Adventures in Potty Training

We have Sophia registered to start preschool 2 days a week starting in September, and the only requirement is that your child be potty trained. So in April, we decided to start giving potty training a serious try, and I have been so impressed with Sophia's progress.
She likes using the potty (especially since she gets an M&M as a reward) and she knows how to identify when she needs to use the potty, so at this point it's more a matter of will power. That means she'll go 3-4 days accident free (excluding naps and overnight), and then when we're out of our normal routine or she's feeling particularly defiant, she'll have 3-4 accidents in one morning alone.
Yesterday I made her sit on the toilet while we were out watching Grandpa's new band play, and she yelled and screamed at me that she didn't need to go. When I told her she'd get a lollipop if she used the potty, the protests instantly stopped and she started smiling just as I heard the tinkling begin. It's frustrating, but overall I'm proud of her progress.
The one area we are still really struggling with is pooping. Sophia only likes to poop in her crib, so first thing in the morning and right after her nap, we often find her with a dirty diaper. When I ask her where she's supposed to go poo-poo, she answers very matter-of-factly: "in my night-night." The few times we have been successful in getting her to go number 2 in the toilet, we had to make sure she had some privacy. I couldn't help but snap this picture of her, but I'm sure it didn't help our efforts any!

Since she won't be at preschool long enough to nap, I'm not too worried about it yet, but I'm expecting it to be a challenge to break her of the habit.

8 Months

My 8 month appointment was quick and boring, which is a good thing when it comes to doctors appointments. My blood pressure is great and I've gained 21lbs, which is right on target with my goal of 30 pounds. My belly is measuring right on with my due date, and the baby's heartbeat sounded great. It was actually a little hard to hear because she had the hiccups and kept squirming around!
Overall, I'm feeling pretty good. The sciatic pain I was experiencing is totally gone, but I'm still struggling with daily headaches, so my OB wants me to follow-up with my regular doctor. I'm also starting to develop heartburn, fatigue, swollen feet, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with pregnancy, but I know it'll all be over before I know it. My doctor gave me the paperwork to pre-register for the hospital and it made me a little nervous to think that the end of this pregnancy is coming up so quickly!
I had my first good run of contractions this week. They were coming every 3-5 minutes for a little over an hour. I had the same thing with Sophia, so this time I know the difference between Braxton Hicks contractions and the real deal. Even so, they're annoying and a little unnerving, so hopefully they'll be few and far between until this little girl is ready to arrive.
As I write this, it feels strange not to refer to this baby by her name, but I was holding off on making the official announcement until we could agree on the spelling. We did finally come to an agreement and.........Allyson Ellory is the newest addition to our family! We have already begun calling her Ally, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy to hear Sophia talk about "Bamy As-syn."

Movie Star

Lately one of Sophia's favorite pasttimes has been watching videos of herself, so in an attempt to divert a tantrum, I shot this short video yesterday. It actually turned out pretty cute and is a typical depiction of daily life with a 2 year old.

We've watched this video together at least 20 times since I shot it, and now Sophia likes to reenact the video while watching it. I'll have to get that on film next time!

Tot Chef

Sophia has been really interested in helping me cook lately, but the first time I agreed to it, I was cooking pancakes and she ended up burning her finger pretty badly on the pan. Since then, I've been trying to think of more kid friendly recipes that she could help with. My first thought was baking cookies, but she ran out of the kitchen in terror when I turned on the hand mixer, screaming "Oh my gosh! I scare me!" After I coaxed her back to help me, she ended up being more interested in eating the cookie dough rather than actually baking the cookies (I can't say I blame her!).

Tonight I thought I'd give it another try, so I bought the ingredients for personal pizzas. Sophia was really excited at the opportunity to cook again, so she immediately pulled up a chair. She did a great job putting the sauce and cheese on the pizzas.

She wasn't excited about putting olives on her pizza, but she kindly put some on my pizza.

Once the pizzas were ready to put in the oven, she watched them cook with total fascination.

The finished product actually turned out really good and we both ate a good portion of our pizzas. (Notice the Sophia-sized bite already taken out of hers!)

Our pizza night was such a great success, I'm thinking about making it a weekly tradition, although I may have to reconsider once I have some baby weight to lose!

Easter Pics

I know, I know.....these are really late, but as every good procrastinator knows, they're better late than never!

Painting Easter Eggs

Sophia's first Easter basket

Hangin' with Aunt "Tee-cee"

Showing off her Easter outfit

On the hunt for Easter eggs

7 Months

I had my 28 week OB appt today and my blood pressure and weight are great. My belly is measuring a little big at 30 weeks, but that was a relief since my last ultrasound showed the baby was a little small. I passed my glucose test with flying colors and my hemoglobin was normal. My sciatica and headaches have gotten worse, but unfortunately my doctor didn't have much advice. She offered to take me off of work early, but I declined at this point.

We talked in depth about what our plan of action would be if my placenta hadn't moved and she reassured me that the odds of hemorrhage were low. She felt that if I made it to term without bleeding, it'd be fine to wait until 39 weeks for the c-section. Since I was so nervous, she said I could go ahead and get my ultrasound today and see her back next month.

I'm soooo glad I got the ultrasound today because it showed the placenta had moved totally out of the way! Woohoo!! So no c-section and no more worries about bleeding and bedrest! Our little girl is now measuring within 3 days of her due date and weighs 2 1/2 pounds. The tech took some 3D pictures and it was amazing! It looks like Will is going to have another mini-me, but according to the tech, she already has a full head of hair, so maybe she'll at least get that from me!

This last one reminds me of someone else I know......


And here are some pics of my growing belly.



I hope the last 3 months of this pregnancy go by quickly and smoothly. We still have a lot to do to get ready for this little girl, but I'm getting anxious to hold her in my arms!

Pictures

We have quite a few cute pictures that are definitely worth sharing but haven't made the blog yet. Some are a little old, but we've also been trying out our new camera. Of course, the day the new camera arrived, I found our old camera in a small coin purse that I carry in my regular purse. We decided to go ahead and keep both cameras since we'll likely be doing a lot of the "divide and conquer" method once the baby arrives. Now we won't have to worry about missing any cute moments, we'll just have to argue over who gets the new camera and who gets stuck with the old one!

Looking cute in the backyard with Daddy

Showing off her playdough jewelry

Modeling one of the dresses Gramma made

Modeling another one of Gramma's dresses

An impromptu family portrait

Concentrating on a sidewalk chalk masterpiece

Getting tickled by Daddy

Playing dress-up in Mommy's shoes and ski hat

Showing off those big blues