Only in a House With Girls...

...do you get to have breakfast with Hannah Montana and Cinderella!





The girls woke up this morning ready to play dress-up. By lunchtime, they had also been Tinkerbelle, Aurora, Belle, Little Red Riding Hood and Supergirl. Too fun!

After breakfast, we dyed our Easter eggs. This year it was better than ever because Lily was old enough to really participate. She had so much fun dyeing her eggs with Ann Catherine. Aren't these days just the best?!







Now for an update on Lily's potty training:

We are taking a little break. This is a big deal for me because at first it felt like a sign of failure and I don't give up easily! But yesterday morning I realized that Lily was bound and determined to do this on her own terms. Monday she was so excited about using the potty and did so several times. By Wednesday, she didn't even want to sit on the potty and she was having accidents even though she knew she had to go. She was just choosing not to.

Ann Catherine did this too and after seven days of accidents, she finally got it. But she was also a little older than Lily. Everything I have read online says that what Lily is doing is a sign of resistance and the best thing to do is just let it go and take a break for a while.

So we are doing that. Lily isn't even two and a half, so I'm not sweating it yet. We'll probably try again at the start of summer and see if she's ready then.

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter Egg Hunt

Ann Catherine and Lily had their Easter parties at school today, which included an Easter Egg hunt. They were so precious with their Easter baskets that I had to snap a picture. Of course, as usual, LB was not cooperating. Oh well!

Last night, after they took their bath, Chris helped them put their eggs in their baskets. They were so excited! And I was quite amazed that they put the candy in their eggs without eating all of it.







Now for an update on "Potty Watch 2009." (I can't help it. I used to work in TV news where we came up with cheesy headlines for stories like, "Terror in the Heartland" or "Windy Wednesday." Always drove me crazy. Why can't we just read the story? Does every story never some goofy headline? It's so gimmicky! And I'm pretty sure viewers hate it to. But I digress...)

My suspicions have been confirmed. Lily Baker is exerting her authority on this one. Today she only had one morning accident! 'Oh,' you're thinking, 'she must have gone to the potty!' But you would be wrong. Instead, she held it for three hours!! Three solid hours. Then she had an accident. A pretty big one.

This tells me two things. One - she's ready to potty train. If a child can willingly and knowingly hold it, especially for that long, they are ready. Two - she is gonna do this on her own terms. Lord help me.

This is exactly what AC did. Let me tell you, it is maddening!! Your child knows they have to go and they choose not to. Ughhh!!!

So I'm doing a lot of praying. And not just for Lily to figure this out soon, but also for me to have some patience. I need it! :)

Bad Timing

Lily had it Saturday. Ann Catherine woke up with it Monday. Chris got it Monday night. And I woke up with it today.

The crud.

You know - sore throat, drainage, aches - the works. I feel pretty crummy.

Oh and did I mention that this is potty training week? Great timing, huh?

As for that, if you read my post on Monday you know that we had some success with Lily using the potty. She went four times on the first day. I was pretty stoked.

This is my second adventure in potty training so I'm also smart enough to know that the second day can be a flop.

It was. You know how many times LB pottied yesterday? Zero. Zilch. Nada. Big fat goose egg.

I took her to her mother's morning out and she went through about 5 pairs of pants. They would put her on the potty every 20 minutes. She wouldn't go and then would have an accident shortly after.

Now, I'm not panicking because AC did the exact same thing when she was learning. Still, it's just so frustrating.

I brought her home and kept putting her on the potty. I knew that she needed to go because she had been drinking lots of milk, but she wouldn't go. Then she got up and promptly had an accident.

I think Lily is showing me that she's in control - which is EXACTLY what Ann Catherine did when she was potty training. It was explained to me then this way. This is the first thing your child has ever had control over. As a mom, you control every facet of their lives: what they eat, what they wear, where they go, etc. Going to the potty is the one thing that they have control over at this young age. And they enjoy exerting that control, much to their mommy's chagrin!!

Today confirmed my suspicions. Her MMO teacher told me that they thought she was holding it. She had accidents all morning, but she didn't go through as many pairs of pants - meaning she was holding it for longer. That tells me she is choosing not to go.

We got home and I gave them a snack before nap. I walked over to get Lily and I felt something trickling down her leg. I quickly put her on the potty - then she stopped. See? She was choosing not to go. And she kept squirming, trying to get off the potty. So, I gently held on to her and wouldn't let her get off. And what happened? She pottied. I yelled for Ann Catherine and we clapped and acted crazy again. Lily got all excited. To remind her of how fun this could be, we called Chris and let her tell him she had pottied. Oh yeah - and I gave her M&Ms. (Those of you who don't have children - NEVER say that you won't bribe your kids. Believe me, you'll eat those words!)

So maybe I was pushing a bit too hard yesterday and Lily pushed back? Who knows. We'll see how she does this week. All I know is I'll be glad when it's over!

AC's Version of the Bible

Today Ann Catherine just could not go to sleep for her nap. When I realized it was a lost cause, I told her she could stay up but she had to play quietly because I needed to do my Bible study. She agreed that she would. I put on one of her favorite tv shows and I began doing my study at the dining room table.

After a while she got a little bored and came over to the table. I reminded her that I needed to do my Bible study and she needed to go and play. She said she wanted to sit down next to me, so I suggested that she grab her Bible and read it while I did my Bible study.

She ran to her room and returned with her Bible. She sat down next to me and started reading out loud. "Baby Jesus laid down in his crib to go to sleep and he ate a piece of carrot."

"Hmm, I didn't know the Baby Jesus liked carrots," I said. I was trying not to laugh.

She continued, "then the angels came down from Heaven and he started to cry."

"Wow, that's very interesting," I said. "Read some more to me."

She flipped the pages and said, "Mommy, this part is called 'the Lord gives you lots of toys for the beach.'"

I kid you not. I bit my lip trying not to laugh. I didn't have the heart to tell her that part just wasn't in my Bible. Plus, in a way, the Lord does give you all of your toys for the beach, right?

Ann Catherine's version of the Bible may not be the same as mine, but I have to admit, it was pretty entertaining. :)

Did You Hear That?

Did you hear that noise today around 11:32 a.m.?

It was me and Ann Catherine screaming and jumping up and down like crazy people because Lily used the potty!

Today was "Mommy is really serious about potty training Lily" day at our house. No more playing around and sitting her on the potty whenever she feels like it. Today was serious business. Ann Catherine was charged with helping me (which, of course, she relished).

Lily has used the potty on and off, but nothing on a regular basis. I have felt like she was ready to be potty trained, but we have been traveling so much that I wanted to wait. As you mothers know, you have to commit to potty training and truly make it a top priority. We aren't going anywhere for a while, so this seemed as good a time as any to get it started.

I decided to train Lily the same way I trained Ann Catherine. We woke up this morning and the pull-ups went bye-bye. I got out the small potty, put it in the middle of the den and told Lily that was where she had to potty.

In one hour, we had already had three accidents. I'm thinking, this is going to be a long day.

Let me just say that potty training Ann Catherine was one of the least favorite things I've ever been through. A root canal without anesthesia would have been more pleasant. It took a full seven days of me cleaning up puddles before she ever pottied. I seriously thought I was going to lose it.

So I was somewhat prepared for this to be a bit unpleasant. Once we got to accident number five, I was thinking, 'here we go again!'

Luckily for me, Lily surprised me. The next time I could tell she had to go and when I asked her she answered "yes." I scooped her up and ran to the potty and she went. I started yelling and clapping and Ann Catherine was jumping up and down saying, "Lily, I'm so proud of you!!" We called Chris and Lily said, "Daddy, I pee-peed in the potty!" I think that was the highlight for her.

She ended up going in the potty at least three more times. Of course, she also had more accidents. But the important part is she was at least going to the potty and realizing she had to go. And she was pretty eager about it.

It was so cute at dinner tonight. When Chris was asking Lily about her day, Ann Catherine proudly said, "We potty trained Lily today." She was very serious about her role in all of this. :)

I realize this is only day one, but I'm encouraged. She's already ahead of where Ann Catherine was when I potty trained her, so that's a victory. We'll see how the rest of the week goes, but so far, she's acting like a pretty big girl :)

The Zoo!

We had the best weekend! We went to the Birmingham Zoo. My girls had never been, so this was a real treat for them!

We went with my best friend from college, Olivia, and her daughters Mary Win and Ginny Tate. Mary Win is actually our goddaughter and Ann Catherine is Olivia and her husband Joe's goddaughter. So, the girls call themselves "godsisters." I don't think there is such a thing, but do they need to know that?

Our weekend started on Friday. We drove down to Tuscaloosa to stay with Olivia and the girls for our own "girls weekend." I had a speaking engagement at the University and then we hung out. The girls loved playing dress up together!



Saturday morning we drove to the zoo. The weather was perfect and the girls loved seeing the animals! Here are some cute pics:





AC and Lily brushing the goats! (See the little brush on their hands?)





Lily B checking out the giraffes!



Time for a juice break!

We also saw lions, tigers, gorillas, rhinos, kangaroos and Lily's personal favorite, hippos! At the end of the day, we took the girls to the gift shop to get a souvenir. Ann Catherine got a fan with a tiger on it (a strange choice, but she was adamant that she wanted it!) and Lily got a stuffed lion. She loves putting it in my face and saying, "roaaaarrr!"



The sweetest part of the entire weekend was watching all of the girls together. Olivia is my best friend in the entire world. We met in college and just clicked immediately. At times it was so surreal this weekend watching our girls together. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that Olivia and I were in college together, and now here we are with daughters who play together. And it's as if our girls just have this bond. Even though they don't see each other on a regular basis, they just love each other so much! It is precious.

If you are looking for a fun day trip with your kids, I highly recommend the Birmingham Zoo (and I would do it before it gets too hot). I think your kids will love it!

Emailing Melissa

You know how kids love to imitate us? The other day Ann Catherine told me she wanted to check her email. Cracked me up. You think she's noticed her mommy doing it?

So I pulled up a word document and let her just type away. Now she loves "checking her email."

The other day she asked if I would let her do it, so I pulled up the word doc. I needed to leave the room to do something so I asked Chris to sit with her in case she needed help.

A few minutes I walked back into the room.

Me: "Sweetie, are you checking your email?"
AC: "Yes, I'm emailing Melissa."

I just stood there - stunned. I looked at Chris. "Did you tell her to do that?" I'm thinking that surely he told her, "Why don't you email Melissa?"

"No," he answered. "It was all her idea. She wanted to tell Melissa about the balloons she sent her the other night." (We recently sent balloons to her on my niece's birthday.)

Ann Catherine just looked at me smiling from ear to ear. I didn't know what to say. Finally, I said, "Honey, I think that's great. I'm sure Melissa loves getting emails from you."

I walked back into the bedroom and just thought about it. Ann Catherine is starting to talk more and more about Melissa. I am so glad she does. But, it often catches me off guard. I feel like I just need a minute to regroup when she mentions her, especially if I'm not expecting it.

At the same time, I am so grateful that Chris and I have chosen to talk about Melissa in our home. No, we don't bombard Ann Catherine with it. She'll have plenty of time to learn and understand about her sister's life and death. But I am so grateful that we made the decision to talk about her. She is part of our family and part of our home. And it's important to me that Ann Catherine knows that.

A couple of days later, Ann Catherine, Lily and I were taking a stroll. Out of the blue Ann Catherine says, "Mommy, I was very tiny when I was born." I agreed and said, "And where were you?"

"The NICU," she answered. Then she added, "With Melissa."

Ann Catherine has never really acknowledged that Melissa was in NICU with her. It so caught me off guard.

"Yes, you were," I said.

Then she looked up at the sky and said, "Mommy, Melissa's in Heaven. It's so far away. I can't even see it!"

I thought for a minute. Yes, Melissa is in Heaven and it's far away. But, I don't want Ann Catherine to think that Melissa is just off in some faraway place and that we have no connection with her. So I said, "You're right, Ann Catherine. Heaven is far away. But you know what? Melissa is also in our hearts. She's in my heart. She's in Daddy's heart. She's in your heart and she's in Lily's heart. So just remember, she's never far away. She's always right here" (and I pointed at my heart).

And as she often does, she brought some levity to the situation. She just kept staring at the sky and said, "Mommy, Heaven is so far away we need an airplane or a rocket ship to get there. A really BIG rocket ship!"

I just laughed. I so needed it at such a heavy moment.

I am so grateful that God gives us these "teaching moments" with Ann Catherine to talk about Melissa. I never want to scare her, but I also want to be completely honest with her. Please pray for me and Chris as we navigate this road that, unfortunately, doesn't include an instruction manual.