conquering the automatic flusher

So today's big event was Eliška going potty at Target, yay!! She has finally overcome her fear of store toilets that have an automatic flusher. Can I tell you how much I hate those things! They keep flushing while she's going potty & scaring her to death, she has been so terrified of them until now.

farewell to naps

I can't get Eliška to take naps anymore. I guess it's normal, she is almost 3 and a half. She's pretty good though, I'll let her pick out a movie so that I can still get some things done. When did your kids stop napping?

finally!

As some of you know, Emma is teeny tiny. At 19 months she's finally able to graduate from an infant car seat! I was getting so tired of it, we've been really trying to fatten her up since she dropped off the weight curve, she's finally 20 pounds now. I don't know why my kids are so skinny, I wish they had more baby fat, it's so cute! She was very proud to sit in her new seat.

terrible twos

My kids start displaying "terrible twos" behavior from age 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 (at least that's how it was with Eliska). Emma has definitely started this phase & I am having to baby proof (toddler proof really) everything all over again. She is climbing on the not-so-sturdy bar stools, the kitchen table, dumping out the napkins, salt & pepper. She has been having so many tantrums (mostly over candy). Today I told her she could have a candy if she ate her fruit, she sat there screaming her guts out. Finally I gave in & as soon as I gave it to her, she just held it in her hand & finished the fruit. Only after she was done did she eat the candy!

here's the outfit she picked out today

her latest wall art (dragging a piece of chalk while walking up the stairs)

at least I know it's only a phase!

aspiring potty-trainer

I have been catching Emma putting on Eliška's underwear lately. Thankfully Eliška is finally (dare I say it) potty-trained!! I thought it would never happen. I have started & stopped so many times. I think this it, it's finally sticking. Thank goodness, it was starting to get really embarrassing! Definitely one of the hardest things I've ever had to do as a mother.

I can't believe...

I have a kid in Primary!! Time flies, eh? Emma officially started nursery today too. My kids are growing up too fast! It was nice having church @ 9 am today, now we can go home for nap time, yay! We also now have the younger nursery class. Let me tell you, they are sweet little angels compared to the older group! Not a single fight to break up or anything.my little sunbeam & nursery baby!

my little gymnast

Eliška started her new gymnastics class with the 3 & 4 year olds. I'm so glad the mom & tot class is over, now I can just sit & watch her. She loves hanging out with the older girls now instead of the babies. Now she gets to do the little yearly shows & stuff. We got her a real leotard & warm-up outfit for the occasion.

first word

Emma is so funny. She gets on this chair & says, "sit" over & over again. If we tell her to sit down, she'll go over to this chair & sit on it. Such a smart girl! It's her first word besides ma ma & da da.

Potty Training: Day 3

Well I almost gave up yesterday after 4 accidents before 10 am! But, I got a renewal of patience and today has been better (only 2 accidents so far). Luckily they were all on the tile, so easy clean up. Potty-training is hard work! I know most of you have successfully potty-trained your kids, please help me, I need advice! How long does it take? I was secretly hoping it would be 1 day or maybe a week. Please tell me it gets better! We've been watching, "Elmo's Potty Time" which has helped her remember. Any other good videos or books you know of? Well, I am not giving up with this. Hopefully she will be trained by her Birthday next month, we'll see.

Emma's Walking Debut

Sticker Chart

We have been trying out a sticker chart with Eliška, it seems to be working pretty well. Some of the categories are: being a good sister, sharing, listening to mom & dad, & picking up her toys. When she reaches a certain amount of stickers, she gets a little prize from the dollar store. I just got so tired of having toys everywhere & breaking up fights between the girls. They had these charts & stickers @ Target for $1. She'll do almost anything to get a sticker.

Emma's Walking!

Emma has been taking 1 or 2 steps by herself for a couple of weeks now. Last night she took quite a few steps across the room, several times. She hasn't really done much today, but I think she'll be getting around pretty well here in the next few weeks. It's funny because my mom called right before, asking if Emma was walking yet. We have yet to catch it on video, she never wants to do it when we get the camera out. I will post a clip whenever I finally get it. Below are a few pictures of some of her accomplishments. She can now ride the little car & her favorite thing is to sit on the bottom step of the stairs, it's like her little secret spot (so cute).

bittersweet

Well, I haven't nursed Emma since Sunday. It was an unexpected & abrupt stop, but she started refusing me & getting really upset every time I tried nursing her. She just likes me to rock her now before naps (which have now gone down to 1X a day) & bedtime. I thought I would be so happy, but I'm kind of sad. I thought it would take longer. I kind of miss that closeness. I feel really out of place right now because I've been nursing or pregnant for almost 4 years now. On Sunday, I was able to fast for the first time in forever! It was good. I'm still kind of in shock that I have my body to myself. It is very weird! However, I know that I desperately need some time before I'm ready for baby #3. Dan & I are looking forward to our first ever trip alone together (since starting our family) sometime next Spring. The kids will finally be old enough to be left with their grandparents. We are thinking Eastern Europe where Dan served his mission or Disney World. I'm not sure if I want to go to another country the first time I leave the kids, we'll see though. Anyway, it is nice that Dan was able to put Em to bed tonight & I guess I can take off this pony tail holder on my wrist that I was using to remember which side to nurse on! Next feat: potty-training Elli. I know it's time.

Weaning Emma

My mom keeps asking if I'm still nursing. So this is for you, mom (plus I wanted to post this cute picture of Emma)! I stopped feeding Emma at night because thankfully she has consistently been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now. I'm so happy, I forgot how nice it is to sleep a full uninterrupted 8 hours! So, I now am down to twice a day, which is a huge improvement. I kind of stopped with the whole milk, so I need to try more with that. Eventually I will just phase out each feeding (hopefully replacing it with whole milk). It's been hard getting Emma to become more independent. I think when she starts walking, she will want to be on her own more.

Emma's Sleeping!!!

Yes, that definitely deserves 3 exclamation marks. It has been a week since I started sleep training Emma and she is now sleeping through the night! It's wonderful, I'm starting to return to a full functioning person. It actually took less than a week. Some nights she will still wake up between 3 and 5 am, but she just cries a little and then goes right back to sleep. I really should have done this earlier, I just felt bad for her teething pain. Dan put a black sheet over her window too, so that helps her sleep longer. Anyway, life is good! (By the way, this picture is actually Eliška)

My Little Crawler

She'll be comin' around the mountain when she comes!
Who me?

Eliška at Gymnastics

What's New With Eliška

I can't believe that my little baby is two now! I know it's such a cliche, but she's just growing up so fast! She started gymnastics late August and just loves it. It's really fun for me to watch her, since I did gymnastics when I was growing up. She loves to swing on the bars, do forward rolls all over the house, and jump off of everything. She is very social, spunky, and full of energy. She definitely has her "terrible two's" type of days every once in a while, but I just love her to pieces! She makes me laugh every single day. She loves to play CD's in her CD player, grab my hand and shout, "Let's Dance, Let's Dance!" She has some of the funniest little dance moves. She also loves to color. At first it was just scribbling all over the page, but now she actually stays in the general vicinity of each picture, which I find impressive. She loves to run around singing, "La, la, la!" and "Doo, doo, doo!" She loves being a big sister to Emma. I'm surprised that they already find ways to play and make each other laugh, I'm glad that they are so close in age now. Her vocabulary grows by the minute, she loves to point to everything and say it's name. She loves Winnie the Pooh, Nemo, Sesame Street, Elmo, and everything on Playhouse Disney. She loves to play games online and type on the keyboard. She is quite picky, but she does enjoy cheese-its pretzal mix, mashed potatoes, and fruit snacks. She also loves to play house with her little kitchen that she got for Christmas.

Highlights of 2006

Dan & I saw a bunch of plays for my theater class. Some favorites were Aida, Crazy for You, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Much Ado About Nothing.







Eliška's favorite Birthday present was the balloons!











Our trip to Disney World in December












Eliška got a play kitchen for Christmas









Daddy's Biggest Fan









Emma's Baby Blessing











Emma's Birth









Eliška's first trip to the zoo








Eliška became a big sister













Look what the Easter Bunny brought










Dan built our first vegetable garden in our backyard










A bunny & a witch for Halloween










Eliška's first tea party, a big moment in every little girl's life!










Eliška trying to steal Christmas ornaments










This was the first "theme" cake I ever decorated. I watched Martha Stewart make it on her show. It was fun to make and I was glad it turned out alright. Eliška loves monkeys.