Potty Success

Well, the one day method that worked with Morgan took more than one day with Chloe and required a little tweaking, but I am happy to report that we have been pee-pee accident free for 3 days (nighttime excluded)! YAY Chloe!

She much prefers the big potty to her little potty which makes clean up and outings much easier. She has been getting little chocolates, lip smackers lip glosses, My Little Pony fruit snacks and "special soda" (orange soda) as potty rewards. She still hasn't pooped in the potty yet, but she has been telling me when she has to go poop and trying to go on the potty 2 or 3 times before she actually poops in her pants. I think it will only take one successful poop and she will be set.

Because I have my hands full with 3 kids when we go out and about, I always put her in a pull-up when we leave the house, but she has kept them dry every time and at home she is always in undies other than naps! I am putting her in a pull-up for church tomorrow, but if we have another good day, I think we will be able wear undies all the time next week.

Ever since we switched from Morgan's left over Toy Story pull ups to new Disney Princess pull ups, she has been really great about telling me when she has to go instead of me telling her to try. She really doesn't want to get the princesses dirty! As a reward for keeping her Elmo panties (she picked them out before her potty party) dry for a whole day, I took her to get some Disney Princess panties today. She loves them! I am so proud of my baby girl for making such a big step! Being a big sister has made her so grown up!

One-on-One Time

With the big kids asleep, Brynnie and I got some one-on-one time tonight. We don't often get to just cuddle and coo and hang out with each other in the chaos that is life with 3 kids. She has the most beautiful eyes and when she is alert, she is very alert! I love her chubba-lubba cheeks and her thick brown hair - all in the back! She has been my most challenging baby - having a hard time sleeping due to bad reflux and being inconsoleable and fussy - but I love her so much and she is a special part of our family already! She is a sweet calming influence in our home, causing all of us to be a little sweeter and more caring to each other. I am so glad to be her mom and can't wait to share many more sweet moments with her!

Where Have You Been Hiding?

For the last year, bedtime with Morgan has been extremely frustrating! We tried not giving him attention, taking him back to bed a million times, yelling, threatening, reward charts, special time with Mom and Dad, taking away priviledges and even "swats" (a gentler version of the spanking), but nothing worked. Finally, as I have mentioned before, we resorted to taking away his lights and locking his door to keep him in bed.

With the looming prospect of moving Chloe into Morgan's room (and a very unsuccessful attempt at doing so), we have been searching for guidance on how to make the transition go smoothly. As I was searching, I came across this book...

As I read about it, I was skeptical - I am not a big meditation/yoga enthusiast and the book taches kids relaxation, breathing and visualization to help them sleep. But in desparation, I reserved a copy at the library and started reading it. Once I realized that it really was more like a game than anything, I got excited to try it out.

Thursday was the day I planned to start the program and bedtime (6:30 pm at our house) arrived...dun dun dun. I made sure Morgan had his lights in his room, got Chloe into bed, put Brynn down for a nap and let Callie out to go potty. Morgan had seen me reading the book over the past couple of days and was excited to start the "game to help him sleep better". I read through "week 1 day 1". Morgan loved flopping his arms and body and was caught up in the vizualization story and by the time I finished, Morgan rolled onto his side and went right to sleep. I went down to his room at least 5 times to make sure his lights weren't on, and sure enough he had gone right to sleep at 7:00 am. I was ecstatic, but thought it might be too good to be true. But, sure enough, Friday night, Morgan rolled over to go to sleep before I even got to the visualization and he didn't even move when I kissed his forehead before leaving his room. (Even more impressive when you note that his aunts and uncles were upstairs playing Wii). Today, he asked to play the flop game when I put him down for a nap and I he stayed in his bed for about 30 minutes before getting out and playing quietly in his room. Then tonight, he had a lot of wiggles and pent-up energy from our day of errands and I could tell he was having a hard time relaxing his body as we were going through the relaxation segment. I figured he would get up and I would have to go back to locking his door tonight, but he only got up once and then we got out some wiggles, talked more about his visualization and he went right to sleep.

I am AMAZED that this is working and I could not be more excited about it. I just wonder how I didn't find this sooner!!! I hope it continues to work, and I am excited to try it out with Chloe (even though it is for kids 3 and older). It is so nice to flip on the light switch in Morgan's room and actually have lightbulbs there to turn on! :)

You know you are a positive person when...

Sometimes I feel like all I say all day long is "Don't do that." "Stop hitting your sister." "Don't use that bratty voice." "Stupid Dog!" "No, No, NOOO!"

But, as I am sitting here right now paying bills, I was reminded that I am, indeed, a positive person. From the other room, I keep hearing Morgan cheer for himself, complete with applause, as he gets the questions right on his learning laptop. Hmmm, I wonder where he could have picked that up? Or when he cheers for Chloe for going pee pee in the potty or coloring a pretty picture or even eating her dinner...he had to pick it up somewhere.

Luckily, he is picking up on my positivity, even if I occassionally forget it exists.

Big Brother

Brynn and Chloe have got to be the luckiest girls in the world...they have the greatest big brother ever! Since Chloe has been potty training, Morgan has been so sweet and supportive. I often hear him talking to her about going in the potty, helping her get to the potty, sitting with her while she goes, helping her empty the little potty into the big one and cheering for her when she is successful! When I take her to the potty while he is eating or doing something else, he yells from the other room every 30 seconds or so to find out if she peed so he can congratulate her. Today they were coloring together and he said to her, "Chloe, your picture is so pretty! You are doing a really good job!" I love it!

Yesterday, as I was getting dinner ready, I had Brynn in the swing and she was not thrilled about it. Morgan went in there and as soon as he started talking to her the crying stopped (quite the accomplishment since she had been crying ALL day long). Then he decided to read her The Cat in the Hat and she was happy as a clam. He always wants to hold her or sit by her.

When I was first pregnant with Morgan, I really hoped it would be a boy. I just loved the idea of a big brother for future daughters and boy am I glad that I got my wish. The girls are lucky to have him and I am blessed to be his mom! It is so rewarding to see your kids taking care of each other.

Utterly Adoreable

As I was filing some recent pictures, I couldn't help but feel grateful to be the mother of such beautiful children. What do you think, are they adoreable or what? (Anyone who says or what is in big trouble!)

These faces make me so happy! Cute, Cute, Cute!

IT"S A PARTY!

Don't mark your calendar or anything, it isn't the kind of party you want to attend... Today marked the start of Chloe's "potty party". Yes, she is not quite 2 and she recently acquired a baby sister, so most would consider this bad timing, but she has been ready for a few months now and I have been the one dragging my feet.

We have been hyping it up since last week - buying cute undies, picking out salty treats and talking about being a "big girl". I don't know that it got Chloe excited, but Morgan was ecstatic! After we bought the undies, he has been asking every day if Chloe is a "big girl" yet. To stop the broken record questioning, I told him that Chloe would have her potty party and become a big girl when he went to preschool next, so this morning when we told him he needed to get ready for school, he turned to Chloe and said, "I am going to school so you can learn to be a big girl and wear underpants!"

Overall, today went pretty well...lots of pee on the floor and a load of pee pee laundry were worth the excitement we all felt when she did pee in the potty - that one time! And the reward of a new lipstick (lip smackers) was pretty exciting for Chloe! I'll keep you updated as we make progress - yay for only one set of diapers to change!

Supermom Central

For any of you fellow moms out there, I thought I'd clue you in to a great mommy resource blog: Supermom Central. They have great ideas for kids of all ages, cute and helpful product finds and giveaways. This week is "Baby's Best" - advice and products for baby, and today the giveaway is a hotsling. Now that I have 3 kids and still ony 2 hands, I really need a sling so I can give Ruth's back to her, but I am having a hard time with the idea of spending $70 on one! So, thanks for letting me post about this to be double entered to win! :)

Pink and Red Day

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday! While I do enjoy having a special day to celebrate how much I love my hubby and a special excuse to go out on a real date, that isn't the only reason I love this holiday. Really it all comes down to this: I love red and pink and I love them even more when they are together. For this reason, I usually celebrate Valentine's day by wearing pink and/or red outfits the entire 1 week before Valentine's and a week after. (I say usually because this year I do not fit into much of my pink and red attire yet - keep in mind that baby #3 is only 3 weeks old!) So, this year I have been living vicariously through my children. I got a cute little "heart breaker" t-shirt for Morgan from Old Navy and some cute red jeans with heart patches for Chloe (in addition to her existing wardrobe which is pretty much all red and pink), and even Brynnie has a couple of Valentine's day outfits that I have been dressing her in! Last night I even stayed up late making adoreable Valentine's bows for the girls.

And, as if the pink and red color combo weren't enough to make Valentine's day so fantastic, I also love hearts! I love decorating with hearts, I love heart accessories, I love heart shaped cookies and heart shaped sprinkles! Many of my Valentine's decorations stay out year round - just because I love them so much!

So, despite the fact that I don't fit into my regular Valentine's day attire, my V-day decor has only been up for 5 days, and even though my sweet brother and his girlfriend offered to babysit the kids tonight, I still won't be going on a date tonight since Seth is working, Valentine's day has still been great! Seth and I decided to get each other a freezer for the garage (super exciting gift, huh?) and then he surprised me with the new Fray cd (AMAZING!), I am taking him dinner and a fancy chocolate mint indulgence cake (thanks to April for the recipe) to surprise him at work, my kids look utterly adoreable (or at least they did for 5 minutes after getting dressed this morning before they ate anything), I can still wear my Valentine's day accessories, and I got to help Morgan make Valentine's for his preschool class! And, don't worry, there will definitely be a chick flick on at my house tonight - in honor of the love holiday!

Pinch Me

With the dishes washed (by hand) and the house in semi-order from a cleaning spree last night, I braved a morning of errands with three kids today. Granted, we didn’t leave the house until after 11:00 AM, but our very long trip to Target was virtually painless. Everyone stayed in the cart (unless they had permission otherwise), nobody ended up crying or hurt, and I was able to find everything I needed (including the perfect sheets for Chloe’s big girl bed for 3.95 a set – woo hoo!) before our trip was done.

To reward this good behavior, I took the kids to McDonalds – and we ate inside! Morgan and Chloe were ecstatic to have this special reward! When I am on my own with the kids, I never go inside. In fact, the reason we go to McDonalds is because their kids’ meal makes the smallest amount of mess in my car (thanks to apple dippers and the juice box offerings). So in we went - a toddler, a preschooler, an infant, a giant diaper bag purse and me - from the car into the doors and up to the counter to order. To my surprise, there were no kids darting off to the playplace and out of my sight, there was no scrambling in opposite directions or fighting with each other (well, there were, they just weren’t MY kids).

Instead, a very well-behaved boy and girl stood close to Mom and each other as they contemplated which toy they wanted in their happy meals. Then, they stayed very close to mom as we made our way to a table – with a tray full of food added to my load – and sat down. Both kids sat at the table and ate their chicken nuggets and apple dippers before playing with their toys or heading off to play and after I laid their food out for them, I was rewarded with a sweet little, “thank you Mom” first from Chloe and then from Morgan. After finishing their happy meals, they were off to play, politely introducing themselves to new friends, playing nicely and taking turns. Chloe even waited patiently at the top of the slide for a younger kid to stop climbing up the slide before she went down, all the while gently urging him to go up the stairs, not the slide.

Then it was time to go. Uh Oh…this is going to be a nightmare, I thought to myself. “Time to go,” I told them. Without a single complaint, Morgan got his shoes on, Chloe packed up her remaining chicken nugget and apples, and we all walked out to the car without incident.

Hmmm…maybe this errands with 3 kids thing isn’t as bad as I thought. Maybe the addition of a baby has incented Morgan and Chloe to be more helpful. Maybe they can sense that I need to feel like a successful parent for the afternoon. That is possible isn’t it? Quick, someone pinch me. I must be dreaming!

Ode to a Dishwasher

Oh sweet machine...

Though I've taken you for granted many many times before,
today, while you aren't working, I love you more and more.

I barely keep the dishes clean when you are in commission,
but without you to pull the weight, our partnership I'm missin'

The job you do throughout the day is one I really hate,
So know this now, oh sweet machine, YOU, I appreciate!

A soapy sink of dirty mess is not my cup of tea,
so please be easy for Seth to fix in the morning before he leaves.

(My appreciation for all you 21st century women who have lived or are currently living

without a working dishwasher has grown significantly today! You are my heros!)

Daddy is a Girl's Best Friend

I know the song says that diamonds are, but the song is wrong!

Today, I was folding laundry downstairs as Seth and Chloe played in Morgan's room when I heard Seth say, "Cheers! (the sound of clinking plastic glasses) Gulp, gulp, gulp... Chloe, that was so yummy!" I couldn't help peeking in to see what they were doing and sure enough I found Seth sitting on one of the kiddie stools at the little kiddie art table, surrounded by all of the play food dumped out on the floor as Chloe served him tea and cupcakes (She really loves that tea set, Nicole! Thanks again!).

"Having a tea party?" I asked.

"No, this is a party, party," Seth said, "With all sorts of food and treats!"

Who needs teddy bears or immaginary friends when you have a dad like that? Cute cute cute!

The Bachelor

I was just thinking this morning how I needed to post about this season's Bachelor when I saw Staci's comment on the last post requesting my thoughts on the subject. Of course, I am happy to share, so here it is: Jen's take on The Bachelor...

First of all, let me just say that last season from his first date with DeAnna, I was a big fan of Jason. He was just so real and sweet and happy and kind of dorky and such a sweet dad. I still think she was a total dummy for not picking him because he is a catch - in fact, I would say he is almost as awesome as my cute hubby! That said, I was really excited about him being the Bachelor, so I have been tuned in from the start. Then, when the first episode aired, I felt so bad for the guy having to choose from that pool of girls - so many psycho wierdos!

But, I think he has definitely narrowed it down to the best 3 girls of the bunch (I liked Stephanie, but I knew she wasn't a good match for him from the beginning). This is probably the only season where I can say that any of the 3 would be a good fit and I would be happy with his choice (because I am sure he cares what I think). And, when DeAnna comes to New Zeland next week, he better not take her back. She is not nearly as awesome as the 3 girls he has to choose from! I think that it will come down to Jillian and Molly in the end, but I really don't know who he will choose.

So, I am not sure when the finale will be, but I am guessing it will be March 2, and I am totally up for hosting a Bachelor Finale Party if anyone is interested! Leave a comment or send me an email if you are and I will plan it! :) I don't know why it is so fun to watch other people date and fall in love, but it is so let's indulge!

Amidst the Chaos

In the chaos of RSV, I have been failing to post the funny little moments that have been happening around here...

The other day, I told Chloe it was time for her nap, so she went in and put herself to bed...in the baby crib.

When I told Seth to grab the camera, Morgan dutifully grabbed his camera so he could capture the moment too. (P.S. The clutter all over the room is all the stuff Chloe threw out of the crib so she could get into it - I try so hard to keep my house clean and yet this is the background of every picture!)

Morgan is a little bit obsessed with primary songs right now. He loves to sit at the piano with the primary songbook open and "play" the songs while he sings. If he doesn't know a song, he asks us if we know it and has us sing it while he plays. Hopefully this enthusiasm will last through piano lessons in the future!

Of course, Chloe loves to join him and help!

Last night we were able to have my Dad and brothers over for dinner. Chloe was so excited to see everyone - especially after being cooped up all week. I love watching her cuddle with her uncles, and they love every second of it!

Brynnie got plenty of cuddles too. I am amazed at how big she is getting!

After dinner Morgan wanted everyone to play Wii, so they turned on Mario Kart and everyone grabbed a wiimote. Chloe wanted in on the action, so she grabbed a remote and started moving it around like everyone else...close enough, right? (And yes, that is my crazy brother sitting on my other crazy brother...life is so much more exciting with brothers!)

Reality Calling

Ready or not, we are back to reality this week. It has been so nice to have Seth home so much to help out, especially with all of the kids being sick and onery (sorry that wasn't much of a break for you sweetie!), but this week he is back to work and studying for a test. Despite the challenges of 3 kids and one parent that will inevitably manifest themselves this week, it is kind of nice to get back in the groove of normal life. The rest and break from responsibilities is really nice, but I am one of those people that finds comfort and happiness in routines. I am excited about the meals I have planned to cook this week, the responsibilities I have for the young women's activity on Wednesday, getting Valentines ready for Morgan's preschool class, being in charge of the snack basket, and getting the Valentine's decorations out! This morning I even took the girls grocery shopping with me while Morgan was at school and it was not horrible at all! I know this probably sounds crazy, but it is nice to be back to normal life.

Getting Better...

at least on the inside. Brynn's lungs and oxygen saturation were very good today, so it looks like we will be able to avoid the hospital and oxygen machine. This is very good news, except that it leaves Seth and I nursing her through the worst part - lots of drainage and difficulty sleeping, eating and breathing. We are getting through it and it should start getting better soon, but we are so glad thar our little Brynnie is okay!

Doctor Day

Today was Brynn's 2 week checkup. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. (yes, that is an increase of more than a pound in just over a week - she is certainly growing fine despite her "diet") and measured 19 inches in height. That puts her in the 8th percentile for height and the 25th for weight - such strange numbers for me to get used to - I thought the high 70's were low!

That was the good news, and then came the bad...
Chloe and Brynn both have RSV (and probably Morgan too since he has similar symptoms, but I didn't have him with me to get checked). Brynn also has an eye infection and reflux (which we already knew, but now we have perscriptions to treat them). Since Brynn is so young, she is highly at risk of reaching the stage of RSV called "hypoxia" which would result in hospitalization and oxygen - yipee! So, we will be back to the doctor's office again on Friday to see how she is progressing.

In the meantime, I am feeling socially deprived from not leaving the house and a little like pulling my hair out dealing with 3 very onery and sick kids while still adjusting to being outnumbered by needy children and feeling a little under the weather myself. Even more depressing were the numerous offers and arrangements for help with the kids that I have had to turn down or cancel despite really needing a break! In a nutshell, it was probably the worst doctor day that I have experienced thus far as a mother - I couldn't help feeling like an irresponsible parent as we discussed the long list of ailments and treatments, even though there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. Thankfully, I have been extremely lucky thus far to have had such healthy kids. Hopefully, this is just a fluke and we will be back to clean bills of health soon!

Dieting

Friday night was a very long night. Brynn was up all night long (literally) eating, burping, pooping and getting her diaper changed. That meant that I was up all night long too. In the wee hours of morning I asked myself how I could possibly have forgotten about this phase of motherhood. I remember being tired and doing midnight feedings, but I don't remember ever being up all night long! What it all comes down to is this - I didn't forget, my other kids were not like this, probably because I didn't allow it (even when they were only 1 week old). I think I am getting to be a softie parent in my old age. ;)

So, I decided to put Brynnie on a diet! Not a counting calories or limiting intake diet, in fact, it is more of a feeding schedule, if you will. She now eats every 2 hours or so during the day with an extra feeding before bed. Then during the night she goes almost 4 hours between feedings. What used to be an hour and a half feeding is down to a maximum of 20 minutes. I am still feeling sleep deprived, but this is the deprivation that I remember...and the good part about remembering is knowing that you have gotten through it before and you can do it again!

Sweet Sisters

Since Chloe had a cold, all the Tate girls stayed home yesterday while the boys went to church.

I had Brynn in the bathroom with me so I could keep an eye on her while I did my hair, and Chloe made sure she had lots of toys to "play" with. She is really quite good at sharing - as long as it is her idea!Then, After we gave Brynn a bath and got her dressed, Chloe wanted to hold her, but she didn't want to put down her cell phone or her other baby. She is learning to muti-task already. My favorite part was when she said to Brynn, "Say cheese!" and then pushed the button on her cell phone to "take a picture". I think it is safe to assume that her aunts and uncles have taken a sufficient number of pictures of their nieces with their cell phones!

Such sweet sisters...they really are so lucky to have each other!I am so proud of Chloe for being such a good big sister! I was worried that she would really struggle with the transition, but she surprises me every day with the ways she shows her baby sister how much she cares!

We Need A Lot More of This Around Here!

How I can forget about the lack of sleep that comes with a newborn is beyond me.

I should have this figured out by now - I have done it 3 times in less than 4 years!

"Six weeks," I keep telling myself, "Six weeks to sleeping through the night."

I know it's optimistic, but I did it with Chloe, and I can do it with Brynn - at least I hope I can!

What's In A Name?

I can finally say that I am used to Brynn's name. Even though I knew that she was a Brynn when I was holding her in the hospital, I have had the hardest time adjusting to calling her Brynn instead of "Baby Sister", as she was known for 9 months in my tummy. Up until a few days ago, when people would ask me what we named her, I would suddenly draw a complete blank and often had to turn to Seth and ask him what we named her (as many of you can attest since you witnessed it first hand). So, happy day, I finally know my child's name!

Part of my problem has been her many nicknames. For being a mere 12 days old, she sure has a lot of them.

Brynnie
Baby Sister
Brynnie Bean
Beaner (This was also my nickname as a baby - like mother, like daughter!)
Beanie
Bean
Peanut
B-nut

But, really, however you say it, we love her just the same!

One last quote from Morgan in the hospital as we were getting ready to check out...
"Mom, how do you spell Brynn?" After I told him he said, "Can we go home and write her name?" I thought it was so cute that he wanted to be able to write her name!

Quotes, Happenings and Milestones

I've been meaning to post some of the funny things the kids have been saying and haven't gotten around to it, so lest I forget, here are some of the latest funny happenings and quotes from the kiddos.

The Saturday before we had Brynn, we took the kids to the hospital to see the babies in the nursery so they knew what to expect. On our way there Morgan said, "We are on our way to pick out our baby sister." We had to explain that we just get the baby that comes out of Mommy's tummy - though I wouldn't have minded skipping the delivery and just picking a baby out of the nursery!

When I was in labor with Brynn, my Mom watched the kids. Instead of moving the car seats into her car, we had her take the Sequoia. Morgan wanted to watch a movie in the car, so my mom tried to help him get it working and couldn't figure it out. She told him that she couldn't get it to work and he told her he could do it. Then he said, "Just give me a minute, I need to focus!"

When the kids came to visit me in the hospital after Brynn was born, I told them that we had to go get her from the nursery. When we got to the nursery I told them I would be right back with Brynn and Morgan said, "No, Mom, I want to go to nursery with Brynn." He is only familiar with one kind of nursery - the one at church with toys and snacks!

Every time we go to my Mom's house, Chloe puts her babies down for a nap - in a decorative basket that holds a beautiful quilt by the living room couch. Chloe moves the blanket, puts the babies in the basket and covers them with the quilt. Then she tells everyone, "Shhh, the babies are sleeping!"

Uncle Michael introduced Morgan and Chloe to StarWars - it was bound to happen at some point! Chloe is particularly fond of Yoda. Michael has a bunch of star wars figurines and toys, and Chloe separates out all the Yodas and plays with them like babies. She puts them down for naps and gives them loves. Today when we were at my Mom's house, she told us she was poopy and as she was getting her diaper changed, told my mom that "Yoda poopy too." Morgan thinks Star Wars is pretty cool too. He told Sarah that "On Star Wars there are big airplanes" - apparently we have a bit to learn about space!


And here are a couple of milestones...

Brynn lost her umbilical stump Friday night.

Brynn is too tall for her premie clothes, but still way too small for the newborn size - is there a size between the two?

Chloe has decided she is a big girl and doesn't need a high chair anymore. She is also ready to be potty trained, but I haven't been ready to do it yet - I am giving it 2 more weeks and then we will have our potty party. Every time we change her diaper she wants to sit on the potty. Sometimes she even enlists Morgan's help to get her pants off and get up onto the potty.