Fairhope...Part 1

So, I mentioned in my last post that we have been on the go this summer and it hasn't stopped.  I must say sweet little Ava Kate is such a trooper and is keeping up with us pretty good if I must say...I think we will keep her! ;) I know next year...she will be right there in the midst of all the fun! 

 Traveling is still not her favorite but she is doing better and better each trip we take.  I guess at our house, you better learn to like it!

We went to Fairhope two weekends in a row which was a little tough on us all but we had fun once we got there!  My house is really needing us to stay home for a while and show it some attention though!!

These pictures are from the last weekend in June.  The Tidmores came down with us and they are always so easy to go places with!     Cameron even grilled us some Red Snapper one night and Courtney made homemade Cinnamon Rolls...yum! 

AR loved the pool this time.  She finally learned to like the puddle jumper float.  Ava Kate liked the pool too but of course she wears out easy with the heat.  We brought her a battery operated fan in hopes that she would take a nap but she rarely will do that... but she was really good and played until we all left for afternoon naps each day.  

Talon has no fear!  He had fallen off
the back steps before they left to come
down. 

Playing by the bay after naps...
Yes, AR is in her underwear! 

Look at those legs!

How cute is this picture?!
Looks like AR belongs to Courtney and not me! :)

Playdate with LG and Coop

Last week we met Peyton, Lily Grace and Cooper to play.  Because we are both so busy, it had been a while since we had seen each other but hopefully that will change soon! :)  Anna Riley couldn't wait to see Lily Grace!  She had fun playing with Cooper too...they are only a few months apart!  Ava Kate was taking it all in...it won't be long until she is running around with them!!

They didn't want to leave AK out! :)

SO sweet!

Lily Grace is SO good with babies!

Father's Day

We have been so busy lately so I have been slacking on my blog.
Last weekend, the girls stayed in Berry on Saturday night. Ava Kate's first time to stay in Berry and she did great! Riley and I went to early church with his Dad at our church and then headed to Berry for church with my Dad and lunch. Mom outdid herself with lunch and I way overate! Anna Riley is very attached to my Dad so she wouldn't let us help her with anything. She even cried outside the bathroom while my Dad took a shower that morning! haha! :)  I am SO thankful for a such a great Dad and one that loves my girls so much and wants to be such a great grandfather to them...even if that includes dress up and tea parties! :)

After lunch and naps, we headed back to Tuscaloosa and made a stop by Pop pop's house so the girls could wish him a Happy Father's Day since we weren't eating until Tuesday of the next week for Father's Day. I am also so thankful for such a wonderful Father-in-law! He is the most giving man I know!! I am so glad that my kids have such a great role model to look up to! He has instilled a lot of his personality and morals in Riley and I only hope it carries on to our children! And of course, I am so glad my girls are blessed with such a great Father as well! :)

Love these two men...and sweet girls!:)

On Tuesday, we headed to Pop Pop's house for BBQ and to celebrate Father's Day with him and the family. We were also celebrating Brilyn's birthday. 

Boy, time sure does fly...Brilyn
is already 6!  He was born right after
Riley and I started dating!

Duncan's new favorite thing

Uncle Brian helping the girls with the action figures Brilyn got

Looking at pics of the grandkids

The two girls playing with the boy toys!

Love this picture!!

Swim Lessons

We started Anna Riley in Swim Lessons last week.  She did much better than I thought she would.  She even went under and didn't freak out.  This is a Mom and Tot class so I have to get in the water with her.  There is a local lady that is amazing that I want to get her in with next year but she likes them closer to 3.  Anna Riley needed something this summer though as an introduction.  The 30 minutes is about all she can handle right now also. 
Riley had to meet me there to watch Ava Kate so he got to see the first session and take a few pictures.  



 

 

 

 

Not so sure about this...

 

Getting the hang of it!
I love that concentrated look!

 

She had just went under for the first time! :)

 

 

 

Potty Training update

Anna Riley has been doing great this week with potty training!  I have been super proud of her!!  Tuesday, we just continued practicing...still with no bottoms.  I put the potty in the bathroom so she would get used to going in the same place everytime.  We practiced washing her hands and using the soap and water herself.  This is where my control comes in. I want to just do things for her to prevent a mess and she has to learn to do it herself.  She watched me empty the potty and clean up after. She did great all day Tuesday.  I would ask her several times if she needed to potty to reminder her, but she went on her own.

Wednesday was the hardest day.  We started wearing underwear and practicing pulling them down.  Before, she could just run and sit the minute it hit her.   So, she had a few accidents.  One time, she went and sat on the potty and just completely forgot to pull her panties down! Bless her! :)  The other times, she would get the feeling and start trying to get them down while walking to the bathroom and not make it in time.  But, by lunch time she had gotten the hang of it and didn't have any more accidents.  Wednesday night, I had my Father-in-law and Riley's grandmother over for supper so AR was so excited to take them to show them she could pee pee in the potty! haha! You could tell she was so proud!

Thursday, we decided to venture out!  We really needed formula and so off to Target we went.  She used the bathroom since her last cup of water and I didn't give her anymore after since I knew we would be leaving to go soon.  I packed extra clothes and underwear.   She did great though.  I ask her before we went in to tell me and she said "I not have to."  I didn't ask her in there though because I thought she might just want to go in there to go in.  We didn't stay long.  I let her pick out a reward for doing so well this week so that was exciting.  When we came home, as soon as we walked in the door, she went straight to the bathroom.  During her nap on Thursday, she woke up early and was saying she needed to go pee.  She had a pull up on but I let her get up early and go potty.  Thursday, she also started emptying the bowl and washing it out by herself. 

We still haven't been able to get her to potty on the big potty.  We have the little kind that goes on top of the big potty but she doesn't like it.  Every time she is up there, she says she would rather be on the little potty.  And, I don't know if it is because it is hot or because she just doesn't like clothes anymore but we can't keep them on her!!  I guess that is less laundry for me.

Potty Training Day 1

I mentioned in an earlier post that AR had recently started showing signs of potty training readiness. I want to blog about our first day and what we did...especially since I have another one that will be doing the same thing in a couple of years!

 I had found a site on pinterest a while back and pinned it:   http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Potty-Train-a-Child-2/?ALLSTEPS.  There are tons of articles and books on PTing though.

I think the big thing is that they really have to be ready. It makes it a lot easier.  AR had been showing signs for a little while and had really been wanting to go potty for 2 weeks and we just now had the time to stay at home for a couple of days.  I blocked out a whole week (just in case) but 3 days for sure that we wouldn't go anywhere!  I got my groceries on Sunday so we wouldn't have it to worry about and Monday was just ALL about PTing! FUN! :)  Last week, on one of our Target trips, I let AR pick out some big girl panties that she liked.  The Easter Bunny had already bought her some to hopefully spark the interest but I wanted her to be excited about the kind she picked.  I also had the training pants and pull-ups for naps and bedtime.  We had been reading books about Potty Training and she was so excited.  We had a long talk about it the night before about how she was going to be a big girl the next day and say "bye bye" to her diapers!

She woke up and I put the training panties on her.  She drank lots and lots of juice and water.  When I say lots, I was basically giving her one after another just so she would have to pee a lot.  I also allowed her to have more snacks (even salty chips at 9 am) just so she would drink more.  I took her to the potty every 15 minutes or so...nothing. (The potty stayed wherever we were, to make it easy)  Then, she walked in the playroom, out of my sight for 2 seconds and peed in there.  SO...we started over.  MORE juice, more water, more snacks.  At one point she had drank so much water that I KNEW she had to pee...her tummy was so tight.  I knew if she would ever pee on the potty, she would get it what was going on and maybe it would start clicking more.  At this point, we had it in the den and I let her just sit on it while watching one of her shows hoping she would pee pee.  No...she held it the whole 15 minutes she sat there and then once again walked in the playroom and peed there. I was starting to get a little discouraged but my friend Mandy (who Potty trained her triplets in a week!) gave me some advice and encouragment and we were ready to start again!  I know it is completly normal for them to not go in the potty the first day but it still discourages you a little! 

Finally, after we pee peed twice in the floor. I was about to put more panties on her and she didn't want them.  And then she wanted her shirt off.  So, she went naked the rest of the day.  She sat on the potty and finally she squeeze the tiniest drop but it was enough to make her tune on her potty play and we made the BIGGEST deal out of that little drop.  She got a treat (mini Reece's) and a high five! She was SO proud of herself. 

A few minutes later, she wanted to read with me and she was sitting in my lap and starting pee peeing  and so I put her on the potty and she finished there.  We made a big deal out of it...got a treat, etc.  From then on, she seemed to "get it." She would say "I have to pee pee" and just run sit on it and because she was naked, she didn't have to worry about pulling anything down. Then, she really got where she wasn't even telling me, she was just getting on the potty by herself.  She had pee peed by 10 am and then poo pooed by noon. 

When she poo pooed in the potty, Riley was home for lunch.  So, we made a really big deal and I had some Melissa and Doug hand stamps she had gotten for Christmas put away in the closet just to pull out later and she got to play with them and of course some Reece's!

I put a pull-up on her during nap and then we started again when she got up.  She didn't have any "accidents" all day.  And she was very good about just running to the potty.  I also put a pull-up on her at night for bed-time. 

When she got up this morning, the pull-up was dry. 

It was a lot easier with AR than I expected but she was really ready.  I think she was more ready that I was.  I want her out of diapers but I wasn't ready for her to be at this stage yet!    I hope we continue to keep moving forward!!  The rest of the week, we will be working on training with panties on and learning to clean up after and venturing out with just big girl panties on! OH FUN! haha

Ava Kate- 8 months

 Ava Kate turned 8 months on the 6th.  We are enjoying every moment but it is flying by!!  This little girl brightens our day and we couldn't imagaine life without her!
Here is what little Miss AK is up to...

 - She wears mostly 9 month clothes but since it is summer, she can fit in some
of the 6 months clothes still. 
-We just moved up to size 4 diaper.

-She has 4- 7 or 8oz. bottles a day.  7:30, 11:30, 3:30 and before bed around 7.

-She has mastered the sippy cup!  She turns it up with no problem.  I have caught her with AR's a few times also.  She can also hold her own bottle now.

-She has tried lots of different foods.  She has had sweet potatoes, oatmeal, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots,squash, peas, mashed potatoes, bananas, peaches, apples, applesauce, grits, puffs, yogurt, yogurt melts and ice cream :)  I think the last was her favorite!

-She is getting a little better with the spitting up and some days are definitely better than others but we ALWAYS have to have a bib or burb cloth ready!!

-She is a great sleeper.  She goes to sleep anywhere from 6:30-7:30 (usually 7 on the dot) and gets up between 7 and 7:30. 
-She doesn't like to be rocked and would rather you lay her down in bed with her bunnies and blanket.  She snuggles up and goes to sleep without a fight most every night (for now anyways...it will change I'm sure)
- She takes two naps a day.  I usually adjust her morning nap if we are doing something that day, but usually she goes down between 8:30 and 9:30 and sleeps around and hour to hour and half.  She takes a long nap in the afternoon when AR sleeps.  They both go down around 1 and Ava Kate usually gets up around 4. 

-She loves her paci and likes taking it out and putting it back in.

She gets in this postion a lot

-She is really trying so hard to crawl.  She gets really frustrated because she can't go just yet.
-She is scooting to get from here to there.
-She is going from sitting to her tummy and back pretty well.  She gets her legs stuck sometimes.
-She has also started pulling her knees up under her more and rocking back and forth so I think it will be very soon.
-When she is on the changing table, she is constantly trying to roll over or reach and grab anything in sight!

-She has the cutest, chunkiest legs!
-She still has big brown eyes and brown hair and as of now it seems to be straight.  ARs started curling by now.
-She has beautiful olive color skin tone that she obviously didn't get from me! :)
-She has the cutest smile and laugh!  It doesn't take much to make her smile!
-She opens her mouth all the time like she is surprised.

-She is "talking" and making sounds but no definite words yet. 
-Our reading time is not so easy right now because she eats the book!
-She loves playing with babydolls and some of her Big Sister's toys which makes for lots of fights already! :)

 -She is teething but does not have any teeth yet.  She constantly has something in her mouth!
-She loves giving kisses!
-She pinches and grabs and has even brought blood to Pop Pop's face!
She also loves playing and pulling on her Daddy's hair!!

She loves playing with Anna Riley!!  She wants to touch her all the time which AR does NOT like.  She will say "no touch sissy!"
-They are sweet together though and are starting to play more.  We all had a little tea party together the other day and she was giving AK pretend food to eat.  I see this happening a lot in the future!

-When we grocery shop, Ava Kate has started riding in the double "car carts" at Publix with Anna Riley.  It is so funny to watch her "drive" the car.  She will constantly reach and grab AR's steering wheel and AR will say "No sissy, drive yours!!"   Oh the fighting has already begun! :)