Potty Training Update

Wow! Wow! WOW! I would just like to say that this potty training thing is NO joke!  Emily is really doing pretty well....most of the time.  I'd say she only has one accident a week w/ going #1.:)

Pooping in the potty is a different story.  She's maybe getting it in the potty 40% of the time.  I know.  I should be thankful....we've only been at this for a month.  I really am proud of her!  Some days are just easy-breezy, and then some days (like today) are crazy.  Once she has one poopy accident she just keeps having them, and she keeps having false alarms.  The other day she had six poopy accidents in one day!!  SIX!! I'm running Emily to the potty, cleaning up poopy in the panties, and running back and forth from the potty to where Hannah is playing to make sure she's okay.

Even when you LOVE being a stay-at-home mom (and I do love it!) some days you count down the minutes to nap time, and today was one of those days!  And now as I write this, it's nap time! I made it!  Those sweet girls are both asleep!  I feel like I need a bowl of ice cream and a diet coke to reward myself, but I don't have either...  I'll settle for a cup of ice water and sitting still while listening to Christmas music...sounds good to me!

P.S. I thought about posting a picture to illustrate all this, but I figured you'd rather me not.:)

Hannah - 9 months

Hannah is 9 months old and busier than ever!  She had a great 9 month check up!  Hannah weighs 21 lbs and 5 oz and is in the 87th percentile for her weight.  She is 27.8 inches tall and is in the 57th percentile for her height.  She's quick to laugh and smile!

Hannah's favorites at 9 months:

Food: Cheerios, Puffs, any baby food, bananas and other soft foods
Movies: Baby Mozart
Books: Peek-a-boo books
Activities: Crawling, Pulling up, Reading books, knocking down towers
Words she can say: Mama, Daddy ("Da-Da"), Night Night ("Nigh, nigh"), Bye bye, Hey

Sleeping Habits at 9 months:
-Takes 2 naps a day - about 1 1/2 hours each
-As soon as we lay her down she starts sucking her thumb and is usually asleep within a few minutes
-She sleeps 11-12 hours at night.....almost never wakes up in the middle of the night.
-She still sleeps in her sleep sack.

Things I treasure about my 9 month old:
-She has the most precious laugh that will just melt your heart.
-"HEY" is her favorite word! She almost always says it with a smile.
-The other night she said "Nigh, nigh, Da-da." She said it three times in a row! (She hasn't done it again since then.)
-She waves when she says "bye, bye."
-She is sooooo scared of the vacuum.
-She's pulling up on everything and I mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g!
-She thinks the little door stoppers all over our house are the best thing since sliced bread.
-She loves her Jenny-jump-up.
-She's crawling all over the house.  She'll follow me from room to room.
-She constantly watches her big sister.
-She has very sensitive skin.  Her poor thumbs (that she sucks) are raw because of the weather.  I'm trying to keep them moisturized, but it's a full time job.
-Mama was her first word, but now that she has figured out how to say Dada she says it more often!
-She loves to chew on straps....the straps on her highchair, carseat, or stroller.
-Hannah can stand up by herself for at least 5 seconds.
-She still doesn't have her first tooth, but I love her cute gummy smile.:)

Mimi reading to Hannah and Jacob.  Hannah turned around to pose for my picture.:)  You have to hold on tight to these two because they are busy!!

Hannah is a very happy baby, but just to be fair, I wanted to let the record show that she does cry.  She decided to only take a 30 minute nap this morning.  Booo.  I had just started my 20 minute work out video when she woke up so I decided to let her jump around in her "Jenny jump up" while I finished.  She was not pleased with my plan.

She really likes her sissy's chair.  One of her favorite things to play on/with.  

She's getting into everything.  I love this picture because she has an "Oh no, I got caught" look.:)  

When Emily was her age pulling out all the DVD's was a "no, no."  I've got to be honest.  I let her play with them for a little while before putting them away.  She was happy and still!!  Second child.  

Hannah, oh my word, you are too cute!  You greet us with the biggest smile when we open the door to your room!  I cannot believe you'll be turning one in just a few short months.  You're sweet, fun, lovable  beautiful, feisty  and adorable all rolled into one.  Your Daddy and I are so thankful for you and we pray for you all the time. We pray that you will one day put your trust in Jesus.  He's the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  You are a precious gift from Him.  We love you, Hannah Beth!  

Sign me up!

Sign me up for a slumber party with these two cuties any day!  So Thankful!  Love them!:)  

PS:  Thanks to Grandmama for the cute new pajamas!

Silly Girl

A few days ago Emily was playing in the playroom and walked into the den where I was changing Hannah's diaper and exclaimed...."I'm having a baby!"  Yikes!  

I looked up to find this little cutie.  She had put one of her stuffed animals under her shirt!

I love to see her imagination at work!!    It's so fun...and startling at times.:)  

A Visit from Grandmama and Pawpaw

Bert's parents came up the first weekend in November.  They wanted to hear him preach that Sunday morning at MCBC and get to hang out with their sweet grandbabies.  The plan was for us to go to the Greenville Zoo, which we've heard great things about, but we hadn't yet made it over there.  Friday night, before Jeff and Linda got here on Saturday, Hannah started running a fever.  I took her to the doctor on Saturday morning to find out she had a double ear infection.  Poor girl!  We decided to hold off on the zoo trip until Hannah was feeling 100%, but we did make a quick trip downtown.  Bert and I just LOVE downtown Greenville and it's definitely at the top of our list of places to go when people come to visit.  We enjoyed walking around, including of course a trip through the Mast General Store, then they treated us to lunch at Carolina Ale House.  We walked down to Falls Park and then headed back to the house for naps.  Here is a picture of the girls with their grandparents.  

That afternoon the girls took great naps, Jeff and Bert enjoyed watching the UGA game and Linda and I enjoyed a little shopping (I had to introduce her to Mighty Dollar!).  Here is a picture of Jeff reading to the girls before dinner time.  

Emily wouldn't leave Grandmama's side.  She insisted on Grandmama taking her to the potty almost every time.  She loves her Grandmama and Pawpaw!  

When Jeff and Linda were still on their way up to Greenville Bert said "Emily, do you know who is coming to see us??....Grandmama and Pawpaw!!"  Emily replied with "And Dixie!!"  Dixie is their cat.  Emily loves Dixie, but the feeling isn't exactly mutual.:)  Needless to say, Dixie didn't make the trip up!

We had a great visit, Grandmama and Pawpaw!  Thank y'all so much for coming up and spending time with us!! We're looking forward to Thanksgiving!!

Dora can fix it!

Yesterday I was holding Hannah and catching up with my friend Keri on the phone.  Emily was playing quietly.   Out of the corner of my eye I saw her leaning on the screen of my laptop.  I started walking over to her so that I could move the computer.  As I was walking over I noticed her eyes were big.  I glanced at the computer screen and immediately my stomach dropped.  She had cracked the screen and 3/4 of the screen was black and blue and all different colors.  I'm certainly not what you might call "computer savvy", but I know enough to know when a computer is a goner....and this one was was a goner.   I got off the phone with Keri and had this conversation with Emily:

Me:  Emily you broke Mommy's computer!  (in a surprisingly calm voice)
Emily:  It's okay, Daddy will fix it.
Me:  Daddy's not going to be able to fix this.
Emily:  Well Papa Stan will fix it.
Me:  Papa can't fix this either.
Emily:  Well DORA can fix it!  She have to!

I wasn't screaming or crying, but I was SO disappointed!  Emily could obviously see my frustration (with her and the situation) all over my face, and a few minutes later she said "It's okay, Mommy, accidents happen!"  Wow...what a reality check when your 2 1/2 year old speaks truth to you.  I say this to her all the time when she spills something or drops something...I needed the reminder then.:)  It is so easy for me to see my ugly sin when something like this happens.  I can feel it welling up inside of me.  I want to be quick to forgive.  I want to love people more than things.  I apologized to Emily that morning for getting frustrated and told her how much I love her.  I wanted her to know that she is a ba-gillion times more important to me than that silly 'ole laptop!

Emily at 2 1/2 Years

Emily turned 2 1/2 years old last month (Oct. 8th).  She's going to be 3 before I blink my eyes.  3 years old sounds so old...we're not going to talk about that right now.  For now, here are a few updates on our adorable TWO year old.

Emily at 2 1/2
Food:
Likes:  cheese sticks, mustard, most any fruit, absolutely any kind of sweet, Chick-fil-A
Dislikes:  PBandJ
*Eating meals is a BATTLE at our house.  She is really not that picky of an eater, but often will REFUSE to eat.  One night she will gobble up a plate of spaghetti, but the next time we have it she'll take one bite and then says she's done.  Sometimes she'll eat great, but more often than not we have to play a "game" with her to get her to take bites.  You sometimes feel like you have to stand on your head and hold your breath just to make sure this child does not waste away.

Sleeping Habits:
Emily naps once a day for about 2 hours. She sleeps 11 or 12 hours at night.  She is potty trained during the day, but wears pull-ups (she thinks they're called "night time panties") at night.  She sleeps in her toddler bed with her bunny, blanket and bear named Cordy.  She must have her sound machine on the rain setting.

Other Random Facts:
-Emily likes to do things herself  (getting in the carseat, climbing into her booster seat, and putting her clothes on).  I often hear "I can do it myself."
-She loves to read books together.  She's memorized parts of several books and likes to read those books herself out loud to Hannah.
-She keeps close, close tabs on her sister and she's not afraid to tattle.  This morning she said "No, no Hannah!!"  Then she looked at me and said "Mommy, Hannah tried to get my blanket....I tell her no, no!!"
-She is scared of her video monitor.  She insists that it is going to "get her."
-She loves all things Dora the Explorer!
-Emily talks all day long....not joking....all day long, and I love it!
-She loves making up songs to familiar tunes.  It's really impressive.
-She loves to color.  She'll "color" with crayons, markers, pens, or pencils.  If she catches you using a pen  you better watch out b/c she's going to be saying "Can I see dat, pwease!?!?"
-She's beginning to have quite the imagination.  She'll mostly just switch people around.  Ex.: She'll say "I'm Hannah, and that's Emily"....with a big smile on her face.:)
-She loves boots.  Kayley Harmon passed along several pairs of boots to her back in the summer and she literally wears them all day long.  She'll go from one pair to the next.
-One day last week Emily walked up to me out of the blue and said "I don't wike (like) Hannah."  It totally took me by surprise and I have no idea what made her say it.  I honestly kind of chuckled when she said it, because she is usually so loving towards her.  She tells Hannah all the time that she loves her and gives her kisses and hugs when it's time for H to take a nap.  Oh well, I know they'll make each other mad, probably more often than I will like, but I pray that they will love each other well.
-She's started naming all of her dolls.  She has dolls named Emily, Hannah, Millie (cousin's name), Billie (cousin's name).
-She pretends like she's talking on the phone all the time.  She'll use whatever she has as a phone.  She talks to lots of different people, but her absolute favorite person to "call" is Papa Stan.  She probably "calls" him 90% of the time.  She'll tell him about what Hannah's doing, what she's done that day, her latest boo-boo, etc.  The other day she had a 3 minute "conversation" with him.
-She's starting to have some fears.  A few weeks ago (while we were in our house) she heard a train and ran to me and said "Oh no, dat train is going to hit us!!"  She's done this several times since then.
-She can recognize all the letters in the alphabet and knows the sound that most every one makes.  (We love the Leap Frog Letter Factory!)
-She gets orange and red confused.
-Emily loves to be outside.  She particularly loves our front yard.  I think she really likes the feel of the grass under her feet and she'll say "I go jump."  She doesn't get very far off the ground, but she loves to jump.
-We check on the girls every night when we are going to bed.  Bert checks on them most every night (it takes me a little longer to get ready for bed).  Sometimes Emily will wake up when he is covering her back up and she just looks up at him and says "Hey Daddy" and falls right back to sleep.
-When Bert is tickling Hannah, Emily will often say "Daddy, play wif me....play wif me!"
-She has good friends at church and it is just about the cutest thing to hear the girls saying hey to each other after we arrive.
-She loves kids that are older than her.  I am pretty sure she thinks anyone less than 5 feet tall is her age.
-She is very helpful and she loves to please.
-She's very good at saying thank you, but still has to be reminded to say please.  We're working on "yes ma'am and no ma'am" but we're not there.
-We went through a stage a few months ago where she thought it was soooo funny (especially in front of other people) to call Bert and me by our first names.  Thankfully, she rarely does that anymore!
-She likes to help carry things to/from the car.
-I often call her "Emily Bimily", or sometimes just "Bimily".
-Bert often calls her "Emmy".
-When we pull into the church parking lot, Chick-fil-A, etc. she shouts "I FOUND IT, I FOUND IT!!!"  It makes me smile every time.
-She calls the remote a "framote".  I have no idea why she calls it this, but I usually don't correct her.
-She loves music anytime.  When we are in the car she asks me to turn it up and says "Mommy, will you sing wif me?"  She really doesn't care what we're listening to...she just likes music and likes to try to sing along.
-If we go to Chick-fil-A she will talk about it for a week.  She loves that place!
-When someone is in her way she'll say "Sorry! Sorry!" instead of "Excuse me" and keep pushing to make her way through.
-When someone in the room asks about the time she almost always pipes in with "it's about firdy firdy." (thirty thirty):)  This afternoon Bert asked me what time Hannah last ate and she answered for me with "firdy, firdy, Daddy!"

Emily Bimily, I am so thankful for you.  You make me want to pull my hair out one minute (especially during meal times:) ), and the next you are melting my heart.:)  You keep me smiling and laughing all day long.  You get excited about the wind, trees, planes, cars, the sun being out, etc....you absolutely love life!  I am so thankful that you call me Mommy.  I love you with all my heart!