A Day of Firsts

Wanted to update you on a day of firsts--I will forewarn anyone who isn't a parent--this all has to do with potty training, so I apologize in advance! On Monday night Alex pooped in the potty for the first time without any prompting! She told me she needed to go, and she went. BIG breakthrough! Then on Tuesday she went to school in underwear and stayed dry all day! Another big breakthrough! She has been staying dry through the night for at least a week now, but I'm keeping her in pull-ups for a while longer to make sure we're ready for that big step. I'm not naive enough to think it's going to be this simple from now on, but it's a great start. We'll see how things go today. Those of you who have worked through potty training can hopefully understand my excitement over something so small!

On another note, I can't believe that December is just a few days away. Does anyone else feel that the christmas holidays are sneaking up on us this year? I've actually gotten almost all of my shopping done already (yet another first!), so next on the agenda is to cut down our christmas tree. With Marlon's season still going (they have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA's), we'll have to wait until we can find a day that works for him, but hopefully we can get one very soon--one of my favorite things to do every holiday season. What holiday traditions do you enjoy?

Our Holiday Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Our thanksgiving day meal with the soccer team was a good time--we had a ton of turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, salad, green beans, stuffing, etc. and there were actually leftovers! Alex enjoyed eating the desserts--m & m choc. chip cookies, cupcakes, etc....We figured it was a special day, so what the heck?!

On Friday Alex and I traveled up to Hazleton, PA to spend the holidays with my family. I didn't take many pictures but my family did, so once I get some I'll post a few. I'll post some of the few pictures I took. It was a good time to relax, spend time with my brothers, and get to know my new niece Kaylee a bit! Alex LOVED "her Kaylee" and wanted to help give her a binky, hold a bottle, and take care of her when she cried (hopefully a positive sign of things to come!). Alex and Nolan also had a great time together, riding bikes around the house and playing with Grammy's trains that she brought up. My grandparents, aunt and uncle were also there. Although my grandparents aren't in the best health anymore, I think they really enjoyed seeing 3 of their great-grandchildren. My grandpa was still sharp enough to play a few games of Scrabble with us (and win!) so that was nice. Aside from Jon having to leave to go be with Renee and Mia, the weekend was very enjoyable. Alex is still fighting a small cold so she didn't sleep too well while we were there, and she has been getting up before 6 AM the past 3 or 4 days! Mommy is ready for her to sleep in again! Below are a few pictures of Alex with Kaylee, Josh, and Kendy. Hope she's ready to be a big sister soon!





I also had to include the next picture because it gives me a good laugh--Alex is trying on ALL of her new underwear that we just bought (with a little help from her dad). I think we are ready to go into underwear every day and see what happens! I talked to her teacher at school about it and she's ready to give it a go with us, so sometime this week we'll send her to school in underwear and see what happens. Over the past week she's been doing great telling us when she needs to go, staying dry all night, and staying dry all day. The pooping may still not be mastered, but I figure she'll probably learn more quickly if she has a few messy accidents in her underwear. (thus the reason for the purchase of a 10-pack of underwear--I'm thinking I'll be throwing out a few pairs that I just can't stomach the thought of cleaning!) Wish us luck!

On a side note that kind of relates to potty training, I have to recommend this soap that my mom found for Alex. She loves it and it really encourages her to wash her hands after she uses the potty. It can be found at www.squidsoap.com --it's made by Airborne and you should be able to find it in Walmart or Target (I'm not sure where my mom found it). The idea is that when you press down on the nozzle, there's a little ink pad that puts a colored dot on your hand--you then have to wash your hands long enough to clean off the dot. Alex thinks it's a ton of fun and it makes her want to wash her hands, which I appreciate because the whole dirtiness of touching the potty so much really freaks me out.

Update

Wanted to give you a quick update since I'm not sure how long it will be until Renee posts some info on her blog--Jon, Renee, and Mia are still at the hospital but are hoping to go home tomorrow. The first round of test results have all come back negative, so they are hoping to get some final tests back to see if they can determine what caused the ulcers/eye infection. Mia is doing fine and has been very good through it all--she doesn't seem to be feeling sick, which is great news. She is getting some medication to treat the infection and they hope to get a final diagnosis tomorrow so they can finally head home. Thank you all for your prayers--I know they appreciate them! I will let Renee finish the story on her blog--hopefully very soon!

Pray for Mia

Please say a prayer for little Mia. She came down with some type of eye infection last night and when Renee took her to the doctor today, they decided to send her straight to Children's Hospital in Philadelphia to run some tests because the doctor noticed some ulcers in her throat. She's had a battery of blood tests run, a spinal tap, and we are now waiting for all of the results but expect that she will be in the hospital for a few days at least. Needless to say, she is not yet a week old so we all are hoping that her tiny body can fight off whatever the virus is but it's still very scary for Jon and Renee. Please pray for Mia over the coming days--I'm sure Renee will update you all on the details in her blog when she can, but I will try to give a brief update when I know more. We love you Mia and are thinking and praying for you!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Turkey Day to all! I hope everyone enjoys spending today with family and friends, remembering all that you are thankful for. Things I'm thankful for...my husband and daughter, of course....this precious baby growing inside me....the chance to spend time with family over the holidays....eating turkey and mashed potatoes (twice!), one of my very favorite meals!

We are having Marlon's entire WVU men's soccer team to our house for thanksgiving (about 35 people in total!) and no, I am not doing the cooking. We are having the food provided by a catering company so I'm able to just look forward to eating, with the exception of making sure the house is clean! Then tomorrow Alex and I will head to my parents' house out in Hazleton, PA where they are spending the holidays, and we will celebrate by having our meal there on Friday. My grandparents, Aunt Carol, and Uncle Bruce drove out from Illinois, Josh, Kendy and Kaylee will be there, and I think Jon will be making it up with Nolan so it should be a great time! Marlon has practice (they are preparing for the NCAA playoffs) so he'll stay behind. It works out well since we are able to spend today with him and tomorrow with more family.

Just wanted to post a few pictures--these were taken last night as Alex helped me make red velvet cupcakes. She takes after her mommy and loves to lick the batter when we're done! My dad and I always shared this job growing up as my mom baked, and now Alex and I continue the tradition! As you can see, red velvet batter is very red and messy, but she enjoyed it! You may be thinking, what is she wearing??? Yes, in fact, she is wearing her bathing suit. Another one of those things she obsesses about--I figured it was a nice day outside (it reached 70's) so what harm could be done for an hour or so in the house before bed!

This one was taken a few days ago as Alex read to all her "friends" one afternoon. (this is her new bedding-the new furniture arrives on Tuesday so I'll post some of that soon once we are done!). She needs this big bed just to fit every stuffed animal she can find in there with her. This morning I found her pink rain boots and a pair of brown shoes in bed with all of the friends.

Mia's first photo

Well, maybe not her first official photo, but at least it's the first one on my blog! She looks like she's not too happy with her mom for the trauma she just went through! I'm not sure yet if she looks like big brother Nolan--we'll have to see what pictures look like as she grows a bit, but I know she'll be a cutie! This was one of the few pics my mom sent over last night. I believe the vitals on Mia are that she was 6 lbs., 13 oz., and 20 1/4 inches long (correct me if I'm wrong Renee!). I'm sure Renee will soon be posting pictures on her blog (see the hangin with your naybor link) so keep an eye out there for updates! I'm looking forward to meeting my newest niece very soon--Alex is going to have a hard time keeping her new cousins straight!

Welcome Mia Rose!

Most of you probably haven't even read my last post yet, and Mia has already arrived! Renee made quick work of it once she arrived at the birth center, and Mia Rose was born at 8:00 this evening! We're still waiting for all the details and some pictures, but I wanted to pass that news along! As far as I know mother and baby are doing well! Congratulations Renee, Jon, and big brother Nolan!

Come on Mia we're waiting for you!

Renee and Jon are en route to the birth center as we speak, so hopefully we will have news of baby Mia's arrival very soon! Renee has been having contractions all day long and they are now only 3 minutes apart, so we are praying that Mia arrives quickly once they make it there! Renee is SO ready for Mia to come so hopefully this is the real deal. If Mia makes her appearance before midnight, she will be exactly one month younger than her cousin Kaylee!

As an update to yesterday's post, we made it all day today with no potty accidents! Alex was in panties all day once we got home from church (with the exception of nap time) and she stayed dry all day! I by no means believe this battle is over, but we'll score one point for mom and dad!

*****As an update, just got a call from my mom with a Renee update--she has arrived at the birth center and is dilated 9 CM!! Her water hasn't broken yet so they'll have to decide whether to break it or wait it out, but my parents are on their way--hopefully they will make it in time! My next post will probably be about Mia's arrival!

Off to the Movies!

Today was a day of a couple firsts--the most exciting one being Alex's first trip to the movie theater! I took Alex, along with my friend Jess and her boys Jameson and Jarrett, to see the Bee Movie this afternoon. We bought a huge tub of popcorn and took along some m&m's and lollipops and decided to give it a try! It actually went pretty smoothly and Alex really enjoyed it. I did learn that she's not quite heavy enough to keep the seat from trying to collapse on her, so she spent most of the movie on my lap, but she was happy eating bowl after bowl of popcorn! It went so well that we're already planning ahead to our next movie outing--possibly to see that movie that just came out Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium--that looks like something kids would enjoy.

The other first was not quite as enjoyable (for me at least!). I decided to let Alex spend most of the day in "big girl underwear" (not to the movies of course--I'm not that crazy), and it definitely was far from successful--we went through 4 pairs of underwear, pants, and socks due to her not telling me about needing to go potty until it was too late! I had thought it may be worth giving it a try because she recently has been telling us when she needs to pee so we can make it to the potty(BEFORE it happens) although pooping is still consistently in the pull-ups, and because her teacher at school says she almost always uses the potty and stays dry, but I guess she doesn't mind being soaking wet as much as I thought she would! I figure I'll give it a go again tomorrow once we get home from church since we'll probably be around the house all day--we'll see if we have any more luck!

No pictures to share today but hopefully in the near future I'll have pictures of Alex's redecorated big girl room--we picked out paint and her new bedding arrived the other day, and her new furniture should be arriving in the next few weeks. I'll make sure to share once we get it all done!

Welcome Kadence Ann!

I wanted to say a quick congratulations to my cousin Juliet and her husband Kendrix on the birth of their first child, a little baby girl! Juliet gave birth to Kadence Ann on November 6, weighing in at 8 lbs., 10 oz. and 19.5 inches long. I haven't seen pictures yet but I'm sure she's adorable! 4 babies down, one more to go! (Renee--I'm expecting a call at any time!)

Baby Update and other stuff...

I realized I haven't given much of a baby update on our end (I've had so many exciting things to share about other babies!), but I'm now about 21/22 weeks--past the halfway point!! Things are going well and I just had my fetal echo this week, and at this point everything looks completely normal, which we are very thankful for! I'm getting bigger these days, and Marlon just noticed how much I've popped in the past few weeks. I'm feeling pretty good aside from the occasional heartburn, and we're starting to talk seriously about coming up for a name for this little boy! We talk to Alex a lot of about baby brother, and we talk about all the ways she can help with him once he's born--she wants to help give him a bath, help feed him, help put him down for naps, etc. We'll see if this all is true when baby brother actually arrives!

I included a few photos that were taken this week. I'm trying very hard to document parts of this pregnancy, although it does seem to slip your mind a bit when you have another child to take care of!

See below for our most recent laugh we had with Alex and her nighttime habits...Marlon went in her room to find that she had somehow moved herself off the bed and was sleeping standing up. And yes--she is wearing dress shoes to sleep in! We are currently in the process of working her into a new bed. We took the toddler bed/crib down a few weeks ago and she's now sleeping on her new mattress/box spring on the floor until I order her a new headboard and footboard for her "big girl" room.

Last weekend we had our old neighbors up to visit, which was fun. Grace is one of the few girl friends that Alex has, since almost all of my friends have little boys! We moved from State College just as the girls were getting to the age that they could become friends and play well together, so it is always nice to be able to see them again. Grace is 8 months older than Alex and her sister Edie is about a year younger, and the 3 girls had fun playing together! Below is a picture of Grace, Edie, and Alex. To get a sense of how little Alex is, take note of how close in size she is to Edie, who is 17 months old, compared to Alex's 2 1/2 years!!

Welcome Maximus James!

I wanted to say a quick congratulations to our friends, Mike and Amy, from State College. Yesterday they welcomed little Maximus James into the world--8 lbs., 1 oz., and 21 inches long. Mike and I used to work together in State College--and Amy and I became friends as a result! I hope to be able to share pictures soon---that's 3 babies down, one more to go (Renee!)--actually, there's another baby due in a couple of weeks in my extended family--my cousin Juliet is expecting a baby girl around Nov. 15 I think--this will be her first, and we're so excited for both Juliet and Kendrix!

Catching up...

I've got a lot to catch up on! The last 5 days have been very busy for Alex and I. Marlon has been on the road a lot recently, but that hasn't stopped us from having some fun! This post has a bunch of pictures so enjoy!

Alex was invited to her first birthday party for a classmate from school, Anthony. The party was on Sunday at the local farm--it was a sunny day but a little cold when the wind blew--but Alex and the other kids had a great time! They got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, jump on trampolines, ride in the little cars that were pulled by a tractor (see picture below), see some animals at the petting zoo, and ride a hayride. Great idea for the whole family! The picture is of Alex and her friend, Jarrett, who we spend a lot of time with.
I had to add this picture, taken after we got home from the farm, because Alex looks so big! (I think it's the shoes!). These are her newest obsession--rain boots. Nana gave them to her a few months ago, and I was worried that she will probably outgrow them by the time spring rolls around, so I let her wear them to the farm. She's worn them every day since!

On Monday we headed to Philadelphia for a few days. On the way we stopped in to visit Josh, Kendy, and Kaylee! Kaylee is a beautiful baby, and Alex loved everything about her! She wanted to hold her, kiss her, pet her head, give her a binky, tuck her blanket around her. I'm hoping this is a good sign of things to come!

After leaving Josh and Kendy's, we headed out to spend a little time with Jon, Renee, and Nolan! We hadn't been to visit them in a while, and we wanted to give Alex and Nolan a little time to play together and get a chance to see Renee one more time before baby Mia arrives! I didn't get many good pics of the kids together because they were always on the run, often in different directions, but I wanted to include one of my little nephew Nolan, who is totally adorable and not so little anymore!

We headed on to Grammy and Granddad's, our final destination, where Alex got to play with Grammy on Tuesday when I went to work for a bit then headed off to visit Carter, my new nephew! It was so great that he happened to come into the world when I was in the area so I was able to get an early peek at him! He is also a cutie--congrats to Lauren & Jon!

And last but not least, we drove home yesterday just in time for Halloween! This was the first year Alex actually went out trick or treating--last year we had just moved to WV so we stayed at home and dressed her up and let her hand out candy. She caught on very quickly (after some practice run-throughs in the car)--we actually went to another neighborhood so Alex could go around with her friends Jarrett and Jameson--and she had a great time! She walked the entire way, didn't get scared at all, and probably would have continued going for hours if her bag of candy wasn't so heavy! At one house they walked to the door and knocked, and while waiting for someone to answer I actually heard her yell "Hello--is anybody there?" I just laughed and thought--was that really my kid? She went as a ladybug (in case you couldn't tell) and she loved flapping her "wings" like a ladybug would do. I couldn't get her to smile for a photo (as usual) but at least she didn't look miserable in this one!