The Twins - Samuel & Madeline

Paige & Sam

Paige & Maddie

Paige and I babysat Maddie & Sam tonight so that Josh & Jen could have a night out. We had a really good time. I would be lying if I said I didn't have a little anxiety watching 3 month old twins and having Paige with me but everything went smoothly. I just haven't been around little babies in quite some time and Paige is just now ok with me even holding a baby. Paige had fun and was very helpful. Of course by the end of the evening she wanted me to hold her and told me she was a baby. Keep in mind I only watched them for a couple of hours before they went to bed. There was only about 15 minutes of craziness. It was time for Samuel to eat and Maddie was crying in the swing. I was planning to ignore her because I am pretty sure that she would have fallen back to sleep. However, Paige didn't care for this option. She did not like when the babies were crying. Somehow I managed to carry both babies which I might add is very difficult. I asked Josh & Jen about it when they got home and they said they didn't really know how to carry both of them either. It isn't the carrying part that is difficult but getting them both in your arms. Anyway, I fed Sam and managed to get Maddie back in the swing - yes after just a couple of minute of fussing she fell right back to sleep. Maddie had her last bottle about an hour after that. They both went to sleep without much fussing at all. Except for those crazy 15 minutes (oh I forgot to mention that somebody was knocking on the door - I ignored them), the most difficult part was remembering to remind Paige to sit on the potty. She didn't have any accidents on Friday and only one yesterday so things are going well. Before I go, I want to say how happy I am for Josh & Jen - they waited a long time for their two little blessings. They are amazing parents and I am so happy for them. I can't wait to watch the babies again.

But I'm Happy!!

When I am frustrated at Paige for little things (those little things that really test my patience), such as dawdling when we are in a big hurry, I try to talk to her and explain my frustrations. It is obvious that she understands that I am upset or annoyed and on more than one occasion she has replied, "but Mama, I'm happy! It is so hard not to laugh.

TGIF

Paige & Halle
Not sure why she isn't smiling but don't you like her florescent bow (circa 1988) that she insisted on wearing??

Sweet Lucas

Ashley, Halle & Lucas

Today is the first Friday I have felt relaxed and refreshed in a long time. I am sure it has something to do with this beautiful weather. We had Paige's 3 year doctor appt today. She is in the 50th% for weight and 10th% for height. Let's face it she is built exactly like me. That probably means that I should learn how to hem pants - HA! She was very good at the doctor and only had to get one shot. Of course she cried but she seemed to be mostly upset about the Snoopy band aid they put on her. She was sobbing "I want a different bandaid." They also gave us lots of medicine for her allergies to prevent her getting another ear infection. After our appt. we went to my good friend Tommie Tessier's house for some lunch and The Frey family (minus Luke) joined us. Tommie took these great pictures. Halle and Paige got along really well which hasn't always been the case. Thank you Tommie!

In case you were wondering about Official Panty Day, it went really well. She did have a couple of accidents - we really don't understand the pooping thing yet. I know she will get it soon. I can hear her playing in her room, refusing to nap. Guess we will head to the grocery store.

I declare this day Official Panty Day!

Well, Paige has doing really well with the potty training at home. She has still been wearing pull ups at school. I must say that the hardest thing about potty training (besides waiting until they are ready and figuring out when that is and remembering that your child is a late bloomer) is that Paige is at school much of the time. There is no doubt in my mind that if I was home with her, she would be trained by now. Of course, I would be able to pay more attention to her potty needs since I wouldn't be watching 15 other children.

She ran out of pull ups at school and her teacher said they are ready for her to wear panties. Since this is Paige's first day to wear panties to school, I have declared this Panty Day. Keep your fingers crossed!

Potty Update

Well, we have made some substantial progress with potty training. A few weeks ago we coerced Paige to wear panties. She refused and it was a battle but now she will even pick them out. I can't remember if I have posted this before so I apologize if I am repeating myself. I broke down and bought her "Cars" underwear. Yes, I bought underwear because they don't make Lightning McQueen or Mater panties. On boys underwear, they only put the characters on the bottom. Paige thinks this is absurd so when we wear our "Cars" underwear, she wears them backwards. It is really funny and she has quite the wedgie. I guess it is good practice for wearing a thong someday...when she is in her 30's!!! It is really hard to potty train since Paige goes to school most of the week. I don't think we are quite ready to wear panties to school. She has been wearing panties most of the time for the past two weekends and she has done great with going pee-pee. We've had several public outings - 2 birthday parties, doctor's appt. and lunch at Wings N More- and we were very successful with no accidents. We even went pee pee in a public restroom (not my favorite thing to do). Paige was hesitant at first but she really wanted to flush the potty with her foot like Mommy does in public restrooms. That was all it took, I told her if she went pee pee on the potty she could flush with her foot. Who knew that would work?? Pooping is another story - though we have had some success. Finally, we have crossed a bridge and there is hope that she will be fully trained in the near future!!!

Paige's 3rd Birthday

Paige celebrated her 3rd birthday on March 5. On her birthday, I took cupcakes up to the school. Paige insisted that we hang out at her school and play with her friends afterwards. I could tell that she really loves going to school. I contemplated not having an actual birthday party for Paige this year but she has been talking about her birthday for months. I feel like b-day parties have gotten out of control so I decided to invite a few friends and try to stick to a budget of $100. Well, I did go over budget but I spent around $130 so that isn't too bad. I knew that if I asked Paige what kind of b-day party she wanted she would say "Lightning McQueen". I decided that I would do some research and try to come up with something creative. We had a bug themed birthday party. Ladybugs, butterflies, caterpillars and bumblebees. I spent a couple of weeks tracing, cutting out and gluing bug crafts together for decorations. The kids decorated their bags with bug stickers, I gave them a bug net and they hunted for bugs in our backyard. I found plastic eggs that looked like bugs. The kids seemed to have a really good time. I made a caterpillar out of cupcakes - nothing fancy. I need to give a big shout out to my family (Todd, Mom, Dad, Amber & Jimmy) because I was actually really sick the weekend of the birthday party and they helped me pull it all together. Even though it seemed hectic at the time, I must admit that I enjoyed being crafty. It fell right into my former career path as an elementary school teacher. Paige had so much fun and she is still talking about her bugs so it was all worth it.