The 1st Kelly Family Thanksgiving SUCCESS!

We hosted our first Thankgsiving dinner at our home in Columbia and it was an absolute success. We spent the morning lounging in our pj's watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade, which Jackson absolutely loved! My parents arrived shortly before lunch and we are so grateful they were with us to celebrate today. Nick fried the most delicious turkey and we had an abundance of yummy sides especially for only 4 adults and a toddler!

This was the first year we were not able to spend with both of our families in Atlanta. Although we had part of my family here, it definitely was not the same as seeing 50+ family members. When we first found out Nick had to work and we couldn't go to Atlanta, I remember thinking I may not be in the celebrating mood missing our family and friends too much. Luckily, I realized I have so much to be grateful for here in Columbia. A year ago, I was still travelling to Atlanta at least once a month if not more and couldn't imagine how depressed I would be if I had to spend a holiday away from home, which at that point I still considered to be Atlanta. This year, Columbia is my home. That's not saying I don't miss Atlanta and our family and friends, but I am so appreciative of my good friends here in Columbia. I have met so many people and I am truly thankful for all the support and awesome friendships I have made over the last year.

Proud Mommy (and Daddy)

If you read my adventures in potty training post, you may remember we started potty training in September and had much success with very little wet accidents. However, we had problems with the brown side of potty training from the beginning and those problems have unfortunately lasted the last two months!!! As you can imagine, although I'm not sure anyone wants a mental image of this, it has been very disgusting to deal with accidents every single day and sometimes multiple times a day. I was confused and frustrated since I couldn't figure out what to do or how this was ever going to change. But I kept all that to myself (and a few friends) and just encouraged Jackson to keep trying and told him it wasn't scary.

Last weekend Mimi (Nick's mom) and Meghan (Nick's sister) came to Columbia for a visit and we spent most of the weekend enjoying the gorgeous weather and enjoying each other's company. We went out to dinner Saturday night and at the end of dinner, Jackson said, "Mommy I don't feel good, I'm going to puke." My reaction based on our most recent (refer to Big Apple post), was oh no, we have got to get out of here and FAST! We hurriedly paid the check, hopped in the car, used his portable potty as a puke bag just in case and made it home with no puke. Whew, that was a close one. Once we got home he seemed okay and then all of a sudden ran to the bathroom and screamed that he had to go. I ran in after him and heard him toot and then he said he was all done. I started to help him down when I realized his toot wasn't just a toot ;-) I immediately put him back on the toilet and told him he could do it and to try again. He did his overly dramatic pushing which is hilarious and IT WORKED!!! He went in the potty, I literally had tears in my eyes (and do now as I type) I was so proud of him. We all started jumping around and screaming with excitement, Jackson was thrilled. And the best news of all? He ha continued to be successful each day since then. Meghan asked me if I ever thought I would get so excited over poop. It's funny how much your priorities and what gives you joy changes when you have a baby and I guess it continues to change with every new stage your child goes through each year.

I know this doesn't mean he will not have any more accidents and we still have the nighttime potty training to worry about but for now I'm going to enjoy this feeling of potty training success and continuing to be one proud Mommy!