Another Stepping Stone...?

So today Clayton's teachers gave us a note saying that he might be ready to potty train. He has "unofficially" been potty training for the last 6+ months, but only when it is convenient for him. He'll tell me he has to go, and he will. He will take off his diaper and "go", like he's been doing it for years. I've tried several times to get him into pull ups...and that's a no go! He won't even look twice at them. He hates them!

So I've been doing a lot of reading. Every article and or book that I've read about potty training, says that we as parents should wait for the child to come to us. And that it's basically pointless to start any sooner than when the child shows interest. And I to some point agree. But after reading (in the note from his teachers) that Clay has been using the toilet with all the big boys for the past week, I decided to take matters into my hands, with the utmost of bribes.

Stickers? I got stickers! Buzz Lightyear underwear? I got those too! Gum? Gummi bears? Stocked! I am committed and hopefully so is Clay.

He went "dry" from the time we picked him up from daycare today, til he went to bed, with only one minor accident. It was mearly a sprinkle before he noticed that he was "wetting" his Buzz underwear. It was devastating to him. (yes i was asking him in 15 minute intervals if he had to go...but if the nagging doesn't get him I don't know what will. j/k!) The deal is when he "goes" on the potty he gets 2 mini gummi bears. To be honest, though he loves gummi bears, he could really careless about them. Twice tonight he forgot all about his prize! Yay!

So tonight we started yet another chapter in our lves... perhaps "another stepping stone...?"

Just a few unrelated pics. A group shot of us that went snowboarding on Saturday, minus Dan. The powder was awesome! SOOO sore right now. But it hurts sooo good!

And the second pic is of Clay in his new shirt from Nanny. If you can't tell it says "Grandma's little Longhorn". Yes my mom lives in Texas. :)

"Dumping" your Veggies? I think not!

Last night, Clay convinced me (not sure how) to let him eat his dinner in his toy room, so he could finish watching his movie. Our carpet is already down the sh..potty, so I agreed. We were having steak, pasta salad, and asparagus. Now Clayton loves his meat and veggies. He's such a little man; and for the most part, he eats anything we do. So it was only to my surprise, that a few minutes later, when I went in to check on him, did I see his veggies piled up in a very small matchbox dump truck. He promptly "drove" the dump truck in front of me and said "I don't want these, thank you." I had to take the picture...bc sometmes you have to have hardcore proof to believe the things he does. Everyday it's something new, and everyday he gives me one more thing to smile about.

Ruddy/Conger Family Pictures

I feel like our world is still spinning! From all of the holidays, birthdays, road trips and vacations; I feel like I literally just got home yesterday. We have been so crazy busy, something has been going on every week! This past week my mom was in town from Texas. Her birthday was on Monday, so I took the opportunity to play hookey from work and take her to lunch. We kind of took it one step further though and made it a whole day of shopping, shopping, SHOPPING! OOPS! I've been extremely blessed that we don't go too long without seeing eachother. I'm so glad that my parents haven't forgotten about us even though they are 1300+ miles away. :) Later on in the week, Chris's sisters, Jessica and Brianne flew in from out of town. They weren't able to join us this past Christmas so they dropped in just in time for our January Birthdays. But better late than never, right? Chris's Mom, Jessica, and Jerad, (and obviously from the paragraph above, my mom) all have birthdays in January--which is probably why I still feel so busy. :p While the girls were in town we decided to take a updated family picture. (Especially since one of our two blondes in the family just recently went brunette). Nobody wanted to pay for a professional photographer-they're so over rated. J/k. So Chris and I set up the tripod and camera at Draper park and proceeded to take our own family pictures with the help of a remote. If you haven't already guessed, it was somewhat of a disaster. It was freezing and tempers flared--not gonna lie, my temper was blazing! BUT nevertheless, we're all there! Goofballs and all! The same night, we were able to get both sides of our family together for dinner and games. (we were missing my dad and my brother and his wife) It was sooo much fun. Chris and I are so lucky that both of our families get along. It really has been so much fun, but I'm for sure ready for the wind down! Lucky for me it was a very quiet day at work, thanks to Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Whew!

O my gosh!! Did I really just break the cycle?!!?

We, the Congers have hit a MAJOR milestone here. We are going on 2 weeks now of Clay sleeping in his own bed!! I tell Clay every night that I will lay with him for 5 min. and then he has to be a big boy and sleep by himself. And then in the morning when he gets up, the first thing he says is "I sleep in my own bed, cause I a big boy! I must say, I do have an enormous amount of gratitude towards the plastic safety doorknobs I installed on the inside of Clay's bedroom door. They definately contributed to our success. So even if he doesn't go to sleep, he can't come out of his room. :) It is amazing! My side of the bed (without Clay's flailing arms and legs, drool and spilling sippy cups)is amazing. The sleep...A-MAZING!! Everything about it is amazing! I'll tell you what, if and when we have a second child, that poor thing isn't even going to be allowd to look/breathe on my bed, let alone sleep in my bed. I am NEVER giving up the rights to my bed EVER again! (Carter Conger, Clayton's cousin is also pictured here playing under the covers)