Halfway there

Our "Silly-Lily-Buggy" is almost potty trained! She's waking up with a dry diaper and going pee-pee on the potty every morning, after naps, and just before bed. She's telling us when she has to go during the day (about 50% of the time). She's pooped on the potty a few times already, but also continues to go in her diaper. I'm waiting for a few successful dry days in a row, then it will be time to shop for Big Girl Panties! She is definately ready and excited about getting her "reward" (aka sticker) after each successful trip to the bathroom. Geez, I don't remember when going to the bathroom was so much fun! However, this revelation has just made me realize that soon it will be time to move her from a crib to a toddler bed, and I'm not looking forward to the late-nite "Lily-visits"...or my tears of realizing my little girl is growing up. Thank God I have Luke to remind me of the joys and struggles of the baby stage :) Speaking of Luke, he's 7 months old already and enjoying solid foods now. Not such a fan of the green veggies, but certainly likes his carrots and sweet potato, and of course, all the fruits. Getting his top two teeth now, so pretty soon his smile will look completely different! He's rolling over like a champ, getting ready to crawl any day now. I bet he'll be cruising by Christmas. So much for both kids to explore and discover. What an exciting time!

Potty time!

Lily went pee pee on the potty twice today! First time was at Grammy's house. She was changing her diaper but noticed it was still dry, and Lily said "Grammy, I have to use the potty" so they raced over to the potty. Lily has learned a little modesty apparently and wanted the door closed, so Grammy patiently waited as Lily sat on the potty. When Grammy came back in, Lily was tinkling! Oh, how proud are we. Then, just before bedtime, Daddy was changing her and it was dry again, so she wanted to use the potty and went tinkling again! Oh, please let this be the start of a beautiful new habit! :) I would love to have only ONE kid in diapers in this house. I know it's a long road, but you gotta start one step at a time. We are so proud! The best part is, we really haven't been pushing her that much. Grandma S got her a doll that goes pee-pee that she likes to play with and we read potty books and watch potty shows, but no real pressure to "perform". She's learning this desire all on her own! :)

Miami

I went to Miami for a sales meeting for work this past week. We stayed at this posh revitalized hotel where the richy-rich apparently visit. Besides not having a minute to myself, the meeting went pretty well. I had to ship breastmilk home three times, so that was a joy. This country really should have a full year of maternity leave. This crappy three-month jaunt just isn't long enough. If the majority of my baby's food source is still coming from my boobs, I shouldn't have to leave him! Anyways, it all worked out, despite the cosmic pull to throw in all the curveballs. FYI - shipping with dry ice isn't as easy as it could or should be. So, the week concluded with a party at the hottest club in Miami. My company rented the place out, so it was kinda weird to see all of my colleagues booty-dancing with each other. I was only there for about 15 minutes...when they started to play "Sweet Home Alabama" and the crowd was singing along, I decided it was time for me to find something else to do. I'm guessing that's not the normal playlist for the hottest club in Miami, so I can only imagine what the DJ was thinking when he got that playlist...
When I got home, Lily came running down the stairs screaming "Mommy I LOVE YOU" and then promptly fell on her knees...she was fine but I sure cried. :) Gosh, it's so hard to be away from these little ones. I'm sure Luke grew another inch taller while I was away. There's no place like home.

Luke 6 month check up

Luke had his 6-month check up and got the all-clear. The doc actually said I should be nursing him more, which is strange because a different doc said to feed him less just three months ago. He's definitely not hurting for food, so I think he's perfectly healthy. He eats when he's hungry and lets me know when he's full, so I don't think I can do much better than that! He's so happy and smiley all the time, I think I would know if he was starving... :) Anyways, he got a few more vaccinations which is always harder on me than him. I actually teared up this time, it just kills me to see him in pain. That high-pitched squeal is just terrifying. But a little boob action and he's all calmed down. Thank goodness for nursing - it's the wonderdrug. Now we are well into teething. Luke is getting his top teeth. The gums are all purple and swollen. Last night he woke up at 10pm screaming like crazy. He's got a runny nose now too, but that's typical with teething. Poor little guy. Took about 20 minutes to calm him down and get him back to sleepyland. Keeping him loaded up on Tylenol seems to help quite a bit. He's loving his solid foods now - just tried bananas this morning and he's all about it. My little man is growing up!

Pee Pee on the Potty!

Lily went pee pee on the potty! Just a few drops, but you gotta start somewhere. That was about two weeks ago now, since then we haven't seen much interest in the potty. Lily starts school again in early Sept, so hopefully seeing all the kiddies going to the potty will invigorate those urges!

Lily's Letter

A few weeks ago, Lily got her first piece of real mail. It was a hand-created card from a teen helper at the Preschool. Lily's friend Jesse sent her a beautiful hand-crafted card with a sweet personal note inside. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it.