Potty Training and House Hunting

I've been waiting to announce this exciting bit of news because I didn't want to jinx the process...but SAM IS POTTY TRAINED! Woohoo! I'm excited. Can you tell?

We've been working to get Sam potty trained since I started working in September (and I'm sure his parents were working on it before that). He never seemed to care that all of his friends and classmates were potty trained. When I told him that I didn't know any 3-year-olds who still wore diapers, he said, "Oh! Well...I'm almost 4!"

Precisely my point.

Sam's 4th birthday was on December 11th. When Liz began planning his party about a month ago, Sam informed her that "Mrs. Allison doesn't know any 4-year-olds who aren't potty trained...so I'll be potty trained when I'm 4." I was a bit skeptical to be quite honest.

I thought some Spongebob underwear might help the process along...so Aaron and I bought Sam some for his birthday . When he opened them, he said, "Oh, Mrs. Allison! These Spongebob underwear make me so happy!"

Sam decided that the day after his birthday party was the time to start wearing underwear...and he's done great ever since. He no longer puts up a fight when I tell him to go potty. He's able to "hold it" if we're in the car and can't get to a potty immediately. He even wakes up from his nap with dry underwear!

While we're on the subject of potties and bodily functions, I have a funny story. Sam was sitting on the potty yesterday when all of a sudden he passed gas. Very loudly. He looked at me with a straight face and said, "Mrs. Allison...my bottom is just like Thomas the train. It says, 'Chugga chugga TOOT! TOOOOOOT! GAS! GAS!'"

Where do kids come up with this stuff?

Not only little boys find it amusing to talk about passing gas. The entire male population thinks it's funny. Including my husband. And all of his co-workers and friends.

Last night Aaron and I were lying in bed and I was telling him that funny story about Sam on the potty yesterday. He laughed hysterically. Then he told me a story about a co-worker who passed gas in his cubicle yesterday (it was so bad that his female boss eventually had to evacuate the room). He could barely talk he was laughing so hard. I laughed at him laughing. I asked him why the subject of passing gas was so funny and he gave me a list:

1. It makes a funny noise
2. It makes a funny smell
3. It's just funny

Thanks, Babe, for that extensive and well thought-out list. I'll be sure to remember it.

Switching gears a bit, Aaron and I have begun the process of searching for a house to buy! We've been pre-approved for a mortgage, met with our friend Eric who's a real-estate agent, and are going to look at a few houses tomorrow. We're so excited!

Since I need to be off Wednesday afternoon to look at houses, I'm taking the entire day off to get some last-minute Christmas stuff done, too. I need to:

• finish straightening up the apartment so Mama, Daddy, Buddy, and Tiff can come stay with us this weekend
• wrap some presents so we'll have something under the tree
• do a crazy amount of baking
• treat myself to a manicure/pedicure :) (I haven't had one in almost 3 months!)

Please pray that Aaron and I are able to figure out what's really important to us in a house. We have lots of dreams about what we would like, but we really need to focus on what's right for us at this point in our lives. My mom said it perfectly when she told me, "The right house is out there for you. You just have to be patient and search until you find it."

Patience. That's something I've learned a lot about lately. I was patient with Sam's potty training and you see how well that turned out. Patience in the house-hunting process will turn out well, too, I hope.