One month to go, the Countdown, and a breakthrough

I am one month away from my due date. Hopefully that means that I am less than one month away from delivering this baby girl. Both of the other kids came exactly one week early. We think we've decided on a name, so that has relieved a little stress. This weekend's project is to get the baby's room ready, so nesting has officially begun. I've been looking up easy to freeze recipes, pulling out and washing Madelyn's baby clothes, and trying to determine what I need to buy for this new baby since she and Madelyn will probably be completely opposite in their size/seasonal needs. I'm officially to the point where I want this baby out of me. I know she needs a couple of more weeks, but I feel big and uncomfortable most of the time now.

I gave Madelyn some milestones at the beginning of the summer to help her count down her return to school and the arrival of her sister. It went something like: go to Disney World, school ends, start going to the pool, go on vacation with the Taliaferro family, move, start back to school, baby comes. So, we are just waiting for school to start, which happens in about 3 weeks, then it's just the baby waiting.

I think we've had a breakthrough in the potty training. On Monday morning before I got out of bed, I prayed that I would control my frustrations with the potty training issue and that I would have wisdom when dealing with accidents (or the peeing in floor on purpose situations). A bit later in the morning, I took Pierce to the bathroom to do #2. I could just tell he needed to do it. He did with little complaining, and I then asked him if he needed to pee. He quickly said no and hopped off the toilet. I was skeptical because he hadn't gone all morning. Well, about 20 seconds later, he peed all over the floor. So, instead of getting frustrated (although, it was very difficult not to), I told him he had to help me clean it up. I got some paper towels and took his little hand in mine, and together, we wiped up his pee. This was very distressing to him. He sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. It was so bad that Madelyn was asking me to stop making him do it. After we finished, we washed our hands, and I explained that putting it in the potty was much cleaner and easier. We have not had an accident since then. He immediately started telling me when he had to go and he hasn't looked back. I'm not sure how Sunday morning at church will go when we are not around, but I am relieved and thankful for the transition.