Potty Training Update

You might recall that we started potty training with Nigel on Christmas Day. Why that day? That's the day Santa brought big boy underwear, of course. Plus, all of my talk of "no more diapers once we're in Texas" was squashed when I got here and realized I was just too overwhelmed to start right away.

We started after nap that day. It went as expected: lots of accidents. The following days have gone pretty well. We set our phone alarms to go off every 30 minutes to signal potty time. In a day or so we'll stretch to every hour. We've had no major accidents since the second day. To be fair, though, we also haven't left the house. Nigel also still wears a diaper during nap and bedtime. And we're still working on pottying in between alarms. A few times he's said "I'm not peeing" or "I can't pee in these?" to alert us that he needs to go. In addition to the alarms, we also bribe with a sticker chart. Each time something happens in the potty he gets a sticker. For every 10 stickers he gets to pick a prize from a bucket. (We started off giving a sticker every time he just sat on the potty, so we're slowly weaning off) Additionally, each day that he goes without an accident he gets to wear special (read: Yo Gabba Gabba or Sesame Street) underwear instead of the plain white ones.

I'm pleased it hasn't become the battle I thought it would be. He even kept up the routine when we had to move his potty seat into the main bathroom after his toilet started spewing water. I'm not saying it isn't a pain, because it certainly is, but it could be worse. Fingers crossed we keep up the progress so he can go to a little nature day camp this summer.

**Update: We ventured to the mall play area today diaper-free. When we first got there I took Nigel to the potty. I totally misjudged how tiny his booty is and dunked him in the toilet. Good times.

Christmas Happenings, Take 2

Our first Texas Christmas was pretty swell. Ever since we became a family of 3 in 2008, Tim and I made the decision not to travel on Christmas. Not only did this allow us to establish some of our own traditions, but it also spread the present love out a few weeks.

This year was different, obviously. Almost every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve the mail lady dropped off a package for Nigel. Our tree was full well before Santa arrived. On Christmas Eve we baked and decorated cookies for Santa.

I was worried that so many presents at once would cause Nigel to get overloaded. I also worried that he wouldn't be grateful because there was so much. (Yes, I know he's not even 3 yet, but you're never too young to learn about gratitude.) The day went really well, though. He was so excited to see the tricycle from Santa. His extended family also sent some really lovely things, including clothes, a tent, puzzles, books, DVDs, etc.

The best thing about the day, though, is that we were all 3 together. After spending two months apart this fall, I think we're all grateful for that!

Last Week's Restaurant

When Tim and I met in 2000, I'd never had sushi before. After a year or so of prodding, he finally convinced me to try it. I've been hooked ever since. Our favorite RVA spots for sushi are Akida and Mai Sushi.

Ever since we arrived in FW we've had a hankering for sushi. Nigel's a very adventurous eater, but we've never given him sushi because it seemed likely that his teeth couldn't cut through the nori part of a roll. So, on Christmas Eve eve we ordered takeaway from Blue Sushi Sake Grill in the So7 district of FW. This way Nigel could try sushi at home; if the experiment failed we could fix him a PB&J.

We talked about sushi all day long, so he was very eager to try it. In fact, when Tim set little plate down on the table Nigel gobbled up the first roll (avocado) in a few bites. Alas, when he picked up the second one he declared he didn't like it after all. He picked at the rice and insides that we scraped out, but he really dug the potstickers.

Our 2 cents on Blue Sushi is that it's more of a bar than a sushi joint. The rolls were no better than what you'd find at Kroger or Ukrop's. The clue should have been the super chic, hip interior and the cheap prices (Lucky Buddha in RVA pulls this off, though, because they have really, really good sushi).

Christmas Happenings, Take 1

We went to Grapevine, TX, last weekend for its Christmas celebration in the historic downtown area. They have tons of things between Thanksgiving and New Year's, including free wagon rides (Nigel was afraid of this for some reason), free Christmas ornament making, shopping, lights, Santa on stilts, etc. We found Grapevine to be a really cool city. It's one of those places that we'll take guests to for some fun shopping. The three of us are actually going back in March to celebrate Nigel's 3rd birthday with A Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine!

We also went to this neighborhood to check out Christmas lights. Nothing was as tacky as what we see at home in RVA, but since almost every house in the neighborhood was decked out it was really cool.

The Neiman Marcus window display in Dallas on our way to visit with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan in Plano. We went because the display is interactive for kids. Unfortunately, Nigel wasn't old or tall enough to participate. I think he liked looking at it, though.

Calling All Potty Training Tips

As I said before, we're priming Nigel for Operation: Potty Training, which is set to begin on Christmas Day. Thanks to some dear friends, he already has a tiny potty (we gave it to him for his birthday last March, but quickly realized he wasn't ready). We made a big deal about buying the last pack of diaper ever at Target last week. Yesterday we bought a little seat to go on top of the regular toilet in his bathroom, along with some special foamy soap. He asked Santa for big boy underwear, and he seems to be excited about it. Plus, we've been reading potty books for close to a year now. Our new favorite from the library is Potty by Mylo Freeman.

I'm so ready to be done with diapers. I know our bank account is! And because Nigel is relatively tall and quite articulate for his age, I'm starting to notice some judgemental stares directed my way when we have to do a diaper change in public.

While we're feeling pretty confident that Nigel knows what's coming, I'm not sure we're ready. It's a huge battle, and it's also a lifestyle change. Anyone have any tips they'd like to share?

Last Week's Restaurant

We took a break from Mexican food last week and checked out Love Shack a low-key burger joint by Chef Tim Love. If you aren't familiar with Love, he's known for his urban Western cuisine. He got a national nod on Bravo's Top Chef Master's, but he's also been written up in Country Living, The New York Times, Maxim, Food & Wine, etc. He's a vegetarian-hating big deal! His flagship restaurant is Lonesome Dove Western Bistro. The menu here boasts entrees such as Rocky Mountain elk strip loin with lamb bacon-shell bean succotash and garlic sauce; pan-seared Texas quail; hamachi tostados with ponzu, bacon and Serrano peppers; and kangaroo tenderloin nachos. Pretty interesting stuff, but pretty pricey for a meal out with Nigel in tow.

So that's why we opted for Love Shack, which has been written up nationally quite a bit as well. I imagined it a place we could take people who came to visit us... brag about having a Top Chef among us. I really wanted to like it because I just loved watching Love on Top Chef, but no dice. The patty was most likely frozen and definitely not hand-formed. My "Love Burger" had a mayo-like sauce that was way too sweet; Tim's "Blue Group" burger wasn't much better. The deviled eggs were kind of runny, and the only thing special about them was crumbled bacon on top. The fries were thin but wide, so they were limp and not crunchy. The onion rings were the only semblance of a saving grace. All of these things can't be chalked up to an "off" night, so I'm really confused about the positive accolades. We expected a step above Honey Whyte's, but got WhataBurger instead. One day we'll try Lonesome Dove — my guess is that's where Love's heart is and the food will be better — but we need to shake this disappointment off.

The Makings of a Gingerbread House

My awesome mom sent a gingerbread house kit a few weeks ago, so we cracked it open on Sunday. The candies were really hard, which made them inedible for Nigel. Not a big deal considering we don't really allow candy, but it was unrealistic to expect that he wouldn't sneak a few. So, we got chocolate chips and candy bits for him to decorate a portion of the house with. Our end result doesn't look anything like the box suggests it should, but we had a blast!