Woooooooow

*This loooong post is for my personal journaling purposes. No hard feelings if no one reads it. :) I just have so many thoughts I want to remember, so....

For so many different reasons, wow. What a weekend. Where do I begin? How about a short letter to Bryce?

Dear Bryce, I am so sorry for all the times that I cursed your stubborn-ness, strong will, and independence. Sometimes I forget that those qualities can be used for something other than making demands or saying "no" to Mom. Those qualities are going to be a blessing in your life. You are a kid who knows what you want to do, and how to accomplish it. Keep on Brycing.

Love, Mommy

I just spent three days potty-training Bryce. That means full and constant supervision. And by that, I mean I never took my eyes off of him. Ever. Ever. We lived in the loft for three days. I didn't bring a single project, or a book. We just played together, read books, watched movies, and snuggled. And DRANK LOTS AND LOTS while we did all that. No pull-ups, just big boy undies. We threw away all the diapers. No turning back. It didn't take very long before I got my first chance to run him to the potty and show him what to do. He didn't much like that and then we went through about three hours of ear-piercing screaming while he tried his absolute darndest to hold it in. Then he was completely tuckered out and while he was half asleep we got another chance to run him to the potty. This time he was too exhausted and just gave in and went on the potty. After he woke up he had a couple more accidents, but then the rest of that first day he either said, "Mom, I need to go potty," or he'd say yes or no if I asked him and that was that. The second day, lots and lots more drinks and he kept the same clean undies from 9:00 in the morning until the next morning (when he woke up wet). The third day, the only undies change came from waking up wet. Other than that, no accidents the third day. So here we are on day four, not encouraging constant liquids, just leaving him to his own devices and reminding him every once in a while to tell me if he needs to go potty and he's doing amazing!

SO, that said, we are still not there. I guess I could consider us a third of the way there, but we are still working on number two (he's holding it, just like Brynn - but I think we are close) and waking up dry. I'm not sure how to help him with the overnight stuff because that's the one thing Brynn never had a problem with, she just never woke up wet.

So here are a few reflections. That little boy, that little boy. He is amazing. I'll admit I was very apprehensive before the weekend started. First of all, Bryce has a mind of his own, and I was fully expecting him to fight me tooth and nail. I wasn't expecting him to WANT to succeed at it so badly. He was determined to figure that potty out. Second of all, the kids were up until 10:30 Friday night, unexpectedly. We took the kids to the indoor play place at the mall where some kid yanked on Bryce's arm and put it out of socket. It took us a while to realize that's what was wrong, though. We still attempted to take him to Walmart to help us pick out drinks and undies and stuff, but by the time we got back to Queen Creek he was still crying and would let out a blood curdling scream any time we breathed on his arm. By this time it was probably 8:45 or so. I finally did what I should have just done in the first place - called my mom. :) She told me about what it was like when my arm used to pop out of socket and might as well have been describing Bryce. She also advised us not to wait until morning, so we left the parking lot and went BACK to Mesa to twilight pediatrics (I love our doctors!) and she popped it back in and showed us how to pop it back in for future reference (which was good to know because that has happened one other time already). She wanted us to stick around a little while to make sure he would start using it again, which he did. So by the time we got BACK to the store to grab all that stuff, it had been a long night. (Why does it take me so long to tell stories?)

SO, I was apprehensive about Bryce having a cranky day Saturday. And to be honest, I was also a little bit worried about spending three days with no breaks (like, not even walking into a different room without him) because as I've said, he can be a little intense. Well, I guess I didn't actually have much to worry about. He did have a rough Saturday morning, but he got a good nap and was fine. And my little crier - I can't believe I'm saying this - did not cry for two and a half days. Not a single tear. No whining, no complaints, no "MOOOM!!" Just a pleasant, 100% good-natured, snugly sweetheart. I wish beyond anything that it was realistic to be able to hold him on my lap constantly. I wish all the housework and life's other nuisances would just go away and the Bryce and I would live in bliss!! I guess that's all he really wants when he starts to turn back into Bryce 1.0 - just my undivided constant attention (which includes holding him - it's not enough just to talk, he wants to be held). By last night he soooo had me wrapped around his finger. I put him to bed, and he came out a few minutes later and said, "Mom, I sad! I want you sleep with me." And I realized that I was already missing him and couldn't wait to hold him again! So I let him lay down with me in my bed until he got tired. I realized I was also missing Brynn. Marty had her most of those three days, and we had some good friends take her off my hands quite a bit also. I think she actually really like that, but was a little suspicious about being passed around that way.

Anyway, I am so proud of my little buddy. What a sport. I think back on the last few days, and wonder, "Did that SERIOUSLY just happen? Did Bryce learn how to pee in the potty in a day and we spent an entire three days together as happy as can be without a single incident between us?"

Today was back to reality. Obviously, with a mom living in the loft the rest of the house had kind of gone to pot and I had some work cut out for me. He was NOT happy. He still wants to be held 24/7. I'm trying to be patient and ease him back into the old swing of things. I don't think cold turkey is a good idea. :)

But oh, Bryce, Bryce, Bryce. I love you, Buddy.