Potty Trained!

Potty training has been a LONG process. Not because Josiah didn't get it. But because of the life we live. The two biggest factors: we travel a lot and when we go out and about here in China, we rarely know where a close bathroom is. (Little ones still squat on the side of the street here. I'm choosing to not let my child do that. :) Josiah has been very willing and he's been doing well for the past few months. But while in Thailand, we had him in pull-ups a lot because we were out walking a LOT. Thailand is similar to China...ya just never know where a toilet is. I'm sure he was totally confused. We encouraged him to potty in the toilet when we were home...then encouraged him to potty in his diaper when we were out.

So when we got back to China, it was time to do this for real. I was still wary of nap time and night time, not quite sure how to conquer the two. Then a friend posted she was training her 2yo. I desperately asked for her method. It's one of those "3-day" methods. I skimmed some parts of it late one night and decided to put it into practice the next day. I was home alone with the kids all day and really tried to focus on the tactics. He was perfect! Same pair of underwear all day! I even kept him in underwear through his nap...perfect! Then night time came. The method suggested banning liquids 2-3 hours before bedtime. We usually do this naturally since he doesn't usually eat or drink much after dinner. We decided to put him in a pull-up anyway, though. We just weren't confident because he usually wakes up with a fairly wet diaper. And the kicker, he asked for a drink as he was laying down...a big drink. :) But, I told him several times if he needed to go potty, to yell for us. And if he kept his diaper dry, he'd get a special treat....

I guess the special treat (donuts) was a good enough bribe! He woke up DRY! I couldn't believe it! So, we'll kick the diapers now. I expect we may have a few more accidents along the way, but I think eliminating the diapers completely is the way to go. I think it just confuses him.

And, we can now confidently put clothes back on him. haha

Lots of updates

So much to update. Read if you want!

Our conference in Thailand was great. Most days, we had a 3-4 hour session including worship, teaching, and updates from workers in all the countries we represent. Then there were options for other specialized sessions and lots of free time to hang out with friends who live all over Asia. We decided to let Malachi sleep as much as possible in the room instead of trying to make him sleep in the carrier while we attended sessions. Thus, Michael and I switched on and off staying with him and missed lots of things. In the end, I think it was better that way. This little one just isn't a great sleeper to begin with.

Josiah had a blast with all of his "friends." (Friends = any small person) There was a large open space in our hallway and we families would gather out there to let our kids run and jump and play. Every day, as soon as Josiah woke up from night or nap, he said, "Let's go meet some friends!" Haha. I still wouldn't call him an extrovert; he took quite a while to warm up, opting to observe first. But, he'd eventually join in. And he did a great job sharing all his toys.

In all, conference was good, but much different than last year. Last year, I got to listen to all the teachings and worship. This year, I was tied down to the kids. So, as stated on the first night, I had to find Him in my own space. Good advice for my life right now. I also got to connect with lots of other moms and talk about our struggles. Some have been here much longer and gave some great wisdom and insight on life with kids in this difficult place.

Once we got back, everyone got sick. AGAIN. This time, just colds/coughs..but man, they've been nasty! (BTW, with this trip, Malachi continued his streak of getting sick every time he arrives at his destination. This is #4.) Malachi is still struggling to get over his. Poor kiddo. His throat is probably so sore. I tell ya, with all these viruses, our family is going to be immune to things all over the world!!

Since we've been back, we've just tried to get into a new routine. Malachi was still taking 4 1.5 hour naps and I decided it was time to go to 3. Well, he doesn't understand that. Most of his naps have still been frustratingly short. He'll get the hang of it someday, right...??

In other news, he enjoys rolling over and laughing/smiling when he's awake. I'm truly amazed he's a decently happy baby with such terrible sleep habits. This morning, he arched backwards out of the Bumbo. Nice, kid. Nice. We also inherited an exersuacer from a friend. Hallelujah for something for him to do! He doesn't like it much yet, but hoping he'll learn to like it so my arms can have a break! We also ordered a huge rug so he can play on the floor. Our tile floors wouldn't be so forgiving if he konked his head.

And, I finally decided not to decorate. Sad, I know. I've lived in bare-walled apartments for 2 years. Last year, it was purposeful because we were told we were going to move 4 different times throughout the year. This year, I was determined to get things on the walls. I came late, in October, and didn't feel like I had my feet under me until December. Then everyone was majorly sick for 2 weeks. Then we went to Thailand for a month. And here we are, with a mere 4 months left. Honestly, it's not worth the effort to figure out how to hang things. We have cement walls. Which means we can only use those 3M sticky hangers. I also ordered wall decals, but am afraid they wouldn't come off the walls to take with us. Sooo...here we are, left with white walls. Oh well. Our next move I MUST decorate. We should be there for 2 years, so that should be some incentive. :)

He LOVED walks every day. He liked to relax with his feet propped up!

Friends and sunshine. Who could ask for more?!

Lots of babies dedicated with our ELIC family.

All smiles with his new toy!

Potty Pep Talk

Josiah is mostly potty-trained. We've been working on it for a while, but being out and about so much in Thailand makes it difficult. We never know where the nearest potty is. And NO, we don't consider the ground an appropriate place to let him go.

The toilets in this hotel flush particularly loudly and he's not a fan. They scare him. So he proceeds to give himself a pep talk as he approaches the commode. It goes like this:

"Don't be scared. Don't be scared. Just a toilet. Don't be scared."

Hilarious. And oh so cute.