You've been potty training for about a week now and we've had precious few accidents and I want a way to reward you for these successes.
Introducing the Responsibility Chart.
Your first and most important responsibility on this cart is that of the Potty. Every time you have a potty success, you get to put a magnet next to that responsibility (you call them "maj-in-eenes"). When you fill all the spots next to that responsibility, you get a matchbox car.
You have been wildly successful and we've shelled out three matchbox cars so far for these accomplishments. (Guess who's Mommy works for an Incentive company.....)
The chart itself has been a wonderful addition to our routine as a family. There are other items on there - things you had been doing but now we can make a bigger deal out of them by giving you a magnet and another chance to earn a reward for doing these good things that have made you more eager to do them and that is good for all of us.
I had mentioned before that I think I've found my Mommy Groove with you and it's really simple but it was a hard lesson for me to learn. I think I have the tendency to be all gooey.I don't like the word pushover.
Anyway, you are a smart kid and if I don't deliver my message with complete conviction in my voice and mannerisms, you can tell and you don't take it seriously. This applies even to the way that I walk out of your room at naptime. If I hesitate because I'm flinching expecting crying and carrying on, there will be crying and carrying on. But if I leave directly and in a positive manner with a good kiss and hug and a "I love you! I'll see you at wake up time!" and head directly downstairs, you accept this as it and all is usually well. Sure - there are always exceptions, but for the most part it's true.
If I have confidence in myself, you have confidence in me and it's better for everyone.So I've been telling my inner critic to shut his/her piehole for once because this is what we need right now. And it's working - for both of us.
We are both delivering on our responsibilities and seem to be loving every minute of it!Love,
Mommy
Now, we HAD left a nice little note for the Bunny telling him that the eggs were in the refrigerator and to please hide them.
We left him a carrot, too, of course - in the spirit of Santa and such showers of generocity, one must be cordial and extend a cookie or carrot or one may not receive loot.
Well, that Bunny - he came, he ate, he left lots.
And I don't mean the brown droppings you would expect.... 
That bunny brought you cars toys, candy by the basketful, iced and decorated cookies, a puzzle, playdough and a stuffed bunny that you won't put down and have named Easter.
After checking out all the surprises, Daddy explained about the hidden Easter eggs that we dyed and you were off.
It's like every day of your life has been leading up to this moment.
You're a born egg hunter, Sweetie!
That bunny could have stepped up his game a little because you didn't have much trouble finding those eggs and they weren't sitting right out in the middle of the floor, either...
All the while, wierd and strange things were happening outside because IT WAS SNOWING. ON EASTER.
But our indoor hunt which is the way my family always did it, was a wild success.
Your Daddy was an outdoor egg hunter. He preferred the wild ones.
So, who knows what will happen next year. Weather permitting, of course.
Much to my surprise, after finding all the eggs, you were up for hiding them for us. Given that most of them were lined up on the kitchen counter, but I'm still really impressed by this!
I mean, I know I did this when I was little, too, but I KNOW I was much older than 3 when I did it. And you DID have some good spots!
Boy, Egg Hunting can work up an appetite.
YEAH, CHOCOLATE!!
What? What's THAT? Sorry! I can't hear you over ALL THIS CHOCOLATE!
With all this sugar in your system, it suddenly occured to you that it might be possible that the Easter Bunny was at Calum's house RIGHT NOW. WE HAD TO CALL HIM RIGHT AWAY.
So, you spoke with Calum and confirmed that the Bunny was NOT there, but HAD been. Satisfied, you let go of the phone and ate more chocolate while I spoke to Aunt Erin.
And this next photo is of the Sugar Space Out. This is the step just before the body realizes - WOW! YOU KNOW WHAT I CAN DO WITH ALL THIS? I CAN TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!
So, we headed right over to the Rose family's house for the family Easter egg hunt because many children all in this state of mind hunting for eggs outside in freezing cold weather is the perfect recipe for rainbows and unicorns.
You didn't know that, did you? You're welcome.
And your Rose cousins, completely unaware of your MAD SKILLS in the art of the egg hunt, threw you many a generous and obvious freebie.
You didn't let on that you noticed.
Well played, Little Man!
The hunt continued until the older kids determined that all eggs had been found and the we went inside to open them up and find out what you had discovered.
I was surprised to see how upset it made you to open an egg that had change in it. This was very disappointing to you and you would let out a little whimper as though this was a serious betrayal and reach for another.
I think you were looking for your next sugar fix and this money thing wasn't cutting it.
You look up to the big kids so much and I can't express my gratitude enough that they include you, look out for you, help you.
I hope you're close to them as you all grow up because it's nice to have people that you can look out for and can count on to look out for you.
That's family. :)
Happy Easter, Jack!
Well, you are smart and I figured this turning 3 thing has a lot of untapped potential and mileage left in it so today I told you that now that you are three, we don't wear diapers anymore because diapers are for twos and younger and you're a big 3 now, so we wear underwear.
So, I dropped the timer. It had good potential, but I also see that I need you to know it's important for you to come to the potty on your own, so I'm going to let you have the accidents so you can feel the discomfort and realize that you'd rather put that in the potty than get cold and have to be constantly changing your clothes.
She was a couple of years old when I adopted her from the Humane Society 13 years ago. She had been a city stray that had birthed a litter of kittens before being brought in and neutered and put up for adoption. Because of that, her belly was always large because her uterus hadn't shrunk before the surgery and stayed big for the rest of her life.
Lilith was my very first grown-up pet. My first real act of independence after I had my own apartment and could make my own decisions. And boy was I ready to prove it! I decided on Lilith because she was an older cat and I knew they had trouble getting adopted. Plus, the distended belly dwarfed her head and the rest of her body seemed disproportionately small in comparison. I thought she might have trouble finding a home.
I chose the name Lilith because I was kind of into learning about mythology and stuff at the time and there are lots of creation stories, but one of my favorites is the one where Lilith was the first woman that God created, but she was too independent, so God created Eve as a "do-over".
What a sweetheart she could be! She meowed more than any cat I've ever known. I never had to worry about her running out of food or not getting enough attention because Lilith knew how to speak up!
When the other cats joined the family, Lilith would be the most vocal about their presence, but she was also the one that I would find snuggling up to the newcomer first and grooming their heads.
You called her Mommy Cat - and that she most definitely was.
This celebration of you turning 3 has a number of sides to it: