I'm Still Here!!

Hello!! Long time no blog! ;) You may be wondering what happened to cause such a long hiatus from the blog (ahem...5 months..)... Black hole? Broken fingers? Abducted by aliens?? All good guesses, but no. My pitiful excuse is that I am a working mom of two and I am still trying to master the fine art of balance. I may have mentioned this before but I am an extreme a bit of a perfectionist and while I have thought about blogging many times over the past few months, I feel like I need to go back and post about everything I have missed and then I get overwhelmed and give up rather than just posting something current. Well today the kids are miraculously both napping at the same time so I am going to attempt a brief recap of the past few months with the sincere hope that I will begin posting regularly again once I am semi-caught up. So, here in picture and bullet form are the past few months:

September:

• Hailey started dance class at The Little Gym. She absolutely LOVES it and it is so much fun to watch her. She has always loved music and dancing around and she feels quite grown up now that she is 3 and gets to be in class by herself. They do tap and ballet and she is a total ham looking at herself in the mirror.

• Madelyn started sleeping from 8pm until usually around 4am, eating, and then back to sleep until 8am. This was absolutely amazing to me since Hailey was not a good sleeper until she was about 10 months old! Girlfriend must have known that 2 kids is much more exhausting than 1 and Momma needs her sleep!
• I took both girls to LA by myself when Madelyn was 8 weeks old to go to Alex's baby shower because I am crazy  Supermom. Amazingly they were both awesome in the car and I am really glad I got to celebrate with Alex.
• Madelyn is a super eater and is gaining weight like a champ! Look at this belly!

 

October:

• I was able to get my maternity leave extended so instead of returning to work on Oct 11th, I was able to stay home with Madelyn until Nov 9th. Being able to spend that bonding time with Madelyn was so priceless and I'm so lucky that I was able to do it. These big open mouthed smiles just melt my heart!

• Being off work meant I also got to attend Hailey's first preschool field trip! We went to the pumpkin patch and Hailey got to pick her own pumpkin. She had so much fun and so did I! I also got to go to her class Halloween party and see all of the adorable costumes worn by her classmates. The weekend before Halloween we went to the Halloween party at The Little Gym, went to a Halloween themed birthday party for Ryan's 1st birthday, and made Halloween goodies. Then on the actual day, we dressed up the girls for a little trick-or-treating in our neighborhood before going back to our house to pass out candy. I think Hailey enjoyed passing it out even more than she liked getting it. Every time the doorbell rang, she would yell, "CUSTOMERS!!" and sprint for the door. It was hilarious! Love these little cuties in their costumes!

 

November:

• I went back to work the second week of November. Even though it was hard to leave Madelyn after getting to spend so much time with her, she is at daycare with our beloved Debbie so I knew she was in good hands. Still, the first day is always hard and a tear or two may have been shed.
• I was off the week of Thanksgiving so I was able to go to Hailey's Thanksgiving party at preschool. Before the "feast", each kid took a turn saying what they were thankful for. I just about melted to the floor in a huge puddle of goo when it was Hailey's turn and she said, "I'm thankful for my sister because I love her." Man, do I love that kid! She is such an awesome big sister and she loves Madelyn sooooo much!

• We went to visit my family for Thanksgiving. It was challenging driving with Madelyn this time because she is on more of a nap schedule and doesn't really like being in the car. Thankfully we had a great time while we were there and I even got to take Madelyn to see Alex's new baby, Mikaela! It's amazing how fast you forget how tiny they are when they're newborn!

 

December:

• This December was absolutely the most fun ever because Hailey is old enough to understand about Christmas and we did so many fun things together!! This year we started the Elf on the Shelf tradition and I think maybe Bryan and I had even more fun with it than Hailey did! Our elf's name is Smiley and Hailey was THRILLED to see what kind of hijinks he had gotten up to during the night. We even made it into a local newspaper article about the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon! I tried to take a picture of all the places Smiley popped up this month and I'd love to turn it into a little book for Hailey. In addition to the elf antics, we had an advent calendar full of fun holiday activities to do together. We watched Christmas movies, read Christmas books, went to see the Christmas lights, baked cookies, and on and on. Did I mention Christmas is my favorite holiday??

• We had a fun Christmas here in town with Bryan's family and my mom, who came to stay with us for the holiday since my step dad is in Italy and my brother had to work :(. It was great having her here and she really enjoyed doing fun Christmas activities with the girls this year.

 

January:

• Madelyn is 6 months old now!! Holy cow does time fly! She is a really good baby and although she recently had a rough patch with sleeping, I think we are starting to get back on track. We started solid food last week and she is definitely a fan! So far she's eaten oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and pears and she loved them all! I can't believe how fast this little lady is growing and it all seems so much faster since Hailey is growing like a weed too! 

 

Whew!! I think that's about all caught up! I am really really going to try to blog more regularly because I so love being able to look back on the girls' lives as time is speeding by!

Growing Up

Guess who's 3??

On August 13th my precious Hailey turned three. THREE!! How on earth did that happen? Wasn't she just born?? I can't believe how fast time is flying!

On Sunday, August 12th, we had Hailey's birthday party at Pump It Up. This was the perfect place for her party because with having a newborn, there was no way I was up to planning and hosting a party at our house. Pump It Up literally took care of everything for the party including food, invitations, party favors, and set-up and clean-up. The party was small (how many friends can a 3 year old really have?) but everyone who was there said they had a really good time. It was a lot of fun to watch all the kids bouncing around and, best of all, I didn't have to lift a finger!

What a ham!

The party gang

The dragonfly cupcake cake was a hit!

As if Hailey turning three wasn't momentous enough, she started PRESCHOOL on this Tuesday! What?!?! Hailey has spent the past 2 1/2 years at the most fabulous in-home daycare we could ever have found. Debbie has truly been a blessing to us and has loved, taught, challenged, and cared for our daughter as if she were her own. While she has blossomed and learned so much with Debbie, we all felt it was time for her to be with more kids her own age and challenged in a slightly more structured environment. We have been talking about "big girl school" for a couple months and Hailey has been really excited to go. To top it off, one of her friends from Debbie's is not only going to the same school, but they are in the same class! Hailey was so excited for her first day and Bryan and I both went to walk her to her classroom. I was worried that she might be shy or nervous but she ran right in and sat down for circle time. Bryan and I stood outside the door for a few minutes to watch her and I have to admit I shed a few tears as I realized how big my baby had gotten. She has had an awesome first week and is says she loves school! I'm so thrilled that she likes it so far and I think it will be a really positive experience for her.

First day of Preschool!!

And speaking of growing, my little Madelyn is 6 weeks old today! My maternity leave is already half over and I can't even imagine leaving her to go back to work yet. She is spending much more time awake now and I even got my first smile yesterday! I weighed her today (in a highly scientific weigh myself with and without her method) and she now weighs 10.2 lbs! Such a little piglet!

Cutest footie pajamas ever!

First smile!

Someone seriously needs tell these girls to slow down with the growing up!

Introducing Madelyn Olivia!

 She's here!! Madelyn Olivia Tune made her grand debut at 4:55am on July 12th at 6 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long!

On Monday I had a doctor appointment and it turned out I was 3cm dilated and 60% effaced. That night I started feeling some light contractions at around 2am and thought I was going into labor, but after about 4 hours of contractions about 10 minutes apart, they went away completely. I never had Braxton Hicks contractions with Hailey so I was surprised and disappointed when it turned out we would not be meeting our daughter that day.

I spent the next two days walking around as much as possible (indoors, since it was 109 degrees outside!!) and waiting for something to happen. Finally, on Wednesday night, we were watching So You Think You Can Dance and I started feeling contractions. They went from 10 minutes apart to 7 minutes apart in an hour and a half so I decided it was time to go to the hospital. Luckily my mom was here so she stayed with Hailey while Bryan and I headed to the hospital. When we got there and got into the maternity triage, it turned out I had not progressed much since my doctor visit 2 days earlier. They had me walk the hallway for an hour(!!) to try to get things moving. After a long and very boring hour, my contractions had increased in intensity and were 5 minutes apart. I was deemed ready to be admitted and they took me to my room. Things progressed pretty quickly from there and within another 2 hours my contractions were 2 minutes apart and excruciatingly painful! I had asked for an epidural when we arrived but the hospital was slammed with laboring mothers and there was only one anesthesiologist on duty. I was last on the list to get my epidural and I was seriously starting to lose my shit good nature and was thisclose to screaming at Bryan to go get an anesthesia cart and put the epidural in himself when the anesthesiologist FINALLY came! (All you mommas out there who gave birth without an epidural, I bow down to you!!) After the epidural, my water broke and the nurse had me start pushing to get things going. Apparently Madelyn took this to heart because 5 pushes later, the nurse delivered her while the doctor was still putting his booties on! She came out perfectly healthy and we were so thrilled to meet our new baby girl!

Happy birthday Madelyn!

Brand new family of FOUR!

Madelyn's favorite spot...staring at the corduroy on the couch!

Madelyn is now 4 weeks old and I can't believe how fast time is flying!! Becoming a parent the second time around is both easier and harder than the first time. We are so much more RELAXED this time! We know more what to do and how to handle our new baby and are much more confident in ourselves. However, meeting the needs of a demanding newborn and a demanding 3 year old is much trickier than handling one. We are busy, busy, busy all the time (hence the one month delay in posting this blog!) but I am so enjoying getting to know this new little girl and watching Hailey become a big sister. She absolutely ADORES Madelyn and is being the best helper! She loves to bring me diapers, pat Madelyn's back when I'm burping her, and always wants to hold her on the couch and give her kisses. So far we have not seen any jealousy and she has been very understanding and patient when she wants something and I need her to wait because I'm feeding Madelyn. I'm so proud of her and I can't wait to see their relationship develop as they grow!


This melts my heart!!!

4 weeks old! In the cutest footie pajamas ever!

Love this girl!

Blossoming Belly

Well I think it's safe to say the lack of posting around here is truly pathetic. My problem is that I get behind and then I feel like I have to catch up chronologically and it all gets too overwhelming. However, I am a mere 13 days away from my due date (though pretty much no one thinks I will make it that long) and I haven't posted anything about this pregnancy since 20 weeks! So, here are the last 4 months, all in one post.

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

Today!

This pregnancy has gone SOOOOOO much faster than the first time because, let's face it, who has time to daydream about a coming baby when you're busy with a 2 1/2 year old?!? Overall I've been feeling pretty good, although I am definitely not happy about the 100 degree weather we're having lately! Aside from some heartburn, hip pain when I sleep, and the MMA fighter jabs I'm getting now that this little lady has run out of room to move around, I have enjoyed being pregnant this second time around. Even with the occasional discomforts, I am trying to savor this experience because I know it will be the last time.

Preparation-wise, we are ready for this little girl to arrive! All of Hailey's baby stuff has been taken out, washed, laundered, set up, and put away in anticipation. The room is decorated, the carseat is installed, now all we need is a baby! It's a little surreal to be at this point and just sort of "waiting around" to go into labor. I'm trying to enjoy my last few days of freedom now that I'm off work and Hailey is at daycare 3 days a week, but the anticipation of knowing she could come any time now is killing me! Plus, just look at the picture from today... I don't think it's even possible for me to get any bigger or I might just pop!! :)

Big Girl Room!!

Before

 After!!

It's official! Miss Hailey now has a brand-new room, complete with a BIG GIRL BED! We have been talking about this event for several months to prepare her (she doesn't do well with sudden change) and she had gotten really excited about it. As we got closer to getting the furniture, she would tell everyone who would listen that she was getting a big girl bed and giving her crib to Baby Sister because she's not a baby anymore. We really haven't been in any big rush to get her a new bed because, although she is 2 1/2 years old, she has been quite happy in her crib and has never made any attempts to escape. Getting her new furniture also involved moving her old furniture into the new baby's room, which meant moving the guest bed out of that room and into the former office, which meant moving the desk out of that room all together! Whew! However, since we are a mere 3 months from the new baby's arrival, we decided it was finally time to get it all done. We picked out the furniture last week and Hailey could barely contain herself, she was so excited to get it. She asked every single day if it was time for her big girl bed to come. Finally the furniture came on Friday and she was literally BESIDE HERSELF with joy! She was bouncing on the bed and screaming "I LOVE MY BIG GIRL BED!!" It took me a whole extra hour to get her settled down to actually get in it and go to sleep! She's done awesome sleeping in it at night, but naps have been more of a challenge. I think it might take a few days for the novelty of the new bed to wear off before she actually settles down enough to nap in it. She lay down in it for 2 1/2 hours today and just talked and sang to herself the whole time. Hopefully she'll get back on track with the naps soon, she definitely still needs them... and so does Mommy!!

But just look at this happy face!!!

Dance Party!!

Welcome to Hailey's impromptu dance party!! She absolutely CRACKS.ME.UP!! I don't know where these killer "moves" came from, but I could watch them all day long!

(I took this with my cell phone so it's kind of small. Click in the bottom right corner to watch in full screen)

Cruisin' to Paradise

Our Ship - Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas



 You may remember from this post that we were supposed to go on a Southern Caribbean cruise back in September, but were thwarted by a little tropical storm and didn't get to go. Luckily, we had bought the travel insurance the first time so we had a 75% credit from what we originally paid to apply to a future cruise. We had until November of this year to use the credit but since Royal Caribbean won't let you travel after you're 24 weeks pregnant, it was now or never! It ended up working perfectly because March is one of the best times of year weather-wise and we had a beautiful trip! I'm so glad we got to take one more relaxing trip before our lives become a lot busier!

Day 1 - St Croix
Usually when we plan a trip, we both do endless amounts of research on the best things to see and the best places to go. For some reason this time we didn't do any of that (I think since the trip got cancelled last time we were in a little bit of denial about actually going this time). So, we decided to just wander off the ship in each port and try to find a good beach. In our first port, St Croix, we had heard that there was an underwater reef trail at Buck Island so we decided to see if we could find an excursion to take us there. We booked a catamaran through Big Beard's and they took us first to the beach side of Buck Island and then to snorkel the reef. The beach was AMAZING, with white sand and crystal turquoise water. The reef was actually kind of disappointing, most of it had been destroyed by a hurricane 20 years ago and it hadn't really grown back yet. The water was also pretty choppy so after taking a look around and seeing a few fish, most of the people got back on the boat early and soaked up the sun. St Croix was really pretty and we had a great taxi driver who gave us some history of the island on our way back to the ship.

On the boat to Buck Island

Enjoying the gorgeous water on Buck Island

Baby's first tropical vacation!

Day 2 - St Maarten

When we were planning the cruise the first time, I had read about Orient Beach in St Maarten as being on of the most beautiful beaches on the island. Since we didn't really know where else to go, we decided to head over there. When we got to Orient Beach, it was PACKED with people! We usually prefer beaches that are quieter and less populated so we weren't sure where we wanted to sit for the day. We walked up one end of the beach, checking out all of the different beach bars and weaving our way through all the people. Then we walked to the other end and found a part of the beach that was clear, calm, beautiful, and quiet. It also happened to be the clothing-optional section of the beach. We decided that it really was the most beautiful part of the whole beach so we decided to hang out there for the day. There was a little bar and a floating platform in the water perfect for sunning, and quite a bit of "interesting" people watching. We had a great day but they were very strict about absolutely no cameras  on that beach so we didn't get any pictures other than this one in front of the port!



The only picture after a day on the nudie beach!



 Day 3 - St John, Antigua
We literally had no idea where to go when we got off the boat in St. John. The minute we stepped off the ship we were bombarded with taxi drivers wanting our business. It was a little overwhelming so we just walked out of the port area and onto the street to get our bearings and try to figure out what we wanted to do. Once we got a little further out, we found a cab driver who had a laminated poster of several different postcards with different beaches on them. He recommended Jolly Beach as a beautiful beach that wasn't usually crowded so we decided to head there for the day. OH. MY. GOSH it was INCREDIBLE!! It was unbelievably calm and the water literally glowed turquoise! The water was warm and and the sand was powder soft. We spent the day lounging on beach chairs and Bryan even mustered up the energy to take a kayak out for a little while. We enjoyed this beach soooooo much and we agreed we would definitely come back to Antigua again!

The amazing Jolly Beach in Antigua

So beautiful it was hard to believe it was real!

 Day 4 - St Lucia
We did a little research on the ship of possible beaches to go to and had picked one that sounded amazing situated right between the Pitons (the twin peaked mountains that are a famous landmark in St Lucia). Unfortunately, when we got off the ship and asked, it was a 1 1/2 hour cab ride to that beach so we had to change our plans. We went to Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay, which is one of the most popular beaches on the island. Fortunately we were able to find a quiet piece of beach in front of a resort and they let us use their beach chairs for free (can't beat free!) One cool thing at this beach was this tiny little junk boat that turned out to be a swim up beach bar boat! Bryan got a yummy coconut concoction made with fresh coconut water, papaya juice, and rum. It was a little overcast for part of the day and while the beach was pretty, it wasn't quite to the same level as the previous beaches we'd been to on the trip. I would have really liked to see the beach in between the Pitons, Jalousie Beach, but with the time constraints of when we had to be back on the ship, it would have taken up most of the day just getting there and back. I guess we'll just have to go back again so we can check it out!

Enjoying our "babymoon"!

 Day 5 - Barbados
For this port we again printed out a list of the best beaches in Barbados to help us decide where to go. We had selected Payne's Bay, but when we got off the ship and asked at the tourism center, the woman there told us that there were no facilities at that beach. Since I was a bit sunburned we really needed to go somewhere that had chairs and umbrellas, so we picked another beach from the list, Brighton Beach. When we got there we were disappointed because the cruise ship and industrial docks were in our eyeline and there was a strange smell wafting across the beach. We went for a walk and discovered a refinery just a few yards to the right of where we were sitting. I have no idea why that was listed as one of the best beaches, I'm sure the island has plenty more that deserve that title. We decided to try and find another beach that smelled a little better, so we asked one of the locals to recommend another beach and he told us to go to Blue Monkey Beach. He said it was beautiful and there are sea turtles that are just a few feet off from the beach. When we got there, and got settled on our beach chairs, we discovered we were actually at Payne's Bay! I don't know what the tourism center lady was talking about because there were chairs, umbrellas, bathrooms, and a little beach bar there. What other facilities did she think we wanted?? Payne's Bay was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our day in Barbados.

Day 6 - At Sea
After stopping in a different port for the last 5 days, we enjoyed having our final day at sea. We slept in and then spent the rest of the day by the pool. I got a massage and pedicure and Bryan took a nap. It was a great way to wrap up the trip.

We really enjoyed this cruise a lot! It was a perfect itinerary because we got to see so many different places at once. The ship was great and the food was excellent! We ate in the dining room every night and had a great time with our server. We skipped the shows in the evening and went to the casino instead. We gambled 6 of the 7 nights and ended the trip completely even, which is a total win in our book! I'm so glad that we got this time together, especially free from the distractions of work and real life, to just enjoy each other. Who knows when we'll get to do something like this again!

20 Weeks!

(I'm actually 21 weeks pregnant today, but I totally meant to post this last week)

I'm halfway to being a mom of 2 and I can't BELIEVE how much faster this pregnancy is going. I think a big part of it is that I started looking pregnant a lot faster this time which made it feel real much earlier. At this point I am feeling like I look huge already, although people (who I suspect are lying to me) keep telling me I look little and cute. I'm going to choose to believe them, lies or not.

Here are the 20 week stats:

• Weight gained so far: 5 lbs (not too shabby, and with as big as I feel, I expected more!)
• Maternity clothes: The weather has been really up and down so I'm still managing to wear some of my non-maternity sweaters. I don't want to spend money on long sleeved maternity shirts because I'm hoping that any minute it is going to warm up and I'll be able to wear my short sleeved maternity shirts from last time.
• Sleep: Still going pretty well. Occasionally getting up to pee but not every night. However, now that Hailey is potty training, she doesn't like to be wet. Ever. Including in the middle of the night. Which means she's been waking up once or twice a night crying and wanting to be changed. Doesn't she know I'm not supposed to have to wake up in the middle of the night for another 5 months?!?
• Pregnancy symptoms: I've been going to the chiropractor for my lower back and hip pain and it turns out it is actually lower lumbar and sacroiliac misalignment. After 4 adjustments, I am already feeling better, which is awesome! I've also learned a few stretches to try when my hips are hurting so I've been doing really well.
• Gender: Girl!! No progress on a name yet... Bryan is killing me with his unwillingness to commit to one! I'm dying to name this little one so we can start telling Hailey what her baby sister's name is, but he basically feels that until the birth certificate is in our hands we've got nothing but time. Has he met me?!? Doesn't he know I am a capital P Planner???
• Movement: I started feeling little popcorn pops at about 17 1/2 weeks and they've been getting stronger ever since. I can't quite feel them from the outside yet, but they're definitely becoming more kick-like. She tends to move around most at night and I'm loving it!

Next up, we leave for our cruise-that-wasn't on Saturday!! We had to use the credit we got for having to cancel back in September before November of this year, and since I don't plan on leaving a 3 month old baby for 8 days, we are going now! Babymoon here we come!

IT'S A GIRL!!! (AGAIN!)

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and found out that Hailey is going to have a SISTER!!! Bryan was convinced that we were having a boy from the moment we found out we were pregnant (not because of preference, just his feeling). He was just as confident that Hailey was going to be a girl, and he was right that time, so I let his conviction sway me into thinking we were having a boy too. We were fully prepared to hear the ultrasound technician tell us we were having a boy, so imagine our shock when she said GIRL!! I had her check about 10 times before we left just to make sure because I was in such disbelief.

I honestly would have been happy with either a boy or a girl, but I am really thrilled that Hailey is going to have a sister. I never got to experience having a sister myself, but I look at my friends who have sisters and my friends who have 2 daughters and I think there is a really special bond that sisters share. I am really excited that she is going to get that experience and that I am going to get the experience of parenting sisters. It makes me happy that Bryan is excited to have another girl too. While we know that no two children are alike, we feel we already kind of know what we're doing with a girl. It's also a nice perk that I get to reuse the 3 giant Rubbermaid bins full of girl clothes I have saved! :)

Pee-Pee In The Pot-ty!!

This is going to be a long, detailed post because I want to remember exactly what lead up to Hailey starting to become potty trained!

Last weekend Hailey spent the weekend with my in-laws because I was sick and Bryan was out of town. According to my mother in law, Hailey asked to use the potty and peed in it 3 times while she was there. This was pretty shocking to me since she has wanted absolutely nothing to do with the potty at home. Every time we ask her to sit on it, she throws a tantrum and says " I no sit on the potty!!!!!" We have been trying not to push the issue because we didn't want to make potty training a negative thing for her. However, after hearing how well she had done with her grandparents, we decided to try again. Here is a rundown of what I like to call "Hell Week".

Monday- We decided to try putting Hailey in underwear so she could feel if she was wet. In the morning she was willing to sit on the potty, but no matter how long she sat, nothing happened. Of course, as soon as she stood up and left the bathroom, she wet her pants. We ended the day with 5 accidents, 0 hits on the potty, and 2 meltdowns.

Tuesday- We took the potty to daycare and encouraged Debbie to have Hailey try to go potty. Hailey was very resistant in the morning and even had to have a time-out for throwning a fit. Debbie called me and I talked to Hailey on the phone and told her she had to try to sit on the potty. After that she tried a few times, but again, nothing happened. That night we went out for dinner and when we got home I had Hailey try to sit on the potty before we got ready for bed. She sat down but then started putting her hands in between her legs and saying that her bottom hurt. She asked for her pull-up and started to get upset. I told her that her pull-up was dirty so I just pulled up her pants and told her to wash her hands. As soon as she stepped up on the stool she peed her pants.

Wednesday- Hailey sat on the potty a few times at daycare without a fight but didn't manage to make anything happen. After daycare she had swim lessons and I decided to have her try sitting on the potty when we got home. She started putting her hands in between her legs again and asking for her pull-up, so I knew she was about to pee. She DID NOT want to sit on the potty so I had to physically hold her on it because I knew pee was coming any minute. She screamed her head off, so loudly in fact that Bryan came running downstairs thinking she had burned herself on the stove! Sure enough, she peed on the potty while I held her on it and then she was proud of herself. We made a huge deal, did the potty dance, gave her an M&M, had her put stickers on her chart, etc. Despite the previous screaming, we ended the night on a very positive note.

Thursday- Hailey had a HORRIBLE day at daycare. She refused to sit on the potty and had a nuclear meltdown, complete with hitting, kicking, and scratching Debbie. She was in a bad mood all day and had to have several time-outs. I felt conflicted because on the one hand I didn't want to force Hailey to use the potty if she wasn't ready, but on the other hand I couldn't let her think that it's okay to throw a fit like that and then get what you want. When we got home she was in a pretty good mood so before dinner I told her to sit on the potty. She came into the bathroom with me and I took off her diaper but she refused to sit down. I felt like she was about to pee so I took off her pants and socks and let her stand in the bathroom naked. I watched her like a hawk and as soon as I saw her start to pee, I whisked her onto the potty and made a HUGE deal about her peeing on the potty. Again, she got an M&M, sticker for her chart, we did the potty dance, and called Daddy at work to tell him.  She went to bed in a great mood and I decided I'd try to have her sit on the potty over the weekend and if we still didn't have success, we'd take a break and try again in a few months.

Friday- I woke up Friday morning thinking to myself, "I really don't want to deal with potty training today!" But, I knew I needed to stick with it a little longer so I told Hailey that we were going to get up, have breakfast, sit on the potty, and go to Little Gym in a very matter of fact and casual way. During breakfast she said, "I can't go on the potty" so I told her, "we're just going to try and if you go, great, and if you can't, that's okay too." After breakfast Hailey said, "let's sit on the potty Mom!" After she sat down she said, "I hafta pee." I told her to go ahead and she said, "I trying!" Suddenly, she went!!! We were both SO EXCITED and she was really, really proud of herself. After we got back from Little Gym she tried again before lunch and did it again!! Just sat down and went! Then after lunch she did it AGAIN! I was blown away!  The rest of the day went the same way and I just couldn't believe it! I don't know what changed between Thursday night and Friday morning but whatever it was, it was working!

Saturday, Sunday, Monday- For the past 3 days Hailey has peed on the potty about 40 times and has only peed in her diaper at naptime and at night! She has gone at home, at a friend's house, at her grandparents' house, and on a regular potty at a restaurant! She has told us herself that she needs to go a few times and the rest of the time we ask her if she needs to go and she tells us yes or no. We haven't had to deal with pooping yet because she always goes during her nap. I don't even know how to begin to approach that one but for now I am just BEYOND THRILLED with how well she has been doing! She goes back to daycare tomorrow so I'm hoping she is able to go there as well as she has been going at home. I am SOOOO PROUD of my little boogie-boo and I cannot believe how big she is getting!!

16 Weeks!

I can't believe I'm at the 4 month mark already! This pregnancy seems like it is going by a lot faster than the last time, probably because this time I'm too busy chasing after a 2 1/2 year old to sit around daydreaming about my baby-to-be all hours of the day and night.

Here are some of the belly stats at the 16 week point:

• Weight gained so far: 1 lb (Woo hoo!! Bring on the Girl Scout Cookies!)
• Maternity clothes: So far I'm still in my pre-pregnancy buttonless cotton work pants and most of my regular shirts, but I have been wearing maternity jeans for over a month!
• Sleep: So far so good... except for getting up to pee around 1am every night.
• Pregnancy symptoms: Zzzzzzz...um, I'm a little more tired than usual. I've also been having pain in my hips/sit bones which I thought was possibly sciatic nerve pain but my nurse practitioner said she thinks is just deep muscle and ligament pain. If I can find an hour 30 minutes 10 minutes any free time, I think I am going to try a prenatal yoga DVD that may or may not still be in the plastic wrap from the last time I was pregnant.
• Gender: Anyone's guess at this point. I had a dream it's a girl and when you ask Hailey what she thinks she's going to get she says "baby sister." Bryan is positive it's a boy and he was dead-on last time so maybe he's got some kind of baby gender sixth sense or something.
• Movement: Not feeling any movement yet but I can't wait! That was one of the most special things for me about being pregnant last time, I'm really excited to experience that feeling again.