The long and the short of it

I have been thinking about potty training Carter for a while now because he has been showing a lot of signs that he is ready. About two weeks ago I decided that I didnt want to change another diaper from him again. I was sick of it. Only because I knew that he could go to the bathroom in the toilet if he really wanted to. So last monday, without knowing what the heck I was doing, I decided I was going to start potty training him. I bought "big boy" underwear that had his favorite things on them and decided to go cold turkey and not use pull-ups at all. The first day was obviously the hardest. Carter has told me for a long time that he has gone potty AFTER he goes, so the first day was a lot like that- except he was in underwear so I chased him around all day cleaning up messes. By the end of the first day he had gone a few times on the potty, but he had also started telling me that he had to go, but then immediately start going in his pants. Progress right? I thought so. It gave me hope :)

The next day was much better and he got it right about half the time. It didn't really help that he was peeing much much more than usual because I had read somewhere to give him more fluids the days of potty training so that it makes them more aware that they have to go. Man, he was like a peeing machine! I started getting worried by the end of the 2nd day because he hadn't had a single bowel movement in two days and this is coming from a kid who is EXTREMELY regular. I didn't know how to show Carter that he could just poop in the toilet without him actually doing it first -even if it was in his pants just so I could show him that it goes into the toilet. On the 3rd day, he pretty much had the peeing part down. He told me all day, even if he just had to squeeze one little drop out, that he had to go potty. But, as awesome as that was, he ended up pooping about 3 times in his pants. The first two times he did it, he didn't even tell me and he ran around playing with gross poop in his pants for who knows how long! To make a long story short, we are still working on the pooping. About half the time he tells me before he's got to go, and the other half of the time he starts to go in his pants and then stops and tells me. But at least he ends up going in the toilet, at least a little bit, all of the time! Haha. I have been doing a LOT of running the past two weeks! We are on week two now and he is doing great! Every few days he still has an accident and I'm not sure why, but it is a work in progress! He still wears diapers to bed and at nap time, and we put pull-ups on him when we go out but he is very good about not getting the pull-up wet at all and telling me that he has to go. He loves wearing his big boy underwear!

This was the first time I asked him to show me his big boy underwear, but he told me he had to go potty instead!

The second time he was much more willing to show me the underwear and pretty much his whole stomach :)

Last night I decided I wanted to cut Carters hair. Now, I have cut his hair lots of times before, but I never cut a lot off. I have been wanting him to grow it out and get kind of a shaggy look I guess. I have only ever done it with scissors before, but this time Kaleb and I decided we would try it out with his hair razor. We tried it with the biggest attachment first (size 7) to see how short it would be, but it didn't cut any hair off it seemed. So we went down a size (to a 6) and Kaleb pushed the button that gets the attachment as close to the head as possible. I though that meant it would just get a little bit closer so that it wouldn't miss any hairs. I didn't realize it would cut all of his hair off! After the first buzz, there was no going back! I was so sad!!! All of his beautiful hair was chopped off. It doesn't look too bad I guess, but it is taking a LOT of getting used to. It also seemed to take a year off of his face. He looks like just a little baby again! Oh well, its just hair right? In a few months it will grow back. He sure is cute no matter how much hair he's got though :)

BEFORE....

AFTER!

Don't mind the big bruise on his forehead- just another day in the life of Carter

There's no place like home!

The past couple of, well, months really, have been a whirlwind. We have been out of town so much it feels like we are never in our own beds anymore. I have been so bad at blogging and have so many pictures to post its going to be crazy. I will just do the highlights I guess!

The last week of June we went up to Canada to see Kaleb's sister Jasmine and her family for about a week. It was a blast except for the fact that I got an eye infection and wasnt able to see out of one eye the whole trip. But it was so nice to see Jasmine and Jared and finally get to meet their 8 month old little girl Molly. Carter just adored her and kept smothering her (literally) with hugs and kisses. Kaleb's parents were up there as well so we were finally all together as a family for the first time in a year and a half. We did lots of fun things but mostly it was just nice to sit and talk with Jazz and Jared and catch up. I love you guys and miss you! Here are some pictures of the trip.

At the hoodoos (is that spelled right?)

At Calaway Park in Clagary Canada. A very small Theme Park. Carter loved it! These were his favorite rides. First there was the train... I think he rode that thing 20 times.

Then there were the cars... of course. He can't get enough of anything that has to do with cars. Loving his ride with Grandma!

The airplanes were not as fun for him because he had to sit in my lap, but he still really enjoyed it.

This was the first ride he went on and he just went crazy with happiness. He giggled and laughed the whole time.

This was a no nap day because we were at the theme park all day, so he just crashed by the time we left. An elephant stampede wouldn't have been able to wake him.

Kaleb and Jasmine with the little cousins!

Carter and Molly

Scholes family picture! We haven't had an updated one since I was pregnant with Carter.

After we left Canada we drove down through Coeur d'Alene on our way home to visit my family. It was nice to see everyone even though my brother and his wife had moved down to Utah and Rach wasnt home from her mission yet. It was weird not having everyone there that I was used to, but it was still a nice visit. I miss my family a lot. My older sister Ashleigh was kind enough to take our picture so that we could finally actually have one. She is a budding photographer and I think we were the first ones outside of her own family that she took family pictures of. I am honored to be the first and we were extremely impressed with her skills and how our pictures turned out. I LOVE them.

Tired Boy

Love these colors! Just what I wanted thanks Ash!

Pretty much describes his personality in one shot

Father and son. My two favorite people in the world.

He loved playing in the sand! It was messy, but super fun.

My favorite picture of all. I love this little family of mine

We also played at fort sherman park with Carter. I used to love this park as a teenager and was super excited to take Carter there to play. He really liked it. It is like a huge wooden palace! I wish I had taken pictures of the whole playground. Of course Carter found the things with steering wheels and latched onto them so that other kids couldn't get a turn. haha

Kaleb being a macho man. haha

Carter pulling out all of the grass and giving it to me as a present. How thoughtful :)

The most beautiful place on earth :) :)

A few days after we came home from cda we learned that my grandpa Jensen (my mom's father) had passed away in his sleep. I headed back up to cda for the funeral thanks to my very thoughtful and generous best friend who let me use her frequent flyer miles to buy a plane ticket. It was so nice to spend another week with my family and get to see all of my extended family even under the sad circumstances. My grandpa was a very short man and as soon as I grew taller than him I would jokingly rub it in his face. Every time I would say "Grandpa, I'm taller than you!" He would always say "Ahhh, but when you are wiser than me, then we"ll talk." I miss him. He was a very funny man and everyone who met him instantly loved him. I am glad he is in a place where he cant feel anymore pain or sadness. I love you grandpa!

When I finally came home from cda it felt like not much time had passed before we were going out of town again, but this time we were Utah bound. It was a spur of the moment idea and we left a few hours after deciding to go. We were going to visit my brother and his family in Lehi but they were out of town. We went to the Pioneer parade in Salt Lake City and spent the rest of the day at Raging Waters. It was one of the funnest days we have had in a long time. Carter just couldn't get enough of the tidal wave pool they had and all of the water toys. It truly was a blast. Once we came home from Utah, we started getting the house ready for my family to come and visit. My little sister Rachael was finishing up her LDS Mission down in SLC. They were coming through on there way to pick her up. It was super nice to see my family AGAIN in such a short amount of time! I just love them so much it is nice to see them whenever we can. I got to see Rachael for a day too on their way back to cda. I am excited she is home so that I can talk to her whenever I want now!

To finish up, (its about time, I know I know!) we went to Utah again this last weekend to make a trip to IKEA and to finally visit my brother in Lehi. It was really a fun little weekend we had withthem! And after months and months of coveting a mirror at IKEA, we were finally able to bring it the hundreds of miles home, as well as a couple of other furniture items. We are great lovers of IKEA :) Also, we went to Cowabunga Bay with Jesh, Brooke and the kids. What a fun place! It is a water park that sort of reminds me of the game Mouse Trap. It was fun to spend the time with my brother and his family. I am glad they are now so much closer to us then when they lived in Northern Idaho.

Whew! What a busy few months! I am glad things are settling down and that we have more time in our own bed and on my very own pillow. I love my bed :) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to travel and see people I know and love. But what they say is true, there is just no place like home!