Big Boys in the Backseat

We got his car seat yesterday and he was giddy with glee when we took him for his first ride.  I wish I had videoed it.  He was esctatic!  Dace too loves that they are now the same.  I took this picture before we headed to church this morning. 

Two big boy carseats.  I think I can officially say that I survived the stage of raising a baby and a toddler.  And we all lived to tell the tale!  Zade is only 9 months but he is such a big boy and they are playing so well together, 99.9% of the time.  He loves feeding himself and this week he has started attempting to stand up in the middle of the room.  He is growing up and each day gets a little easier because of it.  Of course, it is bittersweet because those baby days are so precious and so short lived but I am grateful for the sigh of relief that I am feeling lately with these monumental hurdles he is jumping.  We are in the process of training him to sleep through the night and so in a few days when that has clicked, I will really be feeling like a new woman. 

Speaking of hurdles, Dace is a champion of potty training.  We had attempted training 3 times over the last 6 months but nothing stuck until I read a new method on one of the blogs i followed and decided that that method was going to be "the one."  I started with him on Monday, nov 1 and within 4 days he was pretty much trained.  Our first Sunday at church I was really nervous since it was our first outing without a dipe.  He was sitting with the Staffs and I was out in the hall with Zade when he ran out to find me- Mama!  Potty!  So we did potty then he went back in and sat down.  I was blown away!  The kid is so stinkin' smart!  Up until a few days ago, he wasn't having any accidents.  Then this power struggle began and he didn't want to go in the potty the majority of the time.  This morning I came down and he had peed in two pairs of undies already.  Dallin was looking a little perturbed.  So I told Dace- you know how to go in the potty and all our pees and poops go in the potty.  So next time you'll have to clean it up if you don't want to use the potty.  Sure enough, 10 minutes later he was peeing into the toilet.  Responsibility is both a reward and punishment with him.  but he gets it. He's smart enough.  And the rest of the day- no accidents. 

So major progress has been happening with these beautiful boys growing up.  Yes I am already missing the baby stage and yes, I have even caught myself thinking about #3 but only briefly.  Having two has been more of a challenge than I ever thought.  Especially since Zade has been so much more high maintenance than Dace ever was on his worst day and the adjustment has been really trying for me.  But with these hurdles being cleared comes a sense of calm and normalcy for me, something that has been missing...well, probably ever since my mom left, 2 weeks after Zade was born.  I am feeling like I am breathing again, that I can handle this and that maybe, with all of God's graces, I just might have the patience to be a mother. 

And that, in the words of Martha Stewart, is a good thing.