Exactly a week ago, our little boy turned 3!

We survived the so-called “terrible twos” stage, which wasn’t that terrible. Hoping for another exciting year with Adie, as he takes a plunge into year three!  It’s not gonna be easy with his temper tantrums.  And I’m kinda immune to his “i don’t like MAMAAAAA or Tata, or Caity“, or whatever-it-is when he is upset.  I’ve learned how to deal with that.  But I admit its embarrassing when other people hear it. Hah!

We started weaning off Adie from diapers sometime in the middle of June.  We tried to let him take off his pants, and sit on the potty chair to which he obliged.  Yey!  First step was a success!  Every 5 minutes or so, we’d tell him to sit in the potty to wee-wee.  M and I, were like broken records. We did this about four hours on the first day which resulted to some mishaps; a wet chair, or a wet spot in the carpet, we really didn’t mind.  The important thing was that he would sit in his potty without any coaxing at all!  The next day, we were all rewarded with a pool of wee in the potty.  Are you kidding me? Second day? Wow! How we all cheered for Adie.  It was EUFA season, and all of us went shouting as if the Czech team scored a goal. “JO!” and we clapped our hands till they turned red!

Adie sitting in his throne…

Every time he does it right, we’d go “JO!!!!” Adie probably liked the idea that his act can make us all go in a frenzy and that was enough encouragement for him to pee in the potty. It was just a few hours of training at the start and not really everyday coz there were times that I was busy or we’re out.  There were also lapses, especially when I failed to remind him or when he’s too occupied with playing.  There were times that I’d grumble when cleaning his mess or washing heavy cushion pillows. It would have been nice if our our couch is made of leather or if the floor isn’t carpeted ; cleaning leather couch is easier!

Anyway, I can happily report that Adie is now 80% potty-trained.  He doesn’t anymore wear diapers in his waking hours, only during his nap time and at night and when we’re out in closed places.  When we’re in the playground, he’s running around diaper-free! So yes, its possible to potty-train kids without using fancy potty chairs with blinking lights or flushing sounds, or giving out candies as rewards; I’d say when the child is ready, he’d willingly take his part.

Next task at hand is how to wean him off totally!

We bought a clothes rack which I plan to use for hanging my bags (with S hooks or rings), like the ones I saw in Pinterest:

But before I can even start with my project, the kids already have found something else to do with it:

Swing!

They kick or let the ball roll in between the two bottom bars…

Third use for them – the kids would sit on the cushions placed on the bottom bars while I pushed the clothes rack as they sang “the wheels on the bus go round and round…”

Until now, their new toy is in the living room.  I’m still unsure if I’ll go ahead with my original plan coz the kids are having so much fun with it! (:

Several times it snowed in Prague but they melted fast with the rain. This time though, with the negative temperatures we’re having and with no rain to compete with, the snow lingered. I was able to take the kids out to play. Caity is a certified snow-lover, but how about Adie? I was excited to let him have his first experience with snow.

Singing in the snow? It’s without doubt he loves it too! (:

We welcomed little Adie’s 2nd birthday with back-to-back celebrations. The first one was held the Saturday before his special day, with friends and the second was exactly on his birthday, spent with the family.

Birthday Part 1

He thinks he’s got super powers! I bet he wants to fly!

Blow the candles, Adie!

He received lots of toy cars!

And some more trains and tracks to add to his collection.

Getting ready to pull the piñata.

Little Jakub trying to reach the train piñata.

And it’s opened!

Happy Adie!

He was wide-awake for more than 12 hours.  He refused to nap in the morning, stayed up late way past his bedtime, and was all active the entire day.  He must have known it was HIS PARTY!

Our simple celebration wouldn’t be complete without the presence of friends!

Birthday Part 2

Trivia: Adrian is one of Adie’s two first names.

Adie was happy with the alphabet train that spells out his name A-D-R-I-A-N from his grandmother. The bookstore where I bought the alphabet trains for give-aways have limited letters; they don’t even have the letter A, but Mam bought her gift from a store in the city center that sells wooden toys. Gotta check it out one of these days.

A wooden toy puzzle from Děda. Easy-peasy for little Adie.

Prepping for the candle-blowing!

Big sister Caity cheering for Adie.

Yeyyyy!  Mission accomplished!

Happy birthday Adie! We love you!

Related Post:
Birthday preps and props

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