vim-what-why-how
9 years ago
Friday, July 18, 2008
The best feeling in the whole world....
is when you feel your baby moving inside you for the very first time!! I've been anticipating the movement for about a week now and I felt the baby last night a number of times. It was late and I was laying in bed so I tried to be as still as I could. It just amazes me... it's a feeling like no other and it is my favorite part of being pregnant. I didn't feel Claire till about 20 weeks but they say everything's earlier with the second and I'm SO glad =) 16 weeks and 3 days... God is so good
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Potty update
For those who don't like potty talk, you don't want to read this but for everyone else...
YEAH! Claire went poop this morning in the potty! She woke up saying "Mama, poop" and when I walked into her room she said "Change it" so I thought she had gone. Well, she hadn't yet so I convinced her she needed to go try on the potty (with treats as the motivator) and she did it while I read her a book =) I did get some advice from a friend that I will keep in my back pocket in case this was a fluke!
YEAH! Claire went poop this morning in the potty! She woke up saying "Mama, poop" and when I walked into her room she said "Change it" so I thought she had gone. Well, she hadn't yet so I convinced her she needed to go try on the potty (with treats as the motivator) and she did it while I read her a book =) I did get some advice from a friend that I will keep in my back pocket in case this was a fluke!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Potty Talk
As promised here is the update on potty training! She's doing a great job! We've been training for about a week now and she's in panties at home and pull-ups out and about... just in case =) So she was more than ready to be potty trained and I'm hoping this is going to stick for good. She even went on the yucky potty at Taco Cabana and at the pool yesterday which is pretty awesome. She's telling me when she needs to go even though I'm still asking her a lot. It's so funny.... it's just like her to only have to go when SHE tells me and not when I suggest it. I think I'm going to have a very independent girl on my hands! Here are some pics of her potty
training week:
Playing with her Play-Doh while being house bound!
Playing with her Play-Doh while being house bound!
Showing Abbey how to use the potty!
Loving her M&M's and panties!
So for those who have asked me how I did it, here's how!! A few days before I wanted to start, I started telling her she was going to be able to go to the store and pick out her own panties so she could go on the potty. I also started telling her that she was going to get a treat every time she went in her potty. I was WAY OVER excited so she would get excited too!
Tuesday came and I once again made a big deal about the trip to pick everything up - she picked out her own panties, we got M&M's and we got a clear container to keep them in that she was able to open herself (once again the independence!). Oh and I picked up some carpet spot cleaner too! When we got home for lunch, I gave her a few M&M's so she new what to look forward to. I told her she would get more as soon as she started using her potty. After nap, I kept her in a diaper and waited to see if she would initiate any potty talk. She did! She went twice that afternoon!
The next day, Wed., we put panties on right away. We had a couple accidents but just as many successes. When she would pee in her panties she told me right away because she hated the feeling. She'd walk with her legs spread apart! That afternoon I called her pull-ups special panties but she treated them just like a diaper and didn't tell me when she had gone so it was back to panties the next day (Thursday).
Each day she started having less and less accidents and more successes. We stayed home Tuesday afternoon and didn't go out till Saturday which I think was helpful to be at home and her wear panties all the time. By the time we went out on Saturday, I tried the pull-ups again so we wouldn't make messes on anyone's floor. She is now treating them just like panties! I also used some training pants I found at Babies R Us that are just like panties but are a little thicker in the middle so it will catch small accidents. These are great! On Thursday I tried using the vinyl diaper covers that cover plain panties (or cloth diapers) but she went a few times in there without telling me so I haven't used them since.
OK a few other details that I think helped! I've made it VERY methodical for her so she does the same thing every time. She goes, wipes, I put water in her potty, she pours it in the big potty, she flushes and puts the seat down, washes her hands, dries her hands and then counts out her own M&M's from the container she can open herself. Of course it's out of reach but she can see it on the counter and I bring it to her each time. I don't want to make her compulsive but I've learned that Claire likes things to be very predictable! It certainly works for her!
Now... I started giving Claire 3 M&M's each time she went (not when she just tried) and she was eating a TON a day! I never realized how many times she went to the bathroom in one day! After 2 days, I cut it back to 2 thinking she wouldn't have it (since she was counting her own) but she didn't mind at all. I'll probably cut it back to 1 next week and wean her off the treats.
Well, I haven't talked about her going poop yet but it's been our most difficult part. She went on Thursday and it seemed to be a VERY traumatic experience for her. I think she was a little constipated so it might have hurt a little and it took her a long time. We read books while she tried to keep her mind off of it. She cried and I felt so bad for her but I just kept encouraging her and she eventually did it. I gave her 4 M&M's for that one! We had a BIG celebration and even took pictures to make a bigger deal of it - don't worry! I won't post that one! Well, she hasn't gone poop on the potty since. We've tried and I've caught her trying to go hide to do her business. When I see her do that I just smile and get her to the potty with little hesitation but she still just sits there. The only times she's gone since is during nap or bedtime when she's wearing a diaper. She never did that before so I really think she's holding it till she gets a diaper on. I'd love any suggestions if anyone else has gone through the same thing!
OK enough potty talk but I know a lot of people who are on the brink of potty training and have asked what I did with Claire. I can't believe how easy it has been even though it's been very time consuming. You certainly need a lot of patience because you have to stay positive all the time. Even through accidents and trying every 5 minutes because they want that treat so bad! It's worth it in the end. I wanted her potty trained before we get her in a big girl bed in September and I think we may have done it!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Finally... our trip!!
Well, I'm finally rested enough not to lay down during Claire's nap time so here it goes!
We flew into Chicago on Wed, June 25th and I had been pumping up flying to Claire for about 2 months so she was SO excited! In fact, she was too excited to nap that day so I was a little nervous because I knew she wouldn't sleep on the plane. Well, she did a WONDERFUL job especially after waiting for an hour delay and an additional 30 minutes sitting on the runway. We had a lot of surprises for her including a stuffed Daddy frog holding a baby frog and her favorite PBS shows with a DVD player that "Aunt" Heather let us borrow. Thank you so much Heather! It really came in handy! By the time we actually got to Chicago it was about 6 p.m. As soon as we took the shuttle and got the rental car, she was exhausted and was out after 5 minutes on the road.
My Aunt Marge let us stay with her in Grayslake, Illinois which was about a 45 minute drive. We had the whole basement to ourselves so it was a great setup for our family. Marge lives in an adult community and it's a gorgeous area. Her back yard is full of wildlife - coyotes, deer, birds of all kind and tons of bunnies! We got to see bunnies while eating dinner and breakfast the next day. They would come right up to her patio! I think this was Claire's favorite part of Marge's house and aside from seeing family, it was mine as well =)
On Thursday, Marge arranged a wonderful day for family to visit so my Aunt Faye and Aunt Evelyn also came into town. My cousins Richard and Mary also came over for dinner that evening with their spouses and it was good eatin'! We had a great time catching up and they loved seeing Claire run around giving them all hugs before bedtime. They were amazed at how social she was and how comfortable she was with them after only meeting them hours before!
Friday morning it was off to Byron, Illinois to get to our Bed and Breakfast, BlackHawk's Inn which was right on a beautiful river. It was a wonderful place to stay. The rooms were a little small and the shower water was temperamental but we would definitely stay there again. We stopped in Rockford on the way to eat lunch and just happened to be so near Eric and Erin that they met us and we got a chance to catch up before the rehearsal that evening. Unfortunately, we got really lost on our way to the rehearsal so we pretty much missed it all! We were so confused and Claire was tired of being driven around. Thank God we finally caught up with everyone and were sure to follow everyone to the park area where the rehearsal dinner was supposed to be. I got to eat my brat and it was SOOOO good! Well worth the trip =) Claire had a great time running around the open grass areas and once again surprised us with how well she did with such little sleep and a later night than usual!
Saturday morning we were at the wedding site by 8:30 to get pictures done beforehand. It was such a beautiful area called White Pines Inn - Wedding Canyon and if I got married again, I'd consider the long trip back! Eric and Erin looked wonderful and there was a big crowd to witness such a blessing. I read scripture and Claire came up with me. She was so wonderful standing up in front of all those people. She just held my hand and stood there quietly. Here are a couple pics I took and one from the photographer that I turned black and white with color:
The reception was nice with a good lunch and we sat with Eric's parents, Alaina Weynard (the photographer) and the Ingrams who had all traveled from San Antonio. They had all the traditional things with the toast delivered by my man (it was really good too!), first dances, cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss and a rose petal send off inside the building since it was raining. We had a great time! We were off to Milwaukee by 3:00 p.m to stay the night with my Aunt Linda and Uncle Jim. We had a relaxing evening home with them along with my 11 year old cousin, Kaitlin and Aunt Barbara.
Sunday was the day Claire found her new obsession: Kaitlin! Anytime Kaitlin was around she had to be holding her hand or sitting right next to her. These two pictures say it all:
That day we went to the Children's Museum in Milwaukee with Linda, Kaitlin and Barbara and had a great time! Claire loved it! It had all kinds of hand on activities for her. We then went to Barbara's place in Shorewood for Claire's nap and a yummy lasagna dinner. My Aunt Judy and cousin Bethany also came by for a little while to see Claire. It was a nice relaxing evening in and we had a great time to really visit and share a meal together.
Monday we drove up to Sheboygan, WI to see my Grandma and found another one of Claire's obsessions: the beach!! She is still talking about it! She had a wonderful time playing in the sand but the water was freezing so no bathing suits for us! It was a perfect day to be out and we had a fun time. That night we stayed at my grandma's and had to watch the Bachelorette and The Mole together! I love that my grandma likes those shows - it's pretty funny to hear her talk about them!
Tuesday was a wonderful day for me... growing up visiting Wisconsin, I have vivid memories of many places in Cedar Grove and Oostburg which are right outside of Sheboygan. Neil has never been up there so this was the day I got to show him all the things I loved to do as a kid. The first and foremost was going to the Walvoord Berry Farm to pick fresh strawberries. I've done it every summer I visited since I can remember and to take Claire there was so special for me. She did a wonderful job but we only picked for about 25 minutes because she liked to pick all the strawberries including the green ones! She helped quite a bit and in that little time we got about 4 pounds to give to my grandma. Oh it was wonderful!!
Then it was off to show Neil where my dad grew up and where I remember the days with my Grandma Walvoord. She was such a sweet woman! I have fond memories of running around on the farm, going fishing down at the river, watching the birds from the kitchen table and I can even remember that musty smell in the basement. My dad owns some of the land so we were able to get out and walk around. The mosquitoes were so bad that we didn't get very far! The woman who lives there now came out and we talked to her for a little bit. They're refurnishing the house and she said one of my cousins had just been by not too long ago. A lot of grand kids grew up in that house so they probably get that a lot!
After that we visited the Gibbsville cheese factory and Oostburg bakery - two of my favorite treats! On the way back to my Grandma's place in Sheboygan I drove by the church my parents got married in and showed Neil the land where my mom's family's farm used to be. Now there's a huge chemical factory out there. All in all, it was a wonderful time reminiscing and being proud of where my parents grew up. That area is so different than living in the city and Neil had never really seen anything like that before! We had a great spaghetti dinner with my Grandma that night and took a drive down by Lake Michigan. It really is beautiful there!
Wednesday we were off to Chicago to catch our plan but before we left we stopped in to see my Aunt Carol and Uncle George who live right next to the Berry Farm. Carol is probably the most talkative person I've ever met but we managed to leave timely to get to Chicago on time. The flight home was just as good as our flight there and Claire was wonderful =) Couldn't ask for a better 2 year old to travel with (even though we all needed a little break!)
All in all, it was a great vacation with cool weather and wonderful memories. I'm so glad Eric and Erin's wedding could get us up there to visit family. It was a positive travel experience but we were all exhausted. Claire was waking up between 5-5:30 a.m. the last four days and going to bed late. The sun comes up early there so she was up when the room would get lighter. We're not used to sleeping in the same room so I was always just a little awake through the night... sleeping on edge! Thank God she stayed with my parents when we had to leave for Galveston on Friday. I don't know if we all would've made it back on Sunday in one piece!
Well, this was pretty lengthy but again, it's really for me to go back and read years from now and remember all those little details!
We flew into Chicago on Wed, June 25th and I had been pumping up flying to Claire for about 2 months so she was SO excited! In fact, she was too excited to nap that day so I was a little nervous because I knew she wouldn't sleep on the plane. Well, she did a WONDERFUL job especially after waiting for an hour delay and an additional 30 minutes sitting on the runway. We had a lot of surprises for her including a stuffed Daddy frog holding a baby frog and her favorite PBS shows with a DVD player that "Aunt" Heather let us borrow. Thank you so much Heather! It really came in handy! By the time we actually got to Chicago it was about 6 p.m. As soon as we took the shuttle and got the rental car, she was exhausted and was out after 5 minutes on the road.
My Aunt Marge let us stay with her in Grayslake, Illinois which was about a 45 minute drive. We had the whole basement to ourselves so it was a great setup for our family. Marge lives in an adult community and it's a gorgeous area. Her back yard is full of wildlife - coyotes, deer, birds of all kind and tons of bunnies! We got to see bunnies while eating dinner and breakfast the next day. They would come right up to her patio! I think this was Claire's favorite part of Marge's house and aside from seeing family, it was mine as well =)
On Thursday, Marge arranged a wonderful day for family to visit so my Aunt Faye and Aunt Evelyn also came into town. My cousins Richard and Mary also came over for dinner that evening with their spouses and it was good eatin'! We had a great time catching up and they loved seeing Claire run around giving them all hugs before bedtime. They were amazed at how social she was and how comfortable she was with them after only meeting them hours before!
Friday morning it was off to Byron, Illinois to get to our Bed and Breakfast, BlackHawk's Inn which was right on a beautiful river. It was a wonderful place to stay. The rooms were a little small and the shower water was temperamental but we would definitely stay there again. We stopped in Rockford on the way to eat lunch and just happened to be so near Eric and Erin that they met us and we got a chance to catch up before the rehearsal that evening. Unfortunately, we got really lost on our way to the rehearsal so we pretty much missed it all! We were so confused and Claire was tired of being driven around. Thank God we finally caught up with everyone and were sure to follow everyone to the park area where the rehearsal dinner was supposed to be. I got to eat my brat and it was SOOOO good! Well worth the trip =) Claire had a great time running around the open grass areas and once again surprised us with how well she did with such little sleep and a later night than usual!
Saturday morning we were at the wedding site by 8:30 to get pictures done beforehand. It was such a beautiful area called White Pines Inn - Wedding Canyon and if I got married again, I'd consider the long trip back! Eric and Erin looked wonderful and there was a big crowd to witness such a blessing. I read scripture and Claire came up with me. She was so wonderful standing up in front of all those people. She just held my hand and stood there quietly. Here are a couple pics I took and one from the photographer that I turned black and white with color:
The reception was nice with a good lunch and we sat with Eric's parents, Alaina Weynard (the photographer) and the Ingrams who had all traveled from San Antonio. They had all the traditional things with the toast delivered by my man (it was really good too!), first dances, cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss and a rose petal send off inside the building since it was raining. We had a great time! We were off to Milwaukee by 3:00 p.m to stay the night with my Aunt Linda and Uncle Jim. We had a relaxing evening home with them along with my 11 year old cousin, Kaitlin and Aunt Barbara.
Sunday was the day Claire found her new obsession: Kaitlin! Anytime Kaitlin was around she had to be holding her hand or sitting right next to her. These two pictures say it all:
That day we went to the Children's Museum in Milwaukee with Linda, Kaitlin and Barbara and had a great time! Claire loved it! It had all kinds of hand on activities for her. We then went to Barbara's place in Shorewood for Claire's nap and a yummy lasagna dinner. My Aunt Judy and cousin Bethany also came by for a little while to see Claire. It was a nice relaxing evening in and we had a great time to really visit and share a meal together.
Monday we drove up to Sheboygan, WI to see my Grandma and found another one of Claire's obsessions: the beach!! She is still talking about it! She had a wonderful time playing in the sand but the water was freezing so no bathing suits for us! It was a perfect day to be out and we had a fun time. That night we stayed at my grandma's and had to watch the Bachelorette and The Mole together! I love that my grandma likes those shows - it's pretty funny to hear her talk about them!
Tuesday was a wonderful day for me... growing up visiting Wisconsin, I have vivid memories of many places in Cedar Grove and Oostburg which are right outside of Sheboygan. Neil has never been up there so this was the day I got to show him all the things I loved to do as a kid. The first and foremost was going to the Walvoord Berry Farm to pick fresh strawberries. I've done it every summer I visited since I can remember and to take Claire there was so special for me. She did a wonderful job but we only picked for about 25 minutes because she liked to pick all the strawberries including the green ones! She helped quite a bit and in that little time we got about 4 pounds to give to my grandma. Oh it was wonderful!!
Then it was off to show Neil where my dad grew up and where I remember the days with my Grandma Walvoord. She was such a sweet woman! I have fond memories of running around on the farm, going fishing down at the river, watching the birds from the kitchen table and I can even remember that musty smell in the basement. My dad owns some of the land so we were able to get out and walk around. The mosquitoes were so bad that we didn't get very far! The woman who lives there now came out and we talked to her for a little bit. They're refurnishing the house and she said one of my cousins had just been by not too long ago. A lot of grand kids grew up in that house so they probably get that a lot!
After that we visited the Gibbsville cheese factory and Oostburg bakery - two of my favorite treats! On the way back to my Grandma's place in Sheboygan I drove by the church my parents got married in and showed Neil the land where my mom's family's farm used to be. Now there's a huge chemical factory out there. All in all, it was a wonderful time reminiscing and being proud of where my parents grew up. That area is so different than living in the city and Neil had never really seen anything like that before! We had a great spaghetti dinner with my Grandma that night and took a drive down by Lake Michigan. It really is beautiful there!
Wednesday we were off to Chicago to catch our plan but before we left we stopped in to see my Aunt Carol and Uncle George who live right next to the Berry Farm. Carol is probably the most talkative person I've ever met but we managed to leave timely to get to Chicago on time. The flight home was just as good as our flight there and Claire was wonderful =) Couldn't ask for a better 2 year old to travel with (even though we all needed a little break!)
All in all, it was a great vacation with cool weather and wonderful memories. I'm so glad Eric and Erin's wedding could get us up there to visit family. It was a positive travel experience but we were all exhausted. Claire was waking up between 5-5:30 a.m. the last four days and going to bed late. The sun comes up early there so she was up when the room would get lighter. We're not used to sleeping in the same room so I was always just a little awake through the night... sleeping on edge! Thank God she stayed with my parents when we had to leave for Galveston on Friday. I don't know if we all would've made it back on Sunday in one piece!
Well, this was pretty lengthy but again, it's really for me to go back and read years from now and remember all those little details!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Trip pictures
I finally uploaded all of the pictures from our trip. Here is the link if you're interested!
http://www.neilkathrynclaire.shutterfly.com/action/
I'll be journaling about the trip soon but I know I need to block a long period of time to complete it.
On another note, we started intense potty training today since lunch time and Claire has gone once! She has tried a lot because she is tempted by the jar of M & M's that I have on the counter. She REALLY wants her treat so she's trying as hard as she can! I hope this works!
http://www.neilkathrynclaire.shutterfly.com/action/
I'll be journaling about the trip soon but I know I need to block a long period of time to complete it.
On another note, we started intense potty training today since lunch time and Claire has gone once! She has tried a lot because she is tempted by the jar of M & M's that I have on the counter. She REALLY wants her treat so she's trying as hard as she can! I hope this works!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Illinois/Wisconsin Trip Preview
We just got back last night from our week long trip to Illinois and Wisconsin for Eric and Erin's wedding and to see my extended family. We are exhausted but had a great time! Neil and I are off to Galveston tomorrow for Steve Balle's wedding and my parents graciously offered to keep Claire which will be MUCH better for her (and more fun for us!). THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM AND DAD!!! I don't know what we would do without you! I won't be able to post about the big trip before I leave tomorrow but here are a few pics to keep you in suspense...
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