Jackson and I are getting along very well today. I started the morning off by looking him in the eye and apologizing for yesterday. I was wrong. We agreed that today I would try not to yell and he would try not to whine.
He's taking a nap. I told him he needed to rest up so he could do his best at swim school this afternoon. He's loving his lessons.
There's been laughing instead of yelling.
One notable incident was when I asked Jackson this morning if he needed to go to the bathroom.
No! I tee teed on the wall!
What? What wall?
The green wall! (That's the bathroom.)
I couldn't make my mind believe what he was saying, so I just let it go.
I few minutes later he brought me one of his toy trucks that was dripping wet. Upon smelling the truck, I realized it had gone through The Little Boy Car Wash of Pee.
I inspected the bathroom and found that the grout was wet and the floor slippery. He had indeed peed on the wall. After a good long time out, Jackson came over to me on his own volition and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry." It was a real, sincere, unprompted apology. I am so glad he's learning this. Where would we all be without a sense of remorse? We'd have no relationships, especially not with God.
My dad later explained that there was just no way I could understand how awesome little boys think it is to pee on things. When I recounted the story to Curt, he had another explanation.
When Jackson woke up early this morning he really had to go. (Good job for holding it all night!) The bathroom was dark, so he moved his stool over to the wall to be able to reach the light switch. He just couldn't make it and the wall and floor, and apparently a small truck, got baptized. Bless his heart. Curtis was half asleep and just didn't see the extent of the mess that had been made. I was snoozing in the bed and completely oblivious to what was going on. Now I feel bad for giving him a time out. I suppose the theme of the day is I'm Sorry.
What I'm not sorry for is taking these. Or for realizing that Annabeth didn't have her bow on and quickly taking care of her accessory needs.
78 comments:
So glad you had a better day! Mine is almost over, thank you Jesus. I'm a single parent for 5 more sleeps. Ugh.
oh my goodness they are cute together.
okay NOW you are making me want another one. but not yet. I want my first to be three or maybe four before another one comes along.
those photos are so GOOD! You may be taking our pictures this Christmas :)!
I adore these pictures. Annabeth looks like a real live babydoll in the first one! The colors are beautiful, and your children are too! And I'm sorry, but the truck story cracked me up!
The pictures say it all!
I have a friend who has teenage twin boys. When they were potty training (and for awhile AFTER) they would have peeing contests. Whoever got whatever the wettest was the winner. Nothing their mother could do could get them to stop.
Reading Franklin Graham's "Rebel With A Cause" really helped me understand the mind of my son. Of course, I'll never understand it, but that book really helped. And it's not even a parenting book!!!
Aww! How sweet :) God's mercies are new every morning!
I'm living proof. I had quite a day on Monday...
http://notabowinsight.blogspot.com/2009/06/at-which-point-i-was-mortified.html
those pictures are so sweet you can't help but love them even though the wall did get pee on. how precious are those pictures thank you amanda for sharing with us seistas you are the best. have a nice evening love each and everyone of you. sending lots of hugs and love your way. have a blessed evening. love your seista carol in albuq.nm
Just beautiful! Glad today was better!! You are such a good mommy!
Sounds like you had a much better day! Your wall got peed on...at least you did not get peed on! That is 1 way to look at it! I was not so lucky!
Sweet pictures. But the pictures without her bow are precious!! She doesn't ALWAYS have to have a bow. She has such a gorgeous head. God made her beautiful as is!
So glad today was better.
They are just lovely!
I want to see your new hair. I need a new haircut and need ideas. I am sure it looks great!
I'm so glad you had a better day, friend! Adorable pictures of your babies.
Ahhh......the morning after apology. I have had to do it many times with my kids, but it sure pays off in their ability to extend grace and ask for forgiveness themselves.
Very good life lesson......so glad today is better!
I have to agree, the bow makes the outfit. :) The feet picture is absolutely framable.
Seriously, you have two of the cutest kids on the planet, Amanda!!!! :O)
It really is the good days that get us through the bad isnt it? I am suffering from terrible allergies and my daughter was super fussy and clingy today, but as I rocked her to sleep I was still so thankful for the day and knowing that tomorrow may be better!
I remember you saying you never thought about your red couch and how it never match her cute pink outfits, but those pictures you took today are so adorable. Red couch included!
Total cuteness!!! Love the pics.
Makes me want to sing... "Oh, the land of cloudless days. Oh, the land of an uncloudy sky
Oh, they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh, they tell me of an uncloudy day!"
Beautiful pictures! I'm glad today was better for you!
Adorable pics!!
Wowwwwww - those pictures are awesome! So cute, natural, sweet - love them!
And I'm glad today didn't stink. :)
Yay for a day that did not stink...especially after a day that did.
I think one of the most important things parents must learn is how to apologize to their children. Sometimes we just don't do it (the parenting thing) right. And there are a whole lot of people walking around out there, of all ages, who have never admitted to a mistake in their lives. It takes a whole lot more maturity to admit you're wrong than to falsely believe you're always right.
Good job, mommy Amanda.
Melana
Love the pee story! We have a few in this house to! The pictures are fantastic. I love the one where she's peeking up at him! Adorable. So glad today did not stink. My four push me to the brink some days to! Blessings in the One and Only.
Precious pictures...it is such a relief to have a day of laughter after a hard day...it's like the calm after the storm!
Amanda,
First I have apologized to my kids more times than I would like to say...but I want to make it a habit with my kids that if I blow it, I need to say sorry... I hope this lesson will be an important one for them.
Second, I have 3 boys so we have had the pee pee accidents...enough said :)
Last, those pictures are adorable and wonderful...I would be blowing some of those up and framing them for your walls... Great pics... You must have a great camera too.
Blessings sweet one...
I love the pics! So cute. Especially the one of Jacksons face and Annabeths feet and hands, so cute.
Welcome to the boy bathroom! Has anyone ever told you a cloth shower curtain isn't a good idea? I read it on someones blog and am glad that I went with a plastic one in their bathroom!
So, so precious! Those beautiful pictures just made my day. Enjoy those cuties!
I REALLY want to see a picture of your hair!
The pictures are SO precious. i'm glad your day was better. The baptising of the toy is so funny. I love how you worded that. :)
I am so glad today was better. I read your post late last night and wanted to leave you some comment love - but we flew home today and I had to sleep.
Houston and hair are not always compatable. :)
Cute pictures - it's always frustrating when you forget the bow. I bought my first 2 pack of bows for braids yesterday! It was so exciting.
If I wasn't old enough to be your mother, I wish you were my mom. You are so caring and want so much to teach your children to walk with the Lord. May His blessing be upon you all tomorrow and overflow with His goodness.
Look at those delicious chubby legs! And your dad is right. On one of his first walks in the woods with his dad, my son told my grandmother that the best part of it was "peeing on a stump"! It is still his favorite thing now and he is eight!
Great big brother little sister pictures!
Off topic - I have an awesome red couch. You have an awesome red couch. I wonder if we have the same awesome red couch? sectional? with a chaise end?
there can be no regrets about your red couch today, it made the perfect backdrop for these pictures!!!
glad today was better.
I am so glad today was a better day! And those pictures are nothing short of priceless. What precious moments to treasure.
Awww....those pictures are precious!!!
Oh, your photos are priceless. So sweet!
I am so glad that today did not stink! Those are adorable pictures of adorable children! You should be proud, mama!
I found your blog through a friend's site, and I love reading your stories. I look forward to having 2 kids, but not without some anxiety! It's comforting to read blogs from moms who are real--aka those who don't sugarcoat everything!
I'm so glad your day was better and your children are beautiful!
SO SWEET! I have had many days that "stunk" like yours yesterday and I can already tell that my patience with Connor is thin and lacking now with the demands of a newborn. I am immediately remorseful when I speak to him harshly, though...and I want to get better at it.
Love the pics of your two blessings!
Oh my word, Amanda. Those have got to be the most precious pictures of your little ones. So sweet!
Bless your heart. I believe the ability to discern becomes so foggy during the time our children are 2 - 7. You just never know when to discipline and when to show grace. Shoot, maybe it lasts from here on out. Actually, it probably does. Good heavens ... on our knees we will stay!
Love the pics....I am so glad your day did not stink!
Mine was good too!
My darling came home from the Y this afternoon and quickly put on his swimsuit because he wanted to go swimming...sadly, I wasn't able to take him until after dinner, but I let him wear his suit for the afternoon, just because we had nowhere to go, so I saw no reason to be picky--at least his little rear end was covered....but right before dinner, I got close to him and noticed that he smelled pretty strongly like pee...I asked him if he'd wet in his suit...and he said, "Sure, Mom!" (Like he thought he'd done something brilliant.) When I asked him why he didn't go to the potty, he explained in his wonderful almost-four-year-old logic that, "Mommy, it's a quick-dry suit, so I just tee-teed in it instead of the potty...see, it's dry already!"
Yes, thank You Jesus, for new mercies every morning! :)
Post subtitle: But the train did.
For the record, those two children are too darling to believe ANYTHING bad ever comes from them. How could it?!?
Love the pictures! The one where Annabeth's leg sticking straight out is so cute because Jackson is holding her hand so cute!
Glad to hear that today went better! Isn't God good? :)
Precious pics! The story about the pee is hillarious.
I'm so glad today did not stink. Non stinky days are WAAAAYYY better than stinky ones. And thankfully, they are more frequent, too.
One more thing, PLEASE tell me that you chew on Annabeth's rubber band thighs on a daily basis. Or at least squeeze them. Mercy.
You have 2 precious kiddos. These pictures are adorable!
Glad your day was better! :) I cannot believe how much Annabeth is changing. She is starting to look more like Jackson, I think.
What a great way to end the post! Those pics are just so stinkin cute sister!!
Glad your day was great!
Hey Amanda, I don't know if I've commented on here before or not, but I'm a Siesta from the north (actually in Wheaton, where Melissa went to school) and I've followed your blog and your mom's for a long time. (Your kids are DARLING by the way. I have a son named Jackson, too!) Tonight at my first night of summer Bible study (Living Beyond Yourself) they showed you sitting in the audience while your mom was talking and I felt this weird need to wave and yell, "HEY AMANDA!!!" Blogland is so odd that we can feel like we know each other even when we've never met. So I just thought I'd say hi, finally, and how much I appreciate your motherhood stories and lessons you're learning and blessings you've found along the way...as I can relate having three kids under 4, with one on the way! (Holy cow. What was I thinking?) Thank you for your honesty in sharing the trials as well as the joys of parenting and life in Christ. You inspire me and make me laugh OFTEN. I am so thankful for you and your mom and sister and all that God has done and IS doing through you all. Blessings! (Oh, and watch out, my son peed ON HIS BABY SISTER this morning in the bath and thought it was HILARIOUS.)
So glad it was a better day! My 6 week old daughter has to wear headbands when we go out since she lost hair only on the top of her head. I cant wait for enough hair for hairbows!!
Such sweet pictures. I love the tangle of arms and legs... I pray that they may be entwined more often in gestures of affection that wrestling and fighting (ah...siblings)
Glad your day was better!
blessings!
Amanda, those pictures are just precious. I am so glad that you caught them on camera!
Those children (and pictures) are adorable - you are quite a photographer, and quite an excellent mommy.
Aren't you glad you have a red sofa. The backdrop is so perfect for pictures. They are adorable. Oh, and by the way, when our son was Jackson's age he watered our big oak tree in the back and in the front quite well. He was way too busy playing to come in the house to take a potty break. Boys are so lucky that way. HA! HA!
The pictures are absolutely priceless! Maybe you should consider a 'side job'--nah, stay at LPM and love being Mom to these two beautiful kiddos!
I guess baptisms can take on many forms? That's hilarious.
Each new day tells a new story, I sure wish I had been a journalin' mom like you, I just tho't everything would be easy to remember.
Love it!!
YEA for new days! What WONDERFUL pictures.
Cute pictures.
It is good that Curtis knew the whole story, but I would still keep your dad's explanation in the back of your mind for the future.
Somehow with boys, pee makes life more adventurous - or something. I've had to wipe walls, grout, bases of toilets, wash out wastebaskets, and even rip out portions of carpet, padding and the tack strip underneath.
I'm well seasoned in the pee arena.
I'm hoping you'll get out of all that, but if not, just take it in stride!
So a paddle brush versus a round brush helps calm the mane? I am always looking for ways to calm my hair in GA humidity!! Poor Jackson and his baptism mishap! But I know his apology was music to your ears! My fave of the precious pics is the one of A's feet and Jackson's face!!!!
Oh my...the feet in the face are too precious for words!
I'd take the wall anyday.... yesterday my Jackson came out of the bathroom saying... "I'm real real sorry mom." Of course I asked why? His answer "I peed on my face a little." WHAT? Could he be serious? Like you -- there was a reasonably understandable explanation... His pants were tight and as he tried to get them down he started to go a little and it went straight up into his sweet face!! Ay yi yi....mothering moments! I'm glad I'm not the only one who has days like you described and it helps me to know that other Christian mom's don't always get it right either! Thanks!
SO cute!!!
Mine sometimes wipe their poop on the wall by the toilet. I mean, why wouldn't you wipe your poop on the wall?
There are just so many things about motherhood no one ever tells you.
Precious pics. Yes - little boys are totally different than little girls as I quickly learned upon the birth of my first grandson. They do enjoy peeing on things inside or out. You will look back and laugh one of these days!
Beth
I believe those are the most ADORABLE pics I've ever seen!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the pics! Glad that today/yesterday was a good day! : )
Your Jackson reminds me so much of my oldest. They have *such* similar personalities, it seems.
Great pictures!!
i've said it before, and i'll say it again. i. adore. your. couch!
I love the feet picture!
Glad today was better. Those pictures are so adorable! I kind of forgot babies have that much personality. Can't wait for my newest one to flash that first toothless grin. Blessings!
Incredible pictures. They are absolutely precious together. And I'm glad that you had some laughter in your day.
Amanda, I'm reading a great book right now titled "Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys". It has really helped me to learn more about the way boys work, which doesn't make them "bad", it's just the way God made them! The chapter I just finished talked about how OFTEN when raising a boy you will ask him "What were you thinking???"... you know, like when they pee on walls and all? Gotta love those boys!
I'm glad that the day did not stink, Little Momma!:) Poor Jackson, he must have had to go! yikes, on the wall...Your dad makes me laugh!...I love your photos, esp. the one with Annabeths feet on Jackson's face:) It was too cute:):) Knowing when to apologize and doing that are necessary life skills, you got that right, amen Sister:)
katiegfromtennessee
first of all, i can't believe i never commented on this. i'm a *bit* late. oh well.
the pictures are priceless. and i don't mean that in a "that's so funny" way. i mean it in a "they have no price. you will cherish them forever" kind of way.
and thank you. thank you for your previous post about "today stunk" post. it was on a day that i REALLY needed it.
so there. that's all. have a great week.
Seriously, these are THE most adorable pictures ever. Beautiful kids....her chunky little thighs and feet are just too much! :)
Oh my heavens....how cute are those two!!!!! You can so tell how much they adore each other...so precious!
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