Sometimes it's hard to stop and enjoy all the tiny little fun things that happen when you have two little people whose needs must be attended to all day. I thought I'd write a little about each of them and their current everything's....
Grace:
Nicknames - Gracie, Eden, Edey Ede, Miss Eden, Gracie Goo, Miss Kin, Kinny, Kinna. (I may or may not be a nickname variation queen)
Favorites -
Food - Pizza
Drink - Milk......forever and ever it will be milk.
Movie - Trolls and Moana
Song - You're Welcome (Moana) and Get Back Up Again (Trolls)
Toy - Princess Poppy from the Lucky Charms box. It goes EVERYWHERE with us. "My Poppy go? My Princess Poppy go, Mommy?" (Don't lose the Poppy....)
Color - "Pink ANNNNN (And) Purple!!"
Animal - Dog
Item she owns - Her pink and gray minky. She's more than massively obsessed. Place to go - Grandma's house
Place to eat out - Chicfila
Meal that Mommy makes - any kind of pasta, but she also loves Mexican dishes with corn and black beans
Game - Hide N Seek
Grace LOVES to be tickled! But only by people she's really comfortable with. She'll ask us to tickle her over and over again. She'll even say "Ouch!!!" But then immediately ask for more, haha, silly girl.
She says the funniest things all the time. I'll tell her "five more minutes" and she'll say "no, Mom, TWO MINUTES!!"
She's very much like me, because she's absolutely crazy at home and shy in public. One of her nursery teachers told me she thought she was so quiet and was shocked when I told her she was not quiet at all at home. She's constantly running, SCREAMING, stomping, and dancing at home. She's a lot like Jeff too, because when she's out in public she just observes what other people are doing.
She cries over electronics a lot. She's recently in the past couple of weeks decided that she can have our phones whenever she wants. Or that she can watch a movie whenever too. There has been a lot of crying when she doesn't get her way. Typical 2 year old, haha.
She's so nice to her brother all the time. He's almost 4 months old and his novelty hasn't worn off yet. She absolutely adores him. She always wants to know where he is and she has to hug and kiss him countless times a day. Lots of times she'll just look at him and softly say "he's sooo tute (cute)" or "awwww, buddy".
Hunter:
Nicknames - Hunter Boy, Buddy, Bud, Baby.
Favorites -
Food and drink - Milk and milk!
Movie - pretty much anything with flashing lights, haha jk, he doesn't watch anything yet obviously.
Song - Can't Stop the Feeling/Sunshine in my Pocket by Justin Timberlake (you think I'm joking that he has a favorite song, come hang out with us!)
Toy - His hanging froggy toy
The rest is probably TBD....haha.
He turns 4 months old soon! I can't believe it. He's so little still. I just need to be patient and not wish for him to catch up too fast.
He recently started laughing which is SO sweet! He mostly laughs at Daddy.
He smiles the most at Grace. He LOVES watching her and loves when she comes up right by him. It's very sweet watching their relationship form.
He generally sleeps 9-10 hours at night. Last night was bad, cause he has a cold, but most nights he usually does really well.
I love my precious little babies!
Monday, December 5, 2016
Thursday, December 1, 2016
#LIGHTtheWORLD
As we are nearing the end of our time in Ogden (cough, vague reference to us probably moving in the near future, cough) I am reflecting so much on our time here!
We've lived here our whole marriage! 6 years!
6 years of school, jobs, experiences all around this wonderful city.
I remember when I got married my grandma was so excited I was going to live in Ogden. I remember her saying "you're the first of all my children and grandchildren to live in this town that we love so much!" My mom and her siblings grew up in Ogden, but none of them lived there after getting married, and the same for my cousins and siblings.
I was and still am the one and only. :)
One of my most favorite things I've done in Ogden was working for the YMCA.
We live in a nice neighborhood in South Ogden, but really only a 3 or 4 minute drive and you're in the heart of downtown where the elementary school that I worked for the YMCA is at.
I learned SOOOO much from that job. I learned about all different kinds of families. All different kinds of circumstances and how hard life can really be for people. My eyes were open to the poverty that exists not very far away from my own home. I learned a lot from those sweet kids, where in most cases they didn't have hardly anything to call their own.
While working there I became acquainted with the YCC which is a center for women in crisis in the downtown Ogden area. I went to some workshops there and also helped with their after hours childcare, which was mostly kids that had no where to go after school and needed somewhere to be.
I think most members of my church have heard of the month long #LIGHTtheWORLD movement that has come out....
It's a thing where the LDS church is challenging everyone to do service like the Savior did during the month of December. They are also saying especially today, December 1st, for everyone to get out and do an act of service for someone.
I really wanted to do some service today, but being at home with two tiny kids isn't really the easiest situation to get out and help people.
I thought really hard about it for a week or so and for some reason the YCC came to my mind.
I had the feeling that I needed to donate something to help someone in need there.
As I've been packing (cough, vague reference to moving soon ish, cough) I found my old breast pump from when Grace was a baby.
I got a new one when Hunter was born, so I haven't been using the one I used with Grace. I also found 2-3 bags full of unused pump supplies and bottles that I got while Hunter was in the NICU.
That was it! That was the thing I could donate.
So today we set out and went to the YCC. It's not the happiest, safest place, but I went in with my two babies in tow and gave my donation.
The ladies I gave the donation to were so appreciative and nice. They made me feel like what I gave was going to be really helpful.
The one lady was talking to Grace and said "that's a nice, big, warm coat you have!" It made me think that a lot of the kids they see don't have as nice of things as we did walking in there. Going somewhere like that really puts everything in perspective.
On the drive there Grace was asking where we were going and I said we were going to give a donation. I told her a donation is something you give to someone who doesn't have money to get things for them self. I told her we were going to take a pump like the one mommy has to get milk for the baby. She chimed in and said "Like Hunter Boy!?" And I said, yeah, but this is for another mom so she can get milk for HER baby!
Grace kinda paused and then later on was talking just out loud to herself and me saying that we were taking the thing for the baby's milk and that mom didn't have money for the store.
I know Grace is so small still, but it warmed my heart to be able to take her on that experience with me.
I know taking a donation like that across town isn't the most extravagant way to serve, but I've just been thinking about Christ and His example of service.
He performed miracles and did so many great things for those He served...
....but He also served in the smallest of ways.
He did countless little things for those around Him.
I know my effort counts!
I'm looking forward to finding special ways to serve this month leading up to Christmas.
I think no matter what our circumstance is, we can all find ways to make others days brighter.
I had a strong feeling that my service of taking that donation where I did will be appreciated and it won't be a wasted effort.
I am so fortunate to live where I do, how I do, with my wonderful family. I have more than I could ever want. I have everything I could ever need.
We've lived here our whole marriage! 6 years!
6 years of school, jobs, experiences all around this wonderful city.
I remember when I got married my grandma was so excited I was going to live in Ogden. I remember her saying "you're the first of all my children and grandchildren to live in this town that we love so much!" My mom and her siblings grew up in Ogden, but none of them lived there after getting married, and the same for my cousins and siblings.
I was and still am the one and only. :)
One of my most favorite things I've done in Ogden was working for the YMCA.
We live in a nice neighborhood in South Ogden, but really only a 3 or 4 minute drive and you're in the heart of downtown where the elementary school that I worked for the YMCA is at.
I learned SOOOO much from that job. I learned about all different kinds of families. All different kinds of circumstances and how hard life can really be for people. My eyes were open to the poverty that exists not very far away from my own home. I learned a lot from those sweet kids, where in most cases they didn't have hardly anything to call their own.
While working there I became acquainted with the YCC which is a center for women in crisis in the downtown Ogden area. I went to some workshops there and also helped with their after hours childcare, which was mostly kids that had no where to go after school and needed somewhere to be.
I think most members of my church have heard of the month long #LIGHTtheWORLD movement that has come out....
It's a thing where the LDS church is challenging everyone to do service like the Savior did during the month of December. They are also saying especially today, December 1st, for everyone to get out and do an act of service for someone.
I really wanted to do some service today, but being at home with two tiny kids isn't really the easiest situation to get out and help people.
I thought really hard about it for a week or so and for some reason the YCC came to my mind.
I had the feeling that I needed to donate something to help someone in need there.
As I've been packing (cough, vague reference to moving soon ish, cough) I found my old breast pump from when Grace was a baby.
I got a new one when Hunter was born, so I haven't been using the one I used with Grace. I also found 2-3 bags full of unused pump supplies and bottles that I got while Hunter was in the NICU.
That was it! That was the thing I could donate.
So today we set out and went to the YCC. It's not the happiest, safest place, but I went in with my two babies in tow and gave my donation.
The ladies I gave the donation to were so appreciative and nice. They made me feel like what I gave was going to be really helpful.
The one lady was talking to Grace and said "that's a nice, big, warm coat you have!" It made me think that a lot of the kids they see don't have as nice of things as we did walking in there. Going somewhere like that really puts everything in perspective.
On the drive there Grace was asking where we were going and I said we were going to give a donation. I told her a donation is something you give to someone who doesn't have money to get things for them self. I told her we were going to take a pump like the one mommy has to get milk for the baby. She chimed in and said "Like Hunter Boy!?" And I said, yeah, but this is for another mom so she can get milk for HER baby!
Grace kinda paused and then later on was talking just out loud to herself and me saying that we were taking the thing for the baby's milk and that mom didn't have money for the store.
I know Grace is so small still, but it warmed my heart to be able to take her on that experience with me.
I know taking a donation like that across town isn't the most extravagant way to serve, but I've just been thinking about Christ and His example of service.
He performed miracles and did so many great things for those He served...
....but He also served in the smallest of ways.
He did countless little things for those around Him.
I know my effort counts!
I'm looking forward to finding special ways to serve this month leading up to Christmas.
I think no matter what our circumstance is, we can all find ways to make others days brighter.
I had a strong feeling that my service of taking that donation where I did will be appreciated and it won't be a wasted effort.
I am so fortunate to live where I do, how I do, with my wonderful family. I have more than I could ever want. I have everything I could ever need.
Savior, may I love my brother
As I know thou lovest me,
Find in thee my strength, my beacon,
For thy servant I would be.
Savior, may I love my brother--
Lord I would follow Thee.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
What I'm Thankful For
I have so many things I'm thankful for! I figured I'd write them out in list form, because that's easier.
What I'm Thankful For:
-Jeff, Grace, and Hunter
-Our families. Our families really are our friends. Whenever we want to hang out with people or go do something it's always with our parents or siblings.
-All of our parents! All three sets of them bring something we need in our lives and they are all so supportive. They also are the best grandparents and Grace LOVES all of them. No matter whose house we say we're going to she gets excited.
-My Father in Heaven and His plan for me!
-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
-Our apartment of almost 6 years! Oh my goodness, we've been here forever, but it's been the biggest blessing. Our landlord treats us like we're her grandchildren.
-The fact that we'll probably be in a new home by Christmas! New to us, I guess! Hopefully it all works out...finally!
-Jeff's job. Seriously, he's the hardest worker I know. His job allows me to be a stay at home mom! And the money he makes provides us with literally everything we have!
-My education! Getting a Bachelor's degree before having kids was one of the best decisions I've made. It has helped me be a better mom and has given me a lot of practical knowledge for life.
-The changing seasons
-My health! The fact that I'm still standing. :)
-Being able to give my kids fun experiences. This stems back to Jeff's job again.
-Ice cream
-The holiday season
:)
What I'm Thankful For:
-Jeff, Grace, and Hunter
-Our families. Our families really are our friends. Whenever we want to hang out with people or go do something it's always with our parents or siblings.
-All of our parents! All three sets of them bring something we need in our lives and they are all so supportive. They also are the best grandparents and Grace LOVES all of them. No matter whose house we say we're going to she gets excited.
-My Father in Heaven and His plan for me!
-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
-Our apartment of almost 6 years! Oh my goodness, we've been here forever, but it's been the biggest blessing. Our landlord treats us like we're her grandchildren.
-The fact that we'll probably be in a new home by Christmas! New to us, I guess! Hopefully it all works out...finally!
-Jeff's job. Seriously, he's the hardest worker I know. His job allows me to be a stay at home mom! And the money he makes provides us with literally everything we have!
-My education! Getting a Bachelor's degree before having kids was one of the best decisions I've made. It has helped me be a better mom and has given me a lot of practical knowledge for life.
-The changing seasons
-My health! The fact that I'm still standing. :)
-Being able to give my kids fun experiences. This stems back to Jeff's job again.
-Ice cream
-The holiday season
:)
Schedule
Grace has always thrived being on a set schedule. From the time she was a tiny baby she has had a predictable schedule, which has been so good for her.
I've been trying really hard to get Hunter on a schedule and for the most part I've been doing okay with it.
When babies are brand new all bets are off with schedules. They eat and sleep constantly and there isn't really a way to stop that. There's no such thing as morning and afternoon nap, pretty much just their entire life is a nap!
Now that Hunter is over 3 months, though, I figured he could get on a schedule.
He sleeps from 10:00 PM - 7:30 AM every night! Usually 9 1/2 hours!
A lot of nights he'll sleep straight through. Some nights he'll wake up and fuss a tiny bit so we'll rock him back to sleep. I know he's not hungry, because when he is hungry he let's us know it! He refuses a binky and screams when it's hunger and not tiredness.
Most of the time I don't think he even wakes up all the way, he just gets uncomfortable so he cries sporadically. It really is more for us so we can sleep than anything else.
As far as 2 naps a day.....I've been trying really hard with this! Hunter doesn't sleep on the go very much. He hates his carseat (he does okay with it not in a car now as long as someone is right by him.....Jeff says it's PTSD from the NICU, haha. But when you think about it, that's really sad!). So he really only sleeps good during the day if I'm holding him in a blanket, or he's wrapped up in his swaddle sleeper and is in his bed.
Yesterday for example, he had to be rocked 4 times for his morning nap. So pretty much naps are still a work in progress.
He eats 6 times a day and is very consistent with those times now. I figure he'll probably stay at 6 till he starts eating solids.
He still has to have 2 bottles of fortified formula a day. I mostly hate that right now, haha. I'd do much rather just feed him. He eats better breastfeeding, he never spits up after, he's always more full. With the bottle he for sure spits up at least a little bit (or a lot. Ask my brother in law and sister in law's couch....), he cries when he's done eating cause he's not as satisfied, and he just chugs the bottle weird a lot of the time. And another weird thing which is frustrating that he still acts hungry after bottles, is we're already giving him 6 ounces in his bottles. I remember not giving Grace 6 ounces till she was quite a bit older than 3 months? Who knows.
I dunno.
Pros and cons. It is nice to be able to give him a bottle really fast if we are somewhere in public or need to go somewhere. But when I'm just home with him, which I usually am, I'd rather just feed him.
I never understood why breastfeeding moms were so......what's the word......defensive? I feel like there is a better word for it?
Insistent?
About breastfeeding, but now I totally get it.
I guess I'm in that club now.
Having been an exclusive bottle feeder with my first and an ALMOST exclusive breastfeeder with my second I can see both sides of the mommy wars on feeding.
I totally get it from both angles.
Fed is best!
And for whatever reason my daughter needed bottles and my son is better at breastfeeding. Every baby is different!
So morale of the story.....I don't love doing the bottles and I'm planning on asking his doctor if I can stop doing them at his 4 month appointment in a couple weeks.
We are supposed to do them till he's 6 months old, but we'll see what happens.
Something fun that really started happening yesterday was Hunter started really playing with toys on purpose! It was really cute.
He's the sweetest boy. I can already see so much of his personality shining through and it's do different from Grace.
Grace has always been a diva, even at 3 months old. Hunter is just really peaceful and tender. He has the most precious smiles. I love it!
I think getting on a good schedule has been harder this time cause Grace has her own day going on.
That girl is silly!
She is what I would call potty trained at this point.
She has an accident maybe once a week, twice at the very most. I consider that really good for a 2 1/2 year old. Maybe having very occasional accidents is considered not fully potty trained? Who knows. She does really well though.
She has decided nap time is not for her.
We tried switching it up and started calling it "quiet time". This has included letting her get toys and books and putting them in her crib during her normal naptime.
This has worked fine for the past couple weeks. She'll usually play in the crib for a half hour and then fall asleep for 2 hours.
The last two days though.....
Ugh.
She'll start crying for me after 1 hour. And when I go in there after letting her call out for 5 minutes, she'll say "all done, I wake up. No quiet time. All done!" Hahahahaha.
Sigh.
I feel like naptime might be over for her soon.
I'm going to keep trying though. She is tired enough for a nap, I know that. She'll rub her eyes and is definitely more grumpy without a nap.
We shall see.
I love being home with my kids. I love being able to see them grow and do new things.
Jeff sacrifices so much for me to be able to stay home. He works so hard for us. He's so selfless and thinks of our happiness way more than his. I'll be grateful forever that he has done that for me, given me he gift of being home with my babies.
I know it's not for everyone, but I love it....
Figuring and reconfiguring out routines and all!
I've been trying really hard to get Hunter on a schedule and for the most part I've been doing okay with it.
When babies are brand new all bets are off with schedules. They eat and sleep constantly and there isn't really a way to stop that. There's no such thing as morning and afternoon nap, pretty much just their entire life is a nap!
Now that Hunter is over 3 months, though, I figured he could get on a schedule.
He sleeps from 10:00 PM - 7:30 AM every night! Usually 9 1/2 hours!
A lot of nights he'll sleep straight through. Some nights he'll wake up and fuss a tiny bit so we'll rock him back to sleep. I know he's not hungry, because when he is hungry he let's us know it! He refuses a binky and screams when it's hunger and not tiredness.
Most of the time I don't think he even wakes up all the way, he just gets uncomfortable so he cries sporadically. It really is more for us so we can sleep than anything else.
As far as 2 naps a day.....I've been trying really hard with this! Hunter doesn't sleep on the go very much. He hates his carseat (he does okay with it not in a car now as long as someone is right by him.....Jeff says it's PTSD from the NICU, haha. But when you think about it, that's really sad!). So he really only sleeps good during the day if I'm holding him in a blanket, or he's wrapped up in his swaddle sleeper and is in his bed.
Yesterday for example, he had to be rocked 4 times for his morning nap. So pretty much naps are still a work in progress.
He eats 6 times a day and is very consistent with those times now. I figure he'll probably stay at 6 till he starts eating solids.
He still has to have 2 bottles of fortified formula a day. I mostly hate that right now, haha. I'd do much rather just feed him. He eats better breastfeeding, he never spits up after, he's always more full. With the bottle he for sure spits up at least a little bit (or a lot. Ask my brother in law and sister in law's couch....), he cries when he's done eating cause he's not as satisfied, and he just chugs the bottle weird a lot of the time. And another weird thing which is frustrating that he still acts hungry after bottles, is we're already giving him 6 ounces in his bottles. I remember not giving Grace 6 ounces till she was quite a bit older than 3 months? Who knows.
I dunno.
Pros and cons. It is nice to be able to give him a bottle really fast if we are somewhere in public or need to go somewhere. But when I'm just home with him, which I usually am, I'd rather just feed him.
I never understood why breastfeeding moms were so......what's the word......defensive? I feel like there is a better word for it?
Insistent?
About breastfeeding, but now I totally get it.
I guess I'm in that club now.
Having been an exclusive bottle feeder with my first and an ALMOST exclusive breastfeeder with my second I can see both sides of the mommy wars on feeding.
I totally get it from both angles.
Fed is best!
And for whatever reason my daughter needed bottles and my son is better at breastfeeding. Every baby is different!
So morale of the story.....I don't love doing the bottles and I'm planning on asking his doctor if I can stop doing them at his 4 month appointment in a couple weeks.
We are supposed to do them till he's 6 months old, but we'll see what happens.
Something fun that really started happening yesterday was Hunter started really playing with toys on purpose! It was really cute.
He's the sweetest boy. I can already see so much of his personality shining through and it's do different from Grace.
Grace has always been a diva, even at 3 months old. Hunter is just really peaceful and tender. He has the most precious smiles. I love it!
I think getting on a good schedule has been harder this time cause Grace has her own day going on.
That girl is silly!
She is what I would call potty trained at this point.
She has an accident maybe once a week, twice at the very most. I consider that really good for a 2 1/2 year old. Maybe having very occasional accidents is considered not fully potty trained? Who knows. She does really well though.
She has decided nap time is not for her.
We tried switching it up and started calling it "quiet time". This has included letting her get toys and books and putting them in her crib during her normal naptime.
This has worked fine for the past couple weeks. She'll usually play in the crib for a half hour and then fall asleep for 2 hours.
The last two days though.....
Ugh.
She'll start crying for me after 1 hour. And when I go in there after letting her call out for 5 minutes, she'll say "all done, I wake up. No quiet time. All done!" Hahahahaha.
Sigh.
I feel like naptime might be over for her soon.
I'm going to keep trying though. She is tired enough for a nap, I know that. She'll rub her eyes and is definitely more grumpy without a nap.
We shall see.
I love being home with my kids. I love being able to see them grow and do new things.
Jeff sacrifices so much for me to be able to stay home. He works so hard for us. He's so selfless and thinks of our happiness way more than his. I'll be grateful forever that he has done that for me, given me he gift of being home with my babies.
I know it's not for everyone, but I love it....
Figuring and reconfiguring out routines and all!
Brown eyes! So crazy! They have always been green and blue when she was a tiny baby.
Sweet smile
What my life looks like a lot of the time!
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Perfect
Being a mom in today's social media driven world is kinda funny!
I've noticed that most girls try to either be one of two things....
They either try to be Instagram Perfect or prove that they're the biggest hot mess of a mom there is out there.
Hahaha.
I rarely see anything in between.
The world is so full of extremes.
And I've come to realize that life...
Personal, everyday life...
....just isn't that extreme.
Real life....normal life....is a big combination of everything.
And social media really doesn't show that.
Social media shows the extremes in all their glorious perfectionism.
Whether you're trying to be perfectly put together or perfectly chaotic, social media is a good place to display that.
Most of my days are the same.
I take care of my kids.
Some days are really good, clean, and happy. Others are full of screaming and a disaster house. But even within the extremes of my own house I find normalcy.
I hope people don't ever view my posts as trying to out do others perfection they display on social media. I hope I'm viewed as normal and real!
Perception is everything, I guess.
I've noticed that most girls try to either be one of two things....
They either try to be Instagram Perfect or prove that they're the biggest hot mess of a mom there is out there.
Hahaha.
I rarely see anything in between.
The world is so full of extremes.
And I've come to realize that life...
Personal, everyday life...
....just isn't that extreme.
Real life....normal life....is a big combination of everything.
And social media really doesn't show that.
Social media shows the extremes in all their glorious perfectionism.
Whether you're trying to be perfectly put together or perfectly chaotic, social media is a good place to display that.
Most of my days are the same.
I take care of my kids.
Some days are really good, clean, and happy. Others are full of screaming and a disaster house. But even within the extremes of my own house I find normalcy.
I hope people don't ever view my posts as trying to out do others perfection they display on social media. I hope I'm viewed as normal and real!
Perception is everything, I guess.
My cleaning helper!
Her hair was SOOOO cute on this day!
Helping me make pumpkin bread. She LOVES cracking eggs! Hahahaha
Apparently I need to remember to eat....
Hunter's face is so cute
It snowed later that night!
Such a cute little guy.
Monday, November 7, 2016
Hunter's Blessing
Mr. Hunter Boy was blessed yesterday in church! I am so grateful for Jeff and his worthiness to hold the priesthood and give our family blessings.
Hunter got to wear the same outfit that Jeff wore on his blessing day!
His blessing talked a lot about being a missionary and light and example to those around him.
I think that's such an important thing right now and especially as this boy grows up it'll become even more important.
The world is so crazy.
...but yesterday I couldn't help but feel that Hunter will be okay. I could feel so strongly that he'll succeed and be that light in a world that's getting darker and scarier all the time.
I know a lot of people are getting the idea that they shouldn't bring children into the world because of all the evil and unrest that's happening. I feel like especially after days like yesterday I can feel confident and have faith that it'll all work out.
I know without God I would have very little to look forward to. I'd feel very down about my trials and circumstances. I would have a hard time coping with all the hard things that life throws at me and my family.
I know with Him I can feel so much peace. And I definitely felt that peace at church and celebrating our sweet baby yesterday.
I know God lives.
I know He loves me.
I know He loves Hunter.
He shows me over and over, day after day how He's looking out for us.
We are so thankful for this baby boy! Babies are the sweetest little blessings. They help keep everything else in prescriptive.
So grateful that I can have these people forever!
Stuff My Toddler Says
Grace says the funniest things sometimes.
I always wonder where she gets it from, but I guess it's probably all things she hears us say and tweaks it to make sense in her brain.
Lately she's ALL about using the words "before" and "after".
Jeff and I will tell her we are doing certain things in a certain order and she'll negotiate with her before and after skills.
Me: "We're going to put away the toys then have lunch."
Grace: *pointer finger up in the air* "No, lunch first, before toy!"
She says "today" in the place of "right now".
"No, go Grandma's today!"
"Play Zachy today, Mom."
"I eat treat TODAY!"
Hahaha
She recently started using phrases like "in a couple minutes"
The other day she even went as far as saying "In a couple weeks, Mommy."
Hahahahaha
I realize these aren't funny or impressive unless you realize how little this girl is. Hearing a two year old say these things cracks me up.
She's always been a smart girl.
I don't say that to boast at all or anything, that really is just how she is! I really feel like she was born to be an early learner and understand things well at a young age.
She puts a Y on the end of lots of words, but she only does it when she's being silly. She'll say stuff in kind of a sing song way and dance as she does it, hahaha.
"I play with the bally! Hahahaha!"
"Where my cupy!?"
When we went trick or treating on Halloween she was dancing and singing complete nonsense the whole time. It was pretty funny!
We had a fun Halloween being Mickey Mouse characters!
Grace was so excited for us to be the characters we were. The weeks leading up to Halloween she'd say as fast as she could "Gracie Minnie, Baby Mickey, Mommy Daisy, Daddy Donald!!!"
She loves talking about all 4 of us whenever one of us is mentioned.
If I say something like "I like this book." She'll then say: "me too, Mom. Daddy too AAAAAAND Baby too."
Or if I say "Daddy's going to go to work." She'll say: "Gracie Baby Mommy go Daddy work too, Mommy!"
She has a very kind heart and likes to make sure everyone in our family is happy.
She's getting so big!
I always wonder where she gets it from, but I guess it's probably all things she hears us say and tweaks it to make sense in her brain.
Lately she's ALL about using the words "before" and "after".
Jeff and I will tell her we are doing certain things in a certain order and she'll negotiate with her before and after skills.
Me: "We're going to put away the toys then have lunch."
Grace: *pointer finger up in the air* "No, lunch first, before toy!"
She says "today" in the place of "right now".
"No, go Grandma's today!"
"Play Zachy today, Mom."
"I eat treat TODAY!"
Hahaha
She recently started using phrases like "in a couple minutes"
The other day she even went as far as saying "In a couple weeks, Mommy."
Hahahahaha
I realize these aren't funny or impressive unless you realize how little this girl is. Hearing a two year old say these things cracks me up.
She's always been a smart girl.
I don't say that to boast at all or anything, that really is just how she is! I really feel like she was born to be an early learner and understand things well at a young age.
She puts a Y on the end of lots of words, but she only does it when she's being silly. She'll say stuff in kind of a sing song way and dance as she does it, hahaha.
"I play with the bally! Hahahaha!"
"Where my cupy!?"
When we went trick or treating on Halloween she was dancing and singing complete nonsense the whole time. It was pretty funny!
We had a fun Halloween being Mickey Mouse characters!
Grace was so excited for us to be the characters we were. The weeks leading up to Halloween she'd say as fast as she could "Gracie Minnie, Baby Mickey, Mommy Daisy, Daddy Donald!!!"
She loves talking about all 4 of us whenever one of us is mentioned.
If I say something like "I like this book." She'll then say: "me too, Mom. Daddy too AAAAAAND Baby too."
Or if I say "Daddy's going to go to work." She'll say: "Gracie Baby Mommy go Daddy work too, Mommy!"
She has a very kind heart and likes to make sure everyone in our family is happy.
She's getting so big!
Friday, November 4, 2016
No Longer on Fire
Oh my goodness! I never knew having two kids would be so much work. (And now everyone with more than two kids is laughing at me, haha) But seriously, I'm constantly doing something and I'm always massively behind on everything.
Our dish washer has been broken since before Hunter was born and he's almost 3 months old! Ha.
It's kind of our fault it's still broken, cause we just never call the guy to come fix it, but for real......our kitchen is a complete disaster because of it.
We're kind of stuck at the whole barely tredding water thing with having a new baby and trying to work that into our already crazy lives.
We're kind of massively tired and stressed out most of the time right now.
And yet I feel so much happiness everyday having the life that I do.
I guess that's just how it goes when you have tiny children. :)
Yesterday I bathed both kids and made a delicious dinner and let me tell you, just doing those things made me feel like super woman, hahaha.
I know that's ridiculous, but oh well.
We have so much going on.
I feel a little less fiery about it all since the last post, so maybe I'll actually elaborate now.
Grace has been an absolute Rockstar lately with pretty much everything, but especially potty training.
Like......she's about 98% potty trained, I'd say.
This week she's been making huge strides with it. She basically only wears a diaper at night and most mornings she'll wake up dry.
Like I've said before potty training was always going to be on HER terms. And that made me nervous. I always knew she'd run the show.
When I posted about it a month or so ago and said we were doing it for real, the day after THAT was the hardest day of my parenting life so far.
Oh it's so vivid in my memory as I type about it....hahaha.
Grace pushed at me and was SO upset with me that day. Like I said in that post.....I knew it was going to be a power struggle, BUT also like I said in that post, I knew she was ready to be potty trained.
So now here we are....
We've only been brave enough to go out in public without a diaper twice.
I've just never wanted to be the kind of parent that takes their untrained child out and then they have accident after accident. Especially when going to people's houses. Yes, I'm aware accidents happen, but I knew I wanted her to be several weeks potty trained at our house before taking her out with no diaper.
She did so good the two times I've taken her places! Both times were just to the store, but the one time we were gone for probably two hours.
You know the whole 3 days and done method with potty training that everyone talks about nowadays? I kind of knew that wouldn't work for Grace. I knew she'd need time to figure it out and decide for herself that she wanted to do it. And I knew I needed the confidence that she was really all the way trained before I stopped putting diapers on her.
I think every family is different.
Every parent is different.
Every kid is different.
No one thing is going to work for everyone.
In other kid related news, Mr. Hunter Boy sleeps 7 hours at night! Woohoo!
Last night he actually slept 10 hours, but that was cause half the night he slept on the chair with me.
He's been really congested at night....totally just because it's that time of year and it's cold outside.
He's pretty clear during the day, but at night he gets pretty congested.
Last night he woke up and was having a hard time breathing through his nose, so we tried to clean him out and I could tell he wasn't going to sleep in his bed, so I took him out to the chair and he slept on my chest the rest of the night.
At this point I think it's just habit for him to wake up and eat after 7 hours. I know he'd be able to go longer without eating if he tried.
He's still such a little dude. People all the time don't believe me when I say how old he is.
Yesterday we were out grocery shopping and a little girl about 5 years old said to her mom "Look Mom! It's a very brand new baby!!!" Hahahaha. (....who's almost 3 months old)
He seems to be gaining weight though. He eats great, as far as I can tell.
He definitely tells me if he's still hungry. He'll SCREAM until you give him more food. That usually only happens when he gets a bottle though.
It'll be interesting to see how much he weighs at his next appointment in a month.
Can I just say.....I'm actually pretty dang proud of myself that I've been able to breastfeed this time around.
Yes, I know a lot of women do so quite easily, but for me it's a big thing. I'm glad I've made it this far to three months and don't plan on stopping soon.
What else did I cryptically talk about in my last post?
Oh yeah, insulin pump.
Oy.
This makes me so nervous.
I know it'd be a really nice thing, but just taking the leap and doing it is hard.
Nobody wants to have a robotic organ connected to the outside of them, because the real internal one is broken.
Bleh.
It just feels so......
Sad.
And permanent.
And permanently sad.
I know it'll help me, but I'm just in the mourning process still.
When will that ever end?
Having a pump will mean I won't have to give myself 4+ shots a day. Anyone would want that, right?
I just need to have faith.
I feel like Heavenly Father is pushing me out of my comfort zone and telling me I need to be brave. Not only with the insulin pump, but with the next thing I'm going to talk about too.
So, we've been looking for a house for a year! A whole entire year!
We for sure know exactly what we want.
I am very positive I've looked at over a thousand houses online. In all seriousness, probably closer to two thousand.
We've gone and seen probably 40 or so in person.
We've put offers on 8 or 9 that we thought could work for our family.
We have had them rejected over and over and have had to start all over again way too many times.
Do you know how exhausting all of that is????
Sooo exhausting.
After all of this Jeff one day got the idea that we should just build a house.
Sounds too good to be true?
It probably should be, but I think we're actually going to do it!
It's a really scary thing though so we're trying to get all of our ducks in a row 5 times over before we for sure do it.
And THAT process seems to be taking forever.
It would be amazing to have a brand new house though.
I hope it actually works out and is worth it.
I just need to breathe! I just need to calm down about everything, I think.
It's hard when so much depends on my performance and ability to take care of things.
I guess I can be proud that at least my children are fed and safe and clean and HAPPY!
They are so happy and that makes me happy. :)
Our dish washer has been broken since before Hunter was born and he's almost 3 months old! Ha.
It's kind of our fault it's still broken, cause we just never call the guy to come fix it, but for real......our kitchen is a complete disaster because of it.
We're kind of stuck at the whole barely tredding water thing with having a new baby and trying to work that into our already crazy lives.
We're kind of massively tired and stressed out most of the time right now.
And yet I feel so much happiness everyday having the life that I do.
I guess that's just how it goes when you have tiny children. :)
Yesterday I bathed both kids and made a delicious dinner and let me tell you, just doing those things made me feel like super woman, hahaha.
I know that's ridiculous, but oh well.
We have so much going on.
I feel a little less fiery about it all since the last post, so maybe I'll actually elaborate now.
Grace has been an absolute Rockstar lately with pretty much everything, but especially potty training.
Like......she's about 98% potty trained, I'd say.
This week she's been making huge strides with it. She basically only wears a diaper at night and most mornings she'll wake up dry.
Like I've said before potty training was always going to be on HER terms. And that made me nervous. I always knew she'd run the show.
When I posted about it a month or so ago and said we were doing it for real, the day after THAT was the hardest day of my parenting life so far.
Oh it's so vivid in my memory as I type about it....hahaha.
Grace pushed at me and was SO upset with me that day. Like I said in that post.....I knew it was going to be a power struggle, BUT also like I said in that post, I knew she was ready to be potty trained.
So now here we are....
We've only been brave enough to go out in public without a diaper twice.
I've just never wanted to be the kind of parent that takes their untrained child out and then they have accident after accident. Especially when going to people's houses. Yes, I'm aware accidents happen, but I knew I wanted her to be several weeks potty trained at our house before taking her out with no diaper.
She did so good the two times I've taken her places! Both times were just to the store, but the one time we were gone for probably two hours.
You know the whole 3 days and done method with potty training that everyone talks about nowadays? I kind of knew that wouldn't work for Grace. I knew she'd need time to figure it out and decide for herself that she wanted to do it. And I knew I needed the confidence that she was really all the way trained before I stopped putting diapers on her.
I think every family is different.
Every parent is different.
Every kid is different.
No one thing is going to work for everyone.
In other kid related news, Mr. Hunter Boy sleeps 7 hours at night! Woohoo!
Last night he actually slept 10 hours, but that was cause half the night he slept on the chair with me.
He's been really congested at night....totally just because it's that time of year and it's cold outside.
He's pretty clear during the day, but at night he gets pretty congested.
Last night he woke up and was having a hard time breathing through his nose, so we tried to clean him out and I could tell he wasn't going to sleep in his bed, so I took him out to the chair and he slept on my chest the rest of the night.
At this point I think it's just habit for him to wake up and eat after 7 hours. I know he'd be able to go longer without eating if he tried.
He's still such a little dude. People all the time don't believe me when I say how old he is.
Yesterday we were out grocery shopping and a little girl about 5 years old said to her mom "Look Mom! It's a very brand new baby!!!" Hahahaha. (....who's almost 3 months old)
He seems to be gaining weight though. He eats great, as far as I can tell.
He definitely tells me if he's still hungry. He'll SCREAM until you give him more food. That usually only happens when he gets a bottle though.
It'll be interesting to see how much he weighs at his next appointment in a month.
Can I just say.....I'm actually pretty dang proud of myself that I've been able to breastfeed this time around.
Yes, I know a lot of women do so quite easily, but for me it's a big thing. I'm glad I've made it this far to three months and don't plan on stopping soon.
What else did I cryptically talk about in my last post?
Oh yeah, insulin pump.
Oy.
This makes me so nervous.
I know it'd be a really nice thing, but just taking the leap and doing it is hard.
Nobody wants to have a robotic organ connected to the outside of them, because the real internal one is broken.
Bleh.
It just feels so......
Sad.
And permanent.
And permanently sad.
I know it'll help me, but I'm just in the mourning process still.
When will that ever end?
Having a pump will mean I won't have to give myself 4+ shots a day. Anyone would want that, right?
I just need to have faith.
I feel like Heavenly Father is pushing me out of my comfort zone and telling me I need to be brave. Not only with the insulin pump, but with the next thing I'm going to talk about too.
So, we've been looking for a house for a year! A whole entire year!
We for sure know exactly what we want.
I am very positive I've looked at over a thousand houses online. In all seriousness, probably closer to two thousand.
We've gone and seen probably 40 or so in person.
We've put offers on 8 or 9 that we thought could work for our family.
We have had them rejected over and over and have had to start all over again way too many times.
Do you know how exhausting all of that is????
Sooo exhausting.
After all of this Jeff one day got the idea that we should just build a house.
Sounds too good to be true?
It probably should be, but I think we're actually going to do it!
It's a really scary thing though so we're trying to get all of our ducks in a row 5 times over before we for sure do it.
And THAT process seems to be taking forever.
It would be amazing to have a brand new house though.
I hope it actually works out and is worth it.
I just need to breathe! I just need to calm down about everything, I think.
It's hard when so much depends on my performance and ability to take care of things.
I guess I can be proud that at least my children are fed and safe and clean and HAPPY!
They are so happy and that makes me happy. :)
Monday, October 24, 2016
Picture upload so I don't burst into flames
Life is so crazy! We have so many big decisions happening right now....I'll probably explode into a bunch of angry flames if I start ranting about them in this post, so maybe I'll wait till they are mostly decided to write about them, hahaha.
:)
Some highlights include....what to do about our house situation, getting an insulin pump, and other smaller things like kid's transitions.....aka our ongoing potty training saga...toddler bed contemplation....just really thrilling stuff, I tell you!
I'll write about it all sometime, I'm sure.
To be brief though, the diabetes train has officially boarded and we're riding with insulin again. ....... which is seriously so great!
.........ha.....
Grace is actually doing really well with potty training! She's basically accident free!
I'm mostly going to share a bunch of pictures and captions to those pictures in this post, cause that's happy and what not!
I seriously love these babies!
:)
Some highlights include....what to do about our house situation, getting an insulin pump, and other smaller things like kid's transitions.....aka our ongoing potty training saga...toddler bed contemplation....just really thrilling stuff, I tell you!
I'll write about it all sometime, I'm sure.
To be brief though, the diabetes train has officially boarded and we're riding with insulin again. ....... which is seriously so great!
.........ha.....
Grace is actually doing really well with potty training! She's basically accident free!
I'm mostly going to share a bunch of pictures and captions to those pictures in this post, cause that's happy and what not!
I seriously love these babies!
I for real can't think of anything more cute than them!
I put Hunter in Grace's crib and she thought she had won the lottery!
Hunter was very comfortable eating apparently, cause he left an ear mark on my arm! Hahaha
The adorable ness is too much!
Hunter's first eye doctor visit. He wasn't a huge fan, haha. I don't like getting lights flashed in my eyes either, buddy.
At the second pumpkin patch we went to this year. Grace is all about third person speech nowadays... "Gracie ride tractor, Mom. Dad!! Gracie ride tractor, Dad!! Gracie tractor! Dad! Mom!!!" Somebody get that girl on a tractor! Haha
Grace had a sleepover with cousins last weekend and as I was feeding Baby she decided to start packing for it without my help. Her monologue while doing so sounded like this "Gracie take new pillow grandma's. Sleepover grandma's pakah's (pakah's=grandpas). Kyla Becca Sleepover! Take all the books! Keep books safe Becca! Books keep safe! Grandma's sleepover take books! Kyla Becca, Grandma's house! Gracie go Grandma's!" She literally stuffed 30 books and toys in her pillow to take. Needless to say they didn't all make it to the sleepover, hahaha.
Crazy girl!
Painting her pumpkin :)
Baby only happy when held like this! Haha
That doesn't look good.......hahaha. #diabetesfail
At the pumpkin patch with Daddy!
Love my sweet boy
Saturday, October 8, 2016
All Aboard the Diabetes Train!
I'm sure all of my religious followers (*crickets*) have been wondering how my diabetes has been doing lately since having the baby.
Well, the answer is.....
I'm cured!!!!
Hahahahahahahahaha
Just kidding that's not a thing.
However, I haven't been talking about it, because since I gave birth I haven't had to take any insulin.
Ta da!!!
So it certainly feels like I'm cured!
Yesterday my OB even congratulated me that I'm off insulin.....I wanted to be like "uh...I literally did nothing, this is completely my body being crazy."
Haha, can you imagine me saying that? Yeah, me neither.
So anyways....
How is this possible that I'm off insulin???
Let me explain.
When I was diagnosed a year and a half ago I certainly needed insulin, my body was waging full on war upon itself.
But then after a couple months, you religious followers (*more crickets*) will remember I went into the honeymoon phase of Type 1 Diabetes.
The honeymoon phase is different for everyone. Some people have honeymoon phases where they're taking no insulin, some people it's where they are taking just a little bit of insulin, but no where near the large amounts that all Type 1's are required to take on a daily basis in order to stay alive.
These honeymoon phases can last a week.....a month....6 months....3 years.....there is no set time frame. Everyone is different.
Well, my honeymoon phase lasted until I got pregnant and then bam....I needed a whole bunch of insulin.
It was actually a little hard deciding to get pregnant, because I knew it would boot me out of the honeymoon phase real quick, whereas if I didn't get pregnant I probably could have stayed in the honeymoon phase for who knows how long.
Once I was getting toward the end of my pregnancy my endo thought that I might go back to no insulin/honeymoon phase after I delivered....and she was right!
I don't even pretend to understand this disease.
I will say this though....I kind of think it is a miracle I'm back to the honeymoon phase, because honestly.....adjusting to having two kids is HARD!
I have most definitely fallen off the diabetes train (taking medication, wearing my Dexcom, testing my blood sugar religiously...) but in a lot of ways it's been okay! I haven't really needed to be on said train in a medical emergency kind of way, because my blood has been fine just taking care of itself again.
I really feel like it's a miracle and tender mercy in my life as I've adjusted to this wonderful baby.
As sweet as it is.....I am also kind of sad that things are happening this way.
I'm two months post partum and I've gotten used to being a normal human again.
Not having to worry.....if I walk for awhile am I going to need *insert a long list of diabetes supplies*....if I eat a piece of pie that's how many carbs and I have to take how much insulin for that....such and such life situation is stressing me out so my blood is running high so that means I need *insert even more diabetes things*....
I feel like I'm going to have to mourn my pancreas again when it in all finality dies it's horrible, inevitable death.
I've already mourned it and had a hard time coming to grips with that life...I'm just waiting to do it again.
So people would probably ask....
Well, isn't there something you can do? There has to be some way you can make it better?
No.
The answer really is simply no.
Eating healthy won't stop it from happening.
Exercising isn't going to do anything.
It's not like the endless diabetes commercials you see on the TV that claim you can do any list of things and reverse your diabetes magically! Those commercials are talking about Type 2 Diabetes (and for some with Type 2 it's not always that easy either).
Type 1 Diabetes is completely different. It's not a lifestyle disease. It's an auto immune disease.
That means my body is and will forever wage war on itself and I have to be a fighter and try to win!
I don't know if that big fight will start next week or a year from now, but I guess I'll enjoy being normal for now and worry about the mourning later.
And I guess since life is calming down and I'm getting used to being a mother to two I can try to hop back on the diabetes train.
Sigh.
Luckily I have a great support system in my husband and he'll gladly take the train with me. I don't what I'd do without him.
All aboard....
Well, the answer is.....
I'm cured!!!!
Hahahahahahahahaha
Just kidding that's not a thing.
However, I haven't been talking about it, because since I gave birth I haven't had to take any insulin.
Ta da!!!
So it certainly feels like I'm cured!
Yesterday my OB even congratulated me that I'm off insulin.....I wanted to be like "uh...I literally did nothing, this is completely my body being crazy."
Haha, can you imagine me saying that? Yeah, me neither.
So anyways....
How is this possible that I'm off insulin???
Let me explain.
When I was diagnosed a year and a half ago I certainly needed insulin, my body was waging full on war upon itself.
But then after a couple months, you religious followers (*more crickets*) will remember I went into the honeymoon phase of Type 1 Diabetes.
The honeymoon phase is different for everyone. Some people have honeymoon phases where they're taking no insulin, some people it's where they are taking just a little bit of insulin, but no where near the large amounts that all Type 1's are required to take on a daily basis in order to stay alive.
These honeymoon phases can last a week.....a month....6 months....3 years.....there is no set time frame. Everyone is different.
Well, my honeymoon phase lasted until I got pregnant and then bam....I needed a whole bunch of insulin.
It was actually a little hard deciding to get pregnant, because I knew it would boot me out of the honeymoon phase real quick, whereas if I didn't get pregnant I probably could have stayed in the honeymoon phase for who knows how long.
Once I was getting toward the end of my pregnancy my endo thought that I might go back to no insulin/honeymoon phase after I delivered....and she was right!
I don't even pretend to understand this disease.
I will say this though....I kind of think it is a miracle I'm back to the honeymoon phase, because honestly.....adjusting to having two kids is HARD!
I have most definitely fallen off the diabetes train (taking medication, wearing my Dexcom, testing my blood sugar religiously...) but in a lot of ways it's been okay! I haven't really needed to be on said train in a medical emergency kind of way, because my blood has been fine just taking care of itself again.
I really feel like it's a miracle and tender mercy in my life as I've adjusted to this wonderful baby.
As sweet as it is.....I am also kind of sad that things are happening this way.
I'm two months post partum and I've gotten used to being a normal human again.
Not having to worry.....if I walk for awhile am I going to need *insert a long list of diabetes supplies*....if I eat a piece of pie that's how many carbs and I have to take how much insulin for that....such and such life situation is stressing me out so my blood is running high so that means I need *insert even more diabetes things*....
I feel like I'm going to have to mourn my pancreas again when it in all finality dies it's horrible, inevitable death.
I've already mourned it and had a hard time coming to grips with that life...I'm just waiting to do it again.
So people would probably ask....
Well, isn't there something you can do? There has to be some way you can make it better?
No.
The answer really is simply no.
Eating healthy won't stop it from happening.
Exercising isn't going to do anything.
It's not like the endless diabetes commercials you see on the TV that claim you can do any list of things and reverse your diabetes magically! Those commercials are talking about Type 2 Diabetes (and for some with Type 2 it's not always that easy either).
Type 1 Diabetes is completely different. It's not a lifestyle disease. It's an auto immune disease.
That means my body is and will forever wage war on itself and I have to be a fighter and try to win!
I don't know if that big fight will start next week or a year from now, but I guess I'll enjoy being normal for now and worry about the mourning later.
And I guess since life is calming down and I'm getting used to being a mother to two I can try to hop back on the diabetes train.
Sigh.
Luckily I have a great support system in my husband and he'll gladly take the train with me. I don't what I'd do without him.
All aboard....
Thursday, September 29, 2016
On the edge
My cute toddler is pushing me over the edge today.
The trouble is.....
We are exactly alike.
My mom brings it up all the time how she's my tiny clone or she feels like she's stepped into a time machine every time she's around Grace, and I believe her.
I can see it for sure!
She looks like me, she acts like me....
She's very strong willed and wants things her way.
People that don't know me well would probably be like...
"...what??? You? Strong willed and knows what you want all the time? Shy, polite you? No way."
Yes me! Ask my husband. Ask my mom. Hahaha
Growing up I was always a different person to the public eye than I was at home.
At school I was the most behaved child in the class. Quiet, attentive, nice, shy, and very very well behaved.
At home, it's not like I was the COMPLETE opposite.....I'd say I was still nice and well mannered for the most part....
But shy and quiet??
Definitely not.
I can soooooo see Grace being exactly like me in school Vs home someday, cause in a way she already is.
When she goes to nursery she's very well behaved. Shares with kids, is quite easy going.....
At home she's SO hyper and silly and crazy and demands a lot.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm raising an entitled child, but I don't think I am....
I'm raising a mini version of ME and there's nothing I can do to change that. She was born to be the way she is.
Makes you think of nature Vs nurture, huh?
I wanted to document some things she's been saying lately....
She uses the word "after" ALLLLL the time.
"Potty AFTER lunch, Mommy."
"Go store after nap, Mom."
"After breakfast, Mom, please, Mommy?"
"Daddy home after nap."
The other day on our walk we were walking past the school by our house which has a bunch of tall light posts in the front.
I told her to run and touch the pole and she did. I then said "look there's 4 more!"
She ran and touched the next one and then all by herself said "THREE MORE!"
I kinda did a double take. Did my 2 year old really just use subtraction????
She kept going and said "One more!" at the next one, which wasn't totally right, but the principle was still there.....ish.
How is she so grown up??
Even on days when she's constantly pushing back at me....I'm still in awe of how much fun and happiness she brings to my life.
She definitely completes so many parts of my life and in our family.
She's so sweet with her brother. She is very gentle and always kind to him. She likes holding his hand and staring at his facial expressions.
She manipulates her dad by melting into his arms every chance she can get and tries to whimper she way into what she wants, haha. She LOVES playing with him the most out of anyone in her life.
She definitely picks on me the most, but in the end finds the most comfort in me. I'm her mommy through and through and she knows she needs me.
The trouble is.....
We are exactly alike.
My mom brings it up all the time how she's my tiny clone or she feels like she's stepped into a time machine every time she's around Grace, and I believe her.
I can see it for sure!
She looks like me, she acts like me....
She's very strong willed and wants things her way.
People that don't know me well would probably be like...
"...what??? You? Strong willed and knows what you want all the time? Shy, polite you? No way."
Yes me! Ask my husband. Ask my mom. Hahaha
Growing up I was always a different person to the public eye than I was at home.
At school I was the most behaved child in the class. Quiet, attentive, nice, shy, and very very well behaved.
At home, it's not like I was the COMPLETE opposite.....I'd say I was still nice and well mannered for the most part....
But shy and quiet??
Definitely not.
I can soooooo see Grace being exactly like me in school Vs home someday, cause in a way she already is.
When she goes to nursery she's very well behaved. Shares with kids, is quite easy going.....
At home she's SO hyper and silly and crazy and demands a lot.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm raising an entitled child, but I don't think I am....
I'm raising a mini version of ME and there's nothing I can do to change that. She was born to be the way she is.
Makes you think of nature Vs nurture, huh?
I wanted to document some things she's been saying lately....
She uses the word "after" ALLLLL the time.
"Potty AFTER lunch, Mommy."
"Go store after nap, Mom."
"After breakfast, Mom, please, Mommy?"
"Daddy home after nap."
The other day on our walk we were walking past the school by our house which has a bunch of tall light posts in the front.
I told her to run and touch the pole and she did. I then said "look there's 4 more!"
She ran and touched the next one and then all by herself said "THREE MORE!"
I kinda did a double take. Did my 2 year old really just use subtraction????
She kept going and said "One more!" at the next one, which wasn't totally right, but the principle was still there.....ish.
How is she so grown up??
Even on days when she's constantly pushing back at me....I'm still in awe of how much fun and happiness she brings to my life.
She definitely completes so many parts of my life and in our family.
She's so sweet with her brother. She is very gentle and always kind to him. She likes holding his hand and staring at his facial expressions.
She manipulates her dad by melting into his arms every chance she can get and tries to whimper she way into what she wants, haha. She LOVES playing with him the most out of anyone in her life.
She definitely picks on me the most, but in the end finds the most comfort in me. I'm her mommy through and through and she knows she needs me.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Potty Training For Real
If you follow my blog you know we've slowly been easing into potty training with Grace for awhile now.
I honestly can't remember exactly when we bought her potty seat and she started trying, but I want to say it was like 9 months ago or so?
That seems crazy to me.
She's 2 years and 3 months old right now. And I really feel like we started letting her try around 18 months.
9 months? Holy cow!
None of that has been ACTIVE potty training, mind you. It's all been very Gracie Goo driven. Whenever she'd ask to go we'd let her.
In the beginning she asked a lot, because it was new and exciting. In the past months she hasn't asked as much, just when she really realizes she needs to and isn't too distracted.
She's very ready and capable, and has been for awhile now.
She's gone on the potty dozens of times no problem.
So one might ask what the issue is then, right?? Why isn't she potty trained already?
The answer....
It's been more about getting ME on board with it.
I didn't want to do it before Baby was born, because I didn't want her to regress after he came into our family.
And I wanted to see how she'd do with every other little thing in life once he got here.
The past maybe two weeks she's started freaking out whenever I need to change her diaper. She fights it so much.
She hates the feeling of diapers and asks to not wear them often.
I've just been so hesitant, because she's such a strong willed, smart girl.
I didn't want her to win at potty training....
....meaning I didn't want her to be more in charge than me.
Obviously I want her to succeed at potty training....
I want her win in that way!
But I just knew if we started off in any kind of weird way then she would latch on to that and have a hard time not making it a power struggle.
So basically I went into this thing kicking and screaming, hahahaha.
Super great way to approach life, right?
Haha.
SHE doesn't know I'm approaching it that way. It's all very internal, trust me.
But anyways, we're on day 2 and doing well.
She had one accident yesterday, but sat and was successful many many times.
I can't believe she's old enough to be potty trained. Where has the time gone??
I made her a little chart to follow when she needs to go.
She thought it was the absolute coolest thing. She goes up and "reads" it every time we go in to try.
The M&Ms part is her favorite. She LOVES M&Ms! Hahaha
The night before we were going to start trying we went to the store and let her pick out some underwear and M&Ms. From then on she was really excited!
We had a little mishap that night, because she thought she got to have ALL the M&Ms on the first time, but other than that she's done great.
Man, why is it so hard to let your kids grow up?
I know she's still so little and most people don't potty train till closer to 3 years old....but like I said, she's been ready for awhile.
I just need to enjoy that she's getting so big and independent, because it means she's becoming a successful human being.
It's still hard though. She's still a baby to me and probably always will be.
Love my sweet Gracie Goo.
I honestly can't remember exactly when we bought her potty seat and she started trying, but I want to say it was like 9 months ago or so?
That seems crazy to me.
She's 2 years and 3 months old right now. And I really feel like we started letting her try around 18 months.
9 months? Holy cow!
None of that has been ACTIVE potty training, mind you. It's all been very Gracie Goo driven. Whenever she'd ask to go we'd let her.
In the beginning she asked a lot, because it was new and exciting. In the past months she hasn't asked as much, just when she really realizes she needs to and isn't too distracted.
She's very ready and capable, and has been for awhile now.
She's gone on the potty dozens of times no problem.
So one might ask what the issue is then, right?? Why isn't she potty trained already?
The answer....
It's been more about getting ME on board with it.
I didn't want to do it before Baby was born, because I didn't want her to regress after he came into our family.
And I wanted to see how she'd do with every other little thing in life once he got here.
The past maybe two weeks she's started freaking out whenever I need to change her diaper. She fights it so much.
She hates the feeling of diapers and asks to not wear them often.
I've just been so hesitant, because she's such a strong willed, smart girl.
I didn't want her to win at potty training....
....meaning I didn't want her to be more in charge than me.
Obviously I want her to succeed at potty training....
I want her win in that way!
But I just knew if we started off in any kind of weird way then she would latch on to that and have a hard time not making it a power struggle.
So basically I went into this thing kicking and screaming, hahahaha.
Super great way to approach life, right?
Haha.
SHE doesn't know I'm approaching it that way. It's all very internal, trust me.
But anyways, we're on day 2 and doing well.
She had one accident yesterday, but sat and was successful many many times.
I can't believe she's old enough to be potty trained. Where has the time gone??
I made her a little chart to follow when she needs to go.
She thought it was the absolute coolest thing. She goes up and "reads" it every time we go in to try.
The M&Ms part is her favorite. She LOVES M&Ms! Hahaha
The night before we were going to start trying we went to the store and let her pick out some underwear and M&Ms. From then on she was really excited!
We had a little mishap that night, because she thought she got to have ALL the M&Ms on the first time, but other than that she's done great.
Man, why is it so hard to let your kids grow up?
I know she's still so little and most people don't potty train till closer to 3 years old....but like I said, she's been ready for awhile.
I just need to enjoy that she's getting so big and independent, because it means she's becoming a successful human being.
It's still hard though. She's still a baby to me and probably always will be.
Love my sweet Gracie Goo.
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