This is the video clip of an American Idol contestant who made it to Hollywood round, Maddy Curtis. I actually saw it the night it aired and was so impressed, will definitely be cheering her on. Her whole family converted to Catholicism a few years ago, she is the 9th of 12 children and the daughter of Barbara Curtis, a pro-life activist and catholic writer. You can read her mom's post about it HERE. Hoping Hollywood went well for her, anxious to find out. Neat becuase I had been following her mom's blog for a while now.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Updates all around
Ok, I already gave an update on sweet Michaela, so I figured I would on the rest of us too.
Angelia - is...POTTY TRAINED. Finally. Really she probably would have been earlier but I was not willing to do it. The last couple of times I tried she would resist or do it sporadically. Then the last couple months of my pregnancy I was so tired and with Michaela's arrival and the holidays....just didn't feel up to it. So after the New Year, I went cold turkey on her....took away the diapers and into underpants we went. For Angelica, I knew it was just her will deciding she WANTED to do it, she had been ready for quite some time, just didn't want to do it consistently. I am so proud of her. We have gone NINE days now with no accidents. We had a sticker chart on the back of the bathroom door which she loves....she got small star stickers for going pee and big smile face stickers for going poo. That which she hated now she LOVES to do. The poo was the hardest one to get done....so I decided she needed a little more of an incentive....so every time she went she got to pick out a "money". We have a coin basket and she got to pick one out and put in her "potty purse" which was a gift from Marmee the first time she went poo poo. SHE LOVES THIS. She has even told us she is getting rich...which she was. So today actually we decided that from now on she will only get a "money" when she wakes up dry in the morning. We are wearing the underpants during naps but for nights I still have her in pull ups....but so far she has had SIX dry nights too....so we shall see. Once she is completely dry she also gets to go from the thick training underpants to her pretty princess ones so she is excited about that too! It is such a HUGE freedom to not have THREE in diapers anymore. I do still hold my breath while we drive places or are out and about but know accidents will happen, just hopefully not often. My "baby" is getting so grown up!
Angelica is doing so well writing her letters and starting her numbers. She still loves to read and she loves to sing and help me cook now too. She memorizes EVERYTHING and is such a huge help and loving older sister to Michaela who lights up in smiles when she sees Angel.
Now to Emma....oh my sweet, strong tempered, funny and confusing Emma. She just had her well child check for her two years. She weighed in at 26 pounds and 35 inches tall.....so still considered long and lean. She is learning the potty routine too and I don't think it will take her long because she wants to do everything big sister does. We are still struggling with her picky food habits. So funny as Angel is such a good eater and always has been....this is new territory for us. Emma still loves her yogurt, cheese, fruit, PB&J etc....but mostly she just makes me mind up that she doesn't like something without trying it. So....I have started to only offer her what we are eating and even force feeding her a bit. I did this one night with spaghetti and after a couple forceful bites, she ate the whole bowl. Another night she didn't eat at all during dinner and then later when I made smoothies and Angel was enjoying it.....she decided she would then eat her cold dinner bowl and downed it in 5 minutes so she could partake of some smoothie too. So....it will be a process but hopefully be expanding the food selections! Screaming....well working on it...her temper gets the best of her....so it has been a time out chair of late and she is learning.
We did have a WEIRD and hard week with Emma a couple weeks ago. Since August when she started sleeping in her own bed she has LOVED to sleep. She would sleep 12 hours at night and want to go for naps and sleep for several then too. She took 3 minutes tops to put down, NEVER fussed, NEVER got out of bed and would ask to go! Well, one night at 2 am she started SCREAMING. I went in there (thinking it was a fluke) and got her back down. However, for the next 6 hours....every hour....she would wake up and SCREAM and wouldn't calm down to even talk to me or answer my questions. We thought it was shadows on the wall, so I turned on another night light. Then she started getting out of her bed, wouldn't get back in, didn't want covers on, would stand by the door and scream etc. She kept repeating that she would Fall Out...but she has Never fallen out of her bed. It was definitely a scared and terrified screaming and attitude. We felt so bad for her and consoled her as much as we could. But as parents it was hard too...we didn't want to completely change her routine because with Emma....she would then expect and demand the new routine. So while we really only wanted to bring her in bed with us or go lay down on the couch....we didn't. It was a LONG week of no sleep, a very unhappy little girl but consistency finally won. Jason and I figured out that what had to have happened.....we think she had one of those dreams where you feel like your whole body is falling and you jump awake....and because this happened and when she woke up she associated her bed and going to sleep with falling and being scared. So I think it took the consolations and time rocking and reassurance about her bed and then just TIME to get her to forget about it and adjust to her bed again. I realized one night when I went in there that it was no longer a scared reaction or crying, but was now a battle of the wills....she got use to me coming in all the time that she wanted and expected it. NO MORE for this tired mama who needed to be with baby. So for one night I would go in there, pick her up wherever she was....immediately put her back in the bed, give her a kiss and leave the room. Three times of this and she stopped. It has been over a week now and she is back to normal....it takes me only three minutes to put her down and she sleeps straight through. WHEW....can't imagine going through a child that has night terrors or such! Hard.....I have to give credit to all the saints and angel I was praying to.....especially St. Catherine, St. Therese, Mary and I even sent my guardian angel to help her out....whatever you did, THANK YOU.
Jason continues to work hard at Boeing. He is thinking of taking on a new position which would be different for him, because it would be more with instrumentation and electrical aspects of testing for the planes....and he has been doing mechanic work for 12+ years. But he likes the idea of not smelling like fuel everyday and getting other experience...plus this department would have some more opportunities for growth and they also get to destroy the planes...so what guy wouldn't like to do a huge demolition like that? So he has been in some training classes and such lately for this new job...we shall see what he decides.
I have been busy trying to figure out our new routine and schedules, a work in progress. I am still enjoying the Pampered Chef business and Martha Ministry and appreciating the blessing that I get to be home with my girls.
Well, that is a bit of our life and fun times, just in case you were interested!!
Angelia - is...POTTY TRAINED. Finally. Really she probably would have been earlier but I was not willing to do it. The last couple of times I tried she would resist or do it sporadically. Then the last couple months of my pregnancy I was so tired and with Michaela's arrival and the holidays....just didn't feel up to it. So after the New Year, I went cold turkey on her....took away the diapers and into underpants we went. For Angelica, I knew it was just her will deciding she WANTED to do it, she had been ready for quite some time, just didn't want to do it consistently. I am so proud of her. We have gone NINE days now with no accidents. We had a sticker chart on the back of the bathroom door which she loves....she got small star stickers for going pee and big smile face stickers for going poo. That which she hated now she LOVES to do. The poo was the hardest one to get done....so I decided she needed a little more of an incentive....so every time she went she got to pick out a "money". We have a coin basket and she got to pick one out and put in her "potty purse" which was a gift from Marmee the first time she went poo poo. SHE LOVES THIS. She has even told us she is getting rich...which she was. So today actually we decided that from now on she will only get a "money" when she wakes up dry in the morning. We are wearing the underpants during naps but for nights I still have her in pull ups....but so far she has had SIX dry nights too....so we shall see. Once she is completely dry she also gets to go from the thick training underpants to her pretty princess ones so she is excited about that too! It is such a HUGE freedom to not have THREE in diapers anymore. I do still hold my breath while we drive places or are out and about but know accidents will happen, just hopefully not often. My "baby" is getting so grown up!
Angelica is doing so well writing her letters and starting her numbers. She still loves to read and she loves to sing and help me cook now too. She memorizes EVERYTHING and is such a huge help and loving older sister to Michaela who lights up in smiles when she sees Angel.
Now to Emma....oh my sweet, strong tempered, funny and confusing Emma. She just had her well child check for her two years. She weighed in at 26 pounds and 35 inches tall.....so still considered long and lean. She is learning the potty routine too and I don't think it will take her long because she wants to do everything big sister does. We are still struggling with her picky food habits. So funny as Angel is such a good eater and always has been....this is new territory for us. Emma still loves her yogurt, cheese, fruit, PB&J etc....but mostly she just makes me mind up that she doesn't like something without trying it. So....I have started to only offer her what we are eating and even force feeding her a bit. I did this one night with spaghetti and after a couple forceful bites, she ate the whole bowl. Another night she didn't eat at all during dinner and then later when I made smoothies and Angel was enjoying it.....she decided she would then eat her cold dinner bowl and downed it in 5 minutes so she could partake of some smoothie too. So....it will be a process but hopefully be expanding the food selections! Screaming....well working on it...her temper gets the best of her....so it has been a time out chair of late and she is learning.
We did have a WEIRD and hard week with Emma a couple weeks ago. Since August when she started sleeping in her own bed she has LOVED to sleep. She would sleep 12 hours at night and want to go for naps and sleep for several then too. She took 3 minutes tops to put down, NEVER fussed, NEVER got out of bed and would ask to go! Well, one night at 2 am she started SCREAMING. I went in there (thinking it was a fluke) and got her back down. However, for the next 6 hours....every hour....she would wake up and SCREAM and wouldn't calm down to even talk to me or answer my questions. We thought it was shadows on the wall, so I turned on another night light. Then she started getting out of her bed, wouldn't get back in, didn't want covers on, would stand by the door and scream etc. She kept repeating that she would Fall Out...but she has Never fallen out of her bed. It was definitely a scared and terrified screaming and attitude. We felt so bad for her and consoled her as much as we could. But as parents it was hard too...we didn't want to completely change her routine because with Emma....she would then expect and demand the new routine. So while we really only wanted to bring her in bed with us or go lay down on the couch....we didn't. It was a LONG week of no sleep, a very unhappy little girl but consistency finally won. Jason and I figured out that what had to have happened.....we think she had one of those dreams where you feel like your whole body is falling and you jump awake....and because this happened and when she woke up she associated her bed and going to sleep with falling and being scared. So I think it took the consolations and time rocking and reassurance about her bed and then just TIME to get her to forget about it and adjust to her bed again. I realized one night when I went in there that it was no longer a scared reaction or crying, but was now a battle of the wills....she got use to me coming in all the time that she wanted and expected it. NO MORE for this tired mama who needed to be with baby. So for one night I would go in there, pick her up wherever she was....immediately put her back in the bed, give her a kiss and leave the room. Three times of this and she stopped. It has been over a week now and she is back to normal....it takes me only three minutes to put her down and she sleeps straight through. WHEW....can't imagine going through a child that has night terrors or such! Hard.....I have to give credit to all the saints and angel I was praying to.....especially St. Catherine, St. Therese, Mary and I even sent my guardian angel to help her out....whatever you did, THANK YOU.
Jason continues to work hard at Boeing. He is thinking of taking on a new position which would be different for him, because it would be more with instrumentation and electrical aspects of testing for the planes....and he has been doing mechanic work for 12+ years. But he likes the idea of not smelling like fuel everyday and getting other experience...plus this department would have some more opportunities for growth and they also get to destroy the planes...so what guy wouldn't like to do a huge demolition like that? So he has been in some training classes and such lately for this new job...we shall see what he decides.
I have been busy trying to figure out our new routine and schedules, a work in progress. I am still enjoying the Pampered Chef business and Martha Ministry and appreciating the blessing that I get to be home with my girls.
Well, that is a bit of our life and fun times, just in case you were interested!!
Time for a Trim
Angelica's hair had gotten SO LONG....almost to her hips!! So it was desperately time for a trim. Saturday night it happened....THREE and a half inches worth and pretty much came out even! She does so well letting me cut it! Looks so much healthier!
Tummy Time
Starting to do more tummy time, although she really doesn't enjoy it much. She has a gorgeous quilt made by the wife of a co-worker of Jason's that is nice to put her on. She makes so many funny faces and smiles!
Content
Just couldn't wake her up when she looked this content, so in the car seat she slept for 3 hours!!
Happy in Hanna
This is Michaela's first Hanna play day dress...thanks to Aunty Megs and to Emma for passing on the clothes!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Emma's Baptism Day
We have enjoyed celebrating our Baptism Days in the family. The 13th was Emma's special day. She and Michaela had well child checks that morning and then we enjoyed lunch at a friends house. That evening we decided to take them to McDonalds because they LOVE the play place and good do to on a rainy day. However, it ended up being super nuts because of course it was a McTakeover night. Oh well. We ate, played a little bit and headed home to make Ice Cream Sundaes and let her open her gifts. She is already enjoying and figuring out her Busy Bible, so cool!! St. Catherine of Siena, pray for her.
Our Epiphany Celebration
Well I had some fun plans for this year's Epiphany celebration, but because we all ended up getting sick and I was out of commission, it was very simple! I even bought store bought cupcakes (aahhh!) to have as treats for the girls and managed to sneak a quarter in them when they weren't looking! Luckily, I had done my shopping early with Christmas sales at Catholic Child and saved some stocking stuffers from Christmas for the Epiphany. We only do Christmas stockings for each other on Christmas and then each get three gifts on the Epiphany to remember the story of the wise men and the gifts baby Jesus received. The girls got a couple neat videos and books from Catholic Child and also some new animal puppets!! Hopefully next year we won't be sick and we can celebrate a little more! Always bittersweet when the Epiphany arrives because I know that the Christmas decorations and tree and nativity are all being put away until next year....
Michaela Marie's Baptism
On December 27th, we celebrated Michaela's Baptism. It was a special day to have it being the Feast of the Holy Family. We were blessed to have so many family and friends help us celebrate this special day when Michaela joined the Church family, was washed clean of original sin and as we joke "no more pagan baby"! It was also special because we had some water from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River poured into the Baptismal Font!! So cool! There were several babies and young children being baptized and they all did really well!! I love the smell of the holy chrism so much that I try not to wash it off her forehead for a few days. Thank you to our friends John & Jenny for saying yes to being godparents and helping us always direct and support Michaela in her faith. We enjoyed a fun party back at my parents house and thank you to all who came by and also for Michaela's beautiful cards and gifts and prayers. We are truly blessed with wonderful friends and a wonderful Church family! St. Michael and Mary our Mother, pray for Michaela!
With Father Lappe
Godparents, John & Jenny
With Aunt Alli & Aunt Caitlin
With Marmee & Poppy
With Father Lappe
Godparents, John & Jenny
With Aunt Alli & Aunt Caitlin
With Marmee & Poppy
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