One Year Later

Our little miss turned one today.

We had a fun day celebrating her.

First we had a special breakfast with Daddy (he went into work a little late this morning).

Then we had our morning walk and I remembered to wish her a happy birthday right at 9:22 am when she was born a year ago.



After her nap, we took a fun trip to Toys R Us to get a her soft dolly.

In the late afternoon, we met our friends and old neighbors for a park date. We haven't been to the park in awhile and Emily loved it. She took the most steps that she has yet (5 or 6).

And later in the evening we had a super dinner at the same friend's house which was followed by a special birthday cake with strawberries and chocolate (see it all over her face;-) and she got to open a gift...a big stuffed horse, which she loved.

It was a good day.

I love my girl and can't believe that she has been with us for a year and that she has only been with us for a year all at once. Does that make any sense?

We are so happy and blessed to know and love Emily!

Painful Public Potty 'Pissode

Yesterday while at Target shopping, Lucas said that he needed to go potty. I hightailed it to the front of the store, dumped my merchandise at a checkout isle to pick up afterwards, and got both kids out of the cart and into a potty stall. Now came the fun part.

I had to put a paper cover the seat for Lucas, pull down his pants and remove his diaper, have him hold on to the germy seat with both hands so that he wouldn't fall in, help him aim the stream that shot the back of his pants and was mostly missing the potty, all the while holding a squirming Emily.

Once that part was done, I had to figure out how to get his non-pull up diaper back on and wash his contaminated hands without putting Emily down on the filthy floor.

My solution was to bring the cart in...the big "A" kind that you can put 2-3 kids in. Well if you have ever driven one of those, you know that steering it is no easy task. It is especially challenging when holding a baby in one arm and trying to keep a half naked toddler from streaking out the door. After several failed attempts to get the thing inside the restroom (I kept crashing into the door) and Lucas showing his business to anyone walking by the restroom area, a nice lady heard my grumbling and came to help me.

Holy cow! One of my friends had said how she was dreading potty training because of public restrooms, but I had no idea how impossibly hard it would be.

It was like a scene from a comedy, yet I wasn't laughing in the moment. Luckily, I can now.

Ernie's New Do

I laundered a garage sale bargain Ernie doll yesterday and his black, fuzzy hair tuft didn't fare too well in the dryer. It's not a bad look for him per say, just a whole new style for Bert's annoying, but lovable buddy. Now our Ernie has a fro. Maybe this is how he looked back in the 70's. Anyone remember?

And as a fun side note, Lucas used the potty 11 times yesterday!! I tried a new tactic for the first time-rewarding him each time he goes on the potty. Disco-tech Ernie is one of the potty prizes but hasn't been picked yet for some strange reason. Ahhhhh freak out!

You Happy, Katrina;-)

I was reminded that I hadn't blogged in awhile, so I went a little crazy with the updates tonight. Sorry. It's either feast or famine with my writing. I'll try to be more consistent.

Quick recap of the past month:

• Lucas was offered a scholarship and started preschool.
• Emily turned 11 months, started waving and saying Hi, and now kisses on command.
  
• She is considered healthy by the specialist that we had to see regarding her "failure to thrive." He thinks that our pediatrician is a "nutter." He didn't say that, I could just tell.
  
• I had my own Pampered Chef show and got lots of free stuff and will get paid for it, too. WooHOO!
  
• I'm starting to get into a running groove again.
• We had an awesome long weekend last weekend with a family movie night, trek to the state fair to watch a monster truck show and see the animals, and day trip to Bodega Bay to take in the lovely beach. We did not get eaten or even threatened by the birds.
• Mike started a new project at work and is still working on his old one, too. His job is pretty secure again. Praise God.
  

Running Report

I ran three times this week!! That is a really good record for me lately. Two times were on the treadmill for about 3 miles and this morning I ran a glorious 8.5 outside (half of these were with my family--Mike pushed the kids in our new double jogger and half were by my lonesome). And then this afternoon, I took an hour and a half walk with a friend. That's a lot of sunshine and cardio in one day, almost 4 hours worth. Maybe I can do this marathon, Jen!

Playmates

My kids are playing together more now and it is sooooo stinkin' cute. When I bring Emily down in the morning, Lucas says "Play with me, Em-ly." One of his favorite things to do is to have his sister push him in this hippo ride on/walker toy. He says "Push me, Em-ly" and she totters along pushing her big bro. Then he reluctantly takes a turn pushing her. I just want to eat them up sometimes. Here's a cute picture of them with Lucas doing the pushing this time. We took a video, too, which I will try to include...

School Daze

Wow, what a hectic and busy week we had!! Lucas started preschool on Tuesday and really loved it. No tears when I left him either day or the whole time there. So glad for that as I wasn't sure how he, a shy boy, would do in an unfamiliar setting. In fact on Thursday as I was putting him down for his nap, he asked to go back. He wanted to go back right then. Probably just stalling his sleep, but still...

He told me that he likes his teacher, Mrs. Spiers (pronounced like Britany's last name). Before school started, I was teaching her name to Lucas pronouncing it wrong saying Spy-ers and he thought that I was talking about bugs. He started referring to her as "that spider lady." Great. I couldn't help but laugh when he said it though and he kept saying it to be funny. I was happy to hear the correct pronunciation.

Anyway, he is now in school two mornings a week for three hours. It is going to be wonderful for all of us. He is having fun, meeting new kids, getting more exercise and outside time, and learning. And I am getting free time to run on the treadmill and take care of myself more for a change while Emily naps. The almost one year old is getting to snooze in a quieter house and some special girl time with her mommy when she wakes up. It is nice.