Not Just a Car

Tonight we had another big event happen at our house....we sold our beloved Pathfinder.  Tony has been talking and talking about getting a new truck/SUV, but we could just never pull the trigger because we both loved the Pathfinder so much.  Finally last week, we bought a new Ford F150 4x4 truck....which meant that it was time to finally say goodbye to our most favorite car.  Tonight was the night that the Pathfinder left our possession...and it was bittersweet.  

When I got out of the shower tonight, this was on the computer:

If I had a blog:

I know people say it’s just a car but it’s more than that. It was the first “Real” purchase that Jenny and I made. I had graduated college and moved to the burbs and it was time to get rid of one of our economical cars and we picked out the one we wanted and it was awesome. It was the first car that someone has said “that’s a cool car” and I felt like they meant it.

It was the car that Jenny drove through crazy Chicago land traffic. I knew no matter what she encountered she’d be safe in it. Snow, uh, 4x4.

It was the car that we would load up when Jenny, Tasker and I would come back into town to visit family. It was big enough to carry the three of us plus the cage. Actually there wasn’t a time when it wasn’t big enough. It was the car that Jenny would come to greet me on late Friday nights from the airport after I’d been out of town all week on business. Again, the car was always big enough ;)

It was the car we took to Buffalo to see the Bills, Michigan to see the Wolverines, numerous states for mountain bike camping trips, Chicago to see the Cubs, and the UP to see that not all Labs can swim.

It was the car we packed up and moved away from the suburbs to head back to Pekin.

It was the car that we would take to doctor’s appointments where they would tell us that yet again Jenny wasn’t pregnant and it wasn’t looking like it was ever going to happen. It was the car that I would sit in to call and tell family to give them the bad news……and after four attempts at IVF it was the car that I brought my perfect little boy home from the hospital in.

It’s much more than a car, it was “Daddy’s White Truck”. It’s been around for 3 different houses, the majority of a dog’s life, and the car that I handled precious cargo in.

Yeah I’m a little sappy about a car, but to me it was much more.

It made me cry....and I thought I would share:)

Potty Training: The Elusive #2

Well, I thought I would get on and update how potty training has been going.  It seemed like we had been at a standstill for a very long time.  He had been wearing pull-ups and it seemed like he would be dry all day, but when we switched to underwear he would pee!  It was getting very frustrating.....and he was refusing to poop on the potty...UGH!  We would have him sit at night (his preferred time of day!) and sometimes we would get a little but never a lot.  He would cry and not sit down.....it was a fight!  Then, without fail, once we left him in bed to go to sleep he would come out 5 minutes later and tell us that he pooped.  We tried every kind of bribery for when he would poop and punishment when he would go in his pants.....nothing seems to make a difference!

So, after a few weeks of going strictly back to pull-ups, I felt like we were finally making some progress.  He had started telling us when he had to go pee much more consistently.  I started trusting him when he answered "NO" to my incessant asking of "Do you have to go potty?" and didn't force him to go every 40 mins.  I really wanted him to tell me....and it started working!  He has also started waking up dry from his naps too most days...so I thought that was good progress as well.  This weekend was our town's local festival (parade, vendors in the park, etc.) and I decided that I wanted to be brave:)  Yesterday, before leaving for the parade I asked him if he wanted to wear underwear...and he said yes.  So, off we went....and guess what?....Dry All Day!  He made it through the whole parade before I took him potty and then we walked around the park for a little bit and drove home before he went again.  I'm very proud of him!  However.....he still does not like to go poop on the potty....what is it with boys and poop?!?!  I really hope this is resolved soon! (especially after having to clean poop out of underwear today!!! YUCK!!)

Oh.....and we were having issues with him wetting through his nighttime diapers as well.  Tony suggested waking him up when we were going to bed and having him go then and seeing if that helped.  Well, he was a genius!  It not only helped with the wetting through, but he has been waking up dry every morning!

So, I would say that he is 95% potty trained....I just hope it doesn't take forever to get that last 5%!

Preschool 2012

Through some of the mom's at the church playgroup, we found out about a local church that has a 1-day a week preschool program for kids as young as 18 months.  I was excited to see if they might have a spot for Owen...and they did:)  It is on Wed mornings from 8:30-12:30 with lunch.  It started this week, so I took Wed morning off to be able to take him for his first day.  They only stayed until 11:30 this first week with no lunch.  I was a little nervous about him making it the whole time because when we take him to the Toddler room at church, he has gotten used to us picking him up after only one service, which is a little over an hour....or he starts to cry...and when you ask him why, he says "because I have to."  So we had a long talk about how we don't cry at Preschool.  He told Gramma he wasn't going to cry there (we picked her up on our way so she would know the procedures when she takes him from now on) so I was hopeful:)

He was not at all apprehensive when we got there.  He spied the toys and got right to playing!  I had to drag him away from a toy to get a hug goodbye!  I didn't cry either:)  When we went to pick him up later, he told me he only cried a little bit:)  So, I think he is going to have fun....and next week he gets to take his "cars" lunchbox which he was mad that he couldn't take this week:)  Hard to believe he is getting so big!

Here are a few snapshots from Wed morning before we left:)  (and don't mind the horrible quality...we really need to get a new digital camera!!)

Love his face:)

And one with a great smile:)