Help Me: Le Toilette Edition.

So. The time has come.

What time, you ask?

Potty training time.

(If these kinds of posts weird you out, feel free to check back later. But I gotta keep it real, folks.)

;)

For the past few months, my 20 month old daughter has been alerting us to her, ahem, movements, showing major interest in all things potty-related, and likes to be alone, to, ahem ahem, do her business.

These are signs of readiness, right?

BELIEVE ME. I am SO NOT READY to do this. For some reason, the thought of potty training scares me into almost denial. (Surely it'd be okay for her to wear diapers to high school, right? You mean Luv's doesn't make size 22??) Maybe it is the thought of hours spent crouched in the bathroom with my toddler while having to nurse my newborn on the side of the tub. Maybe it is the absolute craziness that will ensue when I'm out running errands with said toddler and newborn, and the toddler needs to use the bathroom 50 times. What do I do with my newborn baby? Where do I put her? Will we make it there in time? What do I DOOOOOO!?!?!??!

Deep breath.

Okay.

So, I need your help. What worked for you in this arena? Potty chair or top-o-potty seat? (See, I don't even know what they're CALLED!). Stickers, candy, potty dance for reward? What do I do when we aren't at home? Pull-ups at night, panties during the day? Let her run naked for a week?

OH, the options!

My stomach hurts.

Okay. Seriously. Help a Mama out.

I'm going back into denial until the holidays are over. And then...

...then it's time.

UGH.

;)

2 Months: A Letter.

Dear Baby D,

You are two whole months old today! You have been such a snugly little buddy these past two months, and I have tried to soak you up every chance I get...because time is passing all too quickly for this Mommy!

Here are some of your developments and activities over the past month.

Growth:

-You weigh 14.5 pounds and are 23.5 inches long. You are at the top of the growth charts still--so big, Baby! Keep growing strong!

-You are wearing mostly 3-6 month clothing, and you switched to size 2 diapers a few weeks ago.

-It looks like your hair is starting to come back in on top, and so far it is very dark like Mommy's! Your little baby mullet is still in fine form in the back, though! ;)

-You've entered into one of my favorite phases of babyhood: chub! Your little rolls and dimples are delicious, and I can't get enough!

-Over the past few weeks, you have really started holding your little head up pretty well, and you can push up on your arms while doing 'tummy time' on the floor.

Eating:

-You nurse every 2-3 hours during the day, and you'll wake up about every 4-5 hours to eat at night.

-Baby, you are still such a quick eater! You usually only nurse one side and for about 5 minutes...maybe. How you are so huge, I have no idea. But you seem happy and content after your quick meals, and there is NO forcing you to eat when you are full. So...we'll just go with it!

-You give good burps after each meal, and you are so very smiley as you start to fill your belly. We can hardly concentrate on the task at hand with all those smiles!

Sleeping:

-At night, you are going anywhere from 3-6 hour stretches at a time, and, slowly but surely, those stretches are getting consistently longer. While I'd love a full night's sleep, I know you aren't quite ready to go that long with out a snuggle and a midnight snack. ;)

-When you do wake up to eat at night, you go right back to sleep when you are finished. No complaints here!

-Your Daddy figured out that you love to have your head/hair tickled and rubbed to put you to sleep sometimes. It is so funny to watch your eyes roll back in your head as we stroke your hair. You get so relaxed, and this little trick has helped when you get a bit fussy in the evenings.

-During the day, you take most of your naps in your crib, and they are anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Sometimes you'll nap in the car or your car seat while we are out and about, and in the evenings, your Daddy and I take turns snuggling you for your final nap of the day.

-We are starting to notice a pattern for your bed time. From 6-7pm, you are fussy and grumpy, and then you completely pass out for the night around 7-8pm. Whether we are holding you or you are laying around the house, you are OUT by that time. It is pretty cute to watch you in deep sleep while your eyes dance around and your lips go from frowning to smiling. So sweet. Pretty soon, we'll start putting you in your room for an actual bedtime...but not yet. I love snuggling you up in the evenings, and I know this phase will be over all too soon. Snuggling it is. :)

Play:

-The best thing this month: SMILES! Real deal, happy, gummy, drooly baby smiles! You will lock eyes with us, your little mouth will start to twitch a bit, and then, there it is! Big ol' smile. It is gorgeous and precious and I can't get enough.

-Sometimes you like your paci, and other times, I think you are going to be a thumb-sucker. You get that little right thumb alllllllmost in your mouth just right, but then there are times when you can't get enough of the pacifier. We'll see!

-You like to watch your big sister as she plays around you and gives you millions of kisses each day. Every now and then, she'll hold still long enough to lock eyes with you, and then you both start smiling at each other. Pretty sweet to watch!

-You've started cooing and making little gurgling noises when you smile up at us, and your Dad even got you to giggle a few times while he was tickling your nose! Precious sounds, sweet girl.

-You like to lay on your floor gym and stare up at the animals hanging above, and you are pretty content in your vibrating bouncy seat. Other than that, toys are pretty useless to you for now.

-Every now and then, you try to bat at things with your balled up fist and chubby arm. You don't have the best aim yet, Baby, but you'll get there.

Activities:

-For Halloween, you went as a little sweet pea! Your sister was a princess, and you had been given a snuggly little pea outfit to wear--the Princess and the Pea! Perfect! You were so warm and sweet in your pea costume, and you seemed content to sleep in it all night!

-We had our family pictures taken, and it was so wonderful to see our family of four all together. You are such a big part of our lives, my love, and it was so special to have you in our pictures finally.

-Also this month, our church had a baby dedication service where we pledged to raise you under God's guidance and love. It is a privilege to be your Mom, sweet girl, and it was a very poignant day for us as a family.

-You've been to church, out shopping, and on lots of drives around town.

-One weekend, your big sister went to stay with Nama, so we got to have you all to ourselves for a few days. It was such a sweet time to be able to give you 100% of our attention and affection, and I think you enjoyed all the extra snuggles, too. :)

Today is Thanksgiving, and I can't begin to express how thankful we are that you are healthy, happy and HERE with us. So very thankful to God for blessing our family with you.

Another precious month spent snuggling you, my love.

We couldn't ask for more.

Love you forever,

Mommy

I Think This Needs to be a Canvas.

My two girls.

Just moments after being born.

18 months apart.

Tiny hospital hats.

Sweet faces.

Yep.

I need this blown up into a canvas.

ASAP.

Dedicated.

Last Sunday was Baby Dedication Service at our church. Our families came over to attend the service with us, and it was such a special day.

The purpose of the dedication was to make a public pledge to raise our children in the footsteps of the Lord, and we committed to work together as a church to bring up Godly children. I love that. A public promise to endeavor to be the parents God has called us to be.

Such an important pledge.

(Papa loves his grandbabies.)

We love you, Baby D!

Such a special day.

:)

FOUR.

A few weeks ago, the lovely Katie took our family pictures.

I. LOVE. THEM.

She did an awesome job (as usual),

and I had to stop for a second after typing "Family of FOUR"...

There are four of us now.

Crazy.

And perfect.

:)

(OH, melt my heart!!!)

(This picture makes me fall in love with him all over again. Precious to me.)

Love my sweet little family.

My family of four.

:)

You've Got Mail.

In the months following the birth of my firstborn, I can say with certainty that I was not on top of my game when it came to being a wife. A new mom, yes. Wife, no. Obviously, there were certain things I wasn't, ahem, 'allowed' to do, but besides that, I sort of just forgot all about my husband. I mean, we worked together to figure out our new little baby, and we weren't fighting or anything. I just didn't seem to have the mental or emotional space left over to nurture or remember or care for my husband.

I was overwhelmed after bringing home my firstborn to say the least, and we both knew we needed to cut the other one some slack during that season of life. And we did. And we're fine on the other side.

But.

I knew what was coming after the birth of our second baby girl. I knew how tired and overwhelmed and spent and frazzled we'd be in those first few sleepless weeks, so I wanted to make sure I didn't forget about my partner in crime, my forever boyfriend, my hubby.

So this time around, I had a plan.

I bought five large shipping envelopes, and I scoured the aisles of Target for some little goodies to pack inside. Nothing expensive. Nothing really all that sentimental. Just fun, cheapy little goodies like a book of Sudoku puzzles, a few pairs of the argyle socks he loves (my husband refuses to wear white socks...have I told you this? It's one of his quirks that I love...), and a few small gift cards to places like Sonic and Starbucks. I whipped up some cheesy-yet-lovable 'coupons' that he could cash in over the following weeks, including massages, his choice of take-out, an hour of watching The Golf Channel together, etc. In each package, I also included a "Congrats! You're a brand new parent!" greeting card...I'm ironic like that. ;) I tried to fill each card with as many reasons why I loved him and how proud I was of the Dad he had grown to be.

All things that I should have said that last time around....but didn't.

After filling up all of the packages, I sent them home with my mom who lives out of town. Each package was numbered, addressed to my husband, and had pre-paid shipping, so she would kindly drop one package in the mail each week for those first five weeks.

Each week when he went out to check the mail, my hubby was reminded that he is still #1 to me, that he is loved, that he is noticed, that he is, well, basically awesome.

And that I couldn't do any of this without him.

And I wouldn't want to.

None of this is to toot my own horn; rather, I hope to pass on what I learned the hard way the first time around. Our husbands are blessings from above, and, even in those bleary first few weeks with a newborn, I should have done a much better job of showing him the respect and love he more than deserved.

Not at all saying that I didn't have good reason to be so frazzled back then. I mean, geez. What is more overwhelming than becoming a PARENT for the first time ever?!? But still. I wish I'd tried harder to find my husband in that crazy, bleary, and wonderfully overwhelming time.

This time around...I got my priorities straight.

;)