Mama I Pee Pee

Yes! You read this title correctly! Lucy has begun potty training. This post could be too much info for some of you but bare with me. I really wasn't thinking this would come this early but about 2 weeks ago Lucy told me she went pee. I decided it was time to get out our little potty to help her. The next day she said it again, I didn't know what to do and I haven't read up to learn what I should be doing so I put her on our toilet and there you go...she went and whats even cooler she went poop. She cried as she was pooping and I celebrated so much that she joined in the fun. We were clapping, yelling and dancing around the bathroom. I wasn't even prepared for a sticker or a treat. Well that was enough for her to continue. The next day...poop in the potty! We were out to dinner for Adam's birthday, while sitting at the table she told me she needed to pee - and yes at the restaurant she went. So I am thinking she was getting the hang of it. Well yesterday she once again told me she needed to pee. I took her into the bathroom she took her diaper off - STOOD over her little pink potty and pee peed like DAD!?!?! OH NO! I didn't know what to do. She was yelling "I peed" and began to clap and dance...what did I do - clap and danced too, I was pleased even if she was peeing like a boy. It was so funny. It is true the saying "be careful what you do, they will follow EXACTLY". We are on our way. Now if we can get more than one potty time a day - that is our next goal! We will keep you updated!

Sweet Lola

Precious Lola is doing so great. She is 5 weeks old and very alert. She works hard to find her thumb but is enjoying her paci. She is a great sleeper, eater and we are even proud to say we have gotten a few smiles already! Lucy is in love with her little sister and makes sure she gets as many kisses as possible though out the say. Lola had her first play date today and was great. She slept while her big sister played with Connor, Parker and Sydney.

As all newborns do in the hospital Lola had a PKU and newborn screening. At her first Dr. appointment we found out that her thyroid levels were not exactly where they should be. Yesterday we had our doctor’s appointment with the endocrinologist for Lola. It was a very uplifting positive visit for all three of us, Adam, Lola and I. Dr. Amaral is her doctor’s name and she spent about an hour with us going over and teaching us what exactly is going on with Lola. It made us feel really good and armed us with information.
The way she explained what is happening in terms that were very easy to understand: Lola’s thyroid was born “sleepy” so her pituitary gland which is in the front of her brain has had to work extra hard to tell the thyroid gland to produce more hormone. The pituitary gland would yell at Lola’s thyroid over and over throughout the day. So her thyroid was producing this but her brain was just working hard to make sure it was getting done. This means at no time has Lola gone without this extremely important hormone. The medication that they put her on at day 8 was to “wake up” her thyroid so her brain could have a rest. The doctor said after you yell and yell at someone over and over for the same thing you get tired and quit. Same with her brain if she was not on this medication at some point to wake up her thyroid her pituitary gland would just quit communicating this information and at that time she would have gone without the hormone and that is when the problems could have occurred.
Praise God this did not happen and that there is medication to help her thyroid. Our thyroids are very important to our bodies especially from birth – 3 years helping with brain development and motor skills. This is why Lola will be on this medication for the next 3 years. They still have not determined that she truly has congenital hypothyroidism but she said in newborns they take extreme measures to make sure this hormone is working.
Lola will go visit Dr. Amaral every 2 months to get her blood drawn and check her levels to make sure they are where they should be – which they will be because of the medication. If they are high or low at any point she will adjust her dosage. The only chance in the next 3 years Lola could be taken off this medication is if she goes from being Hypo to Hyper in that case that means her body is producing the hormone on its own and she could slowly be taken off the medication. Which would be amazing!
Tomorrow we will go and have a sonogram of Lola’s thyroid. Dr. Amaral says it can either be positioned wrong or it could just be small. In any case it will give us more information as to why her thyroid is supposedly not doing its job.
There are not side effects to this medication. If she does have this it is helping her and if she doesn’t have it and if the hospital test were incorrect we will know because she would start showing signs of hyper. Hypothyroidism happens in about 1 in every 4000 babies and there is no known cause of it.
Lola is doing amazing, hasn’t missed a beat and is awesome with her medication. She is growing to a whopping 9.12 lbs right now and measuring perfectly. She is a total joy and changing everyday. It is amazing how a simple blood test can share so much about her body. So mommy’s when you go have your baby be extra thankful for that PKU test and newborn screening! What an amazing world we live in where this medication can do everything for Lola that she needs.
Adam and I are so grateful and are thankful that all is well. Thank you for your prayers and as you can see from reading the above we are doing GREAT!

Happy Birthday Adam!

Dasiy and Lucy
A family pic - Lucy was thrilled!

Lucy and Lola with Grandmom and Poppy

Checking for more Christmas gifts

Lucy sitting at her new table

On January 10th my darling husband turned 29! We had a great weekend by celebrating with his parents in town. They came to celebrate Christmas with all of us and Adam's birthday. We stayed out in Port A at their friends Condo, it was beautiful we were overlooking the ocean. We have been lucky enough to stay there one other time, when Lucy was 6 weeks. It was really fun to stay with Lola being 4 weeks old it brought back fun memories. Buzz and Daisy also spoiled all of us with amazing Christmas gifts. Daisy is such a great shopper. She bought the girls darling outfits, she discovered Gymboree and Old Navy kids clothes - so cute! She also bought the girls a little tea table in which Lucy has been sitting at every single day. Today actually at play date the kids all colored at the table...a precious picture!

A Night Out!

Lola 4 weeks old
Connor & Lucy

I loved this picture...we are learing to share

Michael took really good care of LolaSit and Spin

Lucy decided to go snuggle on Brooke and Spencer - "don't mind if I do" - Lucy

We tried our best for a pic with the kids, mine just didn't turn out too great.

Our good friends the Milam's are unbelievable friends. I have blogged about them many times so if you follow my blog you already know them. They are so amazing. Last night they had our family over for dinner and playtime for the kids. It was so much fun! Their son Connor and Lucy are at the age they can enjoy and play with each other. That is just what they did last night...play play play. We had a wonderful dinner and during dinner Lucy and Connor entertained us. One would yell the other would laugh, then the other would yell - you get it back and forth. They were cracking each other up. Then they finished dinner and headed to play. Brooke and Michael have the most fun kid toys...of course as they wanted to play with the same toy. Connor thought it was funny and as you can tell from the pics Lucy wasn't too pleased, which made the situation even funnier. OK, and we had lasagna for dinner that is why Lucy is lacking a shirt, we don't normally go to friends houses missing our shirt. Brooke is also hosting a sip n see for Lola at the end of the month so we can show sweet Lola off to our friends. We are so dang lucky to have the Milam's as friends and neighbors. Thank you Brooke, Michael & Connor for a fun night out!

What a Circus!

Popcorn!
Yes, Katie made this cake!

Check out this spread

Dad and Lucy in the bounce house

Look at this cutie

The kids had a blast!

Lucy just finished checking out all the games

Katie and Ryan with the cake

Lola and Mr. Clown

I just loved this picture. I noted in a few posts ago that Lucy is enjoying taking off her diaper...this is what I found when I went to the kitchen a naked shopper.

Sweet Lola is getting more and more alert each day. I can't get over how much she has changed.

This past weekend Lucy and Lola were invited to a friends birthday - a darling circus theme. My friend Katie is so amazing and threw a party for her 3 year old Layne and her 1 year old Elliot - a duel celebration. The party was fantastic. Katie and Ryan know how to throw a party! I had to take pictures because I knew I would not be able to explain it in the detail I would want. There was a bounce house, carnival games - age appropriate so the younger kids could enjoy, circus food all homemade - candy apples, cotton candy, hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn - you name it. A cake that was unreal and YES homemade by Katie and her mom. There was even a clown - Katie's dad dressed up for all the kids to see! It was awesome! We had such a wonderful time. Happy Birthday to 2 of our sweetest little friends - Layne and Elliot

Thankful!

This post is long overdue but I have had a hard time writing it. There are no words to describe how thankful I am to our family that came to help with Lola and Lucy in the month of December. I get teary thinking Lola is already a month old. Honestly, I ask myself the questions, Where does time go? I still find it hard to believe that I am holding my second baby girl when I feel enough time hasn't passed to still be Lucy this size. Adam and I were beyond blessed with the help of every single person in our family. We are so lucky that everyone got to meet Lola and spend quality time with Lucy. When Lola was born Adam's parents, my dad and my sister - Fave were all at the hospital for her arrival. They took shifts on visiting Adam, Lola and I in the hospital while the others would spend time with Lucy at our house. Adam and I felt so comfortable while staying in the hospital knowing that Lucy remained in good hands. Lucy felt so spoiled with all the attention and we could not have been more thankful. As we came home from the hospital family continued to pour in my dad was able to be with us for a total of about 3 weeks, my sister Megan (Fave) stayed about 3 weeks, two of which her husband Uncle Hunky - Chris and her dog Diddy joined her, my mom was able to come for 2 weeks, Jennie and Gannon for 5 days, Matt for 3 days and Buzz and Daisy were here for Lola's arrival and we are lucky enough to get to spend more time with them this weekend. Thankful beyond words - here is a bit of what our family did to help. Most importantly loved on our two girls making each feel so special, also getting up with Lucy in the morning so Adam and I could try and catch a few more zzzz's, feeding Lucy breakfast, dishes were always clean, all our our laundry was always done...and put away, meals were cooked, Christmas decorations went up and also down with my families help, diaper changes, bed time stories, going to the grocery store, taking us to doctor appointments, walks in the neighborhood, bathing Wrigley and walking him, vacuuming and sweeping the floors every day. I not only had great love and entertainment here, we had an army of workers. It is unreal what family will do for one another. I hope I am able to do the same for my sisters and parents. It was a magical month for so many reasons and I can't imagine not sharing it with my favorite people in the world. Not really sure if my family keeps up with my blog - I am going to pretend they do...so if so - Thank you, Thank you, Thank you - Dad, Mom, Buzz, Daisy, Bird, Matt, Gannon, Megs, Chris and Diddy - our family loves you, thanks you and want you to come back soon! I love you all so much!

Lucy 16mths and Lola 3 weeks

I kept thinking the girls didn't look that much alike - I was totally wrong. Here is a picture of both of them at 3 weeks. Lucy 3 weeks
Lola 3 weeks

It is so fun being a mom to Lucy and Lola. The girls are 15 months apart and it is incredible how much I have forgotten since Lucy was a newborn. I remember how to feed, change diapers, snuggle and all that fun stuff but I forget things like when do they hold their head up, when do babies begin to track objects, when do you get your first smile?

Lola is an amazing baby, she is so mellow and relaxed. Very rarely does she get upset and if so it is a quick fix -diaper or feeding. She loves to snuggle and sleeps best in someones arms. She loves her pacifier which is new to us because Lucy started sucking her thumb in my womb and never took a paci. Another difference in the girls is Lola has enjoyed bath time so far. Lola is doing really great holding her head up although it isn't for long periods of time she is doing great. She tracks objects every now and then too, she does this best after she wakes up. We have been so lucky to have a few really good nights Lola going 4.5 and 5.5 hours between feedings in the night, we have also had the 2.5 hours. We will take whatever I am happy she is feeding well and growing bigger and stronger. I really don't mind waking up with her in the night once she eats she falls quickly back to sleep. There have been many nights I have woken up with her laying on me in bed and we have both fallen asleep - this never happened with Lucy. I was terrified to have Lucy in our bed thinking I would smush her. I don't sleep sound when she is one me however this time just goes by so quickly I don't mind at all.

Lucy is 16 months and cracks us up all the time. She has such a silly personality and a wonderful imagination and they are both in full force. She loves saying "hi" and "bye" to people and blowing kisses. She pretends by giving us pretend objects to do things with. When she sees me chewing gum, she begins to chew too. This now is something she will do even if I am not chewing. I have tried to fish things out of her mouth plenty of times only to find out it was something pretend in her mouth that she is enjoying. Lucy has taken on the big sister roll so well, she helps with diaper changes and makes sure she gives Lola kisses every time she walks past her. She has a new shopping cart with food, we set up a pretend store in our house and she loves shopping and then handing us things. Lucy has also found excitement in taking off her diaper all by herself - EEKKK! We have caught her in her bed with her diaper off and her laughing. However it is coupled with her telling us when she goes to the bathroom. She will say "i pee peed" then take off her diaper. Adam and weren't expecting to introduce the potty so soon but what the heck. We have a potty chair up and downstairs and she proudly sits on both! We will see everything we read says kids can be interested young but doesn't mean they will go for it. We shall see.

Adam and I are so blessed by our girls. They are such a blessing and I can't imagine life without them. Parenting is a fun adventure that I love getting to experience with my best friend in the world.