Jessica Turns 2! 5/4/07

This year we celebrated Jessica's birthday with an exciting Dora Party at Donna's Kids. Jessica and her friends had a great time. We gave her her big gift the day before, on her actual birthday. It was an outdoor playhouse which she loves!

At the party, the kids went on a Dora adventure to find Princess Dora's missing crown. They were so cute. We served pizza for everyone and ordered fruit from edible arrangements. Jessica had steak and vegetables. Of course, we got her cupcakes from babycakes. She loves her cupcakes! It was a special time for all of us.

Crossing bubble river...Searching for Dora's crown...

Happy Birthday Jessica!! We love you!!

Let the Potty Training Begin

Well I finally jumped in with two feet. Yesterday I started to seriously potty train Jessica. She's been using the potty for months now (on/off). My fear was that maybe I would be starting too early...that my idea of her being ready and her idea of being ready were two different things. Her diaper had been dry after naps. I know she is comfortable on the potty. She can climb up on her own and knows to wipe, flush and wash hands etc. So I showed her her spankin' new Dora underwear and her eyes lit up but about 2 hours later I thought maybe I made the biggest mistake ever. :-) I was up to my elbows in pee pee puddles. After several accidents in a row I thought about going back to diapers but Scott said I was giving up too soon and I should just keep going. Well we had huge improvements on Day 2. We did have a couple of accidents but by the end of the day she was running for the potty on her own. I was still helping but she was going without me asking. She even called me after I put her to bed saying she had to go so I helped her to the bathroom and she went again.

She had me laughing so hard tonight. She wanted me to go potty too. So I obliged and when I went... her mouth opened up wide in disbelief w/a huge smile and started applauding my pottying accomplishment. It was hysterical. Everyone should experience a standing ovation for going #1. She also insisted that I get a sticker too. I think the stickers help. When we kept having so many accidents I decided to not give her underwear again (she would ask for clean underwear after every accident). I told her that she can wear underwear if she goes #1 on the potty. She was upset about not getting a new pair but I think this helped a bit too. I also think my incredible potty dance also provides much encouragement. I'm serious when I say that nobody ever needs to see this dance but it makes my girl laugh so hard out loud. The things we do for our kids.

I've been dreading this parent/child milestone and I know we still have a ways to go but just watching her start to get it and to be so proud of herself...makes my heart melt. She says "I did it." and I say "Yes you did, You did it!".

Turks & Caicos

We were finally able to take a family vacation this past April. It was great! We went to Turks & Caicos and Jessica loved the beach and the pool. Check out our beach ready girl.

Jessica behaved great when we went out to dinners. I also didn't have to cook! All the restaurants made plain chicken and steamed veggies for Jess. She loved it as well as any sorbet they had. On a couple of days, she napped with me on the beach.

I can't wait until we can do another trip like this again. I feel so blessed that we had this time together. Quality family time...yeah!

Ready to Party!

Jessica had a couple of birthday parties in January. This was her party outfit.

"Mommy, I'm all set to go outside now!"

Jessica loves to get creative!

Here are a few pics of Jessica doing some of her little at home art projects. We haven't ventured into paint while home, but she gets to paint at her little class each week. Here is Jessica at work. :-)

Here she is using the new washable markers she got from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Steve for Christmas.

She now displays her finished pictures on her play kitchen fridge.

The Big 3-5!

This past weekend we celebrated Scott's birthday. We had a birthday / super bowl party and we had a great time. I got Scott a very special birthday cake. It was awesome! Everyone loved it too. It was just a nice time to catch up with our friends. Saturday night we had our own little family dinner and it was just a really nice time for Scott, Jessica and myself.

I think we are looking pretty tired in that last pic.

My First Blog Post

Well this is my first time blogging. I guess you could call this my test post. I hope to change the look of my blog over time as I learn more but this is a good beginning. My overall goal is to hopefully chronicle my days as a stay at home mom. I really can't get into keeping a journal but I'm always on the computer. Since my family is so spread out I hope that this will also keep them in the loop on my everyday life. So let's see if I can post this first entry and also a picture of why life is sooo sweet....