Yesterday at some point, potty training with Ella began. We had been talking about this step for a while, but had not picked a date to really start the training. Somehow, it became yesterday. Ella has been letting us know she was ready for a while now. Little signs like telling us she went poo-poo or walking with her legs spread far far apart when she had a pee-full diaper.

So, yesterday we slipped on some big girl panties and let her know; today is the day you start to pee in the potty!

10 pair of big girl panties later I think we both were ready to throw in the towel! Then… what… PEE!!! She did it! SHE PEE PEED ON THE POTTY!! Mommy and Daddy got up screaming and dancing and making fools out of ourselves, and Ella just beamed with pride.

We are putting her in diapers at night still for a few reasons. Mainly, that is a huge step. I don’t want her to be upset with herself if she doesn’t make it through the night yet. She is doing amazingly now and I feel that making it through the night will come.

So, today. Today we started out in the morning. We decided today, rather then go through so many pairs of undies, we would leave her bottom half off for the better part of the day. I went to the store and got a “Pee Pee Prize Bag” that we are using in conjunction with m&m’s (or as Ella calls them, num in num’s!). Ella has gotten GREAT at saying “PEE PEE!! PEEPEE!!” as the pee starts coming out. Not so great at letting us know before hand though. haha.

The first part of the day was tough, she was going often and seemed to say she had to pee, have us take her to the potty and then tell us she was done, walk away and pee somewhere else. Then, it seemed to click a little. She missed the potty by only an inch or so, and ws rushing to get there, so we gave her the m&m. The next time she had to pee she walked up to the m&m area and said “num in num!!” and I asked if she had to potty, and we sat her down… she peed and again with the parental singing and dancing and yes of course, she got her num in num!

By the end of today, she is not going potty nearly as often. She seems to have a better idea of when its coming and letting us know (even if only moments) before it comes. I think it also helps that we are using the timer. It started out every 10-15 min and then by the end of the day it was 20. (though I hope she doesnt hold it too long out of fear or anything like that!!)

I am super proud of my little lady! She is not even two yet and she is SO smart, SO confident and such a great little girl! She tried new things (like this potty training) and gives in her all. I feel that she has let us know she is ready, but I also feel like there is SO much going on in her life too. If she decides that she wants to hold off on this, we will. I want to watch dn read her cues as best I can, supporting and giving her a push in the right direction when that is what she needs of me, as well as stepping back and hugging her and letting her take it at her own pace.

She is such an amazing person for so many reasons and I feel so blessed to be her mommy. <3 Oops. I might cry.

This was the first week of Bastion’s life, and what a wonderful week it has been!! Such a smooth transition so far from one kid to two. His older sister, Ella is FANTASTIC with him!! She is impressing me beyond words.

Bastion sleeps really well so far. He wakes about once a night, sometimes I even have to wake him! He is a little trooper!! Ella hugs and kisses him constantly, saying “bay-bay! bay-bay!!” She is enamored with him, and he is calm and soaks up all that big love!! He seems to be VERY laid back so far. He loves to eat, sleep and poop. What a great baby!

Bruce and I are adjusting as well. I have not figured out how to sleep as well as my little man yet. I am still used to getting up every few hours, hopefully soon I will get some good shut eye. Bruce is taking to being a father of two VERY well! He adores his little man, and loves watching his little lady discover the amazing gifts of being an older sister.

Bastion got his first bath this week too, SO CUTE!

I am so happy to have my little man in this world!! I am so happy that Ella is now a big sister!! I am so happy that Bruce and I are the proud parents of TWO children! I do miss being pregnant, it is really weird to have something so connected to you for 9 months suddenly outside of your body. Sometimes I forget that I am no longer pregnant, haha, that is always a little weird! What a whirl wind of emotions and experiences. I am so thankful for these moments, for this life and for this family. <3

The moments felt like they took forever, but the weeks felt like they FLEW by. 9.5 months after becoming pregnant, Bruce and I welcomed our first son into the world!!

Here is my last pregnancy picture, 39 weeks and 0 Days:

I cannot clearly explain how different this c-section was from my first one. Perhaps its because I am still only working off a few hours sleep, perhaps its the hormones, or perhaps its just that I know it will get lost between my thoughts and the words that get typed. Knowing what to expect made the experience a lot easier in many ways; I knew how sterile the room would feel, that the big blue sheet that would go up above me would make me feel claustrophobic and that I would not feel my body as they took my son out of it.

First, a huge difference was my doctor. She was beyond amazing. She was the one who held me while I got my spinal and helped to talk me through it. <3 I took deep breaths and focused on the prize!

Second, I felt an even stronger connection to Bruce then I ever had before. I am not quite sure why, but it felt to me as if he understood my pain in a way that he could not have the first time we did this.

Bruce was able to take both video and still images of Bastion’s entrance into the world, since this was something that I REALLY wanted to see, but that the doctors would not allow for. (I had been told that they could most likely bring in a mirror for me to watch, but then, when it came down to going to get the mirror, the answer was no. ) Well, Bruce made that dream of mine come true!

I heard his voice right away, the cutest and softest cry one could imagine! Both Bruce and I broke out in tears!! THAT IS OUR SON!! OUR SON! That little cry is what these last 9.5 months have been working towards… and here we were! The tears kept flowing and Bruce was able to cut the cord this time!! I think that is something very special that will live on in his memories forever.

As Bruce was with the nurses and pediatrician in the room, my doctors were stitching me up. I was told after surgery that it looked to the docs as if they were giving a c-section to my uterus for the first time! Props to my first docs for doing such a great job!! Bastion was clean a little before I was ready and stitched up, so Bruce went with him while I got all my bits sown back into place.

Once Bastion was taken to the recovery room he was weighed and measured. BIG BOY! (well, still smaller then both me and his father were at birth, but big nonetheless!)

8 Lbs 7.3 Ounces and 19.5 Inches tall!! No wonder I was all belly!

The three of us then spent about 2 hours in the recovery room waiting for the go-ahead to be moved to postpartum room. I was shocked that by the time they were moving us to our new room, I could move my legs!! I could wiggle my toes and bend my knees!! I was NOT able to do this my first c-section, and I cannot tell you how great it was to feel like I was getting my body back so quickly! Within 12 hours from the time of birth I was able to stand and get into a wheelchair (they were nice enough to move us from a room with no view to a room with a much prettier view!). Since then I have been consistently improving. I was able to eat solid foods the first night (thank goodness for that as we all know, I am an eater!!) and I was able to start walking about 6am the day after surgery! I love that all the nurses cheer me on and say how great I am doing! lol It’s like a sports game and I am winning!! lol

I am beyond pleased with how my birth experience was! I look at this little man and think about all that he has in store for him and it makes me SO happy. He has a loving father, an adoring mother and a big sister who will already move mountains for him! I want to thank him for giving me the experience of being a new mommy again and the experience of having a little boy!!

Tomorrow is my c-section! I get to see my little man’s face. I get to kiss his little eyes and nose, I get smell his little person and let him know that I will love him forever.

Tomorrow my life changes all over again. Tomorrow I go from “child” to “children.” I have loved being pregnant. I love watching my body grow and change. I love the connection I have with my son, knowing that I am all his home… I am everything he needs. Tomorrow there will be a whole new world for him, tomorrow I introduce my only daughter to her first little brother. Tomorrow I introduce my husband to his first son. Tomorrow I meet the little man of my dreams.

so I ask, HOW WILL I EVER SLEEP!!???

WOW! I cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy has FLOWN by! I am sure it helps that Ella has kept me busy the entire time and I only just stopped working this past week. The main reason I want to write this post is to remember how great it is to be pregnant. I am SO focused on having this little man. I cannot wait to hold him in my arms and squeeze him and smell his little head and kiss him over and over and over and over and OVER!! I cannot wait to see what his little face looks like, to see his little toes, the color of his eyes as the wobble around in his head. I can’t wait to see if he looks more like me or more like his daddy. I cannot wait for the midnight feedings and the sound of his little voice. I cannot wait to cut his little nails and put him in his little clothes. I cannot wait for Ella to see her little brother and hold him and kiss him. I cannot wait for her to finally realize why we have been pointing to my belly saying “brother” for so long! I cannot wait for her to be a big sister and to shine like only a big sister can.

Here I am about 2 weeks ago, 36 weeks along:

All of those “can’t waits” sometimes overshadow how much I love being pregnant. Of course there are things that make me uncomfortable, especially the fact that I feel at least TWICE my size and have to hobble around the house. lol But that is such a small price to pay.

I watched little Bastion move around in my belly last night, it was incredible!! Bruce has been coming into the bedroom at night and chatting with me, this is the time and Bastion is the MOST active. I love that Bruce gets to see just how much his little man moves! Sometimes I feel like Bastion is an interior decorator and has decided that my insides just are NOT organized correctly, and has taken it upon himself to help me put them in a different order!! I love how close I feel to my son right now. I love knowing that there is a person there. I love feeling so special. Oh you should see people’s faces when they ask how far along I am and I say “9 months.” Their jaws practically break the floor and they often reach a hand out, as if I will fall right into labor after saying that! haha.

I love knowing that I am making life. I love how I feel, I love that everything tastes so great, I love looking into the future so much more and having something to constantly day dream about. I cannot wait to meet my little man, but I also want him to know how much I loved being pregnant with him too. I have been SO blessed with both of my pregnancies!! Ella was seriously the easiest pregnancy on the face of this earth! She kicked me maybe once… and really was the most polite baby!! Bastion is much more active and I must say, its wonderful to have experienced both!

YAY! I had my 30 week doctor appointment today and I must say, it was WONDERFUL!! Ella did great, she was calm and collected in her stroller. Sometimes she wants more than anything to just break free lol. Today I brought a bag of fruit for her to much on and she sat quietly snacking away!

Then, the doc got ready to do the ultrasound so we could look at our little man!! I had brought the flip video camera just in case she did this! I wanted to be able to get a video for Bruce of the u/s, since he has not been able to go to doc visits with me this time around. We got a GREAT video too!! My doc (as I have said MANY times before) IS SO AWESOME!! She even explains where everything is at, so that you are not just looking at a grey blob of baby!! COOL!

in 59 days we will hold this little man! One day, when he gets married, that little heart that we can see in this ultrasound, that is inside me at this very moment, will skip a beat and be given to his true love. OH IT MAKES ME WANT TO CRY!! Again, I am SO grateful for this experience.

I wish I had more pictures, but this is the only one I have uploaded. I will try and see what others I have and get them onto flickr.

This weekend we made a quick trip out to Georgia to be with Bruce’s family. Bruce’s grandmother passed away and we needed to be with everyone. It was such a sad reason to have to fly out to GA, but it was wonderful to see him family.

Karen (Bruce’s mom) was so strong the entire time. I was impressed by her grace and could feel her love and appreciation for everyone that was there to help her and her family. What a wonderful woman. The town was great too; they brought so much food and offered tons of support. The viewing was full of people, mostly standing room only the entire time, and the funeral was done wonderfully. Papa Bruce’s brother did the sermon while Cliff (Bruce’s cousin) did the eulogy. (please forgive me if I dont have the terminology down correctly!!) I think what was the most beautiful part of both of their speakings was the discussions of joy. How you can morn with joy, and how you can remember a beautiful life and the moments you got to share with it.

I loved hearing the stories of Grand Daisy’s ways! Her snack foods she made for the grand kids, and her 100% devotion and love for her family.

Welcome back home Miss Daisy.

Just a quick note this time:

THE BOY HAS FLIPPED! He is no longer breach!! THAT IS RIGHT! WOOHOO! Head down baby!!

I can hardly believe that it’s time for us to set the date to meet our little man!! HOW CAN IT BE TIME ALREADY!?!?! Well, it is here!

JUNE 11th 2010 @ 7:30 AM we will be meeting our little man!

I can hardly contain my excitement! We picked this date with our DR. last Monday while my mom was visiting.  It was such a blessing to have her here, and the first day that she was here, she got to see him!!  He was SO cute, and looked like a great young man! lol  While my mom was here we painted the hallway, the dinning room and ceilings. WOW! It was a lot of work! My mom started to tackle the window trim, thinking that this would not be all too big of a deal. She quickly realized that I have NOT painted any trim, it’s all primer. lol (what… it looks white too)  But, as it turns out, it looks TONS better when its done right! Whoda thought?!?

Little man is moving tons! I feel him all the time.  Ella now points to my belly and says “BALL!  BALL!”  Which is both hilarious and … well … sad.  But, my belly does kinda just look like a ball this time around! haha.  She loves to kiss my belly, as well as sit on it, rub it and cuddle with it.  <3 What a love bug!

13 weeks and I will be holding my son. MY SON!! I will be the mother of an incredible little girl, and an amazing little boy! I am SO happy!

Had to know that the next post after “big girl bed” was going to be “falling off the big girl bed!” lol  Ella has transitioned really well and a lot faster then I would have thought to the big bed.  She picks the big bed to sleep in for her naps and the other night picked it for her night time sleep. All was great, until about 12 am, when Bruce and I heard a LOUD THUD! Poor pretty girl has moved from teh top of the bed to the bottom, where the side railing does not protect her from falling out, and had made her way to the floor!!

I swear I went from deep sleep to in my daughters room in .0 seconds! It was insane!  She was rather shook-up as were we. I held her and took her to her rocking/glider chair and we sat there for a while. She cried that cry that is SO hard you cannot breath right and it takes you a while to recover just form the crying. <3 Luckily no bruises or anything.

So, they next day I put her in her crib for her first nap. (She still takes two naps a day)  Then for nap #2 I asked her which bed she wanted to nap in, and to my surprise she picked the big bed!! What a trooper!! She has since slept all her naps in the big bed again! No fear in that little one! Though, there is a little fear in momma, which means I have not put her back in the big bed for night night times. (oh yeah, I said night night times! – so a mother now!)

This is a pic from my phone, so of course its not the most fantastic, but here she is, napping away! I am so proud of my lady and amazed by how much she is growing!!

This is one incredible little lady! The world wont know what hit em when we let her out into it!