Life with Two

This is how I found Connor yesterday morning. You can't see it, but of course he's laying in a big ol' fresh and warm pee pee wet spot. :-/ Very nearly six months in, and it's easy to see from my sparse entries how much crazier life is with two rather than one. In many ways so much has changed since I had Connor. Of course, adding a new member to the family is a huge change in and of itself, but it has precipitated other changes as well.

With two kids it feels like we are more of a family rather than just two adults and a baby. And it is fun to watch Liam and Connor bond as brothers. It will be good for Liam to have a sibling for a playmate and for Connor to have a big brother. It should have been obvious, but I realize now that it's impossible to raise one child the same as the one (or ones) that came before, because the family each subsequent child enters is fundamentally different than it was before as soon as the new baby arrives. There is no way Connor's baby experience will be the same as Liam's. And that's okay.

Sisters' Endeavour

California Science Center, Los Angeles

We got tired of trying to get the kids to look at the camera, so we decided to take a picture of two people who know how to stand still and smile for a picture.

Potty Training: Day 13

VICTORY. Liam was pretty much trained for peeing in the potty after 3 days. Poo was another story. After nearly two weeks of cleaning poo out of underwear, he finally poo'd in the potty today! It was the result of blatant bribery, but apparently that's how it's done.

So, just to be clear, this isn't the kind of happy occasion where you post a pic on Facebook, right? Because I'm about ready to break into song. The end of two kids in diapers is nigh! I'm so proud of Liam. Naturally I know no one wants to see my kid's poo on Facebook, but on the other hand it would probably be a great way to clean up my friends list--get rid of the squeamish ones and all...

On days like this being a mom is GOOD. I love days when I don't feel I've fallen short or failed my kids in some way. I love these days when I feel like I did it right.

LAFD Museum and Memorial

Sitting here with a glass of wine, reflecting on what turned out to be a great day. We took Liam to the Los Angeles Fire Department Museum and Memorial in Hollywood. I thought he would enjoy it given how
much he likes fire engines right now. He certainly had a good time, and Eric and I enjoyed taking him
to the museum. The museum was neat too, of course, but nothing beats the enjoyment a parent can get from watching their child light up and have fun. Loved it! Connor slept through the whole thing. Compared to Liam as a baby, Connor is more of a sleepy baby. Can't complain about that! I'm a lucky mama to have such wonderful, sweet boys.

Today was also a red-letter day on the potty training front. I encouraged Liam to sit on the potty first thing this morning since his diaper was dry when he woke up. He sat down, but eventually got up because he "couldn't make his pee pee come out." A few minutes later--even though he had a diaper
on and could have used it--he came to me and said he had to go potty. Sure enough, he sat down and
darn near filled his little potty! He wore a pull-up on our outing, but he was dry when we got home and
peed in the potty twice more. I am a proud mama! He was rewarded for his efforts with an Optimus
Prime Rescue Bot and the promise of more to come if he keeps it up. He did have two poo accidents today, but because it's common knowledge you have to train for #1 and then again for #2, I'm not counting those against him. Thankfully they were not messy accidents, so cleanup was as easy as I could hope for. Here's hoping we are well on our way to having a fully potty trained 3 year old!

Potty Training: Day One

Two pee-pee accidents so far--one in the morning and one just now (2:30p). Neither of them have been big accidents, but he's gotta be carrying around a bladder full of urine--not to mention #2... Thus far he hasn't gone once in the potty, despite the fact that I'm making him sit on it every 20 minutes or so for at least 10 minutes. Rapidly beginning to see why so many moms say they *hate* potty training!

2:45: Accident #3 (#1)

3:37: Accident #4 (#1)

4:48: Accident #5 (#1) - Gusher! Anticipating he must be full to bursting with pee, I put rubber underwear
in over his regular underwear. Thank goodness I did. It spared my carpet the worst of it. I took him straight to the bath tub, cleaned him up a bit (SO much pee!), then just gave him a bath. I put a diaper on him after the bath. I think we'd both had enough of practicing using the potty for the day! This is gonna be intense.

First Movie

We took Liam to see his first movie today. We saw Frozen with his cousins at the AMC Del Amo. I think Liam was most excited about eating popcorn but, all things considered, he did well--we didn't have to take him out of the movie even once. Connor was another story. We had to bring him because there was no one available to watch him. He slept through most of the movie, but about an hour in he got hungry and I had to leave to go feed him in the lobby. I came back, but I just watched the movie from the hallway rather than go back to my seat because I was afraid he might cry again. Now that we know Liam can sit through a movie, I wonder if Eric will want to take him often since he himself loves the movies (as do I).

I should probably spend more time and energy appreciating life's blessings than worrying about its struggles.

Wish List - 2014 Edition

It seems I write an entry like this nearly every year. I wouldn't say I have New Year's resolutions--just a wish list of goals for the year. Some will be more fully realized than others, but the important thing to me is to at least reflect and think about ways to improve. So here's my wish list of goals, in no particular order:

GET HEALTHY -- After spending the most part of the last year pregnant, I'm looking forward to losing some of the pregnancy weight and shaping up a bit. I don't have the time or the resources to turn my pregnancy-ravaged body into a Hollywood standard, but I CAN get moving with the kids and get exercise
that way. Before I was pregnant I did a pretty good job of getting out for walks and trips to the park with Liam, and I'd like to get back into that habit. Alongside this goal is my desire to have healthier food around the house.

GET ORGANIZED -- I want to do more activities with the kids--both physical and educational. Reading and writing for Liam, trips to the park and other outings to museums, etc. for my part I'd like to read more and write more--at least write more in my journal, if nothing else. (As this blog attests, I am at best only an occasional blogger...)

GET TOGETHER -- Both Eric and I are happy with the family aspect of our life together, but I think we'd both agree it could be benefit from some time spent working on "us."