8 Months Old

It's crazy to think Maclain is 8 months old.  I love that she is getting older and more aware of her surroundings.  She is such a sweet, laid back baby and we are so smitten with her.

At 8 months Maclain is:
-Sleeping at night from about 8:30-7:30ish
-Wearing 9 month clothes and some 12 month
-Taking 2 naps a day, usually a couple of hours each
-In size 4 diapers...it's those chubby thighs!!
-Taking 4 bottles a day...6 oz. each
-Traveling very well in the car now
-Starting to babble some
-Crawling everywhere and gaining speed
-Pulling up a little... getting stronger by the day
-Still going to pretty much anyone and does not seem to mind me leaving her at church or with a babysitter
-Getting her first tooth... the top of it is shining through
-Liking the water and loves to splash
-Not sure what to do with Cheerios yet... we will try puffs soon

She is such a joy and we don't know what we'd do without her!  We love you, sweet girl! :)

Potty Training Update

We have taken a major step backwards in potty training.  Saturday and Sunday were going alright, but then Monday morning Maddox woke up and started refusing to sit on the potty.  I am not one for forcing things (unless necessary) so we are taking a break for a while and will revisit the situation later.  I have gotten him to go a couple of times in the last couple of days, but for now it is just not worth it.  I am hoping that if we wait a little longer until he's older then he will be able to make the connection better about telling us before he has to go.  We shall see.  I don't know when it will happen, but I do know I won't let him go to Kindergarten not potty trained.  Other than that, I can't promise anything. ;)

Trousdell

We made our way over to Trousdell this morning.  I wish I could say it went perfectly, but that was not the case.  Whenever Maddox goes somewhere for the first time, it takes him a while to warm up.  He was stuck to my side most of the time and wanted me to hold him.  I told him he could walk or we could go home.  He chose going home, so we did.  Before the fiasco, though, I managed to get a couple of decent pictures.

Maddox and Isaac sharing a snack

Maclain had a blast and was so good!

Maclain and Blake

Venturing out a little

I was so lucky to have a couple of sweet friends there to help out with Maclain, which was so nice! It was the perfect set-up for toddlers and I loved that they had a 0 entry area for babies.   Maybe next time will go better??

I also discovered while we were there that Maclain has her first tooth coming in.  She was chewing on my friend Kristy's finger and she mentioned that she thought she felt a tooth.  Sure enough, she was right!  If you look closely, you can see it starting to come through.  Can't believe it's time for teeth already!

HOT!

We had to break out the baby pool today... it is HOT!  We had some time to kill in between lunch and naps and I felt like we had already played with every toy in the house at least once.  We just needed to get outside, so we did.  Our baby pool is really only big enough for one person, but we made it work.  It was Maclain's first time in it, and for the most part she liked it.  Every now and then she would try and crawl out to sit in my lap.  I think we are going to attempt the aquatics center tomorrow, but I have not taken them both to a big pool by myself yet so I am kinda nervous about it.  We are meeting friends, though, so there will be extra hands nearby!

Potty Training Day 2

Today was day 2 in potty training world... overall it went pretty well.  Maddox only had 3 accidents, but since we had church today and he also took a long nap, he didn't have a full day in underwear.  He is terrified of big potties, so we opted for a diaper for church.  I still have not figured out how we are going to manage going in public when he won't sit on a big potty, but I am sure we'll figure it out eventually.  I may try taking our potty with us in the car and have him sit on it before we go in a store on our errands this week.  I really don't want to have an accident in public, but I really don't want to spend the entire week at home either.  Being at home all weekend has been long enough!  :)


*New Post Below!

Choo Choo!!

We met my mom and grandmother on Friday for lunch and went to a park.  They have a train that takes you on a 20 minute ride and Maddox was so excited to go!  When we went at the beginning of the year the train was not running, so we were so excited that it was this time.  Maclain was so much more aware of everything this time, too, which always makes it more fun!

Potty Training Day 1

Today was the beginning of potty training for Maddox.  We were a little on the fence about whether to go ahead and do it, but ended up deciding to give it a shot. We bought big boy underwear, stocked up on m&m's, and started talking to him about how to use the potty.  He seemed pretty eager to try it.  We put him in underwear first thing this morning.  I was really nervous about how it would go, but he actually had a great first day.  He had several accidents, but by the end of the day he had gone in the potty more than he hadn't.  When we first started it would take him a really long time to actually go, but by the end of today he was able to go " on cue".  We did a little sticker chart, too, and he really liked putting his stickers up there once he finished.  Hopefully he will continue to do well... we are so proud of him! 

Here's to hoping his success continues!! :)

Splish Splash

We took Maddox and Maclain to the pool late yesterday evening.  Maddox was a little fish and is getting braver by the day.  Maclain was content to be held in the pool and didn't really show much emotion one way or the other.  At one point she even put her head down on my shoulder and almost went to sleep.  We had a great time!

*Vacation Bible School post below!

Vacation Bible School

This past weekend our church had its annual Vacation Bible School.  It was done super-Saturday style, which we had never experienced before.  I taught the 2-3 year old class and boy were we exhausted at the end of the day!  Maddox was finally old enough to get something out of it and he did great.  I was worried about how he would do since I was teaching his class, but I was pleasantly surprised.  He loved it.  We had a great day and slept great that night!!

Heat Break

The temperature was down in the 80's yesterday... so we decided to take advantage and head to our neighborood park after naps.  The park was nice and shady and there was actually a nice breeze.  I can't wait to go back more often once Fall gets here.  Maddox is getting a lot more independent in what he can do, and Maclain is getting to an age where she can atually do a couple of things, too (mainly just swing... but she loves it).  We had a great afternoon and Daddy even came and met us when he got off work.  It was a great afternoon!

Love

I love these two with all my heart...

Sewing Orders

I have been staying very busy lately with sewing orders.  There is someone I know from back home that I have been sewing for and she wanted me to make some outfits for her 3 year old son, Eli.  Sometimes it is so hard to find cute things for little boys so I have been happy to help her out!  Here are some of the outfits I have done so far...

4th of July

Yesterday we loaded up the kids and drove to Alligator Point for the day.  I have to be honest, it sounded a lot better in my brain than how it actually played out.  Taking 2 young children to the beach is a process by itself, not to mention we had to park a good ways away from the beach and haul everything down there.  The "beach" was not anything like what we were used to.  It was dirty (probably because of recent storms) and there were no waves, which meant no breeze.  After being there a short time, we noticed a huge storm cloud coming our way so we decided to head on back.  All things considered, we still managed to have a good time hanging out as a family and we look forward to going back (to a different beach) soon. :)

We came home, let the kids nap while Daniel and I caught up on some Netflix, and then went out to eat...