It's Potty Training Time!

So, we've finally started the process we've been putting off for several months now... potty training! Marc and I had been talking about it, but have been lazy about actually implementing the "training." Well, we finally decided last week it was time to start. We'll have several weeks to work on it before the new baby comes, and then we'll just deal with whatever happens after she is born. We've heard that if you've been working on potty training with big sister or brother, that they usually go back to where they started after the baby comes. Well, that's just a chance we're taking and if he does go back, then that's fine; we'll just keep working at it. We haven't really been that strict this week with the potty training since we've been at different family members' houses and it's just kinda been crazy, so we're not really doing a good job. Ha! We did potty train 2 days last week and it didn't really go the greatest. But that's okay! Mason and I have been staying home a lot since I'm on partial bedrest, so it's been a good time to let Mason run around the house with big boy underwear on. We have brought the potties out; one in our bathroom and one in the living room. We let him pick out the pair of Thomas the Tank undies he wants to wear and we tell him to let us know whenever he feels like he needs to go potty. So, he wore them for several hours and kept telling me he needed to pee pee. So, he would sit on the potty and... nothing. At least he was getting used to telling me, even though nothing was coming out. So this went on for a few hours and then the next thing I knew, I saw where he had pee peed all over our bedspread!! So, I guess he couldn't tell me in time and then was too embarrassed that he had peed so didn't tell me about the accident. Oh, and he had also poo pooed in the undies earlier that day. So, that was Day #1! At night during sleeping, we've been putting Pull-Ups on him, but still telling him to get up and come tell us if he has to go potty. Well, that hasn't happened. We also sit this huge Cracker Barrel sucker up on the fireplace and tell him that when he goes poo poo in his potty, then he'll get that sucker as a treat. So anyway... potty training has been very interesting, and not very consistent so far. Marc and I have never been strict with stuff when it comes to these things with Mason because he's been such an easy-going child. Sleeping, eating, etc... it's all been pretty easy... until now! So we're trying to keep that same "easy-going" attitude with potty training, but will change it if we need to. At least the idea is being introduced and he's getting used to all this "big boy underwear" talk. In fact, he has gotten about 10 pair of them for Christmas!

We'll really buckle down after New Year's since we're going on a little trip then and it definitely wouldn't be successful then. Here are some pics of the process so far...

Marc putting Mason's very first pair of undies on him

Undie change #1... he kept deciding he wanted a DIFFERENT pair of Thomas undies on...

Checking out some other options

I just love that little butt!

Back to the drawer to pick out the final undie change... James the Tank.

Picking out a potty DVD

Excuse our messy living room... this is what it looks like in just 5 minutes when you have a 2 1/2 year old little boy in the house!

Bath Time!

Helping DaDa run the water
Going night-night for the first time with Pull-Ups on... getting his monkey all situated
Good night, my sweet big boy! What a big day you've had of your first day of potty training!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas Day with your family! We are so blessed to be able to celebrate Jesus' birth this day and to be able to share that with Mason. I love it when he brings his Christmas books to me and asks me to read to him about "Baby Jesus." Makes my heart happy! I pray you all feel the love of Christ today and remember that He is the reason for the season! Love you all!

A Thanksgiving to Remember!!

We had a wonderful, extra special Thanksgiving! We had a few different celebrations over about a week's time... they consisted of family of all colors! We are so thankful that not only were we able to spend time with our own flesh & blood, but we also expanded our family this year by inviting some new friends into our home... Read on to find out about that special day!

To kick off the celebrations, we hosted our 2nd Annual Myers Family Thanksgiving at our house the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I love this tradition we started last year and hope to continue it for years to come! I just love having people into my home, especially around the holidays, and knowing that I can have my family into my home every Thanksgiving makes me happy! Especially since our family is changing so much and we have new little people joining us each and every year! This year my brother & sis-in-law's baby girl had her first Thanksgiving with our crazy family, and next year Mallory Jane will be here! My parents come early to help me cook and clean and my dad and I have the most fun in the kitchen preparing a huge feast for everyone! I haven't really been cooking much this year with my rough pregnancy, so I looked forward to this day of getting back in in the kitchen! We cooked all of our fave, completely unhealthy holiday foods. Ha! :) I also tried pumpkin bread for the very first time and it was soooo yummy! Here are some pics from that fun day:

Mason thoroughly entertained by his new flashlight that Aunt Linny got him!

Reading some Thomas with Uncle Steve

Papa Jack admiring his new granddaughter, Wilson Marie

I just LOVE this picture that my cousin Steph captured of Mason!! It may just have to be his "2-year pic" since we haven't had any professional pics taken in a year and a half! Ha!

Playin' some ball with Aunt Linny

Aunt Linny and my MaMaw lovin' on sweet Wilson... she was smothered with some serious Myers sugar that day! :)

Nana Kay with her 2 sweet grandbabies

My favorite picture of Christy and Baby Wilson!! Steph took this one as well. She's good, isn't she!?!??!

MaMaw & me

MaMaw lovin' on her two great-grands

4 generations of Myers'! My MaMaw, dad, Jody (my brother), and Wilson

MaMaw with her 4 grandchildren... my brother, me, & our cousins Erica & Steph

MaMaw with her 3 children... my Uncle Mark, Aunt Linny, and my dad

My brother and his sweet family

My parents with their kids, son- & daughter-in-law, and 2 grandkids

One of many of my mom's Christmas Card outtakes! Ha!

On Thanksgiving Day, my family always serves a meal to the homeless and needy families at the Music City Mission in Nashville. I look forward to this every year! Of course, Mason had to be up all night long sick the night before Thanksgiving this year, so he and Marc stayed here and had a lazy day of tv-watchin' while I headed down to Nashville for a few hours to help at the mission. That night, the 3 of us had a relaxing family night at home and I watched Marc get all of the Christmas decor out of the attic and put the tree up. I sat on the couch and watched because I wasn't feeling very well. I was very proud of my hubby for getting the tree up and starting the decor! He did a pretty darn good job! :) We actually didn't finish the whole process until a few days later since I've been moving kinda slow lately, but we finally got it done! Our tree looks beautiful! I'll post pics later...

The day after Thanksgiving we had a refugee family over to share a meal. Bowling Green has had many refugees enter this past year from Burma, Iraq, Thailand, and some other areas. Our church has really reached out to them and started a ministry for them. Marc and I wish we could become more involved and have all these ideas of ways we can help, but we just need to get on it! Marc has been picking up a refugee family every Sunday for church and sometimes Mason goes with him. I'm so thankful that our son gets to be introduced to a ministry like this at such a young age. Marc says that Mason loves riding in the car with all these Burmese & Iraqi people showing them his Blues Clues, Toy Story, and other movies he gets to watch in the car. HA! Anyway, it had been heavy on Marc's heart to invite a family over for Thanksgiving and share some of our blessings with them. We invited a Burmese family who came to BG from a refugee camp in Thailand. Marc had picked this family up several times for church and has grown pretty close to them. I had never met them. The high school daughter is the only one who can understand and speak English, so she was a great help in communicating with them! We sat and talked and talked and learned so much about them. Mason was so excited to have the kids sit with him at his special table, and we pulled it into the dining room so that we could all be together. I will never, ever forget that scene of us all eating Thanksgiving lunch! It was just so special, and something I hope we can do every year. This family had never been invited into an American home, so Marc had no idea at the time how much of an impact he was making when he called them and invited them over. I just love my husband! He is so caring!!!

I left the Music City Mission Thanksgiving afternoon with the van loaded full of leftover food, so we were able to put it to good use yet again! It's the basic Thanksgiving meal of turkey & dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes & gravy, and rolls. The refugees have their own staples that they eat, and chicken and rice are among them. They aren't really loving American food, so Marc and I wanted to keep this meal as simple as we could. I cooked up some white rice, which I haven't done in YEARS, and it was the biggest it! They loved all the food and went back for seconds! The best part of the day though... introducing our new friends to the WII!!!! It was hilarious! They had the BEST time bowling, playing baseball, and just trying to figure out how the thang worked! Mason enjoyed every second watching this situation and even shared his toys with the little boy, who will be 2 soon. Mason didn't even seem to notice that these people had a different skin color from us or didn't really speak English, he just loved playing with new friends!

The feast we shared with our new friends! Rice & all!!!

Marc workin' away! He was the most serious about it!

We love our new friends! They had these huge smiles on their faces the entire time!

Mason & his new friends sharing a Thanksgiving feast... How beautiful are these sweet faces??!?

The whole gang!

Wii time! Marc teaching the dad how to use the control

Love this!

I could just see our house full of adopted children some day from these different countries! We just love them so much and we know that one day a sweet little child (or more!) from similar circumstances will be brought into our family!

Sweet baby boy was lovin' Mason's chair!

We looked at him a few minutes later and he was all sprawled out enjoying life! :)

What a beautiful picture!!!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed to Madisonville, KY to Marc's parents' where we celebrated with his mom's side of the family; the Certains'. I always love these celebrations cuz they're full of young ins' (well, who are growing up waaay too quickly!) and Mason has the most fun playing with everyone! Even the grown-up uncles! :) It was a fun day of watching KY football, eating LOTS of food, and just hanging out with Marc's family.

Our little family of almost-four!!

Sucker time with Great-Uncle Gary!

Hangin' with the guys... Marc's cousin, Mace, Uncle Gary, and Da Da

Uncle Gary always has fun with the kiddos!!

The fam having the BEST time watching the game... this is the most sports-lovin' family I know!!! Check out Marc's cousin, Heather, though all involved in her phone! Ha! :)

Us with Marc's parents, brother Jonathan, and Jonathan's girlfriend, Molly

The whole Certain clan! We were missing Marc's cousin Ginny & her little family, and his cousin Fayr & her family... Love that Mallory Jane was adefinitel making an appearance in this picture!! :)

Hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed as ours! It was definitely a time to relax and have fun with family, as well as a time to serve those in need and make new friendships. We desire to show our children that the holidays are times to share our blessings with others, as well as make special memories with our own families. God is so good!