Stewing.

Oh my gosh, you guys. We’re stewing.

Big time.

Do you know what stewing is? Stewing is a fun little thing that happens every week before the big test. When anxiety is at it’s highest, nerves are shot, and the unknown is unbearable.

Poor Kyle.

He hates stewing. But can’t help it.

So this week we have to try our hardest to help minimize the stewing. We do that by 1)getting out of the house when we can 2)staying busy. Obviously, he’s crazy busy with studying these few days before the test, but any down time at all must be occupied. Last night we went to Target and walked around, and he helped me clean! (Stewing really works to my advantage sometimes). Tonight I think he said he’s gonna mow. (Again, works for me). We’ve just gotta keep a busy agenda for the next three days! Yikes – only three days! And really, at this point, 2.5.

It’s much easier on me. I get to be excited that it’s almost over. I get to think about the fun day Friday. I get to dream about Buffalo. I get to dream of seeing him not stressed out. But his poor brain just stops at Thursday. He can’t think about any of the fun stuff before he actually takes this horrible, no good test. He just thinks of the unknowns. What’s going to be on his test? Were 1000 hours enough? Is he memorizing the right things?

How the hell do you solve for x?!

Ha. Please excuse my french, the stewing gets to me.  And I don’t even think he has to solve for x. But I do know there’s math, and that’s a pretty standard math question.  And he’s anxious about it.

I really have very little time to stew. Leah and I will be in the skies in one week! Eeeek! I have to plan for Friday, I have to clean for the house sitter, I have to make a Duncan instruction list, I have to clean sheets and bathrooms, I have to make a celebratory meal shopping list, I have to order a cake, I have to pack three suitcases, I have to do laundry, I have to figure out where to shove Pooh and Tigger, I have to print travel papers, I have to pack activity backpacks, I have to confirm reservations, I have to cook dinners, I have to calm a stewing Kyle, I have to keep on top of a 22 month old in undies…..

MOMMM!

Why do you not live here yet?!

You guys.

We’re stewing.

Proud Mom Alert.

Well, I had another blog planned out for today (I usually write them in my head the night before) – however, Leah blew me away yesterday, and I’d rather brag on her for a bit. If you don’t want to hear a proud mom talking… feel free to go about your business.

Scene:

It’s after dinner. Leah is walking funny. Because of this potty training business, my gut says potty. I take her. We sit down, she pops right back up. Okkkkk. We leave. She keeps walking funny. My gut starts screaming at me to take her potty. We go. We sit down. She pops right back up. Okkkkkkkkkkkk. We leave. I leave her diaper off. I sit down on the couch. She looks at me out of the corner of her eye and then runs into the bathroom. I creep in and peak in at her. She sees me. Pops right back up and runs to me. I curse myself on the inside! I return to the couch. She gives me a funny look again and runs back into the bathroom. I remain seated fighting every instinct I have to spy on her. A minute or so goes by, all is quiet, but I keep sitting. Seconds later she darts out – I GO POOP, I GO POOP! She runs to me and has me follow her into the bathroom and shows me in all of it’s glory… her poop. And I squealed like one crazy proud mom. Then she runs back out to find her dad all the while screaming I GO POOP I GO POOP. She brings him to look. He squeals like one crazy proud dad. She gets her candy. And I’m left in awe of this not yet two year old.

Now she doesn’t even want me to hang out with her as she sits.

You wanna know the craziest part of that? She did it earlier in the afternoon, too. Only she didn’t tell me at all. I just found her sitting on her potty going. Like she’s been doing it her whole life. Today again… all by herself. At this point she prefers I not be involved at all when she goes. She’s a crazy kid, you guys.

So that’s where we are on the potty training journey. Right now I’m trying harder not to potty train her. I don’t want to really get into the thick of it until we are home from NY, but at this point, there’s really no stopping her. I figured my “stage one” would take a month or longer. She is telling us when she’s in the tub that she has to go. What kid does that?! If I was not yet two, I would just pee in the tub I’m almost positive. But not Leah. She insists on getting out, cold, wet, and soapy – going potty, and then getting back in. She’s going in the middle of meals, which is absolute chaos as we rip her out of her high chair, food flying, and run her to the potty. She is going in Kohls, Target, and church. And might I make a plea as a potty training parent: Can we get some little kid toilets in the public bathrooms?! She has gotten soaked feet on two occasions. I actually dread taking her in public, I’d rather her just use her diaper. It’s such a hassle. Seriously, someone throw in a tiny toilet in the handicap stall even. Please. Those toilets were not made for tiny butts.

But she’s doing it, she’s really doing it. She still has her “accidents” (although we put no emphasis on them whatsoever), but she is doing it. All by herself at that. Can I tell you my favorite accident? So yesterday I put her in underwear for half a day. We were coloring and all of a sudden she gets up, stands really still, but then starts running. And I see my floor getting wet. But she keeps running… and peeing… and running… and peeing. I was following after her cracking up. By the time she got to her potty she had about a drop left – but you better believe she got her candy. That was an effort if I’ve ever seen one. I cleaned the floor, don’t worry.

Now, I know that you guys are reading and thinking, “man, what a great mom you are!!” – ha (I‘m kiddddding) – you shouldn’t. Really. Please don’t take any of this as bragging on myself. All I did was buy a potty and introduce it to Leah. I most certainly did not anticipate or expect these results.

She’s not even two.

I clued in on her signals and ran with them. That’s it. Leah leads this process. And I am so happy for her. It’s sometimes hard because she is still so little. She is thriving on praise, but she really could care less when I tell her she’s a “big girl.” She’s too little to be into the big girl stuff yet, so I can’t really play that card. But I can play the proud mom card, and she eats that up. I know she is proud of herself, because everytime she goes she runs through the house for 5 minutes afterwards screaming I GO POOP. She also loves to tell her dad, and to make him proud as well. Anytime he’s home, she’ll go and then immediately want to tell him. She does love to get her Smarties, but a lot of times I have to remind her that she gets candy. And sometimes I don’t and we just go about playing or whatever we were doing beforehand.

It really is fun. Neither one of us have gotten upset during any part of this process, and I am most proud of that. I told you before my biggest fear was that I might ruin this experience for her (or that I would cause her to have a UTI) – but I think I’m in the clear. She is just thriving. But again, she was ready. If I would have thought for a second she wasn’t ready to handle the mental or physical side of this process or that it was more my decision than hers, I would have locked our potties up. I would have brought back diapers full time with no hesitation.

But she’s just going for it full speed.

And I’m trying to keep up.

 

 

Coming Up.

Do you wanna know what we’re doing these days? Besides studying?

Well, nothing really. BUT we will be doing lots of fun things soon. And here they are.

First of all, I guess I’ll start with what we’re not doing. That’s only one thing, so it’s easy. We are not eating out for the next two weeks. Not one bite of anything besides what comes from this house. We had a horrible, horrible week of horrible, horrible eating last week. Shameful, really. It all tasted good, of course, but we cannot keep that up. So we’ve sworn off any sort of restaurant food until after Kyle’s test. I’ve planned all of our meals to ensure it happens, too. It’s kind of refreshing. Ok, very refreshing. We were all feeling about 700lbs after last week. So even just one day in a feel lighter. And anytime I feel lighter is a wonderful thing.

But on to the fun stuff.

Leah now has gymnastics on a regular basis. Yay! We found all the money under the couch cushions! I should clean them more often. Not really, but we bit the bullet for her happiness. And she will be so happy. I’m excited to have a weekly structured (kind of) event with her. She’s gonna be in Heaven. Let’s hope this week she will sit and sing and clap her hands like a good girl.

We’ll make our way to the greatest place on Earth this weekend – Busch stadium. Who knew I would love watching baseball so much? But I do. And I love even more taking Leah. I know some parents don’t take their kids cause they are a hassle (and they are), but I happen to enjoy following her around watching her run and point at everything like a maniac. She loved the games she went to last year, and I’m assuming that will continue this season. She saw Fredbird on TV last night and pointed and said, “Duck!” – so she thinks he’s a FredDuck. Ha. I hope we can find him. She’ll also get an Allen Craig bat and it’s Kids run the bases day!! How fun. She’ll love it.

Baby number two and I have a doctor’s appointment at the beginning of next week. Those are always fun.

Next Thursday is D-Day, as you know. Or you should know if you tuned in yesterday. Not a lot to say about that other than… I’ll be happy when he’s home and Leah and I can have him all to ourselves again.

The next day Kyle will golf and I will get this house and backyard in shape to BBQ for friends. And there will be cake. Because I’m pregnant. Any excuse to eat, especially cake, is a good thing.

Then we will hit the SKIES! My gosh, I’m getting anxious about that. My biggest problem right now – Do I pack Pooh and Tuck in the checked bag and pray they don’t lose it – or do I shove them in my small carry on to ensure their arrival to Buffalo with us?! It’s a big deal, guys. We can’t lose these guys. I’ll let you know what I decide. Then there’s also getting through security, getting on and off each plane at the right time, getting through each flight with no major meltdowns from mom or Leah, getting our luggage while keeping Leah glued to my side, picking up the rental car with Leah glued to my side, installing a car seat while keeping Leah glued to my side, driving ourselves from the airport to Grandma’s house without using my cell phone because you get arrested for that in NY. The food, the sleeping, the large amounts of crystal and glass in the house that Leah will undoubtedly be obsessed with. Getting Kyle from the sketchy Greyhound station assuming he arrives without having been eaten. Keeping Leah from jumping over Niagara Falls.  Do you see why I don’t sleep at night?! I’m so excited for this trip – but also… you know, freaking out a little.

And last but not least – the second trimester is coming up! Holy crap. That went fast. By the end of the week we will officially be 1/3 finished with this pregnancy. This one is still blowing my mind. I’ve started to feel a little better and sleep a little better which are both more than welcome. And then there’s this:

12.5 weeks. This was about a 20 week belly with Leah.

God help me.

 

 

 

950 Hours.

And here we go again.

Kyle’s got another test next week. May 2, to be exact. Put that on your calendar’s now so you’ll remember to say your prayers. This will be his second go at the test he almost passed in November.

This test is seriously no joke. I don’t think I could ever describe how much time he has dedicated to this thing. Oh wait, yes I can, by next Thursday, Kyle will have studied for this one test for 950 hours.

950 hours!

Are you kidding me?! That’s a lot of hours, guys. A lot of hours he’s woken up early, gone to bed late, foregone a trip to the park with his family, or eaten lunch with only his note cards as company. I’ve never seen someone so dedicated in my life.

This test has taken it’s toll on everyone, but mainly Kyle. Do you know that he’s developed an eye twitch!

An eye twitch! Like his eye doesn’t function right anymore. I’d like to laugh, but I won’t. Ok, I will a little. Apparently eye twitches are caused by lack of sleep or stress. Seems like he was destined for one. Let’s just hope it’s temporary. Although, I suppose I’d love him regardless. It’d just be a little hard to look him in the eye. Poor guy. He also depends on coffee now. He had to do something in order to function at 4am every single morning – so coffee seemed like the trick. He used to complain, now I think he kinda likes it. Maybe not likes it, but he’s definitely tolerating it better than he used to. He’ll even drink it black if he’s desperate! I can’t imagine.

So here’s where we are. We’ve got one more full week to get through. He’s completely anxious already. We’ll take a fun family break and see the Card’s play this weekend. Then next week it’s all business. He’ll be home all day… studying. On Thursday he will take his 950 hours worth of studying and his twitchy eye and he will give his best shot at this 6 hour test. Again. And we are believing nothing less than the fact that he will pass.

On Friday we will celebrate. And breathe. And try to get his eye to work again.

Then we will go to Buffalo! I can tell you that because we got a house sitter that will stay here so you can’t rob us.

If we can make it through this week, and the first part of next week, we will be home free! And life will be good… until the next test. But we’re not thinking of that now.

Could you add him to your prayers? Maybe for a steady eye? Or the anxiety to lessen and the confidence to build? Or maybe that he will just straight up pass? Anything will do.

God help us.

Mama Poop!

I’ve been lazy this week.

Well, not entirely. But when it comes to blogging – yes. Most days I didn’t even want to open the computer at nap time. But alas, here I am.

Where should we start? Potty? Milk? Gymnastics?

Ok, we’ll start with gymnastics. We’ve got a little gymnast on our hands. My goodness we made an active kid. I love it so much. She has so much fun running and jumping and somersaulting (definitely not her mother’s child). She just loves to move… any way she can. So I signed her up for a class today to see if we should sign her up for a whole session.

And the resounding answer is… yes! Now we just need to find a million dollars to do it. Why do these gym people think they deserve so much money??? But gosh, Leah had the time of her life. She ran like a maniac, did her somersaults, and showed everyone just how much she likes to play soccer. She acted like she’d been in the class for weeks already. She knew exactly what to do. It was fun to watch her get to run around with other kids. She really has no other friends her age besides her cousins who refuse to move from Columbia, so it was good for her to interact. She shared with a couple of them and I could see her mind figuring out how to mimic what some of them were doing. It was just a good social experience for her. She loved helping the teaching clean up – teachers pet. She was not a fan of the singing and clapping portion of class; she was way too tempted by the uneven bars and all the climbing fun. But I think if we went more she’d pick up on the routine. She’s also not inspired by music whatsoever, she would rather move. But forcing her to sing and clap once a week wouldn’t kill her :).

The teacher commented on how well she fit in, her running while kicking abilities, and her grip on the uneven bars – I’m sure it was all to get me to get my checkbook out – but I was a proud mom nonetheless.

From here let’s go to potty training! Talk about a freaking proud mom! She wears one diaper a day pretty much every day. What the heck?! We are just gelling together really well with this. She’s telling me a lot of the time when she needs to go, and I can pick up on her wiggling the other times. She has told me in the middle of watching TV and playing outside! That’s a big deal! I’m so proud of her, we officially started “stage one” last week if you recall. I was not anticipating it going this quickly. She must have just been ready, that’s all I have to say to that. She went before gymnastics, was dry throughout, told me she had to go when we got home, and went! She’s an easy kid. I’m still not pushing anything, she’s still not in underwear, she’s still loving it, and we’re not changing any of that. But gosh she makes it easy. Here’s a fun story:

She gets excited for me now when I go, which is rather fun. I guess because I cheer for her, she returns the favor. She has also changed her potty word from “poo poo” to just “poop.” Thank you, Kyle. So now, no matter what potty she goes she just says “poop” and we run to the bathroom. So yesterday we were in Kohls and I was going to the bathroom. I finish and Leah yells, “yay, mama, POOP!” “Mama poop!” I wanted to crawl in a hole. Of course there was one other person in there with us, God knows what she was thinking. For the record, I did not poop. Thank you, Leah.

And milk.

We went to the doctor for her 18 month check up the other day, ha. She’ll be 22 months in two weeks. Whatever. She was healthy as a horse, of course. I didn’t neeeed to take her other than to get a shot, I guess that’s why I was so behind. So we started talking about allergies. She sneezes a ton these days, and we decided it’s probably environmental… or dog hair. He gave us some medicine to use when needed, and also told me as long as Leah and Duncan aren’t on top of each other it should be ok. Ha! Ya right. I’ll just use the medicine, thanks. So anyways, over the past month I’ve been giving her little bits of things that have milk in them. And she has had no eczema breakouts. He said her body could have settled down to the effect milk has on her body. Wahoo!

But here’s what that means. I will not now or ever give her a glass of milk. Ever. It’s horrible for her whether she’s allergic or not. It’s filled with crap I don’t want to talk about. Cows make milk for their babies… not humans! Anyways (I’m done with that); this does open the door for fun treats like M&Ms and donuts. I won’t overload her now or ever because, well, I don’t want her being obese. But I am excited to let her partake in life’s little treasures. If I do notice a breakout, we will scale back again. But for now, I’m introducing slowly. I will still take the cheese off her pizza for now because I don’t want to overwhelm her gut. But she did get her first Kraft Singles slice of cheese… and was very excited. I will still make my own icing and most baked goods without milk, because we’ve learned that most of them taste better with the substitutes, but if she wants a milky treat sometime… she can have one.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to look under the couch cushions and try to find the money the gym people think they deserve for teaching Leah how to run and play.

 

Moving Right Along.

Well, the littlest Proebsting is going to be 11 weeks soon.

Time flies.

I remember with Leah how slowly these early weeks used to go. I would count down the individual days until the next doctor’s appointment. Not so anymore. For my last appointment I kept forgetting, and the morning of I was really just wishing she would come to my house to poke my stomach for the minute I would have been in her office. I guess I’m pretty distracted these days, because I am constantly caught off guard by how fast everything is going. That’s kind of a scary thought – I’m sure I will blink my eyes and be holding this little one very soon. And still trying to keep Leah alive. And yelling at Duncan. And trying to keep a house.

Boy, maybe we should have thought this through!

No. I’m happy, and excited 99% of the time. And the 1% isn’t dread, just more of oh crap what are we doing? But I guess we will figure it out. After all, I’m not the first person to have two kids, right? My sister’s still alive, and she had a newborn when her oldest was Leah’s age now… now that is just asinine.

So the little one is already causing quite a ruckus. Of course. This has proven to be my sickest week. Still very minimal puking, but the nausea can go anytime. It’s horrible starting about 5… when I need to get everyone fed. It gets worse at about 2am, and I’m usually up til 4 tossing and turning trying to ignore the puke feeling. Then I settle back into a semi-good sleep and Leah wakes up…Bam… another day. I usually wake up pretty sick, but shoving food in my mouth helps after about an hour. Then I’m good to go until 5.

I am welcoming some much needed energy back into my life though. Hallelujah. I feel like I have somewhat of a handle on the house again. There are currently no dirty clothes to be found, my biggest achievement. Our bedrooms and bathrooms are clean again. Leah’s playroom is clean, and that really doesn’t happen even when I’m not pregnant. And because I am celebrating all of this energy – I even cleaned out the fridge! Turns out, when you through away all the expired food… it looks rather clean. And empty. Guess I’ll have to fill it again – usually not a problem these days.

I think I’m going to get some serious charlie horses with this baby. I only had one night of them with Leah, and that was the first night of my third trimester. This time around, if I hold a spoon too long my entire hand cramps up. Writing is a nightmare. I was stirring cookie dough last night (of course) and I thought my hand was going to be permanently fixed around the spatula. Ow. So I feel like that is only going to get worse. I made myself eat a banana today to try and help, but really, a banana is not a cookie – and the baby knows that. Yuck. We’ll see how this turns out.

This crazy baby is an inch and a half. It’s even more crazy to me the second time around just how small they start out – because I’ve seen the finished product. These things start out as poppy seeds and end up babies! It’s true, I’ve seen it happen. It will always blow my mind I think. I mean an inch and a half – that’s less than my finger – and yet huge compared to what he was two weeks ago. Her (look, I said HER) vital organs have formed and are starting to function. Jesus, let them function well. He (okay, back we go) has fingernails, ears, a tongue, unwebbed fingers and toes, and nipples. His brain is going crazy with developing neurons. If she’s a girl she’s got her ovaries, if he’s a boy he’s got his testosterone. His arms and legs are bending and moving. (More on that soon). All in all, most of the foundation of this little baby has been laid. Now we grow. And grow and grow and grow. He has transitioned from embryo to fetus – holla.

And me, well, I’m still eating steak sauce.

Oh my gosh, someone help.

I actually bought normal people salsa to try and stop myself, but I can’t be stopped. I don’t think I’ll ever actually open the jar – salsa and chips – how strange. Steak sauce and chips is just way too appealing right now. And pickles. And vinegar. And subway. And lemonade. Mmmmmm. Something about tangy is really sending me to the moon. Whatever, I guess I’ll just let it happen. My sleeps sucks. My dreams are insane. My bladder has calmed down – a little. My energy is back – most of the time. I’m very pukey. I’m wearing maternity clothes. My chest region is out of control. My taste buds are on crack. My memory is shot.

I’m pregnant.

And getting more so everyday.

 

 

Oh, and Leah went potty three times this morning – we’re having a really fun time with it. Love that little girl.

 

Dirty Feet.

Ahhhhh, if you need us from now until November… we will be outside!

Spring has finally sprung around here, and we could not be happier! We are a filthy bunch of Proebsting’s. And I mean that in a good way! We are outside almost all day long and we do not wear shoes. We play in the mud. We spray Duncan with the hose. We dump bottles of bubbles all over ourselves. We run through the grass and draw all over the patio (and house) with sidewalk chalk. It’s a good time around here. We have filthy feet, hands, and nails. (But we do wash them lots, don’t worry).

Yesterday was the first day I was able to throw everyone outside first thing in the morning – and that will continue until it snows again. It’s so amazing. We just have better days when they start with fresh air and exercise. We had our breakfast outside both mornings, and today we added in lunch as well. I made our first batch of lemonade and bought our first watermelon. Leah was less than enthused about watermelon -what a weirdo. Just like her dad. Who doesn’t like watermelon?!

If we are not outside for some weird reason, we are inside with all the windows open. Man, I love this time of year.

Doing what good homeowners do, we tended to the gardens all weekend. Turns out, I hate gardening. Who knew? It was fun to be outside, and to watch Kyle shovel rocks – but I really just liked the end product. If I never picked another weed again it would be too soon. The new baby also hates gardening; it did a number on me squat down and get up so much. But I have recovered, and we have a very pretty front garden now. Here’s to hoping we don’t kill it. If anything, our flowers are at high risk for drowning thanks to Leah’s obsession with the hose. And her watering can. And dumping regular cups of water.

Speaking of Leah, I think she definitely loves the warmer weather – she has been in the best mood for a whole week! And she won’t shut up. Seriously, with the talking. Last night at the dinner table Kyle and I were trying to talk to each other and I just kept noticing our voices getting higher to try to drown hers out. I had both my hands on my cheeks and just looked at her and said, “shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Ha, I love her, I really do. And I love her sweet little voice and all she has to say – but my God, listening to her all day takes a lot out of me. Not to mention she really doesn’t take a break… ever. She goes on and on and on, intermingling words and babble. Which I suppose is good – but at the same time – shh!

But I really am happy for all of her words, and that she loves to talk as much as she does. This past week or two we have entered a new stage with her – two and three word simple sentences. It’s so fun. Her favorites are:

• That’s dada!
• That’s Dunkie! (Duncan)
• It’s mama.
• Mama help.
• Where is that Pooh?
• Right there (when asked to point something out in a book).
• Hi Dunkie!
• I jump
• Dunkie ball
• Mama ball
• Dada ball (she loves anyone to play ball)
• No more
• No Dunkie!
• I ople (apple) (as in, can I have an apple)
• It’s boooo (blue)
• It’s geeeee (green)
• Where is Dunkie
• Mama poo-poo (she thinks she’s potty training me)
• It’s a cookie
• I pop (can I have a popsicle)
• It’s a duck! (she is loving ducks)
• It’s open
• It’s on
• I up

You get the idea. It’s fun to have little conversations with her. And then sometimes I want a mute button for a second. 🙂

She is starting to develop a new relationship with Duncan – yelling at him. She’s not mean to him on purpose like she was for a couple weeks, but she loves to get him in trouble! And anytime she gets hurt, whether or not he is actually to blame, she always yells DUNKIE! Heaven forbid he does accidentally hurt her, I don’t hear the end of it – and neither does he. Yesterday he walked over her foot and she talked about it for 30 minutes. And kept pointing at him and saying Dunkieeeeeeeeee. And showing me her foot.

Geeeeez, toddlers.

They’re fun, but exhausting.

That’s about it. We are lovers of the great outdoors. And talking non-stop.

Stage One.

Well, I believe we have embarked on some sort of potty training journey.

Go us!

Here are two things I know about potty training both from the class I had to take and past experience (the kid I nannied; I don’t have another baby locked somewhere in a closet): 1) It doesn’t have to be accident ridden and stressful and 2) I don’t decide any of it.

I am not in control of Leah’s bladder. I don’t know when she has to go unless she tells me. I don’t know what she’s feeling. Only she knows those things. And actually, at this point, she is just figuring those things out herself. I am of the attitude “it will happen when it happens.” I have not put a deadline or an age limit on this process – for both of our sakes.

But we had to start – because Leah said so.

She tells me now when she has to/is going to the bathroom. Usually by saying “poo-poo” because her father taught her that phrase. His contribution to the potty training process of which I am most grateful. It doesn’t matter which type of potty she is going… poo poo means something’s going on… or will be going on shortly.

The fact that she is aware of the “potty” sensations is a sign that can’t be ignored. I want to take advantage of the clues that she’s giving me that she is getting ready for the big step. But I don’t want to jump in to fast of hinder anything that she might be learning about herself in the process. This is her body… her experience. Not mine. I’ve already been through it.

So I call this stage one. In stage one, as you might expect, we are just beginning. We do not stop what we are doing and run to the potty at the drop of a hat. In this stage, I am in charge of teaching her the difference between “wet” and “dry,” which is a big mental milestone she needs to reach before we move to stage 2. I explain what’s in her diapers. I tell her when I have to go potty (and she gets excited for me, ha). We are spending more time on her potty (well, I guess only she is, but I sit next to her). She is learning to sit still on the potty and be patient (usually with bandaids or toys or buddies), which is another big milestone to get us to stage 2. She is mega rewarded for going on the potty. She is praised for telling me when she is going, even if it’s in her diaper. There are no underwear involved; diapers have worked for us thus far, and will continue working until we do buy underwear someday. In stage one, she is encouraged to sit on the potty often; but never forced. We adapted our morning routine to include going to the potty right from bed. She will not be punished (ever) for not going on her potty, or for going in her diaper instead. This is the stage where mama can’t screw up. I can’t push, and I can’t get frustrated. I can only be happy and proud of whatever progress she makes. I have to realize that this process takes a lot out of her mentally. It’s not easy for her like it is for me. If I mess up in stage one… we may never get to stage 2. I don’t want her to ever hate it. If she hates it, she will hold it and we will be at high risk for a bladder infection – the worst of all situations during potty training. I don’t want her to get frustrated with herself. I don’t want her to be scared of a negative reaction from me (or Kyle) about an accident. I want her to only think this is fun, and only focus on her rewards of candy and praise (and ridiculous amounts of bandaids – why do kids LOVE bandaids?!). I need her to come out of stage one thinking she is a big girl, and very capable of using the potty. This stage should go pretty smoothly (again, if I do it right) – Leah really can’t screw up. She either goes in her diaper or goes on the potty – she doesn’t have accidents right now. We just do a lot more talking about it and practicing for stage 2.

Mama can’t mess up stage one! That’s a lot of pressure.

I’m actually excited. It gives us something new to work on. I kind of think it’s a fun little process, probably because I don’t let myself think otherwise. But it is – I mean, I’m helping her do a very big girl thing that only she can do herself. If I don’t screw it up, she will come out of this experience learning to be very proud of herself and feeling very big. Kind of cool, right? And at the end of it… she will be a big girl! Ahh!

So that’s where we are this week. And for the weeks to come. Lord knows when stage 2 will start. It would be awesome if we could conclude the training process by the time new baby comes, but that will be up to Leah I suppose.

2nd Babies are Weird.

I’ll say it again, second babies are weird. Or second pregnancies. I’m not sure which. But I can’t help but blame the baby.

I guess I just assumed I knew how to be pregnant. I’ve done it once before. I knew somethings would change, I guess, but I don’t know if I actually believed that. Turns out, there is truth in the statement no two pregnancies are the same. I just sit around in awe a lot of the time at how much different this time around is. There is not one similarity I can find between baby number one and baby number two.

And baby number two is a weirdo. I say that in the most loving/nuturing/motherly way possible.

Subway – Do we remember how Leah couldn’t tolerate Subway? Not for a second. I think I chewed up and spit out three subs, and then violently puked up one that I did manage to swallow. She just wasn’t having it. So I stopped eating it, and wondered if I ever would again. After she was born, I went right back to eating it like normal. Until the last few months we ate it on a regular basis, but then I guess started getting sick of it. As of last week, however, all I can think about is Subway. I want it all.the.time. I’ve had it three times in the last week – and if I didn’t have to pay for it, I would have eaten it every day. My mouth waters thinking about it – so you can imagine what’s happening to me right now. Not just any sub will do, though. It must be a spicy Italian on Italian Herbs and Cheese with green peppers, banana peppers, lots of lettuce, a few onions, oil and vinegar. Now someone, please, go bring me one.

Cuties – Remember how I had to have 6 clementines a day with Leah? I would go through several boxes in a week. This time… no thanks. I still buy them, because it turns out Leah is still obsessed, but I have no desire to eat one. I ate a slice of one of hers yesterday and had a little difficulty swallowing it. Weird.

This baby wants nothing good for him. He wants cake and ice cream and pasta and pizza and Subway.

His sister wanted fruit and green beans.

Do you want to know what I ate today? A1 sauce. You know, for steak. I just ate it – a lot of it. Then I felt weird because I couldn’t stop, so I started dipping chips in it. You know, because A1 sauce is the new salsa. And adding chips made it seem like a meal. Geeeeez. Who in the world is in my belly?!

I felt very much in control of myself with Leah. It was easy to avoid things and to keep on top of my eating. This time… no dice. It’s like I’m not even in charge of me anymore. My belly looks different this time. Leah was a ball. This guy is more an oval.

I’m telling you… I wasn’t prepared for any of this.

But I love him. Or her. And his crazy appetite (in no way am I claiming this appetite as my own).

 

 

Updates.

Darn the babies that like to be born during office hours.

No, not mine – he’s still got quite a while to bake. I’m talking about whomever decided to make their grand entrance at 10:30am this morning. During my doctor’s appointment! How dare they, right?

So ya, I had a doctor’s appointment today. With Leah. It was at 10:30… I saw the doctor at 12:15. Absolute torture. Leah’s nap is at 12. We usually eat lunch at 11. We missed all of those things. Man, I was frustrated. And huuuungry. However, Leah was much better than I was at waiting. She was a gem actually. Never fussed. She played with a little girl in the waiting room, then watched Pooh on my phone while we waited in the room.

But. I’m fine. New baby’s fine. I saw the doctor for all of 3 minutes, but things were good. I gained 3lbs.

Nooooooooooo.

At this point with Leah I was down 7lbs. I didn’t gain a pound with her until 14 weeks. So it’s kind of alarming, but I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m freaking starving all the time, and if I don’t eat all the time I get sick… sooooo. I guess I’ll just gain 4000lbs this time around. Hopefully I lose it as fast as I did with Leah. This constant eating cannot be good for anyone. It’s gotta be a boy, right? I feel like little girls don’t require this crazy amount of food? She’ll be a tank if it is a girl I guess.

The little (big) guy (girl) is 9 and a half weeks old. The size of a grape. His organs are finishing up their rapid development in the next two weeks. His webbing between the fingers and toes is disappearing. His head is half the size of his body, sure hope that shrinks up before he’s born. His eyes are finished. Yay! Wonder if he’ll have pretty baby blues like his sister?

Speaking of his sister – she’s too much for me. She is a HAM. I may never see her eyes in a picture again. When I want to take her picture now she says CHEEEEEESE and squints as hard as she can. I really need it to start warming up so we can spend more time outside. We get out here and there, but I’m ready to live outside. She’s still obsessed with Winnie the Pooh and his friends (except Rabbit). She’s crazy about grapes. She loves to pray… it’s not uncommon for us to pray 84 times per meal. She’s been sleeping until 730, sometimes closer to 8 in the mornings – and no one is complaining. She has every last tooth and molar – can’t wait to start that all over again with number 2.

Our Buffalo trip is really coming together! I’ve got everything booked, the car reserved, our itinerary set, and lots of baby crap shipped to grandma’s. I figured it would be easier to buy and ship diapers/pack and play/stroller/soap/toys… hopefully I’m right. It’ll save some room in my suitcase, that’s for sure. And it will all be waiting for us. So we bought a car seat and I was going to carry it with us and then check it in the airport… well that was a horrible idea. We tried to put it in Kyle’s car one night and it didn’t work in his car! So who’s to know if it would have worked in a rental car. Can you imagine if I would have lugged that thing all the way there only to find out it didn’t fit in our rental car?! I would have died. So we are returning it and I rented a car with a car seat. So we pay a little more.. oh.well. This trip is going to be something – I’m so excited, but also anxious of getting us there. I’ve still got some odds and ends to finish up, like getting Kyle’s bus ticket, but hopefully I will finish everything this week.

In the meantime we go play with the cousins this weekend!