Potty Trained!!

She's potty trained! She's a big girl now! Lizzie is very proud of her new accomplishment and loves to tell anyone who will listen. Its been a long hard road for both of us. (Not that long but when you're cleaning up accidents every 10 minutes every single day seems looong.)

I realize the topic of potty training doesn't appeal to all, but I definitely need to record this milestone so I don't forget what I've learned the next time around!
Challenges/ Solutions:

Not interested in potty/ Lots of potty propaganda. Demo potty skills with her fav animals. Big girl talk, movies, books, peer pressure (your friends and cousins use the potty!)

Fear of elimination and holding it too long/ encouraged ALL elimination at first even if it wasn't on the potty (only used this tactic first couple days to overcome fear).

She got sick with stomach flu symptoms/ put potty training on hold. We stopped all training for a couple days til better. It was ok to take a little break and go back to diapers for a while. She got right back on the horse when we started again.

Not wanting to go on the potty- She would actually run, hide, and try to pee into the air vents, corners, or closets/ this was after conquering her fear, midway through the process. Incentives were used big time- candy, and dollar store prized for successful potty time. If there was an accident- Love and Logic methods used. I'd say, "That's too bad. Next time you should use the potty." Then I would take away one of her "potty treats" and take back a potty prize I had previously given her.

The best strategy that I learned: Drop the pressure, incentives, and punishments in the beginning. Just encourage and help her to know this is a normal process. No pressure. Fun. Then, as she gets the hang of it and starts to disobey or regress, stronger incentives and punishments are needed.

This picture was taken right in the middle of her "refusing to go on the potty" phase of the training. She actually turned all the way around and crammed herself into the corner so that I couldn't take a picture of her.

This picture was taken right after bribing her with candy. She's sucking on a jelly bean. My potty training and photography training philosophies are very similar...

Then, after a long hard week of being stuck in the jail cell that is our downstairs bathroom, my charming husband brought home these beautiful roses. It was very sweet and thoughtful of him!

Busted!

I know Lizzie so well I can predict her mischief before the thought even enters her mind.
Lizzie's a smart girl. She hears or sees something new just once and it sticks with her FOREVER.
A elephant Lizzie never forgets.

I found a 2 minute potty training propaganda movie on YouTube and showed it to Lizzie. It encourages being a big girl. Big girls use the potty. Big girls wear underpants. And big girls pour their own cereal. Really?! I obviously didn't preview the movie before showing it to her and then it was too late. The seed was planted. I knew she would eventually end up trying to sneak into the pantry to pour her own cereal just like a big girl. (Despite the fact that she knows better than to get into the pantry by herself.) Visions of boxes and boxes of cereal being dumped all over the kitchen floor are dancing in my head.

A week later out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Lizzie tiptoeing to the pantry with a small "play kitchen" bowl in hand and before she even opens the door I run and get my camera because I know exactly what she is doing and why. I am so amused at her predictability that I now want to catch a picture of her caught in the act: Pouring her first bowl of cereal like a big girl. And here it is! (Fortunately, there was no mess. She carefully grabbed it out by the handful.)

I told her she could have Fruit Loops if she shared with Julie. And she did- in full 50/50 portions! She doled them out one at a time, biting each one in half, and giving the other half to her little sis. Julie was very appreciative.

Connell Family

It was just the best time having the Connell Family stay with us over the Memorial weekend. We were surprised and shocked to have such a warm sunny day, despite the forecasted rain! So we scrapped our original indoor plans and headed out to the zoo!


Ethan and Tegan were so much bigger than the last time we saw them! Those two are true opposites but both so cute and sweet in their own way.


The kids loved the zoo, of course! Since its so early in the season the animals were very lively and entertaining.

The "Wild Little Girls" exhibit was particularly fun. The ropes didn't provide much security so I snuck a couple lil animals home with me!

It was sooo funny to watch the girls when we went into the bird room. The budgies were flying around and would randomly land on your hand or shoulder. Julie loved it. We only had to stop her from squeezing the life out of the birds a couple times. Lizzie on the other hand was terrified. I had to carry her while she clung to me for protection. I really wanted to get a picture of Julie with the birds, though, so when I set Lizzie down she actually went into the duck and cover position. She wasn't crying but she was going to make sure NO birds landed on her.

That day at the zoo it was the Tiger cubs' 1st birthday! The tigers were very active, pouncing, and playing. They were even handing out cupcakes to celebrate the occasion.

We ended our big day at the zoo at the new kiddie playground area. We made sure to squeeze every last ounce of energy out the kids before leaving...

...Then, we raced home, set the kiddos up with a babysitter and headed out for some adult time! It was nice to catch up with Steve and Krista, hear what they've been up to and just have a good time!

The next day we just took it easy. They came to church with us and we spent some more time outdoors enjoying a second day of sun. Lizzie just adored Ethan and was very excited that he was willing to play with her (despite their age gap). She talked about him for days after they left- so cute.

We headed to a nearby lake and walking area. We even got some bonus entertainment. Apparently, there was a mini boat racing event taking place. We always have such a good time when we get together with our dental school buddies. We will definitely have to do this more!

The Girls Go Camping

Its been a little while since we have gone camping. Dave and I love camping but we were very leery of the idea of camping with two small girls. Our friends, Erin and Jason, invited us along with some other friends to enjoy some backyard camping. The perfect way to start the camping season- a little trial to see if it can actually happen with small children.

All the night activities were fun- building a fire, roasting hotdogs, smores, etc. The kids loved it and all went to sleep really well. All was well...until 3AM when we woke up to the sound of rain and soaking wet blankets. The tent was leaking from the top and Lizzie was leaking from the...well, lets just say she had been drinking ALOT of liquids that day since we have been potty training. She was wearing a diaper to bed but it still didn't quite do the trick. Needless to say, we drove a couple miles home and finished the night in our beds.

It was a good time with good friends but thank goodness we were close to home. Chris and Heather went home early soon after we left. Steve, Kim, and their two dogs, on the other hand, enjoyed a long peaceful night's sleep. (Their tent even had a doggy door!) Oh, to camp without kids seems much like the comfort of staying in a five star hotel to me now!

10 Months

"Julie, Julie, Julie, do you love me?" Her eyes just light up and her whole body starts to bounce when you sing these lyrics to her. This girl is always bouncing, dancing, speed crawling, standing, or cruising around these days. She is now very mobile. And watch out...

She is trouble for sure! This past week I have been busy potty training Lizzie so Julie has had ample opportunity to get into trouble. At one crucial point (right when Lizzie had gone #2 first time) Julie was trying to play with the big toilet so I ushered her quickly out of the bathroom only to have her speed crawl straight over to the pantry, grab a bag of popcorn kernels, and dump them allll over the kitchen floor then continue to spread them. Baby proofing you say? I barely know what that is. Lizzie was not huge into exploring. Not a problem. Until now.

She has grown and learned SOO much in the past couple months. 9 months has been a huge learning window for her.

Month 9 Achievements:

Crawling

Pulling self up

Standing

Cruising

Waving Hello

Signing words: "More" and "all done"

Saying 3 NEW WORDS!: Mama! Dada! and Uh-oh!

"Mama" was the FIRST word she ever said!! She has actually been saying mama for a while but it hasn't been clear if she knew what she is saying until recently. She will hold her arms out to me and say "Mama!" Then a couple weeks later, Dave really worked with her and got her to say "Dada!" And last of all, "Uh Oh!" , no surprise to me that this would be her first word (besides mama/dada). I say "Uh Oh" all the time to her and a couple days ago she just parroted it right back at me! She loved saying it over and over again. It was very cute to hear her say it- clearly and with pointed emphasis and emotion...hehe. She's very good at mimicking her mom.

Her little squinty eye smile in the pic above always makes me laugh. Its not her natural smile- its the smile she does when she is trying to copy my facial expression. Sometimes I give her an overly exaggerated smile and squint my eyes at her when I baby talk.

Jewels- you are growing up too fast. Please slow down.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the special Mothers, Moms, Mamas, and Mommies out there! In Lizzie's words, "Happy Mama's Day!" On this day, I am so grateful for all the women who have been such great mothers in my life.
I may not have been raised by my Grandma but I know she was a great mom. We all grow up to be just like our mothers, right? And my mom is pretty great so it only stands to reason that she learned it from her own! My Grandma has always been an inspiration to me as an amazing woman and Mother. The same line of reasoning is true for Linda, as well. Dave turned out pretty great so it can only be assumed it stems from a great Mother, of course! I will forever be grateful for all of the values and qualities she instilled in Dave that make him the wonderful husband and father he is today! We think she's a pretty awesome Grammy, too!

Now, here's where my logic breaks down. If we're judging a Mother's greatness based on how her children turned out.... Just kiddin, mom! I think you are an AMAZING mom, regardless of how I turned out :). You did the best with what you had to work with. :) And I will be forever grateful to you for all that hard work! Happy Mother's Day to you, mom! I love you!

A great legacy of love and Motherhood has been set before me and I look forward to sharing it with my children as well. As a mother of 2 young girls you might say I'm just getting started. I look forward to many more years of joy in the journey of motherhood.

Today, was the perfect Mother's Day celebration thanks to Dave and the kids' sweetness. It started off with being woken up to a little voice shouting, "Happy Mama's Day!" followed by hugs and kisses from the little fam, then breakfast in bed. Lizzie was very intent on having a "picnic in bed" with me so she helped me finish off my heart shaped pancakes and eggs.

My favorite part of the day was when Lizzie (with a little help from Dave) sang "Mother, I love you". Apparently, she had been secretly learning and practicing this song with help from Dave every night while I put Jewels to bed. Very cute.

This post may seem a bit mushy, but too bad! Its Mothers Day so I get to gush as much as I want to! :)

The Lizzie Mobile

AND SHE'S OFF!! This girl is one craaazy driver! Lizzie got a new car just like her Momma. Daddy is always pushing her around in boxes so we decided to spruce one up a bit to give her little imagination a jump start.

Lizzie and I had a lot of fun "restoring" this car together while Julie napped. It was a spur of the moment idea so we had to make do with whatever we could find around the house. Luckily, we have plenty of paper goods so most of the car ended up being make of paper plates, cups, and bowls...a little construction paper, crayons, some stickers, and voila! Dave and the girls took it for a test drive doing laps around the pool table. Lizzie yells, "Step on it!" and then they really pick up speed. Every so often Julie will try to commandeer the steering wheel then things get really exciting.