Friday, July 31, 2009

Happy Birthday, Daddy!


Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday, dear LARRY/DADDY
Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

What happens when Daddy's out of town...

we run around and play hard...
(Georgia put my {dirty}socks and shoes on by herself, even "lacing" them by looping the laces under themselves. I guess running is in her genes!)
take long bubble baths...
snuggle up together in the rocking chair...
get up early the next morning for some shopping...

enjoy fruity drinks sans little umbrellas...

and miss him the whole time!

{whew- glad you're home, daddy! who knows how many pictures mom would take if you were gone more than one night!?}

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

PCB 2009


We had a great family getaway to Panama City Beach this past weekend. Since Georgia loves the beach so much and had such fun the little bit we got to see it in Tampa, we wanted to get her back in the sand and surf soon. And it was really great!
The kids did well in the car, thanks to lots of chew-toys and Curious George dvd's. They loved playing in the sand- Lincoln even decided digging was pretty awesome, though he's still not a fan of the ocean. I think it's still a bit cold for him (I agree, buddy!). And I've never seen Larry have so much fun (or have any fun before) at the beach! He and Georgia dug big holes, made sandcastles, played in the waves and had a great time.

We had some fun family time and enjoyed playing together. It was a wonderful escape to a beautiful stretch of sand.
{There are (of course) a ton of pictures, so I'll try not to overdo it!}
Georgia was so excited when we got there, she ran to the window of the lobby and stared out!
She found one of the 'funnest' things was to get her legs buried in sand...
...then bust out!
and do it again!!
Lincoln even crawled thru the sand to come help.
Though he found doing his own digging to be the most fun! I couldn't even get him to look up for a picture!
Needless to say, there was a small sandcastle in the bathtub after undressing these two!
He also enjoyed chewing on sandy beach toys...
and just chewing on sand!
I was surprised and delighted when he actually took a morning nap in the "hut". (thanks, Phelps!) But who doesn't like to nap on the beach?!
Georgia & Daddy played...
and Georgia looked cute...
and they enjoyed nice walks in the surf!
{More PCB pictures...b/c I just can't get enough!}









Potty Training Update


I felt compelled to slip this little update in here, since I left the last post with "ongoing process"...
It still is ongoing, but is going very well! Georgia has mastered #2 in the potty- I finally had to just let her run around naked-bottom, and when she had to go she'd run to the potty, sit for a bit, get up and play, go back to the potty, etc. till she was done, then yell "poopoo in the potty" with great excitement! Now she is going regularly and doing great, on that end.
We've been out of the house quite a bit and she's doing well with that too. Still a few accidents, but more at home than out. Two major wet-spots while out, the kind I've been dreading since we started this...
1. We were at Walgreens, and since they have little buggies, she was sitting in the buggy-part, while Lincoln was in the seat. We were picking out buckets and shovels for the beach when "uhoh!". And she couldn't stop. But- no puddle on the floor b/c the diaper bag was under her on the rack, so she completely soaked everything in the bag! And I learned from that trip- always try to tt when you enter a store, even if she just went, AND add shoes to the bag of extra clothing!
2. We were driving for a bit while at the beach, stuck in traffic on the way to dinner. She told us she had to go, but we couldn't quite pull over, and next thing- "uhoh!" She completely soaked herself and the entire carseat. She was upset about it, which we actually thought was a good thing, b/c that means she's getting used to only going in the potty. From that we learned- only quick drives out to dinner, AND how to completely take apart & wash the carseat in a hotel room!
But overall, she's doing really well and has few accidents. We now visit every bathroom of every place we enter, but she's going in them! She even "held it" on our long drives down and back from the beach, and is usually holding it thru naps and, quite often, thru the night. Last night she even woke up crying b/c she had tt'd in her diaper and wanted her diaper changed (at 3am!).
And our ongoing process continues on!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Potty Training Days

The past week has seemed very long. Longer than a week. Long enough for my baby to grow up and become a girl. Long enough for her to want to be a baby again. And long enough for me to look back and see where my faith, and patience, are lacking.
We've been potty training. I decided it was time because, honestly, I was tired of paying for 2 sets of diapers. Not that I was against them- I usually don't even mind changing them any more. I can change them at home, I can change them on the roam. Change them on the floor, change them in the car. Change them anyway, everywhere, yes I change them, yes I dare!

But, as I was saying, even though I don't mind changing them, paying for them was a pain. I mean, it was seriously cutting into my grocery budget and I finally decided I like to cook & eat more than I like the convenience of diapers on my 2-yr old!
So I read an article about Naked Potty Training and it sounded promising- it said you could potty train your kid in 3 days! Too good to be true, I thought, but it was worth a try! At least it would start us out on the right track, and why not just dive into this thing, bare booty and all?!
Well, I'm a believer! At least it has worked pretty well for us, and while we're definitely not 100% trained, we have a really good start.


I'm going to lay out a few details now, for anyone interested in a first-hand look at how this potty training method worked for us, but if you're not into reading about kiddo potty habits, you can stop reading now and catch us on the next post! :)
And, really, I only go on here b/c a friend of a friend tried this method and blogged about it and I read it before we started. I really appreciated reading about their ups and downs before I tried it out. It's the whole process of moms learning from moms and applying that learning in the best way suitable to their own kids.

So- Day 1 was last Thursday.
Got up, got the kids going and Georgia from then on was in naked training! (naked meaning t-shirt only.) She loved it- what kid doesn't like to be naked? I was a nervous wreck. I told Larry the night before that I'd been dreading this day since she was born. Mostly b/c potty training is not really something you look forward to, but also b/c this means she's fully out of babyhood, moving on to big girl things, and sometimes it's hard for a momma to let go of her baby girl! (I'm starting to understand now, mom! :)
I have to say it went great! I loaded her up with pretzels and cheerios to make her thirsty, and Popsicles and lots of water to drink- which she had no problem with b/c she drinks like a camel anyways. By 10am she was "fully hydrated" and had tt'd 4 times in her potty! I used stickers on a potty chart as her reward, which she thought was great fun. I showed her the first time the routine- wiping, carefully carry the bucket from the little potty to the toilet, dump it in, flush, rinse out the bucket and wash hands, put the bucket back in the little potty, sticker on the chart- and she was ready for independence after that!

She had one accident early in the morning, and after that experience, she seemed to be able to recognize the "need to go" feeling on her own. She'd just stop what she was doing with an uh oh look on her face, and go sit on the potty. We hung out in the kitchen a lot the first 2 days, as I still wasn't convinced on how it was going to go, and it's one of the few rooms in our house that's not carpeted. We played with Play Do ( thanks, Winston!), colored, ate Popsicles and refilled her water- over and over!

And that's pretty much how the rest of our initial training went! She had 4 accidents and 22 successes the first 2 days, according to the potty chart. Which was so great and we were so proud! (And I was still so nervous- see, about my faith?!) But we soon realized ALL was not coming out so easy (pun, intended).
Like a lot of kids, #2 has been harder for Georgia to accomplish on the potty. When she has to go, she still asks for a diaper ("poopoo diaper!") and, without a diaper, will just hold it- for a couple of days. Since that just makes things worse, we'd diaper her for an hour around nap or bed time, and that worked. Until yesterday- she finally poo'd in the potty! Never thought that would be so exciting, but it was! She just finally went back to the little potty and did it on her own, no audience please. And she finally got the cupcake we'd been dangling in front of her for days as a "poo in the potty" incentive! So it was 7 days into training before that happened. I was hoping that'd be the big turn-around, but tonight it was in her panties- at least she was standing next to the potty when it happened!

Like I mentioned, this is just the initial training. Now we had to figure out how to get out of the house! Monday morning was gym class and I put her in a pull up (which we've only used sparingly). She tried to tt twice at gym and once at Wal Mart after, but nothing. But no tt in the pull up, and she went when we got home! Tuesday was Bible study and she wore panties into the nursery. They have an awesome mini-potty there and she had no problem tt-ing. But when the teacher was looking away, she had a poo accident in her panties. But later she did tt at Babies R Us! Wed was not going great- we were home all day and trying to better transition from naked to panties, but still had 2 accidents. I was afraid we were backtracking until the poo in the potty achievement! That made the whole day a success! Thursday was ok- tt'd twice out at lunch with Sandy, but two accidents at home.

So, LONG story summarized- naked was a great way for us to start and gave us a good foundation. But it's an ongoing process- still working on being potty trained away from home and #2 in the potty.
And I'm still working on my patience and definitely growing in my faith. Who knew potty training would use more prayer than toilet paper?!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Tampa for the 4th

We had a great trip to Tampa last week, full of all kinds of fun. And since it's taken me a week to recover, this post will be another that is best represented in (a TON of) pictures...(Sorry- this probably shoulda been made into several posts, but I was NOT about to reload all these pictures!)
Plane ride down went great- it was Georgia's first time to have her own ticket, and Lincoln's first plane ride. She kept entertained with a monkey movie, and little boy fell fast asleep.

Tampa was literally flooded when we arrived, having the most rain in one day ever. So we just got settled in with Grammie & Grandad, picked up some groceries and enjoyed dinner w/ Uncle Wes. Thursday morning was still a bit wet so we went to the Aquarium...
Georgia loved seeing all the fishies and other creatures, and Lincoln enjoyed the stroller ride & playing with Grammie.

Thursday night Larry & I got a "night off" and headed to a hotel at Clearwater beach. We enjoyed walking on the sand, ice cream, a good seafood dinner, a movie and just time alone. I love my children, but it was really great to have some time off! Also, I just miss the beach, palm trees and wide open water- it was good to see you all again!


Meanwhile, the kiddos enjoyed playing with Grammie & Grandad, going to the zoo and making cookies!
Friday night, many family and friends came by the house to say hi and share hugs. Lincoln loved getting snuggles, as usual, and showing off his latest bruises. Georgia loved getting re-acquainted with Shawn & Maggie's kids, Logan (3.5) and Emma (1.5).

Saturday morning Larry & I took the kids for a quick visit to the local beach. Georgia is a pure beach babe, and rushed headfirst in to the water and sand. We finally had to pry her away with promises of cookies!

It was Lincoln's first taste of the beach, and I'll say he takes after his dad- not a fan! He was fine chewing on (clean) beach toys up on the blanket, safe from the sand, but did not share his sister's enthusiasm for the water!

To get the best view of the 4th Fireworks, we headed across the bay in dad's boat that afternoon. We spent the rest of the day hanging out on the boat deck, swimming and eating, before the "boom boom" (as Georgia called the fireworks) that evening.





Sunday was church, brunch, naps, and dinner with the Waltrips. Monday morning- flew home! Kiddos were great again. Georgia watched Monkey again, and Lincoln fell asleep snuggled against me. (I love that he will still do that, despite being such a busy boy during his waking hours!) When we got to Bham, our bags were some of the first out and we were thinking "this traveling has been too easy!"
Sure enuf- when we got to the car- our battery was dead! Don't know why, but we did find out that a Jeep Grand Cherokee is a pain to get into with no power, as only the driver door will open. Thankfully the airport security came to our rescue with a magical box that made our car come back to life. Then, on the drive home, in more rain, we watched a semi-truck hydroplane, crash into the I-65 divider and jack-knife. Right in front of us. It was crazy and a bit scary. So we were thinking maybe God delayed us at the airport to be able to call 911 for that trucker... He does work in mysterious ways and we were thankful the crash was not any worse.
So we were very glad to get home and get back to our normal ways. Except we've also been busy this week taking care of some old "business" in a new way...
If you want details, check back later!