Playground Fun 9-20-11

Had to steal a few pictures from Miss Audrey Shawver--who will get a good pic of the girls...even if it means rolling on the ground...literally! (JK Audrey! Props to you for always being the Mom with the camera...and letting me hijack pics off FB!) So every Tuesday is official 'playdate day' with all the girls. They all play so well together, it's pretty impressive and it gives me some grown-up time to chat...not to mention kids eat free at Atlanta Bread, so I can make an excuse for a good lunch out! Unfortunately, I never pull out the camera at playdate...so here's a few from Stage Park and I'll try to do better :]

BIG NEWS!

We've made it through the first trimester and Leighton is going to be a Big Sister! That's right...Baby #2 is scheduled to arrive March 31, 2012. We've been praying for this baby for a long time now and it just gives me butterflies that our prayers have been answered with this little miracle! We're so excited for our little Tennessee baby!!!(even when I'm too sick to move!)

This pregnancy has been a lot like my last one, so hopefully the sickness will pass before the 16th week again (and I'm living off Unisom again...so if Lindsay reads this - I will always be grateful you recommended it!) Some similarities from my last pregnancy along with the sickness, this first trimester also brought the crazy dreams that would wake me up in tears or making sure all my teeth were still there and the horrible pain in my chest area. This first trimester is different from my other pregnancy because I actually crave something. I didn't crave anything until almost the end with Leighton, but I can't go a day without a Sonic Cherry Limeade. It's insane, I feel like I never knew what a craving was and when I'm too sick to eat, I can still have a cherry limeade. Funny, huh!? Well that's my first trimester...sorry...you will not be missed! I'm really excited for my energy to come back in the next few weeks and the last of the sick symptoms to disappear....and most of all to see if our little one is a boy or girl!

Leighton's Potty Story - September 2011

This week we took on the task of beginning potty training...and we did it with full force! From everyone I've talked to, the most successful stories come from locking yourselves in the house for 3 days and following Lora Jensen's method...so that has been our week! We let her pick out big girl undies and treats and stayed inside for days! And this is the most difficult thing I've ever done. Leighton is one smart cookie, but I'm just not as patient as I wish I was sometimes. I did want to journal her story though because this is a large accomplishment for our little girl and while it's not perfected and will be a work in progress for a while, the goal was to be out of diapers before March...and we're doing way better than I anticipated!!

Day 1 - A whopping 17 accidents...only 3 or 4 real successes. .Hardest.Day.Ever. --- I started to feel really discouraged and thought repeatedly about throwing her diaper back on and calling it quits. Then I started really pulling out the Skittles because if there's something Leighton inherited from me, it's a sweet tooth. And she almost never gets candy, so it caught her attention really well.

Day 2 - Only 7 accidents...and 8 successes. Now a few other people who tried this method complained that their first day was a 7 accident day and the worst day of their life. I rejoiced at 7 accidents! And one thing I learned on Day 2 is if the question is "Leighton, do you need to potty?" the answer will always be "NO!" So instead it became "Leighton, when you need to pee...run to the potty!" And that's what she does!

Day 3 - Only 4 accidents and numerous successes! And get this...all accidents were on the way or inside the bathroom! I was really impressed and excited that I was not asking Leighton...she was running to the potty on her own. She's growing up so fast!

Day 4 - Another 4 accident day and Leighton will not stay on the potty long enough to go #2. But if I get her there in time, she no longer acts scared and loved when she learned that "Big girl potties" get a her a wafer cookie.

Day 5 - Almost an accident free day, so Jack gets off work and takes us to our beloved Olive Garden. We have a lot to celebrate lately and I was not feeling sick (for ONCE!), so I didn't argue!! At Olive Garden, we make 4 trips to the bathroom and 2 of those are a success. Our little smartie learned that saying "potty" means to get to walk around the restaurant! But I'll take that over changing her pants...so it was our first accident free outing! YAY! Leighton charmed the waitresses and even gave some people from our ward a BIG laugh when she clapped for Mom going potty and said that I'm a big girl on the potty! Yep, that's my girl!

Day 6 - We're currently on Day 6. Our biggest struggles are making it to potty before #2 and peeing every time instead of just wanting a treat. Our biggest success is NO accidents today! I think it will still be a while before we're 100% and completely night trained, but we've had as many hits as misses at night and she is catching on really well!

We're so proud of you, Leighton!! Thanks for being so smart and wonderful! And one day when you see that I'm one of the dorky Mom's that blogged your potty story, reread 'Day 1!' Hahaha!

More August Fun!

Our Little Princess L being her adorable self before the birthday party!

While Bob and JoAnne were here, we took Leighton to her friend Madalyn's birthday party at "Hands On Children's Museum." I've blogged about "Hands On" before, but I just wanted to post some cute pictures! Madalyn's the cutie in the pink horsie costume (there's a part of the museum with costumes). It was such a fun birthday party and Leighton never passes up a chance to go to the museum!

Grandma and Grandpa Visited from Idaho! (8/23-8/30)

Leighton's Grandma and Grandpa from Idaho got to visit us for the last week of August and we had so much fun!! They were such good sports with how sick I was and really spoiled us rotten! One of the hardest transitions for us has been not having them right around the corner. Leighton misses staying with them and we miss "Chip Dip" nights and just hanging out at their house (and dates to Chiz's)! Our favorite part of the visit was getting to show them Jonesborough because Jack and I just love the little town. They also got to go to a birthday party with us at "Hands-On Museum" and Leighton was excited to show them all her favorite stuff! We really hope they can come out to visit again soon, we had so much fun, I wish I would've gotten more pictures!

Gymnastics!

Leighton and her gal pals Londyn, Hollidae, and Madalyn all went to a gymnastics class in August at Revolution Dance and it was so much fun! Leighton has been somersaulting all over the house since we went and I am really excited to sign her up for the class in the next little bit and try out the dance class as well. I love that the Tri-Cities offers so much for young kids to do and we're lucky to have such a fun group of friends to do playdates with!

Playing Catch Up from July and August

We finally got internet and we've been so busy that I missed blogging. We had so much fun going to visit Ivy. We have missed her so much and hopefully we can go see her again soon! We got to swim with her in the neighborhood pool and Leighton especially loved playing on Ivy's gymnastics bar. And shoutouts to Donna for a delicious southern meal from Lizard's Thicket! Mmmmm!

Another thing Leighton did was invent jungle gyms at my mom's house. This one was my favorite and she is forever climbing, she is just such a fun little lady! I wish I had as much energy!

And we're finally in the new townhouse! We love the added space and HUGE garage, but the thing we love most is getting to watch the sunset over the mountain as a family off of the patio! The weather is so beautiful in the evening and we can just lounge and eat dinner and watch the sun setting, it's like our own little sanctuary, we LOVE it!

I still need to upload pictures from Little L visiting with her grandparents from Idaho so stay tuned this weekend! More fun stuff to come!