What was your excitement last night?

We made a huge step last night and I'm just so excited for my little girl!! She pooped in the potty!! This is the second time she has done this. The first time she was a little over a year old and I'm not really sure she understood what she was doing.....but I know she did last night!

We were laying in bed cuddling and she had that look...you know the one. So I asked her if she was pooping...she said yeah. So I asked if she wanted to poo on the potty and she said she did. We sat in the bathroom for awhile and she played with a toy and read a magazine. Then she stood up and said she was all done! We hung up her potty chart, said good-bye to the poo, washed hands and put up a sticker.

It was very exciting! Jaelynn is almost 20 months old and some would say that is too soon to start potty training. I don't think it is something you can put an age on. Jaelynn shows a lot of interest in using the potty so if that continues we will be there to teach her!

So....what was your excitement last night?

An Equation

What I really want to blog about is what I did over the weekend. I really want to write about the wonderful time I had Saturday night playing Phase 10 with the ladies while the guys played poker. I really want to write about my new haircut....which is sassy, sexy and fun. I'd love to post some cute new pictures of the princess. Instead I get to blog about this....

Take 1 1/2 teaspoons of prednisone 1 to 2 times per day plus 1/2 teaspoon omnicef 2 times per day plus breathing treatments. That equals one sick little toddler with croup and ear infection. Now take that sick toddler and multiply her by a few rough nights and you will get 2 tired parents hoping this clears up soon!

We are plugging through a sea of snot, watery eyes and fever. The good news is we got started on all the meds last night and the prednisone should help Jaelynn's appetite come back. The bad news is that the meds make her sick to her stomach.....I got thrown up on last night....it was really gross.

Jaelynn will be out of daycare until at least Thursday...if she improves greatly today she will go back tomorrow. I'm at work today and Kevin is taking care of the sick toddler on steroids. I'll expect at least 3 phone calls.....Hope your week is starting out better then mine....

Working Mommy Guilt

I know that I've blogged about this before but it is a very real problem that I deal with on a daily basis. I thought that as Jaelynn got older dropping her off at daycare would get easier. I was so wrong. Every day is a struggle for me. I know that she is being well taken care of, that isn't the problem at all. We have been blessed with a wonderful daycare provider that adores Jaelynn and is just a few blocks from where I work.

Jaelynn is happy at daycare. She talks about her friends all the time. We sing songs at home and she can show me everything she is learning. Just the other night we were getting ready for bed and I started singing Twinkle Twinkle to her and she joined right in...my little girl knew the words!! Monica also has taught Jaelynn some sign language that has come in handy. We don't use it very often because Jaelynn's verbal skills are very advanced but it is still cute to see her sign things.

The problem is me. I'm at work but my heart is still standing in the door hugging my little girl and missing out on teaching her. I'm missing out on cuddles and kisses and tantrums. Kevin and I both knew that we would both have to work when we started our family. I was really really okay with it. I knew that I would enjoy motherhood and that I would miss our children but I also figured that working would give me a much needed break. I had no idea that being a mom would complete me the way it has and that I would miss her so damn much!

When I walked in to pick up my little princess last night, this is the face that ran to me! Isn't her hair cute!! You can't really tell in the picture but Monica did a beauty day yesterday and curled all the little girls' hair. Jaelynn's didn't stay in the best because it is so fine, but you could see a little curl.

My goal has become to find a way to stay home with our daughter and any future children we may have. I'm working on some things that I'll keep quiet for now but just know that one day soon I'll get to be with my baby all day! And that my friends will be a great accomplishment.

Dare I try again??

Oh my...do I even attempt to blog again after more then 6 months? I can't even put into words everything that has happened in the last 6 months so I'll try to sum it up the best I can!!

The rest of our summer was wonderful. Jaelynn turned 1 and we had a wonderful party for her! I'm still in shock most days that we have a toddler but she is the absolute joy of our lives and I can't imagine what it would be like without her!

Shortly after Jaelynn's first birthday she started to crawl...finally! Crawling brought a new level of business to our family. If only I had known what was coming!

Summer continued on and we enjoyed the outdoors and spending time with family and friends. Jaelynn experienced her first Iowa State Fair in August. She had so much fun and was such a good girl! Although I love the llamas I don't think she shared the same enthusiasm.

In September we celebrated Kevin's birthday and started to prepare for the fall. I also had to have some testing done on my heart. I was having some odd symptoms and we just wanted to make sure everything was in good running order. I got a clean bill of health and an eye opener.

Kevin started a men's softball team in early fall and this became a new family passion. He plays on a league in the city and loves it. Jaelynn and I went to a few games but they are pretty late at night and it was starting to get cool when the season started.

As fall approached we started to prepare ourselves for winter and the busy holiday season. Wow....was it ever busy. In the midst of all this our little girl grew up even more. On October 7, 2008 Jaelynn took her first steps...and never looked back!

I joined Weight Watchers in early October, just in time for the holidays and just after receiving that much needed clean bill of health. Kevin and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary and committed to each other to change the way we live to be healthier for our daughter.

Mom and I took Jaelynn to the Covered Bridge Festival where we discovered that chocolate dipped pumpkin cheesecake is the best cure for a teething baby. We also visited the Red Rooster Barn for our first family trip to the pumpkin patch. It was cold and muddy and so much fun! Jaelynn didn't care much for carving but she like the finished product and eating the pumpkin seeds. I decided to be Martha Stewart and make Jaelynn's Halloween costume.....not bad for my first attempt! Jaelynn loved Beggars Night and Kevin enjoyed most of the candy. I was already gun ho for WW so I did my best to steer clear of the goodies.

We also decided to suck it up and take the princess in for her first hair cut. Does it count as a cut when you just do the bangs? Either way...another picture for the scrapbook...

November brought the onset of colder weather, cold season, football season and Thanksgiving! Daddy and Jaelynn are die hard Hawk fans....and I'm getting there. We spent Thanksgiving this year with my parents and family and then on Thanksgiving weekend we had another with Kev's family. My uncle, aunt and their family got to meet Jaelynn for the first time. She is such a little ham around a big crowd of people!

December was of course more cold weather, more snow, more colds and of course Christmas. We took Jaelynn out sledding around our yard for the first time and she topped the tree with our star...with Daddy's help of course. We only had to gently remind her a couple of times a day to leave the tree alone! This is the second year that we have visited Santa and the second year that she didn't scream her head off! It was nearly impossible for me to get a picture for the Christmas card this year but about 2 weeks before d-day I did! Of course I managed to get the perfect family picture on Christmas Eve. We got to spend lots of time with Grandma Fields when she was here to visit for a few weeks. Jaelynn loves her nana!

Christmas was a big hit with the princess this year. I'm pretty sure she didn't completely understand everything that was going on but she loved getting new babies, new clothes, a kitchen, colors and about a million other things that we are still working on finding spots for.

We rang in the new year at home...in bed. What can I say...we are old! All three of us came down with the flu in January but thankfully we are all okay now. Ryley turned 2 and we prepared to say hello to Cooper and good bye to John.

In the course of the last 6 months Jaelynn has gone from saying a few words that we were able to understand to repeating just about everything we say. I'm able to have a conversation with her and it blows my mind. She is sassy and full of life and love and has no fear at all. She can test my patience and then turn around and give me a kiss and smile and make all my frustration melt away.

Have I missed anything in updating you? Yes I have...about a million little things I'm sure. I'll be working on some different post that highlight some of the most adorable and funny times over the last few weeks. Jaelynn is growing up so fast...I just want to bottle this time with and make her stop growing...just for a second. But if I did that I would never get to see what is waiting for us just around the corner. With our little family there is something new every day and our love for one another just keeps growing.

I'm a bad blog owner

It has been over a month since my last blog...please forgive me!! Life has been crazy busy with the onset of nicer weather. We've been spending time with family and friends, grilling, playing softball, taking long walks, swimming and lying under the trees with our princess. Also...I've been working hard to get Sweet Sentiments off the ground. I just got my first big order yesterday...150 candy bars!! I'm so excited! I've done about 5-6 small orders and things are going well. On to less boring topics...

In a few short weeks our little princess will be turning 1! I'm excited and sad all at the same time. I just can't believe how fast she has grown and what a little person she is! Jaelynn is a very spirited little girl...read...ornery....but we wouldn't have it any other way. Saturday marked her first attempt at pulling up and it was successful. Now she enjoys pulling up on most anything and standing and clapping. Another new development....attempts at crawling! She has been scooting on her bottom for about a month. I really need to get that on tape because she is just so funny. Sunday she got on all fours and started rocking back and forth and was able to move...just a little! And of course she is still chattering up a storm. New favorite phrases...No and what sounds like Mine. Also momma and dadda. It has been about 3 weeks now since we made the switch to whole milk and no bottle. She actually gave up the bottle without a fight. Just one more step to becoming a big girl!

I count my blessing every day for our little girl. Jaelynn is truly the light of my life. I tip toe into her room at night and stand by her crib and just watch her sleep. She is untouched by this world and I wish I could keep her this safe forever. As we begin thinking about expanding our family I look back and hope that I have remembered everything from Jaelynn's first year. I look at her now and can still feel her kicking me just days before giving birth. I watch her climb on her swing and remember how tiny she was when we first put her in there. When she falls asleep on Kevin I can still see the newborn that fit so nicely on his chest...now she sprawls halfway across his body. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to nurse and realize I didn't mind it that much. As she gets older I start to forget about the hours of crying and the sleepless nights. I forget how big I was the last few weeks I carried her. She is becoming my big girl.....she is almost officially a toddler......God help us all.......

The First of Many

When you become a mommy you get the joy of experiencing all of your child's "firsts". Most of these are a joyous and will bring a tear to your eye because your baby is growing up. As a mommy, I have realized that my days of being selfish are over and that everything I do now revolves around Jaelynn. However...one day a year....mom's can be selfish and not feel guilty. That wonderful day is Mother's Day!

My first Mother's Day was perfect! It actually started Saturday when Kevin, who is terrible about holding onto gifts, handed me a card from Jaelynn. Inside was the best gift...a 1 hour full body massage. This momma needs that!

Mother's Day dawned bright and early....6:30 am to be exact! But instead of dragging myself out of bed to change a diaper and fix a bottle, Kevin got up! He took care of Jaelynn and brought her back to bed and we all fell back asleep for a couple more hours. I got the pleasure of waking up to my daughter touching my face and smiling at me. After a quick bath, Jaelynn and I were sitting in her room chatting and Kevin came back upstairs...armed with coffee and toast for me! He told me to get back in bed and have my breakfast. Let me tell you...this man makes a mean cup of coffee!

So, our original plan was to go to the zoo. However, Iowa weather threw us another curve ball and it was too cool to go to the zoo. I was bummed out but not for long. My mom came up to spend the day with us and that always makes me happy. Mom, Jaelynn and I decided to head to Des Moines for lunch and a little light shopping. Another highlight of the day was purchasing a much needed new grill and having Kevin's family over for dinner.

All in all my first Mother's Day was perfect. I can't wait until Jaelynn is old enough to make me cards herself and bring me burnt toast in bed. I know that she didn't fully understand why Sunday was so special to me or why I kept tearing up but one day she will. However, Kevin did a wonderful job of filling in for her until she is older. He made me feel special all day! I'm already starting to plan Father's Day!

Isn't it fitting?

I didn't post last week because I just wasn't in a very good frame of mind. I was having a really hard time working last week and having to leave my baby at daycare. I just really wanted to stay home with her last week and it is no surprise that I feel the same way this week. I'm pursuing some avenues right now that will hopefully allow me to stay home by the end of the year. More about those things later.

What I really want to write about is how amazing God is! How He knows when there is something weighing heavy on my heart and sends me right where I need to be. Today it was in the form of scripture and devotion. Other days it is a kind word or a song.

I was reading my daily devotion (finally got my bible back!!) on my lunch break. Today was about the Impossible Dream. I read Mathew 1:14-25. In a nutshell this passage talks about the dream Joseph had where the Angle of God came to him and told him the child Mary was carrying was to be the child of God. Not to shame her but to marry her and raise the child as his own and to call him Jesus. The devotion talked about the turmoil Joseph must have felt about this. What would it be like to raise Jesus and would he always be faced with the whispers about Mary. Anyway....at one point the Angel said "Do not be afraid". You know what...I am afraid. That is one of the reasons I have just talked about starting a business and not doing it. I'm afraid that my desire to stay home is just that...my desire...not God's plan for me. I pray about it and ask God to open up doors for me but then I look away when a door opens because I don't know if God opened it or if I opened it. The bible also says with God all things are possible. If I'm really meant to do this and I believe then I will succeed. I do believe that God wants me to stay home. I believe that if He wanted me in the work place then He would take this desire away from me. So I just need to believe and pray that all of this will work out in the end.

Isn't it neat how sometimes the answers are right there?