Sometimes Being a Mom is Messy

Monday was a MOPS meeting for us. I look forward to my meetings, because it means adult interaction, good lessons, and a hot breakfast. But I also hate the getting ready for them. Sarah is such a slowpoke when it comes to eating (unfortunately the kids do not get hot breakfast just a snack) and putting clothes on. So I have to really stay on top of her and keep an eye on the clock. Generally I get my diaper bags and whatever else ready the night before to make the morning a little smoother.

But we were able to make it out the door and to the church on time. I dropped Sarah off in her room (sans tears this time) and headed upstairs to enjoy my meeting. By the way, loved the meeting! It was about honoring your marriage and building a better relationship with your spouse. I came away feeling like I had learned a lot. Anyway after the meeting I decided to let Sarah run around on the playground outside for a few minutes.

After about 10 minutes, Andrew had had enough and was ready to go. So we started heading to the car, only after saying "bye bye" to every piece of play equipment and then the playground as a whole. Gotta love the things a two year old can think up. Once we made it to the car I realized that Sarah's diaper was looking kinda saggy so I laid her down in the back of the car.

GROSS! Apparently her diaper hadn't been changed while she was in her class. (I know this because when I opened her bag to get a diaper there were still the same number in there.) Let's just say she probably should have been changed. Her diaper was FULL. Very wet and then very dirty too. Lucky for me I had extra clothes and a lot of wipes.

I'm trying to get her cleaned up and I realize that this mess isn't going to be easily contained. Her clothes were covered, so I stood her up and stripped her down. Now I have a naked, messy toddler and a dirty diaper in the back of my car.


SQUISH, yup Sarah stepped in the diaper. So I'm trying to get all this grossness off of her and keep her from walking around the back of the car and spreading it further. At about this point 3 cars drive by and see a naked toddler butt and a Mama struggling to get it all cleaned up. All I could think was awesome. (This whole time Andrew was chilling in the stroller chewing on a Elmo book.)

I have never been so thankful to have a whole bunch of random things in my car. (Sidenote: My car is always full of junk. There's generally a few jackets, cups, CD's, books, toys, extra clothes for the kids and at least one sock that has no mate.) I found a grocery sack for the diaper and a Tupperware container for the dirty clothes. SCORE! Now everything smelly could be sealed up until we got home. Sarah (and I) finally came clean with about 200 wipes and a small bottle of hand sanitizer.

So my lesson in all of this? Check your kid's diaper before letting them go on a slide, it will be better for everyone in the end.

Two Year Stats

Sarah had her two year well child check up last Monday and everything is perfect! (Cue Mommy bragging ...)

According to the doctor's scales, she is 25 pounds (28th percentile) and 33 inches (25 percentile). She's been right around the 25th percentile for a while now so it's good that things haven't slowed down and she's still growing at about the same rate. She may be small, but she's healthy. (Just for reference, I weighed Andrew on my parents' scale tonight and he was 20 pounds. Yup, someone's gonna surpass big sister soon...)

As far as developmental milestones, she's way ahead on a lot of things. (At least according to our handout from the pediatrician.) She's quite the talker, and really loves to jabber away at whoever will listen to her. Her vocabulary is growing daily and sometimes the things she says are absolutely HILARIOUS! (She called Andrew a "cute fatty" today! I cracked up at that!)

A few other things she can do

• build towers with her blocks that actually are stable enough to stand ... until she knocks them down like Godzilla on a rampage
• identify most colors although the word "orange" sounds a lot like ocean and "pink" is pronounced mink. 
• brush her teeth with help
• throw a ball overhand
• jump (in place or from one thing to another say the couch to the floor or a box to the couch)
• balance on one foot for a few seconds (this is new but entertaining)
• name numerous body parts (eyes, mouth, ears, cheeks, chin, arms, hands, fingers, hair, teeth, head, tummy, knees, elbows, feet, toes, legs, and tongue)
• say prayers - She starts of Dear God please bless whoever happens to be in the lineup and ends with a big AAAAmen.
• Potty training - it's begun for real now I think. We are using M&M's as rewards and she's been going at least once every other day. Small steps my friends.

 Her eating habits are getting a lot better, mainly because getting her to eat isn't such a struggle anymore. But I was reassured a bit when our doctor told us that eating one good meal every other day is totally normal for kids this age. As long as I offer her a good variety of things she'll work it out on her own. We're down to 2% milk for her instead of whole and she's still drinking 2 glasses of it a day. 

All in all, I feel very blessed to have a happy and healthy little girl. Soon it's time to transition to a big girl bed and lose the pacifier! But for now I'm going to enjoy we are.

Wordless Wednesday (Easter Snapshots)

Happy Easter

From our bunnies to yours!

Wordless Wednesday (More Party Pictures)

Go-Jus Girl 

Not afraid to get down and dirty in her party clothes 

Family shot

Happy 2 year old!

Happy Birthday Sarah!

It's finally here, Sarah's second birthday. And I made it through the day without having a panic attack. I think every mom has mixed feelings about watching their babies grow up. On one hand, I am so excited about all the adventures that lie ahead and the milestones we've yet to reach. On the other, I am sad about leaving baby-hood behind and more than a little nervous about the great unknown of our future. But I know that there's lots to love and lots to learn with this girl of mine. So bring it on.

Her second birthday was a happy day. We made it to the zoo without any major meltdowns from the kids. (Big accomplishment!) I was a little stressed about leaving later than I wanted, but relaxed once I saw Sarah's excitement over going to the zoo! She loved it, everything was new and interesting and oh so much fun. The animals caught her attention and the fact that we were out as a family doing something all about her was a big positive for her. And honestly, Ryan and I had a lot of fun too. (Despite the fact that the day turned out to be 90 degrees versus the 70 it was projected to be. Good thing I bought the sunblock last week.)  Here are a few pictures from the day.

So excited to be at the zoo, in the snake area.

This monkey was grooming his tail and he (along with every other monkey) was a huge hit with Sarah. 

Showing her some gibbons.

This elephant was literally inches away from us. He was picking things from the tree to eat. All of us were kind of enamored with him. It was fun to watch him find things to eat. And Sarah loved that "El-fit pick fwowers with his nose"

Andrew napping in the back of the double stroller

Daddy and Sarah eating some cookies with lunch

Yummy!

Watching animals with Daddy.

Snagging some water from Daddy.

We finished out the day with a cook out and Grammy and Papa's (my parents) house. My in-laws all came over and my siblings and nieces were there as well. It was really low key and mellow. Lots of laughing, eating,  and good times to be had.

All smiles this year when we sang "happy birthday". So different from last year.

Deep breath

Blowing out the candles

Enjoying those chocolate filled cupcakes!

like I've said probably a thousand times, it's so hard to believe that Sarah is actually two years old. I mean her life span is DOUBLE that of last year! Two years is in all reality such a short amount of time. But the impact of those two years has been tremendous. This precious little girl has gone from squalling newborn to rambunctious toddler! She's taught us so much and filled our hearts with love. I'm so grateful and blessed to have Sarah as my daughter. It's been challenging and crazy but full of joy to be her mom and guide her through life. So here's to another year baby girl. May it be better than the last and bring us untold fun, happiness, and adventure!

A word from the birthday girl herself!

So Long Two Under Two

Today was the last day of having two kids under two years old! I feel like surviving the "two under two" with most of my sanity in tact is a HUGE accomplishment. But to be honest, it was much easier than I anticipated. Yes there were bad days and even worse days, but those weren't nearly as frequent as the good days.

We celebrated in style this weekend. A big Belle birthday party for our girl yesterday. Complete with princess cake, yellow and pink color scheme, and TONS of balloons, paper lanterns, and pom poms.

Cake table

Cakes done by my friend Jamie!

 My wonderful mother in-law hosted the party at her house and went all out for my girl. She did the food (since the party was happening around lunch time) and the decorations. She did a fabulous job with everything and the party was a huge hit with the guests and of course Sarah!

Here she is in her sweet little Belle outfit that my mom managed to find the day before the party at Sam's. I thought it was gorgeous and it went with the party theme PERFECTLY! That skirt makes me so happy, pink lace and totally adorable.

And check out that crazy long ponytail. Turns out the best holder is a real hair tie from my stash and not any of those little cloth or rubber elastic things. And yep, that's a Belle bow. She had pigtails but her after party nap kind of ruined that.

We had a fun day at the park today. Just to celebrate our lazy afternoon and down time before our big day tomorrow. For her actual birthDAY celebration, we're taking a family trip to the zoo! Ryan took the day off work and everything. And our weather here is going to be cooperative. Now that Sarah can identify animals and the noises they make, I think this is going to be an awesome adventure for her and us. 

First time in a swing at the park! Love his sunglasses.

Big girl going down the slide.

Yummy.

Ryan and I got Sarah this water bottle for her birthday and she insists on taking it around with her everywhere. It was cracking me up at the park today.

My climber.

Tomorrow, there should be a post about how I can't believe I'm the mom of a two year old. But for now, I am off to get ready for bed!