Potty Training: Part 2

We did the potty training boot camp with Kirkley at the end of the summer last year and conquered Part 1 of potty training in 2 days. Part 2, however, has been a LONG time coming. After some major sit downs about being a big 3 year old girl, offering every reward we could think of, taking television away, regular half caps of miralax, ETC. we can finally say she is totally potty trained.

We tried to make the BIGGEST deal about it -- the first person she wanted to go tell?? Who else, "Old" McDonald, along with announcing it to the rest of McDonalds. We've since called Aubie, Snow White, every family member, etc. SOOO glad to mark this off the list!

Gym Time!

We started a Mommy & Me gymnastics class this afternoon, and Kirkley loved it! As you can see in the pics, her little legs stay bumped and bruised! We're hoping to gain some coordination and have fun!
Brother was a trooper and hung out the whole class! Not many pics -- mommy was a spotter! :)

Five Months

Alex reminded me the other day I missed Jay's five month post! :) Five month stats: 27 inches long and drum roll...21 pounds! We're shopping for a big boy car seat as he's a pound away from outgrowing the car seat Kirkley stayed in for a year!! I'm nervous about the above pic. When I was taking some belly shots, there was a lot of knee scooting going on. I can wait a while longer for mobility!!!

So proud of his new trick. Don't be fooled -- only lasts a few seconds.
He is so enjoying all of his new foods! Sweet potatoes are the norm, but he's also sampled pears, peas, and squash. We're still stumped at why rice cereal hurts his tummy so badly but happy that he's liking his fruits and veggies!

End of the Year Program

Kirkley's end of the year program was this morning. She did a good job and was even right on cue a few times!!! She was out sick one day last week so I took her for practice yesterday where she fell down the stairs, closed her eyes, hugged on her friends, etc. during the singing. We braced ourselves for all kinds of excitement today, but she did a great job! :)
Family, I'll send yall a video link -- not sure about posting video of kids we don't know the families of! :)

Sitting proud!

Jay and I were watching Kirkley do a puzzle today when I noticed I wasn't really helping him sit all that much. I let him go and sure enough, he can sit for a few seconds. Then the lean starts...
Must be all muscle in there! The milestones are so funny to compare -- she rolled at 9 weeks, he rolled at 4 months. She sat at 6 1/2 months and he's at 5 months, 1 week. Size must help stability! :)

Round 2 with Food

We tried rice cereal with Jay at 4 months, and while he ate it fine, the reaction each night we tried it was horrid. We'd never heard of a baby having stomach issues after rice cereal, but after three different days of trying and the same result, we called ped clinic and the nurse said wait a month.

We saw the doctor today while K was getting checked out for a random fever, and she gave us the go ahead for food. Big sister picked sweet potatoes first, and she was SO excited he was going to be eating some big kid food! :)

He wasn't so sure at first...

But loved it by the end and finished off the whole jar! Hopefully we'll have a better reaction to food than cereal!

Big sis was very interested in tasting them also. We treated this like most of the other baby things and let her have a go at it. She didn't finish her spoonful. :) This approach has worked for most of Jay's baby things -- we haven't made a fuss about her getting in his car/bouncy seat, bumbo, etc., and she realizes pretty fast that they aren't that fun. Still waiting on her to realize the exersaucer isn't that exciting. Hilarious to see her legs all curled up underneath her in it!

Happy Mother's Day!

We enjoyed a low-key mother's day weekend filled with sweet family fun! It goes without saying that I'm so blessed to get to mommy these sweet babies!!!Kirkley was so proud to call all of the mommies in her life and serenade them! Here it is -- Happy Mother's Day dear all of the mommies! :)

Choo Choo Party

There isn't much Kirkley loves more than a party! Tonight at Myles's party was her first time on a train. She was nervous before the party that she was riding the loud, scary train that goes through town. She was relieved it wasn't big and scary and then wanted to ride on her own! We'll for sure be heading over for a train ride again soon.
No rides for little brother -- he's just happy to be hanging out!

A Breakthrough

Our week started off with a not so great moment in the land of new siblings. I was feeding Jay a bottle, and out of the blue, Kirkley bit his toes, leaving a mark through his sleeper. After discipline and time out, we had a zillion conversations about being kind and that God tells us to "love one another." We talked about it again at dinner when daddy got home and she explained, "It was not kind when I bit Jay's toes, but when I got him a Pluto diaper, that was kind!" She gets the gist at least!

Today after nap she started hauling one of her chairs into the living room. I started to stop her then she told me that she wanted to sit by Jay. Below is what unfolded -- one of the first glimpses of them doing something together!!! Can you tell I didn't grow up with an in-house sibling! This is SO exciting for me -- we prayed and prayed for a sibling for her to pal around with!

I love this pic -- his eyes look like he's listening, and she's got her hand going explaining!

She's teaching him all about David fighting the giant -- her Sun school teacher made an awesome book with her that we love reading!

He's thrilled sister is loving on him! Nearly every day she wakes up and asks if he's bigger yet, if he has teeth, etc. I pray they will be sweet friends one day!
And a side note, this week has certainly brought back to the forefront disciplining with scripture. I totally find if we're not keeping it a priority, it's easy to just discipline and go on about our day. My two favorite books on this are Teach Them Diligently and Don't Make Me Count to Three. Both taught us tons about how important it is to use Biblical principles in discipline -- even at this young of an age and all the time! Also, if you don't already have My ABC Bible Verses and One Year Devotions for Preschoolers, these are both great for short little Bible studies. Kirkley is usually the one that remembers to read the devotion story each day and is super excited to read it! These have helped to bring in applications at other times rather than the heat of the moment. And I'm shocked about how much scripture she's learned in both CBS and with the ABC book. Random book recommendations for you! :)

First Recital

Kirkley's dance class had their recital today! Hilarious to see what they've done for the past month. She started off participating...Then she decided the sparkles on her leotard were pretty interesting...
Then her face captured how her mommy and daddy were starting to feel at that point...
She settled back down for audience time and was excited to watch the other girls...
Here's a little video clip -- watch the girls next to her to see what she was supposed to be doing! :) At least she wasn't yawning in this clip -- and yes this is the most participating clip I have!

So we survived her first recital. We're pretty sure every person there knew Kirkley's name by the end: "Kirkley stand in your spot," "Kirkley watch Miss Caroline," and "Kirkley don't touch that." I think we'll be sticking with rec center ballet for a few more classes before going to a studio! :)

Berry Fun!

Alex, Grammy, and Kirkley headed out to the strawberry patch today. Kirkley had a great time picking strawberries and asking, "Is this one is good?" They came back with three gallons! Looks like we'll all be eating strawberries for a while! :)