The Rumors are True...

Girls ARE easier to potty-train!I was planning on waiting until after we moved, but Hannah was just so interested in the potty that we decided to give it a try. She LOVED putting stickers on her potty chart and got very upset whenever she had an accident. We've been at it for about a week now, and I think she's about there! Last night, we took the kids to a movie (Monday nights - 75 cents! Oh yeah!) and Hannah asked to go to the potty 5 times! She never actually "went," but she sure tried. AND she kept her diaper dry all night!
I've had a child (or two) in diapers for eight straight years now!!! I'm so excited to go to Costco and NOT buy a case of Huggies (sorry Dad!)!

Hannah also started sleeping in her big girl bed a couple weeks ago. We wanted to sell her crib and dresser before we moved, plus we needed new tires on our car, so we killed two birds with one stone.

This toddler bed was made by my Dad and has survived three of my siblings and all three of my kids! That is some good quality craftsmanship, Dad!Hannah has LOVED her new bed. Whenever I tell her it's bedtime, she says excitedly, "Girl bed?!" She has been so good to stay in bed and sleep all though the night!
I'm so proud of my BIG GIRL!!!

My Six-Year-Old is a Better Parent Than I

Bedtime at our house is usually a struggle. The boys go to bed just fine, it's just the staying in bed that's the trouble. It seems like it takes hours some nights before they're down for good. Andrew claims that he only gets out of bed to tell us that Logan is out of bed. Our attempts to keep them in bed usually include begging ("PLEASE stay in bed, Logan. Mommy is SO tired!"), shouting ("You get back in your bed RIGHT NOW! And stay there!"), and threatening ("If I see you out of bed one more time, we will NOT be going to the pool tomorrow!"). Very effective, right? Not so much.

So it was a great surprise when two nights ago, Logan only got out of bed once. I didn't think much of it. Then, last night, he didn't get out of bed at all! This morning, I noticed Andrew sit down with Logan and open a folder of stickers he has been collecting. He said, "You were so good last night, Logan. You stayed in your bed. What sticker would you like?" Logan picked a nice lollypop sticker and placed it proudly on his PJs. Come to think of it, didn't he have a little sticker on his PJs yesterday morning? My mouth dropped wide open. MY SIX-YEAR-OLD HAS STARTED AN INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR MY THREE-YEAR-OLD! And it's more successful than any of my parenting attempts! Should I be jealous?!

Really, I feel so blessed to have Andrew as our oldest child! He is so responsible and obedient and is such a good example to his younger siblings. It feels good to know that Logan and Hannah will always have him to look up to. I am so grateful for you, Andrew!