Potty Training and Big Girl Bed

Big couple of weeks for Briana!

We started potty training January 1.  After the first couple days I felt like maybe we started too early and she wasn't ready.  So many accidents!  And I read some stupid method of doing it that was completely stressing me out and making me frustrated.  Finally, I just said forget all the different 'methods' and we did our own thing.  This has worked so much better for both her and I!  I'd say it is about 50/50 when she tells me she has to go and when I suggest she goes potty.  She gets an M&M after she pees; she has totally figured this out and loves the candy system!  Not sure when we are going to phase that out, but it works great right now, so whatever. Our biggest hurdle is she doesn't want to poop on the potty, and never has yet.  But I guess we will get there someday....

She has also switched from the crib to her big girl bed!  She is now in a twin bed.  She's been doing great with it, the first couple nights she had a hard time settling down and falling asleep.  At first she didn't figure out she could get out of bed whenever she wanted and still waited for us to come and get her.  But now, as soon as she wakes up she pops out of bed.  It has been ok though, no super super early morning wake ups or anything yet.  It is kind of nice, she comes up to our bedroom and climbs into bed with us (usually around 6:30am, way earlier than I would like....but could be worse).  She is VERY adamant about having warm milk first thing in the morning...it is the first thing she asks for when she comes upstairs. 

I will say, this 2yr old/toddler stage is far more challenging than the infant stage Leah is going through!  Holy cow, by the time Brie is down for the night I am completely exhausted! 

Leah is getting into a nice routine (I use that word loosely).  We are in bed around 10:30pm each night; she then usually get up between 2:30-3:30am, and then again 2hrs after that feeding.  She usually does a couple longer naps during the day (2ish hours).  And many cat naps.  She struggles sometimes if she isn't eating or sleeping; she is fussy sometimes, wants to be held and walk around.  She loves the swing, and that is usually where she naps.  She does need to be rocked to sleep at night before going in her bed.  I'm just enjoying all these baby things because I know how fast she will turn into a potty training, talking non-stop, high energy toddler :)  Love my girls so much!

Leah's Newborn Pictures

 Baby Leah's newborn pictures!    She is so precious :)

And of course.....photo credit to my mother-in-law!

Leah is a month old!

Miss Leah Joy is already 1 month old.  It really seems like we came home from the hospital yesterday.  Life at home is definitely still an adjustment at this point, but overall going really well!

She doesn't go to the doctor until she is 2mon old; but I am fairly confident she is heavier than her sister was at 1mon (10lb 2oz).  I really wouldn't be surprised if she is 12lbs ish. She is a good eater; and  lucky for me a very quick eater.  She spits up occasionally, and when she does she waits until the least opportune moment....like right after a bath or right after she gets clean clothes on.

She has been doing some long sleep stretches at night (5-6hrs).  During the day she loves to sleep in her swing.  The swing we used when Brie was a baby takes 4 D batteries; after Leah burned the batteries out in only 2 weeks I bought a similar swing that plugs in!  Thank goodness for Craigslist, found a great used one for a good deal!  She will nap in the swing for like 2 hours at times, it is wonderful!  Leah also does well sitting in her seat on the kitchen counter or table, she likes to be apart of the action, I guess.  At night she sleeps in a little infant seat that attaches to the pack n play, which is in our room.  And when she decides she doesn't want to stay in her seat she sleeps in our bed with us :)  She usually only is in our bed in the early morning hours; I don't mind....I like snuggling with her, she is going to grow up so fast I just want to soak in all the baby time I can!

She likes to sit in the warm bath.  Although, I have to admit she probably has only taken a full submersion bath 4-5 times.  It is just so much easier to wash her up on our bathroom counter!  And every time I give her a bath she poops right after I get her all dressed!

I am starting to notice some baby acne developing, hopefully it doesn't get much worse.   She also has a blocked tear duct in her left eye; it makes her eye really 'goopy' and 'crusty'.  I have to wipe it often with a warm cloth.

Leah is such an adorable little muffin, we just love her SO much.  Brie is doing really well too.  She will come up and talk to Leah, give her kisses, sing to her, and she talks about how Leah is going to play with her when she is bigger.  Month 1 certainly flew by, but we are all adjusting well and loving life as a family of four!

DeKruyter Christmas

We went to Dearborn for the day the Saturday after Christmas to celebrate with the DeKruyter family! 

Group picture!  

 We had a fun time opening presents!

 Mike got some fabulous 'onsie' pajamas!

We got my mom a kindle, she was reading e-books on her iphone!

Kaitlin loooooves owls!

I got the biggest present!  A bread maker!!  I've been wanting one for a long time now, and I just LOVE it!

My mom made Leah some sweet bibs! Go Knights and Go Blue!

My sister is a teacher, and she got school pictures taken and printed (one of the many perks of being a teacher :)).  She has all these pictures of herself, so decided to give Brie one for Christmas!  This is the best picture I could get of her holding the picture up....haha.

Bryant still loves legos.  Our entire childhood consisted of him having legos out and sets displayed all over the entire house.  Fun fact: legos at our house were definitely not just thrown into a huge box.  They were organized into all separate boxes/bins; sorted by color and shape.  No, I am not kidding. Building sets was very easy actually, you could find all the pieces so fast!  Anyways, Bryant still loves legos and my mom likes buying them for him... in this picture he is pointing to the age recommendation (ages 8-14). 

It was such a fun day of playing games, eating awesome food, and relaxing.