Potty Training and Other Updates

I just realized why I haven't written a blog in forever. Every time I start to write a blog about something Anna has done, or something that's "new" with Anna, I find myself searching through my old posts for similar stories from when Adele was her age. Then, when I can't find the stories I want, I go rummaging through iPhoto in search of the pictures I'm thinking of...which always takes forever, because I have a lot of pictures in there! In the process of finding the one picture that I was originally looking for, I always end up with about ten more pictures that are of Adele doing something two years ago that Anna did this week...you know how it goes.

So...in lieu of a blog about Anna's potty training (Going great!), and stories from our trip to LaPorte last weekend (also great-plus, we had Cousin James tag along), here are a few "sets" of pictures that show just how big our Anna is getting...and just how HUGE Adele must be, since I still think of her as the size she is in these pictures!

So...here are the pictures I was looking for:







Because these are the ones I took last weekend:



No, there's no picture of Anna with Chuck E. Cheese, but then again, I haven't finished my blog from Florida, so you don't yet know that Anna is terrified of "characters" now, do you?

Oh, and the big one? Here she is riding the same ride, two and a half years later (the "younger" pictures were taken when she was about 18 months old):





But here's my dilemma, see, while I was starting to write this post (which originally went into more detail about the potty training), I thought of this blog post from a few years ago. And, the reason I thought of that post was because this is what my Anna did the other day:

(I can't show any more because she was completely naked....Like Adele, she prefers to run around naked whenever possible!)

In case you didn't click on the link to my previous post, here are the pictures I was reminded of as soon as Anna got herself into that pot...


Yes, that's exactly the same pot, and no, I had absolutely nothing to do with the girls standing in the pots. They did that all on their own. It doesn't matter that Adele has a play kitchen in her room, or that they both got new kitchen "playthings" for Christmas...they want the real deal!

And, of course, pictures of the "Big sister" mimicking her "baby sister" (as Adele loves to call Anna):



So, here it is, over an hour later, and I haven't really told you about our trip to LaPorte, or Anna's bladder of steel (she stayed dry on the way to and from LaPorte-with only two bathroom breaks each way), or her potty training successes (no accidents at all for Aunt Laura!)...but, I did get some new pictures up...kind of, at least.

FOUR!!

Somehow, this morning, I woke up as the mommy of a four-year-old. I have no idea how that happened. Time sure flies!

Happy Birthday, Miss Adele!

Cuteness

Then and Now

Just for fun. When some of my "favorites" of Adele's old outfits come out of storage, I love going back and looking at pictures of Adele in them...

Then there are other times when Anna acts so much like her big sister that I just can't help but open up iPhoto and start going through pictures again...

Right now, it seems that those times have collided and I just can't stop looking at pictures of my two cuties! Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

The Baby Who Cried Poop

(Alternately titled: Mommy Needs a New Nose for Christmas)

We have had a few whirlwind weeks. Anna has switched babysitters, she is teething, and she has an ear infection. All of this means one thing: Fussy, Not-very-fond-of sleeping-through-the-night Baby!

Daddy was out of town last night, and by some miracle Anna actually slept. all. night. long. We woke up, went for a 4 mile run, headed down to my school for the annual pancake breakfast, garage sale, Veterans' Day program and book fair. I was planning on taking the girls swimming, but the weather was so great, we went to Holliday park instead. The girls had an absolute blast!

We got home in time for lunch and Anna's nap, which she took without a fuss.

Memaw arrived just before Anna woke up. Since Daddy wasn't planning on being home for dinner, we decided to head to Kohl's to pick up a new pair of "footie" pajamas and then to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. Just before we left, Anna pooped. I remember that I was glad that I wouldn't have to worry about poop on our little shopping trip.

At Kohl's, Anna pointed to her diaper and said, "poop". I didn't think anything of it because that's what she always says. Looking back, however, she also started to take her clothes off in the middle of the store. That was a bit odd, but not at all unlike her sister.

We got to Ruby Tuesday shortly after 5:30. I was a bit shocked that they had a 20 minute wait, but figured that it was early enough that the girls could wait to eat. I was wrong. Anna's behavior was so atrocious (screaming, wiggling out of our arms/her seat/wherever we tried to put her, reaching for anything and everything) that Memaw and I decided that we had better leave. We asked to get our food to go, since we had already been to the salad bar, and waited some more. By the time our food came out, Anna had finally started snuggling me, and had calmed down a bit, but her sister had taken over for her and was bouncing off the walls.

The drive home seemed incredibly long. Adele decided to practice her growl. Anna thought that was hilarious and growled with her, in addition, there was singing and squealing and possibly even some shrieking. When we got inside, I put the girls at the table and tried to feed them. Anna ate a little bit of her food but wasn't very interested. I let her down and decide to get her into her pajamas. It was then that I felt her squishy, bloated diaper. When I changed her, it was clear that she had been poopy for quite some time. Quite. Some. Time. Oops.

No wonder Anna had been a royal pain in the butt-she had a royal mess on her butt! For our entire trip. Mommy of the year right here, folks.

The best part (and by best, I mean worst...) is that all morning on our little adventure, I was constantly checking to see if Anna had pooped, and when I changed her dirty diaper before we went shopping, I made a mental note to remember that it was a small poop in case she wasn't quite finished. I can't remember even thinking about her diaper after that moment, though. I didn't even bring the diaper bag in to Kohl's OR Ruby Tuesday's even though it was out in the car-I just plain didn't think I would need it.

Hello?

Dear Aunt Dee Dee,

Anna wants to apologize for hanging up on you. Twice.








Love,
Me

P.S. Happy 11-11-11!

Counting

Adele counted to 100 tonight. Sure, she has been counting the "cheating" way for weeks now (one, two, skip a few, 99, 100), but tonight she actually counted all the way to 100! I love that amazing little girl!