Undie Time

Sydney has been waiting to ride the potty train for awhile now. As it got closer to time we explained what the potty train was. That she would be a big girl soon and would get to practice listening to her body and using the potty.
Sydney was SO excited! (And so was Bella!!! She even told her church teachers -which they all thought was hilarious and had to come tell me-and then "Sydney is getting potty trained" was her good news-during the good news minute.) We decided the long weekend due to to MLK Day would work perfect.
Sydney woke to lots of drinks and salty/crunchy snacks. Bella was anxious for this!

She opened the big exciting box and was so excited to get her potty and set it up and get right on.

So we started in on our potty show marathon:

Daniel Tigers Neighborhood - Prince Wednesday Goes to the Potty/Daniel Goes to the Potty. (season 2, episode 1).
Blues Clues - Morning Music (season 5, episode 27)
Special Agent Oso - Potty Royale (season 2, episode 34).
Peg + Cat - The Potty Problem/The Butter Problem
(season 3, episode 4).
Dinosaur Train Dinosaur Poop! (season 2, episode 2)
Nina needs to go series on Disney Junior
Bear in the big blue house - Potty Time

She LOVED her potty reward sticker sheet. And seriously she'd get so excited for another "heartbeat" sticker, it totally motivated her to go and go and go, so she tried lots! And had some great progress!

It was great and by 10 AM she had had 4 successes, no accidents and seriously seemed like it had already clicked. I hadn't set a timer and I hadn't prompted her; her months of pull ups, and weeks of being able to basically change herself, and telling us constantly she peed or had to pee really seemed to prepare her and she was more than ready for this thing!

She had an accident around 11 but knew right away and stopped in her tracks and finished on the potty! Yay! Shea and I were both impressed and excited that are hopes that Sydney would prove easy to potty train seemed to be true. 

Then we busted out some play doh to play with while Piper napped around 12pm. Unfortunately the second half of potty training started right then with a mess. It could have been worse but I did my best to pull it together and after a bath start again.



About 30 minutes later she wet all over the floor. And hid. And then 30 minutes after that another mess and bath. She did seem to be frustrated with herself and kept saying, "stop and go potty right away" to herself as I cleaned her up. Then wet then a success then another mess, that I caught before it got too bad. I was exhausted but I'm sure she was too.

Dang it so much success early on and now it seemed we were struggling but not surprising really. I started reminding her every 30 minutes to try to go potty. That solved all accidents.

It seemed that  few hours of accidents was just a rough patch it had clicked. She ended day one with 11 successes and 6 accidents.
I will say Day One was EXHAUSTING for me. On the look out for potty stance, cleaning up after messes, washing underwear, keeping Piper away and settled so I could focus. I was so tired! And DONE by the end of the day. But really I was so lucky because that wasn't even too bad and that was the hardest day by far. Shea took morning duty for the rest of the weekend so I could sleep in and relax since I was so drained.

Day two she had NO accidents. And I lost count of successes. We didn't have to worry about poop messes because she didn't go. Although I tried to get her to go for awhile but notta.


Day three she did great again but we did have one poop mess to clean up. We were all a little frustrated it seemed she didn't get that part at all.
But hey at least she was mostly potty trained!
(Note: Daddy stayed home with her for church to keep her potty mode!)

Day 4 was monumental because she had no accidents and pooped in the potty!!!

I will say that over those days we did remind her on the hour and half hour when we saw it, but weren't diligent and there was no timer setting. So mostly it was her remembering to go all by herself. And she never even wets a little in her underwear before she goes, Bella struggled with this for a year! (Partly because Bella holds her bladder for long spans of time. We tried to correct that but no success yet.) We are so proud of Sydney! She loves to flush but hates washing her hands (she loved washing them before, what happened???). In terms of where she goes, on the first day I let her pick big or little potty but she wanted privacy in the big potty and made messes a couple times. So we made a little potty corner in the family room that we blocked from Piper and that's what she used all weekend. Except in the morning, or at bedtime. She used the big potty at those times with moms supervision. She never has used a potty seat on the toilet. She just holds onto the sides and never slips she just never really cared and has always done it like that when she tried to go months before. After the weekend was over we moved the little potty in the bathroom. We didn't need the visual potty reminder as much and then we didn't have to worry about Piper getting into it. She used pull ups at nap and night and on outings. She loved singing "I'm sitting on the potty, I'm sitting on the potty", while on the potty and saying "I'M A BIG GIRL NOW!" (Daddy taught her that!).

Friday she got her toy! As a reward for filling up her potty sheet! (She filled it up that very weekend.)
And we started undies at nap time.

UPDATE
Just before two weeks she started undies at night, she never wet her pull ups for two weeks! But apparently that was a coincident. Because she wet her undies at night most nights so we moved back to pull ups at night. She also started wearing undies when we went out, which was really only short drives to take and pick up con. She still wore a pull up to church. She is nervous around public toilets but still went (when Dad takes her?).
Right after two weeks she hit a regression and had accident after accident that weekend. So frustrating! We started reminding her again, especially when we recognized her poop stance.

At a month we plan to start undies at night again and try at church!

Insta Shout Out

The mornings before school are always rushed and loud and a little naggy as I get this lazy bum going. But I seriously am amazed by him he (almost) never complains and is (almost) always obedient. I know school is far from his favorites, but it's life and having a good routine helps a ton for him. But also he is loving and kind and sometimes his morning snuggles with me, tell me that it is out of love that our mornings go smoothly and I couldn't thank him enough for that. #connorlincoln

Winter Inside

Heat is so commonly took for granted but WOW we learned our lesson.

What a blessing heat is.

After a few days of icy temps and our heating struggling to keep up one cold night it gave out. 

We woke to cold toes and goosebumps. We busted out blankets and jackets and got Con to school. Shea stayed home to help remedy the situation! But before long we knew staying downstairs was not an option, it was too hard to keep warm. Even with the portable heater and heated blanket. So we elected to have a party in the master bedroom. It's on the top level and it's warmer up there naturally, heat rises and all. And it is the smallest level of the house, and there's not many windows. So with the heater going and blanket we were actually quite toasty. My mom offered us to come stay the night and we thought a lot about it but after already getting the bedroom so warm we didn't really need to. After picking up Con we got fast food and had a movie and picnic upstairs, and the kids all had a sleepover in our walk-in closet, the kids didn't want our heat to ever come back on. It was probably the best night ever for them! 

Fortunately, Shea was off and on the phone all day and got someone to come the next morning and by 8 AM our heat was running and warming our home right back up! 

It was a fun little adventure. And it can't help but remind me of one of my favorite childhood memories, camping out altogether downstairs when the power went out.

Times like those are what the best memories are made of. 

10 Months

UPDATE

mid stand attempt/balance check

Her first tooth cut! Front top right, on December 17th! Front top left, 21st! Front bottom right, 26th!  Front bottom left, 28th! Front canine 30th.
So with teeth up the WAZOO as you can imagine sleep is a rare commodity around here. We try but Shea and I are usually on shifts or take nightly turns because her sleep even with the help of orajel and Tylenol is rare and usually in spurts. And even eating at night doesn't seem to calm her. Although I can't blame her, so many teeth in so little time we are probably lucky we get the smiles we do. What's a girl to do?
With teeth coming it's not much longer for nursing I'm afraid I'm on my last month. I think 11 months we will start weaning and starting whole milk, wish us luck!
Her teeth aren't the only thing growing she is bursting out of 3-6 months and onto 6-9 months. And lots of warm layers make her happy.
I'd say in terms of walking she's in the stand, drop and crawl stage. So she cruises till she can't and maybe makes a wobbly step and then gracefully drops to crawl. When we try to push her to walk she just looks down and slowly cautiously sits down and crawls from point a to b.
Stairs. Oh yes she's curious about them but I am not ready quite yet. She took one attempt on the two wood ones we have and it wasn't pretty. Just ask her bloody lip. And now it seems as curious as she is she's a little scared of them noe, thank goodness. We try to block them for the moment considering she's still pretty wobbly when she's standing so I can't imagine her being a competent stair climber with out many falls!

Count those chompers!

LIKES 
Piper just learned to clap! And it makes me cheer every time she does! She's so proud and she's seriously irresistible!
Singing. And every now and then she'll participate too, with her own little hums of tunes and moans.
BALLOONS she's fascinated with them and loves climbing all over them! One hasn't popped yet but I'm sure that part won't be quite as much fun.
Playing with water in the sink while Mommy washes her off after meals.
Glasses. She loves you if you've got glasses on. Although she's fascinated  with grabbing them! The first time she saw me wearing them (I wear them to drive and watch tv occasionally) she stopped mid scream to examine and play and curiously figure out if this is still mommy!
High chair if there's endless food.
Obsessed with being upside down!
Late night slap happy smiles. Biggest smiles biggest laughs the hardest time to put her to bed is when she's so happy!
Biting Mom...
Talking. Occasionally she babbles and always with a grin, we LOVE IT! But for the most part she is a quiet girl.
She loves pulling herself up on everything and her latest discovery is using people, it's especially hard when Mom's moving around the kitchen only to find I have something attached to my leg and with my step goes her balance. Sydney loves it though and they are usually are in a fit of giggles when she does it. "Piper's got me, Piper's got me." -Sydney

Attemping to pull herself with handy dandy Sydney. 

DISLIKES 
Piper is starting to understand a little more, more and more. I don't know if it's my tone, my facial expression or the word but when I say "No" or "Ouch" she bursts into fat lip tears. It's probably one of the cutest little things without sounding too mean, it just makes me want to squeeze her even if she's biting or pinching or pulling - usually it's nursing that I have to use "No and Ouch". But man oh man she's adorable!
Bath time
Teething
It's winter so the cold wind is never fun, not to mention going into a cold car seat. So now we have to tote it in and out, or she will scream... well she'll scream less if it's not cold she still hates it.
Stopping when driving drives her mad! She can't stand when we're in idle.

FAVORITES
Daddy loves flipping Piper and getting her to do her full belly laughs!
Mommy loves when she is trying to play and gets excited and starts banging her body against the wall, my chest, the couch or whatever is behind her. She kinda thinks it is hilarious so she makes herself laugh while doing it and it makes us laugh too! The kids love pointing out her  "banging"!
Connor loves giving her hugs when he gets home from school. "Did you miss me?"
Bella loves to walk Piper around the house.
Sydney and Piper are seriously best friends. No one can make her laugh and smile more than Sydney. And listening to Sydney tell Piper "your my best friend", "I love you", "I make Piper laugh/smile"; those simple little words make my heart swell with mama pride! Love these loving sisters.
EVERYONE is obsessed with her new little teeth. Counting them and seeing them when she smiles. What a bittersweet feeling to see her smile change. Our baby girl is growing up!

Love Mommy

Dear Sydney Maeter,

I don't know if it is something about being the third, or being two, or just that your crazy! But I love you despite all the battles of independence and patience we're going through right now, your teaching me a heck of a lot. Your teaching me to be kind even when I'm on the verge of hair pulling and ears steaming because in all likelihood you truly were being joyfully innocent and lovingly creative. Your teaching me that your YOU, and you want to own that strength and independence. You are teaching me what it's like to have a wild child. You are teaching me that everything comes with a challenge. Is there some big conspiracy that says the third child has to be the biggest challenge? I mean really your 2 so what do I expect, but I mean you are a fighter lately. Everything is a battle. Getting dressed. Washing your hands. Getting in the car. Or out of the car for that matter. You are obsessed with being chased so of course EVERYTHING IS A GAME OF CHASE. Diaper changes. Baths. Getting to the car. Pretty much anytime I ask you to do something and your not holding my hand is a chase. It's so frustrating and scary and embarassing. But you love it despite what Mom thinks and I know to you its a game and I know because of that big old grin on your face every stinkin time!

But even with all the battles of being two you are still irresistible. You have a BIG personality. A WIDE vocabulary; and yes your favorites are poop and butt (fortunately we are over the [private part name] stage the day you learned you didn't have the boy one it became your favorite word to use in front of strangers, remember when you told our neighbor "Mom has a ..." yeah well I'm not sure those neighbors will ever think we are normal). But my favorites are when you randomly are at the store and start going by each aisle saying "inter-esting" or "in-credable". And your curls and smile and welcoming, friendly "hi" invite conversations from a wide variety of people we have long talks while checking out at the store and long talks with people while we're waiting in line to get food, and long talks while were at the doctor. Anyone that says hi back you start a conversation with you introduce yourself, you ask them their name, you tell them who your sisters are, you tell them what we're doing, you ask what they are doing, and on and on it goes till they are out of sight. It makes for some fun and sometimes awkward conversations, "you like cats? Oh my mom hates cats. One time my dad ran over a cat...", I wont lie often I smile, laugh and cover your mouth as we leave, as if to say to this stranger "haha shes embarassing me, lets try and forget this happened". And considering your love for storytelling it's more than likely that what ever your saying it isn't true, and makes me look like a horrible mother. 


Sydney your SO full of life and light! You love to help. You love babies and dolls. You love to tell people "I have crazy hair". You love to poke eyes, yours and other peoples. You love belly buttons.  You love "ruffys"=dogs and all animals from afar, and are scared to death up close. You want mom close always, and dad makes a good second. You love to suck your thumb. You love back and belly scratches. You love brushing your teeth. And you love ... well this list could be endless because you are you and you have a big list of ever growing loves. My favorite of your loves is your love to laugh and tease and make up stories all in the efforts to bring a smile or laugh to others. You and your sister, Piper, especially have a truly special bond. You are the most caring and patient sister there is! You LITERALLY NEVER get mad at your sister. She will pinch, pull, grab, slap, fall, or bang on you all day and you 100% LOVE IT! You laugh and smile and stare at her and kiss her and hug her and squeeze her and cuddle with her and play with her and you just make me melt! You two are destined for a great friendship. Which I caught glimpses of early on when you whispered "your my best friend" in her ear when she was just days old. But I never imagined coming up on a year later you'd be just as much smitten with her as you are now. Even when she makes a big mess all over you with your danimals because you bring it in to share with her and she totally attacks! You just say "ohhhh baby ohhhh baby" in a super deep voice as you talk to her and try to calm her down. It makes me laugh and smile the most seeing you two together! 

You do have a shy spell in you that only comes out when your in a new place or sometimes when your siblings aren't around. Especially at church. When it's just you, you get all shy and thumb goes in mouth and you grab your little shirt in the usually twirling/rubbing fashion. It always makes me snicker a little seeing you this tame and shy little thing when in reality Sydney, you have THE MOST PERSONALITY in our family!!! And we love it, crazy and all!

Love,

Mommy

New Year

FAMILY PARTY, BOARD GAMES, SNACKS, COUNTING DOWN, BALL DROP, POURING BUBBLY, NOISE MAKERS, "CLINKING" GLASSES,  WRITING RESOLUTIONS, LATE NIGHT SHENANIGANS. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!