Potty Days....

Woohoo I got both kids down for a nap together AGAIN *dang I'm good!* Although I'm pretty sure this will be short lived because Kali has been asleep much longer then Chenda (she's a sleep fighter). So this might have to be a quicky.

Our main focus (well, one of them) right now is getting Chenda potty trained. She's doing pretty well, actually, but seems to have lost interest the last couple of days. I think it's because we have had a few really nice days and she wants to be out playing after months of being couped up in the house. I even asked her yesterday if she wanted panties and she told me "no mommy!", so I didn't push it but asked her after her next diaper change and she said she did. She did really well but then after about an hour took it off, and brought me a diaper and said "byper mommy"...So i put it on her. And that was that! She still "peepee pottied" a few times but really right now doesn't have a whole lot of interest in the panties.

I have heard some hardcore mommies online talk about this "3 day potty training" stuff before and I thought I would look into it. So I googled it and (wouldn't you know) you have to BUY it. Like $30!! Uhm, no thanks! I kind of read up on it and it's pretty much you put the kid in undies and let them run around the house in them. Then after a few days they get it and want to potty on the toilet more to keep dry. And you wake them up at night to potty so you do day and night training at once.

Ok, first off, I don't need to pay that kind of money to figure out that just letting them wet/soil themselves for three days is going to help, and if anyone knows my toddler, waking her at night to pee would only mean I would probably not get back to bed! The offficial website even says that if you have an infant it probably won't work because you have to give your WHOLE attention to the kid in training (probably chasing them around cleaning up pee and poop all day)....Soooo pretty much that's out. I'm sure we'll get through this, but it would be nice to be done with diapers for Chenda. I just hope we get it done before the fall because we might look into some spring time three-year-old preschool programs and I'm pretty sure potty trained is a pre-requisite.

Chenda is becoming such a smart little kid! She is really starting to pick up on colors, shapes, numbers, etc....She can count to 10 all on her own, and draw hearts, circles, and triangles! She also knows a lot of shapes by name, and can sing her ABCs. It's really fun to watch her grow intellectually after watching her develop physically as a baby. This is like a whole new world! A lot of people who know her know that she really only started talking after her second birthday, so all of this new communication is a lot of fun...Except the "no mommy!"'s I get on a daily basis! But that's just a part of her learning her independence and I usually get what I want out of her anyway. Speaking of, it's amazing what you can get a toddler to do while singing the "clean up!" song from Barney!!!

Kali is on her way to crawling! She's pretty much got it down backward, and is working on forward movement. But I'm really excited to see how she discovers her world once she's mobile (I'm sure I'll be taking this back when she's all over the place in a month!) I think she might be teething again because she's back to waking every couple of hours wanting to chew on everything. I was really enjoying the rest I've been getting but I suppose it will just have to wait until they are out of the house or something in 18-20 years. I am most likely going to graduate her from her bassinet to the crib today and I'm pretty excited about it! Maybe she'll sleep better in there, since she will have more room to wiggle.

I can't believe how big she is getting! I found myself the other day looking up things to do for her first birthday! I was thinking a joint birthday party for both of them maybe at the Children's Museum would be fun, but not sure yet. It blows my mind that in just 5 months I will be the mom of a one year old AND a three year old! What a whirlwind!

Life continues to truck along here in our home, and what a great adventure it's been!

It's been a while!

So I've been a little busy lately. Well, actually a lot busy! We had family come into town and visit us for a week. Talk about tons of fun! All of them stayed at my house (about 6 in total), and the babes finally got to meet their cousin. They had tons of fun playing around when the weather was nice (it wasn't for most of the days, but we still had a great time and did many outside activities). Travelling around the state was a really great experience. It's not often we take the time to see how beautiful OUR home is! People are so often wanting to see where other people live, what other states look like, but when you just hop in the car and take in your own home it's a totally worth wile experience. Of course, I have the privilege of living in the best state ever, so I suppose I'm biased.

After a week off it was definitely hard to leave the kids and head back to work! Lucky (not lucky) for me we all got sick this week to I ended up having to stay home one of my return-to-work days. I have to say I have never known life so hard as to be home alone with two sick little ones! I was thinking how when Chenda was a baby (my only baby) I would remember how easy life was before I had kids. Not to say that I have ever wished I didn't have them, quite the opposite, but who doesn't think things are simpler when you just have you and your spouse to worry about?? Well, to my surprise I found myself saying "wow, I remember how easy it was with one kid! Two is so much harder when they are sick!". I got a good chuckle out of that thought. It's funny how life's blessings also bring on some of our most challenging moments...

Take my strong willed two year old, for example. This kid tests my overflowing cup of patience like nothing else. And if you know me you know that cup is DEFINITELY overflowing, and yet I find myself getting flustered more then ever. Not that she's BAD by any means. She is a sweet and loving little girl who loves to be fun! Her determination, strong personality and ability to hyper-focus on a tasks is something that most adults lack....But I think I'm starting to see why God gave me the gift of patience! I do look forward to 20 years from now to see what she is doing in life. Maybe kicking butt and taking names in some top career, who knows?! She's definitely got the goods already to be the best at anything she does! For now, we are getting through the "terrible two's" and she's cuddling in bed going "night night" with her daddy while I type away.

Little baby Kali is in her early attempts to become mobile. If I thought things were difficult NOW I wonder how they will be a month from now! She's not quite made her forward motion yet, but she's pushing up on hands and knees so I know it's not far off. I still can't believe it's been almost 7 months since her birth! Her first birthday is going to be here before we know it and I still see her as that little newborn sleeping on my chest. Even Chan the other day was telling me that he keeps thinking she won't be able to eat cake at her birthday, because he still sees her that way too. Of course, we'll probably think that way when she's a teenager!

The little ones are growing up before our eyes! I know they are still small and I shouldn't look so far into the future, but the future keeps coming before I'm ready for it so I might as well be prepared right? I feel like I'm going to blink and when I open my eyes I'll be sitting there holding my grand kids or something! Maybe I'm crazy (probably) but it's true. I'm sure that's how my parents feel. In the mean time, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy these short, precious times with my babies and take it all in, through the fun, and the frustrating... because I know it doesn't last forever.