Jordyn Lynn | 2 1/2 Years Old

You're a little girl with one BIG personality right now!  You know {& let us know} exactly what you want!  You're the most rough yet kind, naughty yet loving, sassy yet sweet, strong yet fragile 2 year old I know.  You weren't even supposed to get your photos taken, but like you often do these days, you said 'mama, take my picture,' so I did!  :)

You're becoming a more picky eater.  You pretty much live off of mac & cheese, hotdogs, green beans, peas, lima beans, peaches, grapes, mandarin oranges, & veggie pouches.  And of course snacks…granola bars, bananas, yogurt, applesauce, fruit bars, fruit strips/bites, cranberries, raisins, cheerios, & veggie sticks.  But your favorite foods are Chicken nuggets & cheese {any kind!} We have to bribe you to eat 2 'no thank you' bites of pasta, grilled meat, & most other fruit/veggies.  {I'm SO thankful we started the 'no thank you bites' from the beginning}.  You LOVE Almond milk, but will drink regular {2% or whole} if that's all we have.  Oh, you also LOVE froyo. :)

You like getting out of the house for everything, but you're favorite activities are art class, shopping {mainly groceries}, & the park.  You still love books, but you're taking more interest in baby dolls, princess dress up, and, most of all, art.  Your imagine has taken off all of a sudden.  You create 'houses' from the kitchen chairs and make 'cho cho trains' with the rocking chairs in the living room.   You're also {finally} starting to become interested in animals, so we're hoping to expand that interest this summer.

You're approximately 24 pounds, you wear 2t clothes,  & size 6 shoes.  You still haven't got your 2 year molars.  You've had your eyes check and went to the dentist.  You're potty trained through the day and wear a diaper at bedtime.  You know your full name 'Jordy Lynn Hubbard,' your birthday {October}, and your age {Two--with the peace sign}.   

You always take your socks & shoes off in the car.  You insist on dressing yourself {including shoes & coat}.  You love being out side {specifically for walks, going to the park, & blowing bubbles}.  You like to take photos with my camera/phone.  You've recently taken interest in movies {5-10 minutes of Frozen, The Lion King, & Brave} before bed.  You still love singing {ABC's, the Hello song, Let it Go, The Wheels on the Bus, Old McDonald, etc.} and counting.  Coloring is your favorite thing.  You 'build houses' and 'forts' every day {mainly under the table, but in the living room & toy room too.}  Your favorite thing at the park is swinging on the swings {both kinds}.  You love brushing {& flossing} your teeth.

You love your family and tell us often.  You love to give us smooches and one of my favorite things is when you give us hugs and tell us you love us totally unprompted.  You are so sweet.  You love to take take Murdock outside and feed him.  Anytime Cullyn makes a noise, you're there to soothe him.  You're my biggest helper {'folding' laundry, shutting doors, throwing trash away, etc.}  

I cannot believe it's been 2 1/2 years since you blessed our lives.  You are an absolute ray of sunshine in our lives.  We love you to the moon & back baby girl!

Also noteworthy…you call Cullyn 'Coolan' it's so adorable! :)

Potty Trained @ 2 Years

I tried to crop & blur out the graphic parts {I don't need my daughter hating me in a few years, or any creepers looking at my kid!}

When I potty trained the twins {back when I was a nanny} I basically went 100% big girl panties, took them potty every 30 minutes, & bribed them with m&m's for doing well.  They were 2 1/2 and responded well to this because they really knew what was going on.  But, for the next year, if I didn't ask them if they had to go potty, they would still have accidents.

When Jordyn was about 18 months I tried this method with her {she was a bit young} and I don't think she 'got it.'  In an effort not to traumatize her {& make me go crazy--especially since Cully was a NEWBORN!} we decided to wait and try again later.

Just before her 2nd birthday {about 22 months} we bought pretty panties, potty training books, a ring for the toilet seat & a kids potty.  The weekend after her 2nd birthday I knew I was going to try again.  After a couple of months with two kids in diapers, I was very anxious to transition, plus my goal was to have her 100% potty trained by summer.

::the Process::
I read a little and decided to try the 'naked method' this time.
We made sure to pick a weekend that we didn't have much planned.  We started on a Thursday after daycare and didn't leave the house until Monday morning.  I bought a little potty to keep in the living/dining room area.  We stripped her down {to nothing} and gave her a sippy cup.  The idea is to wait until they feel like they have to go potty as opposed to keep asking them--this worked well for us since Jordyn refused to sit on the potty if she didn't actually have to go.  We spent the next 72 hours keeping one eye on Jordyn at all times.  We read lots of books and stayed close to the potty.  There was one little accident where she pooped on my floor--not the first time, she did it as an infant too--but other than that she didn't have an accident on the floor at all.  As soon as she felt herself start to go she ran over to her toilet.


::the Rewards::
When she peed, she got to get an m&m or a marshmallow.
When she pooped, she got a dum-dum sucker {her Grandma got her started on this bad habit!}
The first few times we definitely FaceTimed family and did happy dances and high-fives {I think she was too young to care about sticker charts or little gifts as rewards}


::the Results::
She has had less then a dozen accidents in the six months she has been potty trained

::the Good::
1.  She was 100% potty trained at home within 3 days.
2.  So quick & easy!
3.  No stress!

::the Bad::
1. convincing her to put clothes on to leave the house for the next two months {not a huge deal, but a little annoying}
2. getting her to use the bathroom when she had panties on {we had to remember to ask her}
3. She was only 90% at daycare & 50% at grandma's the first month or two {I'm not sure if it was because she was too busy or because she didn't have enough time to get to the bathroom and get undressed since she was used to no 'prep time' at home.


::Recommendations::
1. Make sure you have three full days to dedicate to this
2. Buy coloring books, books, fun panties, sticker charts, a new potty chair, etc. to make it fun and keep you entertained for 3 days! :)
3. If you're particularly concerned about your carpet, I would recommend laying a large blanket/old comforter on the floor
4. Push fluids, the more they drink they more they will pee and get the hang of it
5. Try to make it as fun and stress free as you can.  Although it's really simple to us, it's totally new to them


::Noteworthy::
Pooping::    She has always been a heavy wetter and a 'regular' girl {she's gonna kill me when she reads this someday!} She went poop in the potty from the very beginning.  We did have one incident where I thought maybe she had a UTI {she was going pee ALL THE TIME and something just felt off} so I took her to the doctor.  As it turns out, I assumed she was pooping at daycare and daycare assumed she was pooping at home and really she was extremely constipated {the x-ray showed her filled from her pelvis to her chest--poor baby!!}.  So she now takes Miralax with her milk once a day.

Sleeping:: We have never put a diaper on her before nap time and she only woke up wet once {at grandma's}.  I always take her potty right before she lays down though.  We always put her to bed in a diaper.  About 1/2 of the nights she wakes up dry {mainly if she doesn't drink milk/water after supper}.  I always try to push fluids though, so we don't cut her off at a certain time.  I think this summer we will start cutting liquids two hours before bed and transition her to big girl panties 100% of the time.