Potty Training!

Well...the time that I had dreaded as a Mommy finally arrived...POTTY TRAINING!!! I remember when we found out that we were pregnant with McKenna, I wasn't at all nervous about the pregnancy or delivery...it was POTTY TRAINING that I had already begun to stress out about! I know it sounds so silly, but this was one area that I had NO CLUE about.

Thankfully, my dear friend Lacy Adams sent out an email of the "program" that worked with her daughter Kiley. She sent me Lora Jensen's 3 day Potty Training Program ebook. I decided if Lacy thought it was good, it worked for Kiley, then we'd give it a go!!

We bought all the essential items to get us started: Mini Mouse panties, marshmallow treats, stickers, lots of fibrous foods, juice, and lots and lots of prayers and patience :o) Gigi and Pop sent McKenna the BEST present ever to get her excited about going potty...Elmo! Elmo came with his own potty seat, sippy cup, and dvd! Let me tell you...I don't know what we would have done without Elmo! He was our lifesaver! Elmo and McKenna became fast friends and it helped to have a bathroom buddy :o)

The first day was pretty tough...not a lot of fun for sure. I think McK had around 10 accidents. We decided to do pull ups for nap time and night time until she got the hang of things. Day 2 was oh-so-better! Only about 4 accidents. Day 3- something just seemed to click, and she was a pro! Since being trained those 3 days we've only had 1 day that was kinda a "set back," other than that one day, she has done brilliantly. She now wears big girl panties when we leave the house and has no accidents! We bring her princess potty seat with us (which for us has been key) with an extra change of clothes (just in case) and we are off and running! Staying dry during nap time and night time is in the near future for sure! I am no longer deathly afraid of potty training...we were a pretty good team :o) Thanks Lacy for the "magical" program!




McK showing off her new mini-mouse panties! She was so excited to be such a big girl!


Not pleasant, but a MUST when journaling about potty training...this was after the FIRST day of learning...lots of laundry :o)

Day #2 was SO MUCH BETTER! We kept ourselves busy and entertained the 3 days we were home...playing until we were all worn out!

July 4th!

We flew home from our trip to OK on the 4th of July. We got home in time for everyone to take naps and make plans with friends for the evening. We were fortunate enough to be able to spend time with one of our favorite families - The Kuders. We have known Dan & Vanessa since before kids and have always loved them :) It's such a blessing to have friends where everyone gets along and enjoys one another. We have found this in the Kuder family. We met at their house, loaded up the kids, snacks, and blankets and headed to the beach. The kids got to play in the sand, run around, and eat Popsicles. The adults got to visit and catch up. The fireworks were nice to watch and the kids seemed to enjoy them OK too. It was a good July 4th remembering how blessed we are as a nation and as a family!


Before it got too dark, the kids were able to play before the firework show!


Dan got sparklers for the kids. It was a huge hit and fun to watch!


Time for the show to start!

McK's 2 year photo shoot

I wanted to do something different for McKenna's 2 year pictures. We have done studio-type portraits since she was 6 months old, so I wanted to capture some non-posed moments of her on the beach. Our friend Angela Pence, from church, brought her wonderful camera and mad picture taking skillzzz and met us at the beach for some fun.

I was a nervous wreck that McKenna wouldn't give us anything to work with, but thank the good Lord was I WRONG. Dave was with us and was a HUGE help. He positioned McK and got her to giggle while I was behind the camera with Angie. It was fun to have McKenna in the 2 different outfits. Both of them captured her fun stage right now. While one says, "I'm a big, sweet girl!" the other says, "I love to dress up and play pretend!" I know these phases will be gone before I know it, so I'm so thankful to have some sweet moments captured on film.

Girls' "Weekend" 2010

At the end of May, I got to go our the annual Girls' Weekend Trip with my life long friends from church. It was our 4th year in a row going down to Lauren's parents' condo in South FL (Stuart). We were teased this year b/c we call it a "weekend" but we leave on Wednesday and get back home on Sunday :o)

All the years have been wonderful and this year was no exception. Marie now lives in NY and shared the news she was preggers with baby #2. Nicole is now in Tampa and shared with us that their 2nd adoption is underway and going smoothly. Jillian, Kelly, Lauren, and I are still in J-ville and see each other pretty regularly. It was Lauren's first time leaving baby Chi, and Kel had news about possible business changes for their family. I was able to share that we were trying for baby #2 also! It was fun getting caught up on life with each other the girls and delving a little deeper into conversation b/c we had the time and energy!

We stayed up late, slept in late, had our HOT-NON REHEATED morning coffee on the couch, and then slowly made our way down to the pool for each afternoon. Each evening was something different...cooking in, eating out, Jamin' Jenson, shopping, movies, and playing "Quelf"! Quelf is the most hysterically random board game you'd ever play in your life. Only play it in the company of GOOD friends...it is STRANGE! We all agreed we hadn't laughed that hard in quite some time.

We all left feeling rested (sorta...lol), renewed in our friendships, and ready to see our families. It will be fun to be together again next summer and to find out where life has taken us a year from now. I love you ladies and treasure your friendships!



Quelf made Jillian wear the box lid under her shirt for the entire game. It also had Marie stand in an "X" for an entire round, and had Lauren race paper airplanes.


Quelf made Nicole drink water from the opposite side of the cup and Kelly had to stick her thumbs in her mouth and flap her hands on her shoulders any time she talked!

Night out to eat at King Neptune's...YUMMY seafood!!!!


Gettin' dolled up for a night out on the town.

Breakfast at Jan's...yearly ritual!
Jamin' Jenson on Thursday Night! Another ritual!


Drivin' to Jamin' Jenson

Dinner in before going out to the shops and see the night life.