First Foods!

Sabrina is trying new foods!  So far she has had rice cereal, bananas, and peas.  The only one she doesn't like is the rice cereal.  I guess she likes flavor!!

All ready for breakfast!  {I love those chunky legs!!}

Mmmmm...bananas!  Despite the confusion on her face, she ate these right up!

Peas!  She gobbled these down!

Yummy!

Potty Training Day #1

Teaching Kayla to use the potty has been a long time coming.  We had put it off with the arrival of Sabrina, but also because we saw that she was just not ready.  And, although we have seen some good indicators that she is ready, she may still not be.  Today was the first day and we used a method a friend of mine used for her 4 children...potty training in a day.  A day is slightly misleading because you are reinforcing for a long time, but the "heavy duty" training is really in the first day.

We started yesterday by getting ready with snacks, drinks, toys, and rewards.  Kayla even got to pick out her own panties at Target.  I talked it up to her all day, telling her how much fun it was going to be and how much of a big girl she is.

When she woke up this morning, she had taken her diaper off (this has become an almost daily event) and asked for me to put another one on.  I reminded her that it was "Potty Day" and that we would have lots of fun, so she said, "I want to sit on the potty!"  I set her up with some filled Easter eggs and her morning juice.

She drank, and drank, and snacked, and drank.  Finally, after 2 hours, a pee!  Yay!

We continued to keep her entertained all morning so that sitting on the potty was not a chore.  I gave her as much juice, water, and milk as she would take.  Again, an hour later, a pee!  She went straight to the bathroom to flush it down and get her M&M.  (Truly amazing how a single M&M can motivate a child!)

She sat on the potty a while longer before nap, but didn't go again, so I put a diaper on (just for sleeping).  When she woke up we put panties on, but she had several accidents.  I think the panties hold in the moisture/substances enough to make her comfortable, like a diaper.  So, tomorrow, we will try no panties, and no diaper during nap.

Daddy says, "No toenail polish," but this little girl will find a way!!

Sabrina at 5 Months

No way!  This girl is growing so fast!  We did a little photo shoot while she was laughing while swinging on the hammock with Daddy.

Height/Weight:  Not sure about height except that she is outgrowing her onesies and most pants that are sized 3-6 months.  She weighs about 16 lbs.

Eating Habits:  Sabrina is a great bottle-drinker, but doesn't particularly like eating from a spoon.  We started some cereal a couple of weeks ago because she was drinking so much formula (cut down on formula by giving her some solids).  Since she really didn't care for eating (it's early anyway) we went ahead and just put some cereal in her last bottle of the day.  We'll be starting back with solids this week...cereal, bananas, and a veggie.  I am looking forward to making baby food again so I'll be looking for good recipes and getting a better food processor.

Sleeping Habits:  Ugh, I feel more tired now than I did when she was a newborn!  I don't know what's going on with her sleep!  We stopped swaddling her because it seemed to upset her.  That worked for a few days.  The pacifier seemed to be getting in the way at night so we weaned her from that.  No paci worked for a few days, but then she started rolling over and getting frustrated.  (As a side-note, cereal worked for a few days, too, then stopped working)  She can roll tummy to back and back to tummy, but gets stuck on her back and doesn't like it.  I'm not sure why she won't roll back, but I am tired!  I keep telling myself that eventually I'll get a good night's sleep again...someday.

Skills:  She is grabbing everything and putting things in her mouth.   As mentioned above, she can roll...  She has been laughing a lot more and especially when Kayla laughs.  She seems to "get" situational humor.  She likes to be tickled under her chin and on her chest and she LOVES to bounce!  I need to get one of those doorway jumpers.

I can hold my own bottle!

Temperment/Social:  Although Sabrina is mostly sweet and happy, she has a temper that she can turn on in an instant!   She also loves to watch other kids play; she kicks her feet and smiles drooly smiles at them.

So blessed to have this sweet girl in my life!

Farmer's Market Saturday

 This outing was inspired {again} by Our Kids Magazine where a Very Hungry Caterpillar storytime was advertised.  We made it to the Pearl Brewery to shop at the farmer's market (I got local honey, kale, and root veggies like rutabagas, carrots, and turnips) and then headed over to The Twig Bookstore for the storytime. 

This storyteller was the most animated woman I've seen in a while...I'm not sure I'll be able to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar the same way ever again.  There was even a life-sized caterpillar for us to hug and take pictures with. 

Laughing cause the Been wouldn't look at the camera no matter how hard I tried!

 We ventured down to the Museum Reach end of the Riverwalk and played with some ducks and enjoyed the flowers and greenery. 

Kayla fed them some of her Goldfish. 

Although we have been experiencing beautiful spring weather with clear skies and light breezes, Saturday was muggy and overcast with a little drizzle.  It still turned out to be a beautiful day and I'm so glad we ventured out as a family!

This Week in Review

Our week was filled with lots of little "good things" so I am just going to put it all in one post.

Monday was my 31st birthday.  My dad made my birthday dinner (eggplant parm!) and bought my favorite almond creme cake from Nadler's (yup, I am sooo a Daddy's Girl and will never grow out of it!).  My mom bought me a new purse (yay! for an alternative to the diaper bag!) and watch.  It was a nice day, except for Jeremy and the girls being sick.  :(  Your birthday view sure changes when you are a mommy!

On Tuesday, we had the treat of visiting with Jeremy's parents (aka, Granny and Pawpaw).  They hadn't seen Sabrina since Christmas so they were really excited to see how much she has grown!

On Wednesday, I took Kayla to get a haircut!  Her bangs really needed touching up (because Momma had gotten ahold of them last) and Jeremy wanted some of the length off.  I got 2 inches off, but that's it!  She already knew she wanted to sit in the pink car and get a balloon and lollypop!

After:

 

Gotta love the glasses!

 

"Take a picture of me sliding, Momma!"

And, on Friday, Kayla dressed herself for a trip to the park...

NO!  I did not let her leave the house like this, but I did snap a picture!

And, of course, my little Beena is always hanging out with us too!  Most recently in the high chair since she has such an interest in grabbing anything close to her and drawing it into her mouth!

Spring is in the Air

After the dry, scorching hot summer of 2011 where everything in our yard died, I am ready to see some green!  Not only that but some beautiful bright colors as well.
The first sign that spring was on it's way were the bright pink blooms that popped out on our redbud tree.  I didn't take a pic in time of the blooms at their best, but the leaves are quickly following!

The green started as weeds....and turned into a nicer front yard.  Still working on the back.  Our front bushes are in bloom, but I don't think they stay flowering for long.  The non-flowering bushes have been shaped for the first time in nearly three years!  It was my first attempt and an awful lot like cutting hair.  "Let me even up this side...oops, too short.  Let's go to the other side."

And yay! our crepe myrtle is coming back too!

The girls and I went on a shopping trip to Rainbow Gardens and came home with this pretty purple hanging plant (which will probably move to the back yard as it doesn't "pop" enough on the front porch).

We also got some pink begonias and will be planting them in a hanging box on the wall by the front door.

Even the forget-me-nots Kayla and I planted in February are starting to spring up!  I wonder if they'll flower?

Kayla and I have been keeping a close eye on all of our plants and keeping them watered each day.  It is so nice to be able to spend time outside now!
(On an uncertain note:  Will our Chinese Pistache ever get it's leaves back??)

Sorry for a long post about the plants around our house, I am just really excited to actually be trying my hand in the horticultural arts!  Wish me luck!

Of Men and Giants

Kayla is a reader.  She absolutely loves books.  Loves to be read to, loves to retell the story as she looks at the pictures.  Her current favorite is her new Read and Share Toddler Bible.  She got it from a friend of ours from church when we dedicated Sabrina.  It has been really neat because it opens doors to talk about God in ways that she will understand.

We haven't read the whole Bible yet because she is stuck on the story of David and Goliath.  It makes me think of some of the other stories she loves:  Dave and the Giant Pickle (Veggie Tales) and The Iron Giant.  I recently got her to branch out and read some of the other stories about David.  The ones where he is a shepherd and the one God chose to be the next king of Israel.  After reading these, she said, "I want to be a shepherd."  So cute!

So, naturally, we had to make her some sheep to "shepherd."  We started with some construction paper ovals, glue, and cotton balls.

 She was great with the glue.  "It's like syrup!"

 We covered the oval with cotton balls and added construction paper heads (which in retrospect look very out of proportion to the body) with googly eyes.  She made her own nose and mouth.  We made pipe cleaner legs, which did not stick very well to the body!

Top Squiggle:  "ocean"  Bottom Squiggle:  "grass"

We also made a {simpler} Daddy sheep...it needed lots of support to stay up on the fridge!  Such a privilege to do "Sunday School" at home.

A Play and a "Picnic"

Tried something new today...a play!  It was a production of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by The Rose Theatre Company. I heard about it from the Our Kids magazine.  Usually the activities in the Events section are for kiddos over 3, but there were several this month that were more age-appropriate for my girl.

The stage was all set with chairs, table, and beds (far right).  It is a very small "auditorium" but perfect for toddlers (ie, no long aisles to chase her up and down).

We were actually early *gasp* so Kayla had time to wander around.  She made friends with some other kids and didn't get up on the stage or anything, until....

She was invited up to dance the "Hokey Pokey" (set to the tune of Stroke Me, Stroke Me, oddly enough).  Mommy Confession:  We've never done the Hokey Pokey... Right after I took this picture she burst into tears and came running back to me in the audience.  It's always fun to see the little quirks in her personality--I thought she would have loved to be on stage with how outgoing she is.

Sabrina was on my lap the whole time, drinking her bottle, smiling at the people behind us, and watching the silly little bears.

 Afterwards, we headed home, since the park was out due to drizzle.  Kayla decided she still wanted to have a picnic, so she ate on the living room floor.  Mmmmm, pb&j.

Fun way to spend the morning!

Just Add Children

Rainy day trip to Just Add Children with Sarah and Kyle.....  I told Kayla we were going that morning and she said, "I can't wait!"  She was soooo excited!

"Kayla, you're too big!"  She loves baby toys...probably because they are usually off-limits.

 

Not sure why, but Kayla wanted these pack-n-plays upstairs (with the babies in them).  Kyle has the assisting just right--what a great helper!  It really upset another little girl who was there to have the babies upstairs though, so they went up and down a couple of times!

Sarah's raising him right!  Kyle knows his way with the housework!  ;)

Jumping and sliding!

 Little stuffed animals are supposed to go inside here because it's set up as a vet hospital...but why not kids??

 Kyle loves Sabrina (and any baby, for that matter!).  He is going to be a great big brother someday!

I thought she was still too little for this, but Sabrina loved it!  Kyle was showing her how to play with the toys.  What a great time with family--thanks Sarah!!