Tuesday April 27

It's quiet. Peacefully quiet in the house, except for the annoying lawn mower a few houses down. My precious Allie is asleep in her car seat. It seems the rice cereal she had for the first time today knocked her out. Audrey is outside playing with Daddy. It's 55 degrees. Too cold for me.

Updates:

Potty Training update: I'm at a loss. Audrey is still having accidents on a regular basis. However, she goes a day or two without hardly any accidents at all. She has yet to have an accident while we're out shopping or on a walk. I thought she was golden today except she waited too long, AGAIN, while outside playing with the neighbors on her swing set. People say she's not ready then. She IS stubborn. It's part of her personality. I told her today over lunch that she could decide, panties or diapers and that I wouldn't be mad either way. She chose panties. She knows when she has an accident it disappoints us, because she says, in the most heart breaking voice, "I'm sorry Mommy, I'm sorry" Last night I was thinking that the girl was darned if she did and darned if she didn't. She feels (I believe) that she needs to wear panties to make us happy, but then when she has an accident and pees a puddle of urine on my kitchen floor and wets through six pairs of panties in one day, she gets upset, because we're upset. True, I'm not thrilled when she doesn't make it to the potty, but I want it to be her choice. I do get frustrated that she isn't getting it after two weeks and that even though she can go in there, climb up on her stool and do the whole routine herself, sometimes she just flat doesn't. I certainly don't want to push her. I understand that could lead to terrible consequences.

Today at Kindermusik Audrey didn't take her turn playing the glockenspiels during class like the other kids did. This was the second week in a row that we would sing a song and the kids would play two at a time to the beat. We would do this twelve times over, so each child had a turn. Her teacher is very understanding and hasn't pushed her during class but offered for her to play them after class. Today we stayed and after everyone was gone the teacher had to practically put the mallet in her hand and hit them for her. She took one and I took the other. When she played her note her face puckered up like she was going to cry! We talked about it later. She said she liked playing them, but I still don't know why she almost cried. Maybe the two notes stirred an emotion in her. Music is very powerful. I don't know. When I told the teacher i don't know why she doesn't like to participate, she brushed it off and said she does everything else (dance, sing, clap, etc)

** Allie just woke up screaming. Darn that rice cereal. It got us with Audrey too. Now I've lost my train of thought. **

Audrey doesn't like group activities where the focus is solely on her. We've noticed that in gymnastics too.

Weight Watchers: I've lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks. I'm hungry.

This and That and Short Stories:

Audrey has been watering the newly sowed (?)/planted grass with Jeremy. It's so cute watching her walk with her little green and yellow watering can around the yard. It's even cuter to see her carrying the large watering can.

I love to watch Allie when Audrey is in the room. She gets the biggest smile and laughs--especially when Audrey jumps!

Allie is wearing 12 month clothes and some 18 month!

Today when we were at the mall (Bergners) Audrey boycotted the public restroom ( I don't blame her) so as we were waiting in our double stroller for the elevator she jumps out of her seat--which is alarming because that throws the whole balance off as she sits in front. I tell her she's got to get back in right away because the elevator has now opened and the stroller is going to tip. I thought she was in so when I moved forward to make it through the doors she falls out and her leg slips under the stroller and through the front wheels. I continue to push her forward out of the way of the doors. She stopped crying by the time we got down to the first floor. Maybe a bruise, no blood.

She chose to potty on froggy (her little potty seat we keep in the van). She did. Funny thing was, today, she chose to only potty (and poop!) on froggy. So even when we were home, she wanted to go outside to the garage, climb in the van and potty there. Such a sight from our busy road, I'm sure! As it was in the mall parking lot. I'm sure you can just picture Audrey sitting on a green frog in the back of our van, skirt around her legs pointing at the UPS guy delivering the neighbors online purchase a few houses down. When she pooped I wasn't about to bring it inside and flush it so I decided to fertilized the lawn. Ah. parenthood.

Before dinner Audrey was outside playing and waited too long to potty, resulting in wet clothes. Jeremy grabbed the first pair of pants he saw in the laundry basket which resulted in a striped shirt and striped pants of differing colors and variations. He looked at me and said, "no one is going to see her." Our neighbor said she looked like a Dr. Seuss character!

Audrey is now in bed, or on her way. Allie is restless on the floor beside me. I started this blog entry a good three hours ago. A mom asked me today at Kindermusik how life with two is. That's the question you get after you have your second. Like when you first get engaged, it's "have you picked a date yet?" And after you get married it's, "So when will you have kids?" And after the first child it's, "So when will you have your second?" Now, people with one child with great interest ask, "So how's life with two?" I told her the hardest part for me was trying to find time to do what I wanted to do and finish a task. "Totally do-able though" I told her. "And totally rewarding." I love my girls.

At our flop of a garage sale last weekend...to be continued. Allie needs food.

Sarah