The best days of our life

I have been watching 19 Kids and Counting lately. If you don't know that show, its the Duggar family who have literally 19 kids. They feel very blessed to have that many kids, and would love to have even more. Basically, because they are so different than what society says is normal, they are misunderstood and criticized for their beliefs.

In one of the episodes, several of their younger kids are sick. Throwing up. Coughing. Fever. When your kids are sick is one of the worst times to be a parent. You are worried, extra busy cleaning up, washing hands, keeping sick kids away from well kids, etc. Jim and Michelle, the parents, had the best attitude about having sick kids. I'm sure part of it comes from so many years of experience. But one of the things they said really stuck with me. "These are the best days of our life".

That phrase has come to my mind a lot lately.

These are the best days of my life while Georgia and Dave pretend to be water buffaloes (thanks to Veggie Tales) and run around the house, poking people and things with their "horns". (do water buffaloes even have horns?)

These are the best days of my life when listening to the same CD the same three kids songs over and over and over again while driving in the car.

These are the best days of my life even when I'm awoken at 2am because of her bad dream about bears. Someday I am going to wish my girl was still little enough that I could climb in bed with her.

These are the best days of my life when she fights naptime and I hear her saying, "I took a good nap, mommy! Time to get up!" because I am so blessed to have a little one, and really she is a good sleeper (most of the time)

These are the best days of my life when I find a corn cob in her baby's stroller, my makeup brushes in her bed, the kitchen tongs in the office and my high heel shoes strew all over the house.

These are the best days of my life as I struggle to figure out how to remove stains from t-shirts, as I am continually buying clothes for the little one Georgia because she never stops growing!

These are the best days of my life. 

29 months

Well, another month has just flown past us. This month has been quite a bit more summer-like in weather (how are we actually going to survive the even-hotter months of July and August???). We've gone to the water park a few times. We spend a lot of the middle of the day indoors where it's cooler. Our schedule is still very busy between gymnastics, Bible Study, small groups and play dates.

Dying Easter eggs after Easter. 

Weight: 33.6
Height: same - around 38 inches

A favorite activity - playing in the dirt

The newest news is that Georgia is now "officially" potty trained. It has been a straight 14 nights since she had a wet diaper, and she has slept with underwear on for about 7 nights now. She has not had any accidents. She is pooping maybe 5 out of 7 times in the potty, and now will only poop in a diaper if it has been a while and she was too busy to poop during the day (and then I will put a diaper on at naptime/nighttime because I know there is a greater chance of her pooping).

update 5/11 - since I've had this written for 2 weeks and never posted it.... she had one nighttime wet diaper (she was wearing a diaper) and she woke up and told me she had to pee, asked if her diaper was on, then wanted me to change it. She has also had one night where she woke up at 2am and told me she had to go. We went to the potty and then she went back to bed. She is now pooping all the time in the potty, and has still had no accidents or problems.

Her imagination has just taken off. She plays pretend with her animals. She wears mommy's high heel shoes. She brings me pretend food to eat. She loves the baby dolls that she has and will feed them and take care of them.

Georgia and her second cousin, Sawyer

She is napping and sleeping really well. When we're in our routine, she will nap every day. Still occasionally or most often on Saturdays she doesn't want to take her nap. Most naps are 1.5 hours. She is sleeping through the night.

Georgia is playing a lot more independently. She will find toys to play with and entertain herself for a while. Of course this always happens when I am ready to leave the house or move onto something else. When I am busy and need to get stuff done she always wants to play with me (of course).

a dance party at Disneyland

One of our biggest struggles with her is that she doesn't like to stay in her chair at meal times. I really think this is something she will outgrow and mature into. Sometimes we put her in her high chair, just so she sits still. Other times we read books to her as we eat to keep her interest.

More Georgia-isms

This morning brought several funny statements and I thought that I should write them down so I don't forget!

Georgia was sitting on my lap and I while I shaved yesterday, I am starting to get some stubble on my legs. She said something to the effect of "ouch!" and I put her on the bed and we were feeling how smooth Georgia's legs were and how smooth or rough my legs were. She felt my legs and then immediately took her hands to my face and said, "Still have a beard!" in a very cheeky voice. Dave and I just burst into laughter and then Georgia laughed and said, "boys have beards!"

Nothing out of the ordinary here. Gloves on feet. Half-naked kid. Popsicle on a rainy day 

After using the potty, I asked Georgia if she wanted to put on her underwear. She said, "NO. Wearing bottom" (as in her butt).

I got a book about crickets from the library. We were talking about how crickets have strong legs (and muscles) and they can jump high. She said, "I have strong feet! I jump high too!"

gymnastics

They do lots of climbing over and through things

We have had Georgia in gymnastics for 10 weeks, I think. We do it through the city, and the program is just great. Her class is relatively small - about 8 to 10 kids (and their parents). Her coach has just been completely awesome. She is very energetic, loud (helps when you have ten 2-year-olds!), enthusiastic and encouraging.

Forward roll (and her coach next to her)

The way gymnastics works is they have different circuits or courses for the kids to go through. They are long enough that most of the time all the kids can be completing it at the same time. There is very little sitting around.

Her favorite activity - the trampoline!

Some of the things they do are: walking on balance beams, climbing on nets, jumping, forward rolls, hanging from uneven bars, and starting to do the basics of things like: back bend, cartwheel, and handstand. They have a trampoline they get to use, some slides, and a zip line.

Uncle Jon helping her do a hand stand

Every single day (almost without fail), Georgia asks if she gets to go to gymnastics.

another coach helping Georgia do a "monkey hang"

Some things I love about it: a place where Georgia is stretched physically to do things I would not otherwise teach her. Teaching her about following directions from adults in authority. She has to learn to wait her turn and have patience.

JUMP!

28 months

So, I am quite late with this post. We have been really busy, Grandma and Grandpa Hall and Uncle Jon came to visit us over Easter. Also, I did start a post, and the computer ate it. Oh well.

At the beach in Santa Barbara

Weight: 32ish pounds
Height: 38ish inches
Shoes: Mostly size 9 now
Diapers: size 6

An artsy type picture taken early in the morning. Relaxing on the couch

Our month started off with a weekend trip to Santa Barbara to see some friends we have up there. They have two little girls, one being about 6 months older than Georgia. They got along so well, and it was fun to see them playing together! Too bad they don't live closer - I'm sure Georgia and her would be great friends.

The weather has been warm this month

She is quickly becoming a little person with her own mind and her own thoughts and ideas. She is quite the conversationalist and is able to engage in conversations now, back and forth with whomever she is talking. She has many ideas for what she wants to do, and who she wants to see.

Dave and Georgia before our 5K Color run (she sat in the stroller most of the way)

She still loves reading books. She has a fairly long attention span, and we read Dr. Seuss, and some of the older Curious George books (some are 70+ pages long!). We typically read 3 books before naptime and another three before bedtime. We also read occasionally throughout the day, if she asks. We try to go to the library once a week.

After the color run. And yes, she was this colorful. She had a pink scalp for a week!

We talk a ton about obedience verses disobedience. This is a very difficult subject, and I'm sure it will be something that we talk about for years to come. Oftentimes, its about something silly like, "Sit down on that potty" or "put on your shoes". She does a fairly good job when we are on walks listening to us about stopping at intersections and such.

Easter Egg hunt at church.... lots of scraped knees somedays. 

We are in a Veggie Tales-loving-period right now. For a while it was Mickey Mouse, and that is slowly waning and turning into a Veggie Tales love. We are able to watch some of the movies on Amazon Prime (for free!) and have gotten a few other ones from the library. The latest one we watched was Esther, and she watched it twice yesterday ;) I really enjoy the Veggie Tales because it brings up some good conversations. We talk about why we shouldn't be scared (Where's God When I'm Scared), different Bible stories - especially Esther, David & Goliath and also Daniel in the Lions Den. She loves the CD (also free from the library) and will ask, "What does this song mean?" I love that we have conversations and I can tell her Bible stories and explain to her the importance in them.

Georgia is still almost potty trained. She uses the potty, but pretty much refuses to poop. There has been a little improvement lately, and I have hope that someday soon we will be fully there! We are also cutting out milk before nap and bedtime. She is sleeping pretty well, but I think that her wet diapers sometimes wake her up in the morning, earlier than I would like her to be up. Most nights she sleeps through the night, and occasionally she will either have a bad dream, or will have a wet diaper (usually around 5 or 6am) or will be cold. She is needing less sleep, and will sleep about 10-12 hours a night, and then take a nap 5 or 6 days of the week.

27 months

Well our beautiful daughter has grown another month older. This month has been a lot of fun. Her personality is something else!

A weekend hike with daddy

Weight: 32 pounds
Shoes: wears both 8 and 9. Growing out of her 8s
Height: 38 inches (above 97%... yikes!)

jumping off the coffee table

She has gotten all four of her two-year molars. They have finally poked through the surface, and I am very excited that we don't have to worry about her teeth for a couple more years.

She has fallen in love with Veggie Tales. Her favorite episode is Madame Blueberry. We got a Veggie Tales CD from the library and enjoy listening to it all the time. (and it isn't too annoying, so I don't mind!)

a nature hike with mommy

Some books she enjoys reading: Curious George (especially the old, original ones), Hop on Pop, Go Dog Go! Green Eggs and Ham, and Madeline. Tonight when reading in bed, she read her board-book version of Hop On Pop to me. I have it recorded from a couple weeks ago, and will have to post that at the bottom of this post.

helping plant some tomato seeds.... which she then pulled up as soon as they sprouted 

We have been doing gymnastics for a couple weeks. She really enjoys the physical aspect of it, and is learning how to obey and follow instructions. She is the tallest in her class, and I think her coach expects a lot out of her. She is learning how to do forward rolls (somersaults), loves jumping on the trampoline, and does a great job hanging from bars and rings.

Morning beauty

Georgia had some bad dreams and some fears. Her dream was of bears, and now when she goes to bed she is afraid of bears. Her other fears are of bees and crickets. We have lots of conversations about how God, daddy, and mommy will protect Georgia and also reasons that she doesn't need to fear.

Beginning of the hike

She is speaking in relatively long sentences, "Mommy, I need get out my bed" (and yes, that is what she is saying now, while I am typing!). I am sure her vocabulary is growing, but I don't notice it as much anymore, since she knows everyday words. I do notice that she is using pronouns and words like "the" and "and" more and more.

Got to see Minnie at Disneyland

She has a game she calls, "Its mine!" In which she takes something (usually Daddy's football) and yells, "It's Mine!" and runs around the house. Dave has to chase her/tackle her/play hide and seek with her. Dinner is only halfway through before she starts asking to play this game. It is quite hilarious to watch - she doesn't understand hide and seek yet, so if she hides, she will pop out of her hiding spot before Dave comes to find her and says, "here I am!"

cool!

26 months

Tracing over the Alphabet

I know I said I wasn't going to do month posts, but I was thinking about it. And why not? Not only do I like looking back and having a record of Georgia's accomplishments, it also provides a little insight into what our life was like for the month. So, I might still do them. Or not. We'll see how motivated/busy/how much free time I have ;)


Weight: 31 inches
Height: 37 inches

She is just looking so big to me!

Eating: we're getting a lot better! We read during mealtimes, which is a bit frustrating because it would be nice to relax a bit more, but reading really keeps her mind occupied. She eats more and is less picky when we read to her. She is also trying new foods and actually telling me, "I like it!" So, that is wonderful!

JUMP!

Health: Georgia got the flu and croup last week. It was a confirmed case of the flu (thanks to her uncle), but what sent us to the hospital was the croup. She has had croup before, about a year ago. And actually, because she was just struggling to breathe and not coughing, I didn't realize until we were at the hospital that she had croup. We spent one night in the ER and she had a fever of 104.7 when we got there. She improved very quickly and the following day didn't have a fever at all!

Watching TV while she is sick ;(

Sleeping: She is on a funny cycle where she gets overtired, then sleeps more than she should, and then because she's not as tired as she should be, she refuses a nap and gets over tired again. Probably one day a week (maybe even less) she will refuse to take a nap. But, for the most part, she is napping great and falling asleep quickly. I have learned that I really need to put her in bed earlier in order for her to fall asleep. So, naptime has to be at noon (if its at 12:30, then she might not nap, or may stay awake for an hour before she falls asleep) and likewise, bedtime needs to be at 7. The times we keep her up until 7:30, she will play in her bed and not fall asleep until after 8:30. But, when she is in bed by 7, she will be asleep by 7:15 most of the time.

Going on a hike with daddy and mommy

Right now, she is loving Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Veggie Tales and Tom & Jerry (the old ones). I definitely limit the amount of screen time she has, but since she was sick we have been a little more lenient than I would like. Now the weather is better and she is healthy, we will be spending more time outside ;)

Georgia is almost potty trained. She wears underwear probably 80% of the time. She still likes to poop in her diaper and will ask almost every day to wear a diaper. I think its because she had a bad experience at McDonalds playplace once in which she pooped in her underwear and we had to go home. So now, she just likes to wear diapers. In case. But, she is #1 potty trained. She does wear diapers during sleeping times. I will probably try to transition her to underwear during her naps.

Walking to the library

One thing she has been doing this month is trying to put her clothes on herself. She can put her underwear on, and can put on her pants and shoes. Shirts are very difficult and she hasn't attempted to put those on yet. She has also gotten herself undressed, which is quite funny to find after she is in bed and you go into her room and see an almost-naked Georgia laying in bed.

She just LOVES mommy's shoes