Three kids...who knew?? Everything in this world it made for families of four. Think about it. Tables at restaurants are made for four, family vacation prices are best with a family of 4... its almost as if the acceptable 'family' consists of two parents and two children, preferably one boy and one girl. In this world where we all strive to be acceptable, why would anyone have more than two kids? Sometimes larger families are made because parents grew up with this dynamic and know that it is not scary to have 3 or more children. And sometimes, parents are not sure what they want, and a higher power decides their destinies whether they like it or not. Mike and I fit into the second group.
Don't get me wrong, we wouldn't change our family for the world. We are so happy with our newest addition, and Gabe is already an essential element in our family. In fact, we are so happy that this decision was made for us, because, although we would not have chosen this on our own, we are finding there are more positive elements to a large family than we thought. Alie and Julian are closer than they have ever been. Yes, they still fight, but they take care of each other as well. They express their love for one another in so many ways, and are each other's best friend. It's hard to explain, but since Gabe was born, Alie and Julian have formed a stronger bond. I think it may be because they have been forced to rely on each other more than before. Mom and Dad are busy a lot, and they find they can take care of each other. No, we don't ignore them, but they have learned to get more of their needs from each other. It's quite cute.
Now, on to today. Well, Julian is potty training....finally. We have been trying for awhile to get him trained, with no success. We hadn't really been trying as consistently as we should have been, so we decided to start the three day potty training regime yesterday. Basically, he goes naked from the waist down around the house until he is trained to go in the potty. Well, it seems simple, but really, think about how much carpet you have in your home, and imagine all the potential mess. Day one actually went really well, with only one little accident in the morning. We went to bed still skeptical though, because he never asked to go potty, we always prompted him. Good thing our hopes were not too high. This morning we are enjoying some quiet time while the kids play in their room, and out comes Julian looking very sheepish. Yep, there is a big pile of poop in the middle of his floor. Luckily, I picked him up first so Mike got stuck cleaning up the mess. I guess its my turn next time. The rest of the day went really well, and Julian was so excited to see that everyone in the family had created their own 'potty dance' to do whenever he went to the potty. Even Gabe gets in on the fun. Alie is super supportive and had her own dance whenever he goes potty. She joins us in giving him high fives and hugs whenever he gets it right. Julian seems very proud, so hopefully this will work.
Well, that's all for tonight. I hope this blog provides some insight into our family and the joys (and tribulations) of raising a larger family.
