My Birthday Present

Since the day we moved in to our house I have been searching for something to go in this empty spot in our kitchen. With money from my birthday I finally bought this bench and shelf set on Craigslist!! It was an awesome deal and I am so happy with it. I once again had to enlist my family to pick it up for me. For some reason everything I find on Craigslist is out near them! This piece was right down the street from Becca's school so she picked it up for me! I am so grateful! I love it and it looks perfect! Let the organizing begin...

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Daddy: Reese, how was gymnastics?

Reese: Good.

Daddy: How was McDonald's?

Reese: Great!

What to do...

Every school day this little girl...

comes home with a new pictures she has drawn.


I obviously can't keep them all. If I did we would have to buy a storage unit to keep everything in! So I think I will take a picture of the pictures/drawings. Keep them around for a week or two and then get rid of them. I may keep the first one she did and then a few through out the year but definitely not all! I don't like having clutter around. And like I said, if I keep them all from every year and from every kid we would have to buy a storage unit to house them all in.

I know Reese has been behaving SO well at school. How do I know that? Because she is cranky and disobedient when she gets home. She doesn't want to listen to what I say...she doesn't want to eat her lunch...she is just a stinker. I try to let her have her space when she gets home and get some of her crazy self out but I feel like I need to put her down for a nap as soon as we are home. Hopefully this will pass but I know a lot of kids go through this. And I would MUCH rather her be good at school than for her hour at home before her nap.

Potty training update:

Reese is doing great when we are at home or any time I am around. However, she wets her pull-up EVERY day at school. I am afraid to send her in her big girl panties for fear of her wetting those and her clothes. I don't know if she is just afraid to ask her teachers or if they are not asking the kids. I think I may send her teacher an email and ask for advise...

Updates

Today was Day 2 of preschool. Reese missed the actual day 2 because we were in Florida. She did so great today! I am so proud of her! She was telling me goodbye before we were even close to the drop-off. She was so excited about going to school and I am so glad. I really feel like we made the right decision in starting her in preschool!!

After I dropped her off at school I headed to my doctors appointment. I thought I would be there super early so I brought my Pottery Barn catalog along with me to kill some time. I left her school around 8:53 and did not get to my doctors until 10:11. I was about to go crazy sitting in traffic. There was an accident on both highways I needed to travel. I ended up bypassing one of them and going a back way. Needless to say I ran in to the doctors office just in time for my 10:15 appointment. Today was just a heartbeat check for Baby Cupcake and it sounded great. The doctor asked me how big Reese was at birth and I told him 8 lbs, 9 oz. He didn't believe me. He couldn't believe that I could carry a baby so big. I told him that just last night I read that most of the time baby number 2 is bigger and I was freaking out about that! He said that was usually true in normal circumstances but that delivery would be easier and faster the second time around. Sweet!

Baby Cupcake is almost 30 weeks and he still doesn't have a name. I think with Reese we had picked her name out by around 32 weeks but we didn't finalize it until about a week before. Hopefully we can come up with something soon for this little guy!

It is amazing the things Reese is picking up on and remembering. The other day she just started singing her ABC's and got it almost all correct. She says, "K K" instead of "J K", "L M N O P" gets combined in to fewer letters, and instead of saying "Double-U" (w) she says "Double X". I caught her on video yesterday singing. We were driving down the road so it is a little noisy but you can still hear her singing.

Prayer

I know when we were little (and still to this day) my parents prayed for us. For school, for friends, for our future spouses, etc. I have been looking for ways to pray for Reese, Baby Cupcake, and any future kids we have. Today I saw a post on a blog that led me to Beth Moore's blog where she has a prayer for our kids as they go back to school and it was perfect. Even though Reese is only in preschool two days a week, her teacher will be a huge part of her life and learning. I think it is only fair to pray for Reese as well as her teachers! Here is the prayer:

Lord, thank You for the men and women who dedicate their lives to educating children. I ask You to bless them with strength, joy, favor with students and parents, and a strong sense of purpose. Make them fruitful in every way. Give them wisdom, creativity, patience, insight, and endurance. Give them Your supernatural love for each student, so much so that those kids go home each day with a keen sense of being loved by You. Use these teachers to make an eternal difference in the lives of their students. I pray that their families will have an easy and peaceful transition into the school year.

I also pray for all of our students, particularly those who are entering new schools this year. Father, please give them courage, peace, and joy. Let them make friends easily and connect well with their teachers. Let them find their security in You, Lord. Please sharpen their minds and help them learn. Build godly character in them. Use our Christ-following sons and daughters to draw others to You. Help them let go of what others think and to love the unlovely. Help them obey You even when it's really hard. Father, for our sons and daughters who have not yet made decisions to follow You, let this be the year. Let them see their need of You and surrender their precious lives to You.

Thank You in advance for the work You're going to do in our teachers and students' lives this year, Lord. I pray all of these things in the strong and mighty name of Jesus. Amen!

Four Words...

...that make me run...drop what ever I am doing...

"I need to potty!"

And I think she knows this because sometimes she will just say this for attention. I will get her undressed, she will sit on the potty and then say, "No potty." She is sneaky!

No accidents today! We have been in big girl panties all day and run two errands!! Woohoo!!

HOME!

We are home. After four long days in Jacksonville we made it home in six hours...even with a potty training two year old! Lance's grandmother passed away this week so we headed down to Jacksonville Wednesday for the funeral. It really seemed like the longest days ever. At one point Friday night I looked at the clock and it was only 4 pm and it felt like 10 pm. It was crazy! Thursday Reese and I spent the morning with Claire getting things ready for Friday while Lance spent the morning cleaning up around his grandma's house. Then that evening was the viewing and a service at the funeral home. Reese was very good but we had to leave during the service because she kept wanting to talk. Friday morning was the funeral and burial. Reese and I also had to leave during the funeral due to talking but made it a little longer this time! Luckily we were able to hear everything out in the lobby. It was a very nice service. After the funeral friends and family went back to the house for lunch and visiting. That evening Lance, his uncle, and Claire's husband enjoyed some guy banter while Claire, Reese, and I enjoyed some down time. Saturday we had some cleaning out to do and went back to his Grandma's house and looked through some old pictures. I could have looked through old pictures all day! It is so neat to go back and look at the way people dressed, looked, and enjoyed life. We found a bunch of pictures of Lance's dad when he was little and Lance is the spitting image of him. I didn't see any pictures of Lance's grandmother as a little girl but could see that Lance's dad has a lot of her looks! Since Reese is ALWAYS told that she looks exactly like her dad, it was neat to see where those looks came from!! Side note: Reese's middle name is Elizabeth...Lance's grandmothers middle name is Elizabeth. When we chose this name we did not know that was her middle name but it seems after all this time it was a fitting name. From what I knew of his grandmother, she was spunky and always laughing! Reese definitely seems to have gotten that spunkiness! We are glad to be back home now...to sleep in our own beds and eat our own food (even though we had some fabulous food while we were there).

Wordless Wednesday

Preschool Update

She made it! And was still smiling when I picked her up! She seemed to have a lot of fun. When her teacher put her in the car she said she did a great job today. She said she didn't even think about crying! Awesome! I asked Reese what she did today and she said she played on the playground, ate cupcakes and colored with markers. I think it was one of the kids birthdays because she also said they sang "Happy Birthday to Caleb". Hopefully the next drop off will go just as smoothly now that she knows what is coming!

First Day of Preschool

Today is the first day of preschool for our lil bit! She was very excited about it when we talked about going. She remembered her teachers names and we talked about what she needed to tell them if she needs to go potty. I think she thought I was going in with her.

We left for preschool and were third in line to get out of the car. I think we will leave a little later from now on. She is ready to get out!

But then when the assistant came to get her out of the car she wasn't so sure. They did it so quick I don't think she had time to figure out what was happening. Her hand immediately went to her mouth as she was walking in...that is her nervous habit. No tears from her that I saw...only my own tears as I drove away leaving her with strangers! I can't wait to see her this afternoon and hear all about her day. I know she is having a blast!

I guess I should get to my "housewife" duties now that I have three hours to myself!

"But Why?"

Reese's new favorite thing to say: "Why?" or "But Why?" or "Why Mommy?". Sometimes I run out of reasons for why!! How did she learn this word? It amazes me at the things she picks up on!! "WHY?"

I forgot...

...to mention yesterday in my post that Becca also graduated yesterday from Mercer with her Masters degree in Education! Congratulations Aunt Becky!! We are so very proud of you too!!!

Potty Update:
Only one accident today and lots of Hershey Kisses came Reese's way. I think she had an accident because we were letting her watch TV while getting ready for church and she was just distracted. She has been very good about telling us she needs to go! We filled up her first potty chart with stickers so I had to make a whole new one today!

We went to Kohl's tonight to buy Reese some new tennis shoes for school. She has been wearing her Crocs all summer and somehow she has outgrown ALL of her shoes. At the beginning of the summer she was in 5.5 (barely). The tennis shoes we bought her tonight are size 7!! Hopefully they will last at least through the winter!

1 Doctor, 1 Accident, and Lots of Hershey Kisses

Today was my mom's official graduation day. She received her doctorate in education. It has been a long three years for her and it is finally over. We can now call her Dr. Mom/Dr. Gigi. Congratulations Dr. Mom!!!

It was a long day for all of us and I was not expecting that our potty training would continue on a day where we were away from the house ALL day. However, Reese only had one accident all day!!! I can't even believe it! This morning before we left the house she went potty...and got a hershey kiss (that is her reward). I put pull ups on her because I am refusing to go back to diapers now that we have come this far. When we got to Mercer I took her straight to the bathroom. She had a dry pull up but said she didn't need to potty. During the ceremony she said she needed to go so I got up and took her. This time she pooped in the potty...something she has NEVER done before! I was so proud that I gave her two kisses for that! She still didn't tee-tee though. So after the ceremony I immediately took her back to the bathroom and she tee-teed in the potty! Another kiss! And still this whole time she had a dry pull up. We went to Maggiano's afterwards to celebrate. We tried once to go to the potty but it had automatic flushing toilets and it kept scaring her so she wouldn't go. After we finished eating I tried again and she went...this time I covered the automatic sensor with toilet paper so it wouldn't keep flushing. Another kiss!! On the way home she went in her pull up...but this was her only accident of the day! After we were home she was upstairs with Daddy and said she needed to go potty. Daddy took her and she pooped on the potty again! Two more kisses. Later she actually told me (which she never does) that she needed to go potty and she tee-teed on the potty!! Yeah! Another kiss. I really can't believe how well she did today. I was just telling friends the other day that I didn't think it was going to ever happen...but I can see the light now! We will see how tomorrow and Monday go and then we may be able to send her to school diaper-less. Wow...that would be a great way to start the new school year!

Big Girl Gymnastics

Today Reese had her first gymnastics class without me. At first she kept running back over to me so I had to go upstairs to the viewing area so that she wouldn't be able to see me. Once they moved in to the toddler area I went back downstairs to be able to see her. She didn't realize I could see her for a little while and then she finally caught me. I really had to step back and not tell her to listen to her teacher! I wanted her teacher to have full control. She would occasionally wander off and Ms. Peggy was right there to get her back in line. I was so worried she was going to come over after class and tell me that maybe we should wait a little while on this class. But she didn't! She said Reese did a great job and that she was welcome to stay in that class...whew!! Forty-five minutes of taking directions from somebody other than Mommy is a big deal!!

Following directions...

Getting stamps for doing such a great job!


Reese was so proud of her stamps today...I think more so than usual. And I was so proud of how she did!! She is growing up...too fast!!!

Meet and Greet

Today we had "Meet and Greet" at Reese's preschool. She was so excited about going and meeting her teachers. She walked right in to the room like she owned it and started playing with the kitchen toys. Normally if we walk in to a room full of people that she doesn't know (and sometimes people she knows) she can be a little tentative but she just owned it today! It was so encouraging to see. I think she is going to do great...I think I will be the hot mess next week!

After the "Meet and Greet" we had plans to go to our neighborhood pool with friends but some idiot roofers changed those plans quickly. So we had all of our friends back to our house and the kids played in the backyard. They had so much fun and I am so glad we were able to spend time together. I didn't take ANY pictures today!! I wish I had because they were all so cute and sweet.

Tomorrow Reese is going to be in the big girl class at gymnastics. I really hope she does well. Her friend, Kay-Kay, is already in that class so hopefully that will help Reese out! I am excited for her but a little sad that I don't get to be a part of her class anymore!

Potty update: We will get there...eventually. We spend quite a bit of time sitting on the big potty because she just won't sit on her little one. If she is on the big one I can keep her there until she goes...and I do. I think tonight we sat her on the potty for a good 15 minutes. Lol!! I think it scares her for some reason to use the potty. But she loves those Hershey Kisses!! Maybe we will have some more success tomorrow!

Holy Cow!

I just looked at my baby ticker in the right side bar and it says I have less than 100 days til Baby Cupcake arrives!! Yikes! We still don't have a name for this little guy or anything done for that matter!! Lance has backed out of liking the name I like for this little guy but we can't come to an agreement on ANY other name. Hopefully his birth certificate doesn't say Baby Cupcake on it because at this rate it could! We have so much still to do...and by so much I mean everything! Hopefully once Reese starts school next week (another yikes) I can start getting some things done with out hearing, "whatcha doin Mommy?", over and over and over! We are getting a quote on having Reese's big girl room painted so that should get done soon. Then we can start moving everything in to her big girl room. We still need to buy so many other things too. Oh my! I am going to end this post now so I don't freak out!

HE doesn't make mistakes

You know why I love blog surfing? Because I find awesome words that other people have to say and I find similar situations that let me know that I am not the only one in that boat. Tonight I saw this quote on this site: "Perhaps having a good life, one that we are satisfied or joyful in, is not measured by how much subjective good there actually is in our lives, but simply in if we look for satisfaction and joy." I had a conversation with a friend today about this exact same thing. Wouldn't it be lovely if every person in our lives was positive and always looked at the positive side of life rather than dwelling on the negative? I know I don't always do a great job at this but I try so hard to! And if everyone else around me was doing it, wouldn't it make it that much easier?

One of my favorite lessons from my kids at church is something I have to remind myself of daily. During a story time, the story leader looked out to the kids and said, "God doesn't make mistakes." I heard him loud and clear. Every kid in that room left for a minute while I digested what I had just been reminded and I thought, "You're right! He doesn't make mistakes." I need to take what I have been given, learn from it, grow from it, and trust Him!! I don't always understand why I am in certain situations but I want to always "trust God no matter what" (another lesson from my kids at church).

Sweetness

I had forgotten to download pictures off our big camera until tonight and I found this goldmine of pictures. They are so sweet.

One of Reese's favorite buddies. She looks like she is thinking about something...


And then she just goes for it. He had been playing in her car earlier and she would run up to him and give him a kiss on the cheek. It was cracking me up!!

Now she is calling her girlfriends to tell them about it. Look at that expression.

Life is good...

The Napping House

All is quiet in this napping house right now. Any minute now it will become a loud, excited, squealing house when Reese realizes her favorite girls have spent the night and that she will get to spend the whole day with them. She is not going to know what to do with herself. I woke up this morning, made my rounds to check on all three girls still sound asleep, and am now enjoying some quiet time in front of the computer...giving you an update of my weekend so far.

Yesterday we FINALLY bought me a new car...Chevy Equinox. We test drove this a week or so ago at a dealership but they couldn't make the price work for us so we walked away...not with out many calls from them "trying" to make it work. So we looked on Autotrader and found this beauty in the perfect price range. Lance saw it on Wednesday (the owner drove it to his office), we played "let's make a deal" Thursday and Friday with the owner and the bank, Lance met the owner at the Chevy dealership to have a multi-point inspection done on it yesterday morning (it passed with flying colors), Lance came home, picked us up to go to the bank to buy it, we bought it, and then I SAW IT!! I trusted him 100% during this week to make the right decision for us and he did great! After we got home, Lance (and Reese) gave it a good bath inside and out.


After the bath, we took my parents second car back out to them. We grabbed a quick bite to eat with them and headed back home to wait for Reese's favorite girls.

We have a fun day ahead of us once this is a napping house where now no one is sleeping.

Fun Day

Today Reese and I have had a fun day! This morning she had gymnastics and we decided that next week we will move her up in to the big girl class. We will see how it goes. In that class I will not be participating with her. She will have to follow the directions of the teacher.

After gymnastics we headed straight to the pool to play with some friends. We had a great time visiting! After the pool we headed home for a nap. Reese must have played hard at the pool because she slept for 3.5 hours!!

Once she woke up we played for a little while until Daddy came home. Here she is playing with my oven mitts in her kitchen.




After dinner I knew we needed to do something to wear her out for bedtime so we went to Monkey Joes for a little while. She wasn't really feeling it tonight and wasn't really interested in playing. So we headed to the mall for a little while and let her walk around. She is in bed an hour and a half late tonight and hopefully she will get some good sleep!!

Maybe...Maybe Not

I am not sure Reese is interested in potty training. She made a little tee-tee in the potty yesterday but really has no interest in sitting on the potty. I don't want to force her...we will wait and see.

Baby Cupcake Update

I am almost to the third trimester! I can't even believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. Here is a run down of how todays visit went. I had my glucose test. Since you have to wait around for so long I decided it would be best to leave Reese with a friend. She stayed with her buddy Mitchell and had a great time! She did not want to leave. This morning my stomach was kind of queasy so I was not at all excited about having to drink the juice. The whole time I was drinking it I was thinking "please don't throw up, please don't throw up!" I would have been so mad to have to start over. But, I made it! I didn't gain as much weight as I thought I was going to have. My blood pressure was a little lower than normal but still in the good range. The doctor found Baby Cupcake's heartbeat right away! Whew! He knew exactly where the little guy was and put the doppler right on his heart. No fishing around. I had my blood drawn and they didn't kill my arm like last time! Yeah! Made my next appointment for three weeks from now and then I start my visits every two weeks. Yikes!

Things Reese Loves

Daddy made Reese a play-doh bracelet that she was so proud of!


Playing with an umbrella. She always says, "Open is?"

Yes, our child does have clothes. Probably more clothes than the two of us combined. But she loves to be "Nekid Reese".


Today we are testing out our big girl panties (Lance hates that word). One of the signs of being ready to potty train are holding it for up to three hours. Well, Reese can do this when she is "Nekid Reese". But she refuses to use the potty. She will ask for her diaper when she needs to go!

Our Sweet Girl

I think I have used that title several times but Reese really has been a sweet girl lately. There is no doubt that she has come in to her two's with a bang but she has also become very sweet and compassionate. Yesterday morning I could not find something to wear and I was getting frustrated. Lance asked what was wrong and I told him. Reese came in to the closet and said, "What's matter, Mommy?" I told her I couldn't find anything to wear. She hugged my leg and said, "It's OK, Mommy."

She has also grown up over night when it comes to being left. She rarely cries when I walk out the door (which she would even do with Lance some times). Yesterday was promotion Sunday at church so the kids were all moving up in to their new classes...they start this at 2. So Reese moved in to a new room. I was so worried about this because she has built a really great bond with her leader from her one year old class. Seeing her face each Sunday really helped Reese to become comfortable there. On the way to church I was telling her that now that she is two she is going to move in to a two year old class. I was telling her about all the fun stuff she was going to get to do and she seemed to get excited. I walked her to her new room where she didn't know any of the leaders. She gave me a kiss and went right in. She didn't even bat an eye. I was SO proud of her. I really think that preschool is going to be easier than I thought it was. I am still hesitant about the fact that they take them from the car on the first day but I think she will do great! I can't believe how much she has grown physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is so amazing!!



Now if only I can get her comfortable enough to go on the potty!!

To Claire...