potty post #134

Who is the Queen of the big girl on the potty?
GRACE is the queen of the big on the potty!
Oooh, ahah, oooh, ah!

So I know I post about potty time quite a bit, but we are just so excited and proud of our little girl. I'm guessing you know what I'm going to say next.....

Grace went #2 on the potty today!!!!!

AMEN!!

Or really... FINALLY!

We started potty training (serious training that is) 2 weeks ago exactly.

So my advice (since I'm a potty training pro now!) is to be VERY patient and just keep encouraging your little one. Not to get mad or upset when they have accidents, but to continue to praise their hard work when they do. And do whatever you have to... candy has worked for us, but maybe its getting to ride their bike or go swimming.

The big test will be when I send her to Mother's Day Out tomorrow in panties! I've sent her the last 2 weeks in pull-ups (which I still hate, but served the purpose there). So hopefully it will be a good day. I already warned her teacher last week. Her teacher thankfully has 2 boys (ages 4&6) so she has done her share of potty training. I'll let you know how it goes.

Until then...I'm going to venture to say Grace is potty trained! I'm sure accidents are still going to happen from time to time, but no turning back now. Using 2 diapers a day is saving us too much money! I guess we will work on nap time and bedtime closer to age 3?

little girls

The story of my life... little girls!

On the days that Grace goes to Mother's Day Out its all about Emma and I. So this past week I met up with a few friends that all have baby girls around the same age as Emma. Actually Reagan and Rachel have the same birthday (Feb. 22) and Emma and Riley have the same birthday (March 5). How cool is that! They are sure to be best buds!! We had to take a picture of all the girls of course!

Reagan and Rachel on the bench

Emma and Riley on the ground

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And I can't forget my sweetie pie Grace. Last night we went to Market Street for dinner. We only had a couple things to pick up so I let her drive her own cart... WOW... she was a crazy driver! But she LOVED every minute of it!

check 1,2,3

Can anyone hear me? Is thing even on?

Well yes, blogger had been here waiting patiently for me to come and post a new entry in the life of me and my family.

I guess I shouldn't say we have been busy, because we have just been as busy as normal, but I haven't managed to find the time to make my way here.

But I'm here now.

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Emma is growing right before my eyes. I can't believe she is nearing the 4 month mark. She has learned to roll from her tummy to back, but not yet from tummy to back... probably b/c she really isn't a fan of her tummy. I'm sure she will be a rollin' fool in no time.

I've been taking lots of pictures of her (sorry for all the black/white ones... I've gone a little crazy) and she sure is looking more and more like her sister (when she was this age). Although Emma loves to stick her tongue out. It is precious. Here is some evidence.

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Grace is as busy as ever. She is loving summer b/c that means swimming! She LOVES the pool and my mom has even gotten her to swim underwater to her... I guess I shouldn't say swim, but its pretty close. She is fearless, which scares me so much.

Potty training is going AWESOME. Last Monday (a week and a half ago) I decided it was "the" day. So we put some Elmo panties on and didn't look back. She had 3 accidents that day, but overall I think she did go on the potty about 9-10 times so I thought it was more than successful. Each day she did better and better at home. We tried going to a friend's house on Thursday and she had 2 accidents (one poo poo!), but it was the first time I put her panties while we were out. Since then though, she has been a rock star! She has only had a couple accidents since last week and we have even ventured out for a couple hours in panties. Only issue is #2... we can't seem to get her to go in the potty. She has done this a few times in her panties or during nap/bedtime when she is still in a diaper. Any advice?

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Well I think that's it for now. We are having Emma baptized this Sunday and having family over to the house afterwards so I've gotta run while the girls are still sleeping... lots to do! Until next time. Have a great week!

Father's Day 2008

Happy Father's Day (1 day late) to all you Dads out there!

Father's Day was pretty quiet this year... but I'm pretty sure that is exactly what Adam wanted! I had the brilliant idea to cook Adam's favorite... French Toast for breakfast. We invited my parents over to enjoy as well and to wish my dad a Happy Father's Day. The rest of the day we relaxed and just hung out and did a little of nothing... something that we haven't done in forever!

Adam also got an early Father's Day present (on Saturday)... he found he passed his FE test!!! Not sure you if you remember, but he took the engineering test back in April. He was so happy all weekend. He now has to start studying for his PE test that he will either take this October or next April.. you have to apply to take it so he isn't sure he will be able to meet the deadline for this fall. Way to go Adam... we are so proud of you!

And of course I'll leave you with a picture of Adam with his other leading ladies!

WE love you Adam. Thank you for being the dad you are to our beautiful little girls.

2nd day

Since I missed her first day of Mother's Day out I thought I would catch up now.

Grace started a Mother's Day out program this week. She seems to love it. Her teacher Ms.Tami is super sweet and told us that Grace is so adorable and sweet! Her class has only 5 other kids in it, so its nice and small. And she already knows 2 of the other kids. I think this makes it easier on her (and me too!). Yesterday (her 2nd day) she was already calling it "cool"... but I think she was really trying to say "school"... sounds like cool though.

The days Grace goes to school have also been for Emmy and I. We have enjoyed just Mommy and Emma time... which has been needed. Grace got just me for 2 solid years, so its nice to have that one on one time with my other little girl. They just grow so fast that you want to cherish every minute.

Anyway, here is a pic of Grace and I yesterday before school. Hailey told me I needed to post a pic of my new hair color (well kind of new. got it done 3 weeks ago)... a little lighter for summer and a little longer.. I'm tired of the short look so I haven't gotten it cut since January. I even wore it down for you Hailey... since it is normally in a pony tail by lunch!

Banished to her crib...

I'm so sad.

Adam and I have been talking about moving Emma to her for a few weeks now.

She is just so quiet and good and sleeps so well in her little bassinet in our room we figured she could stay a while longer.

We moved Grace to her crib when she was just 6 weeks old, but it was a different story then. She was so noisy, always wiggling around and it would keep us up, plus it was our old house and it was much smaller and just down the hall from our room.

But now Emma's room is the farthest room from our room and all the way upstairs! I've been putting her in the crib for naps, but not at night.

Well she is currently asleep in her crib upstairs. We have the monitors turned on with the volume as high as it goes... hopefully we wont miss her too much.

I'm just so sad that she is growing so fast. Just trying to keep her little for as long as I can.

Who's the pretty girl in the mirror??

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On another note... we still aren't having success with the bottle!! We have been trying every night. Adam is working from home tomorrow so we are going to try a mid-day feeding with another new bottle (the Brestflow from The First Years... a recommendation from one of you!). So far we have tried Avent, Playtex Ventaire and Nuk. We have also tried making the milk different temps... warm, cool, hot, etc... we have even tried freshly expressed milk vs previously frozen breast milk. Any other ideas?

Tonight she boycotted the milk for 45 minutes then we gave in. Oh and my mom, Adam, Adam's mom and I have all tried to give her a bottle. All unsuccessful.

What about maybe trying formula for when she gets a bottle? I was thinking maybe she gets confused that its breast milk, but not from the real thing... just a thought. It would so rare that she would get a bottle anyway, that I'm not opposed to doing formula if it mean I can a few hours away from my sweet little one. Maybe we just wont do bottles this time around... she will be a year in another 9 months... no big deal right?

And you can't get mad at this cute little face.

And she counts...

Ever since we moved to our new house everytime we go up the stairs I count the stairs. Grace would copy me, but never would do it on her own.

Well yesterday I was sitting at my desk (which is right next to the stairs) and I hear Grace going up the stairs counting away.... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10!

I about ran for some q-tips to make sure I was hearing things right. I am so proud of my girl. I think she has known how to count for a while, but she had to do it when I wasn't looking. I was able to get her to do it for Adam, but when we called my dad and when I tried to get it on camera it was a no go. So for now you will just have to take my word. It's cute though.

Oh and she doesn't say 1 or 7... just starts with 2 and says 6 twice.

Now just to get her to say her ABC's... right now it goes something like this.... CCCCCCD. We're working on it. :) She will copy me one letter at a time, but when I ask her to sing her ABC's she says a lot of C's... so only 25 more letters to go!!

our weekend

How is it possibly Wednesday?

I was looking so forward to this past weekend b/c my best friend from high school, Alyssa, came into town. I had been looking forward to it for weeks and now its over and she is back home in Minnesota. :(

We did have a great weekend.

Here are a handful of pics from the weekend.

Alyssa and Emma

Jameson being silly!

Me and the kiddos playing at the spray ground... Grace wasn't too sure... Jameson LOVED it!

Grace and Jameson eating pizza at my cousin's birthday party

Lexi and Grace (1st cousin's once removed)... my girls are practically the same age as my uncle's girls... just an American family! :)

And Adam and I celebrating our anniversary with some yummy cake my mom made us. Thanks Mom!

And that's about it. I wasn't too fabulous at taking pictures this weekend... we were just too busy having fun and hanging out! We miss you already Alyssa and Jameson. Hope to see you guys again soon... and Nick too!

5 years

I can't believe that 5 years ago today I married my college sweetheart.

What an amazing 5 years it has been. When we said our vows on June 7th, 2003 I would never have pictured what our life is like today.

I am so incredibly blessed to have an amazing husband, best friend and father for my children. Everyday I love you more. Thank you for an amazing 5 years.

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Adam and I purchased a dining room table for our house... in leiu of buying gifts. I love it! The cool thing is that my Aunt Barbara emailed me and told me that a traditional gift for your 5 year anniversary is wood. How fitting that we chose to buy our first dining room table. Here is a pic of the new table...

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And as far as celebrating, well we will eventually. My best friend from high school, Alyssa, and her little boy, Jameson, are here for the weekend! So we will be having fun with them... we couldn't think of anything more fun than celebrating the day with our friends and family! (Like I said a couple posts ago... when you are out without your kids you just end up talking about them anyway, so why not celebrate with them!)

3 months

Emma oh Emma... I keep telling you to stop growing and you aren't listening. I'm trying to savor every little moment we have of you being my tiny baby. But I know before long you will crawling and saying your first words.

This month we don't go to the doctor, but your unofficial weight is: 12 lbs.

Things you are up to this month:

*You have learned that you have a voice. You love to talk and coo all day long. It is simply the most precious thing ever.
*You still are not a fan of tummy time or the bottle, but hopefully I will have something different to report on next month.

*You love to watch your big sister. If you are in the same room your eyes follow her every move. I'm hoping this means that you will be good friends one day.

*You smile from time to time. Which makes it extra special when you do smile... you just make us work extra hard to see it.

*Oh and you have giggled a few times. And whenever you do giggle it is super contagious. We just laugh right with you.

*You are still my easy going baby. You sleep for about 9-10 hours at night and nap pretty good during the day. Although we are still working on getting you and your big sister to nap around the same time.

*You are still taking up residence in our room as we can't seem to get the courage to move you to your own room. After all you are so quiet and you do sleep all night that I guess we just like to have you near us. :)

*And lastly we have adopted the nickname of "Emmy" for you. I love it.

Are we done with my photo shoot yet?

My serious sweet face...

a night out...

Last Saturday (yes I'm a little behind) we had our good friends, Katy and Andy, and their little nearly one-year-old daughter, Paige, came to visit!

They really came into town to celebrate another friend's birthday. So my mom came over and watched all 3 girls! THANKS mom!

And Katy, Andy, Adam and I went to the party. This was really the first time I've left Emma for any real length of time. We had a great evening out. The girls did good for my mom except for my little one boycotting the bottle.

So seriously... what is the deal with my children? They apparently do NOT like bottles. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE breastfeeding. But being able to be away for more than 3 hours would be nice.

We had the same issue with Grace. We finally got her to take a Playtex Ventaire bottle... so naturally we have tried that with Emma and no go. We have also tried Avent bottles. We have tried other people giving her the bottle... Adam, my mom, Adam's mom... no go. Any other ideas?

Hmmm... I thought this post was suppose to be about my night out?!! Isn't it funny that even when you have a night away you end up just talking about your kiddos. :)