Just Another Update

I don't have any pictures today (sorry!) but we have had a busy week, so I wanted to at least update the blog.
Monday we had our first doctor's appointment for the new baby! Our due date of Sept. 16 was confirmed, and my doctor told me that my change-over day is Thursday, so that means that today I am 7 weeks!! She said that it is too early right now to hear the heartbeat, but that we will get to at our next appointment, if I schedule it closer to 11 weeks rather than 10 weeks. So I made our next appointment for Monday, March 1. We're looking forward to that! Other than that, I checked out just fine and she said everything looks great!
Kendall is still doing such a great job wearing big girl panties! We're so proud of her. She's had a few accidents here and there, and we're still working on getting #2 in the potty every time, but overall she is doing great! She went to school Tuesday and today both in her panties and just had one accident on Tuesday and none today! We're thankful for her Mrs. Lindsey and Mrs. Judy who take her to the potty every time she asks to go -- even when she doesn't "go" every time! It's extra work right now, but we're hoping that the false alarms start to taper off soon. In the meantime, we'll take her every time she asks because, well, that's just what you do! She has also taken her naps all this week in her panties and kept them dry. She still wears diapers at night though and they are still pretty wet when she gets up in the mornings. But we are so thankful she's wearing panties all day and keeping them dry! We have even been several places besides school and church, like Kroger and restaurants, and had no accidents. I'm sure someday she will have an accident while we are out somewhere, but so far we've been lucky and I hope it stays that way! I don't even want to think about that.
I've been super super tired this week and I was sick to my stomach all day Tuesday. Since then I haven't felt AS quesy, but still just right on the verge. It's hard being pregnant with a busy two year old! Maybe my energy will come back after this first trimester.
Granny and Papas are coming this weekend and we are excited! I told Kendall yesterday that they were coming, and she was excited. This morning, though, I said to her, "Kendall, do you know who is coming to see you this weekend?" And she said, "Yea!! Granny! And Papas!!" I don't think she has ever remembered something like that from one day to the next, so I was suprised! She's just getting so big and we're just having so much fun with her.
Pictures coming soon...I promise!

Potty Training Day Three

Day Three was a complete success!! We are super thrilled. Kendall had NO accidents all day long and we had a great day! Here's how it started:
I fully planned on taking Kendall to church this morning in her diapers. That is not what happened. When she got up this morning she asked to wear her panties so we put them on. Then, when it came time to get dressed for church, I brought a diaper in and explained to her that she was going to wear a diaper to church. Well, she threw a fit. She said, "No diaper! Panties!" I had no idea what to do. I called Randy and he said to just bring her to church in her panties and then we would change her into her diaper. I packed her bag with a change of clothes, more panties, and some diapers. Kendall tinkled in the potty before we left, and then was dry all the way to church. When we got there, her teachers and Mrs. Samantha said it was no problem, they would just ask her a bunch and take her to the bathroom. I checked on her between services and she had gone once in the bathroom and had no accidents, and then after the next service, she had gone again in the potty with no accidents!! We were so excited and actually pretty suprised when we picked her up and she was in the same clothes we dropped her off in!!
I had a meeting this afternoon for women's retreat, so Randy took Kendall home, fed her lunch, and put her down for her nap. She had no accidents and tinkled once before nap in the potty!
When we got her up, we went out to eat Italian food because I was craving pasta. :) We were pretty nervous at the restaurant, but she did great! She told me multiple times that she had to potty, and of course I had to take her every time, but she never did anything. I think we went about 5 times. We got home clean and dry and she didn't have any accidents the rest of the night!
We could not be more proud of our sweet, smart girl! We had a great weekend, and she is doing so great. Tomorrow we get to go to our first doctor's appointment for the new baby, and Kendall will spend most of the morning with Jan. We'll see how she does then!! Probably this is our last potty training update. Sorry we don't have any pictures today - just great news about our girl!!

Potty Training Day Two

Day Two was even better than Day One!! When Kendall woke up this morning we put her right in panties and gave her a drink and breakfast. She started telling us she needed to potty and she made it to the potty every time! We decided to get out of the house and go on a walk and she stayed dry the whole time we were out! She had no accidents until about lunchtime. I think we got a little distracted and didn't ask her enough if she needed to go. She was playing in her kitchen and said, "Potty!" right about the time she was going. So, only one accident before naptime!
When she got up from nap, we put her right back in her panties and headed out the door for Aubrey's birthday party. We took two extra sets of clothes with us, the potty, and some towels. This was the first time for her to be in clothes over her panties, and to be in the carseat. She did great in the car! No accidents! We got to McDonalds where the party was, and I showed her the bathroom where she could go if she needed to. It scared her. About 15 minutes after being there, she still hadn't told us she needed to go, so I decided to try and take her. She was scared. Her potty was out in the car, so we went out there, and she pottied in the car!! We were so excited! We went back in and celebrated with M&Ms and stickers, and she stayed dry the rest of the party. We went back out to the car several times, and she tinkled 2 more times! We were so proud of her for holding it in the restaurant and for going in the car. Her friends were all so proud of her. :)
After the party, we picked up some food and went to Aaron and Holly's to eat dinner. Kendall went to the bathroom once there, but also had one accident. She also pooped in her panties as she was running to the potty, but when she sat down, she went more in the potty.
We are still so proud of how she is doing!! Tomorrow is church, and since we are there for so long and we aren't the ones responsible for her, we are going to put her in diapers. She's doing really good, though, and we hope the trend continues!
Here is a picture of her first car ride in panties. :) She wasn't really wanting to take pictures since she had just woken up.

At Ethan's we just ended up leaving her pants off after her accident. She kept wanting to stand up on the stool and look at the goldfish. Rumor is Holly's getting her a goldfish for her birthday. Kendall talked about that the whole way home, and she also kept her panties dry the whole way home! What a big girl!

Potty Training Day One

We started potty training today! Overall, it was a success. We started the morning by giving her the normal cup of juice, cup of milk, and cheerios. We put her new panties on her right when she woke up. Then we took her to the potty every 15 minutes, whether she wanted to or not. The book I read said to take her even if she threw a fit, and that by the third time she would be over it. She was! She fussed the first two times and by the third time she was fine with sitting on the potty! Several times she tinkled while she was on the potty and several times she started tinkling while she was up playing and we rushed to the potty really fast. We decided it was probably about 50-50 this morning with successes and accidents. We did go through a lot of panties!

At naptime we put her in a diaper to sleep, and then when she woke up we put her right back in her panties. We told her to try and keep Elmo dry and....she did! She had zero tinkle accidents from naptime to bedtime. We were so proud of her. She did poop in her panties once, but we were just glad she went - when she didn't go all morning we were afraid she was scared to not go in her diaper.

Randy had the great idea to bring the laptop in and let her watch videos on it while she sat on the potty. We watched videos on Disney.com and PBS.com, and even some funny Japanese potty training videos! It was a great thing to do to keep her sitting down and relaxed.

After dinner we were talking to Pops on the webcam, and Kendall got to show him how she tinkles on the potty! While we were talking she told us she needed to go, so we ran to the potty with the laptop and Pops and Megg were able to be right there with us! Lucky them. It was fun to have them there to celebrate with us. Every time she goes on the potty she gets either an "emmy," a fruit snack, a sticker, or all of the above. Any time she gets a sticker, it goes right to her belly. AND, on top of all that, her Daddy does a really fun "Kendall just pottied" dance! She loves that.

Overall, we had a great day! It was a long day of staying home, not getting out, drinking a bunch, asking her if her Elmos were dry a bunch, and celebrating a bunch. I'm so thankful Randy was home to do it with me, and we're looking forward to another fun day of training tomorrow!

Bathtime!

Aaron, Holly, Ethan, and Ella came over for dinner one night this week and after we played we decided to give all three kids a bath. They are so funny - we had a great time!

Getting Ready!

Tonight we went to the store to get some training pants for Kendall. She has been interested in the potty a lot the past couple of days, so we thought we would take advantage of that and see if we can start training this weekend. We got training pants and Elmo panties tonight and she was more excited than I would have ever thought! I had told her that she was going to get to wear panties like Sarah, so the whole time we were in the store she was yelling over her shoulder, "New panties Sarah!!" just like Sarah was right there in the store with us! When we got out to the car I told her she could call Sarah and tell her about her panties and she was so excited. We called and they had a little conversation on the phone! Kendall told her "new panties Sarah!" and Sarah said, "I have new panties, too, Kendall!" They talked a little longer and it was so cute - their first girlfriend chat on the phone. And it was about panties. :)

When we got home, she took a bath and then ran into her room naked. Before I could walk in there she ran to me and said, "Potty Mama!" She was starting to go on the floor, so I told her to hang on and I ran her to the potty. She held it and tinkled more in the potty! We were so excited and she was so proud of herself. She got M&Ms and then she wanted to put her new panties on. I told her that she could wear them but she needed to tell me if she needed to go potty. About ten minutes later I was in the kitchen and she was in her room and she ran out saying "More mama!" I couldn't figure out what she wanted more of, but she grabbed my hand and led me back in her room and pointed at a puddle on the floor and said "More!" She had tinkled again, and it was bothering her that her panties were wet. We took them off and cleaned up and tried sitting on the potty again, but she was done. We are so proud of her and so hopeful about this weekend...we'll see what happens!!!

When she had her panties on I asked her if I could take her picture. She never stands still for pictures, but she stood in front of me so still and said "cheese!" She's just so proud of her panties and loves them so much!

I took this video after she had tinkled on the potty. It is so great. Maybe the best Kendall video ever. :)

Finally a Pretty Day!

We were so excited that we could finally get out this morning and go on a walk! It's been so rainy here and cold, but today was clear and sunny and 60s, so we took Molly and went on a walk around the neighborhood. When we got back to the house I pulled Kendall's new cozy coupe out of the garage so she could play with it on the driveway. Then, while she was playing, I started stretching my legs a little - it's been a long time since I've walked 2 miles! I looked over and Kendall had decided that she needed to stretch too. I guess it's hard work riding in the stroller that far! I ran and got my camera and asked her to do her stretches for me again. Here's some pictures!

I'm not sure if you can tell, but she is wearing her black dress shoes and her hot pink socks. Before we left she helped me put on my tennis shoes and then went in her room to get her shoes. By the time I got in there, she had pulled out her black shoes. I decided not to fight it and reached in the drawer for some white socks, but when I grabbed them, Kendall said, "No, pink socks" and handed me the pink ones! I decided again that it wasn't important and let her wear the black shoes and pink socks. She has great fashion sense. :)

I love this picture. I just love the faces she makes!

After we played in the car for awhile we had to get the wagon out, too. I pulled her and Molly around in that together and then Dad came home for lunch! What a great morning!

New Baby update: I haven't been sick at all, but I have been very tired. I'm so thankful that Kendall still takes a three hour nap every afternoon! We go to the doctor one week from today. Looking forward to that!

Baby Mama

When we were putting our Christmas decorations up last week (finally!) we got my old cradle down from the attic. My great grandfather made this cradle and my great aunt Doris painted it for me when I was 3 to put my babies in. We have kept it since then (as Randy says we have everything from my whole life :) and we just knew Kendall would love to play with it with her new baby she got for Christmas. She was so excited about it! She has had a great time putting her baby to bed, rocking her, covering her up, and singing to her. I've been trying hard to get some of her songs on video, but she has been singing the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle (or "How I Wonder" as she calls it), and Jesus Loves Me. Here are some pictures of her putting her baby to bed.

Taking a break...being a mama is hard work!

Here is a video of her singing "How I Wonder" to her baby in her cradle. You can hear most of what she's saying, but the hand motion at the end is what she does for the part "like a diamond in the sky." She learned this at her grandparent's house and does it every time. We think she's pointing to the diamond on her finger. :)

Thank you for the cradle Doris! I remember loving it for many years when I was little and I love that Kendall can play with it now! We love you!

First Haircut!

Friday Randy was off so we decided to take Kendall for her first haircut in Pearland and do some shopping. My friend Mary had told us about this great kids haircut place called Snip-its. I totally recommend it to anyone-I think it is a chain. Anyway, when we walked in Kendall was very interested in all the bright, colorful decorations and toys. She got a little key that she could turn in when her haircut was over for a prize. There was a t.v. in front of her that she watched a movie on. Everything was going great until we sat her up in the chair. Then she started crying. Here I am trying to tell her it was ok, she wasn't going to fall, and this was going to be fun.

Well she didn't believe me. So the stylist asked me if it might work better for me to hold her. She put a cape on Kendall and one on me, too! When she started wetting Kendall's hair, Kendall got so worked up crying that she threw up a little. Gross. Thank goodness for the cape. We tried to get her to watch a movie, we gave her this green stick toy, and we gave her a sucker. Something finally worked and she stopped crying, but she had her head up against me. We weren't wanting a major cut; we just wanted a trim to try and get the craziness under control. The stylist did a great job under very difficult circumstances!
Look at that tear!

All done! When she was finished she got to pick out a bow and she liked that. I was glad she picked one that matched. Once we were finished, she was fine! She turned in her key for a toy and got a slinky. The rest of the day she kept saying, "Kengal haircut. Sarah haircut" because we told her that that was where Sarah gets her hair cut. Other than the drama at the beginning, we had a great family day together!

And Then There Were Four!

We have big news...we are pregnant! Last Sunday, two days after we got home from Cambodia, we took two more pregnancy tests and they were both positive! We are super excited, and so is Kendall! We taught her that she is going to be a "BIG SISTER!" and she says it all the time. She also loves to lift up my shirt and point to and talk to the baby in my belly, and she says that she has a baby in her belly too. She brings toys to the baby all the time and puts them under my shirt and says "Here you go baby!" and one time she looked at my stomach and said, "Wake up Baby!!" We think she's going to be a great big sister. Her and the new baby will be two years and seven months apart because we are pretty sure I'm due on or around September 16. We go to the doctor in one more week - I am just five weeks right now.

We thought I might be pregnant while we were in Cambodia, so Greg and Kathy Pickering found a pregnancy test at a drug store for only $1!!! They got it for us and we took it the next morning, but it was negative. But the next time Randy and I saw a drugstore, we went in and bought 3 more because they were so cheap! When we got home Friday, we still thought I might be pregnant, so Saturday night we took one of the Cambodia tests. It was negative, too. Sunday morning, I was convinced that I was and that the tests were just wrong, so after church we took another Cambodia test and it was positive! Randy's parents were here and we got to tell them, and Mike went and bought us an "American" test. I took that and it was positive too. So the picture above has the Cambodia test on top with two positive lines and the American test on the bottom that says "pregnant."
After Gigi and Peeps left, we called Granny and Papas and Pops and Kiki on the webcam to tell them the great news. We put Kendall in a shirt someone had given us in a stack of hand-me-downs that said "Big Sister" and taught her how to say it. She said it to all her grandparents and they were very excited!!!

Here is a picture of Kendall and I telling Granny and Papas the great news.

This video is Kendall saying "Big Sister!" You can tell she is very excited about it!

Christmas With Gigi and Peeps

Christmas afternoon we headed over to Gigi and Peeps' house to have Christmas with them and Aunt Val, Uncle Dohe, and Gracie. We had a great dinner and then started opening presents! This is actually the present Kendall got for Gracie, but she thought it looked like a lot of fun and wanted to play with it herself!

Kendall got a Cozy Coupe! She loves to ride in "Papas car" and now she has one of her very own. She asked Peeps to "ope" it and he of course started putting it together right away!
And Kendall and Gracie were a lot of help!

She also got a grocery cart that she loves! She put her new baby in it and pushed her around the house.

Taking a drink in her car. Notice her leg up on the door. :)

Kendall and Gracie got matching pajamas and they got in the car together. They just love each other so much!

Peeps got a remote control helicopter that he played with in the kitchen. Randy was sitting on the floor watching and Kendall came up behind him, got on her tummy and watched with him! I thought it was too cute.

Gracie got a slide and Kendall thought that was a lot of fun! We tried to teach her about taking turns with Gracie. She was just too excited!

We had a great Christmas week! The next day we took Kendall back to Granny and Papas house and we drove back to Lake Jackson to finish packing for Cambodia! We left for the airport at 3:00 Sunday morning. We were exhausted, but very excited about our trip!

Christmas with Pops and Kiki

After we woke up Christmas morning, we bundled up and loaded the car and set out for Pops and Kiki's house. What should have been a 20 minute drive took almost an hour. This is the road leading to their house - it was beautiful!

There is a big hill, though, right before you get to their driveway and our van just couldn't make it up the solid ice. We tried twice, and the second time we ended up on the side of the road. So we called Dad and just unloaded Kendall and walked up to the house. We decided we would just let the ice melt and then we would come back and get the van. It took several hours before the temperatures rose enough past freezing to be able to melt the ice! Scott, Dad, and Randy finally went down there right before we needed to leave and pulled it out.
Kendall walked up to the house with her Pops. It was so cold!

Due to all the traveling and late nights we had that week, she had a bit of a melt down mid-morning. So we tried putting her down for an early nap. She slept for 3 hours! She was pretty groggy when we finally went and woke her up so she could spend time with Kiki and Pops and open presents.

One of her presents was a Sit-n-Spin. She was still waking up and wasn't too interested in trying it out yet, so her Aunt Megg showed her how it was done. :) Since we've been home she has really figured it out and played on it some!

The girls

And our family. Finally, a decent picture!

Thanks, Aunt Auggie for taking such great pictures! Our camera was in our van down the street all morning!

Christmas with Granny and Papas

On Christmas Eve morning we drove up to Ft. Worth to spend the day with Granny and Papas. About half of our trip we were driving in snow! A big snowstorm hit the metroplex and it was so fun to see - not as much fun to drive in. When we got to Granny and Papas' house though, Kendall got to see her present from them: a kitchen!! She loves playing in her friend Sarah's kitchen and she loves playing in the kitchen at school, so we knew this would be a great present for her this year. And we were so thankful that Granny and Papas put it all together for us! She loves it.

She also got a Little People Noah's Ark and a big Melissa and Doug numbers puzzle. She had a bunch of fun playing with all of it.

We hadn't brought in much of our luggage at this point because of the crazy snow, so we didn't get many pictures.

Around 6 we bundled up and drove the 15 minutes to my Grandma and Grandpa's house...except it took over an hour! The roads were so slick and icy and there were crazy drivers everywhere. We had dinner there with them and Kendall got a Little Peoples Schoolhouse!!

It was great to get to see Grandma and Grandpa and we enjoyed having dinner with them. We didn't stay too long though, because we were a little worried about the roads. Papas was a great driver though and we took our time and he got us back to their house safe and sound!
We had a great Christmas with Granny and Papas and Kendall loves her kitchen! She plays in it everyday now that we're home and she loves to ask us what we want to eat and then she walks over to her kitchen and says "Kendall cooks!" Thanks Granny and Papas!