank and ask my step-dad to come pick it up for us, but it all worked out great! Daniel was thrilled and I think we have used it almost every day since then. Thank goodness for prayers being answered, and way before Fathers day!

I also put in a garden this year hoping to can a lot more for this coming winter. My mom has a pressure cooker and I would just can with her and eventually afford to get one for myself. I found one at a garage sale for $15!!! This is cheap even for garages sales. I am so excited now to learn how to do it myself and can, can ,can!!!

So my big find this week was clothes. Benjamin has been in the same size for at least six months now, so It was that time he was ready for the next size. I had been looking at garages sales for a while kind of liek the grill and hoping that I would find some summer and winter things, because yo uhave to stock up for the winter when there aren't sales. Today I bought a whole years worth of clothes for him, both winter and summer for $20. That is ONE outfit at the store. I am just so excited about saving so much money and we don't have to worry about clothes or shoes for a whole year for him!

My indulgence this week was a new purse. I have quite a few purses, but they get dirty really quick, because I use them as a diaper bag too. So it was time for a new one and I found this huge and gorgeouse purse for $7!!! I love it!

I will always shop at garage sales no matter how much money I have, because it is just common sense for me when you have kids. It helps me stay on budget and get more for my money. I bought this lawn mower that shoots bubbles out for $2. It is originally over $35. I am able to give my child a better quality of life that normally I can't afford. Have I said yet how much I love them? Don't get me wrong, you have to go to a lot of crummy sales, but you will always find that one that made the whole day worth it.

How do you all feel about garage sales?

Baby Suprise!

Yesterday we had our first ultrasound since I have become pregnant with baby number two! The baby's legs were crossed. so it took us a while to find something, but there was a little something there!

We are having another BOY!

We are very excited. Now we can stay in our house longer (it is only a two bedroom, so they can share). I was also trying to figure out how to decorate a room that had both a boy and a girl and I was stumped, so now it is not a problem. The room will be all about sailing, complete with a sail boat bed just for Ben. The new baby can use everything Ben did,so we only NEED a few things like a double stroller and a swing that plugs in.

We had decided on a name, but now are a little nervous about it, so I think we are open to other names again. We still might choose this one in the end, but we need some time to mull it over.

The technician said I was measuring a week small, so she would change my due date to oct. 1, but she doesn't know if the doctor will change it. The baby was breach, so it made it hard to find and measure some things, but it just took a little longer.

I want to make this little guy feel special so even though I don't need new crib bedding, I will make him his own special set and his own blessing outfit. I also wanted to make a few things for myself, like a nursing cover. I never used the ones I have made before, because they didn't cover enough when the baby got wiggly, I would just use a blanket, but I will make a poncho style one this time and see if it works.

This is the inspiration for the boys new room

Tick Tock

Ok tomorrow is the big day! We have an ultrasound at 3:30pm and we are finding out the sex of the baby. Sooo excited. I don't know how people can keep such a great secret to themselves! I am definitely not a secret keeper when it comes to what the gender is for my babies. Ok so here is the deal:

You have less than 24 hours to put your guess in for the stats on the baby, so here is the link you need to go to and put in your guess. It is major points if you guess the correct gender, so no pressure or anything. I think the person who won the game with Ben was a Friend Rebekah Tuttle.

Oh and don't cheat and read the other guesses first. The button to push is top right, and then after you guess you can check out the others.

Here is a photos of my belly for those of you who need to see the shape of the belly before you guess!

19 or 20 weeks with Benjamin

19 weeks with baby #2