Potty Training Update

I'm really clueless when in comes to successful potty training techniques but we're giving it a shot. Last week we bought a potty chair for Warner, hoping it would catch his interest. Up to that point, we were using a seat on the big potty and he had never put anything in the potty when he tried. The potty chair was $12 and he was excited about it at the store (it is a frog, after all) so I thought it was worth a shot.
When we got home he pottied on it immediately. I was so excited I almost cried. We made a big deal of it, calling Bobbie and Grandpa and Nanny and Grandaddy to tell them about it. Warner was so proud. He went to Maren to tell her: "Mono - potty, me!". I didn't have any small candy to give him as a reward, but, seeing as it was the first time he ever peed in the potty, I thought a big reward was appropriate. So, we gave him a piece of Dove chocolate.

The next day he woke up and wanted to pee in his potty. He was successful on his first try, and quickly remembered the Dove chocolate from the night before. I gave him a piece (it was 7:30am). He insisted on staying naked, and I agreed, thinking it would be easier to manage the whole process. Here he is eating a snack, in the nude:
(I realize visitors are probably never going to want to sit on that couch again. Don't worry, he didn't have any accidents on the sofa). He had two accidents (and I think ate 8 pieces of chocolate) that day, but overall, I considered it a successful day. He only had 3 pairs of big boy underwear, so the following day we went to Target to choose new underwear as well as smaller candy for rewards. He chose Elmo and Thomas underwear and Reese's Pieces and jellybeans for candy. This shot was taken after a successful trip to the potty chair, in Sesame Street underwear, and with the chocolate reward, of course:Since then, it's pretty much been downhill. He went nearly two full days wearing a diaper, completely not interested in wearing underwear at all. He has pooped three times in his underwear, despite me promising HUGE rewards if he poops in the potty, and being very sad when he poops in Elmo or Thomas.

I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I'm sure it's confusing for him when I put a diaper on him at naptime, bedtime, and when we go out. And, I'm pretty confident he only pees in the potty to get the candy. Not because he necessarily wants to, or even understands when he needs to. The kid will eek out three drops, then proudly tell me he peed and ask for his candy reward. So, we'll see how this continues. It would be so nice to only have one child in diapers, but until then I suppose I'll just have to be patient.

Fun in the kitchen

It seems like we spend an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen. Thankfully, both kids enjoy helping me cook. To help bake, Warner runs the Kitchen Aid mixer, adds ingredients (he loves unwrapping butter and throwing it in the bowl), and especially enjoys cracking the eggs. Maren helps by chewing on the extra mixer attachments, spatulas, and measuring spoons while Warner works.Maren also enjoys rummaging through the Tupperware cabinet, which keeps her occupied for quite a while.The kids and I have made two batches of banana bread in the past week and a loaf of pumpkin bread tonight. Warner has eaten banana bread and blueberries for breakfast while watching Barney every day this week. The good news: we've switched from something other than Mickey Mouse. The bad news: the new favorite is Barney. Maybe Maren's television choices will be a bit more enjoyable.

Sick and Tired

Last Saturday we discovered Maren had a double ear infection. While I was sad that she was sick, I was hopeful this was the reason for her sleeping so poorly lately. The following night, Warner got sick and vomited from midnight until 5am. This was the first time he had gotten a stomach bug and he was so confused and pitiful. Thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours, but that was one long night, changing sheets multiple times, cleaning carpet at 2am after unsuccessfully trying to get Warner to the bathroom, etc. Then on Tuesday, Kevin and I got a similar bug. Being sick and caring for two children is a difficult thing to do. We all finally felt better Wednesday but Maren is still not sleeping. For example, last night looked like this:

7:30pm: Nurse Maren and put her to bed. Maren refuses to go to sleep on her own.
8:00pm: Leave Maren's room (very angry, I'm ashamed to say) and let her cry herself to sleep.
9:00pm: Maren appears to have cried herself to sleep.
9:30pm: Another round of crying.
10:00pm: Maren is back to sleep.
12:00am: Maren is up. I decide to nurse her, foolishly thinking she might get full and sleep until 6am now. She eats, but refuses to go back to sleep on her own.
12:30am: I bring Maren downstairs to sleep with me on the couch, after she wakes Warner with her screaming.
12:35am: I strongly consider leaving our house. By myself. And never coming back. I resist this urge.
12:40am: Kevin takes Maren upstairs to try to get her to sleep while I lay on the couch, covering my ears.
12:50: I take over again, and rock Maren to sleep.
1:30am: Maren is in her crib, asleep. I go to our bed, exhausted.
2:50am: Warner walks into our room. I take him back to his bed, and he cries for 10 minutes.
4:30am: Maren wakes up. I nurse her again, and put her back in her crib. She screams. I finally try swaddling her, which seems to work, and she falls asleep.
6:00am: Maren is awake. I somehow get her to go back to sleep.
6:30am: Kevin's alarm goes off. Warner wakes up, and our day has begun.

I have read and re-read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", but this has produced neither healthy sleep habits nor a happy child with Maren. I have endlessly googled tips to get her to sleep. I have tried changing her bedtime, changing her feeding schedule, swaddling her, lying her on her belly, letting her cry it out, Tylenol, Ora-gel, gas drops, etc., etc., etc. I'm at my wit's end. If this child doesn't sleep soon, I am confident Kevin and I will go crazy. Please pray for our family!

Lunch time

Maren is enjoying food much more these days (like mother, like daughter, right?). She gets irritated if you don't feed her quickly enough and eats more at each feeding than I would expect. Here's her "thank you for feeding me, Mommy" face:And, her "Warner, you're so funny!" face:

Potty Training

So far, this is the only use Warner has found for his big boy underwear.

Six Months

It's hard to believe our baby is six months old. At her checkup Maren weighed 16 pounds 8 ounces (50th percentile) and was 26 1/4 inches long (70th percentile). She is now eating peas (loves them), carrots (so-so), green beans (loves them), squash (so-so), pears (loves loves loves), and peaches (likes them). Oh, and cereal too. I've tried giving her puffs but so far she's only gotten one into her mouth unassisted. Warner has shoved quite a few into her face however. He really enjoys "helping" me feed Maren, and always suggests peas for her breakfast.
Maren is now sitting on her own and really enjoys the world from this view. She seems much more interested in her surroundings than Warner was at this age. She grabs for everything and is fascinated with watching other people, most of all Warner. She is also "creeping" across the floor quite well.
Unfortunately she is sleeping terribly. She goes to sleep fine but wakes up every 2-3 hours. We let her cry it out last night at midnight and after 1 1/2 hours of screaming (I wish I was exaggerating but it was a full 90 minutes) I finally gave up and nursed her back to sleep. So begins the sleep training process. The good news is Warner didn't come out of his room during her scream session so at least both kids weren't crying.
She has cut one tooth on the bottom and the other is ready to push through any day. Perhaps this is the reason for the sleep issues. At least she still lets me put bows (or flowers, in this case) on her head.

Morning Routine

Mornings have developed a very predictable routine at our house. Our day begins around 7am, give or take a half hour. The first item of business is to make coffee. Lots of strong, black, coffee for Mama is of the utmost importance. While Kevin is getting ready for work, Warner and Maren help me pack his lunch and make him something for breakfast. When he leaves, the kids and I wave goodbye to him at the front family room window. Warner says "bye-bye, Daddy" as he waves, and sometimes blows him kisses.

Next it's time for Warner's breakfast. This is usually a banana with peanut butter, a peanut butter and honey or jelly sandwich, or a Nutrigrain bar and some sort of fruit. Warner eats his breakfast while we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Only we can't just watch whichever episode is on Playhouse Disney that day. Warner gets stuck on a particular episode (that I DVR) and asks to watch the same one, day after day, for days in a row. For a while it was the "choo-choo dot dog" episode, then it was Mickey's adventures in wonderland - "tweet tweet dot dog", and now it's the "pool dot dog" - Pete's beach luau. I don't understand Warner's fascination with Mickey Mouse, but he loves the show. Really.
I nurse Maren while Warner is eating and watching Mickey, but now have to cover her head during the feeding because she'd rather watch Mickey Mouse than eat. I guess we now have two Mickey Mouse fans in the house.
After Maren is finished eating she plays with her toys on the floor while I drink more coffee, have my breakfast, and mentally prepare for the day, which includes prayer time to ask Jesus for grace and strength to be a good Mommy that day. And for patience. Lots of patience. It's a routine that works for us, for now. But I do look forward to when I won't have the Mickey Mouse "Hot Dog" song stuck in my head all day.

Texas

The kids and I flew to Dallas to visit my parents last week. Maren sat in my lap and Warner had his own seat on the plane. I was willing to do nearly anything for a tantrum-free flight, so Warner enjoyed movies and all sorts of sugar including suckers, jelly beans, and gummy worms. Thankfully this approach worked. In all seriousness, he was a really good boy on the flights.
Here is Warner living it up on the airplane.Once we arrived the kids were both allowed to do pretty much anything they wished, so it will probably take a while to reprogram them into normal life again. The weather was gorgeous (why do we live in Cincinnati?) so we played outside a lot. We walked to parks, fed ducks at various ponds, and spent time in the backyard. I enjoyed the break from my everyday mom responsibilities and got to run outside and sleep late a few days, which was bliss. The bad part was that Maren got RSV while we were away. Thankfully we found a great doctor in Dallas who saw her twice, and she is now much better. We had to buy a machine to give her breathing treatments and also put her on steroids. She was so pitiful. My mom helped a ton by taking care of Warner almost exclusively for a few days so I could tend to Maren. So, it was probably a blessing that she was sick while we were away. Here are a few more pictures from our trip:We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows one night for dinner. I think it might have been the greatest night of Warner's life.Maren and "Bobbie" (as Warner calls my mom. I think the name has officially stuck).Warner and Grandpa.
Warner and my mom made pancakes in the shape of cows and ducks one morning. We fed the leftovers to the ducks at the pond, which Warner thought was pretty cool.Warner and his "balls". My mom made buckeyes, or peanut butter balls, at Christmas. Warner loved them (he eats them in one bite). Since Christmas he has been requesting more "balls" when we get to Bobbie's house. Warner and my mom made them the day we arrived and Warner made sure they were stored on the lowest shelf in the pantry so he could reach them. The sunshine allowed Warner to use his Thomas the Train sunglasses quite a bit. We had a great visit with my parents and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in March when we take our annual trip to Florida!

Sitting

It seems as though Maren has grown overnight. She is getting the hang of sitting on her own ...
... but still falls quite a bit. When she does fall she doesn't get too upset about it.
It's hard to believe she will be six months old in a few weeks. I'm afraid our baby won't be a baby much longer.

Church

Me: Warner, what do you do at church?
Warner: Ball. (Translation: I play with the balls.)
Me: What else?
Warner: Eat.
Me: Yes, they give you snacks at church. Do you learn about Jesus?
Warner: Yeah.
Me: I love Jesus.
Warner: Daddy?
Me: Yes, Daddy loves Jesus too.
Warner: Me.
Me: You love Jesus?
Warner: Yeah.

Misunderstanding

After Warner's "otch" from couch jumping a few weeks ago, we told him he had to jump on to pillows from now on. What he does instead: stacks four pillows, then jumps over them to the ground. Nice.

Snow

We have been having so much fun in the snow. Warner and I played in it last night while Maren took a late nap and then the three of us played again this morning.
Warner enjoyed walking through the snow ...
Sledding (our backyard is perfect for sledding with little kids - it's just the right size of hill) ...Making snow angels on the driveway ...And playing on the deck.
I bundled up Maren and moved her jumpy horse to the garage so Warner and I could play this morning. She did great for about 20 minutes and then wanted in on the snow action, so I carried her around with me after that. Yay for snow days!

Girl Clothes

Kevin often reminds me that Maren is a person, not a doll to be dressed. But with the outfits, hair bows, and shoes that are available for little girls, it's hard to remember this. My mom made these headbands and detachable hair bows for Maren and I'm all about them. In fact, I've made a few more bows myself and am having a hard time finding a reason to not have a matching bow for every outfit she owns.
Here's another bow and a pair of shoes. They're just from Target but they are oh so adorable. I don't think Warner had a pair of shoes until he could walk but for some reason I believe Maren needs multiple pairs.My mom got Maren this outfit for Christmas. Seriously? The cutest ever. She wore it to church Sunday and was the cutest girl in the nursery for sure (I'm biased, but really, wouldn't you agree?). Thankfully both of Maren's grandmothers are generous and have bought her many clothes. Otherwise I'd need to go back to work to afford this dressing-my-girl habit.

First Cereal

Maren is now five months old, which is the age Warner was when we first fed him cereal. Keeping with the same pattern, Maren had her first taste of "solid" food a few days ago. Why rice cereal is considered solid is still a mystery to me.Warner was in Maren's face the entire time we fed her (no surprise). Here he is giving her a pep talk before her first bite.The first spoonful. She wasn't very excited about it.
She did better for Kevin, but not much.We found that when she holds the spoon herself it goes down a bit easier. I'm afraid Maren isn't going to be the eater that Warner is, but we'll give it some time.

Happy New Year

We finished our Christmas celebrations last weekend in Somerset with Kevin's immediate family. The original plan was to spend time together Friday night and open presents Saturday morning but the kids decided the gifts should be opened Friday instead. By this point Warner was a pro at unwrapping gifts and still wanted to open everyone's gifts, not just his own. Maren got a piece of the unwrapping action when Warner wasn't around to take over.
Abby and Ashley got microphones from Nanny and Grandaddy and all three kids performed for us Friday night. Warner had so much fun playing with his cousins.Warner's favorite gifts were probably his new vacuum from Nanny and Grandaddy (it actually picks things up with the attachments so I'm pretty pumped about this one too) ...... and his new Nerf gun from Aunt Leslie and Uncle Bill.
He can't operate the gun by himself yet which is probably a good thing because it has quite a bit of power for being so small. So now our son has a gun. What have we gotten ourselves into?
We tried for a family picture but Warner didn't cooperate so Maren gets the spotlight in this one. I guess one child out of two isn't bad.