Oh, How These Two Make Me Smile!

Remember when your parents would take you to dinner as a kid, and you would mix all of the fountain drinks concocting a "suicide"? Well, I suppose this is the toddler version. In the pink cup: apple juice. In the white cup: milk. Umm...gross and she finished the drinks like this!




And seriously, how freakin' precious is this guy?! He's always got the jazz hands working in some capacity.

Rest in Peace, Auntie Pat

The world lost an incredible woman this morning. My dear Aunt Pat has finally ended her more than decade long battle with cancer. She was a fighter to the end, living even longer than the doctors and nurses thought possible. NEVER in my life have I, or will I, know a stronger woman. May God grant me half of the strength that she possessed. Friends, thank you for your prayers over the years. But, please keep praying, especially for her sons, sisters and mother. We all find some peace in knowing that she is finally out of pain. She is with my Papa again, and now in the arms of Jesus.

Auntie Pat, you are already missed.

Things Happen for a Reason

I have always been a firm believer in this.

Last year, Joe and I decided to sell our beautiful house for various reasons. At the time we knew that it was the right decision, but we were both really, really sad about it because it was were we brought Izzie home, where she learned to walk, all that good stuff. It was the house we thought we would be in forever. The house we were going to raise our children in.

Last night at dinner, Joe and I ran into our old next door neighbor. She was surprised at how big Izzie had gotten, and really surprised that we had Andrew. We got to talking and she mentioned that we should be really glad that we moved. A registered sex offender moved into the house on the other side of our old one. The whole neighborhood is up in arms.

The first thing I did when we got home was look him up. Offense: lewd act. Victim: 3 year old female.

Any sad feelings about selling my beautiful house immediately washed away. I have never been happier about a decision in my entire life.

2 Months

My sweet boy Andrew is already 2 months old! We went to the doctor yesterday for his well check, and I was kind of nervous about it. I could obviously tell that he is growing, but I was worried about his weight because he is still wearing newborn clothes. But the doctor was pretty pleased over all.

Here are his stats for 2 months:

9lbs 13 oz (I was really hoping for the big 10lbs, but it's close enough) 10-15% (This is an improvement from the 5% at 2 weeks!)

22 inches 20%

Everyone wants to know when his eyebrows are going to come in! I promise, they are there, just blond...go figure! He is still such a good, mild tempered baby. Never fussy and hardly ever spits up (this is a MAJOR difference from Isabella who was a projectile vomiter- I know TMI, but it's nice to get a break in that area). He is awake for about 3-4 hours a day, give or take. He still enjoys tummy time and is a good sleeper, *usually* waking only once at night, most nights between 3 and 4. He is smiley and happy and sweet and precious :) I can get some really good smiles out of him when I sing to him- right now songs of choice have been Glee hits- both he and Izzie like them :)

It's kind of amazing how when you have a second child, your heart doesn't become divided between the two, but it doubles in size instead.

The time has come...

...for potty training!

I'm going to be completely honest- it has been a total rollercoaster of emotions for both of us. Isabella has always caught onto most things quite quickly, so I think part of me kind of expected her to just get it. There have been times (like when she actually goes!) when I am so proud of her my heart bursts, and other times when I have to keep reminding myself that she is only two and that we are both doing our very best. It is a scary thing for her after all.

The first time I sat her on the potty, she, or I should say, we, sat there for about 35 minutes before she went. She tried tricking me:"I did it!". She tried starting conversation: "What doing Monny?" (Yes, she calls me Monny, not Mommy!) She asked me what I was doing so many times that I started saying things like: "Writing the next great American novel, Izzie." or "Painting the Mona Lisa, Izzie."She also tried distraction: "Pray, Monny." But once she actually did it, we were both so excited! I would go as far as to say that it was one of my proudest mommy moments. We danced, we sang, and she earned her beautiful Hello Kitty bracelet. I am totally not against bribing! She has earned stickers, a princess wand, and a Little Mermaid book. But she will also go without being bribed, which is even better.

Here she is looking fondly at her prize bracelet:

Sometimes she will go right away, sometimes she will take a while- like 35 minutes, and sometimes, she won't even go sit on the potty. This is part of where the rollercoaster comes in. My adult mind thinks that she knows what to do and has done it already, so whats the big deal? But it IS a big deal and at least she does know what I want her to do now. I've heard of the 3 day no pants method, but am a little, or a lot,wary of her peeing in my house! Any thoughts or suggestions on this subject are welcome!

Jenny and Bekah Meet Andrew!

Jenny and Bekah were in town this past weekend for Memorial Day and were sweet enough to come by and meet Andrew. Bekah wants to know why her mommy is holding another baby! But soon she had other babies on her mind!
Check out how Izzie is totally eyeing her from the chair behind! Thanks for letting Izzie practice her sharing skills with you Bekah! We need a LOT of work in that area!