same tunnel. same boy. different batman shirt.

my how he has grown.

don't say you weren't warned that this post is almost entirely about potty training....

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i've had some people question my sanity when i told them that we were going to start potty training during the summer where mike was gone five out of seven days a week, but i'm going to be honest here. i'm about the laziest potty trainer on the planet.

i read up on everything i could about potty training, and especially potty training with speech delays and after every single article or blog post all i could think was...

so i'm taking the lazy route. sometimes we potty train, sometimes we don't. i only sit him on the toilet about every half hour or so. if he's just peed, sometimes i go longer.

but this is the only way that i knew i could both potty train and also stay sane.

i was a little worried that my method would be a complete failure.

today gave me hope that i might be okay.

that maybe the lazy method is just what tennyson and i need.

because today he lasted all day in his underwear, and we didn't have an accident until seven thirty pm!

he didn't even pee in his diaper during nap time.

(nor am i sure he ever actually got more than a few drops into the toilet, but i'm ignoring that for now)

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truth is, tennyson has been a new kid lately. sometimes it is like a light turns on in his brain and he's suddenly a different kid. 

he eats plums now. without us even asking him to.

he ate a peanut butter sandwich for dinner.

we went to the grocery store two days ago and when a stranger came up and talked to him, he didn't start flipping out. he actually said "hi".

he is suddenly following directions and his words are becoming more intelligible. 

we are really enjoying it. we don't know when the light will be flipped off again, so we are soaking in every single minute of this tennyson.

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here's to the start of becoming potty trained.

we've got a long road ahead of us,

but we'll get there soon enough.

i love celebrating the fourth in chicago.

 

it means we get to be around family,

and eat lots of ribs.

 

this year, we even found what we thought was going to be a little parade.

the parade lasted an hour and a half.

not so little, but totally spectacular.

plus, the kids got spoiled with patriotic flags and beads.

 

 

at one point during our "little" parade, a helicopter came down the street.

and maggie almost died when she saw mickey mouse turn the corner.

 

 

really, maggie stole the show in her little outfit, wobbling down the street.

i think people enjoyed watching her wander around as much as they enjoyed the parade.