Can we say...NO more diapers?!?

The past two weeks have been full of excitement and growth for my baby girl and the three of us as a family. Two weeks ago I started potty training Madison and within the first week she wore pull ups she never had an accident. We are now finishing our second week with still NO accidents!! I can't believe it has gone so well. I think it's safe to say she is officially potty trained...for the most part;) The only time we are still dealing with wet diapers/pull ups are overnight. During the day she will tell you everytime she needs to go and she always wakes up dry from nap time! Since this huge milestone has occured we decided to transition her crib to a toddler bed today. This is in hopes that if she does need to potty during the night, she will have the ability to get up and go. She slept great today for her nap but I am very anxious to see how she does overnight with no containment;) This is all happening so fast and reminds me of how big she really is. I abosolutely LOVE the age she is, but I miss how needy and dependent she use to be. Being a mom has truly shown and given me a love I never imagined was possible.

Potty Time!!

So....I don't want to jinx it, but Maddy is doing so well with potty training! We bought a potty seat when she was 16 months old because she was very aware of when she was going in her diaper. We are JUST NOW getting use of that potty. Starting last week, I got pretty strict on taking her the potty frequently throughout the day. This week is my Spring Break so I am determined to make it happen! I know that she won't be fully potty trained in a week, but just since yesterday (when I started) she is already telling me when she needs to go. She wore the same pull up today from the time she woke up until 5p.m.!! I was so proud. She even told me when she needed to go "poo poo" and she did it on the big potty. We obviously make a HUGE deal about it...I mean dancing and singing and clapping, etc. so SHE is now getting excited about going potty. She gets very upset when I say we have to put a diaper on for bed because she only wants to wear the pull ups. Anyway, so very excited about being out of diapers soon, yet sad because that means she really is a big girl:(

Fun, Fun, Fun...

The past month a has full of fun! We were able to see Elmo and the Sesame Street gang, visit a new park they built for us in Forney, and visited Toy's R' Us! At the end of Feb. we went to Nokia Theater with Phyllis (Brandon's mom) to see ELMO! Madison LOVED this event...it was the first big show she had been too. Long story short, our seats were double booked so we tried sitting somewhere random and of course had to move when the family came in with their tickets.

We then proceeded to tell an usher who seated us somewhere else, and yes had to move from there too. After TWO more times of having to move, we finally got to sit SIX rows from the stage! Our original seats were not bad at all but these were amazing and dead center. Maddy was so excited to see all of the characters - she talked about it for two days after. It was a great experience and so much fun to see the look and excitement in her eyes.

We also have a new, HUGE park they have built here in Forney that Maddy really enjoys. We went once last week before it got cold so I'm sure we will be making frequent visits not that the weather is so beautiful. It's so great that she loves the outdoors as much as she does...the only down fall is that I don't get near as much done around the house!



And finally, we visited Toy's R' Us two weeks ago and Maddy had ten dollars of her own shopping money to spend (Pa gave it to her). She was a little overwhelmed by all of her options so I finally just took her to an isle that had some cheaper items for her to choose from. She made a decision on a Dora bubble blower and a cute little water pale....the total was $9.47...she did good;)

I'm so excited for this time of year, it just puts me a good mood. I love the sunshine and wonderful temperatures. This week is Spring Break so it's really nice to not have to be on a schedule and rush to get things done before going to work. It should be a good week!

Maddy's First Haircut!

So, as most of us know, it took two whole years for Madison to finally get some hair...and what did we do...CUT IT OFF! Brandon has been bugging me for months now to get her hair trimmed in the back because it was so uneven but I was completely against it. Well, from previous blogs, we now know that anything can happen when Daddy babysits (remember the "poo poo" incident). I was at work the other night and when I got home Madison immediately started pulling at her hair saying "cut, cut". I had no idea what this meant until Brandon said, "She wants to get her hair cut". Really?? How does a two year old know when to get their hair cut? They don't! He had talked her into getting this done while I was away at work, but was he the one to take her..NO!;)


After much consideration that night and into the morning, I gave in...we did it. We went to a cute little place in Rockwall called Sharkey's Cuts for Kids. It was so neat! Luckily there was a little boy getting his hair cut before her so she was great when it came her time. They had a cute little Barbie Jeep for her to sit in and she was able to watch cartoons on a flat screen as well....why can't I get that kind of service!??! After the woman wet her hair, ends up the left side was over an INCH longer than the rest of her hair! Guess it really needed to be cut. I feel like it looks a little like a "bob" so I am still getting use to it but I think it was something that needed to be done, and Brandon is very pleased as well.

Of course I kept a few of the strings they cut from her tiny head and after a $20 KIDS haircut we had lunch at Which Which. That's right...$20!!! I couldn't believe it. I mean they barely cut anything and it cost that much. You better believe I let them know that was a little ridiculous! Brandon couldn't believe that I would complain about something like that if I was satisfied with the service...but that's more than what he pays as an ADULT for a haircut. Guess we'll be waiting another two years before getting another cut;)

Needless to say it was a great day and she loved showing her Daddy her new "Do" when he got home that night!

Peace, Hope, and Prayer....

This is what I am living by at the moment. We are all aware of the unfortunate turn the economy has undergone. Thankfully, for me, I believe things WILL get better but not before they get worse. We have recently been attending church regularly again since Madison was born (yes I have issues with leaving her in a nursery) and we love it! We have been going to Lakepoint in Rockwall and couldn't be happier. Though times are tough for us as they are for most in some way, we feel so revived and ready to take on the next week when we leave there. It's very large and some don't see how it seems very personal but it's all what you make of it. It's not about how big or small...it's about your personal relationship with God (as I heard in last weeks sermon) and it's so true. We battle daily with different challenges but we have to remember that God will never give us more than we can handle, although we may think we can't take anymore. I have to remember to have a peace about the world and my individual situation, hope for tomorrow and pray for the well being of my loved ones and our country...it's all we can do at this point. Being a parent just makes all of my worries comes to the surface. I only want the best for my daughter. I will continue to live my life the best I know how and put the rest in God's hands and hope we find our way.

Mac 'N Cheese...how hard can it be?

So, it's been 4 days since I put the house up in smoke...LITERALLY! Madison said she wanted some mac 'n cheese with her dinner so of course I say "okay". I must mention that it is MICROWAVEABLE Mac 'N Cheese...not much to it...unless you are me. I am so distracted at the time because she is requiring a lot of attention and not satisfied with anything. I put the carton in the microwave without a second thought and move on to the living room where I was called by my darling daughter:) Within a minute or so I look back towards the kitchen and see nothing but a huge cloud of smoke. At this point I have no idea what is happening, but know that I should do something. I rapidly get to the microwave asking "what is going on", while Brandon is on the phone with his dad. I open the microwave to see that I have forgotten a "small" part of what it requires...WATER!! Yes, I am that big of an idiot. I make this at least twice a week, I'm not that stupid. I was just so involved in what Madison was doing that I simply forgot.

Brandon is now a little frustrated that he gets snappy with me (while still on the phone) and eventually says, "I have to let you go, my wife is burning down the house". Well, I might as well have been doing so. The smell and cloud of smoke was so bad and thick that we just had to get out. All of us were coughing so bad that we knew we had to do something. We left the house and went to Wal-Mart to buy some time. When we got back...not much better. We had turned on every fan so the cloud itself was gone but the awful smell was still lingering.

This brings me to the "4 days later". I opened the microwave to make popcorn tonight and the smell shot out at me that I went with Cheez-It's instead. This is exactly why I don't cook, but I mean come on, a five year old could make micarowavable macaroni! I stand firm on that when you have a two year old running around, you simply can't have it ALL together. Good times...

What happens when Daddy is the babysitter...

So of course I know that Daddy's way is a little different than Mommy's way...right? For instance, I am with her ALL day long so I obviously have to be the bad guy sometimes. She has to run errands with me and such, so its not always about her. With that said I do make make sure and find time to work on some learning activities, reading, play outside, dance when she wants me to, have tea parties...basically we do it all...so I thought.

Well, I call Brandon on my way home from work and Maddy answers. I ask her what they had been doing and she said "poo poo". Of course I start asking her if she went "poo poo" in the potty which anybody would think she was referencing too. Oh boy was I in for it! As I walk through the front door there is a small pile of "poo poo" lying in the middle of the living room...I was FURIOUS! I immediately started on Brandon with "why if the dog went to the bathroom on the floor would you not pick it up!!? Our child is playing in here and that is just disgusting to leave that there for her to have to play around"! May I remind you, our dog does not too this very often at all, but certainly has been know to when she is ignored and not let outside. So as I am screaming at Brandon he is very calm and continues to say "that's your dog, you know I don't pick up afer her, she is your dog". So this made me even more mad because no matter who's dog it is, PICK IT UP when there is a two year old playing right there!!! I mean come on, the dog is a 4 pound yorkie, how big can the poop be!?! To top it off, as Brandon continued on with his straight face, smirking just once in a while, he finally got up from the couch and with his BARE hand PICKED UP THE POO POO!!! As I started to freak out and he started laughing hysterically, I soon realized him and Maddy pulled a bad prank on me..it was Play Doh!!! I guess it's safe to say I was Punk'd. At this point I have completely forgotten about how mad I was and we were all laughing so hard with Madison still saying "poo poo".
I guess it's only to be expected that when Brandon keeps her for only 3 or 4 hours they are going to have as much fun as possible and who knows what that might involve. I think she adores her daddy for this and I think it's the cutest thing. To make it up to me, he had to watch the Bachelor with me...he never watches that show. Oh, and yes I took a picture of it because I wanted to show how real it really did look, especially not knowing any different and walking in 5 feet away...I swear it looked so real.