Summer Break: Week 1

I love my job! One of the perks of my job is having six weeks off in the summertime with my little guy!  This kicks off the FIRST week of our mommy-son time together and our LAST summer of just the two of us!  Zander's little brother will be joining us next summer for all the fun!  The first day of my break I decided to start potty training Zander. I am happy to report that we are finding many successes with peeing (and pooping) in the potty.  I have a fun little song and dance I do whenever he is successful, and he has started to dance along with me after potty time.  To start out.... I loaded him up with Capri-suns (something he never drinks) and he had to go pee all day!! We went through 18 pairs of underwear the first day and I was just certain I had made a HUGE mistake.  But by the second day, we were down to five accidents (and the normal liquid intake).  Yesterday he didn't have an accident at all!  I keep taking him to the potty every 1 to 1.5 hours if we are at home and if we are out, we usually will stop at the potty at the beginning of the outing and before we leave to come home.  He still wears a diaper for naptime and bedtime (but I have been excited that he has had a few dry diapers after sleeping).  At first, I also bribed him with Ipad time to keep him sitting on the potty (see picture below).  Now, he is rather quick about doing his business.  The only tricky part still is making sure certain parts are pointed down in the toilet (if we are not at home) so mommy and Zander don't get a little "shower".  He is no longer using the little potty at home (but we will be keeping it in the car for any long road trips in the future!)  He likes to sit on the "big boy" potty with the little seat that fits on top (to ensure he doesn't fall in).   I am mainly documenting all this for round #2 since we will be doing this over again in a couple short years!  Enough about potty training (as I know it will be all-consuming for the next few weeks/months).... and more about our week!

Zack and I went to celebrate his aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday night.  I got to cuddle the newest family member, Lauren.  She is such a cutie!  My parents watched Zander (since we were in the middle of potty training) so we weren't distracted during the celebration.  They had fun hanging out in the backyard with Z... Grandpa Buzz is really helping him get his swing just right for the golf course. 

We have been able to get some extra cuddles this week.  We will play like crazy and take a couple short breaks on the couch to recover before we are on to the next adventure.

My roommate from college, Sam, came to visit with her two adorable kids!!  It was so much fun catching up and watching the three of them play together.  She took a couple pictures of her youngest, Penelope, holding Zander in his chair.  Zander just walked right over and sat on her lap! Too cute!

 Zander got his hair cut for the summer (see below)!

 We have played in our pool out back!

We picked some of the veggies from our garden... Zack has done an amazing job again this year with the vegetation!

Zander has helped me start organizing things so we can get the office ready to be turned into the nursery for baby #2.  He enjoyed putting on all my medals from previous races!

We hung out at the music and movement class at our public library.  He did so much better this year (more interactive) compared to last year.  I hope we can visit again soon!

Stay tuned to hear about week 2 and the rest of our summer adventures!....