Snuggling

Laine and Daddy have had some sweet moments together lately as they snuggle on the couch.  Take a look... 

 

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas this year and enjoyed staying in St. Louis for the holidays.  Here's a few glimpses from Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.

  

Santa Visits Vinita Park!

In the last two days Laine has had two chances to see Santa, sit on his lap, and get a little gift from him.  At the beginning of this Christmas season she didn't know who Santa was, even if he walked past her in the mall!  But now she is well aware of who this festive man is, and she gets excited to see him around town. 

  

Saturday morning Laine and I went to Breakfast with Santa at city hall.  There was an animal balloon artist there, and he made this terrific Elmo balloon for Laine.  He also made me a pregnant poodle, complete with baby inside, though it's a little hard to tell here!

This afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Claus came around Gulf Drive in their horse-drawn carriage.  We whisked Laine outside for just a moment to quickly say hi and look at the horse up close.  It was a very brisk 13 degrees out today!

Imagination

We got this dollhouse for Laine on her first birthday, but just in the last month or so has she started playing with it at length.  It is so fun to see and hear her as she makes up stories about what the mommy, daddy, and baby are doing in the house.  Her imagination is taking off, and her creativity keeps her busy for large chunks of time now. 

 

It is especially cute when she mimics with her dollhouse what we regularly do around our real house - Mommy and Daddy sitting down to pray at a meal, Baby taking a bath but having to use the potty first, etc!

Fascination

Laine is very aware of Christmas this year and is especially enthralled with Christmas trees.  She constantly pushes the limits of how close she can get to our tree without actually touching it.  Actually... most of the time she still touches it!

36 weeks (almost)

For those who have been asking... here's a picture of Mead and me.  I'm almost 36 weeks along!  Time has gone quickly thus far, but it feels like it's moving slower every day now.  Mid January can't come soon enough!  Next week I start having weekly doctor's appointments, so I'll keep you updated on any progress.

Big Girl Bed

We're getting ready for the arrival of Mead, so we've started moving furniture in and out of Laine's room.  The girls won't be sharing a room until we move (unless Mead sleeps through the night really quickly), but we wanted to go ahead and set up her big girl bed so she could at least get used to the sight of it in her room. 

  
She's really excited about it, as you can tell, even without the sheets and pillows that will eventually go with it.

Drink of choice

Much to my husband's dismay, I am not a coffee drinker.  I would characterize Penny as a coffee connoisseur - he really enjoys a good cup of coffee.  He can tell you all about what makes it so good, and we have all kinds of special gadgets in the house to help him make it that way.  

I, on the other hand, prefer hot chocolate as my hot drink of choice.  In general I'm not too picky about the type, but given the opportunity I'll savor a rich cup of hot chocolate, whether it's out at a coffee shop or at home on the stove.  About once a year Penny manages to surprise me with a canister of real chocolate shavings from Williams-Sonoma, either the original or peppermint flavor.  The last few times it's been via other friends who have asked him for a gift suggestion.  At this point I pull out the milk to heat up on the stove, and once it's at the right temperature (bubbly around the edges of the pot) I insert my frother - my only hot chocolate gadget - to mix the shavings in and create a little foam on top.  Yum!  

Thanks, Janet and Emily, for this year's batch of delicious hot chocolate.  Come over and enjoy a mug any time!

New hairdo

Laine asked me to put some barrettes in her hair last night, but she didn't realize I was in a silly mood.  

 

The front turned out really cute, getting her ever present hair out of her face.

 But the back... well, like I said, it just looked silly!

Mum's the word

Don't say it too loudly, but Laine has had potty success for over a week now!  With the exception of one nap-time accident she has stayed all dry and clean for the past eight days.  Praise the Lord!  Literally this is a huge answer to prayer, for which we are all very excited and thankful.  

The day of my last post bemoaning her lack of potty success I just decided to stop talking about it with her altogether.  I figured if I didn't remind her at all then I would see if she was really interested in using the potty or not.  Turns out Laine does prefer the potty, but she also prefers to decide on her own when she needs to use it.  I guess I just needed to get off her back about it a little bit!

Maybe this is a good life lesson for me in interacting with Laine in general.  Note to self... don't harass Laine about anything, or it will probably will probably take even longer to get done.  Thanks for everyone's encouragement and feedback.  It really helped me get over the hump.

Posing

Guess who rediscovered her bike helmet and has been wearing it all around the house?

 

And guess who is beginning to learn how to smile for the camera?

 

Potty Woes

It's been almost two months since we started the potty training process with Laine.  I'd love to say that she has stayed accident free after the first few days, but that is not the case at all.  She has had at least one accident a day every day for the past eight weeks.  Literally she's stayed dry all day only twice since we started.  It is driving me crazy!

I'm starting to wonder if Laine is just not ready.  Don't get me wrong - she has had moments of glory when she told me she needed to go and then went with total success.  But the accidents seem to far outweigh the successes at this point.  Is it only my stubbornness that is keeping us going?  Is it going to "click" with her soon, or will it take several more months?  I don't know how much more of this I can handle.  Would it confuse her too much to put her back in diapers for a while?   Any thoughts?  Encouragement?

Laine-isms

Laine has gotten very verbal, which makes for some hilarious comments and conversations.  Some of our favorites lately include:

- "Laine, do you want (fill in the blank)?"  "Umm... no."

- "Laine, you're so cute."  To which she responds, "Cute, cute, cute!" (Humble, isn't she?)

- Walking into the room where we are, she says, "Oh hi!" as though she hasn't seen us for hours.

- After we sneeze and randomly throughout the day, "God bless you, Mommy."

- Announcing her bodily functions for all to know, she says, "Had some gas."

- Correcting me if I misspoke, Laine adds, "Actually..."

- At all times of the day, "How's your day, daddy?" or whoever she happens to be asking.

Filthy Fun

Not very often do we let Laine get thoroughly dirty, but the other day I left her to druthers.

  
As you can see from the pictures, she ended up covered in dirt and even shoveled some into her mouth!

 

Needless to say, Laine got straight into the bath upon entering the house.  She had a blast playing, making it worth it.

I'm gonna get you!

One of Laine's favorite activities is running at full speed to knock Daddy over as she yells, "I'm gonna get you!"  She can really get some force behind her!

 

Speed Racer

This morning we brought the tricycle inside due to little rain and some colder weather.  Laine had a blast riding it around our stairwell over and over again.  She almost tipped over several times since she was going so fast!

 

"Helping"

Laine has really gotten into "helping" us with the chores lately.  She especially likes helping with the dishes, mostly because she likes playing with the water and sponge.  Most nights when Daddy does our dishes Laine stands next to him and helps him put the dishes in the dish rack to dry.  Some day she'll be able to do the dishes all on her own, right?

Happy Halloween!

This was Laine's first time trick or treating for Halloween.  She caught on quickly, saying, "Trick or treat," and then grabbing a few pieces of candy out of the bowl.  Then she wanted to run down to the next door.  We had a hard time keeping up!

 
Laine was a unicorn thanks a great costume given to us from friends in Greenville.

 

Gulf Drive is a perfect place for little kids to walk around - lots of doors without lots of walking.

A worn out unicorn rides home on her daddy's shoulders.  We all slept well last night!

Pumpkin Carving

This past weekend we did our annual pumpkin carving.  In other words, Daddy cleaned and carved the pumpkin while Laine and I played out front watching him.   

 

Each year Penny comes up with a new idea for the face.  We love his creativity!  And we've all been enjoying roasted pumpkin seeds this week.

First signs of winter

The other day it was 47 degrees out, but Laine was ready to play.  So we bundled up in our winter clothes for the first time this year.  How cute!  Thanks for the great jacket, Georgia!

A Short Update

Laine is continuing to make progress with potty training during the day.  I am 28 weeks along, and Mead appears healthy from everything we can tell.  She certainly moves around a lot, which Laine has been able to feel a couple times.  Penny is continuing the job hunt with no major leads at this point.  Tomorrow is Laine's last day of swim lessons.  She'll miss them, but I won't miss squeezing my ever growing belly into a bathing suit!  Finally, Penny turns 30 on Tuesday, a major milestone that we're all excited about.  He's been enjoying his new iPhone for the last month or so, an early birthday present thanks to a generous gift from a supporter.  

Those are the highlights.  I'll post more soon.

Tales from the Crib (part 3)

Now that Laine is in pull-ups at night her crib activities have taken on a new complexity.  Obviously we can no longer duct tape her diapers on, so she has the freedom to completely undress herself again.  As a result we've discovered her the last several nights after she has "christened" her crib.  We walk in and she says, "Sheets all wet."  I'm pretty sure it's intentional, causing us to get her up for a few minutes while we change her sheets.  She doesn't try to play or anything - I think she just likes the company in her room.  At this point Penny and I are debating whether to discipline against it when we find her naked or reward her in the morning for keeping her clothes on all night.  Who knew Laine was so intent on sleeping in the nude?!

High Five!

Kelli Mayfield's mom came to visit last weekend, and she and Laine totally bonded.  How cute!

Food Experiment

The few weeks we've been doing a "food experiment" with Laine.  I got tired of fixing separate meals for her because of her pickiness.  So I decided it was time that she eat the same thing as Penny and I eat for dinner.

I explained to Laine that she was going to start eating what we ate.  We weren't going to force food into her mouth, but if she didn't eat what we served then she would go hungry.  It was her choice.

I have been impressed and amazed at her willingness to try new things.  So far she's eaten several things for the first time: french toast casserole, salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, cantaloupe,   And she's also eaten something that's she's been rejecting for months: a turkey and cheese sandwich.

Thank you, Rachel, for loaning me the book Hints on Child Training by H. Clay Trumbull.  I haven't the whole thing yet, but we've already benefitted by his chapter on training appetites.  There have been fewer arguments and tears during our mealtimes because of Trumbull's wisdom.

Family Photo

It's been a while (last Christmas) since our last official family photo.  Penny asked me the other day if we had one that he could use to display our family as he begins the job hunt process.  We took many pictures, but Laine was not in the mood to smile for the camera... what two year old is?  This is the best one we came up with.  Enjoy!  

 

Apple Picking

What started as a weekend when Penny had to be out of town turned into mother-daughter bonding time.  We did several fun things together and tried to make the most of our time without Daddy.

  

One thing I've been wanting to do with Laine is go apple picking.  This weekend we made it out to Eckert's Farm near St. Louis and picked some apples and a pumpkin.  


We went for a wagon ride, ate the apples while in the orchard, and wandered through the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin for us.

Once we got home Laine and I made a yummy apple crisp thanks to Shannon Walker's great recipe.  I'm normally not a huge fan of apple pie, but this was delicious.  Thanks Shannon!

Potty Training! (Part 2)

This has been a much better week in the potty training process.  Laine made it through church this morning without any accidents, and I was able to make it through the morning without tears in my eyes.  (Pregnancy emotionalism played a role in the tears last week, I'm sure!)  Laine has also used the potty several days in a row in public places - a huge step for her.

All of this to say I'm realizing potty training is a process, no matter how few days the books say it takes to potty train your child.  The initial fundamentals were quickly picked up, but it takes a little longer for practice to become perfect.  Thanks for everyone's encouragement!

My little cyclist

Laine has become an accomplished (tri)cyclist lately, and I couldn't be more excited.  A few more years and we'll be able to go on real bike rides together!

Learning to cook

Laine has been interested in "helping" me cook lately.  Whenever I start fixing dinner she gets out the step stool and pulls it up to the counter.  It's been really fun to show her what I'm doing and let her do a few things here and there.  She often sticks her hands right in the middle of the mixing bowl though, so I have to be quick to stop her from eating our uncooked creation!  It makes me look forward to fixing meals and other goodies together in the future.  (Note the partially hidden view of the baby bump - 25 weeks along now!)

Spoke too soon

Okay, so since I posted yesterday morning Laine has had several potty accidents while we've been out of the house.  This morning at church was a disaster!  I'm sure this has happened to others, but it makes me want to give up!  I know I need to be perseverant, and it will "click" with her soon.  Just wanted to get that out there.

Potty Training!

This week was Potty Training Week for Laine!  We started on Tuesday and worked diligently at teaching, talking about it, and practicing using the "big girl potty" for the next few days.  Laine was a champ and learned quickly how to ask to use the potty and then use it.  I think she was more ready than I realized.  I've been putting off training because I didn't want to put in the effort, but it's been a fun process to see her do so well.  I have to say that I was thoroughly exhausted by the end of the first day though.  I haven't been that intense about staying right by Laine's side all throughout the house in months!

I borrowed three potty training books from neighbors, and my favorite one is called Three Day Potty Training by Lora Jensen.  I highly recommend buying this book online and using it to help train your little ones.

"Elmo TV"

Just in the last few weeks Laine has learned to be still long enough to watch television for a few minutes.  She is a huge Elmo fan, so we checked out some "Elmo's World" DVDs from the library. 

   

Until now I haven't been too interested in having Laine watch TV, but I have to admit it's nice to have her sit still while I do a few things around the house.  I can already tell we're going to have to set some time limits on watching "Elmo TV" as Laine calls it!  

St. Louis Balloon Glow

Penny, Laine, and I made it out to the annual balloon glow in Forest Park last night.  We joined several other Gulf Drive families f0r a picnic dinner and then wove our way through the crowds to see the hot air balloons. 

  

Some of the balloons are hard to see, but the big balloon race is triggered by the Energizer Bunny. 

All the other balloons try to get across town first to reach the bunny.

Second Ultrasound

I went back to the doctor today for a regular check-up and a second ultrasound.  This time Mead cooperated better, and we were able to see everything needed.  Her brain, heart, and other organs all look good. 

 
The tech double checked for me, and Mead is still a girl!  She was sitting on her hand for a while being a little modest though.  We also got this fun picture of Mead trying to kick herself in the forhead - just chillin' with her legs crossed, comfortable as can be!

Swim Lessons

Laine started swim lessons at the YMCA last week.  Our first class was a bit of a disaster due to the fact that Laine slipped and fell on the concrete next to the pool just before class began.  So she wailed her way through the first half of the class.  

Today was a much better experience.  As you can tell from this picture from the summer, Laine loves the water.  Today in class she enjoyed herself as normal and picked up a few new swimming skills.  We're not working on swim strokes yet, but today Laine learned to lean back and keep her ears underwater.  She's also working on blowing bubbles in the water (without drinking the pool!)  

If nothing else, these classes are a great way to extend our summer pool times and keep Laine acclimated to the water.

New snow boots

Laine got new snow boots this week.  I know, it's the middle of summer, but I'm a planner.  So when I saw the boots for a good price I grabbed them.  Laine has been so excited about her boots that she's worn them all over the house.  Hopefully she'll have as much fun wearing them this winter when we go out in the snow to play!

Second car for the Pennylegions!

Well, I just spent the last hour of my life learning about and organizing our new mini-van.  Penny drove the car home from school today.  After looking for a while we ended up with a 2005 Honda Odyssey with 26,000 miles.  We are really excited about the car, the space, and the flexibility it will give us.  Though the color was not a deciding factor, I am really excited that it is navy (one of my favorite colors)!  It's the little details that make being a mini-van owner a little easier to swallow :-)

For anyone looking for a car who is involved in ministry, we highly recommend MATS International as the place to begin your search.  We called one of their staff (who happens to be a student at Covenant Seminary at the moment), and he did all the searching for us.  He had his people scour the country for something that fit our needs, and we ended up with a great deal.  In all we saved about 15-20% compared to what we found in town and online.  Thanks MATS!

Playing "out of the way"

The other morning I was cleaning the house and vacuuming Laine's room.  I put all her toys up off the carpet and went to get the vacuum.  While I was out of the room Laine decided she wanted to play with her dollhouse, even though it was no longer on the floor.  So she climbed right up the changing table and made herself at home (and out of the way of the vacuum) playing where she could!

New Neighbors

The day of our return to St. Louis our new next door neighbors also moved in.  We dearly miss our old neighbors, the Steadmans.  There will be no replacing them, especially all the good advice I got from Jessie.  But we are thankful for our new neighbors too.  The Brocks have two boys, one of whom is 20 days older than Laine.  Nathan and Laine have hit it off pretty well, enjoying their playtimes together in front of our apartments.  We're glad you're here, Brocks!

Back to School

Well, classes are underway for our third and final year of seminary.  There's not much to update on except that it's good to be back in St. Louis and settled into the normal routine.  I took Laine to the zoo to ride the carousel this morning, which she hasn't gotten to do all summer.  We squeezed in three rides while it was still free!

We think we've been successful in the car hunt, but I'll post more about that once it's official.  It's been good to meet new neighbors and for Laine to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.  The major objectives for the fall are attending many doctors appointments, hopefully taking Laine to swim lessons, and job hunting for Penny.  We'll see how it goes!

It's a Girl!

We had our doctor's appointment this morning, and we found out we're having another girl!  We are both really excited, and as Penny says he is now completely outnumbered 3-1.  The baby looks healthy, as far as the ultrasound tech could see.  She was actually in a funny position so we couldn't get a great look at her brain.  So thankfully I get to have another ultrasound next month.  The more glimpses of this little one the better!  

We have decided to name her Mead, a name that we both have liked for a long time.  We are just starting to think about middle names though, so if you have any suggestions we're open to new ideas.  

In case you can't tell this is a 3D profile of our sweet little girl.  She's also got her hand out.

Back in St. Louis

We finally made it back to St. Louis.  After a few days of running errands and reorganizing our stuff I think we're back in a pattern of normalcy... except for the fact that Penny has the stomach bug.  Hopefully that will pass quickly and the rest of us won't get it.

Laine had her two-year doctor appointment on Tuesday.  She looks healthy and is growing well, which we knew but is always nice to have confirmed. 

The doctor appointment that everyone is most excited about is tomorrow... to find out if we're having a boy or a girl.  I'll keep you posted.

Trip to Florida

Once we left South Carolina we went to Florida to see my family for a few days.  We initially stayed with my Nana, who still lives in the neighborhood that I grew up in.  It was fun to see Laine interact with and love on her great grandmother.  And it was fun to drive around and remember my pre-college days.

After we left Nana's house Laine and I went to Nan and Pop's for a few days while Penny drove our stuff from South Carolina back to St. Louis.  We had a great time visiting my mom and Alex, and Laine especially enjoyed playing with (or harassing, depending on whose point of view) their dog, Buster. 

We were able to take Laine to the beach a few times, and she loved the waves.  She would have kept going deeper into the Gulf if we had let her.

Thankfully we were able to leave Florida a day before hurricane Fay hit.  Always an adventure during hurricane season!