Today is officially the first day of summer, and I have just one question:
What happened to SPRING!?
Seriously, I am mentally still in May. I catch myself all the time referring to the month of June as if it is still a few weeks away, when in fact, there are only a few weeks LEFT in the month of June. July is just around the corner. I am sure that gives you and indication that we have really had a lot going on here the past month or so. But, all of these things are great things and we are so truly blessed!
After New York, we have been busy at home with a few things on our calendar that make summer so much fun. For example, Nora is taking swimming lessons from a friend ours, Melanie, along with a few other little girls from church. She is really enjoying the water this year, and with Melanie's help and as much pool time as possible, we hope to turn our girl into a water-lover!
Other HUGE news with Nora is that she is in the midst of potty-training. Shortly after we returned and got settled-in from New York City, I decided that it was time to bite the bullet. Nora had been "peeping" in the potty occasionally, but if I'm honest, I was just putting it off until I was ready. So, I came home one day and decided to put her in panties. We stayed around the house for about two days (cabin fever, ahem), but she got the hang of it so quickly. In fact, for the first few days I would insist that she go sit on the potty every 30 minutes or so, and it finally got to the point where I felt like she was just frustrated with me for making her go "try" so often. I had the thought that perhaps she really did know the sensation of having to pee and that she knew how to tell me on her own, so I decided to slack off a bit and see if my hunch was right. It was! She very faithfully announces when it's time to "peep," we run to the closest potty and take care of business. Just in the last week she has been consistently waking from naps dry, and a few nights this week she has woken up in the morning with a dry diaper! THAT IS HUGE!!!! I have intentions of getting plastic/water-proof sheets here in the next day or so, and I am going to switch to panties at nap and nighttime to see if we can just fully transition to that.
Our only dilemma with potty-training is that Nora refuses to poop in the potty. She seems really scared, and when she tells me she has to go, she asks for a pull-up or a diaper. If I tell her no, she tells me she is a baby and not a big girl anymore. It kind of makes me sad, but I don't know what to do. I have tried bribery. I have tried pointing out that other kids--kids she looks up to and admires--poop on the potty. Nothing is working. So, if you have some advice, I am all ears!
One other thing I must brag on Nora about in regards to potty-training is that this past week we had to take a very long road trip down to Mississippi because our Great Aunt Hazel passed away. We were in the car for about 9-10 hours, so I naturally put Nora in a pull-up because I didn't know how'd she do, if she'd be able to hold it if we weren't able to stop, etc. Let me just say.....that girl didn't have a single accident! It worked out so well with our stops and her ability to hold her pee! She did so wonderfully and we were so stinking proud of her! She is growing up too fast!
Ok, enough about that.
Updates on Liam: Liam is about two weeks away from being 14 months. He is not walking yet, but if he really wanted to do it, there is no doubt that he could. Every day he gets a bit braver and tries new things, but he is so efficient at crawling and climbing that I don't think he has realized the need to walk yet. I am not rushing things, however, because he keeps me busy enough!
Liam got his first haircut last Monday! I knew for like weeks that he was needing one----there was a mullet, people---but it wasn't until I saw the effects of the haircut that I realized how BADLY he needed the haircut. He looks SO much better. Mullets just don't cut it! He looks so handsome, and so much more like his Daddy!
We are currently in a rough stage with Liam regarding his eating habits. In the past month or so, he has become particularly picky with what he will and won't eat. If it were up to him, he would eat fruit (yes, a good thing, but not if that's all you will eat), peanut butter sandwiches, avocados, yogurt, and other sweet things like Nutrigrain bars. Occasionally, if he is in the mood to be accomodating, he will eat a chicken nugget or two from Chickfila or some meatsauce from my lasagna. But, vegetables: NO THANKS. Baby food: Maybe a bite or two, unless it's the fruit, then yes please! Other healthy and delicious meals that I've made before that he has eaten: NOT ANY MORE!
It has been really stressing me out, but after talking to a few close friends, I have some good advice and some new tactics to try. I am going to start by cutting down on the amount of food that Liam eats at breakfast. He always eats a great breakfast and usually eats a TON. So, I am going to cut that down so that he will be pretty hungry come lunchtime. I know that I have to keep the sweet things (fruit/yogurt) out of the picture until I am actually ready to feed it to him because once he lays eyes on them, nothing else is going into his mouth. Also, my friend Johanna told me to start small. "Set him up to succeed." Give him small and reasonable portions to begin with and introduce things a bit at a time. I tried a turkey and cheese sandwich with him today, and even though he only ate about 1/8 of the sandwich, there were several bites that he ate. That is progress. After those bites, I gave him his yogurt and banana and milk. Tonight, we are going with spaghetti which is something he usually eats without any trouble. I will introduce green beans to him, which he has always turned down, and see if we can get anywhere with that. I know that God is going to have to pour out grace on all of us because it can be really stressful when your baby refuses to eat and just cries in his highchair until you give him what he wants.
As I mentioned earlier, Jonathan's great aunt passed away last week, and we were all able to attend her funeral in Jackson, MS. The kids and I rode down with Jonathan's parents, and later that day Jonathan and his sister, Amy, rode down together after they got off work. We love Aunt Hazel so much; she has been such a grandmother to us and has loved me and cared for me as if I were one of her own. We are so sad that she is gone, but she's had a rough time the past several months, so we are so glad to know she is finally with her Savior and her husband in heaven!
After the funeral, Amy and I drove from Jackson down to Seagrove Beach, FL, where we met up with two our girlfriends for a long weekend getaway to the beach. We planned this trip in January, so I have been looking forward to it for months: just the girls, sand, ocean water, books to read, bikes to ride, sleep to catch up on, friendship, talks, laughter, etc. We had a great time! I got back just last night, and I must say that it was so refreshing to get away for a few days. I really missed Jonathan and my babies, but I was ready to come back to my favorite activities: caring for them and our home! Pics to come!
Anyway, that's our life in a nutshell as of right now. I've got lots of pics to update, so look forward to those!
No comments:
Post a Comment