White Flag

The first four days of potty training went well, and then on Wednesday (his 5th day wearing underwear) things just fell apart. At first I thought I'd stay home on Thursday with Oliver while the rest of the family (with Paul's parents) went to the amusement park to get back on track with potty training, but Paul really wanted all of us to be together at the park, and we did have a very nice day. Oliver went back to wearing diapers on Thursday. Friday morning I tried to see if he could get back to using the potty, but I quickly came to the conclusion it was going to be the same as it was on Wednesday. Since he did so well the other days (even on Wednesday he stayed dry during his nap), I really wasn't expecting the progress to be so temporary. It was hard to throw in the towel because I really, really don't enjoy potty training and the thought that all I had invested the previous few days was going to be in vain was a bitter pill to swallow. I am also feeling very nervous about how things will turn out the next time we start out again. I fear that the same thing might happen, even though this never happened with Nadia or Ian. Ian was definitely the easiest to potty train. I wasn't sure whether Oliver would be easier to train than Nadia, but the answer is that she was easier than Oliver. Nadia was potty trained the earliest (she was day and night trained before she turned 2), and Oliver will be the latest of the three, as I trained Ian before he turned 25 months old, and I don't plan to try again with Oliver that soon. Hopefully things will turn out better the second time around. Oliver now announces to me every time he pees or poops throughout the day in his diaper, which again seems to indicate he is ready to be potty trained, but for whatever reason it didn't happen. It's so easy when something like this happens to feel like it was my fault, but I am trying not to go down that mental/emotional path.

This morning we headed to Lowe's for another workshop. Oliver and I did some shopping at Walmart while they were in Lowe's, and at the end I came in and snapped a few pictures of the kids. Paul was pleased at how much improvement they showed with their hammering skills. He said the only thing they had trouble hammering this time was the axle. This project (Taco truck from the movie Turbo) was easier than the dragon they did last month. This afternoon we headed to Central Oak Heights (where our pool is located) for their annual Acorn Family Festival. We didn't participate in all the events (ex. Native American dancers, Celtic concert, etc.), but the kids spent an hour at the pavilion where they had many musical instruments that kids could play (a professor from Susquehanna University brought them) and eight different craft stations. Nadia did two crafts - a dream catcher and a worry doll, and Ian made a Native American vest. After that we swam for an hour before dinner. It was so cool this morning that I wasn't sure we'd make it to the pool, but thankfully it warmed up to 81 degrees.