Mudgie is Potty Trained

Well, it was a big week for everyone, but no one more so than Mudgie. When we got him dressed Monday morning, we put him in his "big boy underpants." For weeks we have been telling him that his diapers were going to run out after vacation, and then he'd have to go on the potty. Well let me tell you, he was ready. He spent the week going to the bathroom about 4 times an hour each morning, but after 2 accidents on Monday, he has been peeing and pooping on the potty 100%! In fact, he was so proud of the first poop he did on the potty that Dave actually took a picture of him beside it. He's still wearing a diaper for naps and night-time, but he's really been waking up dry from those too. Maybe next month we'll try ditching those too.

Aaron has had a big week, too. After he slept so well on Sunday and Monday nights, I decided he really didn't need to eat in the middle of the night. When he woke up at 3am on Tuesday night (technically Wednesday morning), I went in to hold him and comfort him, but did not feed him. He was not happy with me, and kept pulling at my shirt for me to feed him. Instead, I put him back into his crib, where he cried for 2 minutes and then slept the rest of the night. The next night he slept through until 4:30am, when I went in and did the same thing, with the same result. And then, and here's the best part, he's pretty much slept through the night every night since then. He'll wake up sometime between 5:30 and 6:30, and I'll bring him into bed and feed him there in the morning, just like I used to do with Mudgie. It's nice cuddle time, and it gives me a little more time to really wake up. I am very pleased with how easy the night weaning went, and I only hope Aaron keeps up the new sleep habits!

Aaron is also now a walking machine. Of course, the places he most wants to walk are places where he is most likely to get hurt; the stairs, pavement, and near sharp corners. He has gotten much better at falling this week (though Dave thinks we should be helping him get better at walking), and while he is doing better at protecting his face when he goes down, he's still managed to accumulate his fair share of bumps and bruises (as is evident by this week's pictures).

One thing hasn't changed, however, and that is the obsession with my belly button. In case you forgot, when Mudgie finally stopped nursing, he replaced it with playing with my belly button (his idea, not mine). He's pretty kept up that habit ever since, although sometimes he'll be more into it than others. While incredibly cute and sweet, it's a habit that is a little awkward in public, so we try to keep the "belly button time" strictly for home. And, while Mudgie's belly button obsession was completely his own, Aaron has become equally infatuated with my belly, and that is entirely a learned behavior! They will both climb all over me and jockey for real estate on my stomach, and they'll get mad at each other if one is invading the other one's territory.

I love my cuddly boys, and I love how they love me (or at least my belly) so much, but there are times when I wouldn't mind a small bubble of space all to myself. However, Dave's mom tells me how Dave was just the same way. In fact, they used to call him her little shadow, and then one day she turned around and he wasn't there anymore, and she missed him. I know I will miss it when these boys don't want to play with my belly button, or snuggle on the couch and watch tv, or even have me read them a bedtime story, so I try to cherish every moment I have with them, and soak up all the love and cuddles I can.