Mission Accomplished

I think he's potty trained! He knows when he needs to go and most of the time he does it on his own. Now if only I could teach him how to wipe correctly. The other day I was one the phone and he came up and sat on my lap. When the phone call ended and I stood up, what did I find on my light colored pants? Yup, a smear from you know where. I didn't even know he had just gone potty. Oops!

Each time he had success in the potty we had a mini celebration. Now that he has success all the time(I say that lightly), how do I keep him from celebrating in public restrooms when I go? I'm pretty sure the rest of the world doesn't care if I went poo poo or pee pee. Or as Camden often says in a scary monster voice, "a big big big poo poo".

You're next Jace!

PROP 8

One of the reasons all kids deserve a dad...

Only a dad would blow up an entire package of balloons while their child took a nap...just because!

One of the reasons all kids deserve a mom...

Only a mom would deflate all the balloons while the aforementioned kid took another nap...just to vacuum.

5 Months

Jace is 5 months old today(note to self-only 4 more months to loose baby weight). He is such a joy and such a good baby. He has the appetite of a teenage boy. We recently started feeding him baby food and he has downed it like a champ. He will eat two cans of food and then take a full 6-8 ounces of formula! If he keep this up he will definitely out weigh his brother in no time!

He is happy most all of the time and is easily entertained. He loves having a toy in his hand and will protest if it's taken away. He loves his bouncer and enjoys feeling a part of things while sitting up in the bumbo.

He usually takes two 1-2 hour naps throughout the day with an occasional cat nap here and there. He loves to be snuggled and gets plenty of it. He loves a binky and blanket to put him to sleep and is a champion at night. His hair is a must and always sticking up in the back. He is obsessed with Camden and laughs his hardest for him. He has mastered rolling all over the place and is working on putting his own binky in his mouth(he often settles for his thumb). We are so lucky to have him in our family!

Potty Time

Out of the blue, several weeks ago, Camden decided to pee in a bucket he uses at bath time. I gave him all sorts of applause and so this continued. I deemed it a problem when he started carrying the bucket around the house wanting to pee in it all day, meanwhile splashing the pee all over. With excitement I took Camden to the store and invested in one of those little potty's I swore I'd never buy. I was foolish enough to think he would love it and no longer want diapers.

Obviously it didn't work out the way I had planned because he was terrified of the stupid thing, not to mention even more terrified of the regular toilet. So I decided he wasn't ready. I kept it out just in case he changed his mind. I often found myself holding his baby "Eddie" on it while secretly pouring water in the bottom as if he peed. I wanted Camden to like the potty, and if he saw his baby liked it, why wouldn't he?

That didn't work either. Until...Saturday Camden woke up and asked to sit on the potty. I took off his diaper and sat him down not expecting anything but tears. What I got was so much better...a good amount of pee and a skid mark on the seat. We called Daddy, Nanny, and Uncle Caleb to tell them the good news. I made such a big deal out of it but deep down tried not to get my hopes up. He asked to sit on the potty a few more times that day so I ran with it. I went out and bought underwear and a dinosaur.

The next morning I left him in the buff and placed the dinosaur in plain site on top of the fridge. I told him he could have it if he went poop. He whined for a good couple hours about the dinosaur so I knew he REALLY wanted it. It was 5 minutes before I was to be heading out the door for church that he decided to go. And he really did go, a "big big poop in the potty" as he called it. So we had a huge celebration which included candy, dancing, singing, high fives, dinosaurs, running around in circles, and jumping up and down while rushing out the door.

So in all his glory...Meet "Dino"(said in a scary voice).

Needless to say I am all over this. We spent most of our day doing things like this in the nude, all while drinking lots to from a cup(goodbye sippy).

We even braved an outing to the store in underwear. What could be so important you ask? I promised him another dinosaur if he went poop. And lucky for both of us, he delivered. I didn't want to go back on a promise and have him stick it to the man. If buying all the dino's the store had left(at the dollar spot) means no more diapers, bring it on. I'm proud to say we had no catastrophes while strolling through Target. But we did go to the bathroom three times during the twenty minutes we were there.

I guess it's official, we're potty training. I even called the babysitter and she's game. Should I consider myself lucky to be working the next two days? Thank goodness for Dad's and babysitters(wink wink)!

Dear Baby Jace

Tonight as I sat in the rocking chair trying to get you and your brother to fall asleep, I had "one of those moments"! Camden was in bed whispering prayers over and over in an attempt to not fall asleep. I had my head back against the chair resting with my eyes closed and you in my arms. You had just fallen asleep when all of a sudden you decided something was funny. You let out the sweetest laugh all while keeping your eyes closed. Something really got you going because it continued for a while. Even Camden said, "Jace Man funny".

You have brought so much JOY into our home. I am overwhelmed with the amount of LOVE I have for you. Thank you for being such a GOOD and HAPPY baby, you truly make being a mom easy!

I love you Jacers!

Turning A Corner

I've been out of the blogging scene for far too long and have been sick and tired even longer than that. But this week marks a turning point in our sick and tiredness. Camden and Jace both slept through the night!!! This is monumental folks. I honestly don't remember the last time that has happened; this in itself is a miracle.

We have seen such a difference in Camden's sleeping patterns since having his tonsils and adenoids out. He asks to lay down for a nap and for the most part, wakes up happy. And the biggest thing I've noticed is he isn't falling asleep everytime he sits down for more than a couple minutes. A Christmas miracle I tell ya!

Jace is starting to take better naps during the day. He has always been so chill and never needed much attention. Lately he has become a wee bit fussier(really not bad) and so I felt like he needed a better nap. For the past two days he has done just that. He has taken a two hour naps two days in a row. WOW.

Dan and I both took our last pill for the pneumonia yesterday, it feels good to be done. Those pills made my tummy rumble and my face fat. We have both noticed a huge difference in how we feel, less congestion and the cough is almost non-existent. Yeah for a kind and wise doctor.

About two months before I delivered Jace my ears filled with fluid and I couldn't hear. I felt like I was living with my head in a bubble of water. It drove me nuts. To make a long story short I couldn't find an ENT that would treat me, or even see me, because I was pregnant(don't get me started). So after delivering Jace and demanding a referral from my PCP I finally got seen by an ENT. Evidently I had fluid overload from my pregnancy(no duh), and because the fluid never drained I received a fungal and staph infection. I was treated, and went on my way.

Until a couple weeks ago when the same feeling came back, and I was living in a bubble again. Only this time it was coupled with severe vertigo. So to make another long story short, on Monday I went to the ENT and had a hole cut in both eardrums to drain the fluid. My eardrums feel a little numb and ache from time to time, but I can hear things I never knew made noise. Very weird. The vertigo still comes and goes but I'm hopeful that will resolve once my eardrums have healed.

I love this corner we've turned, things look brighter over on this side!