Potty Training success!!!

We have been a little frustrated with trying to potty train Amber and kind of gave up on the idea for a while. When she turned 3 in June we thought it was time to start making a real effort again but then with Jesse graduating from college and not yet finding a job, the pressure was really on due to the possibility of moving in with parents. We thought it was best to get all accidents over with in this apartment instead of in our parents' homes. At first she seemed reluctant and even scared, but we just did it cold turkey and refused to buy more diapers or pull ups for her. She held it for 2 days until finally her tummy hurt and we ran her over to her potty where she went. Of course after that we celebrated like crazy and went straight to the store to buy her a reward. We have since been keeping jelly beans in the bathroom which has helped motivate her. We passed our last potty training hurtle yesterday when she went in the store bathroom for the first time. Now she seems to be much happier and has seemed much less frustrated. I think having the T.V. out of the house has helped a lot with that too. We are so proud of our big girl Amber!!!

Little Miss Attitude!

Well, our sweet little Katy Belle has picked up a little attitude lately. I'm not exactly sure where it came from but she loves to glare at people. It is actually pretty cute which seems to entertain her when you laugh at her angry face. I think she just enjoys the reaction she gets when she gives people that little look, it's too funny. We love our little miss attitude!

Bedtime Stories

One of my favorite things about little miss Amber is how animated her bedtime stories are getting. She loves reading books together, but even more then that she loves to have me or her Daddy tell her a bedtime story and of course she lets us know exactly what it is going to be about. So Jesse will tell a story about a dragon, then I'll tell one about a princess, then it's Amber's turn. Lately she has really been into trying to tell us scary stories about ghosts which she does in her scariest raspiest little voice and it's so hard for Jesse and I not to laugh. I told her a ghost story a few weeks ago and it ended up that the ghost was really Casper the friendly ghost just wanting to make a friend so now all her stories end with "Asper" the friendly ghost. Her latest story was about scary Vampires and how they wanted to get Bella but she flew away to slay a dragon because she was a princess but she died in the battle against the dragon and was kissed by a prince who rode by and woke her up and they lived happily ever after, the end. All our stories must end this way or they could go on and on. I tried to record her telling a story because they are so entertaining but every time she noticed I was recording her she would start laughing and wouldn't stop. I am determined to get at least one story recorded though. I love them so much and I love my little Amber. Thanks for all the stories.

Katelyn's trip to the E.R.

This week we noticed that Katelyn had a little bump on her bottom. At first we assumed it was just a small diaper rash and didn't worry too much about it, but as the week went on, it grew bigger and bigger and got to be as hard as a rock. We got worried and took her to her doctor so he could tell us what it was. After looking at it, he seemed worried and told us to take her to the E.R. We were kind of surprised that it became something that serious so quickly. We took her to the E.R. and they said it was an abscess that had become infected with staph, most likely M.R.S.A. and they needed to put her under and remove it. We were upset that she had to go through all that, but also wanting to do whatever it takes to get her better. The thing about Katelyn is, she is always happy. She smiles at everyone and is always upbeat. It's rare to hear her cry so when she does, it's upsetting. They brought us back to our room and Katy grinned up at all the nurses and doctors and was even playing peek-a-boo with one of the nurses. They put in her I.V. and I was waiting for her to cry and ready to comfort her, but she never did. She made a concerned face and looked down at her hand, but then went back to smiling. I couldn't believe it. After that they gave her the anesthesia and asked us to leave while they did the operation. When we were allowed back in the room, she was still out but Amber ran right to her side and began to pet her face and tell her it's going to be OK. When she started to wake up she was really wobbly, which seemed to confuse her, but she was happy! She woke up smiling and saying "App" which is what she says when she wants apple juice. We are so happy that everything turned out OK and that she is feeling better. What impressed me though throughout this whole experience is how positive and strong our little daughter is. Katy has smiled her way through her life so far and has amazed me with how sweet and kind of a little spirit she has. I love her with all of my heart and even though she's only one, I'm already so proud of her and how she handles hard times. We are very grateful to our Heavenly Father for trusting us enough to care for two of His most precious little spirits.

Thank you!

Katy Belle learned to walk when she was only 8 months old. She has picked up on so much so fast and has amazed me at how fast she is growing up. So far though, she hasn't seemed very interested in talking. I thought she was just too busy being active to worry about talking but now I think she knows more than she is admitting to. Last week we went out to North Carolina for Angie and John's wedding. While we were there, Katy's Aunt Aday gave us some new clothes for Katelyn for her first birthday. In all the wedding commotion we didn't really have time to look at the clothes. After we got home and I was unpacking I realized we had never thanked Aday so I gave her a call. I held the phone up to Katy and told her to say thank you to her aunt and to both of our astonishment we heard a tiny "thank you." At first I thought I imagined it so I said it again and she repeated it and smiled feeling very proud of herself. Now she says it all the time. I really think she knows how to say quite a few words but is reserving them for special times to surprise us. I love my sweet little cuddle bug Katy Belle. She is so precious and I am enjoying every second with her.

Piggy Bank

Yesterday we were out of money and out of food in our house, in trying to get by with the bare minimum before payday. Well I guess Amber got tired of eating mac and cheese or pancakes so she demanded that I take her to the store for some real food. I told her we didn't have any money and she said, "I do mommy" and ran to get her piggy bank. At first I laughed and thought, how cute but then I decided to use this as an opportunity to teach her about money and how it works. So we emptied out her piggy bank and came up with $4.80. I told her how much she had and asked her where she wanted to go eat. She chose Target so she could get popcorn and a slurpee from the food court. (I guess that is her idea of real food) Since it was her money I went with her decision and we left Daddy and Katy at home so it would be a special trip just for Amber. We put all the money in her purse and she carried it with pride to the register. I apologized to the cashier for having to pay with a pile of change and then Amber dumped out her purse all over the counter and said, "I want my popcorn and a drink." The cashier laughed at her and got her the drink and popcorn. We sat down and Amber looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I like going to dinner with you." It was so sweet and I told her I liked it too. Then she said, "ok, now go up to the man and get my coins back." I explained to her about how money works and how after you spend it you don't get it back, and while she seemed sad, I think she kind of understood. We spent the rest of the evening out window shopping and after the sugar from her slurpee kicked in we had a little race around the shopping plaza. I had such a good time with my little girl. It is nice to get to spend some one on one time with Amber when we can. She is really starting to impress me with how much she picks up on.

How do you turn this thing off...

One thing you have to know about Amber is that she likes to twirl her hair to fall asleep which leads to some big knots that I'm left to untangle the next day. It's gotten so bad that the right side of her hair is significantly shorter than the left side so I try to keep it trimmed. Most of the time this is why her hair is in a pony tail because it is much more noticeable when it's down. I am hoping she grows out of this habbit soon so her hair can grow, but in the meantime we are working with it. The other day we were in the middle of our morning hair battle and Amber was getting really frustrated with me so she kept pushing a button on my shirt. At first I ignored her and kept untangling her hair, but then it was starting to bother me so I said. "Amber, why are you doing that?" and she replied in her angriest voice, "I'm trying to turn you off, but it's not working!" I laughed at that point because I could see she wasn't joking. I love the things that come out of her mouth. She just turned 3 and she is starting to say the funniest things.