Fire Park

My friend, Nola called me up after I finished reading at Kaila's school and asked if I wanted to come to the "fire park" to play.  She was helping another friend by watching her twins so she could finish packing up some of her house.  Nola was calling around to enlist a few more eyes to help her out. Kari came with Lydia.  Addie was thrilled to go to the park and loved having all her friends to play with.   A fireman was even showing the kids around the firetruck as we were leaving to go pick up Glenn so I let her go and take a look for a few minutes before taking off.  She LOVED it!!!

Addie also managed to stay dry while at the park.  I didn't realize she was in underwear when we left.  I took her to pee behind a tree twice and she did!  I was proud of her. It was her fist outing out in underwear and she stayed dry!!! :-)

The Lord Doesn't Give Us More Than We Can Handle

Here's a little recap of the past week. The 2nd day the beach was great. So foggy in the morning but as we were at the beach looking at the tide pools, batting at all the kelp flies away, below the lighthouse (a mere 300 yards away and could barley make it out) we looked up as the sun came out to see it right there! It was gorgeous the rest of the day. I was thinking I should have brought another pair of shorts. We went to the Undersea Garden but the diver had already left for the day 1.5 hours before closing so we skipped it. We ended up buying the pass for all three attractions though and went through the Wax museum and Ripley's Believe It or Not. The kids were free and it was actually a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. The highlights were the American Idol stage we could sing and dance on and play the piano. The other was the heat wall with all the cool colors reflected and moving around as we danced to the music. SP LOVED bouncing up and down to the music while watching the swirl of colors. DD didn't want to leave but LM was finished after about 10 minutes of dancing. That wall was worth it all and to see the pure joy and happiness on DD and SP's faces. We headed over to Mo's for dinner (yummy clam chowder). Sadly the kids were terrible (other than DD). LM actually ran from me from time out that I took him to outside and booked it down the sidewalk and a few steps into the street before I caught him. So scary and very unlike him. He was terrible the evening too and missed out on swimming but started to listen so he got to go get a cookie in the lobby with me and SP while DH and DD swam. Thankfully Bed time was perfect compared to last night.

The 3rd Day was awesome. I loved going to the aquarium. It was even better having the Groupon to go in so it was cheap. I loved the shark exhibit tunnels which were knew since I had been there as a kid. The sea jellies (as I was corrected that they aren't jelly fish since they aren't fish and they are sea stars and NOT star fish) were awesome to watch. They didn't seem as mesmerizing as I remember as a kid. The kids had fun though and we even got to watch a video on Mt. Saint Helen's eruption while I fed SP and thankfully she fell asleep. DD LOVED the movie and sat quickly through the whole thing all by herself in her own row of chairs. We hit up the beach after SP's 3.5 hour nap and lunch to play in the sand. I LOVED building castles. The water was FREEZING so I was the only one getting in though we had SP experience it for the first time and she wanted to sit in it though it was too cold for that. We ended up getting a drive through for a picnic at the park since our patience was maxed out just getting changed and in the car. Our experience from dinner the prior night made me think of what would be easiest. We ended the day with everyone swimming at the hotel. It was a fabulous trip.

Our 4th day we got ice cream and went to the Undersea Gardens. The divers show was fabulous. DH said that was his favorite part of the entire trip. I liked it but didn't think it was the best part. I loved watching the octopus though and the divers interaction with eels. Surprisingly they are very friendly with humans even those wild ones out in the sea.

The drive back was peaceful with everyone sleeping 3 hours of the drive waking up for just the last half hour. I was even able to get everything unloaded and two/three loads of laundry finished while DH was able to get a nap in before heading to a meeting and the start of another job the next day.

Thursday I took SP in for a doctor appointment and she was 35% for her weight height ratio!!! She kept telling me that I'm doing a great job. It was the first time I felt like I could stop worrying, a little. SP is just petite. So happy to hear that! Friday, I dropped the big kids off with a friend while I went Visiting Teaching and then I came back and watched some of the kids (she had 6 by this time ages 5, 4, 2,2,1, and 1) while she walked the . I didn't know she was going to be watching her sisters kids too (though she said it was just for the last 20 minutes or so but I felt terrible. My kids had been great until the moment I walked through the door and then they were fighting over the same bike. Why do kids feel the need to do that. We had a fun little play date after.

Grandma and I took the kids to their first parade on Saturday. It was the annual Teddy Bear Parade. I was in it as a campfire girl. I remember riding my bike and carrying my care bear which was the same bear DD brought with her this year. The kids LOVED it (other then the lulls for SP since she couldn't' see what was coming).  LM was in heaven with the variations of fire trucks. I think there were 7 different ones. There was the earliest one ever restored too from I think 1928. Very cool. DD loved the "ballerinas" from the dance studios. My mom came over that afternoon and we canned stewed tomatoes since I got two boxed of free tomatoes from my SIL. We used up one box so I still have a lot to do tomorrow. We still have to do spaghetti sauce and salsa. I'm getting pear on Tuesday to can too and I already did Apple sauce and apple pie filling. I'm loving learning so much. It's not as scary as I thought it would be.

Saturday night my mom and I went to the women's conference at church. It was fabulous and we were even treated with appetizers from around the world. My favorites were the sausages from Germany, empanadas, and the crepes! YUM!!! The message given afterwards was fabulous. We need to be more patient with ourselves and to not compare our weakness with someone else' strengths. We are good enough as we are. Also to remember to choose the better choice. Love it! I love Elder Uchtdorf.

I actually almost lost it at church today. I was just so frustrated and overwhelmed with not being able to go to any classes between LM HAVING to wear underwear to church (after 4 trips to the bathroom to try...he pees his pants after 5 minutes in his class) and then SP screaming every time I opened the door to go to class. The Lord was mindful of me thankfully though and I ran in to a guy that I've been meaning to see to ask him what his daughter's name was that lived up the street that I had forgotten. After talking with him SP was reaching for the handle of the door to got to class so I gave it another shot and thankfully she did great. Ate some snack and clapped her toys together entertaining the "grandma" next to us. So happy I got something out of church today.

So LM hasn't used the potty since Monday but he told us poop today but had just peed in his diaper so at least he's kind of getting it. I'm just going with his lead if he wants to try or not. He's not even two yet so I'm not in a huge hurry unless he's ready. He really wants his treats though.


I did preschool twice this week since DD had the flu the week before and we canceled it. It was fun and I love having it twice. I think the kids retained a lot more. I'm hoping the parents will want to do two days come January but we will have to see. We made some fun leave outlines with crushed leaves and then today made pilgrim hats/bonnets. They were VERY cute.

I went on a baking streak and made 5 pies. Three were pumpkin (only one is left) and one banana and one coconut pie. They are so yummy. I can't wait for Thanksgiving now. I'm really craving some turkey! I'm looking forward to having everyone over for dinner. I think it will be so much fun! We just sent out food assignments tonight and now I can't wait for Thursday to come. I also can't wait to decorate for Christmas. I think I will be doing that next Saturday since I'll be shopping with my sister on Black Friday (with SP too).

Crazy weather we have been having here. The temp has dropped so much this week that we might have snow on Monday/Tuesday if we get some moisture in the air. It's so cold now and will drop another 15 degrees in the next two days. Yikes...I guess it's going to be winter sooner than I was expecting. I'm still loving all the fall colors though the wind has knocked most of the leaves to the ground.

So sweet

I'm a Big Kid Now

Today LM asked to wear his car pull-ups. I had DH run upstairs to get his car underwear, rolled up the area rugs, and put underwear on my little boy for the first time. He was in heaven! He went and sat on the potty numerous times...nothing happened and went outside to play. When he came back in he was already wet and didn't even let us know. HUM...it was nap time so the pull-up went on and that was the end of potty training Day 1. Tomorrow he's over at Grandma and Grandpa so Saturday will be day 2.

Good Morning

So the potty training lasted a morning until DH got to change a blow-out in the pull up after nap. He was not happy about having the cut the side and said it was way messier. I think I will really start with him though next week since they are heading to the zoo tomorrow for DD's friend's 3rd birthday party. I plan on rolling up the area rugs and letting him run wild so he realizes when he pees. He keeps going to sit on the potty today though. It's cute and I really don't want to miss the chance to train him while he's ready! I've heard with boys you get a chance at around 18-19 months and then the next time when they are 3. I'd rather save the diaper money and do it now if he's willing.

I ventured out tonight to a meeting for church. I'm really glad I went. I was trained on my new position with the 8-9 year old girls. We do activities twice a month centered around Gospel Standards. I have a lot still to learn but I'm excited to build a relationship with the girls. After the meeting a friend and I headed to the grocery store to pick up a birthday present for tomorrow. It was SP's first time out other than going to the doctor appointments. I saw another friend there and she was shocked to see me wearing jeans. She said she didn't wear jeans till 6 weeks out. I told her it was cold though (the temp dropped this week...really feels like fall here). It was nice to get out but I was exhausted when I got back home.

When I got home DH pulled SP out of the car seat and I couldn't get over how tiny she looked his arms. I wanted to document how little she looked so I grabbed the camera.

So Tiny

Pure Love

Already?

So LM decides today he wants to potty train. It's so cute though. He climbed up on the big potty by himself while I was bringing his little one downstairs. He would switch back and forth between the big on and little one then he would pull up he pull-up and come out and play for a little while and then would go back in again and sit. It was adorable! We will see what comes of it though. I think he needs really undies so he feels what it's like when he pees so he will then know that's when to go potty. It's crazy to be doing this though with SP only being 5 days old BUT if he's ready then he's ready.

Potty Training 101 for DD

So my friend asked me how Potty Training (PT) with DD and I thought I would post it here too for documentations sake.

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With PT DD we let her take the lead. We started with giving her one smartie every time she sat on the potty with or without her clothes on. She got a whole pack or smarties when she went pee on the toilet (or a piece of candy--used the Halloween candy). It started out with her doing great in the morning and then not wanting anything to do with the toilet for the rest of the day and maybe the next day too. I never forced her. Then she would want to go again. During all this training we would start out the day with her in her undies and then I put a pull up on her for naps. There were accidents. When she would wake up dry from her nap and wouldn't sit on the potty, I knew she needed to go, so I brought the potty out in front of the TV and had her sit on it and eat her snack while watching her show. She then went not long later. We accidentally put her to bed with her undies on but she stayed dry so we had her in undies from that time one. We also accidentally took her out in public with them but she did GREAT and it was over 3 hours too but was scared to go on the potty. If it's an automatic flush put some toilet paper over the sensor so it doesn't flush. That's what scared DD! Once she went a few times (pee) without asking for candy and was consistent at going we switched to getting candy for poop. She wouldn't go FOREVER but we would get a candy for going poop and so would her friend when she came to visit. DD would ask for candy and I would tell her she gets some when she poops (so now they are called ''Poop Candy"). Finally after catching her and running her to the toilet and reading to her for a long time when we knew she needed to go she finally figured it out and would poop on the potty. It's been about 2 months now and she is now telling us she needs to go and we don't need to remind her. I went off her signals though and never pushed it unless she was hiding to poop so we would run her to the potty. I hope this helps some. Good Luck! Potty Training SUCKS!!!

So I jinxed myself by saying DD was fully potty trained...I knew I was going to do that. Tuesday I was getting preschool set up and I heard her grunting so I ran and found her on the potty..she went poop all by herself!!! Amazing---BUT that night she went poop AND pee in her pants?!?!?! She was laughing and thought it was so funny so I picked her up still in her socks and put her in a cold shower. That night when talking to Daddy about it she thought it was funny so I asked if she needed another cold shower--NO. So that worked. Again today she told my mom (Nana) about it and laughed so again I asked about the cold shower and she shook her head no. So...today she told me she needed to poop and went and told me she needed to pee or just went and I never had to ask her. She had one accident though but she went to the bathroom and her potty wasn't there (she moved it to another room as a step stool and ended up peeing in front of the toilet. She was so upset about it too. Poor girl! She is progressing though since she's telling us when now instead of me asking all the time. I'm so happy for her!!

Oh, how I love these Young Women. I love my calling and being able to feel young again. They are so sweet and it's wonderful to be there for them to lean on. I'm truly blesses to have them in my life and to feel of their strength! The Lord did save the best for last.

Fondue Night for our activity--YUM!

LM is so cute and getting so big. I keep hearing from people and strangers even that he looks just like DD. She tries to copy the signs to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and is now running all over the place. He's climbing too (top of the tub), onto DD's bed and standing up on it (today--fell and cut his lip), and anything on the floor that is flat in surface. He's very curious too and watches everything I do and wants to touch and see everything (grating carrots in the garbage yesterday even). I can't believe he will be one in less than 2 weeks. Where did the time go?

DD reading her new favorite library book
"Hush Baby Ghostling"

Both kids start swimming Saturday. DD has been begging for swimming all winter long and even pulls all her swimsuits out and puts them on determined she will go swimming. She will be so excited. LM has his first class too. I hope he loves it also!

Busy Bumble Bees

LM a few weeks ago starting patting his legs while seeing clapping on the TV but just today figured out how to use his hands. It's darling.

DH worked so late today and never got to see LM. It's sad but the facts of life with his line of work. Thankfully he should be getting off earlier tomorrow so he should see him then. The kids were great for me and we managed to get to the library, craft store, and the grocery store. Then both of them took 2-2.5 hour naps after lunch! It was heaven. I was able to get a lot of cleaning accomplished so that was wonderful.

I think DD is pretty much potty trained. I've been worried to say that but she's finally telling us when she needs to poop and hasn't had an accident in weeks! It's heaven. She does still wear a pull up at night but I can handle that!

Christmas traditions

Today we had fun at our friend's house, the Richardson's, baking cookies. DD had a blast baking and playing with all the kids that were there (10 little ones). It was tons of fun and even relaxing for me which is a rare thing with both kids awake. Tonight my MIL took the kids and me to the race way in Portland. DD said she needed to pee while we were still on the freeway. I told her to try and hold it and we would go soon. We thankfully were close to our exit. I found a Burger King right there and we made it to the restroom in time! Grandma was impressed DD was able to wait and hold it that long. I was thankful! I was able to feed LM in the car in the parking lot which was a blessing since the line to get into see the lights was VERY LONG!!! They set up TONS of lights. DD loved the big tree, Santa waving bye-bye and the one of him skiing, and I loved all the lit arches to drive through. The 12 days of Christmas was fun too. DD is so fun to look at lights with since she loves them. Grandma was happy to experience that with her so that was nice.

Last night was HORRIBLE here. DD was up talking to herself, calling out "mommy" over and over until 1am! That was 3.5 hours. Crazy child. Then LM woke up at 1:30am so I had to put him back to sleep--I think the poor child is teething, runny nose today and completely cranky. Then DD woke up screaming at 2am. LM woke up at 5:30 and was cranky ever since. DH got up at 8:15 or 8:30 and took LM for me and told me to lay down so I got another 40 minutes or so of sleep before heading out for choir practice. Needless to say the few hours of sleep wasn't enough. I did get a short nap this evening though so that helped.

At church we had our sing-a-long and I played my flute in 3 songs with a friend and then two friends. I also singed "Silent Night". The singing and one song got thrown at me right before hand. Thankfully it all went pretty well. I felt like I was running all over the place though having to do so much.

We had dinner at DH's parents house with the missionaries. It was so nice to not worry about dinner and also have someone there to help with the kids. LM is just so cranky and nothing seems to make him happy. I hope these teeth come it QUICK!!!! He did enjoy the juggling show one of the elders put on for us. He really has talent.

DD went poop in the potty again tonight. She even told me she needed to go BEFORE she went!!!! I was so proud of her. I was cleaning out her potty and went to get a sanitizing wipe from the kitchen since she went in the little potty instead of the big one and I guess she still had to go and sat on her little potty and pooped a little on the floor. YUCK! I'm so happy she went again! I think we are close to being completely potty trained. Yippee.

play, movie, and poop--what a week!

Sorry I've been MIA for over a week. It's been so busy and I have only had a few minutes here and there and I tried to get on over and over but the kids HATE me being on the computer and push any button they can so I get off.

All is well but life is just so busy and I hate that. I want to enjoy everyday but they just fly by. I've been exhausted too and keep thinking I feel like I'm PG BUT I just got over my monthly cycle so that's good. Talking with a friend today though I might have low blood sugar. She has been having the same symptoms and that's what her doctor thinks is going on with her. So now I need to pay attention to what I eat and when.

We went to DH's nephew's play on Saturday, A Christmas Carol. It was Fabulous for how tiny the school was. Sadly I kept falling asleep when the lights went low. I've been so tired lately and really can't figure out why even when I've been able to sleep in or go to bed early. It's weird (no, I'm not PG!). While driving how the temperature dropped and there was ice on the road right by our house. We slid past our road and had to back up and then turn. My in-laws carpooled with us so they stayed the night and were here until almost noon waiting for the ice to melt. Church got pushed back an hour and DH had to go to work so I was by myself with the kids. It was a crazy day but we all survived it.

Tuesday was a nightmare! (long story so you can skip this paragraph if you wish...I might but my MIL insisted i write this story out though I would like to forget it all together). The house was cold since we are trying to save on oil till we can get the tank filled so I put a space heater in the office to heat it up since I had preschool coming in an half hour. I was getting the kids ready and then myself and as I was blow drying my hair the fuse blew. The switch breaker is downstairs in the apartment of our neighbors and she didn't answer any of her phones (work or cell). I was freaking out because I had no lights for school. It was a dark cloudy Oregon day too. I ended up running and extension cord from DD's room into the office with a floor lamp from the living room. It worked out pretty well thankfully. The kids did okay though some were a little more crazy than normal. We got some gifts made for their parents though so that was great. Next week will be laid back with a train theme (reading Polar Express, making a ginger bread train, and drinking hot chocolate). After school I took my friends daughter home since we were having a cookie exchange from church happening. There were so many people there too so I have to take all three kids across the road along with all my stuff and walk down to her house in the rain. Thankfully that went okay until DD pooped in her pants and I realize I forgot the diaper bag at home amongst all the chaos. Thankfully my friend got me some undies for DD but then DD threw the biggest tantrum ever. My friend had to leave to pick up her daughter and left me a key. I tried to use her internet since my computer was out of power at home to submit my last Demarle order so everything would arrive before Christmas. I sadly forgot to inter in the VISA numbers when working on the order previously so I couldn't submit the order. I thought I might be able to use the laptop at home since DD was throwing such a fit. I had to get her to bed before I couldn't deal with her any more. I came home and put her down and then the baby and tried the laptop. It wasn't connected since the wireless wasn't getting power either. At this point I just wanted to cry! Everything was going WRONG!!! I called DH's mom and she didn't answer (weird for her...later found out she never got my message and had her phone with her but the message came the next day at 8am). I called my dad and he was at work until 5pm--too late to process the order. DH had my mom's car for work so I couldn't call her but my dad said maybe she could use my SIL car to come over to watch the kids so I could go to their house to place the order. My mom was able to use my brother's truck and come over and thankfully I got my order in and finally ended my horrible day at 3pm!!! That evening my mom stayed and chatted with me and helped me write all my Christmas card addresses! It was so nice to get that off my mind of things to do. That was one REALLY long day.

Thankfully today was DH's last day of work. I'm so happy to have him home tomorrow. LM is really walking. Last week he started standing up from the middle of the floor on his own without needing something to push off of. I knew it was only days from then he would be walking. This week he's walking all over the place. I took the kids to the library yesterday and a lady asked me how old he was and when I said 10 months she said she thought he was too little to be walking around. I agreed with her. He loves it though and has the biggest grin. He's such a sweet boy and tried helping put all the contents of the frig back in with me tonight that he pulled out. He also is starting to bring one piece of the manger blocks to us and then get another and another. I remember DD doing that with all the Tupperware. It's so cute. He's also the biggest Ham ever! It has two laughs and knows he's funny. He loved to have pillow fights and will drag a pillow that's half his size over and hit your legs and start laughing. It's wonderful.

DD is on week three of being in her undies. She LOVES it and finally went poop in the potty yesterday and not in her undies. I noticed when she got up from her nap and peed that she tutted and usually that means she will poop in the next hour or so. I just left her pants and undies off and though that maybe she won't go without being on the potty since she didn't have pants on. We read stories in the bathroom, she got off for a little while and started pulling her butt so I had her sit back on there and we read some more. After just a little while she looked at me and said, " I did it, I went!" I was so proud of her!!!! Today she never went so I hope tomorrow is another good day.

Funny story from tonight:
I was gone making cookies and watching White Christmas with the girls from church and DH put DD to bed. She called out for him and he went in to see what happened. She told him, "monkey hand". He just repeated it but she repeated it again while rubbing her eye. He though she was rubbing her eye because she was tired. He again repeated her and then was about to leave and she said, "No, monkey hand" and covered her eye like it was hurt. He asked if the monkey's hand hit her eye and she said yes. He then told her he was sure it was an accident. How funny is that. DD's the one that did it to herself since the stuffed monkey couldn't have hurt her on it's own. I was laughing at that one when I was told the story. She also heard me when I came home so I went in to give her a hug and she also told me the monkeys hit her eye. LOL

Tonight we went to the Singing Christmas Tree and it was wonderful to hear ll the music and the reenactment of the Nativity. DH liked it too which was good because he really didn't want to go but surprised me with tickets after his trip to CA for his grandma's funeral.

DD did really well with potty training today and only had one accident but was in the bathroom at the time so might not have been able to get her pants down soon enough. She napped in her undies and even rode over to my parents in them too. She went pee at their house too which is wonderful! She also went poop a little in her undies but finished on the potty!!! I'm so happy about that. She was trying to nap at the time but got up to tell me. Progress!

DH's birthday is tomorrow and he's so nice to let us go to the Church Christmas dinner. He would never go on his b-day but knows I really want to go so he is. My mom is coming over to babysit the kids for us to go to a movie though so that will be his treat for the day and then we will be going out for fondue on Saturday and dinner at his parents on Monday. I hope he feels loved and like it's a special day for him. The kids and I are making him breakfast in the morning so that will be fun.

Potty Training 101

We are just letting DD lead us though I'm trying to help make wearing underwear AWESOME. She falls for it most of the time. Sadly some times she says she needs to pee AFTER she just went. I HATE...(I'll repeat that)...I HATE cleaning up poopy underwear! DH can't stand it either and sort of loses it each time. It's happened twice but the second time I think happened when I didn't hear her calling for me to help her and her pants were harder to get down that day. I was busy taking care for the preschool kids and LM when a friend said DD was calling for me. So we will see. It's going better than I thought which is a plus!

Success!

November 8, 2009

LM is standing now for a good 30 seconds without much trying. He even stood himself up this morning and took 2 steps to me all on his own. I don't think it will be much longer before he's truly walking. He gets so happy walking too. I just love his open mouth grins!

DD even tried going pee tonight before bed on the potty which is HUGE. She always avoids the potty after going one day. I think we are getting closer to potty training. I pray she does this on her own like she did yesterday. It makes things so much easier. It would be typical for her since she has done EVERYTHING on her own time table.

We had DH's mom over tonight for Family Home Evening (little lesson, songs, scriptures. It was nice having her over. She hadn't seen LM walk yet and was so surprised when I was walking him over to her and then let go of his hands and he kept going. It was fun to see her surprised reaction. DD loved the attention she got too. DH's dad flew down to CA last night because his mom is in the ICU. I don't know if she's going to make it through this. She's old though in her mid 90's so she's lived a good life. Time will tell but there might be a funeral soon. We are trying to figure out if the whole family should drive down or have DH fly.

Growing up

November 7, 2009

So tonight DD stripped off her clothes and went to the bathroom and actually peed on the potty! I was so excited for her. We called up all the grandparents and she got a sucker too for her prize which she LOVES!!! One way to put all that Halloween candy to good use. She then even went again tonight right before bed. That´s the first time she has ever gone twice in one day!! I´m so excited for her. I wonder if this will last through tomorrow or if she will run and want nothing to do with the potty like she usually does in the past.

LM is consistently walking 3-5 steps now! I think he will be walking soon which is fun and scary. I wonder how much trouble he´s going to be getting into. He tried climbing out of the tub tonight during bath time and I know he is going to crash or crack his head someday trying to climb out. Oh...how do you handle raising boys????

Growing up

October 26, 2009 

So today DD wanted to wear undies. She didn't pee at all this morning but we tried lots. I was giving her one smartie (the candy)for every try so that she would want to sit on the potty.  It worked too all morning.  It was fun playing with her  so I could watch her.  She wanted to play with blocks so we built towers and cities.  We got the cars out and drove then through our city.  It was lots of fun and DD was laughing a ton.  I sometimes feel she thinks life is just so funny. This might stem from the blessing that DH gave her when she was blessed at church that she would be happy and find humor in life.  This describes her perfectly.

So back to "potty training"-- I figured she would go a ton at nap but once she woke up she said she needed to go to I pulled her pants and undies down and took her diaper off. It wasn't as full as I thought it was but then she wouldn't sit on the potty and started throwing a fit and tried running off but fell since her pants were at her ankles and then fell again after getting them off due to the undies. Poor thing. I told her she could sit in the living room and watch Barney and suck on her sucker (the prize for going potty--since I knew she needed to go.) She was freaking out and ran to our room. She comes back to the living room and stands 2 inches from her potty and pees! What's up with that. Seriously!!! I am not going to like this process at all.

LM also decided to climb even more today. He's been stepping on toys and such this pats week to get higher up. He also was raising his leg up to climb into the tub this morning for his bath but is too short for it to do anything. This afternoon though he put his foot through one of the little holes on the gate to the stairs and stepped up. It freaked me out. I took the gate down and started working on him sliding down and climbing up. He has no idea what to do with stairs. He thinks he can just sit and move however he wants. He fell I think three times but only a step or two and never cried so it's a learning process. I need to work with him everyday now though so he can figure it out and then I won't have to worry about the stairs and him getting hurt.

I also am pretty sure he said, "thank you" to me tonight.  It was the right intonation and was the proper timing right after I handed him something.  DD even said "thank you" after him.  I asked her if she thought he said it too but didn't get a reply from her (typical).  So he can say "mama" and "dada" though I don't know if he's made the connection of dada as being DH.  He does with mama though but is still practicing his words.  It wouldn't surprise me if he does know "thank you" since we say it all day long with DD so he should pick it up.

We went to KFC for our free piece of chicken tonight--Well, DH brought it home since he got of work an hour later than expected and it would have been bed time by the time we would have gotten there to eat. It was yummy and the kids favorite part were the biscutts (no surprise there- they are so yummy!).  DD wouldn't even try the potatoes and LM hated them.  His face while trying them is priceless with his nose all wrinkled up and head moving backward trying to escape the spoon.  I need to get a video of that next time.

June 6, 2009

DD is SO NOT ready to be potty trained. I think we lucked out that one time she went. She shakes her head at me. It's all fine so I'm just waiting for her to be ready and not pushing it.

So today went better than I thought it would. DH had his training again all day. LM slept in for me so I got to sleep until 8:45 when DH left. DD got another 10 minute morning nap today. She wanted it all on her own. I wonder if she's going through a growth spurt? DD and LM both took naps at the same time which was awesome. LM woke up early though but was still tired. After trying the binky twice I figured out he needed oraljel and that solved the issue and he went right to sleep. DD has been loving sitting in the big chair for meals and did great today and yesterday. I was able to even get some grocery shopping done with both kids before our night out with DH's family. We had fun going to Red Robin and then Comedy Sportz. DH wanted two babysitters since it was the first time we left LM with teens. The second one came 2.5 hours after we left and I guess didn't do much but hold the baby while the first one made the bottle. Next time DH can just let her come and it will be cheaper! I can't believe how much our evening out was- $90 and it didn't feel like we had a $90 night. Oh, well. I'm glad we have parents around to watch the kids for us so it's CHEAPER!!! Sadly my parents were out of town this weekend.

DD discovered my umbrella in the drawer in my closet and had fun playing with it. I love seeing her amusement in the "ordinary" things of life.

May 8, 2009

I just love it when little babies play with your hands/fingers. It's so fun to watch them explore their world and figure out how things work and move.

Today after my walk this morning I was finally able to do the laundry since yesterday our water heater broke and needed a new transformer and the tank had to be drained and refilled. It took all day for that to to happen. I was able to get it all done and some wedding too. DD tried to help a little too which was cute. LM did great hanging out in the swing while I worked. DH's working on the gardening box for our square foot garden. He's so excited about it. I love seeing his enthusiasm! We went to our friends for dinner and came home to put the kids to bed. I went to the bathroom and DD always sits on her potty next to us too now. I decided to take her diaper off so she could really try to go since we were changing her anyway. She sat for about 30 seconds and then ran off to the living room. She went over to where the TV is and then DH heard her start to go and quickly picked her up and ran her to the toilet. I sat with her and told her to go pee. She stood up after a little while and sure enough she had peed in the potty! I was so happy for her and cheered like crazy. Now I'm hoping she understands what her potty is for and we can really start the potty training. She was clapping for herself and dancing all around she was so pleased with herself. It's wonderful!

GO LAKERS. . .

I think LM is starting the teething process already. He's 3.5 months now. DD started teething at 4 months but didn't get her first tooth until after she was one.

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How many kids do I want? (after a discussion with some of my friends)

I don't agree that you have to have all the money in the world so your kids can do all the extra things. I grew up in a family that didn't have much money. My dad was a teacher and they never were paid very well. We were able to do sports and things through school but we couldn't afford the YMCA/Nike clubs. I still was able to experience everything I wanted but for not much money (for example I did gymnastics at a local elementary school). I think things work themselves out (at least that's been my experience when I put my faith in God to help us get through). We have our two because of God's choosing so we will see who else he blesses us with since neither of them came on our timing (DD- 1.5 year later, LM- a year early). Ü