Potty Training Day 2

Maddox is still doing really well with the potty training. We have increased his time between potty breaks to 20-25 minutes with no accidents in between. I put a diaper on him at nap time and when we went out to Rite Aid. I plan to work on nap time and night time by Thursday.

All dressed up :)

I have adventured into couponing. Not extreme couponing, but just couponing when I see a good deal. Today at Rite Aid I got 3 shampoos, 3 conditioners, 2 hair sprays, and 1 can of mousse (all Pantene brand) for $15 and received $10 in their +up rewards. So I basically got all of that for $5. I plan to go back later in the week and spend the $10 on a few others products I have good coupons for.

In Natalie news, she was attempting to smile today and it was so cute! 

Smiley Girl!

After our trip to the store we headed over to my mom's house to share my big pot of beans I had made today and also so I could watch the new episodes of 19 Kids and Counting.

Do you coupon?? Where are your favorite places to shop with coupons??

-Hannah

Potty Training Day 1

Today was our first official day of potty training. It went very well! We got off to a little bumpy start, but two little accidents later we were on our way. I'll tell you what I'm doing so that way if it works it might be an encouragement to other mommas trying to potty train and of it doesn't work you'll know what not to do! :)

This morning I got all of his underwear and put them in a little basket and let him choose which pair he wanted to wear (his  Disney character ones are his favorite). I then set a timer for 15 minutes and took him to try to potty when it would go off. The first two times I didn't set a timer because I thought I would keep track on my own the 15 minutes, but I didn't do very good so we had two accidents. That's when I decided I need a timer. He went potty every time I took him all day except twice and even went #2! I put a diaper on him for nap time and he wasn't real wet when he woke up so maybe in a day or two we will adventure into that. Tomorrow I'm going to increase the time to 20 minutes and eventually one day this week work up to him telling me when he needs to go. 

I did get most of the cleaning done I wanted to, but having to stop what I was doing every 15 minutes kept me a little distracted, but I feel I've started the week of on a high note so it gives me hope for the rest of the week! We are planning a little trip on Saturday so that gives me something to look forward to and "work" for. 

I didn't take any pictures today which I was wanting to do better at that, but I'll leave you with a cute throwback picture of Maddox :)

How did you potty train your little ones?

-Hannah

Full Speed Ahead

Today has just flown by! We went to church this morning and actually made it on time for the first time with two kids! We then headed home and watched a football game that we could pick up on Fox with the antenna Bryan got. Since we no longer have cable, we still wanted to get the local channels in case we need to keep updated about severe weather or something so Bryan purchased an antenna off Amazon that is made for HD TVs.

Maddox ended up taking a late nap and not a very good one so he was very whiny from the time he woke up until we put him to bed. Natalie has also had a rough day today. She has been very fussy and has wanted to nurse constantly. I am thankful Bryan was here all day to help me because those situations drain my energy quickly! It seems like the one or two days a week Bryan is here all day go by so fast. 

Tomorrow I plan to start the week full speed ahead. I am going to attempt to potty train Maddox this week. He uses the potty on his own will quite often and even goes #2 in the potty, so I think he's at a point to potty train. I plan to be very consistent so that way if he doesn't get the hang of it within a few days I'll know he's not quite ready yet and that is not because of my inconsistency. I also plan to get my laundry caught up this week and actually stick to a cleaning routine so that every room in the house gets some special attention. I'm ready to get into a normal routine again even though these past few weeks of living in newborn baby land have been great!

My sweet pea ready for bed!

Now I am off to bed early so I can be well rested for tomorrow!

-Hannah

Sunny Days

Today was absolutely beautiful outside! It's so much easier to wake up when the sun comes shining through the window. Natalie is on the best sleep routine at night which is awesome because Maddox woke every hour on the hour just about for the first 15 months of his life. She usually goes to bed between 8:30pm and 9pm and then sleeps until about 3:30am or 4am and then wakes for the day around 8am. We have started using her one size pocket diapers at night because the newborn diapers won't last all those hours she sleeps.

Speaking of cloth diapers, we have had a time with the prefolds and covers. Last week she broke out in a terrible rash around her belly button and thighs

Some days it looked worse. The pediatrician said it was an allergic reaction to something. At first I thought it was the Pampers I had been using that I had left over from the hospital, but then I noticed it would get worse when I'd use the prefolds and covers. Now I think it was the tide detergent I was using to wash the diapers in. I washed the prefolds and covers twice in a free and clear detergent, but they stil caused her to break out. So, I'm not sure if they still have Tide in them or if it's something with the diapers. I rewashed all of the newborn AIOs in free and clear just to be safe, so now we are using those and one size pockets. 

I've been reading a book called "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff...and It's All Small Stuff".

It basically gives you tips on how to not let little things ruin your day and how to handle frustrating situations. It also says the two rules to living a more peaceful life is #1: Don't sweat the small stuff & #2: To remember it's all small stuff. Since I'm at home with a tenacious two year old all day I have my fair share of frustrating situations. I want to focus less on the negative in life and more on the positive and also parent my children in a positive way. I am thankful that Maddox is the oldest child because he is very strong willed. He definitely gives me a run for my money!

We went for a stroll through the neighborhood today for the first time with two babies. It felt good to get out of the house even just for a few minutes. 

We ended the day watching the movie Planes,which Maddox seemed to enjoy and I enjoyed getting to snuggle up with him because he was actually sitting still! Now time to cuddle up with my littlest baby and enjoy my evening quiet time!

How do you handle "the small stuff" in your life??

-Hannah

She's Here!

Introducing Natalie Rose! She was born September 3rd and was 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 18.5in long!

                                     

Things have definitely been a little crazy around here, so blog posts got put on the back burner. I plan to post her birth story soon! She is perfect from head to toe and we are loving being a family of 4 now! Maddox has done so well being a big brother. He loves giving her hugs and kisses. He also sleeps through her crying at night which was my biggest concern for him!

Monday was my first day being home all day with both kids by myself and it has actually went smoothly. I think babysitting helped Maddox and I out tremendously! He has done good understanding that I can't always jump up and get things for him immediately.

Big brother holding his sister for the first time!

We also celebrating Maddox's 2nd birthday last week! We had a small party for him at our house with family and then we went to a place nearby that has all kinds of bouncy houses, so he had a blast! It is going to be crazy from now on with their birthdays only being two days apart. I plan to do something special on their individual birthday, but we will probably have combined birthday parties.

What a difference a year makes!

 We have been partially cloth diapering since we have been home because I only have 10 AIO and the majority of our newborn stash is prefolds and covers and those seem to rub her umbilical stump too much. So, I have been using disposables that were given to me to use between washes. Once her stump falls off we will be able to cloth diaper 100 percent. She also has been nursing like a champ since day one, which makes me so happy. I couldn't imagine not getting to nurse her. I honestly enjoy nursing my babies and I would hate to have to buy formula considering how expensive it is! We have been co-sleeping the past week, which i told myself over and over I wouldn't do this time, but she sleeps 4-5 hours straight in our bed. She will only sleep an hour or two in her little rock n play. I just don't know if I would be able to function the next day waking every hour or so throughout the night.

We are just beyond blessed with our two babies! It's always bittersweet when the day comes to an end because I know my little newborn will be another day older and grow a little more! It's such a joy to watch children grow and learn new things, but they seem to grow up in a blink of an eye!

-Hannah