Sometimes those words mean something really cute or funny is about to happen, and other times it means that Madi has done something...shall we say...naughty!
On Friday morning when I got home from some church business, I heard these words.
The scene that followed went something like this:
Madi handed me a ziplock sandwitch bag with something odd inside.
It took a second for me to realize what I was holding in my hand....
Hair. Yes, a bag of my girl's hair.
This is what I saw...
She just pretty much took the scissors and started chiopping bits and pieces here and there. Lovely.
I freaked out just a little bit....ok more than a little bit.
I didn't really know what to do.
Once I regained my common sense, it was a no brainer. It's time for a her first REAL hair cut!
Ok, don't tell Madi this, but secretly I've been wanting to do some kind of an A-line bob hair cut on her for the past couple of months. Her hair always looks kind of unkempt lately. Even when I take the time to do it, she manages to get it all messed up one way or another. Well, this gave me the push I needed to do it! Seriously though, do not tell Madisyn. After the time out and the long talks and the locking up of all the scissors in the house, and all the extra drama that went into making sure she knows that she made a bad choice, I don't want her thinking "mommy wanted to cut my hair short anyways and I just helped her make her decision more quickly". That won't look so great for my case :)
I called the one and only Tenille Osborn and we were set!
The transformation...
We put on a movie and it was the perfect distraction. She held still pretty much the whole time. Yay!
There goes my baby's hair!
Getting all styled up!
Loving every minute of it!
Isn't she stylin!
I am in LOVE.
So, the moral of the story is:
Don't cut your own hair...but if you do...your mom will make sure that your hair will be cuter than ever by the time you're done.
Time to get back to blogging again. I miss it dearly. It's my journal and even if no one besides me will ever look at it again, it will be priceless to me. So here we go!
Lets start with right now....
She didn't really eat or move from this spot for 2 days :(
Everyone pick a spot and cuddle up!
We are all getting over a nasty virus. Lots of coughing and runny noses going on around here. We've been doing lots of cuddling and movie watching. On days like this we are loving warm steamy showers and hot bowls of soup. Mmmmmm. I think we're all at the end. It has been sunny for 3 days straight and it has been wonderful to open up the house and get some fresh air! Nothing like sunshine and fresh air to get those bugs out of the house.
Just documenting that I was there joining in on the the sick fun.
Despite all that, we have managed to have some fun!
Notice her pants. haha
Bathtime brings lots of smiles here!
It rained, or should I say poured for 2 weeks straight at the begining of March. So, we decided if you can't beat um, join um!
This week has ben sunny almost every day!
Madi turned 3 one week ago today! She is just a little princess. Everything about her is so delicate and lady like. I love it! Madi is so artistic. Anything that has to do with art will keep her busy and happy for hours. She's loving coloring and she will spend an hour just cutting paper to shreds. It must be therapeutic or something. Maybe I should try it out hu?
It was like a pink christmas morning on Madi's birthday!
They are going to be best friends.
Marlie turned 6 months old on the 16th! Madi and Marlie are one day short of 2 1/2 years apart. I didn't even realize that until last Wednesday. Fun! Marlie is so close to sitting up. She LOVES her rice cereal, carrots, green beans, peas, but NOT bananas! What a silly girl. We haven't tried anything else so far. I'll keep you updated :) She only wakes up once a night now, which is wonderful. She rolls all over the place and loves her new play mat. The only time she isn't cooing and smiling is if she's really hungry or tired and I'm not being very attentive to her. She really is my angel baby. Oh and when I put her in her high chair to eat, she gets so impatient and yells. It's so funny. It's not even crying. It's just a full on screech. I guess eating brings out the worse in her. Haha. Love my girl!
This girl can get around!
Sucking on her fist and grabbing her toes. Her two faves.
She sucks on EVERYTHING but she goes for the thumb mostly.
Mmmm...I love this angel.
David is an avid eBay man lately, since we haven't had work all month. It's been a HUGE blessing to have such a savy husband. he is amazing. He sure knows how to provide for his girls. Well, he needs the computer for eBay now. That's our life right now. I love it.
Lets just say it was a night and day difference when compared to Madisyn's birth.
Wed. September 15th
11am: I went to my midwife appointment. She checked me and said I was at a 2 and %50 effaced. Pretty much, I was ready to go into labor at any point. She stretched my cervix a bit and stripped my membranes. She told me "don't be surprised if you have some contractions and some spotting. It could get things going."
12 pm: I started having very mild contractions and I just pretty much dismissed them all day until around dinner time.
9 pm: I started to believe this was really it. The contractions were still very mild. I had made dinner and did chores and just carried on as usual.
10 pm: The contractions started to get stronger and I told David to go to sleep now because I'm going to need him once things really kick into high gear.
Thurs. September 16th
1 am: I layed on the couch and tried to stay awake for the movie I had rented. I was actually able to go in and out of sleep until about 3 am. I'm so glad I got a little rest. *With Madisyn I was awake from 7pm on Sat until 12:31 on Monday when she was born. Yikes!
3:30 am: I was still able to lye down, but I was no longer able to sleep through my contractions. I decided to start timing them. I timed them for an hour and they were 5 minutes apart and lasted at least a minute each. According to the internet I was in active labor between 4-7cm dilated. I didn't count on being that far along because with Madisyn I was having intense contractions for 30 hours and was only at a 3.
4:30 am: I called the hospital and let them know that I was in labor and I'd be coming in a couple of hours. David and Madi were sleeping and my pain was totally manageable on my own. It really wasn't that bad at all. I just had to stop what I was doing for each contraction and breath through it, but it was not very painful. This is all compared to my labor with Madi.
5:30 am: David woke up and I told him this is it. You're not going to work today. We called grandma and asked her to come get Madi.
6:30 am: Contractions were getting stronger, but they were still manageable. I was talking and smiling in between them. When grandma got here she said "you're definitely not at a 6 or anything. You're way too happy for that." I totally agreed with her. I figured if I was at a 3 or 4 I would be happy.
7 am: David and I left for the hospital.
We checked in and waited to go into triage.
8 am: I was all hooked up to the baby monitors. After all the questions were asked and I had breathed through some more contractions the nurse said ok lets check you to see how far along you are. She looked at me and said "you're pretty far along." I was surprised and said "like how far?" She said she wanted to check me while I was having a contraction so she could be sure. We waited for the next contraction and she checked. "You're at a good solid 7." I think my jaw dropped to the floor. "REALLY?!?!" I said that out loud. She said "you're doing so great." I just couldn't stop saying I'm at a 7? REALLY?! I almost didn't believe her. I just looked at David dumfounded and I was SO HAPPY. With Madisyn I was 35 hours into intense labor and I was at a 6 before I finally said give me an epidural! Yet, this time I was at a 7 and hadn't experienced that kind of pain? The body is an amazing thing.
9am: I was admitted and brought to my room. I had David take a few pictures to document how happy I was. I still can't believe how personable and happy I was. I called my family and closest friends to share the good news. I just put the phone down while having a contraction and then went right back to my conversation like I was sitting at home just chillin or something. It was all pretty surreal.
10am: It was a little after 10 and out of nowhere my contractions got really strong and were right on top of each other. I was drenched in sweat and I was not smiling anymore. Oh my goodness. I was not ready for that at all. I told the nurse "I want an epidural!" She informed me that my midwife was going to be there at any moment to check me. Just then, my midwife came in and had me get up on the bed. I was shaking and I felt totally out of control. I could not seem to catch my breath. She checked me and said I was at a 9 and I had 2 choices. She could break my water and I would have a baby very soon after that, or I could get the epidural I was pleading for. I opted for the epidural because I couldn't imagine being in that much pain for a minute longer. As soon as I said those words, my water broke. About 2 seconds after my water broke....
10:28 am: ...I felt the strongest urge I've ever felt in my life. It was so strange. I HAD to push. My midwife said "give me 2 good pushes and you'll have a baby." I heard her say that, but I was too busy hyperventilating and thinking I was going to die to really listen to her. I felt like I was going to pass out because I was panting so hard and not breathing through my nose at all. They gave me oxygen. She told me "you need to breath. If you pass out it's not going to be good for you or the baby." So I mustered up all the willpower I had in me and breathed and pushed. She said "that was great. Give me one more like that and she's out."
10:35 am: I gave it all I had and out she popped. I had pushed for 7 minutes and my baby was out! 10hours of labor that was almost all totally bearable and she was here! (Madi was 41 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing.) I did not know it at the time, but the umbilical cord was wrapped once around her neck and as the midwife was pulling her out, she went to lift the cord over Marlie's head and the cord snapped in half. David told me all of this later that afternoon. I guess it was quite the spectacle. It sprayed blood everywhere and they ran Marlie straight over to the little newborn bed. David didn't cut the cord until later because it cut itself. Crazy! Anyways it was almost an out of body experience this time around. It was kind of loud and chaotic for the last 20 minutes there. I'm glad no one was taping it and it was just David and I in the room.
In case you're wondering that's not a diaper. It's an ice pack. This was right after Marlie was born.
The respiratory specialists came right in because she had pooped while she was still inside me and they had to make sure there was no meconium in her lungs and such. This was all going on about 3 feet away from me while I was getting all stitched up. It was only a minor tear this time, but boy does it not feel very good to be stitched up when you don't have an epidural. We'll just leave it at that.
Here she is... 9lbs 6 oz 20.25 inches of pure sweetness.
Last Tuesday (a week from tomorrow) we put away the diapers and broke open the packages of underwear.
That's right. One week before my due date, I decided to dive head first into potty training. I have been wanting to do it for awhile, but there have been so many changes going on that I just was a little overwhelmed with adding another one to the list.
I decided to go with the "3 day method" that my friend told me about. Pretty much, you lock yourself in your house with your child for 3 days. Give them lots of fluids, so they have lots of accidents. You ask them every 5 minutes or so if they have to go potty. You make a record of all the times they "go" whether on the potty or on the floor, so that you can have an idea of when to expect to take them to the potty. You need lots of undies, some good carpet cleaner and lots of patience. Having a washer and dryer in your home helps too.
Here's Madi's potty journey.
We have had her little potty for awhile, but the week before we started potty training I took her to the store and let her pick out some underwear. She picked princess ones of course and she was so excited! I also got a few things from the dollar section to use as prizes. I put them in an ice cream bucket. I was all set to go, but I was really dreading it!
We woke up and I told her that today there are no more diapers and she's going to wear big girl underwear and go potty on her big girl potty. We took off her diaper, and got her dressed. Which consisted of a shirt and undies. Yeah she ran around the house in just her little undies while we potty trained. It sure saved me from having to wash a bunch of pants!
So, we went about with our normal routine of breakfast, playtime, naptime and so forth. Lets just say, it was a looong day and I was ready for a break when daddy got home.
Here's Madi on day 1. (Caution this video contains a bare bum)
Tuesday: Day 1 I made a potty chart as a little extra incentive to actually tell mommy when she had to go potty. On Tuesday, the stickers represent every time she told me she had to potty. It didn't matter whether it was on the floor or not. As long as she told me, she got a sticker. We went through 9 pairs of undies that day. At 7:30 that night, I asked her if she had to potty and she said yes. We ran to the bathroom and she sat on that potty and peed in it!! David was home and we all celebrated by putting a sticker on her chart and she got to pick a prize from that prize bucket I mentioned earlier! It finally felt like my day of cleaning up pee and watching her like a hawk was a success.
Wednesday: Day 2
That night, she came in our room at 1:30am because she had wet the bed (which was expected). I got her all cleaned up and back in bed. That morning she woke up dry. The rest of the day was so rewarding! She only had 2 accidents and they were both in the bathroom. I couldn't believe how fast she had caught on. She got so many prizes and lots of praise. We called daddy every time to tell him and he couldn't wait to get home to see her in action. I thought I was pretty much home free at that point.
Thursday: Day 3
Well, little did I know what was waiting for me on Thursday. She did wake up dry, which was wonderful. The rest of the day was a different story. She only made it to the potty 6 times that day. The rest of the time there was either no effort made to get to the toilet, or she just plain peed everywhere. I was SO frustrated. I started to second guess myself. I was so close to busting out those diapers again. Seriously. I stayed strong and hoped for a better Friday.
Friday: Day 4
She woke up wet Friday morning and I knew it wasn't going to be a great day. It was better than Thursday, but it was still rough. Keep in mind that I have been stuck inside for 4 days straight. I couldn't stand the smell of pee anymore and I was just really not handling it very well.
She put herself in this bucket and I was tempted to keep her in it so I wouldn't have to clean up messes off the carpet!
Saturday: Day 5
It was David's day off and he wanted to go out, but I was totally dreading it. Instead we decided to stay home and get some things done around the house. Madi woke up wet, and had one accident that morning, but the entire rest of the day she went potty on the toilet! I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I thought that maybe the end of accidents was in sight.
Sunday: Day 6
Sunday she woke up dry and the rest of the day was a success!! We even went to grandma and papa's for dinner and she still had no accidents.
Monday: Day 7
She spent the night at grandma's last night (mommy was having contractions) and still no accidents! It is now 3:30pm and she has had dry undies for the past 3 days!!
I am so glad I decided to be crazy and try to potty train her before her baby sister gets here. She is so cute and all of a sudden she looks so grown up to me. Her pants fit her little bum so differently. She has this routine when she has to go potty now. It's hilarious.
- she tells me "go potty"
- she goes in the bathroom and I turn on the light for her and make sure she gets her pants off ok.
- she then says "out please"
- she grabs her book and sits on the potty.
- a few seconds later she says "went potty" or "went pee pee" or "went poo poo" or "DONE!"
- i come in and get her all wiped and hands washed and tell her how proud I am of her.
She is doing so great! Those few days when I thought it wasn't all going to turn out so well were more than worth it. I love that she is a big girl and that I will only have one princesses' diaper to change and not 2.
She's so proud of herself and I couldn't be more happy to say my little Madisyn is potty trained!
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