Potty Post

So we took the plunge and decided to potty-train Aubrey. I was too sick in the last part of my pregnancy to deal with it, and have been too busy with Asher the past few months to be able to address it either. We had already experimented with it a little, but as anyone who knows her is aware, she has a mind of her own!

Tuesday we went out and bought her a potty and Tuesday afternoon we gave it a go. She did pretty well, having some accidents as was expected, but we had success too! She got a dum-dum lollipop every time she went potty, and a dora sticker on her "chart"( aka: a piece of 3 hole notebook paper stuck to the fridge!, which she loves by the way...) . It worked great and the next day she only had 3 accidents, 2 of which weren't really her fault. We had the missionaries over and she tried to bring her potty out to show them how she could do it, but of course I had to nix that so we didn't make it back to the room in time.

Day 3 and 4 and 5? PERFECT! She has done amazing and has not had another accident ( knock on wood). It basically took her a day and half to get the hang of it. I couldn't believe it! I was definitely dreading all this business. Let's hope she keeps it up!! She never goes when I ask her to try (of course), but will just drop whatever she's doing and go when she needs to. I was surprised to see her doing it even when we were outside for a little while and she was busy doing other things. She's even been staying dry the last two nights.

I was nervous about taking her to nursery today, because she hasn't wanted to go on the big potty yet, so we had to put her in a pull-up just in case. But she did great and even went to the bathroom with the class and pottied like a champ! I was ecstatic! Sounds funny huh, but all you potty-training moms out there know what I'm talking about : )

So she's loving her princess potty and princess panties...and I'm loving our little "pottigy" , as Steve calls her.

She may not be the same 2 yr old from last week though, because today at dinner she turned down all her chicken and rice so she could eat more spinach, she's a potty pro, and was being extra polite! I could get used to this.... : )

So true...

Asher Pictures

Here are some more Asher pics in no particular order. We've been having a good time with Grandma Redd here and she's been a big help. Aubrey is definitely keeping her busy : ) Today is Asher's due date and I can't believe he is 2 weeks old already!

We took him in for a weight check on Friday and he gained almost a pound since last week's loss. What a chunk...maybe I should lay off the poptarts : ) He is a sweetie and we love him so much.

Grandpa Kent and Asher

Asher on his bili-blanket

Aubrey wanting to lay next to baby brother

Sleepy newborn moments

These are some strawberries/stuffed animal we got as a gift from Steve's department at work. They were delicious : )

Going to the pediatrician's office

My little leaguer

Asher's last day in the hospital. I asked him how he felt about it and apparently he feels

"A-ok!"

Asher Update

So we were supposed to be discharged from the hospital today, but it was a no-go and so I'm still writing this from good ol' room 301 at Centerpoint Hospital.

Asher's blood glucose levels dropped again so the pediatrician wanted to keep him overnight just to make sure they maintained a good level. They think they were probably just low because he got circumcised this morning and they are very lethargic for about 6-8 hrs afterwards and don't eat much.

His levels are good right now, but he's still having to get pricked before and after every feeding. Not too much fun... His little heels are really getting the treatment, but he's a trooper. He is now weighing in at 7lbs 2 oz, but is a great eater! : )

He is also a little jaundiced so at least instead of having to come back up for our 8:15 appt to get his bilirubin checked tomorrow, we'll still be here and can get it all done at once. Hopefully he won't need the bili-blanket like Aubrey did.

Steve is at home with Aubrey tonight, so I'm staying in the hospital with Asher even though they had to discharge me. They are letting me stay on hospitality status.

Hopefully, all will go as planned tomorrow and I'll be taking little Asher home as a 27th birthday present to me! I couldn't think of a nicer birthday present. : )

He's Here!

We are so happy to welcome little ASHER MAX REDD into our family!

(After all, Asher means fortunate, blessed, and happy : )

We arrived at the hospital on Saturday at 12:05 and he born by 1:11 pm! He weighed 7lbs. 12 oz. and was 19" long.

He is a handsome little guy and very content so far : ) Aubrey is in love with her new baby brother and so are we! Here are some pictures....

Asher just relaxin'

Just born...

Mommy, Daddy and Asher

Our new family of four

Big Sister taking care of things

Sweet kisses...

( Asher has a question) : )

Grandma and Papa Kent met us at the hospital and watched Aubrey during the delivery. Thank you sooo much!

3rd Grandchild

Dr. Lemberger, an angry Asher, and our nurse Janine

Hopefully that will satisfy the picture-hungry for now... there will be plenty more to come I'm sure. But right now we're going to work on getting a little more of this!

Go ahead....make a mess!

So there are days it seems I work all day just to keep the living room presentable and feverishly labor over dishes, laundry, and washing off the occasional Picasso from my living room wall.

But today was not one of those days.

Today Aubrey and I made messes....big, fun, sloppy messes.

We ate breakfast in the living room...

we built towers with blocks we never put away...

we dug in wet spring dirt...

we touched new flowers blooming...

we threw mulch in leftover rainwater...

we sang songs and danced...

we colored with markers and threw crayons as "confetti"...

we both did our hair in ponytails...

we got our shoes muddy and our shirts dirty...

we didn't cook dinner, but took Daddy out to eat pizza instead...

we explored Home Depot...

we splashed too much water out of the bathtub...

and we had a fantastic day!

So I'm giving you permission, go ahead, get a little dirty, make a big mess you have no intention of cleaning up, don't even think about cooking for dinner, just go out and have a wonderfully messy day! Trust me...you'll love it. : )

Prego Update- 37 weeks

So here is my prego update: I'm 37 weeks now ( officially full-term and more pregnant than I've ever been!)

I am now at 4 cm and 80% effaced, so time will tell. I have a lot of pressure now too and am starting the pregnant "waddle" : ) . My OB thinks I'll be in to see her again very soon, but I'm trying not to think about it too much. You can drive yourself crazy with wondering when!

So I'm back into my "zen" of just enjoying my last few days/weeks of just being with Aubrey and feeling good. The sun was shining today and we played outside and had a good time together. ( Did I mention it snowed 8" the first day of Spring?!) The snow is almost gone now just as quick as it came though. It was hard to believe it was going to snow when the day before we were outside with short sleeves on enjoying our sunny weather!

Anyway, that is my update. We'll keep you posted! : )