toddler bedtime routines

Routines are important for babies/toddlers. I think that's something that every new parent hears a thousand times from the moment they find out they are pregnant. I couldn't agree more! To me, routine and regularity are as important to a toddler as good nutrition and a good night's sleep- and these things seem to work together. Now, I'm not a firm believer that every single part of the day needs to be scheduled- in fact, we purposely take our boys new places and introduce them to new things as much as possible. Spontaneity can be a good thing! When it comes to bedtime, though, my boys have had pretty set routines since they were very young.

Up until very recently, our evenings looked something like this: 

• We all eat dinner at the table around 6:30.
• Once we are finished, the boys retreat to our bedroom for some roughhousing with Daddy. Elliot has dubbed this special Daddy-son playtime ritual "beat up time"- lol.
• At 7:15, it was bath time for Emmett and Elliot would go shower with Daddy or occasionally tubbie with his brother. 
• Emmett would be dressed in his PJs, with teeth and hair brushed, and tucked into bed right around 7:30. Usually he's asleep within minutes. He's never been difficult to put to sleep- even when he was younger, he would just nurse himself to sleep for a few minutes after his bath, but he stopped doing that when he was fifteen months and has been quick to get into bed ever since. 
• Elliot usually emerged from his shower with Daddy sometime around 8, and then he would be allowed to watch a episode of one of his favorite shows while he ate his nighttime snack. Then we'd read him a book and tuck him into bed.

Since the boys are going to be sharing a room when we move into our new house in three weeks, we decided now was as good a time as ever to get them onto the same bedtime schedule/routine. After we talked about it we settled on a target bedtime of 8:30, which is an hour later than usual for Emmett and a half hour-hour earlier than usual for Elliot. We decided they would bathe together around 7:30, then once they were in their PJs, they would sit on the couch and eat a bedtime snack together (for Elliot's sake- poor child has my super fast metabolism and wakes up hungry in the middle of the night if he doesn't eat before bed) while we read them two books. Then they would get tucked into bed at the same time.

We figured getting them on the same page now would make for a much easier transition come February when in the new house- after all, they are already going to have to adjust to a new home, in a new state, with a much colder climate. Just because it may be an easier transition later, however, does not mean it will be easy now. Emmett seems to have adjusted well enough- although he's been napping earlier the last few days (I assume because he's going to bed later now). Elliot is having a harder time, though. He also seems less than thrilled about sharing a room with baby. I'm hoping that changes once the excitement of seeing the new house and his new bedroom hit, though. They're also getting new matching toddler beds so I'm sure he'll be excited about that. For now, we've been giving him extra cuddles and reassurance. I hope he warms up to the idea soon!

What are your little one's bedtime routines? If you have multiples, how did you prepare your older child to share his/her bedroom?

I didn't take any pictures specifically for this post... so instead here are some fun throwback pictures of Elliot in their crib! Which we sadly just sold, since Emmett is now sleeping like a big boy. 

potty practicing

If you're like me, you shudder when you hear the words "potty training."

I've been dreading it. I don't know if it's that word, training, which seems more appropriate for a four-legged friend, or the fear of trading in the cloth diapers and cute fluffy butts for soaked underwear and pants... and socks... and floors... but I've been putting off potty training  for awhile now.

So imagine my disdain when my son, a few months before turning two, starting showing some SERIOUS interest in the "big boy potty." First, he started accompanying me to the bathroom. Then, he started watching me intently, as if he were memorizing all the steps to a successful bathroom break. Soon enough, he started insisting that HE tear off the toilet paper for me, and was always excited about flushing the toilet and yelling "byeeee!" as the water swirled and dissapeared. Around that time, he also started telling me when he had a dirty diaper, which was soon followed by him telling me BEFORE he pooped.

You're probably thinking, that's great! So you started potty training him then, right?  Wrong. You see, everything I've read says that they aren't ready to start until they have aquired a number of skills {being able to undress themselves, climb up onto the potty by themselves, wake up from a nap with a dry diaper, etc}. Well... Elliot isn't really able to do ANY of those things. So I figured we'd wait awhile. Elliot, however, had other ideas.

Not too long ago, we started occasionally taking his diaper off and sitting him on the toilet. Every time he'd go, we'd clap, cheer and dance. It got to the point where he would try to hold it until I remembered to take him potty, so I decided to start having him wear "big boy" undies {SOOO stinking cute!} and that's where we're at now. He wears underwear most of the day at home. I take him to go potty about every 30 minutes and he, surprisingly, has not had any accidents. He gets pretty upset when he doesn't have his "un-jees" on. He's not able to pull down his pants on his own yet, or get on or off the potty by himself, and I seriously doubt that he'd remember to use the potty if we were out of the house so I know he's not actually "potty trained" yet. That's fine with me. The average boy in the US isn't fully "toilet trained" until he is 38 months old. Elliot is only 25 months old. So we've got plenty of time. :) 

I've decided to call our little approach "potty practicing." 

We have no set timeline or goal... just that he uses the potty whenever possible, and that we always remain positive along the way. There won't be any pressuring or punishing. Thanks to that, HE LOVES IT! He really does. 

Elliot's Birthday Party

I always feel a little bad for winter babies {having been one myself} because the party options are so limited. We moved a lot when I was growing up, yet we still never once lived anywhere where it was warm enough for me to have a party outside- and my birthday is in November, which is just the beginning of winter.

Poor Elliot was born smack in the middle of winter AND only a week from Christmas. It is improtant to us, though, that we still celebrate and make sure he has a very special birthday every year. Yesterday, a lot of kids were sick and couldn't make it to his party, but we can't complain too much because here in Texas it was 70 degrees and we were able to have his party at the park!

It was a Mickey Mouse themed party, because Elliot is pretty much obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We were working with a small budget {another downside to having your birthday so close to Christmas!} but at this age, he could have honestly cared less about the decorations. He did LOVE his cupcakes and his Mickey Mouse balloons, though. And he had an absolute blast- and that's all that really matters.

 When we first got there, all he wanted to do was eat the cupcakes. He made several attempts to run off with them and stole a few Mickey Mouse ears.

Then when it was FINALLY cupcake time, it was all we could do to drag him from the playground. He had a blast blowing out the candle (multiple times) BUT barely ate any of his cupcake. Instead, he insisted on having a fork and feeding frosting to his friends...

We are lucky to have such wonderful, generous friends. Elliot received a ton of great gifts... and looking at them all strewn across the floor this morning has made it clear that it's time for me to get him the toy organizer I've been eying for awhile now. That way we have a specific spot for all of his different kinds of toys- little people, play food, puzzles, blocks, balls, cars, etc. We've been using a bin organizer, but since he can't see inside he dumps them. 

This one:

A few more pictures: