Breakfast with Santa

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast with Santa this morning. Drew was a little shy with the big guy, but his sister warmed right up! She was very quick to tell him that she "would like a Tinkerbell doll for Christmas, and didn't cry once this morning!"

Drew finally told Santa that he "would like a Buzz Lightyear and Woody!" Oh, how the boy loves Toy Story. Three years ago I didn't know if Drew would ever talk, but today he talked with Santa just like every other little boy and girl in that restaurant. Truly amazing.

First Trip to the Dentist

Drew had his first dentist appointment this week! We prepared Drew for the appointment by talking a little about what the dentist would do, like count his teeth and brush them, and we told him that he would have to lay in the chair and say "ahhh!" He was really excited to be a "big boy" and go to the dentist like his big sister.



It only helped that we have probably the worlds most fabulous dentist when it comes to working with children. Seriously, he is excellent. He played so much with Drew and was so interactive with him, which is exactly what Drew needs. Drew wanted to know everything the dentist was going to do, and was talking to him throughout the entire appointment, to the point where I had to tell Drew to be quite so the dentist could work on his mouth! The fact that Drew was so open with him was just amazing.

And it didn't hurt that the world's best big sister sat right by Drew's side, talking him through the whole process. I mean, seriously, how cute is this?

The whole time we were there, I just kept thinking how amazing it was that Drew was able to communicate his needs completely by himself. Spit? Check! Drink? Check! Toy from the toy chest? Check! Without his cochlear implants, Drew's Dad and I would have had to do all of the communicating for Drew. Not that that would be bad, or the end of the world, or anything. But how wonderful is it for Drew that he is able to communicate his needs all by himself?

Poo-Poo in the Potty!

Oh, man! I think potty training Drew might be the end of me, but we've finally had success with getting #2 in the potty! (Is that TMI?)

Drew eating pizza at a celebratory outing to Chuck-E-Cheese!

Having successfully trained one little one, and having changed diapers for nearly five years I'm done with changing diapers! (Unfortunately, that statement isn't literal!)

I really don't think potty training is worth it - and won't even work - until the child is truly ready. Pull-ups are a huge waste of money, and in my opinion, just do not work. And the whole idea of "scheduled potty training" is great for the first day or two you try to put your little one in big-boy (or big-girl) underwear, but how long can I actually keep setting a 15 minute timer?

My goal? A child that recognizes that he has to use the potty and then actually gets himself to the potty in time to do his business. Once we see the potential in this area, it's game on! And that finally happened last night! Drew, who was watching the Lion King (his new favorite movie) in the basement, walked up the stairs and pro-claimed, "I'm gonna go pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty!" Then, he walked upstairs, sat on the potty and went! #1 and #2!! Yahoo!

Since this major break-through, Drew's Dad and I have been dealing with full on tantrums from the little guy. He is refusing to wear a diaper! So, off to school he went today in his Spiderman underwear. I can hardly wait to hear the report from today's adventure at school.

Oh, please, God, let this be the end of my diaper changing, potty training days!