Adventures in Potty Training

It's that time again...we have started training another child to use the potty. But I have to say, I am not super excited about it.

When we decided to train Declan, I was totally into it. I was done with diapers for him, we had just had Inara so we were going to be sticking close to home, I had lots of help since Sean took time off work and my mom came up to lend a hand, and it just felt like he was ready, even though he was only 20 moths old.

This time, I am totally done with diapers, PERIOD. I hate them. So that is a big motivator. Plus, Inara is SO ready, like Declan was, at 20 months. She tells us when she's pooped in her diaper, she insists on sitting on the potty anytime she sees Declan do it, she constantly pulls at her diaper and sometimes removes it completely. But for some reason I am just not into the work it takes to encourage successful potty training.

Nevertheless, we started on Friday and despite my reservations, it's been going really well. She's gone numerous times on the potty and only had a handful of accidents. She has even gone to sit on the potty without being prompted or asked. She's even said "Potty" to us, and then when we tell her to go sit, she pees. SO successful. And I am so proud of her. Again, I'm just not super into the hard work we as parents have to give towards making this milestone a victorious one. I am however looking forward to moving out of the baby stage that we have been in and into the toddler/preschool stage. That part is exciting and something to look forward to!

Reflecting

"We can not change where we've been, but we can change where we are going".

As I've been reflecting on 2014 I have felt the Lord use this quote to really speak to me. It's referring to the past, but not only the past year, the past in general. And while what has happened to us before is important and a part of our lives, it is not where we are going. We can not live in the past and our past does not define us. Isn't that amazing?

It makes me realize how much I love the New Year. I love that it gives each of us a chance to make a fresh start. It gives us the chance to reflect on the year behind us and look forward to the one in front of us. We leave one years accomplishments, failures, successes, defeats, victories and lessons all in the past and then eagerly await what is to come in the future...those things that God has already laid out for us to walk in.

Sean and I went out to dinner the other night and talked about what our hopes, dreams, and expectations were for this coming year. It was really fun and encouraging to go back and forth sharing what we'd like to see happen for ourselves, each other, our kids, our family and our relationships. Some of the ideas were new and even a bit surprising, while others were things we've talked about before, but have never fully gone after, for whatever reason.

I really feel like 2015 is going to be a great year for the Connolly Clan. Big plans are in the works and I just know that those things that we end up pursuing are going to be good because we serve a good God who loves us and only wants good things for us.