August in Review

I can barely believe that August is almost over. It has been an extremely busy and fun month. Charles turned 3 years old on the 10th. It is hard to believe my little guy is so big. He is doing a great job potty training. We started the training in July and it has been trying at times, but we are proud of how he is doing.He is growing and learning something new each day.
 We traveled to Georgia after Patrick finished band camp on August 2, and visited family and a few friends the week of August 3rd-10th. Charles got to have a small family birthday party at each set of grandparents' house. Thomas themed of course. He is train mad and can tell you all the Thomas the Train characters. Meredith enjoyed her time in Georgia but hated the car ride, and boy did she ever let us know how she felt! She graduated to a bigger car seat and enjoys it a little more. Meredith also experienced a half birthday. My baby girl is now 6 months old.  She is babbling, grabbing toys, and trying to sit up. Her smile brightens our days.
Patrick is now back at school, but I need to brag on him he has been working out and eating well. He has dropped over 35 pounds and looks GREAT!!!
We are also very happy for our friends Matt and Erika they also became parents to a beautiful baby girl on August 5th! We have been praying for this precious sweet blessing for over 4 years!

Adventures in Potty Training

Yes, I just said those scary words. We are starting the long journey of teaching Charles to go to the potty. In many aspects he seems ready, but I do wonder how long this will take.
Steps we have taken in preparation:
Talk to Charles about how big boys use the potty and about all the cool underwear he will be able to wear once he is potty trained.
I have read books to him about going to the potty.
We have pull ups set and ready.
We also have a Mickey Mouse seat that goes in the regular potty. This is one cool seat it has a button that says hooray when you push it.
The actual first steps with Charles:
Last night at his urging to sit on the Mickey seat before bath time. We sat him down on the seat. He was so excited he didn't want to get off for a bath. This morning he easily sat down on the seat and was happy to wear a pull up. This is where I made a huge assumption that this was going to be easier than I thought. HAHAHA (insert evil laugh in the background)- boy did it ever go down hill from there. I know you are supposed to take them to the bathroom to try at a minimum of every hour. Charles refused to go. He said, "No, I can't want it mommy." No matter how fun I worded it he would not go. I remind myself we are just starting and he will eventually get this!
Any helpful advise, encouragement,and prayers are appreciated.