Swimming

Rylan has never been a big fan of water. He loves taking a bath, but never really liked his kiddie pool or sprinkler. I thought it might be due to the cold water because I'd be the same way. But even last year when we took him to the big pool, he really didn't care for it. So this summer I searched all around for the best float and was determined for Rylan to like the pool. We finally had time to go swimming and it started out a disaster. We just went right in and Rylan freaked out. So then we sat him on the steps and let him gradually get used to it. I was finally able to let go of him for a little bit and he'd float for a second. Then by the end of the day he wasn't entirely comfortable, but he'd float on his own. I hope we go some more before summer is over because I don't want him scared of the water.

Poop, poop and more poop

Warning: This post has a lot of mention of bodily functions and is not for the faint of heart:) Well, this past week we decided to dive right into potty training. Before this we had dabbled in it, but never was consistent. On a side note, I knew my life would change when I became a mother, but I never imagined just how much. Right now, most of the conversations that I have are talking about pee and poop. I even discuss this with my co-workers, which I'm sure they are thrilled about, but when that's your life right then what are going to do. SO I would say that we have been some what successful. We started the process by getting rid of ALL the diapers and gave them to a friend that still uses them. Rylan helped with this and we even wrote a short little note explaining that he doesn't need diapers anymore because he's a big boy. Then, Rylan got to wear big boy underwear, which he thought was pretty cool. Next, we put a pair of underwear on a stuffed animal so that we could practice with him. Then I started to sound like a broken record asking Rylan every 5 minutes if he was dry or needed to potty. Rylan enjoyed the praise and jelly bean he got every time he used the potty. He seemed to catch on rather quickly and only had 3 accidents the first day. Now, Rylan seems to have the pee part down (although he has to be reminded to go potty) but pooping is a whole other story. During this whole time he has only pooped in the potty one time and let me tell you we made a huge production! Phone calls where made, prizes given and I'd really thought we'd made a break through until a couple hours later he pooped his pants! Ugh, any suggestions on how to get a toddler to poop on the potty? My goals this summer were to get Rylan sleeping in a big boy bed (check), potty trained(somewhat of a check) and get rid of the suck...hey two out of three isn't bad!

The Dentist

I'm a little behind in posting this, but we took Rylan to his first dentist visit back in June. I was very nervous about how Rylan would react. We took him to a pediatric dentist so Rylan loved the waiting room and all the toys and neat decorations. Then they called us back...and he wouldn't cooperate. No surprise really, when we first got there the hygienist asked if we'd want to do a fluoride treatment? What are you kidding? But after trying to look at Rylan's teeth she decided it would be best to wait...you think! He did let the dentist quickly look in his mouth, but that was as far as it was going. When it was over Rylan got to pick out a toy from the toy bin. Now there was all sorts of little toys (balls, stuff animals, etc..), but what does my child pick...the blow up spider man that's the same size as he is. So we are now the proud owners of a HUGE spider man! SO basically we paid $90 for the dentist to look at his teeth for 5 seconds and a cheap fair toy....oy vey!

July 4th

We had a great 4th, even if the weather was a little yucky. We took Rylan to the parade in Canyon (which was his first) and he had the best time. Then we went to some friends' house and had yummy hamburgers. Then we all went to watch the city fireworks show and waited and waited and waited. Finally, around 10:30 it didn't look like it was going to happen so we loaded up and left. Of course, we got about two blocks away and the show started. So we pulled into a parking lot and watched from there. Rylan loved it, but was pretty tired so we headed home after watching for a little bit. Rylan was in bed at 11 which is the latest he has ever stayed up. All in all it was great weekend!!