Poop rewards

We're working on potty-training. Not hard-core potty-training, but slightly more serious than before. We're trying to put him on the potty when he first gets up in the morning and before bed, and any time in between when he mentions that he might be interested. And also if I think he's about to poop :)

So far, we've had probably 10-15 times that he's gone peepee on the potty. (Yay!) We've actually had one time that he went poopoo on the potty (side note: you probably don't want to continue reading this if you're not a mom :). It was after he had been constipated for a few days and I'd started feeding him fiber like crazy, so it was kind of a one-time deal that none of us really care to repeat.

Here are a few conversations we've had lately:

Cade: 'Anna go to Tar-get.
Mommy: OK, go poopoo on the potty and we can go to Target.
Cade: No. 'Anna go to Tar-get.
Mommy: You have to go poopoo on the potty first.
Cade: No. 'Anna go to Tar-get.
...And nothing.

Cade: I 'ant ice screen.
Mommy: OK, go poopoo on the potty and you can have ice cream.
Cade: I 'ant ice screen, cu-cake, choc-wat.
Mommy: OK, you can have ice cream, a cupcake, and chocolate if you go poopoo on the potty.
Cade: I 'ant ice screen, cu-cake, choc-wat, frogs [this is what he calls Nerds...they look like frogs jumping on the package...go look! :)].
Mommy: OK, you can have ice cream, a cupcake, chocolate, and frogs if you go poopoo on the potty.
....And nothing.

It's hysterical. All day long, this is what we do...he mentions something that he wants and I tell him he can have it if he'll go poopoo on the potty. Some other things that have been promised (but none have happened yet!) include: going to the zoo, riding in Daddy's car, going to eat lunch with Daddy, riding in the van, and once I may have told him he could have a million dollars. Good thing he doesn't know what that is. But we're probably going to be in trouble when he randomly decides to actually do it :)

First day of preschool

Cade started preschool today. It's only 5 hours. And right now, it's only once a week. But still...I was a mess last night.

I cried while I was getting all of his stuff together last night. I cried while Ryan and I were praying before we went to sleep. And then this morning...I was ok. I prayed with Cade before we got Ava up, and I got a little teary while I was praying, but it made me feel better. I know that no matter what, God is in control and is watching over my sweet boy when I'm not with him. For that matter, He's in control and watches over Cade when I AM with him :)

It's been really rough around here lately. And that's one of the reasons that we needed to do this. It'll be good for Cade socially, and I know that he'll learn some things earlier than he probably would being here with me and Ava, just because Ava needs so much attention right now. It'll be good for me to have a break from him every now and then (can I just say that it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G to eat lunch by myself??? [Ava was napping]). It'll be good for Ava to have some peace and quiet and undivided attention from Mommy. I know this is the right thing for our family right now.

But. That little boy has been with me all day every day since he was born. Two years, 4 months, and 13 days ago. The times he's been away from me have been with family. It's hard for me to know that he's having experiences that I'm not a part of. It's hard for me to let go and trust that someone else is capable of taking care of him. It's hard for me to let someone else teach him new things. But I am. With God's help. And a few tears. :)