1st day of gymnastics & Heidi's laugh

And one more of Heidi...

Photo catch up

Potty Time, Day 1

Today we started potty training Ansley. Thank goodness my sister was here with me to help with Heidi since Ansley got every little bit of attention and energy I had. I have laughed harder at her today than ever and she has almost brought me to tears, too.

This morning I woke Ansley and brought her to the living room with her potty, sat her down in front of the cartoons with a cup of milk, and told her to stay there until she went. It only took a few minutes and then Mandy and I practically jumped up and down and praised her to the extreme. We emptied her potty into the big one, let her flush it, and she picked out a prize. I started with setting the timer for every 30 minutes for her to sit on the potty, but we pumped her so full of juice that she had a couple of accidents and I decided to do it every 15 minutes. A couple more accidents later I decided to go with 10 minutes and then got really discouraged. I did the math and realized that if she kept that up, we would sit on the potty 72 times a day. So, we slowed way down on the juice. For her nap, I put these plastic panty type things over her panties thinking those would keep her bed dry, but they didn't work. I woke her and she was soaking wet, so we're going with pull-ups during naps and diapers at night I think. We'll work on the naps and night time when she gets the day time training down. She did not have any accidents after her nap and was happy to sit on her potty as long as she got candy as a reward. I had Jeff stop and get Skittles on his way home so I could give her one little piece each time.

Like I said above, we have laughed so hard at her today. Here are some of the funny things she's said:
-"Here it comes!"
-"No! Don't say that!" - to Mandy when she asked if Ansley wanted to sit on her potty
-"No, I just want to hang out." - to me when I asked if she wanted to sit on her potty

I'm sure there will be many more funny phrases to come.

So, for day one, she went about 15 times on the potty and only had 5 accidents. I'm pretty proud of her!

Learning new things!

3 months

Heidi,

You are now three months old! Here's what you're doing now:
-you smile a lot in response to my smiles
-you have started lying on the floor awake for longer periods of time. After you eat, I put you on the floor on your back for a while and you watch your sister play.
-you also spend time on your tummy and can hold your head up very well.
-you've been rolling from your tummy to your back for several weeks now.
-you still HATE the carseat and scream when your buckled in it. Road trips are no fun.
-While we were on vacation, you slept so well. You only woke once to eat (4:30ish) and then went back to sleep until 8:30 or so. Since we've been home you've decided to give that up and are now waking around 1:30 and 4 to eat, but then wake again at 7.
-I'm trying so hard to get you on some sort of sleep schedule, but you're still unpredictable. By Ansley's naptime I'm so worn out and I try to get you to both sleep at the same time, but sometimes it doesn't work that way.
-I try to guess at your personality, and here is what I think so far: you are very sweet and have an infectious smile. You're happiest when someone is holding you and you're getting attention. You know what you want and how to get it. Like your sister and mommy, you seem to be very active. Your arms and legs are always moving and you seem like you want to get up and crawl. I definitely think you'll crawl and walk early.

I love you, sweet Heidi Reese!

And just so I can look back years from now on what life was like with two little ones at home, here is what our day looks like:
-At 7:00 am Ansley comes in the room to wake us by coming to my side of the bed and saying, "Good morning, Mommy!" I change diapers, turn on the news, and feed Heidi. Then I get Ansley's breakfast and eat myself.
-Then I lay Heidi on the floor to play for as long as she'll tolerate and Ansley will play with her toys while I clean the kitchen and the rest of the house. Ansley will find Heidi's paci and put it in her mouth when she starts crying.
-Heidi will nap around 8:30 or 9 in her crib for about an hour and then wake to eat again. After that, we will run errands or play with our friends. Heidi will take another little nap around 11.
-Lunch is around 12 and then Ansley watches Sesame Street. I feed Heidi at 1 and start trying to get her to sleep so I can put Ansley to bed and have a break for myself. Usually by 1:30 or 2 I have both asleep.
-Ansley will wake around 3:30 or 4 and come say to me, "Good morning, Mommy!" again. She gets a snack and then plays with her toys some more. Heidi will wake soon after to eat again.
-Then I start dinner and Jeff gets home around 5 or 5:30. We eat and then play together and talk in the living room. Ansley gets so excited when daddy gets home and as soon as she hears the garage door open, she runs around the corner in the kitchen to greet him. He always picks her up and gives her a kiss and then comes to tell me hi and kisses Heidi and me too.
-Heidi eats again at 7 and then I get both girls bathed and ready for bed. By 8 or 8:30 I have both girls in bed and if Jeff's not working at the station the next day, we will sit up and watch TV or talk until we go to bed. I'll feed Heidi once more and then go to sleep.

These days are just so precious. There is nothing in this world I would give up any of this time for. The Lord has been so faithful to provide everything we need and I'm thankful to be able to stay home with my babies.

Fun on the 4th

We had a fun weekend full of festivities for the 4th of July including the 10th annual skeet shoot, fireworks in Scurry, wonderful food, a great time with friends, a redneck slip n slide, and the Rosser parade. I wish I had gotten more pictures with my camera. Especially of our friend Will's interpretive dance during our game of Quelf. Can't wait to do it all again next year!

We give thanks to God for allowing us to live in a country where all of this was possible. And we give thanks to all the men and women who have fought, died, and continue to fight for our freedoms.