Icemageddon 2013

December 6-9 we were iced in. I didn't leave the house at ALL! Derek did left twice. Once to get toilet paper (for our freshly potty trained girl and her mama) and later in the day on the 6th to pick up a friend of Grant's and her parents. It was actually perfect because I think without some time with friends, I would have gone stir crazy.

On the 6th, Derek and I worked from home. It worked out well - Disney babysat the kids and we tag teamed when the other needed to get on a call. One person working from home with 2 toddlers - no way. But 2 adults? Worked like a champ!

On the 7th, we played outside some with our neighbors. Grant played some, but he got cold and wanted to play inside pretty quickly. Maybe this had something to do with that choice:

Playing with the neighbors and snowy Abby pics:

And my favorite shot of the day:

We didn't stock up before the ice storm, but we did have some wild hog and venison in our freezer. I made biscuits with sausage gravy and venison chili (using the last beer in the house instead of water). So good.

What else do you do when you're iced in? Finish up Christmas decorating and shop online to finish off your list! Oh - and cuddle up for a movie or 6.

Bath time fun

In a failed effort to get a cute pic of my kids in the tub like this, I busted out the camera during bath time. Here's my pinterest fail photo:

But it wasn't a total failure. Some random bath tub shots:

Abby is TWO!!

Abby is 2 years old! Here's what she's up to!

Height: 35 inches (grew 2.5 inches in 6 months) = 78%

Weight: 27.8 lbs. (gained 3 lbs in 6 months) = 74%

Head: 49.5 cm (up 1 cm in 6 months) = 95%

photo credit to Jesse Leos PhotographyDiaper: None!! She wears a diaper at night, but that'll be a pull up soon (as soon as we run out).

Eating: She prefers crackers, goldfish, and chips (whereas Grant prefers fruit). She stopped taking a bottle right after her 18 month post! But she still wants a sippy with milk. She goes through phases where she sometimes wants ONLY milk - and doesn't eat much else.

Clothing: 18-24 months and some 2T

Sleeping: Still sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes 1 nap (1.5 hours). She doesn't wake up easily. She likes to linger in her crib for a bit. She is always the last one awake in the morning, but then the first one awake from naps. She's started hoarding things in her crib and insists on taking things to bed with her every night!

Talking: The most beautiful word she uses is "Potty". Her vocabulary is too much to include here. We still struggle to understand some of her words, but it's about 1 an hour instead of all baby talk.

Songs: Current favorites are "I Love You" (from Barney), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Old McDonald, and Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Teeth: We went to the dentist for the first time in November! It was more of a wrestling match. Dentist suggested flossing between her 2 front teeth, but that has yet to happen. I mean - come on! She's TWO!

Milestones: The biting seems to be over now. Obviously potty training is a HUGE milestone! She just started jumping where both feet actually leave the ground (sometimes).

photo credit to Jesse Leos PhotographyGuaranteed Smiles: Tickles, kisses on her neck, anything upside down, pretending to go "night night" when she and Bubba play in her crib.

Guaranteed Crying: Still - taking her milk away or not letting her have it. Taking away one of the items (book, blanket, doll, etc.) that she's hoarding to her crib at night. Funny enough, I think she may make her brother cry more often than the other way around.

And here are Grant's stats from his 2 year old post.

The potty post

You probably don't care about this, but, funny enough, I do! We spent the weekend potty training Abby. Here's a summary:

Friday - Day 1 -
Just like we did with Grant, we went pantless for Day 1 and used juice to reinforce right & wrong through repetition. Also just like with Grant, the day was all about me and my potty trainee. Derek and Grant were kicked out so she wouldn't be distracted. I rolled up the living room rug, which was good because she went all over the living room in the morning. We had zero success in the morning. But I was getting good signs. Like she would sit in my lap to watch a show, but then she'd move and I'd look down to see she had moved to make sure she didn't pee on me. After her nap, we rounded the curve. She went for the first time at 3:22 pm, then every 15-20 minutes. After her first success, there was only 1 accident.

Saturday - Day 2 -
Just like we did with Grant, we added underwear on Day 2. She didn't have any real accidents - but she would tell us "potty" after a little trickle, then we'd rush to the potty for her to finish. On Day 1 and Day 2, she pooped during nap/night time (we used diapers during these times), so we didn't get a chance to work on that. In the evening, we had friends over who have 2 boys the same age as ours. There were lots of distractions, but she still did really well.

Sunday - Day 3 -
Just like we did with Grant, we were ballsy and took a trip to Red Oak. No accidents in the car, but she was pretty distracted while we were there. She had 1 little trickle before she got to the potty. And she crapped her pants - twice. But the highlight was at home before dinner. She had been tooting, so we went to try, but it was only #1. Since I'd cleaned up 2 poopy panties, I let her go pantless. She sat with her daddy awhile, then went to play in the front room with Grant. 5 minutes later, she came back and handed her poop to her daddy! Obviously as the "chosen one" he got to clean her up - bath and all!

All in all, I would say she's potty-trained. She needs to go about once per hour. And #2 will come in time, I'm sure we just need more practice!

My facebook post on Friday said "I'm dreaming of a diaper-less Christmas," and I'm confident I'll have it this year! Good thing too - we only had about 3 diapers left (other than night diapers which are sticking around for a bit).

November Insta-good

I started off the month pet-sitting for a friend. Derek was in and out (mostly out) for the weekend since a friend was in town and they went to the Vikes v. Cowboys game. PJ was generally good but not used to sharing toys with kiddos! Abby loved chasing him for kisses.

While the dogs were at home, Derek and I went to a fundraising dinner thanks to a table sponsorship by my employer. The dinner benefited Cornerstone Ranch, a home for special needs adults. There was also an art auction, but we didn't win anything. :(

The next weekend we celebrated some neighbors (and parents of Grant's best bud) 40th bdays. Oh darn - I don't have any photos.

Mid month, Derek had to work Saturday morning. It was overcast but still great weather, so I took the kids to Casey's Clubhouse in Grapevine. We got there at 8am and we were the first ones there. This is normally a scary-busy park, so we took full advantage.

The spiral staircase to one of the slides reminded me so much of St. Peter's!

That same day, after the kids napped, we headed over to Logan's 5th birthday party. Bounce house fun!!!

Matthew came over for a bit that evening. Grant loved playing with his oldest cousin! Before he arrived, I found my crew outside looking at stars.

That Sunday was unusually warm. I mean - 85 or 90 in the middle of November. After naps, we walked to Sonic for ice cream, then walked to Tom Thumb for groceries. It was about 3.5 miles round trip. We also found a woman's wallet that had been stolen. Derek returned it to her (thanks Google) once we got home.

I walked a few of our job sites to see what my job is really about (I had yet to see one of our signature products). Several employees from another office were in town, so it was great to get to know them also.

Cartoons in bed with us on a Saturday morning:

My favorite boy in the whole wide world:

Although he was pretty scared of the fire! I enjoyed the fire and the view of the freshly-painted fireplace!

Abby asked to go potty, but she just wanted to stand in front of the potty like Bubba. I was sure I had a long weekend ahead of me.

This long weekend, just like last year, is all about potty training. That's a whole post by itself, but I loved this shot of a bare bottom, remote, Mickey and the rug rolled up out of the way. Not pictured: all the juice I was feeding her to get her to go!

Abby's 2nd birthday party!!

Abby turns 2 this coming Sunday, but we have big plans to potty train over the Thanksgiving holiday. A party and potty training sounded like too much fun for 1 weekend, so we celebrated her birthday a little early.

First off, the invitation:

And the back shows Abby from 0 to 23 months:

I loved looking back at Grant's invitation (exactly the same as this one), so I just had to do the same for Abby.

Baby #2 doesn't get a pre-ordered cake ordered weeks in advance. No - she gets a cookie cake from Sam's that was ordered 3 days in advance. BTW - it was still delicious and so pretty. I told everyone that I only spent $16.48 on the cake. Love that! And we stole this idea from Brady's 2nd bday.

Baby #2 doesn't get homemade treats. No - she gets Chick-fil-a nuggets and pre-made goodies from Costco.

The party was just a classic home party - kids running around, and parents drinking and worrying about red icing getting all over. Ice cream, cake and presents. Abby had fun, but it's possible that Grant had more fun getting to play with all his older cousins.

Decorations -

Birthday girl (stolen from Carrie's facebook) -

All the Paxton cousins -

Party pics -

These 2 are brothers. The oldest is in Grant's class and the youngest is in Abby's class. The older boys are great friends, so the younger boy is about 8 years away from being Abby's boyfriend.

New toys:

Abby's bff:

Cousins (attacking Matthew):

The other man (more boyfriend material):