Potty Training

Oh the joys of potty training. The idea of being free from diapers, lifting a 30 pound kid onto a changing table enticed us enough to begin. I kept putting it off but finally took the first step when my diapers ran out. I was told to be prepared for lots of messes, to not leave the house for 2 weeks and to put her on the potty every 20 minutes. Not a problem. Doesn't sound that bad. Game on.

Hailey was always interested in sitting on the potty, (pre training) it was fun and why not, she got a sticker and an m&m after. M&M's worked for a while but they soon lost their effectivness. Stickers are always fun but didn't motivate her enough to keep it going. The first few days were tiring, felt like all we did was sit on the toilet but she took care of busines every time she sat down. Then finally one day 'it' happened. Brad and I were eating lunch, then she padded off to the bathroom, informing daddy of what she was about to do. Shortly after one of us did a potty dance with Hailey celebrating a big victory; I won't say who :)

I started thinking, this is awesome, it only took us a few days, she's got it. Um nope. Something changed and she started peeing in my office right in front of me and not holding anything in. Ugh! We were at a lose, I thought my doughnut strategy was working but I was wrong and my creative juices had trickeled to a stop. What else could I do to help motivate this little girly to get excited about being a big girl?

I recently searched "train" on netflix and I stumbled across this show called "Dinosar Train". She LOVES it. It's really short and there aren't many episodes but it's her new favorite. We also went to the pool with our friends and her daughter had a purple and pink dinosar. So I went to the dollar store, bought her a few cheap toys and wrapped them up. I didn't have enough to wrap her new dinosar so I thought that was ok. Nope, bad move mom. The tail and head stuck out and it tortured poor Hailey for a day and a half. She had a tantrum on the toilet because she wanted to poop so badly to get that dinosar. I felt terrible so I thought I'll just move it that'll make it better...yet another terrible idea from mommy. This started a full blown tantrum with her on the toilet. Poor girl. Finally she achieved her goal and she has been kissing and hugging that dinosar all day, she's even sleeping with it.

So we are on the up swing and I hope it keeps getting better. She's tested us and I almost quit and bought more diapers but I just couldn't do it. I tasted the freedom and I liked it.

Balancing game

We've entered the world of tantrums. I thought when she was around 18 months that she was throwing tantrums but I really had no idea and I'm sure when I reflect back on her 3rd birthday I'll laugh at what I thought was a tantrum again.

Hailey pulls out all the stops, arching her back, throwing her head back, water works, red face, screaming, kicking, throwing, hitting. All the wonderful things I assumed they were about. At least she's not letting me down.

I know this is normal and she will outgrow it...as long as we discipline her appropriately. But some times I just feel so helpless. I want to make sure I'm responding correctly and out of love but firm. I don't want her to think she can get away with everything. Such a delicate balance I feel that I have to walk.

I'm learning. She's learning. She knows she can test me and try and creep out of her corner. This evokes a finger pointing from her mom and a "get back in that corner". Her response is to smile and giggle. I think she has graduating up from the corner to her crib on her next crazy tantrum she just doesn't know it yet. The corner can no longer contain her.

She even hits me and tells me she needs to go in another time out. Like it's something fun to do. I keep telling her when she is nice she doesn't have to go in there, only when she hits mommy. We always explain to her afterwards by crouching down and asking her if she understands why she was in the time out; so she crouches down and tells us why, says she's sorry then gives us a hug.

So quickly she forgets and moves on. So quickly my patience tank fills back up. I never knew how much I struggled with patience until she hit 2. I'm not the only mom to want to do her best and feel like I've failed on a daily basis I know, but it's hard not to beat yourself up some days for not responding or acting just right all the time. That would mean I was perfect I know and of course I'm not. I just want the best for her, for me to be the best mom I can be providing the balance of love and discipline.

On a sweet note, I was praying with Hailey in my arms before a nap or bed time I can't remember and at times I've held her cheeks in my hands and kissed her cheeks. So that day she put her little chubby fingers on my cheeks and kissed both my cheeks...with the sound effects. How quickly she learns the bad stuff (like mommy saying shoot!) and the sweet stuff...the delicate touch of her fingers and the adorable little kisses.

She continues to melt my heart every day.

2 Years Old

I've been on a bit of a break from this blog. I'm terrible for keeping it up but very loyal in reading everyone elses blogs. So I thought I'd try this again.

Hailey celebrated her second birthday this past Saturday with some close friends. She was loving life playing with her friends Oscar and Jaxson. She played hard for 4 hours and loved every minute of it. She ate her chocolate cake like a lady with her fork...crazy I know. She was so happy with the purple, pink and blue ballons that her daddy bought her. That's all she asked for. Life is good when your two!

Hard to believe she is two already. The first year of her life went by a little slowly but this second year flew by. She took her first steps June 11, I only remember because that was the opening day of world cup and we had her in her soccer uniform that Nana and Papa Mac bought her from England. She's talking a mile a minute, I think only we can understand most of it but once you spend a little time with her you catch on pretty quick. She's still busting out crazy facial expressions which I think might come from her Papa Mac.

Her personality is shining through more and more. Not sure if this is a toddler thing but I joke around and say I think I've figured out her love language already...quality time! She's not one for cuddling or touching but she loves your full attention ALL the time. In fact she'll actually say "no touch" That's my girl!

She will play by herself but she'd rather have some one sitting beside her. This past year Brad and I both felt guilty about being on our phones around her so we try and put them away while she's around. She's old enough now that she'll just be extra loud until you put it down. Now if I'm on it I just tell her what I'm doing so she knows I'm not ignoring her.

She still has no patience. I always tell her to put her patient pants on so she does a little dance and tries to say patient pants, that works about 50% of the time but I'll take it! I'm hoping this is a toddler thing but I have a feeling its partly her personality. I've discovered I'm not the most patient mommy every. I actually pray every day for the Lord to grant me patience and maybe be more patient with me as I struggle. It's funny, when she was 3 months old and would cry and cry forever I could handle that but it's harder to have patience for whinning for no reason. Parenting would be too easy if I was patient I think.

She loves to watch movies and read her books. Nana Mac bought her a Thomas book over Spring break and we read all five stories at least 2-3 times a day. I love that she loves to read. I remember when I was pregnant one of the things I was looking forward to most was spending time reading together. Now we can spend forever just sitting in her chair, rocking and reading.

This time last year she was freaked out about grass and actually anything but carpet. Now she loves to run around in the yard and play in the garage.

We're so blessed to have such a beautiful little girl. She cracks me up daily and we love to watch her just LOVE life. She loves to dance still, now we dance around to some worship music Nana Ogden bought her. She'll even go get some shakers out or pat her knees.

Life is good. We're so blessed and I thank the good Lord for that every day!

Let's Dance

I've always danced around the room like a fool when Hailey was little. She would smile and giggle at her mommy jumping and dancing around the room. I started closing the blinds so that our neighbours wouldn't see me but now we run around the house, dancing with out a care. I turned the music on today and of course Michael Buble was in (one of our favorites) and she walked towards me with her arms out and was trying to say 'dance'. So I took her hands and we danced around the room for probably 15-20 minutes. I feel like that memory will forever be burned into my heart. After she got tired of dancing with me she ran and got Tigger, Mini Mouse, her cat, a little stuffed star and a teddy bear.

She has so much joy in the small things of life. She has helped me appreciate the little things on a more regular basis. One of the many reasons I'm thankful for my little girl!

Been a while

Ok. I'm terrible at up keeping this blog. I think the last time I wrote was around her birthday...6 months ago. So much has happened since then. She has started walking, almost running at times after kosmo and talking like crazy (for those of you who know Brad this shouldn't be a surprise that his daughter is chatty). She is at times independent but still doesn't enjoy playing on her own. She wants to feed herself or walk down into the garage without my help but some days she wants me to carry her every where. Her ramblings no longer sound like little baby ramblings but rather a kid trying to speak. It's really amazing to watch her learn and grow in this area. Just watching her love life is incredible. She gets excited over the littlest of things. She sees a plane, hears a plane, sees a dog, the slide....anything and everything gets the big eyes and open mouth with an "ahhh".

She is still hilarious, getting more and more funny each day. Her personality is really coming out. We have learned she is very particular, she likes things to be a certain way. If she hands me her cup I can't place it on my knee I have to hold onto it, she likes to take her cereal out of her bowl and then place it back in one by one. I have to hold her blanket, it can't sit beside me touching me...etc. I could go on and on. She loves to laugh and daddy still gets the deepest, best laughs from her.

She is still enjoying reading and loves to come to the library with me to pick out books. She is so smart, we were driving into the library and she was trying to say "book". Recently she has been brining me books throughout the day to read and we sit in her chair and read for 20-30 min. The problem with that is her chair is in the sun in the afternoon, I'm rocking back and forth reading the same book over and over...the eyes are hard to keep open some times.

She gives me a new attitude face when she's not impressed with me or doesn't want something. She scrunches up her face and says no and shakes her head. One thing for sure is you are never guessing at what she is feeling, she's very obvious. I've said she's got her daddys dramatic personality and the McLaughlin facial expressions - that pair is a hilarious combination. We love it.

We traveled to Powell River this summer for a week to see Brad's family. I was scared out of my mind to fly with her. It was hard, I do not enjoy doing it but we made it. It was a great week with the family but she crashed the day before we left. I know now that we can't push her every day all day to be busy, she needs down time to play by herself or just me for some quiet time. Hailey will push herself and run on empty for as long as she can. She loves people and loves to be busy with new experiences but I've learned a good lesson from that trip.

Less then a week later we drove to Myrtle Beach to vacation with most of my family. We rented a house in Ocean Lakes Campground. It was a great time, very relaxing. Very stupid of us to book our vacations back to back. Lesson #2 from the summer! The ride down was good but I think she had heat stroke the day before we left on the way home so she was miserable that day and the way home. We were lucky to experience projectile vomit for the first time. I felt so bad for her and tried to hold down the puke myself. Ugh, so gross. I remember some one saying to me that puke and poop isn't that bad when it's your own kid. Nope. Still disgusting to me.

She loved the pool and the ocean but not the sand. She's a texture kid. That's my girl! If she doesn't like the look of something there is no chance she's going to touch it at all. You can't force her (stubborn like both of us).

Overall it was a great summer. Too much traveling but we enjoyed all the family time. It was hard to say goodbye and go back to the reality of living without our parents around for Hailey. It's not even about us anymore, we just want our parents to enjoy Hailey and have a relationship with her and her with them. We do oovoo which is like skype as much as we can with our parents and Hailey knows their names and faces when we see them. She actually says "nana" when oovoo starts up. I'll let the nana's decide who she's talking about (pretty sure she means both)

So there is a brief summary of our summer. We packed a lot of traveling and fun into it; it was a busy but fun. We are happy to be home adjusting to our new schedule that came with Brad's job change. We are aware once again of how blessed we are with our family's and our family here in Brownsburg. Traveling seems to make you aware of how good you have it :)

14 months

So I'm a little behind in keeping up with this blog. I have great intentions of writing more often but remembering to do so is the challenge. I'll get pictures and maybe video up soon.

Hailey will be 14 months on the 30th and it seems that she is learning so much so quickly now. She took forever to crawl and now is walking very well. She walks around the house with her hands up by her face just in case she falls. When she does she cries for a few seconds then she's ready to be released and is on the move again. She is a very active little girl and you can tell she is so happy to have the freedom.

She is now obsessed with Thomas the Train, she still enjoys The Wiggles but nothing compares to Thomas at the moment. If I ask her "do you want to watch Thomas" (we watch an episode close to bed time) she starts walking towards her little seat I created (our pillows) with her mouth wide open making a funny noise. She plops down and waits for me to turn on Thomas. She starts dancing when ever the show starts. She's so funny. I love that she makes us laugh as much and as often as she does.

Her love of music and dance seems to continue. I got the new Michael Buble CD and she was dancing to him, she dances almost every time I put on music or even sing. I'm still thankful no one sees me dancing or singing...oh what we do for our kids :)

She says momma and daddy, we are working on nana and papa but B words are her favorite. Blanket, Bible, book etc. She loves them all. Most mornings she wakes us up with "mom mom mom" I'm not sure if she wants me or just likes saying it :) The other morning she gave up calling for me and started calling for her daddy. Even though I don't enjoy the 6:30am wake up call it's still cute. A little more cute while I'm awake though.

I went to get her up from her nap and when I went in she was wanting her blanket since she was calling for "b" so I gave her that. She was still whining...she was pointing to her Bible that was on the table. So as soon as I gave her that she was happy. She held onto it for 20 min. It's so nice to see her enjoying it.

She loves to read. She will walk into her room, grab a book and bring it to us and try to get onto our legs. If we sit cross legged she reverses and drops down onto our legs. We love this. We are so thankful that she loves us to read to her this much. She likes to just carry them around too, she even held onto her Thomas the Train book the whole time we were walking - 40 min walk. We were in the car the other day and she had her book, it was upside down and she knew this so she turned it the right way and it looked like she was actually reading. Brad said she looks like she needs a coffee she was that into her book. She even turned the pages one by one.

She likes to hold onto a book, kosmo's leash and even cotton balls while we walk. Before we went walking the other morning and she went into our bathroom, found the cotton balls and grabbed a bunch. She held onto the cotton balls the whole time we walked, it was so humid out but she didn't let go of those cotton balls until we got home. She had little fuzz everywhere.

She will walk into her room if we tell her it's time to change her diaper and she seems so aware of so many more things now. I tell her it's time to go work with mommy and she walks into my office with me and plays most of the time on her own. She likes to go into her room, shut the door and play for a bit but not long after she'll call out and make sure we are still here and she'll open her door back up. She's playing a lot more on her own and I love it.

She still loves to chase poor Kosmo around the house, she has taken over all of this "spots" around the house except for under the bed, she gets on her hands and knees and tries to look at him under there. He is still so good with her, I really couldn't ask him to be any better. He even tries to bring her his toys for her to throw. She loves to play with him. Kosmo will bring me his toy, I'll take it give it to her and she'll throw it. Now she tries to say "throw" when ever she is near him. I think it's throw, it's either that or "go". I can't tell yet.

This past week I eliminated her morning nap. She was waking up just after 6:00 and she was sleeping well in the mornings but not in the afternoon so we decided to try. So now she's awake around 6:30am but we have a rule that we won't get her before 7:00am. So she goes back down around 1:00 for 2 hours. I feel like I''m in another learning curve right now with her sleeping and even her eating. I guess being a parent your constantly in a learning curve.

She is signing "more" and at times "eat". Maybe it's because she wants to eat all the time. We are working on "please" but for some reason she's not picking that one up as quickly :)

So she is growing, learning, changing so fast. We love her so much and she brings so much fun and joy to our lives. She is such a blessing and I thank God for her every day. We continue to pray and lean on the Lord for wisdom, I just want so badly for her to know the Lord and experience a relationship with him. I pray one day she will.

Photo Shoot