The holidays have arrived at our house. We put up the Christmas tree on Friday. I always imagine Christmas carols playing gently while we lovingly decorate/sing along, smiling at each other and maybe holding hands at some point. In reality, ornaments kept slipping through little hands, smashing into shards. We somehow couldn’t find the end of the lights that actually plugs into the wall. The music was too overwhelming and I was sweating about halfway through all of the cheer. But it was good. I love Christmas and I was excited to get our new house decorated.
This year, I bought chocolate advent calendars so each day the boys get to open a little cardboard door for a tiny piece of chocolate, but I also got a BIG advent calendar (which I have wanted since, FOREVER). I bought this wooden box and added sparkly numbers. And then I went on a QUEST for 24 surprises that fit inside the drawers (which are way smaller than you’d think). I found tiny playdough, tiny transformers, chapstick, candy, cars, etc. I had major second thoughts when I’d figured out 15 surprises and still had 9 left. But it has been MAGICAL. The boys are SO excited to open it each day and I LOVE this sort of thing.
We started a tradition when Xander was 1 that included hot chocolate after putting up the tree. This year, Trader Joes had a lot of fun things, so we had peppermint marshmallows, hot chocolate bombs (the snowman melted in the hot milk) and chocolate stir sticks. It was VERY yummy and I highly recommend you get some TJ snowmen for a treat!
When we finished decorating, we wrote letters/drew pictures for Santa Claus. Xander is doing so well with his writing and I am so impressed!
My FAVORITE Christmas tradition begins once our tree goes up- ELF ON THE SHELF IS HERE! I know some parents find it to be a chore, but I LOVE it. I pin ideas all year and then plan out the whole season, buying supplies and accessories. On the first night, our elf was on the Christmas tree and hung streamers all over the living room and tree. Xander was VERY excited for the arrival of the elf and was up at 6am on Saturday morning.
On Saturday, we had a zoom call with Santa. I’d emailed ahead of time and Santa congratulated Augustus on starting potty training (more on that saga later). The boys told him some things they are hoping to get and it was very cute.
On Friday, we started potty training with Augustus. He has resisted (ie- screamed bloody murder) every single time we’ve tried for a year. He does not want to give up diapers. The potty training book basically says if you wait until after 3, you’re completely screwed and DO IT NOW. So we decided we needed to just do it. Friday morning when it was time to take off the overnight diaper and get dressed for the day, we managed to get him into pants without noticing he was without a diaper, but once he noticed, it was the start of a 2 hour SCREAM TANTRUM. I was nearly in tears. I started questioning whether we were traumatizing him. In between screaming, he peed in his pants about 15 times (and once on the new couch).
When Xander was 2, we potty trained him in 2 days. We said, “you put pee in the potty” and I am not kidding, he shrugged his shoulders and that was that. My very type A child, even as a 2 year old was like, “pee goes in the potty” the end. And then I made the cardinal sin of parenting and I got sanctimonious. I thought, “all those moms in facebook moms group complain and make this seem so hard. I don’t see what the big deal is” and the universe registered that and filed it away and I am PAYING for that sin now. If you are reading this and you have a child and you are even TEMPTED to judge another parent, I warn you, DON’T DO IT. Don’t do it. Just don’t don’t don’t do it. Send sweet, kind, loving thoughts to other parents and recognize that you GOT LUCKY. You are not somehow winning the parenting game.
Saturday was a tiny improvement in that he didn’t scream the whole day. He never managed to get pee in the potty, but he didn’t scream. We started a sticker chart (the first sticker was just for SITTING on the potty). I offered bribes, money, treats, literally anything. It didn’t work.
Piggybacking on Santa’s encouragement from Saturday afternoon, on Sunday night, the elf went potty training themed. Undies on the ceiling fan, holiday toilet paper tp-ing our living and dining rooms and a special surprise gift from Santa! New undies for Augustus and an “encouraging brother” gift for Xander.
The boys were SO excited there was a surprise this morning. Xander was up at 5:45 bouncing around. And then Gussie found out it was underwear, not toys and he was very sad, so that was an elf fail.
Today has been a mixture of hysterical tantrums and some good moments. We created a reward system just for TRYING (see the small bag of treats we now keep in the bathroom?!). Augustus gets an m&m or mini marshmallow every time he TRIES. So far he has tried about 14 times and peed on the floor 3 times. I am definitely going to be the next one to cry.
We got a few more photos hung up in our living room and our house definitely feels more “home-like” every day!
The boys have figured out how to play video games and it’s cute to hear Xander explaining how to play and see them try.
It’s been a bit of an exhausting weekend, and I am VERY nervous to send Augustus to school tomorrow (how many pants do I need to send? EVERY single pair he owns?!) But I am hoping that professional teachers and some 3 year old peer pressure MIGHT help us in this journey. Otherwise, this kid is going to high school in diapers. May the spirit of the holiday season be with us….
