On the subject of potty training, I am really mystified. Gavin was using the toilet for about a week. He loved it! It was his favorite thing to do.

"Gavin, do you have to pee pee in the potty? Yes or no?" I'd ask.

"Yes!" he would shout with great enthusiasm.

Now, when I ask him the same question, he pretends not to hear, or runs away. What's the deal? Since he has autism, I'm thankful to get any kind of response to a question. Being able to ask "Yes or No" is extremely valuable. But why now is his standard reaction a nonverbal vamoose?

I think the answer is that the novelty of using the potty is gone. The honeymoon is over. It was fun for a week, but he's found that it is much easier to just let it go, on the go. Dirty pullups don't seem to bother him at all. We've tried the cool alert pullups. They haven't had an effect that I can measure, and I have reservations about the chemicals in them. There is one thing that motivates him like no other, and that is the "Cars" movie. Gavin absolutely loves the extra film that comes on the dvd called "Mater and the Ghostlight." We've turned that into a huge bonus prize for him to earn only if he poo poo's on the potty. He knows that the only time he gets to see Mater being chased all around Radiator Springs by the Ghostlight is after he does a number two. So far it's worked pretty well. One of us has to remind him that there is a great prize waiting in the dvd player if he succeeds. When he doesn't remember (which is most often) and I have to change his pullup, I remind him then that Mater is going to have to wait. He's always very regretful.

I love the way his brain works sometimes. He can be so funny. When he's sitting on the potty, just looking around and humming to himself, I remind him of the task at hand. I'll say "Get that poo poo in the water, so we can flush it away!" (He loves to flush the toilet) He looks at me thoughtfully for a moment, then coaxes "Come on poo poo, take a drink!" As if the poo poo is hiding, not wishing to be flushed. What a kid.

Gavin goes to a great little pre-school where they are working with him on this subject as well. They take him to the toilet every hour, and he has very few accidents. When Garrett is potty trained, I hope his older brother will finally catch on. Garrett seems ready now, so I guess we should be concentrating our efforts on him? Sometimes peers are the best teachers, I think. I just hope they're both in regular underwear by the time the third ankle biter arrives! Three rounds of diaper changes would be more than I could handle. God bless you parents of multiples! I don't know how you do it!

I tell ya, there's nothing more fun and satisfying than sitting down at your computer and putting pictures together with music to make something uncommonly cool. It's even more fulfilling when the pictures are of your own kids! I learned how to use my Mac's "iMovie" program when I made Gavin's Surfers Healing video. It was so easy, even a novice like me figured it out in just a couple hours! You can get to Gavin's video from our home page by clicking the Surfers Healing box. You need to see it because it is really beautiful. Sara found the song and gave me all the pictures, I just put it together.

With that first video under my belt, I felt like I could do anything! I came up with this notion of a quick tempo swingy song playing while our kids dance in different Snugfits shirts. That effort proved futile as our kids' dancing skills haven't even risen to the level of "Amateur Bottom Shaker". It wasn't going to be the iPodesque hip commercial I wanted. I still might do a knock-off of the iPod ad which features the Fratelli's Flathead song with my boys just going berserk. That shouldn't be too hard. Anyhow, we just took a bunch of cute shots of Garrett and Ava (Garrett's cousin) and put them together with the music and BAM! The quick tempo swingy part of my original intention is still there, just without the live action. Check it out below. Feel free to comment! Does it leave you spellbound? Or does it leave you dazed and confused? I sent the video out to our friends and family to get feedback before posting it on YouTube, and the response I received was mostly "It's too fast." So this version is actually much slower and easier to follow.

I'm trying to come up with more ideas for future ads. I like the concept of a giant Garrett in a black onesie (with a skull on it ) stomping on Star Wars figures. Set to some heavy rock music, of course. That would be so much fun. Like a little Godzilla! Or maybe something to do with the election. Garrett at the podium in a "Me For President 2056" shirt, laying out his positions. I'm sure his policies would include a new holiday: Mickey Mouse Day, and another amendment to the constitution: The Right to Bear Stinky Diapers.

If anybody has another idea for a video I'd welcome it. As you can see, I'm really reaching here.

 

The transition from crib to bed isn't supposed to be easy, is it? Garrett has (almost) taken right to it! He loves sleeping in his little bed. The boys have a trundle bed from Ikea, very comfortable! Gavin is on the high part and Garrett gets the roll out bed. The problem is this: he has learned that he's free to roam the house at night if he chooses. I'm not sure if babies can sleepwalk or what, but he comes out of their room sometimes with a glazed look in his eye. He just wanders around. The other night I found him standing at the couch, sleeping with his face down in the cushion, sippy in hand. Weird! Does anybody know what is up with this? I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself some night. Thank God he can't unlock the doors, he'd probably meander on down the road if he could. He does it almost every night. He's scared me to death a couple times. I've opened my eyes at 2 a.m. to see him crouching like a gargoyle on the hope chest at the foot of the bed, a "Gotcha Daddy" grin on his face.

We use the Super Nanny technique of taking him back to the bed without saying a word, so he doesn't turn it into a game. It seems to work! That Super Nanny is awesome. I just wish Garrett would stay in bed all night! I don't want to put up a gate at their door, since we're also trying to get Gavin to use the potty at night on his own. This gives me a couple more t-shirt ideas: "Night Prowler" or "The baby that never sleeps" ...maybe?

Other than his nightly wanderings, Garrett is a great little sleeper. I can't really complain about either of my boys' sleeping habits. I've heard some real horror stories from other parents trying to make the transition. For Gavin's transition from the crib, we bought a bed tent that looked like a ladybug, since he was used to a crib that had a mesh tent over it. Sara found it on Amazon, I think. It had nice little pockets to hold the sippy cups inside. Gavin loved that part. So when we had to take the tent away and move Garrett to the trundle bed, I took Gavin to Target and bought some 99¢ car cup holders for him. They hook right on the bed. Sweet! He was so thrilled with his new cup holders, he didn't even notice the ladybug was gone. He finally got to enjoy the big green wall leaf thing (also from Ikea!) that hovers over the bed. I remember the first night for Gavin without the tent. We tucked him in and asked how he liked his new bed. "Green leaf." he said with a twinkle. You gotta love that!

I have entered one of our baby tee shirt designs into a "mini contest" of sorts. I chose our "Mine!" design for the entry. So far, we've gotten a fair amount of clicks out - but not many votes. I am hoping that some of you might be willing to help us out! If you've got an extra minute or two on your hands (which I realize is few and far between if you are a parent), just click the banner below to be taken to the voting page. Thank you so much for your support!