April 8, 2012

It is Ester Sunday.  Yesterday the easter bunny came.  It was a lot of fun.

Kate-hiding in Niches, using easter baskets as purses, screaming and pointing at everything, running around, throwing a fit whenever we have to come inside.  Reaching for her pink crocheted blankie, falling to sleep right away when she is tired.

Isaac- Asks a million questions.  Super Picky eater.  Independent. Loves to look at books and read independently. Comes running to look for me every morning. Loves Kate.

I should make a sacrament clock...kids can turn the hand and follow along.  They can learn sequencing.  Pictures of how they are to act maybe?  Maybe I could quilt it to look like a page in a quiet book?  Hmmm What a great idea.

Ample Ideas the blog, started this week.  I think it's going to be good.

February 2, 2011

Sunday night my mom and dad met Isaac and I in Brighton. We went up to Midland for a couple days. I needed a change of scenery as I anticipate the arrival of this baby girl. I was getting sick of feeling cooped up at home. It was nice to get away. I had two great morning naps, hung out with my mom and Pam, and had a manicure/pedicure by Deb. When I visited with Pam we went to the Plaid Giraffe to see if they had christening gowns. The ones that I liked were of course over $150 dollars. So, I got some ideas of what I liked and went to a fabric store with my mom. We got a really nice satin bastiste and some lace for it. Then, last night we put our heads together and designed it. I am really excited about it. It will be simple, timeless, and perfect. I hope it comes out the way I am imagining it.

Isaac has been a dream. His potty training continues to go well and he is so happy. Sometimes I get sad thinking someone else is coming to our family. Not that I am not anxious to meet her and have her with us, I just love our family right now. I love the relationship I have with Isaac. I love the routine we have. I love the mommy/Isaac time that we have together. I know I won't lose that. It will just be different.

I have been pleading in my prayers for Heavenly Father to bless me to have this baby on my own. I still have 2 days until my due date, but I am really wanting to have her soon. I am nervous that she is going to be as big as her brother. I don't want to put a time limit on Heavenly Father, however, I know he knows the desires of my heart and the situation at hand.

Jonathan seems happy. He is doing well in school and is almost done with his appointment as Health and Life Sciences Club President. Elections are next week. I am excited for him to be done.

We taught Isaac Duck, Duck, Goose during family home evening the other night. It was hilarious. He loved running around and chasing us. He knows his Thomas the Train songs by heart but won't sing them. He makes us sing them and then fills in the words. I am waiting for the day when he just busts out into song. I know he knows all of the songs we listen to. In sacrament on Sunday I got a glimpse of this. We were sitting in our Pew during the announcements or opening song and he busted out singing his Thomas song. He was singing all the words and the correct tune as well. It made me smile.

Pam and John came down last Friday to help out. All of the last minute little things that I wanted to do were finished. John and Jonathan organized and swept the basement. It is so much more functional now and I feel like I can breathe when I go down there. We are putting on a coat of clear acrylic based paint to the cradle so the woods are darker. They weren't matching because Grandpa Witt used three different types of wood when he made the cradle. It has been a time consuming project, but I think we are finally getting the result that we want.

There was a blizzard watch in effect last night. We only got like 8 inches of snow. It doesn't seem like much. I want to get Isaac dressed up in his snow suit so he can play in the snow when he wakes up. I think he would like that. Sometimes I think I keep him cooped up too much. Roxann always let's her kids play outside. I just don't necessarily want to dress out and go with him. He needs a sibling or neighborhood buddy.

My heart has been acting up again. Yesterday it went on from about 5:00 in the morning to 9-10:00. I actually went to the doctor's and he said my heart rate was high. I didn't even notice it at 150 bpm. I wonder what that means when my head hurts, my throat and chest get tight, and I can feel my heart pumping through every part of my body. It makes me nervous because they say to to go to the ER to stop it. Well, if I think about going to the ER it sounds like a waste of time and a lot of trouble. Who do I find to watch Isaac? When i get there what if it already stopped? It is very unpredictable. I feel a little light headed right now and my heart is racing but everyone is in bed. I hope this little girl is okay when my heart does this. None of the physician's seem concerned about it though so I guess it is fine.

We potty trained Isaac. 2 weeks ago, the Monday after we got home from Christmas break, the subject randomly came up during breakfast. Jonathan seemed really enthusiastic about it, so since he would be home that week I thought. Sure, let's give it a try. The first 2 days were...disastrous! We put him on the toilet every 15 minutes to a motorcycle timer. He still managed to pee within sittings all over himself and his toys. I think we used all 8 pairs of underwear in one day! The third day he started saying uh-oh when he had an accident. The fourth day I cut back the time to 25 minutes or so...being a little more trusting. He stayed dry the whole day! The Fifth day I put him on the potty every 45 minutes and he would go like clockwork. Since then he has stayed dry throughout the day and can has good bladder control. Now, I put him on the toilet every hour or so. He has had incidents of telling us needs to go potty and goes by himself. I also started feeding him earlier and putting him down for a nap later so I could try and get a BM before he took his nap. It has worked three out of four days. The day it didn't work he put himself down for a nap because I fell asleep on him. That was the day my heart had been acting up all morning. I was exhausted. So, we have a potty-trained little man who has made several outings successful. I consider myself blessed to have such a smart kid and that he was not traumatized by the potty training experience!! He has a couple weeks until his little sister comes to solidify everything. I don't think he will regress, but if he does, at least he has a really great foundation.

I made a list today of all of things I need to do before the baby comes. I have kind of been putting it off so I could do these things with my mother. She has been really busy though, so I may have to start on my own without her. I have started sanding down the cradle that we are refinishing. It has turned into a really big job. I almost have all the previous stain off and will be able to sand it with the finer sandpaper next. Hopefully, we will get it stained this weekend so we can let it dry and put it together. I also finished crocheting her blanket today. I didn't complete the pattern because the last part was tricky. However, I was able to put on a shelled edging that turned out beautifully. I have never done an edging before and it really does make it look more finished and complete. I love it! The soft pink will look so good in her dark stained cradle with white bedding!

Isaac-I can't put into words how much I love that little boy! He has so much fun with his trains and loves to learn. We have been working on letters, numbers, shapes, and colors! He knows a lot of them and loves his sesame street flash cards. I need to go to the dollar store and get some more for him. He is so sweet to me. He always asks me if I had fun dreams in the morning...and after my naps. He cuddles and reads with me. He reads on his own, turning pages. He will finish phrases in books because he has them memorized. He loves to swing in the chinchurro in the basement.

Potty Training

On Monday during breakfast potty training was brought up. Jonathan said, let's do it! I was a little surprised by his enthusiasm. I was also still debating in my mind whether or not we should since we were having the baby in a month. However, considering Jonathan would be home all week we decided to go for it! Well, the first two days seemed like there was accident after accident. That he didn't get it at all. However, we were consistent. I would still put him on the toilet every 15 minutes. Well, then the accidents were less frequent and the past two days he has stayed dry. I have started to notice a pattern of when he goes. I also noticed that he will go on the potty! Like he saves it or something to go in the potty. I am sure the treats help, but I think he is getting it. I am so proud of him. Today we went to an activity at church. I set the 'motorcycle timer' and he went to the potty in the restroom. I brought his toilet seat cover for the toilet so it wasn't unfamiliar for him. Then we went to the store, came home and he went again. So far so good. It is nice not to have to be so on top of him...but I am still waiting for him to say, "I need to go potty!!" I am sure he will eventually as he gets better and starts to realize it. He is still in diapers at night. He also wears a pull-up for naps. I might change that, but for now it is okay with me. He doesn't think he is wearing diapers at least.

This has been the scariest part of parenting so far. I am so glad we didn't put it off and that he was ready for it!!

Way to go Isaac.

An Easier Way

I have attempted to write an electronic journal for two years now. I have had major issues getting it published and adding pictures. Many people use their blogs and turn them into books. However, it never sat right with me to share everything, every day, and have it go public. So this year, I am going to use my own private blog as an interface and then publish it. Third times a charm right? The other two journals...they will be published they most likely won't be very pretty though.