Memory Lane

Here is the slideshow hubby made for Little Dude's party for family and friends who couldn't make it.

*Make sure to have your volume on!!

Celebrating Little Dude!

We had a birthday party for our Little Dude yesterday. He will be one years old on the 14th! I started collecting ideas and making decorations for the party a couple months ago. I got pretty much all my inspiration online and was able to make most of it which helped keep the cost down. {You might recognize some of the ideas from Jessica's blog at The Mac's. Love her style!}

The invitation we sent out to our friends and family.

I picked the colors aqua & orange, I just love those colors right now! And I went with a pinwheel and pennant theme because those seem so boyish to me. It's been so fun to be able to do both a girl party and now a boy party!

This display greeted our guests in the entry way. Can't wait to share how Little Dude's 1 year pictures turned out... but that will have to wait so this is a preview!

Circle garland: I just used different sized circle cutters to cut the paper and then ran them through the sewing machine. Simple and cute!

This banner hung in the stairwell and displayed a picture of Little Dude, one for each month, to show how much he has changed and grown in the last year. I chose all the pictures to be B&W except for his 12 month picture. This was a favorite of party guests!

We served Italian Beef and BBQ Chicken sandwiches, chips and veggies for lunch. It was a perfect wintery day for hot sandwiches! Yum.

We set up a kid table downstairs with PB&J sandwiches, goldfish and orange juice boxes. We also had a coloring station set up for our little guests!

Orange sodas with aqua striped straws were fun but it ended up being a rainy/snowy day so the hot drinks were a big hit for obvious reasons! 

I used a turquoise bucket we have in Little Dude's room to keep the sodas on ice!

We made an ice cream dirt cake for the guests and a chocolate cake for Little Dude's smash cake.

Our happy birthday boy! He took a nap just before his party and was asleep when guests started arriving. But at least he was well rested and a happy boy for his party. 

Daddy had to get in on the smash cake action and show Little Dude how it's done!

There was a variety of party favors for guests to choose from:

- {Gum balls} "Hope you had a BALL"

- {M&M's} "So SWEET of you to come"

- {Gold fish} "Hope you had a SWIMMINGLY good time"

We had a Time Capsule for Little Dude too. Guests were asked to write a note to him and then we will give it to him to open and read at his 18th birthday! Hubby spray painted the glass jar and used vinyl to make a "C" shaped window.

A few pictures of Little Dude opening gifts:

Playing with Grammy.

His train set was a HUGE hit, especially with big sister!

Thank you to everyone who came and made it a successful and enjoyable party! It just wouldn't have been a party with out you all there.

And a particular HUGE thanks to my mama who came out several days before the party to help me set up! She is also responsible for the delicious and popular ice cream dirt cake! Thank you for ALL of your help, we couldn't have pulled it all off with out you.

Potty Training {Day 3 and beyond}

Monday was actually the 3rd day of our 'official' training. We stayed home and continued our routine with Little Lady and she showed us that she was getting it! She told us when she needed to go and we would take her. She was having less and less minor accidents before making to the potty.

That evening we decided to take our first adventure out of the house and meet Grammy and Auntie D for a birthday dinner for Grammy. I was SO nervous about how things would go and if she would even go on a public potty if she needed to go. I was afraid for her being embarrassed if she had an accident. We just kept reminding her to tell us if she needed to go.

It wasn't until we were close to leaving the restaurant that she told us she needed to go. The first time I took her in to the stall she took one look at the potty and turned back towards me saying 'Too big, mommy. Too big.' She was referring to the size of the toilet, since she uses a training seat on ours at home, and I couldn't help but think our biggest hurdle is that she is too smart for her own good! I didn't force her to go and we went back out with the group. Soon she was saying she needed to go again so I took her back and assured her I would not let her fall in! She wrapped her arms around my neck and finally was able to go!

I had such a huge relief and it felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Since then I've been carrying a training seat in a bag in our diaper bag for the times that she won't go on a 'too big' public toilet and that works great. I think she has the control part down pretty well now.

The next challenge we faced was night time. She has only had one night {Monday night to be exact} that she slept all night and stayed dry. All the other nights I go into check on her and she would be wet but still sound asleep. It doesn't bother me that she has an accident, we have plenty of sheet and extra blankets and pj's. I have a hard time with her not waking up when she is wet and continuing to sleep in it. I feel so bad for her.

We've been trying lots of different approaches for night time. One is cutting off all liquids, except a little bit at dinner time, at a certain time and encouraging her to use the potty multiple times before getting into her crib. Those things alone haven't worked yet. I was planning on trying to wake her up 1-2 hours after going to bed to go, but last night she actually woke up when she had to go and stayed dry until I got her to the potty!! She did that twice last night! So she was accident free!!!

I'm hoping that means that it is clicking but I still expect accidents and for the training to continue. I'm just so proud of her for picking it up and doing so well and only being a little over 2!

We have officially have just one in diapers! Of course that is only until February but it's a small victory that feels huge!

21 weeks {Itty Bitty}

I wanted to update at 20 weeks and share about our appointment and ultrasound but we were in Branson and it just didn't happen. So here we are at 21 weeks instead!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 21 Weeks

Size of baby:  Itty Bitty is about the size of a cantaloupe!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Gained 6 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Hoping the weather is warm enough for shorts as long as possible! Not looking forward to buying maternity jeans, this is my first heaviest-in-winter pregnancy.

Gender: We are having a boy! We announced it here, in case you missed it.

Movement: Yes, but not nearly as strong or as often as the first two pregnancies. I suspected {and was confirmed at my ultrasound} that the placenta is right in the middle/front of my uterus. This adds a thick cushion so the kicks and movements are felt nearly as much. I'm a little bummed now, but I'll be grateful in the third trimester. :)

Sleep: Still having crazy dreams, I mean really crazy. And really real. I still feel so tired in the morning. I wake up several times to use the bathroom and have to flip often in the night because my sides get sore. 

Symptoms: Heartburn is getting stronger every day. Feeling short of breath after any activity. 

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy and not needing a body pillow in bed. 

Cravings: Lately and unfortunately I've been craving chocolate. Why all these things that add to the heartburn?? :(

Best Moment this week: Getting my 2 year old out of diapers! Looking forward to only having one in diapers for a couple months.

What I am looking forward to: Honestly, not being pregnant. I can't wait to hold this baby boy in my arms. :)

Branson Flea Market

I almost forgot about my exciting flea market find while we were in Branson, MO last weekend!

They had several flea markets that I could have spent a whole day in, maybe even two. I had to apply some self discipline and just keep walking past, only gawking from the window {your welcome, hubby!} But the one we did go in I enjoyed browsing and could have easily picked up junk treasures I was sure I needed.

But I was willing to give it all up when I found this baby doll high chair for Little Lady!!!

I was thrilled because we had already discussed getting her an American Bitty Baby Doll for Christmas. But I knew I'd have to find accessories for the doll else where, because lets just say they are highly over priced at the American Doll store. 

But upon further investigation we figured out it's a Melissa & Doug high chair! They retail at about $70.00! Of course this one needs a little work and I plan on painting it all white {I think} and I'm still undecided on any detail to decorate it or just leave it plain. 

So, I bet you are wondering how much I found this steal of a deal for???

$9.50! 

Can't wait to give this to Little Lady at Christmas!

Potty Training {Day 2}

Praising the Lord tonight for answered prayers, today was even more progress than yesterday!! I think Little Lady actually gets it, at least as far as going pee. She tells us when she needs to go and we take her to the potty {we don't have a bathroom on our main level} and she makes it with undies still dry.

Last night wasn't perfect but it wasn't as bad as it could have been! I woke up to her stirring in her crib over the monitor and went in to check on her around midnight. She was wet but still sound asleep. I woke her up and got her all clean and back to a fresh bed and she woke up at 5:30a {my kids are early risers...} and she was DRY! If that's the only hurdle we have in the night, we can handle that. I'm going to try something different tonight and hopefully we can get her to make it through the night.

*TMI ALERT


She also experienced going #2 today and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. She just didn't make it to the potty in time but we caught it right away so there wasn't really a mess. I think she just needs to keep trying to make it to the potty in time, she doesn't seem afraid of it. That's a relief.

I must say this potty training business is a lot more draining for me than I anticipated. I kind of had some emotional times this afternoon and I realized that I'm just dealing with the fact that my baby girl is becoming a big girl! I'm so proud of her and know that she is so smart for her age. But I feel like she was just my little newborn and we were bringing her home from the hospital. How can she be done with diapers?!

I'm sure my currant state of pregnancy matched with the fact that this method we are using requires us to stay home and one of us be with Little Lady at all times so we can pick up her signals and always catch her accidents in the act and make it to the potty before she is done has a lot to do with it. It's just physically and mentally draining. But she is so worth the sacrafice. All three of my littles are.

Potty Training {Day 1}

Our first day went well, I'd even say it went better than I anticipated. But my perfectionistic tendencies had me stressed out and wanting to be successful right off the bat. My common sense kept reminding me that just isn't likely, or fair to our Little Lady for that matter.

We started out with a few accidents but after just 3.5 hours into it we had our first success on the big potty! She was on a roll for several more times! Then came nap time. I was anxious. Mostly I worried about how she would handle waking up wet, but I tried to prep my self for the probibility. Nearly two hours later and she woke up DRY! I was very proud of her and made sure she knew it.

Only one more accident and the rest of the afternoon was right on track! She let us know when she needed to go and we rushed her in just in time. I'm hoping that our second and third day are just as successful as the first day!

As for the night, we will see. I'm mentally prepared for waking up to change clothes and sheets but that's ok! It's all part of the learning process. We also haven't had to deal with 'number 2' business yet, not sure what to expect from her with that. But the bottom line is we will take it as it comes and help her figure it out. Our Little Lady is one smart cookie and I don't even doubt that she will get it and be successfully potty trained in the 3 days or less!!

As for me, I'm wiped out! I'm going to need 3 days just to recoup from this.

*We are using the 3 Day Potty Training method.