prayers answered

Wearing underwear!


At my book group this Tuesday night, we discussed when and how we fit in some devotional time. I admitted that mine is sporadic and infrequent with a kid that is always bright eyed at 5:20am and two different napping schedules as well as the exhaustion that accompanies nursing, potty training, sleep training, house cleaning, cooking, and lots of summer activities.

Anyhow, I felt compelled to FIND time and make it more of a priority, as I truly miss reading, journaling and taking some time to pray and reflect. So, I have found about 20 min for this in the last few days and it has been really beneficial. Particularly this morning. I am reading back through a book called "Women of the Bible". I last did this study when I was a senior in HS. As I did the study, I penciled in some of my thoughts and prayers. It is really interesting to look back at those thoughts 9 years later!

This morning I was reading about Sarah and her desire to have a child and having to wait for the Lord until she was 65 to receive that blessing. In that section, I wrote down some of my own hopes and prayers. During that time in my life, I was anorexic and had not had my period for a few years and doctors were telling me that it may affect my ability to have children in the future. At that point, I was trying to gain weight and recover from anorexia. It has been my dream, for as long as I can remember, to be a mom. So, in my book, my prayer was " to get my period and someday have a child". When I read that prayer from my former self, tears came to my eyes. How God provides and blesses and answers prayers!

I now have 2 beautiful children! How amazing that God has a plan for me and it will unfold in His time and in His way. My time this morning will help me to look at my kids differently today. I will be able to look past the burden of potty training and sleep training and see the blessing that God has given me. I am a mom!

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him! - Isaiah 30:18

So, as I endure or persevere through some hard days, I have the knowledge that God is giving me the mercy, grace and strength that I need to get through. He is faithful in His promises and has a plan for me. God calls me by name, I belong to Him and He accomplishes His purposes despite my frailties and little faith!

On a lighter note- Coranelle is doing AWESOME with potty training. It has been 1 week and we have only had 3 accidents! She is a champ at going in public restrooms and has even gone on a bush at a park with no potty. She is excited to wear her underwear all the time and we are so proud of her. The trick right now seems to be to take her to the bathroom every half hour- which is a bit exhausting when you're out and about and have a 4 month old- but it is working! Yay!

potty training

Playing with Grams and PopPops on her special sleepover!



Her new Mater toy!
Sheldon sitting all on his own. He does it better than the picture shows, but it is hard to capture it with the camera, as I never know when he is going to topple over and need catching!
We tried rice cereal with Sheldon, but he liked playing with the bib better than the cereal.
He actually HATES the rice cereal, even after trying 4 times this week.
The "twin" brothers making a "rocketship" out of a diaper box with Coranelle. No- the boys did not plan their matching outfits.

Potty Training- whew! Now I know why most people wait to have their second kid until their first is out of diapers. It's time and patience consuming. But, Coranelle is showing signs of readiness, so we're working on it. On Wed she pooped in her potty 3 times and peed at least that many times. She was very excited about it and proud of herself. I think the Elmo potty training video that I got her helped motivate her. So, we went and picked out some underpants for when she is more consistent. I also ordered some training pants for the meantime, as the underwear is SO thin that we'd have soiled furniture in no time. She is still having accidents (of course) and we are making this up as we go along. We are stressing the greatness of feeling dry and putting your pee pee and poo poo in the potty where it belongs. I am also giving her stickers for going, so I am rewarding her with a sticker chart. Truly, I have no clue what I am doing and would love some outside advice. For instance- what do I put her in when we go to friends' houses and the rec center and are running errands? We've been having her go right when she gets up from naps, bedtime and before and after meals and before we go somewhere. Most of the time she is okay trying, but sometimes she is really resistant. She also seems to pee about every half hour and I am not sure I can keep up with it. Nursing a little one and keeping Sheldon changed, happy and getting him down for naps makes it difficult to watch her every cue and get her on the toilet in time. So, bring on the advice!

I took Sheldon in for his 4 mo appointment last Friday. He is doing great. 40th percentile for weight (14 lbs, 3 oz)and 60th percentile for height. Developmentally, he is doing everything he is supposed to, although he has very little motivation to roll over. He can, however, sit without my help for up to 20 seconds, just balancing on his own hands. I find that impressive. He seems to be back to sleeping through the night (9pm-5:30am). His naps are still rough, as he needs help going back to sleep after 40 min. But, I have just gotten used to this and am fine with it! Overall, he is a pretty happy kid and I am SO thankful for that. He is also quite the talker and babbles all the time. At 6am, when I am trying to ensure that Coranelle stay asleep, I sometimes have to take him outside so he can exercise his lungs without waking everyone up!

Last weekend, Bruce and Heidi took Coranelle for a special sleepover at their house. I think they all had a blast. It is so fun that we are at an age with her that she can do that and enjoy it so much. The sleepover also allowed for Ryan and I to spend some more quality time with Sheldon. We got to take him for a run and get a few errands accomplished that are much harder with two kids. Tonight, Ryan has another date night planned and we are looking forward to some alone time!

Now that Sheldon is back down for his morning nap, it's time for "Preschool" with Coranelle. I have to cherish my one on one time with each of them!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

How is it already August!

Time just seems to be flying by. I can hardly believe that we have already turned the calendar to August and kids are ready to head back to school!

We recently just celebrated my birthday- for a whole week and we have been pretty busy! I got totally spoiled for my birthday as my mom and Ryan both took me shopping. I got tons of new clothes, accessories and things to make me feel, look and smell pretty. Great fun! I also had a little party with friends and both sets of family, so the past week was full of celebrations and fun!

We have also been working hard on sleep training Sheldon. He had been sleeping through the night and then really digressed and was waking up at least once every night. So, we decided to stop using the swing during the day for naps, as we wondered if it was making it hard for him to fall back asleep at night without the familiar swinging motion. So, all last week I worked diligently at putting him down for most naps(unless we were out and about), in his crib. He has the hardest time getting from one 45 min sleep cycle into the next without help. I hope he learns this soon, as going up to help him after 40 min of every nap is making me a bit crazy (and it makes it hard to rest or get anything done during naps). He often requires rocking, patting, the pacifier and about 20 min of time to get back to sleep. But, I know that this, as everything else, is just a stage and we'll get through it. Overall, he is sleeping better at night and that is great for all of us! We've been putting him down for a catnap between 4-6 and then keeping him up until 8:30, hoping that will help him sleep later than 5:30. He is an early riser!

Other than sleep, he is doing great! He is smiling and laughing and getting stronger. No rolling yet, but he is grasping and playing with toys, trying to put his pacifier in his mouth, standing with help and kicking and moving like crazy. He loves watching Coranelle and she always makes him smile. She is always trying to help out and take care of him. I cannot wait until they can play together!

A friend of mine, who doesn't have kids of her own yet, recently was at our house with a few other couples with kids. She was watching the madness that ensues when you have two children of our own and are trying to enjoy an evening get together. She commented on how overwhelming it was that I was constantly on the go- nursing Sheldon, feeding Coranelle, chasing Coranelle, disciplining Coranelle, comforting and holding Sheldon, getting both bathed and ready for bed... etc. She noted that I didn't have a chance to eat, sit down, have a drink or even finish a single sentence. It seemed so overwhelming and stressful to her. And it is... or can be. Life as a mom is like that- non stop and so so busy. But, I really cannot complain. I thought about our conversation over the next few days and just realized that it is SO worth the sleep deprivation, the busyness and selflessness. Hearing your own child laugh makes all of that seem completely worth it. Watching Coranelle learn to ride a bike, hearing her growing vocabulary, seeing Sheldon smile and talk, watching my two kids interact- all of that is priceless! Life can be hard and tiring, but there are so many joyful moments in everyday that I wouldn't trade for more free time. I am so thankful that I have two healthy kids and a husband that loves to play with them and take care of us.

As this is the third time I've tried to finish this post end keep being interrupted, I have to end there. Happy August!