Mommy, wow! I'm a big kid now!

Over the last month or so, I've had several big kid moments.  I'll highlight just a few:

1. I said good-bye to diapers!  This happened at home over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, but I was still refusing to use the potty at school.  My parents and teacher tried everything, from encouragement and praise to cool underwear to flat out bribery, but I was stubborn, and I was NOT going to use the potty at school.  That all changed February 18 when my parents and teachers told me I had run out of diapers at school.  Now what was I going to do?  The first day, I just held it.  That'll show 'em, I thought.  But, they were persistent, and so the next day...I still had to wear underwear at school.  I had an accident that day and realized pretty quickly that I wasn't a fan of wet underpants, so I sucked it up and decided to use the potty.  Of course, I didn't do so without making sure my teachers knew how I felt about this sudden change in my routine.  I turned the tears on, and I made sure that I got something cool out of the whole deal.  As a reward, I not only got to visit the giant stuffed monkey in my school's office, but I also go to go to Laugh Out Loud with Mama right after school.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), we had crazy schedules over the next several days due to the snow storms that kept hitting, but the following week, I impressed everyone by continuing to make progress.  As of March 6, 2013, I had earned my very own dinosaur certificate, declaring that I had said good-bye to diapers for good!*
*It should be noted that while I am potty trained now at both home and school, I still wear "sleep diapers" at night time, and I'm working on #2 training.  My parents are still very proud of me though!  

  
2. I'm Big Brother trained!  I took a class at the hospital a couple of weeks ago to learn how to be a super awesome big brother, and I must say, I'm going to be a pro.  I loved practicing changing a diaper, and I'm excited to be in charge of singing, reading, and snuggling my baby brother when he gets home from the hospital.  During the class, I got to see where Mommy and Daddy are going to go deliver the baby, and I even got to see a newborn baby in the hospital's nursery.  She was soooo tiny.  I wonder if my brother will be as small!  

3. I can reach my tricycle pedals!  For the past several months, I've been eating extra food at dinner time to help me grow big and tall so that I could reach my tricycle pedals.  One day last week, we tried my tricycle out when the weather was warm, and sure enough, my eating paid off, because I was able to ride it by myself for the first time.  I'm still learning how to really take off on my bike, but I was so proud to make it down the driveway to Mom, even if it did take me awhile!              

 

Here's to more "Big Boy" moments! 

-Elijah