Potty Training

Thursday afternoon we did a trial potty training session.  Even after reading many articles and talking to people, I still have no idea how to do this.  It seems easy enough while at home when we have nothing to do, but what about when we want to go out?  I do not trust her to put big girl panties on her and see what happens.  Should I still put her in a diaper?  But then I feel like I'm backtracking.  I know she'll get it, plus this was only a trial to see if this was something we should pursue.     
 

We spent 3 hours with the timer set every 15ish minutes.  When the timer went off Reegan had to sit on the potty for 2 minutes. She got really into it and every time the timer went off, she got right on.  If she went potty on the potty we gave her a sticker (she's really into stickers right now and I found some great ones in the dollar section of Target of Seasame Street).  She had 1 accident and recieved 3 stickers.  I felt pretty good about that.  Plus, she had her accident in the kitchen and knew immediately.  "Uh oh, mommy".  So, I think this was a good first try.  I'm just not sure when we're going to get the next chance to practice. 

Much of the afternoon was spent like this.  We needed quick, easy access to the potty at all times.  (I'm going to get into trouble for this pic in a couple years...I just couldn't help myself). 

If anyone has any advice or suggestions, I'm all ears!

Valentines Day

We had a low-key Valentine's day around here.  Just the way I like it!  Jason and I snuck out after Reegan had gone to bed (yes, we had someone come over and sit in case she woke up) to watch a movie and eat buttery, greasy popcorn.  It was heavenly, hit the spot!  We watched the Vow, which was good but didn't quite reach my very high standards. 

While Reegan was awake, we decided to suprise daddy and the grandparents by making cards.  I think it may have been the longest this little one has sat still...she loved every minute of it!  I'm glad I thought far enough ahead and was able to make a run to Hobby Lobby for some supplies.  I love that store.  I can never seem to spend enough time there. 

We're really into stickers right now, so to start both mommy and Reegan had to put a sticker on their shirts.  Then we could decorate the card!

Concentrating this long made someone thirsty, so we had to pause a couple times for a drink break!

This is talent right here!  Can you do it? :) 

Still a work in progress, but it's looking good!

It's a...

It just happened that Reegan's birthday was the same time I was 20 weeks pregnant, so we decided to go for the ultrasound without anyone knowing so we could have the big reveal during the party.  We decided that whatever it was, we would buy a cute newborn outfit and have Reegan open it.  It was a suprise to all of our family because they weren't expecting us to find out for another week. 


I'm going to keep you in suspense a little longer.  My excitement in a previous post left many of you thinking it was a boy because I was so excited.  I got emails, texts, and a couple comments.  Well, a lot has happened in the last 2 years and because Reegan is SO amazing, I wanted another little girl!  Plus, whenever we asked Reegan if she wanted a brother or sister she always said sister, so I really wanted that for her (even though I'm not sure she really knew what she was asking for...).  So, I was hoping for a girl this time too.


Well, it didn't quite happen, we're having a BOY!  Even though I really wanted a girl, and yes was a little disappointed, I am super excited about it.  I think I had some time to adjust because this is what the doctor predicted 3/4 weeks earlier.  This little one wasn't shy about it either...his face however, he decided not to show us.  He kept his hands over them for the entire appointment.  The most amazing part is that he looked completely healthy, no 2-vessel cord this time.  Good news is that a weight is lifted and I wont have to worry that I'll be that 50% with anomalies like I did last time.  Bad news, we don't get to have 16 ultrasounds this pregnancy.  We may have had our last one...unless I can talk the doctor into it again :). 
     

I need to stop having a preference for a specific gender because history has shown that I'll get the opposite!  Jason is excited about this, he says now that we will have one of each, our next one is going to be a suprise until the birth!  I love that he's on board with having more because I always wanted a big(ish) family.  Plus now he gets another male in the house! 


We're extremely excited and anticipating the changes that are coming.  But for now, we're cherising our only child and spoiling her to the max.  We've also got a lot of buying to do, Reegan is all girl and loves pink/purple.

Look at the strong little man.  He's showing his muscles off already.  It even looks like he has a little bicep.  LOVE IT!

I feel these hands and feet every day.  He sure is active.

Party!!!

We celebrated Reegan's birthday in a much smaller scale this year, family only.  We had pizza, veggie tray, and queso dip with chips.  Yum!   

Reegan was a pro at opening her gifts!  She got lots of great stuff!



I mentioned before how she wont eat chocolate, so I picked her up a white cupcake with white frosting while the rest of us had a chocolate fudge cake, yumm!

She needed a little coaxing from me to try the cupcake.

She likes it!

Reegan's birthday didn't go quite as planned.  Poor baby has been sick all weekend, so we didnt get get to take her out for a fun day like we wanted.  We went out a little bit to get her out of the house, but it was more errands for us, not birthday fun.  Oh well, next year! 

2

I can hardly believe I am writing this.  Time really does fly.  Reegan is 2. (btw, I wrote this Friday night, Reegan's official bday was Sat).

I haven't done a great job the last few months updating her status, new things she's learning, and her likes/dislikes.  I think I may be the only person who really enjoys those posts :) 

I am currently at work, wishing I could be with Reegan at the exact moment that she was born 2 years (don't worry my patients are receiving fantastic care, but it's 3:45am and they are sleeping! )  Reegan officially entered the world at 4:21am, quicker than anyone anticipated, including the nurse and doctor!  Last year, I set my alarm at this time so I could sneak into her room to be with her...even though she was sleeping and had no idea I was there.  I was hoping to do that every year, but already I'm slipping. 

Its hard to put into words how incredible these 2 years have been. I love her, WE love her more than we ever expected!

Reegan is still a cuddler, most of the time. She can play by herself, but she wants someone to be right with her all the time. If we are in one room and she wants to go to another room, she tugs and pushes us and tells us to "go". Then leads us where she wants to go. She also likes for us to be sitting next to her on the floor while she plays. I find myself sneaking off when I have to go to the bathroom or get something out of another room. Sometimes she never notices I'm gone, other times I hear a "uh oh, mommy?". I love that she loves being with us and wants to read books on our laps more than anything, but I foresee this being a problem when baby #2 comes. I try hard not to get frustrated sometimes when she is my shadow and "helping" by moving everything I just put into the dishwasher. Or putting things in the trash for me, even when they are not trash. This is a lot better than a few years from now her not wanting to be seen with me (I vow not to let that happen, I mean I'm cool right???).

She sees everything that we do and then does it later. It is so crazy. I'll brush my teeth and she'll be standing next to my towel. Then she'll wipe her face on it and smile at me, it's almost like she is trying to show me what to do! On that same note, she loves to brush her teeth, but doesn't love for us to brush her teeth. I have gotten her to let me floss her teeth a couple of times. Her teeth are gorgeous with small spaces between the bottom teeth. The problem is that food gets stuck there already.

Reegan is already trying to grow up as fast as she can. She wants to do everything herself. I have to hide my water cup from her sometimes because she wants to drink out that and not her sippy cup. She does really well with it while she's drinking, but spills it in the process of trying to carry it around the house. She also takes off her socks any chance she can get. I can guarantee you, those socks are not going to be on when she gets up from her nap! She also takes off her pants sometimes. She can't get either one of them back on though...

She is great eater at home, still loves her veggies, in fact I think broccoli and peas are her favorite food. Whenever I ask her what she wants for lunch, she always says one or the other. Oh and she wants to dip all food into something. If anyone has anything that they are dipping, she wants to dip too. She will not eat chocolate, but loves french fries or tortilla chips. Those are reserved for when we go out to eat. However, this results in being all that she eats while we're out. We sometimes order her a meal and she never seems to eat more than a couple of bites.

She is very shy but seems to be coming out of her shell a little. She used to just stare at strangers when they would talk to her, but now she smiles or sometimes talks back. She loves to run and has started jumping. She has been trying to jump for months, but couldn't get both feet off the ground at one time. Now she can do it about half the time. Still likes to do somersaults and "exercise". At school (daycare) they have exercise time and she loves it. She loves to stretch and do sit-ups. Ah, my kinda girl!

Loves going to school. Jason usually drops her off, but this last week I did and she didn't look at me as she ran away to play. It made me kinda sad, but I'm thankful for this instead of one who cries and clings to my leg. As hard as it is for me to be away from her 2 days a week, it is so good for her. I think we will always put our kids in at least 1 day of daycare. I'm amazed at everything she learns while she is there and it sure wears her out! My one complaint is I wish they had cameras so I could watch what she does all day long. Its actually probably a good thing, that's all I would do :)


Reegan is in all 2T clothes, some of the pants are a little too big, but not bad. Poor baby has my body type so far, long torso, not so long legs (I was hoping she would get Jason's long legs). Wears a size 6 shoe. We go to the doctor on Wed and I am really excited to know how much she weights. She steps on our scale at home and it looks like she's around 26 lbs, but its hard to tell. I'm also curious what percentile she's in, she's always been pretty consistent in the 50th, so I'm sure its not too different now. I do however think she's tall for her age. She is the 2nd youngest kid in her class and probably one of the tallest. Not too surprising, look at her father...

She loves babies and is always pointing babies out to me. Sometimes these "babies" look to be older than she is...i'm telling you she is trying to grow up too fast. At the gym daycare I can often find her sitting with the lady with the baby and "helping" it play in the exersaucer or swinging in the swing. She's going to love this little one and be a little mama herself.

Alright, now that I described a perfect angel of a child, I'll tell you the not as positive. She is already a little bossy: telling the dogs when they need to go potty, trying to feed them 5 times a day (Bella would be in heaven if we really let her feed them this often...), and telling them "no" if they do something they are not supposed to. She knows what she wants and if she does not get what she wants, she cries. She has started covering her face when she cries and it is heartbreaking...for me, not so much Jason. She cries so hard that it is tough to get a word in to explain to her. Usually we just walk away from her (I told you earlier how she likes to be right with us) and that usually gets her to calm down and she follows us. Then I try to explain/rationalize. With a 2 year old...I know, it often doesn't work. We're still trying to figure out the best parenting strategy for this sensitive/hard headed one (I am reading a great book right now, Parenting with Love and Logic, I highly recommend it).

Big girl bed has been a smooth transition for us, it is kind of nice, when she wakes up in the morning or from nap she comes into our room and says "hi".  Then she gets into bed with us to cuddle for a little bit.  Its the perfect way to wake up, her holding my hand and laying on me!


Next up, potty training.  Is the time right?  I'm not sure, but we're thinking we will attempt it.  It would be so nice to have her out of diapers before the little one gets here.  I'm thinking I'll attempt for a week or so and if we're not making huge improvements I'll revisit it in 6 months.  We're also going to get her a real big-girl bed soon.  I know approximately what furniture I want for her new room, but I need to pick out bedding and we need to buy it all.  I'm hoping her new room will be ready by May.  Then she'll have 6 weeks or so to adjust before the next big adjustment!  Poor girl, her world is going to be rocked!!!  I think she'll love it though.

We love her and are so thankful that we were given the amazing and extremely tough role of being her parents.  2 years down and lots and lots more to come!!! 

Dog Walker

We were enjoying the beautiful "winter" weather on Sunday.  Jason took the dogs on a walk and while he was gone, Reegan and I went outside to ride her bike (aka I push her on the bike).  Reegan and daddy met up at the end of the street and Reegan wanted to walk Ginger back on her own.  She did such a great job!    

The rest of the weekend was busy and great.  We didn't take a single picture from anything else though.  Saturday morning some friends and their kids came over for us mama's to have some coffee while the babies played.  Saturday night, Jason helped his friend Matt coach upward basketball for our church.  The 3rd grade boys were cute, but not very good.  Then we went to dinner with Matt, Diana, and Collin.  Sunday night we went to another friend's house to watch the superbowl. 

This coming weekend is a big one!  Reegan turns 2 on Sat (can't believe it!) and we're having a small family party on Sunday.  That girl is getting so big, sometimes I see my sweet little girl and other times a cranky 2 year old.  She's amazing though and I wouldn't change anything! 

Scrapbooking

I've been wanting to do somethiing with all the pictures I have of Reegan and I've sat down multiple times to scrapbook.  I just can't seem to get into it, plus I am not very creative and have trouble thinking of cute layouts.  So, I decided to start looking into online scrapbooks.  I know walmart.com and shutterfly.com have these books but they are more basic than what I was wanting.  So, after quite a bit of research I decided on picaboo.com. 

I signed up on one day but didn't get a chance to work on it.  Then I got an email that if I ordered one book I recieved another copy free.  It was perfect, that was excatly what I was wanting.  I wanted 2 copies so that I could always have a copy and a 2nd copy so that when Reegan is older she can have one.  The problem was that it was due the following Monday by midnight and I worked Fri, Sat, and Sun night..  Therefore, this book was put together in 1 night.  It is not exactly what I wanted, but not bad for my first effort.  I think it turned out really cute and I can only imagine how great the next one is going to be.  My goal is to get 2011 done this month and then work on it quarterly that way I never get too far behind and everything is fresh in my mind!