Children's Hosbibal

Jon David has his bronchoscopy tomorrow at 8:30 am. According to him, they are going to reach down and grab his cough and make him all better. We've been working to prepare him for the big morning and here is a phone conversation with him telling his granddaddy about tomorrow. He also goes on to talk about eating at Moe's with Daddy and that he'll get to eat at Maggie Moo's near church once he starts telling us when he has to go potty. It's pretty entertaining and he was a chatty cathy!!

Cruisin'

Look at these hunky dudes going cruising!

Gavin is a big 4-year-old and my friend's son. He's a sweetie and very big brotherly (he has two younger sisters). While at his house, Jon got to go for a spin in the cul-de-sac with Gavin who drove very safely (though I was nervous at times even though Jon had on his seatbelt and they were not going too fast). Gavin even gently pushed Jon David back to be sure he was sitting correctly in the car/Jeep/tractor.

Quincy with a bottle of water in one hand and one hand on the wheel. What is she - 20?? :)

In addition to these hunks were crazy Quincy (and her own pink Barbie wheels) and sweet Josiah in the red wagon pulled by Mom. (His expression is WAY TOO grown up in the picture below! How'd that happen???)

Treatment for a broken finger

My sister recently broke her foot (ouch!) and came over with a tripped out scooter thing. Of course, Jon David thought it was a cool toy. And, strangely, now he has many ailments that require the same kind of scooter. Usually, his injury is a broken finger. When you ask to see the hurt digit, he often shows you a different finger each time. So, imagine our difficulty coming up with a treatment plan. I guess we don't need a plan. If we'd only listen to him, he could be all better. He needs a scooter.

Oh, and as a special shout out to Aunt Dees, this video includes her very favorite thing - Jon's "crazy eyes." You too can do crazy eyes - just blink your eyes over and over. He does this often when people comment on his eye lashes. Anyway, Cindy - this is for you. (sorry for the cartoons in the background and you can probably hear that he was sniffly today)

"This is entertainment, Mommy!"

For months we've been promising Edward to Jon once he gets potty trained. Here he is with his big prize! Such a look of pride!!

Well, it's not exactly what I'd describe as prime entertainment but while sitting on the potty this week, Jon David proudly said, "This is entertainment, Mommy!" You know what, I think that boy may be right. We've had a lot of laughs this week.

When I was pregnant with Jon David and having some worries about being able to have a healthy baby, I used to think to myself of people as I saw them, "There's another successful pregnancy." I have a new way of looking at people - I now think, "There's someone who has been successfully potty trained." Now, I'm having to just make some assumptions about this as I have no real way of confirming their potty status.

I've been manipulating my oldest for months saying, "Hmmm - I wonder who will be potty trained first, you or Josiah? I just wonder who will get Edward..." He would always respond with a passionate, "I am!!!" I usually would respond, "Oh really? Great - go hop on the potty." He'd ignore me and I'd once again think that he'd be graduating from high school in diapers. But, on Monday, he actually went into the bathroom and, with some help from me, went pee pee.

So, at this point, the "toothpaste is out of the tube", so to speak. We can't go back. We're committed, "in it to win it" - you know what I mean. I knew we'd be laying low last week since I wanted to be sure that he was no longer sick with the virus before venturing back into society.

Day One Progress

Day Four: much better!

If I had to give Jon David a grade, I'd give him a solid B. In fact, today he did not have any accidents which is especially impressive since we were at church for a few hours and also a few hours with our church small group. No, he did not hold it the whole time but he did successfully use the potty away from our house.

My potty training essentials: Lysol wipes, juice boxes, Diego training pants and reading materials.

I've spent more time on the floor reading books and sitting in the doorway of our downstairs bathroom than I ever thought humanly possible. Since he's not yet telling me when he has to go, I have to regularly put him on the pot. I've been peed on, had him pee in my hands (to my shock and dismay) and worried that my house smells of urine (though I do clean as we go and again before bed).


One thing I did not really bargain for - I need to also train my husband. No, not like that - he's definitely potty trained at this point in his life. But, I need to train JD to be on guard for "that look" that our boy gets as he goes to hide and poop in his training diaper and to remember to take Jon David to the potty when out. I wouldn't say that he's as hard to train as our son but it is taking some reminding on my part.

We stayed very hydrated and I let Jon David pick whatever juice boxes he wanted.

All in all, I'm proud of Jon David. He's not thrilled with potty training and fights me most times to go to the bathroom. Once we get started and I read to him, he moves on and is not upset. And little Josiah has been a dream. I put a bunch of puffs in his exersaucer and he's spent a whole lot of time stationary in there. Thank you, Josiah!

In closing, it has been A VERY LONG week but I'm so proud of my son (and myself too!).

After going through 4 pairs of big boy undies in one day, I switched back to training pants. I know it may make this process take longer but it was necessary for my sanity.

Just Helping Out

This is Jon David here. Mom said I could do this post. She's too busy finding ways to avoid folding the 5 loads of laundry that she says are "calling her name."

So, like Josiah is walking - or rather sort of taking steps. Well, I've been doing that for a long time. It's easy, okay? I can run, jump AND walk backwards.

It's not like I have a hard time sharing the spotlight. In fact, it's the opposite. If people were as exciting or interesting as I am, I would not find it necessary to inject myself into various situations.

Like the family talent show in Tennessee, it was fun. All the people had some good skills and it was rather entertaining. But, there was one thing missing from all the presentations... me! Like my really sweet and cute girl cousins, they were singing a beautiful song. It was lovely. But, there were no boys - rather, there was no Jon Jon. I did the only thing I could think to do to take the show to the next level of entertainment... I "helped" them and did it without them even having to ask. I don't know if they thanked me. They may have just been overwhelmed with gratitude. Hey, I'm just glad I could help.

What happens in Tennessee

Well, I had to get that last post out there about our E/R drama and that means I delayed a momentous (literally) update! Josiah took his first steps on Saturday at the family talent show. It was actually just before the talented stars hit the stage. I proudly announced that we had already seen the best talent of the day (Si's walking) and that everyone could go home.

JD was across the room and someone asked him, "How long has Josiah been walking?" JD was like, huh??? We were all very excited and proud.

But, I guess sort of like the saying for Las Vegas, what happens in Tennessee, stays in Tennessee. It appears as if my baby boy has forgotten how to take steps unassisted. I would not call what he did as walking but there were definitely independent steps taken that resulted in forward progress being made. The attached video is proof. He actually did better than the video shows but at least it's something.