New Patio

We got a new patio put in before we left for our beach vacation. We didn't know quite what we've been missing till now. I thank God every day for this new patio especially when FJ is napping and Miss A wants to go "bye-bye" and we can't leave the house. It's so nice to suit her up and turn on the sprinkler and let her have fun in the backyard while I sit in the shade, listen to FJ's monitor, and watch Miss A play.

I will show a before photo and then the after photo...You can even see the spray marks right before they started-
Before-

After-

 Old-

New-

In the past-

Now-

Pre-patio view from where I would stand/sit:

 

Post-patio view from where I sit now:

I also finally scored a FREE Little Tikes Cozy Coupe. Someone was giving it away in our neighborhood. They put it on the side of the road with a FREE sign on it. A neighbor of mine called me to tell me about it. I put my kids in the car as soon as they were up from their naps and drove a few streets over and put it in my trunk. Thank goodness we have an SUV now (that's another post) or I would not have been able to fit that in my other car. The little car stays on our patio too and Miss A really enjoys going out and driving that around.

We just want to give a shout-out to Terra Landscaping who did our patio. They did a wonderful job and the price was just right.

She's Two and a Half!

Miss A is 2 1/2 years old today! After today, she will be closer to 3 than to 2! E and I often say that she certainly talks like a 3 year old at times.

I weighed her and measured her today. She's not much heavier or taller than she was at her 2 year appointment-as of today, she weighs 27.6 pounds and is 34 1/4 inches tall. Her head is 49 cm.

Some of her likes:
jumping
singing
having books read to her
playing with her dollhouse
playing with Grandmon, friends and our neighbor-"Dan-Oh" (Danielle)
talking about her relatives
going places
having playdates
the beach
playing in the sprinkler

 

Wearing her dress on her head-

wearing whatever shoes she feels like wearing-

playing dress up and dressing up Daddy-

cheesin for the camera-

 

hanging out on the deck-

eating sweets such as strawberry shortcake and nutella-

 

Giving dollies a ride in the dishwasher rack-

Today when I took these pics of Miss A before church, I asked her to make different faces for the camera...
sad face (but really not so sad)-

 

surprised-

Serious-

Happy-

Some funny conversations recently with Miss A-
Heard at breakfast last week while she was wearing a motorcycle t-shirt given to her by her Grandpapa-
Miss A: I have syrup on my shirt.
Me: You have syrup on your shirt?
Miss A: No, I have a bicycle.

Miss A: Where's dada?
Me: He's at work.
Miss A: I'm going to work!
Me: Where are you going?
Miss A: Target!
Me: Target?
Miss A: No, Volkswagen!

While Miss A was playing with Mister Potato Head at a birthday party recently, I walked up to her and asked, "Whatcha doin'?"
Miss A's response: "Playing Humpty Dumpty."
(I'd never thought about the similarities between the two until then.)

Potty training update:
You may have noticed in the photos that Miss A is wearing just undies and a shirt a lot...that's because we have been putting her only in undies during the day for over a month now. At first there were LOTS of misses! But then she started to show a little progress right before we went on vacation which was at the 3 week mark. Then we went on vacation and the progress came to a screeching halt!!

During vacation, she peed and pooed in her undies EVERY.  SINGLE. DAY. She REFUSED to even sit on the potty, let alone, actually do something on it. Yet, we kept her in those undies even though we had tons of laundry to do while we were there. We figured a regression had set in and we were even considering going back to diapers when we got back home.

Then...we returned from our trip and the very next day, she told us she needed to go potty!! Then she proceeded to go to the potty and sit on it and pee!! She did that a couple more times that day including at church! She stayed dry for the first half of the day! We couldn't believe it and each day after she started going more and more on the potty without us prompting her. She just started saying when she would need to go and then she would actually go in the bathroom and sit down and go! She has been doing that ever since that day.

Some days we have 1 miss but most days she stays dry.  She even stays dry through most naps and wakes up dry most mornings!!

As for doing #2 on the potty-she isn't there yet. She is constipated so often that it's really hard for her to go without standing up so once her constipation is under control, we hope that she will soon starting doing that in the potty too.

Until then, she's pooing in her undies which isn't fun to clean up or better yet-she pooed right onto FJ's rug and blanket today. Yay! (loads of sarcasm)

Sleep update-
For almost 2 1/2 years, she woke up in the morning and from her nap crying...EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. and it almost drove me nuts. Then suddenly right before we left for vacation, she woke up from her nap happy! She continued to do that each day till our vacation. During vacation, things were a little wacky. But now that we are back, she generally wakes up from her naps happy without crying. She sleeps for a couple of hours and then just gets up, turns off her monitor, and opens her door and greets me with a smile.

Last week, she even slept through the night 4 nights in a row and woke up in the morning happy!
I am not sure if turning 2 1/2 is the key but it have been a few less tears around here and more sleep for her.
Now, if I can just get FJ to sleep through his 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. wake up calls that he's been giving lately, the bags under my eyes might dissipate.

Making Popsicles

 

Enjoying the fruits of her labor...the next day-

Wordless Wednesday

Remembering

Remembering a life...remembering my grandfather.

My Papaw was born in 1927 in Pennsylvania. He passed away on July 1, 2010 in Louisiana. He was a Baptist and retired from the U.S. Post Office. He proudly served his country in the U.S. Air Force. He was a loving, faithful husband, father and papaw. He never did anything half way; everything was done to the best of his ability. (Adapted from his obituary written by my grandmother.)

I have such fond memories of my grandfather....we were close. I have to choke back tears as I type this.
He was always there to help when help was needed. He was willing to go the extra mile. He truly knew what it meant to be in a family. When I was in college, I needed some new tires. My grandfather decided to drive 2 hours south to where I was at college with my grandmother just to come and help me get new tires for my car. He took me to Sam's and hooked me up with 4 new tires and then drove back home. I remember watching them drive away with tears in my eyes because it was such a loving thing to do.

He always wanted to be fair to all his children and grandchildren. So, when he helped me get my first car, he also helped my brother and cousin do the same. He also helped me to get my second car 4 years later and he was always good at talking the salesman down on the price! He prided himself in the great deals he could get. :-)

He loved my grandmother and her cooking and he had lived in the south so long that not many people would have guessed he was originally from Pennsylvania. His father moved here with his family from Czechoslovakia when he was about 9 years old so my grandfather was one of the first in his family to be born here in America.

My grandfather is missed by his wife, my Mamaw. He is also missed by one son, 2 daughters, one son-in-law, 6 grandchildren and their spouses, and 9 great-grandchildren.

From left-my grandmother, me (pregnant with Miss A), and my grandfather-

From Left-E, Me-very pregnant with Miss A, Mamaw, Papaw

My grandfather meeting Miss A for the first time and sweetly trying to console her-

Papaw with Miss A at 11 months old-

 

Papaw, Miss A, and E

Last summer-Me (pregnant with FJ) holding Miss A, sitting next to my g-pa, and Dad-

 

Miss A getting comfy with her feet propped up on Papaw-

This year...just a month and a half ago-Miss A with Papaw-

 

Papaw with FJ-

I miss you and love you so much and you will always be in my heart. I look forward to the day that I can share my memories of you with my children.

9 Months Old!

Our guy, FJ, turned 9 months on the 2nd. We've had so much going on here that I didn't have time to do a post...so here it is!

He is 17 pounds now and is 27 3/4 inches long. His weight is still in the lower percentiles (15-25%) and height in the 30th % but when the doctor took a look at his arms and legs she said his percentiles don't match the way he looks.  She said with his "muscle-man arms" he doesn't look thin or small and she said that is because he has a smaller bone structure. Miss A was the same way...she was always in the 25th % but as chunky as she looked not many people would have guessed that. :-)

What's FJ been up to?
He can pull up with his hands flat against a surface now.
He has climbed up one step on the stairs in our basement and at Cape May.
He has said "mama", "baba" and "dada" and enjoys babbling.
He loves to climb over pillows and anything that is on the floor whether it's a person, a box, a toy, etc.
He still does not sleep through the night but he goes to sleep on his own with no problem and always wakes up happy in the morning and after most naps.

We love this little man and his personality!