The Final Frontier of Potty Training!

Yes, the time has come once again in this household for potty training!   Although it began without my desire to do so just yet.  I know I know - it will be way easier in the end when she is potty trained, but I just was enjoying a few more months of not dealing with the hassle.  But in my attempt to play the Diaper Roulette game of running out of diapers and the wait time for the next delivery - I lost.   Last diaper used (except for the hold backs that I had for bedtime)   and so I broke out the Pull-Ups... and well she told me she needed to use the potty and she went!     Then a little while later she said she needed to go again... and she did!   She clearly was ready!

And so it began a week before she turned 33 months old, Mae began potty training.   I had previously stocked up on some padded underwear, broke out the blankets to be sat out,  babylegs to keep her warm, and began the every 10 minute nag reminders to try going potty.    Since she had already had the early success of going in the potty, she kinda had an idea of the feeling.    The first day we had wet training pants as she would not hold it long enough to go all in the potty, so we slowly went from a 50/50 to 30/70 into the potty by the end of Day One.    Pretty darn good.    

With Ace I was adamant to not use Pull Ups once we began the potty training except for at naptime and bedtime.   We also 1.  avoided going anywhere for several days, 2. He was a boy and if we were outdoors he just went outside, 3.  He was older (we went full force right after he turned 3) and followed instructions a bit better than sister.       So for Mae my sanity we have engaged Pull Ups into the equation of potty training this time a bit more frequently.   

Like most kids Mae does not want to go poop in the potty.  This means that in the morning or around naptime she'll usually go in her Pull Up.   This is trending similarly to Ace had when he began to potty train.    Mae has had success a few time to use the potty for poop (oh yes, on the potty training post of course we talk about that.)  In fact on the first night of full blown potty training she said her tummy hurt and she sat down and went right away!  Hooray! 

Our incentive program is the same that we did for Ace when he was potty training.  We have a doorknob hanger and stickers that she gets to put on whenever she goes - a little one for peeing and a big one for going poop.   The first few days she had a sticker every time she went (Brother enjoyed counting all her stickers.  Brother also is an awesome encourager for Mae and her progress.  The first time she went he was right in there with us telling sister she had done a great job!)    As time has gone on in the last week and a half she isn't seeking a sticker after every time she goes pee.   She does however love to show us she went.    She also has Bear go with her on his potty next to her.  

Day two of potty training happened to be a Sunday and Mae went to church in a Pull Up.   We told her teacher it was Day Two of PT and to help us out but no worries if it didn't work.    Mae informed her teacher when asked if she needed to go that she only uses the potty at home.  Hmm... there was an accident of course, but that's ok.    After church I did get her to sit on the potty but with no success and quite a bit of protest.     This past week though she did much better, still armed in a Pull Up.  She told her teacher she needed to go, but teacher said she tried but didn't go. (I think she just didn't make it, as it was wet when I checked.)  After church was over I asked again if she needed to go and she went with me and I held her on the big potty and she went!   Progress!  HOORAY!

Mommy admits the Pull Ups are part lazy, part furniture protection, part make-it work sanity protection.  Mae tends to be a tad more stubborn and outright refuses to go sometimes - resulting in the accidents.  Much easier to deal with in the Pull Up.   Much easier to go to the store with two kids if I still am not fearing an accident.    I know I know I have to break free from them soon(ish) and I will... but with my stubborn girl, we're building up to it.    Yesterday, I noticed she was becoming lazy again and had more accidents than previous days in the Pull Ups, so again this morning we're back to the padded underwear while we're home. 

Yesterday, I acquired the Nighttime Pull Ups and so as of yesterday we are 100% officially done with diapers! You heard it here first after FIVE YEARS, ONE MONTH, and TWENTY DAYS we are a diaper free household!!!!  Ahem I digress... Nighttime Pull Ups: Now if she needs to go potty before she falls asleep she doesn't need our help to put the diaper back on.   She's been averaging 2xs after we put on the diaper at night telling us she needs to go potty - which is GREAT that she's acknowledging the feeling, holding it, and going in the potty!  Hooray!  

The deal remains the same for Mae as it was for Ace - when she remains dry all day with no accidents - she gets to go to the store and pick out her very first pairs of big girl underwear.    We're not there yet, but yesterday while at the store we went and looked at them for some added incentive.  They have Doc McStuffin, people! She's serious now!  ;) Overall she's doing great.  She tells me when she needs to go if she isn't somewhere she can do it herself.   She remembers all on her own to go and makes it 80% of the time by holding it, and she has stayed dry over 50% of the time during her naps.   

"I went potty all by myself!!"

Next up is getting her more acclimated with the big potty, she's so tiny though I am more hesitant with than I was with Ace.    So baby steps for Mae and Mommy.

So while we're diaper free, we are not yet disposable product free just yet... but we should be during the daytime before Christmas and that is all that my goal is at the moment.    Super proud of our little girl and she is super proud of herself!!!  Great job, Mae Mae!  You're growing up so fast!

Five Years Old

Our boy has had a great fifth year of life.   So much growing up, getting bigger, expanding his independence - it's been so wonderful (and challenging) to see him grow into his own.  

Newities of this past year:  Reading, writing, and arithmetic! Pre-K,   ;)  

Yes, this year has been another great year of learning for Ace.  He really has come into his own in understanding and writing.   This past Christmas he took the time to copy out words from the Toys R Us catalog to create his first Christmas Wish List and practice his writing skills then.   He's getting very good at writing his full name (quite the feat!) he writes whole stories on his own by sounding out how he things the word should be written - so of course there are words that aren't spelled correctly, but he's doing it 100% on his own and loves to do it.   He recently read an early reader (level 1) book that had 76 pages and he read it start to finish over 45 minutes.    Ace can count to 100 with ease and in fact has written them out as well.     He's so intuitive and his vocabulary quite expansive.

Ace loves his video games - often on MANY mornings it's the first thing he asks to do.   He practices and gets so excited when he accomplishes a new level or beats a boss that was previously an impossible feat.   It's so fun to see his joy and while mommy doesn't share in this enjoyment of video games -he and his dad bond over it quite nicely and love to play together.      He and his dad still love to go on walks and collect a walk rock each time they go. 

Ace found many friends in Pre-K this year and along with his sister made some great friendships and had many playdates to parks and outings with all of them.  It was fun to watch him make friends and desire to spend time with them and seek out opportunities to do so.    He's had the early heartache of saying goodbye to friends that have had to move away and while he's still young already has felt the impact of missing someone.    He lit up when his good friend Lu (who moved away at the end of June) drew him a picture and mailed it to him for his birthday. 

Ace and Mae continue to navigate through life as siblings and most of the time he's a wonderful big brother.  He grows impatient at times with her pestering and he has had a real wild-hair for antagonizing her.    He pushes her buttons - especially in the car - to be 'right' or to get her to see the 'truth' or whatever it may be.  We constantly are trying to tell him that you can't change everyone's mind and that you just have to let things go sometimes when they don't want to see truth, reason, or your opinion.    He doesn't often see it that way. 

Four was challenging in many ways.  He often was mouthy, talking back, and wanting to do his own thing in his own time and not always listen - but he still has that deep seeded desire to please others and wanting to do what is right, so while it was a more challenging year it was still quite rewarding.  

Ace had swim lessons the whole month of July and was a fish!  He loved them!  He learned to actually swim a short distance, regained his knowledge about back floating and overall just had a lot of fun and had no fear of water, putting his face in it or any hesitation to hop right in.   Although he was a good rule follower and always obeyed instructions! 

Sleep for Ace was again great - he occasionally would have a nightmare about "a noise" that would awaken him and scare him.  Sometimes he was simply wanting extra attention and seeking to come into our room on the rare occasion, but overall he was a great kid that slept through the night.   He loves bedtime and very often takes the time to spend a lengthy time talking to his dad and getting quite philosophical with him at those times.  It is definitely a special time for those two. 

Ace loves Jesus and very much wants to know more about him, to understand him and is quick to inform his sister that "Everything belongs to Jesus!" (she doesn't quite agree yet and thus the battle of YESSSS and NOOOO takes place often on this sticking point.)    He still more often than not wants us to pray and he listen but he loves to read the Bible, do devotions and hear more about God.  He loved going to VBS and learning about Jesus.   I took his friend Em with me in the car to and from and after one of the days I asked them what was your favorite part  - Em responded "I liked hearing about Satan"  and Ace quickly said "Em, I think you missed the point."    haha  he's witty, blunt, and often a step ahead in some areas.

Eating for Ace is a standard 4 year old feat - sometimes he eats more than mommy and other days it's a painful drawn out repetitive 'eat your food' type of event.    He doesn't like spicy food and generally will eat anything else. 

Favorites of Ace in year four - still loved the song Stronger by Kelly Clarkson and was always excited for it to come on.   He loves to read stories, watch shows on Netflix, play on the xbox, run around at the park and go to Em's house at every available opportunity he can.   He is always seeking something fun to do and asks to do school.   He's dabbled in some addition and subtraction and has a pretty good grasp on the general idea of adding and subtracting - which for 4 is impressive.  I've introduced him to money and what they are and he loves to learn new things about the planets, geography and about our presidents.   He does have this desire to not fail and as a result sometimes it means he won't try in fear of failure, but as we're aware of it we find ways to work through it. 

Ace is a kind hearted and super thoughtful kid who often says thank you without prompting multiple times after we've done something for him.  He seeks out flowers to pick for me any chance he can and he loves to do things for others than he thinks would make them happy.    He loves to spend time with all his grandparents and see or talk to them whenever he can.    He adores his Uncle Kai and Auntie and generally wants to be with family.      We love him and can't wait to see what five will bring as we embark on this journey into kindergarten and beyond!    We love you, Bear!

Interview at Age 5:

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE T. V. SHOW? Wild Kratts

2. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?  (Skipped this question as we were still in bed and had yet to have breakfast and I wanted him to focus and finish... mentioning breakfast would have not worked in my favor.)

3. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? Yep got it right!  ;)

4. FAVORITE FOOD? Cinnomon Spice [Cereal]  (Mae's favorite food is 'cake' brother asked what her favorite healthy food was and she answered peanut butter and jelly... no REALLY healthy?)

5. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? The food that I dislike is Macaroni and Cheese without hotdogs.. kind of.

6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?  Every color.

7. FAVORITE LUNCH?  That kind of stuff that has turkey with the cheese and the English muffin.

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO? My favorite thing to do is usually... to... um... play outside usually.

9. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? I would go to California!

10. FAVORITE SPORT? Soccer.

11. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? August 24th!!!!!

12. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? A night person... what do you mean a night person or a morning person?? 

13. PETS: Yah, Pixel.

14. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?   I'm five years old now.

15. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP ? I think a fireman! (Why?) Actually someone who works at ____ (we don't disclose that information on the blog, but he got it right)  like dad.
16. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Maybe a lollipop or something... or maybe actually every candy is my favorite candy. 

17. WHERE IS THE FURTHEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN FROM HOME? Mississippi!  That's pretty far, mom... Right? (Yes.)

18. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? The King and His Six Friends  (Second year running with this answer. He and his dad do read this one together.)

19. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?  Once that I got one of the boats in one shot (Um what do you mean?)  Like in Battleship - I sunk the boat in one turn.  (Oh exciting!)

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?  Maybe Cars.  I like the music from ... I like some of the songs come on the radio usually.

21. WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG? EGG!  (Why do you think that?)  Because chickens start out... baby chickens start out as eggs first.  What do you mean the chicken or the egg first?

Sibling Update

I haven't really given a concentrated update specifically on the siblings.  Yes, that can be said with an ominous voice.   You see the last time I really focused on how they were doing was shortly after Mae became mobile.    Ace had been doing very well with that.   So how is he now???  How is Mae?

Overall the two of them are doing very well to not only to coexist together but also to play nice.  Ace is an extremely loving brother and for the most part patient.    He loves to take pictures with her and asks to pose for them.

Ace loves to tell us (the parents) "Look at your daughter!" when Mae is doing something silly. It's amusing. He loves to hold her hand, pick her up, show her how to do things and tell her things.   

Mae loves these things as well - to a point.   Mae is a typical little sister more and more each day.  She wants to do everything Ace is doing, she doesn't understand "that's his" just yet, and seems willing to explore every location her brother is.  She loves him a lot and wants to be just like him in many ways.

They have their moments of tug of war over a toy, a seat, or a piece of something - they scream refuse to relent without intervention - so you know - normal.   :)  These moment are still more the exception than the rule and that makes us pleased.  

We want them to continue to love and respect one another as their personalities and roles in the family alter and change.   They are adorable individually and together and I think if they work together could cause all sorts of trouble, in the fun kid-sort of way!

They certainly are off and about on their adventures.  Sometimes together, sometimes on their own.  But really, by choice or objection they can almost always be found togheter.  :)



Sweet Siblings

I thought it was time for another Sibling post - to check in and see how they are adapting and owning their roles as brother and sister.   After Mae first arrived Ace was in love.   He loved his sister from the moment that he knew she existed inside of my belly.   Then the question came, would he love her on the outside and the initial answer was a proud yes.   So what about now - nearly 8 months later?  Now that they are both mobile, chatty, and independent...

Ace asks to say good night to his sister every night, even asks if she can sleep in his bed.

He still loves to hug and kiss her.

They both let mom take their pictures. :)



He wants to talk to her all the time... he waits for her to be awake so he can say 'hi sister!'



They've enjoyed their tub time together and play nicely together.

He even is willing to let her eat his apple and climb all over him.





They have a good time with each other and love to play together.

 So even in light of Mae's new mobility, Ace is very patient and loving with his sister.   We're skeptical that this will last forever though once he isn't able to climb to higher ground to escape her... but for now he is 100% pro-sister.  :)  And loves her very much - and since the day she was born Mae's turned her head every time she's heard her brother. It's very sweet.

Three Years Old

"It's my birthday!"  Ace screamed with excitement this morning.  Yes it is dear one!  You are three today.  It is a special day!  All of your third year of life was special.   There's so much to review.

Newness in the last six months since our last update:  a move to Mississippi, a couple of inches, knowing the alphabet, singing on his own, playing music on his instruments, school with mom, and a love for pirates!

Ace continues to love the outdoors.  He loves to play in water, run around, go to the park, take walks with his dad and collect a rock walk each time, and get the mail.   He also loves to hear the music play (the national anthem play during the retreat of the flag every weekday at 5pm) and run outside and put his hand over his heart and patiently stand there thru the end of the song. 

Smarts! First let me say that he just really is extremely intelligent.  I know all parents say so, but we are truly amazed out how well he retains information, observes and processes things on his own, and retains details from ages ago and recalls them without prompting.  He can identify almost anything we point to and we are so proud of him. 

Lots of absorption of information, language, and education has taken place these last six months.  He rarely says something not in a full sentence.  He still says "I'm are" which I cling to as his toddlerhood slips quickly away... and he has the funniest accent for the word 'world' - I hope I can get it on video.  He can say the whole alphabet song,  he can recognize all the capital letters and a few of the lower case ones.  Shapes and colors are second nature to him and he's doing great to teach his sister now.  :)    He knows the days of the week and is working on the months of the year.    He's growing up so fast. Ace has started to enjoy 'school' as taught by mom.  He gets so excited to learn new things and loves to have the 1 on 1 time of just the two of us learning... although he doesn't mind if his sister is around to explore with him.   

He is a great big brother!   He loves to hold her when allowed, is happy to help calm her down and asks us to put Kokomo on for her.   He didn't revert too much upon her arrival, he does get very happy to 'recall'  "When I was a baby I..."   and it isn't meant as a desire to return, just as a relating to his sister.    He does still occasionally get hyper and act out if Dad is providing more attention to Mae than him, but in general those moments are rare.

Ace still takes his tiger where ever we go (mostly at mommy's behest) and it sleeps in his bed every night, but he rarely acknowledges unless I hand it to him when he's scared in his bed.  Other toys that are favorites right now include: duplos, his kitchen, swords of any variety,   Favorite movies right now are The Incredibles  and Shrek movies.   He also rotates in the Toy Story movies, Tangled, and Cars... and every now and again Mary Poppins.  :)   TV wise he's really enjoying Super Why on PBS.    His favorite book for most of his third year was 'Cuddle'  in the last couple of months he moved onto 'Don't Let the Pidgeon Drive the Bus' and most recently he has a special place in his heart for the David and Goliath story.   We have a book and if we don't read that, he wants us to tell him the story - every night.     Ace's imagination has also really started to get off to a great start - from pretending back in April to let elephants into the house through the front door and leading them to his room to the other day playing in the park with his dad and crushing aliens with his bare hands (his dad was merely shooting them at a safe distance.)

Illness wise it wasn't such a bad year - I'd say pretty average.   He managed to overcome the C. Diff with that medication and then in September had a week off/on with a stomach bug, another in November and then only a few sniffles in February.   March was the worst of his 3rd year of life and he got pneumonia.  He was pretty sick for a week, but after some antibiotics was back to his spunky self and was happy as can be.   Injury wise he did very well considering how fast of a runner and busy boy he is.     He injured his ear by spinning in circles and then running...straight into the coffee table... and Ace suffered his first (and second) skinned knee upon arrival to Mississippi.   No ER trips required and we consider that a success!  :)

Nap wise - we are still going on about 90 minute stretches sometime around 1pm (which is exactly what we were doing this time last year.)  I only pray that it continues for a while longer!   Sleeping at night has improved leaps and bounds from where we were a year ago and even six months ago.  He sleeps in his own bed exclusively.   Does not wake us up in the middle of the night hardly at all (if he does it requires no intervention on our part)  and while night terrors do still happen on occasion (as they did last night)  they usually are for a short cycle for a few hours in the night and then he drifts into a deeper sleep.   He is waking earlier and we implemented the rule of not getting out of bed before there is a 7 on his clock, but he's gotten smart and simply wanders quietly around the house and waits for me to wake up on my own.  Often he'll come and sit in the bedroom hallway and will make just enough rustling noise that I awake.    It's cute most of the time. ;)

To be fair it's not all roses all the times - in the last six months Ace really has started to exhibit some of the classic signs of 'terrible twos/threes'  and while the moments are rarer than the good ones, they are still battles of control, independence and frustration.   He seems to like to do a revolving fashion show just for him after we say good night - this latest round resulted in the removing all of his pjs from his room.  What he does is wait until we say good night and then he starts the show of changing his pjs over and over.    He's done this off and on for over a year, but it was getting to a point of nightly disobedience and staying awake for well over an hour after we said good night just being spastic and changing his outfits... so one day we might return the pjs to his room - but not any time soon.    Back talk also has arrived and it isn't so much of a  simple "no" as it is just opposition and explanation on why he doesn't need to be doing that or why he thinks he won't be doing it.   It doesn't often work out well for him and usually still has to comply with our wishes.   He SIIIIGHS - what three year old does that?     He'll comply but he'll sigh.   It would be funny if he wasn't mine.     He also puts his hand up in your face when he wants you to stop talking... um no.   All of these things we are obviously on top of and working to help him change his attitude, and overall he is a very respectful and loving kid.   But I didn't want to skew the blog post that he was a complete angel.  He's not, he's normal.  ;-)

Ace's stats aren't exactly known - he is about 37" tall and last weighing was 29lbs.   He has all twenty of his teeth in - two of which are fused together, he has a chip on two of them, and there is ZERO room for anything else... so he will be a cash-cow to orthodontics down the road.    He's doing great and is growing and developing so well.

Overall, this has been a great year with a lot of changes for Ace.   He did experience a lot of growing pains and change from his dad being away for six weeks of training, a brand new sister, a brand new state and home to live in and through all of that he did tremendously well for a little guy his age.   I'm very proud of all he accomplished, learned, and experienced this last year and I can't wait to see what he'll do in this next one.   Happy Birthday, Bear!  Mom and Dad love you so much and are so thankful you're growing up so well!

And now that he is three (I probably could have started this last year, but I forgot, so I'll start now.) I plan to ask him these questions every year (yes I'm swiping the idea and questions from my friend Lori.)

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE T. V. SHOW? I don't know... um Seasame Street (that's what's on tv at the moment... turning off the tv) umm I think Super Why.

2. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? I think I ate... the first time mom? When you were sleeping mom?  (um sure) umm... cheese! (That is what he's eating during this interview.)

3. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? You could spell it.  (Um close!, but no.)
4. FAVORITE FOOD? Um well... let me see what I like to eat...I think... I think... but why cannot I turn on the tv right now? (FOCUS!) Cheez its!

5. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Food that is spicey

6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Blue (same answer he gave when I asked a couple hours ago, it must be true)

7. FAVORITE LUNCH? Nuggets!  (this is the first answer he answered quickly, without question!)

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO? Help sister (sweet, but she was starting to fuss in the moment, so I think that influenced his answer)

9. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? I would go to the park! (Um ok)

10. FAVORITE SPORT? Soccer, I like playing with dad.

11. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? Today, its my birthday! (ok, fair enough.)

12. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? A morning person. (sadly true.)

13. PETS: Nope.  I think we had two kitties, why can't they live here? (Sad, why did I ask this question... he was quickly distracted.)

14. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? Um... I don't... (stuffing cheese into his mouth) know.  (Asking again) No.

15. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP ? I want to be nothing. I don't know what to be.  I just want to be a person.   (Well that's fair.  I've attempted this question before and he always says 'nothing'  I am hoping his aspirations increase over time.)

16. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Do we have any candy?! 

17. WHERE IS THE FURTHEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN FROM HOME? A little bit away... all the way.  Sometimes the movers come here and it took a long time.   (Yes, I suppose 'home' is a bit confusing right now to him.)

18. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? The Velveteen Rabbit (It is true that he does like that one read to him a lot during the day, but since it was the one on the floor and he's over this interview I'd like to answer for him and say David and Goliath.)

19. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? I think I'm proud of...well... books and well... knowing the whole alphabet.  (Neat me too!)

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? The Incredibles!  (In the last 3 weeks I'd have to agree.)

21. WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG? The Chicken (there was a massive struggle in that little mind of his, you could see it in his mind...then he asked...)  What chicken, mom?

Five Months Old

Mae is another month older and growing and advancing every day it seems. She is so smiley and a joy every morning because she wakes up with the biggest smile on her face.

First for Mae this month: first time swimming, first taste of bottled water, first breast milk bottle she consumed, first solid food, first word: MAMA!!!, (early phase) sitting up

Mae has been doing wonderfully in the sleep department especially this week. For a couple of weeks she had reverted to being away every 3 hours to snack and then sleep again, wasn't sleeping in the co-sleeper for a long stretch at all and overall wasn't wowing me with her sleep. Felt more Ace-ish. Not bad, but not amazing. This past week she's done GREAT. She falls asleep downstairs most of the time with milk and then placed into her swing. I eventually scoop her up and take her upstairs anywhere from 2-4hours later depending on when she fell asleep and when I'm off to bed. Every night so far this week she has transferred without needing a snack or even really waking up. One night she did stir awake but she settled herself back to sleep. She wakes between 3am-4:30am - but so far every night this week it has been a solid 7 hours before she wakes. It's been great! Hopefully no growth spurt, teething surge, or illness disrupts this new found bliss we're all enjoying. After she wakes after 3am I bring her into the bed next to me and she nurses 2-3xs more before we're up for the morning - which is usually dictated by her brother around 7am.

Food is new for Mae this month, although not yet a regular occurrence. She has enjoyed rice cereal, carrots and sweet potatoes... and she has sampled and rejected peas. I continue to read and educate myself on solid food before 6 months and I still remain unsettled on what is best for her - so Mae will mostly continue to sample food for another couple of weeks before I really start regularly giving her solids for 'meals' - allowing her little digestive system to continue to develop. She also finally enjoyed her first bottle from start to finish. Back in February we did introduce her to the bottle but she only had a sip of it... this time after a somewhat lengthy stand off we got her to finish 3oz of a bottle. Hooray. Although the second attempt was met with equally as loud objection as the first time so little progress was made... In addition to trying out some breast milk in the bottle Mae got her first taste of water. Yum. She really never drank any of it as much as chewed on the cold nipple, but she enjoyed that.

Verbal skills are exploding. This morning Loving Husband will tell you she said 'dada' I'll give him it was close - but she's not said it officially yet. But she is close. She's working on all sorts of sounds in that little mouth of hers. She is quite the chatter box. :) I wonder where she gets that from??? She said mama a week ago and continues to say it when she REALLY wants me. She knows who I am and how to get me. It's really sweet. She's also working on her 'lala', 'baba' and occasionally even manages a ffff sound. Although she's just babbling not really attempting words at those times. The other day I also swore I saw her 'sign' milk. It is certainly what she wanted and I had never seen her tiny little hand move like that at random before... but it could just be my mommy-mind playing tricks on me so I won't claim it to be an intentional act, but I am certainly looking for it again!

Mae loves to squeal and gets very excited when you chew on her ribs, but she doesn't outright laugh just yet. I'd say she chuckles occasionally. No belly laughs just yet. Often she holds her breath. She loves her big brother and loves to play with him while she sits in her excersaucer. She smiles really big every morning when he comes in and says "Good Morning, Sister" (in a very funny voice that we're not sure why he's chosen it.) She's always happy to see him and he loves to help comfort her by reading to her, singing kokomo (which he's getting pretty good at!) or playng her music either in the exersaucer, swing or using her glowworm. He is going to be a good protector.

Mobility wise she is still mostly just rolling from her back to her belly. She hasn't done the belly to her back too much since learning the other way. She can do a bigger push up every now and then and really REALLY wants to move. If you hold her upright she also will walk and do so quickly to get to the other person. Adorable. I suspect crawling will take place very soon. I said earlier "early phase" sitting up - which basically I mean if I put her in a sitting position she is able to maintain it for about 10-30 second before she either topples over or folds in half. She's not quite there, but she's making good progress with those baby-abs of hers. :) Mae also got to try out swimming for the first time in her little life. She loved it and even dipped under the water without any issue.

Teething is still happening and she is chewing on anything (or one) that she can get a hold of. She LOVES her dolly to chew on and that comes with us everywhere. She's not terribly drooly, but is very irritable before naps the last few days. Not sure if it's related, but hopefully she cuts her first tooth soon. I can see it below the surface it's almost here!!

Mae is a very happy baby. We love to see her grow and develop... but I can't believe how big she already is. Happy 5th Month, Mae! Can't wait for your half-birthday milestone.... yes I can... stop aging already! ;-)

Thirty Months Old

Happy Half Birthday, Ace!
Ace is officially 2.5! It just seems like a few months ago we were celebrating eighteen months, time certainly flies when you're having fun!

Newities of the last six months: singing, sleeping all night in his own bed exclusively, trips to California Adventure, pumpkin carving, trick or treating, backfloating, TWO nights away from mom and dad, a new sister, nightmares, and "the questions".

Yes lots of new milestones and things have been accomplished and learned in this last six months. Ace's vocabulary and curiosity continue to astound us daily. He knows how to transition words a current favorite quote from CARS "It's creeping me out!" When I asked him what he was talking about (as he was saying this when the movie was not playing) he responded "Lightening McQueen was creeped out when Mater was driving backwards." It just amazes me that he knows this stuff - it's not like we sat him down and taught him past and present tense, but he certainly has it down. It's just down right impressive how he knows so much. Partially because he listens and asks when he's wanting to know more. "What are you telling me?" is a common phrase and yes THE QUESTIONS have recently made their appearance. "The questions"? If you have a toddler, work with toddlers, or have seen them on tv... you know what I mean: "WHY?" "Because _______" "WHY?" We try really hard to not say "Because I said so." But man is that a challenge after the fifth why.

Sleep in the last six months has been some super highs and some recent discouraging lows. Around this age is when nightmares develop in toddlers. Nightmares also develop when their is major change to a toddler's world... so the combined factor of age and a new sister - Ace has embraced unwillingly as the rest of us: nightmares... nearly every night. Which also results in the stubborn and fear of not wanting to sleep at all because of fear and resistance of more nightmares to come. It really isn't the best time for this onset, and we are all dealing with them one sleepless night at a time. I am hopeful he'll outgrow them sooner than some kids, but we'll see. I'm still thrilled that he sleeps in his own bed every night! That still is a major accomplishment - even if he's reverted back to waking 2-5 times a night - he stays in his own bed and doesn't sleep in ours anymore.

Healthwise we've had a decent six months. In late September he had a cluster of stomach bugs that affected him while we were visiting in California, another one got to him in November that made for one sleepless night for all of us, and a random fluke of vomit on New Year's Day. He was completely healthy the entire month of December and so far this winter has really only had one cold and that was pretty mild. I'm hopeful for this trend to continue so that we can all remain pretty healthy while his baby sister is still young.

Ace's love for reading continues to abound. He often would prefer to read stories to playing or watching tv. It's great. We recently have started to read a "longer" book at the dinner table so that he has to recall from memory the previous chapters. I started this off with Stuart Little - since each chapter is a small story by itself more or less. He claims that he doesn't recall what previously happened to Stuart when we ask him at the table before starting the next chapter, but then he'll tell me all about it when not prompted at a different time. Ace's favorite book right now is "Cuddle" and we read it nearly every night. He also has a devotions book that I acquired for him this fall that are devotions for Toddlers. Which allows for us to discuss God and Jesus surrounding a variety of topics and it provides him with a small prayer to say every night on such topic. It's great to see him inquire more about Jesus; asking what he is made of, where does he live, etc.. When he is scared he wants to pray to Jesus to help him feel safe, and he loves to pray for his family. It's wonderful to see him learning and growing in the Lord.

Ace has developed a love of puzzles and enjoys building his big floor puzzles whenever we'll let him. I'd say he helps and can do about 25% of them at this stage. His board puzzles he can do entirely by himself. He also is very much in love with Lego building - and the destruction of the items built. For about 2 months now he's been asking for more legos for his birthday. It's pretty adorable to see him thinking ahead and I am on the look out for cheap duplos. :) Another favorite in these last few months has been playdoh! He loves to get it out and make all sorts of different things. And most of all he loves to run around! He still loves to go on walks with his dad and obtain 'walk rocks' with him. They walk pretty far in our neighborhood and beyond. They have a good time together.

Teeth wise we're almost done reporting on his teeth count (until they start to fall out!) his bottom two molars are almost all the way in - and so all he has left to come in are his top two year old molars. Excellent! He has a dentist appointment on the 3rd of March, so hopefully he gets a good report. He does well to brush and floss his teeth every night.

Often Ace can be found singing around the house while playing by himself. He currently enjoys singing "Twinkle Little Star" as well as "ABCs" Which he says "QRS... LMNOP... QRS... LMNOP" Over and over again. It's cute. He also sings to help calm sister down or requests that I sing to do the same. He asks for me to sing to him as well including the "Wee little man" song - as in Zacchaeus was a wee little man... He also currently enjoys "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and of course "Jesus Loves Me" we sing songs to him (and with him) before bed. It's very sweet.

Ace has had a wonderful six months and continues to grow and thrive and 99% of the time be a very sweet boy. He's stretching and growing in his world and finding his way, but he's doing so respectfully and lovingly as he, a two year old can. I look forward to these next six months leading up to our new adventure of THREE! Happy Half Birthday, Bear!

Want a review of all of Ace's milestone 'birthdays'? When he was two? Eighteen months? One month?

Siblings

First Adventure, Just Us Three!

It has been wonderful to have Loving Husband home on paternity leave for such a long time, although with that drawing to a close the obviousness of being on my own with my two babes is becoming more and more a mandate and less of an 'option' - so I decided to give it a go last week. Our first adventure just the three of us was to Babies R Us.

Loading into the car is easy enough and I actually have done that several times with trips to drive-thrus for food and pumpkin bread (Starbucks) - this however was my first 'out of the car' experience juggling the two kids. Ace did very well and was a good listener. He wanted to stay out of the cart at first and help push and that was fine for a while.

I spent a fair amount of time looking at stroller options. We are wanting to have a single stroller in the car in addition to the double one, so that I don't have to haul the massive beast of the double stroller out all the time. So I need to find something that is small enough to fit in the trunk of my car with the double stroller... and I'd like something a bit more 'full of features' than a simple umbrella stroller. Not sure if that will happen or not. So he got a bit bored being in one area for a lengthy period of time, so he agreed to sit in the stroller for a while. There isn't much space to shop with the car seat and Ace in the front seat... so I suppose that will cut back on my shopping a bit... naaaah. ;-)


He was such a good listener I told him he could pick out a toy, so we headed over to that area of the store. He found himself a train and then we continued to shop. We came to the baby toys and he saw something he wanted to get for sister. I explained that we were only going to get the toy for him today, and he said he wanted to get the toy for sister. I further explained we were only buying one toy, and so he handed me back his train that he had spent a good 5 minutes picking out. He really wanted to buy the toy for sister. It melted my heart. I pointed out that if we got the toy for sister that he wouldn't get his train and he said "That's ok mom." so we went and put the train back, he turned around and gave sister her toy "Here Sister, play with it!" I was so touched by his selflessness, I took him to the book aisle so that he could pick out a book (after all that isn't a toy, so it still held true to my 'one toy' declaration earlier) and he smiled and said "Thanks, mom!"

We checked out and headed out of the store after a successful first outing, just the three of us!

Since then we've ventured to a handful of other places and we're doing just fine. Ace is a very good helper and listener. I find it cute when we're in the car and sister is upset he says "Calm down, Sister. It's ok, Sister." Partially he wants the volume to decrease, but he also really is concerned for her. It's sweet.

Three Weeks Old

Mae is three weeks old (and one day... I'm a tad delayed in my blog posting.) It's hard to believe that she is 22 days old. This last week has once again flown by.

Every day she becomes more aware and is slowly becoming more aware and awake in her surroundings. Which also means she's less content in the car seat all the time. She now requires to be sufficiently fed and burped otherwise she voices her protest quite earnestly! Oh boy howdy. Our family of four adventured out to dinner one night and on the drive home, she was voicing her starvation with QUITE the volume. Very reminiscent of Ace's wails in the car. Hopefully, Mae's wailing will be far more infrequent. We actually had to pull over on the 10 minute drive home to stop and feed her, she was quite ravenous. Goodness...

Sleeping continues to be going well. She occasionally has an off night where she wakes more frequently or takes a tad longer to go down to sleep, but for the most part she remains a good sleeper. I hope the trend continues. Ace when he was small was also a good sleeper... but after the newborn haze wore off... that all changed. I'm prayerful that for Mae things will be more seamless on the sleep front.

Mae has been enjoying more tummy time this past week, and interacting with her dad more and more... as she comes to realize that she doesn't officially need to be eating ALL the time when she is conscious. :)

The handful of times that we have gone out to eat, Mae has done wonderfully. She either sleeps through the entire thing, or does very well to enjoy a snack and then continue to snooze afterwards. She's very manageable to take out to eat, and we've done it several times in this past week.

This past week she has been extremely gassy and spitty. It doesn't seem correlated with food that I am eating though, so I think it's just the tiny intestines trying to work through all that food that she's eating.

She is doing really well holding her head up while looking at mom, dad, or brother... and loves to stare at us intently while we're awake. She completely has my glare that is apparently genetic. It's pretty cute now, but I suspect come 12, I won't find it as endearing. ;-)

Mae is doing great and we are so blessed. Ace continues to do great as a big brother. He loves to help. Today, I asked him to go get me one of his diapers so that we could get ready to leave the house, and he came down with one for him and one for sister. It was so sweet. He truly does think about her and wants to hug her, hold her, and help as much as he is allowed. We're all doing well... but as always would love more sleep. :)

Adjusting

It was always an unknown answer how Ace would truly react to having his sister 'on the outside' - as much as he liked her on the inside, would he truly like her once she was around, taking away from his attention? All signs so far point to yes. He loves to talk to sister - although his most common phrase is "Wake up, Sister!" Mae does tend to sleep an awful lot for his liking and he'd much rather her be awake - because when she is awake she stares at Ace with great fascination!

Overall, I'd say thus far the transition to 'official' big brother has been great. He has been a bit more whiny this week, but nothing that is so awful or impossible to manage. Unfortunately for him - the arrival of his sister was timed along with a very common road toward independence and then infamous phase of saying "No" to everything. He says it so much that he says it even when he really does want to do the thing we asked of him, so he quickly changes his mind. We're attempting to train him to say "Let me think about it" as his initial response - since he is so desperate to have a knee jerk reaction - we're hoping to avoid the "no" and provide him with a more thought provoking avenue of response. We also think that while a phrase will take a tad longer to implement it will be far less annoying that teaching him to say "maybe" as his knee-jerk response. Ultimately we'd prefer him to quietly think about it prior to answering, but that won't happen. ;-)

Ace continues to nap and sleep very well. It amazes me how far we've come from September when he FIRST began sleeping through the night on his own, followed by the end of October finally sleeping every night in his bed. We haven't continued to sticker program past December. He is doing great to simply sleep in his own bed all by his self because it is just what he is supposed to do. So we're very proud of him. His sister's crying in general is thankfully minimal in the night - she really only fusses when she wants to eat, which is a natural plug ;-) so Ace continues to sleep well in the night. We try to curb loudness during night/nap time diaper changes by closing her door to do them. So far so good in uninterrupted brother sleep.

It is great having Loving Husband home for paternity leave. It certainly allows for Ace to have two parents around to balance the attention and maybe even provide a bit more extra that we otherwise wouldn't have prior to Mae's arrival. They seem to have a good time playing pretend and cooking 'Ace soup' or 'Ace steak' - they love to run around - Ace has recently begun to learn the idea of hide-n-seek and enjoys playing that as well.

If you ask Ace if he likes having his sister here he'll giggle and smile and say "I do!" He is doing great and is a very loving big brother!

And finally they meet...

This pregnancy wasn't been just about me and Loving Husband this time. It was uniquely more involving our son. Finding ways to help him understand that another person was inside mommy, that another person would be coming to live with us and share his world that had been exclusively his, and help him learn to love his sister before her arrival. Throughout my pregnancy I was very happy with how well he took to his sister. In fact, he knew it was a sister well before any confirmation of that fact.

Ace has been very attentive to his sister during pregnancy. He has wanted to rock 'her' and he sat in my lap, holding my stomach and we'd rock in the rocking chair. He gave her kisses, hugs, said good morning to her - almost every day. He wanted to see sister ALL the time and constantly was pulling up my shirt to say 'hi' to his sister. He wanted to buy her presents all the time. On one occasion while we were in the Baby Gap - he came over to me with a tiny stuffed bunny in his hands and asked "I get this for sister?" He was very loving - he didn't ask so he could have it for himself, he truly wanted to give it to his sister... and so we bought the tiny little white bunny. He pressed it to my tummy. I suggested that we put it in her bag so that he could give it to her at the hospital when he came to meet her. As soon as we got home that's what we did. For weeks after that - he would ask to make sure we had her present. He'd want to verify it was in the bag. After verification he'd smile and wander off.

I spend endless time talking to him about what would happen upon his sister's arrival. He knew that he got to go to Gran and Pop Pop's house and that he would be spending the night for a couple of nights. He knew that he would come and visit sister in the hospital and then still go home to Gran and Pop Pop's while mom and dad stayed with sister in the hospital. He knew that sister would come home with us after we left the hospital... and as much as I would have hoped for a more natural occurrence of labor - an induction was just what we needed to truly make this an easy transition for Ace.

On Sunday evening we finished dinner and packed up the car and headed over to the grandparents. Ace was so excited to be there and played around for a bit. I got all his stuff laid out for bed - Tiger, Chip & Dale all accompanied us as snuggly bed companions - not that he really snuggles with stuffed animals, but they do sleep in his bed with him at home - so the comfort of them at Pop Pop's was important to have too. We assisted in the bedtime process and there was some mild fussing and protest to sleeping there - he calmed down and we left. After we left there was one more round of sadness and then ultimately he slept through the night. Upon waking he enjoyed breakfast, some Mickey, and walks in the snow with Pop Pop.

His sister arrived just shy of 3pm and we called and said to come on over anytime after 4:30pm. We readied ourselves and the present - I had told Loving Husband that I would be disappointed (although not surprised) if after all that build up he shied away from wanting to give it to her now - the family arrived and Ace was all smiles. He came right up to the bed and wanted to meet his sister. He said "Hi sister" and rubbed her leg. It was so sweet... we captured a few family photos and then let him run around the room for a moment.


A few minutes of exploring and we asked him if he wanted to give the bunny to his sister and indeed he did. He climbed back onto the bed and handed it to his sister. Sister 'took' it and hugged it. We took some family photos with everyone, then Ace scampered down to run around some more. Gran and Pop Pop took over oogling our little girl some and then Gran and Pop Pop headed down to the cafeteria to get some dinner for themselves and bring us some back up when they were complete with theirs. Loving Husband and Ace went exploring around the hospital. Mae and mommy stayed in bed and snuggled with her bunny.


Upon return of everyone - we ate some dinner. Ace ate my meal that was provided by the hospital - and LH and I enjoyed the food the grandparents had brought up from the cafeteria for us. I scarfed mine down pretty quick. During our eating, Ace wanted to get a burp cloth to 'wipe sister' - he had helped pack the diaper bag and had decided that she needed two burp cloths in there and knew where they were - so he went and grabbed one. Sister didn't particularly NEED to be wiped, but we allowed him to 'help'. It was very sweet.

After we finished eating and around 6pm - Ace was getting ancy to go back to Pop Pop and Gran's. He understood he had one more night at their house. He gave sister back her bunny, gave her a kiss, said goodbye to mom and dad and left with the grandparents happily. It was very sweet and an excellent first meeting between siblings.

Excited for Sister!

Ace is extremely excited that his sister is coming. He continues to 'practice' holding sister, he daily gives her hugs and talks to her, and in general get a big grin on his face when he says 'Sister comes out after Christmas!' I love it! I continue to pray his enthusiasm holds strong after her arrival. I finally was able to capture a few of these moments in film (as proof for later) so enjoy this video of Ace and his thoughts on sister. :)

Ace Loves Mae

Big Brother in Training

Ace is going to be a great brother. I am sure he will be jealous occassionally, I'm sure he'll want to be the center of attention and not sharing it, and I am sure he will act out that he is not the only kid in the house anymore - but I think for the most part he is going to be a very loving and protective older brother.

As of late he has wanted baby Mae to come out so he can hold her. So we've substituted baby with Tigger and 'practiced' holding baby sister. He also likes to touch my stomach and feel the baby move. It's really sweet and makes me so happy he's excited for his sister to be here... even if he doesn't totally understand what that will mean for his world entirely. :)