Category Archives: Hayden potty training

Jul 31 2008
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Hayden potty training, milestones, preslyn and ella 8 months

Bears don’t talk…Duh!!

Yesterday during Hayden’s “preschool at home” she was painting several masterpieces and I’m just talking to her and suddenly she asks….”Mom, where is Suzy?”

Now, Hayden has several favorite stuffed animals and baby dolls that she has named, but none of them are Suzy. So I asked her, “Who is Suzy?” and she replies, “My bear”. Well, let me just tell you about Bear. First of all, up until last year, Hayden had never had any one particular thing that she favored. She didn’t do pacifiers, didn’t have a favorite blanket or doll and didn’t ever suck her thumb or anything. So I figured we were good to go on that one and wouldn’t be the people that had just arrived on vacation, and suddenly realized that we had left the “favorite” at home.

So, then I leave to go to the hospital. Da da da dum…
On one of Hayden and BJ’s visits they walk in with Hayden holding this new cute little puppy stuffed animal. She has named him Spot Puppy. (his gender has changed a few times, but I am pretty sure the majority of the time he has been a he) Aunt Lexi had given him to her. So “Spot Puppy” became the favorite. I say that he filled a void that was missing in her life (ME) and came at just the right time. We couldn’t go anywhere without him and she couldn’t sleep unless she had him. Then at Christmas, Aunt Lexi and Uncle Sean gave her a bear. I figured that with all the stuffed animals she had accumulated that really she wouldn’t pay any attention to him, and of course with Spot Puppy, there was no replacement. But Hayden opened up her big heart and accepted him as favorite #2. So now, it was always, “where’s my Spot Puppy and Bear??” Even worse, now we have TWO things to constantly take with us and keep up with. (THANKS LEX) 🙂 Well for whatever reason, (probably because he is so worn and been washed about 100 times) Spot Puppy has dwindled to just stuffed animal status and bear has taken over top favorite.

ANYWAY, back to the original story, Bear has always been called Bear and has always been a boy. I’ve asked Hayden several times and its always been a boy. So yesterday I was a little surprised when she said Bear was a she named Suzy. So I asked her, “how do you know that bear is girl?? I thought he was a boy?” and Hayden looks at me, ROLLS HER EYES, and says in an exasperated voice, “Mom, Bear can’t open his mouth and tell me things.” Since when do two year olds roll their eyes??????

On to the rest of our life….Preslyn, Ella and Hayden are all cutting teeth. Joy of all joys!!! Hayden is getting her last two year molar, (Sing Hallelujah!) and Preslyn cut her top left front tooth on Monday and Ella just cut hers today. Also, Ella pulled up on her crib yesterday so I had to lower her mattress down last night. Ella has been relatively normal with teething, just sleeping more during the day, but Preslyn has been having a rough time. She rarely takes a nap and she has been taking 5 hour naps during the day. Which is nice, but I can tell it is taking a toll on her. They are both pulling up on everything but are so wobbly when they get up and always fall and bump something.

Hayden has not had an accident since Monday and has started waking up and going straight to the potty by herself before coming and waking me up. Today she was calling to me that she had gone poop. Not the funnest thing to wake up to but hey, I’m excited that she is officially out of diapers!!!! That is going to be a wonderful savings of money 🙂 She has gotten down how to write “H’s” and is now working on “A” …she knows they come in sequence and is doing really well. She is growing up so much lately and really amazes me daily. She is so excited about her upcoming months. She is going on an airplane two times. We don’t really fly too often and usually when we do, Hayden isn’t with us. So this is her first flight that she remembers. Then we are taking her to Veggie Tales Live, which she is thrilled about and then its her birthday. She also is going to be in two weddings, one in August and one September. So we have lots of fun things going on.

Lastly…Misti our nanny is no longer working with us, but the girls and I have enjoyed her company these last five months. We couldn’t have done it without you!! Ella is in her lap in this picture. I always forget to label and then have people ask me which is which. So sorry 🙂 Anyway, we love you Misti and wish you a wonderful marriage!

Jun 03 2008
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Hayden potty training, Lindsey, milestone, teething, Wedding

Milestones to record

I have been so busy lately that I haven’t had a chance to record the things my kiddos have been doing….First, Ella got her first tooth, the lower right front one on May 24. It is so sharp!!! Both of the babies have been reaching up for you to pick them up…I LOVE THAT. I think its my second favorite thing, aside from when they start calling me Mamma. Hayden has been out of school now for one week so, the plan was to really buckle down on potty training since she would be here every day. She has done so good and has FINALLY started pooping on the potty. During the last year of potty training “awareness” she has gone pee zillions of times on the potty, but would never go poop. So finally I made her sit there until she went. She read and sang…and finally called out, “Mommy I did a Taco!” Don’t ask me why she calls her poop that, but for whatever reason, I could care less, I was just so excited that she finally actually went! So her big reward for going was she could have gum. She always begs for gum, but we never let her have any. So I decided a while back that I would reward her for going poop with gum. So a gum chewer she now is 🙂 She has had about 4 accidents in a week, but that is not bad considering! We are on our way to one child out of diapers!! WHooHOO!!!

I also one of my close friends got married on the 24th. Lindsey and Brian were wed in a fabulous ceremony that I was so happy to be a part of. Your happiness and love brought tears to my eyes. I wish you so much happiness and adventure in your lives! They are headed to Africa for at least a year to help run an orphanage that Brian’s cousin runs. Pray for their safety and for them to have lots of wonderful stories to tell when they return! I’m so sad because Lindsey is my in home hair stylist…it is so wonderful to just call her up and she comes to my house and I don’t have to leave all of my kiddos or take them all with me. Good thing I’m growing my hair out! 🙂

Feb 26 2008
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Hayden 2 years, Hayden funny sayings, Hayden potty training

Potty Talk

Today during one of our many drawn out potty episodes, Hayden is sitting there NOT going to the restroom and finally I decide we have “tried” long enough and will try again later. So I tell Hayden I’m going to count to ten and then she has to get down. So I start…1….2…3….SHRIEKS AND WAILS from Hayden “NOOOOO MOMMYYYY, don’t say four and five…don’t say FOUR AND FIVE” !!!!!!!!!!”

Nov 14 2007
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Hayden potty training, NICU

Happy 1 week birthday my babies!!!

Kangaroo Care

Last night BJ and I made the journey to see our girlies and did our first night of Kangaroo Care. Oh was it heavenly. BJ had to drag me out of that NICU. I held Preslyn and BJ held Ella and we just loved on each other and snuggled for over an hour. Both girls stats were so good while we were holding them, and a couple of times, they mellowed out so well that their heart rates dropped. Not anything scary, they just got so relaxed. I loved having her little warm body next to mine and hearing her little cry a couple of times and her little kitten noises. Oh I am in love 🙂

My little Preslyn
Changing Preslyn’s Diaper for the first time

The funny thing is their ears are so pliable right now and so when they lay on us for so long their ears get stuck down in weird positions and so we have to physically move them back to where they should be, well BJ didn’t realize that one of Ella’s ears was still squished down so that is why her ear looks smashed 🙂


Then we came home and big sister went peepee on the big potty !!!!! She was so excited and so were we!!! We are in full steam ahead potty training as of this weekend. I am going to get some training pants and we are good to go. Pray that it happens quickly and easily. I’d love to have it done by the time the girls come home. Two babies and a potty trained toddler are what I want for Christmas this year 🙂

So we went to bed and about 1a.m. my phone rings, and my heart starts racing. Its an unknown number which means its the NICU and I am starting to panic, I answer the phone and the first words out of the nurse’s mouth are “don’t worry, your babies are fine.” insert huge SIGH OF RELIEF here. They were calling to let me know that my babies were both on their way to the level 2 nursery to feed and grow 🙂 whahhooooo!!! They are still in isolettes and will be until they reach 4lbs. 6oz. but now they are on manual isolette settings which means they are letting the babies try to regulate their temperatures now on their own, which also means, they can wear clothes!!! Yeah!!! So I’m going to take some things up for them tomorrow when we go so they can look even cuter than they already are.

They are both eating like crazy and constantly upping their feedings so much that they ran out of my milk yesterday! SHEESH! I had pumped a ton so that amazed me. So pray that I can keep up with their little hungry bellies. The good thing is pumping is going great this time around. With Hayden it was so stressful and I just gave up to easily because I didn’t have a lactation lady like I did this time. Now it is so much easier and I feel confident that I can do it this time. Plus I have an awesome pump (THANK YOU HOLLY) that makes it so much better!