The worst is over...we hope

It all started just over a month ago. I had a "perfect" plan for potty training the boys in late July (like this week) that included my mom joining me for 4 days while the girls went to Grammy & Papa's house. We would have things mostly under control before sending Super Gaga home & reuniting with the little ladies. As it often happens with my "perfect" plans.....they don't go so perfectly. 

We had a lovely 4 days in a row of diaper removal x 2, smeared you know what on furniture & feet x 4 & a SUPER frustrated mother. I texted Rob partway through that Monday & said I was done cleaning up that repeat disaster & that potty training boot camp started the next day. I called my mom, she thought it sounded like a great plan minus the fact that she couldn't come & I would be flying solo. Thankfully Grammy & Papa could still treat the girls to a mini vacation while we got down to business at the Nest. 

I read up on my Potty Training in 3 days manual & was geared up & ready to go first thing Tuesday morning. Overview, we have used this method with both girls which yielded fabulous results. It is a cold turkey deal with undies day & night starting the first day. It is positive reinforcement & no asking if they need to go potty. You just tell them to let you know when they need to go then you clean up messes all day long....or in our case all month long. This spread always makes me excited....

My helpers for one hour were so very excited. The first few hours of day 1 is not really a fabulous time to have help of this nature ; ) 

Before we got started we got on FaceTime with Gaga so she could read a book about being a big boy & going on the potty. It was actually a big hit & the character "Michael" made quite the impression. I love how Bella is turning away from the phone as if she remembers what potty training is like ; ) 

Soon enough we "threw all our diapers away" or rather one per boy, put on some stinkin' cute undies & watched the sissies drive away. Girlie undies are cute but man oh man...boys are so much cuter!

The first morning went as expected with lots of accidents as I reminded the boys to tell me when they needed to go potty. Anson was the first to actually make it to the potty & when he received a jelly bean poor Owen melted in tears on the floor. Owen followed shortly after & they both got jelly beans & stickers. The sticker thing lasted about 3 seconds. They are so different than the girls & shredded the papers in no time at all.  Once they figured out they could go on the potty they never wanted to leave & thought they deserved one jelly bean per minute of time remaining on the potty. 

One super fun thing amidst the challenge of helping two learn about going on the potty was that it was just me & them! We never have that much time without the girls around & it was wonderful to play, talk & be silly with just the three of us. The trains were a hit, as usual...

The counting bears & cups were great too until someone ruined the fun by standing up over one of the cups full of bears. I don't think I need to explain any further other than to say it happened again over the lunch plate...SICK! Just for the record they were all appropriately cleaned.

I forgot how insane it is to be on the heels of someone this small for even just a few hours not to mention on the heels of two! I of course was starving by lunch time & decided I would order pizza. Between trying to figure out a stupid Domino's app, calling & hanging up twice to deal with some chaos & a 45 minute time period I had ordered two pepperoni & mushroom pizzas that would certainly provide the nourishment this pregnant mama needed. Sounds really easy to have a pizza delivered taking up only 60 seconds of my time to answer the door & say thank you....it wasn't. Just minutes before he arrived, Anson had attempted climbing up onto the potty without assistance, awkwardly contorted his body to assume proper position & fell with both feet & one arm INTO THE TOILET as he said "yike this mommy?" I could not stop laughing. I lifted him out feeling completely disgusting & put him in the bathroom sink for a clean up. In the meantime Owen had tried to make it to the potty but failed so I wiped him down, heard the doorbell ring & Bella came flying to the front door barking like the good guard dog she is. I ran to grab her & stick her in her cage for a moment & headed back to the door. I heard the boys behind me & glanced back at them while I opened the door to see a naked Owen & Anson shrieking through the house. HA! I quickly grabbed my pizza, apologized to the man for having to witness the insanity up close & personal through the entry way of massive windows. I scarfed down more than half a pizza as soon as the boys were down for naps. They each had an accident during nap (as expected), had another few wild hours after which included Robby coming home to the sobering reality of potty training week. 

Day 2- We started with an incredible 3 hours of no accidents but then the floodgates were opened, literally & Owen had 15 accidents in 2 hours. After that we ate lunch & I consumed another 5 slices of pizza to insure I wouldn't quit followed by 3 hour nap for each waking up dry. 

Day 3- Only 1 daytime accident each & another dry nap. All three days & spent an hour blogging/resting & slept for 2 hours which was amazing. 

I was feeling home free, believing once again that this method was just the best! WRONG! After the fact I could not stop thinking about a quote from Father of the Bride part 2 where George Banks (Steve Martin) says " And that's when they lowered the boom on me. It was like that old joke, "All those who think they have it made take one step forward...not so fast George Banks!" Insert Lauren Valentine there & it's a completely accurate statement. 

Prior to slight depression setting in, the boys wowed me with their ability to "keep their undies dry" which is a trite phrase in this home one month later. They LOVE the books Go, Dog, Go & Are you my Mother. They can fill in almost any word when you pause. I found a couple read aloud youtube videos which were a lifesaver to get them to be still while near the bathroom so I could take a break from the marathon. 

There was an exciting moment on Day 3 where Owen deserved a hug for his brave efforts. This is hands down my favorite of the potty training pictures.  Really, who doesn't want a hug when they are sitting on the potty?

By the end of a very successful day 3 we toasted our smoothies & said "bottoms up boys"...no pun intended ; )

After we finished those I allowed the boys to be back in the carpeted areas of the house & the grand reward for staying dry all day was a jumping contest. I might have enjoyed being a spectator more than they enjoyed being the jumpers.

The synchronized take off position was my favorite. 

I think more black eyes are coming our way...especially with another little buckaroo joining the corral this fall.

A few things I want to remember about this lovely experience before closing with some final thoughts:

• Potty training one is hard work....two is a whole different ball game (at least for us)
• Anson's obsession with trying to figure out a different way to climb onto the potty each time & grinning at me saying "yike this mommy?" followed by "Dat funny mommy?" Of course it was funny but I couldn't laugh...other than the time he plummeted into the toilet.
• Owen sitting down, putting his finger over my mouth so I would know to hush & whispering "Shhhh it's comin'! "Yisten mommy."
• How they were on repeat talking about what Michael, the boy from the potty book my mom read could do. They would say "Michael no wear diapers, I no wear diapers. I stay dry just yike Michael" The most important thing they learned from Michael was that #2 requires a little bit of waiting. 
• That Owen calls his Spiderman undies his "Spiderma'amses" undies.
• The afternoon about a week in that was filled with accidents. I was in tears on the couch & those little undie wearing only boys climbed up on my lap. Anson said "Mama, you crying? Why you crying?" Charlotte joined the conversation by calmly saying "She is crying because of you....it's your fault. You won't stop going potty all over the house buddies." HAHA! Anson said "Mama, you need some french fries?" He knows me well ; ) I told him I did & he turned around, scooped up some imaginary fries & handed them to me. I told him thank you then he put his hand out & said "one dollar please" I paid by slapping his hand & he thanked me. We play Chick A Lay a lot at this house ; ) 
• The thing that caused the most laughter was when Owen decided to follow Michael's example & waited for more than 2 seconds instead of saying "It's comin!" pause...."It's not comin"!" before trying to escape the confines of a frog potty chair. He waited just long enough with a terrified look on his face to find something quite different looking in the potty than the past few days. He stood up in amazement & shouted "Wow! That looks like a dinosaur!" Anson came around the corner & stopped in mid step to observe the dinosaur. His jaw dropped & after he gained composure he said in the most serious voice "Owee, oh my gosh!"  
• All the icky things that have happened. The two most memorable are: 1- cleaning up a #2 accident within the undies who were on a wiggly boy followed by disinfecting my feet & in-between my toes, not once but twice in one day. 2- Anson alerting us that he had gone tee-tee in the other room as he entered the kitchen with the evidence on his clothes. Robby went to do the clean up in the other room while I directed Anson to remove his shorts & undies while I tried to finish the rest of my meal....all by my lonesome self at the table.  I was at the opposite end of the table & at least 6 feet from Anson. I thought he was around the corner in the bathroom but I glanced up as he was attempting to kick his soaking wet undies off his foot. He succeeded & they flew all the way across the table, landed 3 inches from my dinner plate. Anson said "wow!" One of those moments where I was completely sicked out but had to snicker a little bit. It was pretty impressive! 

Some successes

• We survived a 5 hour drive to Houston the following week with one potty stop & no accidents. The trip home involved more stops but no accidents.
• Other than an accident (or 3 in 30 minutes) at a friends house, they have not had one in public
• They figured out how to go in the yard...not a success with other people around ; ) 
• They are capable of staying dry overnight & sometimes go a 5-6 day stretch before having an accident
• Naps are dry 99% of the time & have been since day 2
• They have many MANY days where they are accident free but then one sneaks up that makes it seem like they think a diaper is still in place..that was today
• They are so proud of each other
• I survived & have made it to nearly 28 weeks pregnant without going into preterm labor considering the ridiculous amount of chasing, squatting down to lift someone or cleaning up what feels like 1000 messes.

Instead of bullet points listed under "failures," I will conclude with saying there will be an update when they go to college that confirms they have worked out all the "potty issues." It's been a long month ; ) 

He has been named!

It has been the longest we have ever waited to announce what our newest little bundle will be named but without further adieu, Johnny Number Five will now be referred to as.....

Taking about 8+ weeks longer than before, I would say we have been driven crazy trying to figure this out but I'd be lying. Robby would be fine waiting until it's time to write the name down for the birth certificate....it's all me. Again, just like last time, boy names are extremely difficult to come up with at the Nest & even harder for us to agree on but we just love the final choice.

A little back story on how we got here....

Since we ended up with the first four Valentine babies having names that include an "O" I was determined to find another name with one. Robby, not so much...but that didn't surprise me since I am known to be a little strange about letters, numbers & our children's names going well together. A friend of ours mentioned the name & initially we were not won over. We continued making our "mental" lists & crossing them out. I liked Milo for a bit but we could not get the "Milo & Otis" movie out of our heads & were forced to cross draw a big fat line through it mainly because Milo is a talking cat. I brought up "Arlo" one evening & it caught Rob's attention. It met the "not completely strange but not common" genre. We immediately jumped online to learn more about the name. 

Here are some things we found out:

• it is of German descent
• it means "fortified hill"
• Woody Guthrie's son is named Arlo & wrote he wrote song about him called "Goodnight Little Arlo" - that was the "winning" over for me
• There is a series of children's books about Arlo the Armadillo & another book called "Arlo's Artrageous Adventure" that Grammy just happened upon while out shopping one day. It is now in our library : ) 
• there is no connection to Texas history or towns which sent us on a hunt for a middle name that might meet that requirement for the Valentine boys

I think we made the decision on the first name by the end of May but the middle name was undecided until a couple weeks ago. Robby was still hooked on Banjo ; ) I was brainstorming just in case I didn't come around to his thinking. 

I had been adding some family names to my list but nothing stood out as perfectly fitting between Arlo & Valentine until I thought about my grandfather who was named Shedrick Benton Loftin. BENTON....I loved everything about how it sounded! First of all, here he is....

My mother's father, a handsome man met my Grandma Shirley in the fall of 1948 when she was attending Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton,Texas when it was an all girls school. She was set up on a blind date by her friend's husband & they went to the Louisiana State Fair. Apparently things went well because they were engaged three months later & married three months after that! 

He & Shirley had a houseful of girls to raise, four of them to be exact & once they were grown, life became filled with son in laws & seven grandchildren. He was pretty fond of the wee ones. We referred to him as Paw Paw & here we are together....

They were faithful to one another in marriage until he died in 1993.  I was only ten at the time but remember the days that followed as it was my first experience with death. One thing that comes to mind is the scripture that was read at his funeral & was recorded in the book that my grandmother wrote. These are words that should be hidden in our hearts & we pray would also be hidden in the heart of our baby boy, Arlo Benton.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
     Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!

 Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

 For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

The more time I spend with my grandmother, the more stories I hear about this man.  It makes me miss him & makes me smile as we spend time in the home where he once lived. GGran even has his old recliner so snuggles abound with my four from the arms of the wife he loved for many years. He would have enjoyed the growing number of great grandchildren bringing much noise & destruction to his home....lots of noise....like 7 (soon to be 9) great grandchildren over the course of six years kind of noise.

Once I said "Benton" to Robby, he smiled & said he agreed it was a great fit.  The name got bonus points when we found that it is a Texas ghost town....not because of the ghost part....just the town ; ) It means "settlement in a grassy place" which with "fortified hill"makes a lovely combination of what you could do on a sunny day. We got to laughing at the park the day we decided what to name him. We were saying "I'm going to climb up this fortified hill & settle in a grassy place" aka "I'm going to Arlo Benton." How many names offer that? Haha! He has also said that my belly is looking more & more like a fortified hill every day....true statement.

Sigh of relief, he finally has a name!

Robby brought to light something he knew I would LOVE about the name Arlo due to my obsession with letters. Arlo contains - A from Anson, R-for Robby, L-for Lauren & O-for Owen & we call Eloise "Lo or Lolo" all the time. He was right, I loved that but was left thinking about someway it could relate to Charlotte's name. Two days later I was writing her name and realized...ch-ARLO-tte! How fun! Not necessary but SO fun.

To elaborate on a bullet point that was previously listed,  the beloved "Goodnight Little Arlo" song that won my heart over to his name could not be any cuter! He actually says "darlin" instead of Arlo but it is easily interchangeable with not only Arlo but our other two buckaroos.  We are always looking for a new bedtime tune! This one has a Gene Autry sound like Home on the Range which gets me into a country mood. Here are the lyrics if you don't make it over to YouTube to check it out....

Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight, goodnight,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight, goodnight,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight.

You've played, little darlin', all day
Your eyes are sleepy, I see,
Boys and girls are all sleepin' tight,
Goodnight little darlin', good night.

You've played, little darlin' all day,
With dolls and wagons and clay,
Your bath was warm and your jammers are nice,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight.

You hurt your finger, I see,
Come here and bring him to me.
Wrap little finger up nice and tight,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight.

You danced and sung with the kids,
Told me all that you did,
Told me your games and told me your fights,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight.

Tippy tip toe now to bed,
Snug and snug down your head,
Cover you over so nice and tight,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight.

I'll see you when the morning gets bright,
Don't let the beddybugs bite,
We'll both jump up when the sun gets light,
Goodnight, little darlin', goodnight.

Oh my goodness, LOVE the words, love that he calls them jammers & love that it has that country bumpkin feel. For the first week in early May that we started talking about this name, we played the song from Rob's phone & placed it near my belly. At that point, Arlo was not doing a whole lot of wiggling but throughout that week he would get movin' & groovin' when it would play. Finally after a week of "trying out the name," I said "Let's play the song & if he dances again, his name will be Arlo." I laughed out loud when by the time we hit verse two, he kicked hard enough for me to see him from the outside as he started his little jiggity jig. It was decided, he wanted to be named Arlo & that would be his name!

We shared with the kids & some sweet little lady named Charlotte had a really hard time adjusting to the idea.....like extremely hard. She shared that she would not help take care of him if his name was Arlo & that if we named him that she was just going to call him Everett or Oliver (two other names that had been crossed off). It caused such disruption in our day if the name was mentioned we just referred to him as "baby brother" for a good week or two before gradually adding it back into regular vocabulary. She caught me off guard one afternoon when she said "I think I really like the name Arlo now Mommy!" Whew! Glad that was over! It was over until she got hooked on Tyler for a middle name....her idea completely....she has said that she might just call him Tyler anyway. People will be so confused with a grandpa calling him Johnny & a sister calling him Tyler ; )

The kids refer to him as Arlo all the time now & are happy to share with others that baby Arlo is in Mommy's belly.  I thought it wold be fun to use blocks to announce the name just like we did with the twins but make it a little more exciting with four siblings behind the blocks. There was a lot of rebuilding due to a wild bronc-O...

Owen was making us all laugh & I thought there could not be a more fitting photo series to document life at the Nest right now. Get ready Arlo Benton, life is a little on the wild side around here! Don't worry little buddy, we won't do your birth announcement like this ; )