Pottying and the Zoo

Since I've been missing from posting for the last couple of weeks, I didn't get a chance to write about one of the most exciting events of our summer: Connor is (pretty much) potty trained!  Sorry in advance to those who think it's TMI or who aren't interested in the bathroom habits of my two and a half year-old, but in our house, this is a BIG deal.

One day I just decided to put Connor in training pants (I love these...our babysitter gave us a few pair--Thanks, Miss Steph!--and then I bought some more at Walmart.) and let him understand what it felt like to be wet, since the diaper wicks away all the moisture.

The first two days were a DISASTER.  He would come up to me immediately after wetting himself to tell me what he'd done, and I washed SO many clothes.

By the third day, I realized that he wasn't just going to tell me when he had to go, so I set the oven timer every 45 minutes, and I would make him go "try."  After two more days of this, he was pretty much good to go.  He still has one or two accidents per day (He doesn't love going #2 in the potty for whatever reason.), and I do still put him in a diaper at night (However, he has woken up dry the last couple of mornings...yay!), but overall he is doing well.

I still have to remind him to go, and I am looking forward to the day that he will tell me instead, but this is a big step, and while I am so excited, it's also bittersweet to see one more element of babyness that my boy no longer possesses.

rockin' his big boy undies

All that potty stuff to say that when we were in Louisville to celebrate Veronica's birthday (Jason's mom), we decided to take Connor to the zoo as a reward for his excellent potty training endeavors.

Here are a few photos from our day:

The elephants and their trainers put on quite a show while we watched.  Their tricks were adorable.

We were not aware that the Louisville Zoo has a small water park area for the kids, but we let Connor get wet anyway (He visited the rest of the zoo in just his tshirt and undies afterward.)  :)  This was one of his favorite parts; he loved the water, the other kids, and bawled when we made him leave.

Lions and bears didn't scare Connor, but guess what made him make this face?

If you guessed dinosaurs at the zoo, you would be correct.  Connor is obsessed with dinos, but he truly believed the creatures in this exhibit were real (and dangerous), and right after I snapped this photo he yelled at Jason, "Run, Daddy!"

However, by the end of the exhibit, he was ready to ride a T-Rex.

Connor genuinely loved his day at the zoo.

The weather held out until right after we left the zoo, and then it began to pour.  On our way back to Jason's parents' house, we stopped by Cake Flour, where I had a $10 Groupon (which I got for free!), and we got some yummy treats to share.  Connor wasn't the only one who got a treat on our zoo trip.  :)

Our day at the zoo has been one of my favorites of the summer so far, and I am so proud of Connor and what a big boy he has become.