Braden had been showing all of the signs that he was ready to be potty trained for about a month or two. His verbal skills are explosive, and we were able to completely check off the "is your child ready?" checklist. We had also gotten a lot of feedback from his school that he was staying dry and asking to go. So we decided that since we had the opportunity to be home with him for 5 straight days over the holiday week, that might be the best time to try. SO glad we did! :)
If truth be told, I was nervous about the whole process b.c I had no idea how it would go. It seemed like folks in general were so much more negative than positive (espcecially when it came to potty training boys before 3 years old), so I was really unsure about it. I was also not stoked at all about spending the 5 days that our family had together locked up inside our house HOPING we would be successful. But I knew it required us to stay indoors for the most part b.c a newly potty trained toddler is not ready for prime time public viewing just yet. :) Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday, and I was just sad to see it pass us by while we hung out inside staring at the same four walls. On the flip side, I knew if there was any chance that this was successful then I would look back and be so glad I sacrificed Turkey Day 2011 for the sake of one less child in diapers! :)
So basically we did as much research as we could, talked to other people that had been there before, read some stuff online and in books, and bought all of our "supplies". :) The good news was that we were not starting from scratch b.c Braden had been introduced to the potty at 18 months old when we bought him one. He had also been "practicing" with it (as he was interested) for about 8 months before we even had our real potty training week. We did sticker charts and a small gift at the end of each day. We also used his favorite show "Super Why" as a reward when he did really well. All of that combined had him super motivated. :) All of it helped out TREMENDOUSLY!!
The week actually worked out very well, and by Sunday we were thrilled to say that our little man was officially potty trained!! We had our bumps along the road during those 5 days but by Sunday he had gotten it and the diapers were long gone. It was AWESOME and we were sooo proud of him!! We are thrilled that he was able to be potty trained at 27 months, and I am thinking about that diaper savings already!! :) HA!
After 5 full days inside, we decide to venture out that very last afternoon/evening just to see how well our potty training had actually worked. We were super uncertain as to what to do out in the real world with a newly potty trained toddler....but we decided to just wing it. :) We thought the safest option for an adventure out would be to head to a park, and then depending on how that went...maybe dinner. :)
We ventured down to a fun park in East Austin in the Mueller development. It is such a great park and it is like a little oasis in the middle of the city...with a great duck pond and very modern playground. :) Honestly, it went AWESOME!! Braden did great....no accidents, etc. We stayed out there for awhile so he could feed the ducks (which he was absolutely in love with)...and then we let him play for awhile on the playground. The only unfortunate thing was that it was really cold and windy by later in the Thanksgiving weekend, so we really had to bundle the boys up. :) Since he had done so well at the park we decided to hit up Which Wich for some sandwiches on the way home. That was our first public toilet experience, and while it was quite interesting the good news is that he did go, and that was all that mattered! :) He made it home dry and very happy...and that was a great ending to our potty training weekend. :)
I have undies on and I am at the park!! COOL! :) 
These pics are overexposed but I think they are so fun. :)
Sitting with Dad and taking it all in.....
Ok, time to start throwing some bread.. :)
Running to try and find where all of the ducks are!
Look I found them!!!
Bread please! :) 
Come here ducks!! :)
This playground is soooo neat!
Braden got two new booster seats for the cars...so he could give little bro his convertible carseats! :) Of course we had to play in the boxes! :) 
Brother time!! :)
Too many pictures...I am tired! :)
Have a great day!! :) 
Teo-yummy gelato!! Central Austin place to go for some nice icy treats! :) Nice patio to sit on out front too..if you just need a place to chill out. :)
Changos-A place also in Central Austin that is owned by the same folks that own Manuels. Good stuff. They have burritoes, enchiladas, salads, tacos, etc. I say go for the burrito...it really hits the spot! :) 
Biscuits and Groovy-Now we are talking!! This is a food trailer down near Hyde Park and we give it two thumbs up! :) Good schnizzle! Let's put it this way....it is really biscuits ANY way that you can imagine them. You can choose what you want to cover them in from eggs, bacon, sausage, gravy, jalapenos, cheese, chives, etc. etc. You get the picture. Bottom line-get ya some! :) 
Bacon-Hee hee! I like this place. :) Down on South Lamar, and it used to be the Sreaming Goat (which we liked as well for tacos)....but this place is fun b.c it is everything bacon. For example....Chris got a bacon waffle with chicken. Um....good? Yes! :)
Takoba-another good place in town for happy hour and for tacos. They have some cool outdoor seating going on, and I really liked what I ordered. This eatery is located in East Austin....
And a few others but I have no pics to go along with these.... 
