No more diapers for me–3rd Edition

Guess who is learning to use the Potty today? 

I can’t believe for the first time in 6 years I will have NO child in Diapers.  (well at least for another 6 months!)  I caught up on reading through the plan for our Potty Training Bootcamp.  (yes we do an intense 3 day method, which while hard—has proved successful the past 2 times)

I need to get my kiddos off to school and then we begin.  I will keep you updated on this post, and via twitter/facebook if you care to follow the progress.  since it’s SO exciting and all! 

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10:02  Snacks are ready, and Helen is finishing up Elmo Potty!



Here We go!
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10:54. 

Been in undies since 10:05.  No accidents.  No peeing either.  she’s gotta go sometime.  We’ve eaten lots of snacks, and she working on that chocolate milk.

We put on undies, wrote a list of all our friends who wore undies, and even called some of them for moral support!

Then we packed up our diapers to send to a baby.

 

Mommy is fully prepared for accidents… but not for long.  Hopefully, we will only have 1-2 days of accidents!

Sally the Baby is learning too..

Mommy says I will learn better by teaching others. 
Sally doesn’t eat her treats, so I eat them for her.   (we get treats for dry panties)

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12:12--
2 hours in.  No accidents.  dry panties all around. But no pottying either.   About to have a long sit on the potty while I make lunch.   I am hoping she goes before it is time for nap.  this girl can really hold it.  I think Charlotte did this too…  

note to others-- (or maybe a pep talk to me, who thinks my child might hold it forever)--- you will most likely get an accident before a success.  That is ok.  They have to feel the sensation of pee coming out to realize they should hold it in.   Go with it, and then PRACTICE 10x running to the potty and model with the doll, a success.  They WILL get this. 

okay—I am odd to make lunch now.  pray we get a potty success or SOMETHING soon!  The child has had a whole sippy of chocolate milk and is working on juice now.   At leas I know she can make it on a 2 hour road trip!  HA!

 

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12:45

First Potty Success!   No Accidents yet!  We are off to paint nails and head down for a nap!  I call this morning a success.  We’ll see how the afternoon goes.  I fully expect a few accidents.  But am SO proud of Helen!  (I was expecting an accident before a success) So this is great!  But I take it with a grain of salt…. I mean she only potty-ed 1 time in 2 1/2 hours.  We’ll see if she can go again before nap, or if like many kids she will hold it all for naptime. (I put kids in pull ups for nap and bed the first few weeks—or longer if needed)

Here is the Little Lady with her Prize for her first potty success—Lipstick.  We give prizes the first few times, but all other rewards are for dryness.

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1:30
I caved at lunch and gave her diet coke!  ( don’t judge)  I think the bubble goodness helped her to “go”.  She went at 12:45, then again, after lunch.  The we painted nails, and sat down to watch a little Barney.  She screamed “my pee pee’s coming out”  BUT--- she stopped it, and we ran to the potty!  She finished on the potty, but we still had to change panties and pants due to the dribble.  But I am SO proud!  Waiting for big kids to come home to celebrate her success and then it’s nap time!

Whooo… potty training is hard work.  I am TIRED!

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4:20
Helen woke up (with a slightly wet pull up)
We went immediately to the potty to “try” and she started talking about how she didn’t want to do #2 in her panties (probably a sign she needed to go)  She sat on the potty, and let a little pee out and then did her first #2 on the potty!  Yeah Helen!  (she has actually gone #2 on the potty a few times the past couple month but not because we were trying to potty train) 

She is currently chugging down juice—I keep them well “juiced up” to encourage full bladders and lots of potty opportunities.  She is playing with big brother and sister (who are SO into the process).  And we continue to reward her dry panties with smarties.  We’ll see how the rest of afternoon goes… I made dinner while she napped (just needs to be popped in the oven) so I could totally ready to help her. 

She’s doing great!

Slow down little girl…

Is it just me, or is this a glimpse into future at senior pictures?

Why does she look 18 in this picture? 
(She was actually not posing, but trying to climb the tree…she is six)

Thanks goes to our super cool Aunt Hallie for the super cool outfit! Though really… can’t I keep her in smocked bishops for EVER???

I did manage to get a big white bow in the side of her hair. 
But really, the look just isn’t complete without seeing her skinny jeans and boots.  She is way too cool to be a 6 year old.

Date Night!

It is really important in marriage to take the time and get a babysitter to take a Date night.  But it is also important to take Date Nights with your kids!  We did just that this past Monday!

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Right after we moved to DC last year, A Chick Fil A opened up near by.  Though it isn’t a free standing store (which means no playground unfortunately) it is close by.   And it is in a more business district, so really famiyl friendly and easy(er) parking on the weekends.    And one of the great things CFA does is host Date Nights for parents to bring their kids to.   And Monday Night was…

So Daddy, got all “hansomed” up and the girls felt SO special going on a date with Daddy.

They were all ready to go out on the town!
And in my opinion they had the best looking date there,

Little Ms Pretty, all ready for her date.

Helen was beside herself and I think she said at one point
”I never been on a date”

Carson was a great sport… and while we are waiting on Chick Fil A to host one of these soon…

We went out on our OWN Mother/Son date out on the Hill. 
Carson chose to go to a little Hot Dog joint called DC-3, where he got mini dog sliders! But the real reason he chose this place was for the hand spun cotton candy!

He took a great picture of a mommy eating her YUMMY Italian sausage!

Both Mommy and Daddy had a fun night making memories with our sweet children.  Taking the time out to enjoy them and celebrate them and remind them what sweet gifts they are to us!

When was the last time you had a date night out
with your child?  

Having a Hay Day!

One of the most fun parts of the Pumpkin Festival (see yesterday’s post for part 1 pics!) was playing n the Hayloft…..

 

Daddy and his farm hands

Nothing better than jumping into Daddy’s Arms!

Mommy finally figured out the lighting in here…

(FYI—just because you are in the shade, doesn’t mean you need a flash… JUST the opposite—IN AV mode bump up your ISO just a bit, and then play with your white balance—if bright out like full sun bump it down a notch, if dark bump it up a notch or 2)

Just  in time to catch this guy getting buried in the Hay!

 

My 2 favorite guys in the world!

And the Corn… let’s not forget what fun corn can be.

And how stinking cute this little corn on the cob is!

Gemma and the kiddos!
(when in a shady area, if there is a bright light behind you, it is hard image to adjust…better just to take the picture in full shade)

Love this adventure seeker… jumping off huge piles of hay.


Love Even more THIS face, upon landing.
Pure hayloft Joy!


Thanks for enjoying our little Hay Day with us!

Nothing like a little hay in your hair--- and shoes, and socks, and pockets, and ears, and nostrils, and undies--- to convince mommy we all needed Baths this night!

Happy Fall Friends!

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Pumpkin Fun

We had a great time at a Pumpkin Patch/ Fall festival this past weekend up in Maryland!  This is our 2nd year going, and the kids had just as much fun as they did last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Potato Sack slide!  Carson was Loving it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gemma and the girls!

Charlotte’s Web…. Get it??

 

 

 

Cute little pumpkin pickers!

 

Oh, my cuteness!  Little girl couldn’t make up her mind, and ended up deciding she didn’t want a pumpkin at all. 

 

It is hard to take a picture on a bright sunny day… but they sure did try and smile at mama!

 

Our family of 5!  Next year we will add another
cute pumpkin to our patch!

The hay ride back to the festival from the pumpkin patch!  Such fun!

 

Helen says “come back tomorrow to see how much fun our family had romping around in the hay!”  Trust me--- it was fun.  We all came back smelling like a barn. 

(I realized I had too many favorite pictures to put in one post—
So Fall festival Fun part 2 will post tomorrow!)

Seasons…

“You have no idea how much time you have as a college student”
            Says the recent college grad working hard at their first job.

“You should enjoy all the girls weekends you can”
             Says the friend who just got married.

“Go on trips and weekend adventures and endless date nights while you can, it will never again be just the 2 of you”
             Says the new mom with a newborn

“I used to worry about everything with my first”
              Says the mom with 2 or 3 children.

”Enjoy them while they are young….they grow up too fast”
              Says the mom who just sent her last off to college

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Seasons…

“I don’t want to be stressed out all the time.”  
           Says me to my husband.

“You were stressed out before we had kids…Women just get stressed out.” My husband is profound like that. Were those words supposed to encourage me?  They did make me giggle. 

Because he’s right. You see, I was stressed out with no children.  I didn’t like to fold laundry, I battled over what to cook for dinner, I avoided cleaning my house. I look back and laugh… what in the world was I stressed out about?  But I was. Yet I also remember loving those early newlywed years.   

Was my stress any greater as a newlywed than it was as a college student?  I really don’t think so.  I remember many a long late night cramming for exams as an over achieving Elon student. I spent many days in early marriage wondering how in the world to care for a house and husband.  Many sleepless nights, wondering if I’d ever get my baby to sleep through the night.  Many a tired afternoon, wondering how I would survive life with 2 children under 2. Many days wondering why anyone would have more children?  How could they manage? 


Yet here is the thing… 

God gives us Grace for the Season we are in.
Every single time I have ever felt that I can barely make it through, God comes in and His Grace sustains me. 
For he promises “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

Psalm 16:6 tells us
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

We must believe that God has placed our boundary lines in pleasant places, and knows what we can and cannot handle.  And He also knows that we cannot handle it without Him.     


So college student, single friend, new mom--- My stress is no greater than your stress.  My boundary lines just look different than yours.  And both of our boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places.  And God’s grace is sufficient enough for all of us.

Let us not wish our season away.  Or believe the lie that someone else’s season is better than ours.  Or that no one could understand how hard our season is.   Or that life will just be easier when this season is over… because it won’t.  This is the season you are in. 
And when it is finally over, you will be in the next season, and it will be hard too…. yet His Grace will be just as sufficient.


I pray that in all the seasons God places me in I may be content and resting in that Grace. 

 

“to accept her lot and be happy in her work—this is a Gift of God. She seldom reflects on the days of her life, because God keeps her occupied with Gladness of heart.”

                                                   Ecclesiastes 5:19b-20

 

Six Sure is super!

We had a great Girls’ Night Party recently
for Charlotte’s 6th Birthday!

We had a cupcake decorating party…
3 types of icings, 4 colored icing gels,
12 different options of sprinkles.

The final products…

Word to the wise… if you allow 5 six year olds (and a 2 year old) to decorate their own cupcake with absolute creative freedom, you WILL be sweeping up sprinkles and white edible pearls for WEEKS.

 

Oh, but look at the Joy on those faces about to consume all that the sugary goodness!  Pure Joy!

And what to do with all the sugar consumed??
Dance, Dance the night away….
Until 7:45 when I declared it was “SO late”
and all the mommies would be coming soon!

(inwardly I was singing my own song of “closing time”… so maybe I got into the DJ gig a little too much)

 

And man, can these little ladies Dance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I like girls nights.  I liked them as a little girl.  I liked them in high school and college.  And I like them now.  And I think I am going to like my little girls growing up (but not too fast) and helping them to have their own girls nights through out the years!