Sibling Love

Kendley is such a good big sister. She often tries to offer Miles his "fire" (pacifier), brings him "blankies", gives him his bottle, tells him "it's okay" and gives him neck strangling hugs. It's so funny how motherly she is and how accepting Miles is of her sometimes not so gentle care. He smiles at her more than anyone in the house. I can't wait to watch them grow up together, fight with each other and fight for each other. There isn't a better friend than a sibling; I think Miles and Kendley already know this!

Potty Training 101

There comes a point when you are changing adult sized poopy diapers that you decided you are ready for a change.  I reached that point on Tuesday.  I took Kendley to Target to pick out some "big girl panties".  Kendley wasn't very excited about big girl panties until I told her Mini Mouse wears them. 

Yesterday, I washed the panties and after her nap, we began potty training.  I'm not much of a read a book about it kind of girl.  I know how to potty on a big girl potty, that should be enough, right?  Well, we ended the night successful and unsuccessful.  Success: Kendley didn't potty in her undies.  Unsuccessful: Kendley didn't potty on the potty either!

Today, Kendley woke up and we put on her big girl panties.  She sat on the toilet several times...nothing.  I went to change Miles' diaper and I hear Kendley scream, "what happened???".  She had peed on the floor.  We went to her potty and talked about how we potty on the toilet and not on the floor.  Then, we headed to the gym.  I am luck to have a gym that supports potty training!  After my workout, I went to pick her up and the ladies at the daycare said they tried to take her but she was scared and started crying.  So, I took her and set her on the potty...nothing.  We drive home, I get Miles out of his car seat and I hear, "oh no".  Again, Kendley peed on the floor.  We do the same as earlier and end the chat with a, "1-2-3 potty".  I begin to feed Miles and Kendley walks up to me with something in her hand.  I look at her and she looks at me quietly asking, "what's that?".  I try not to overreact and respond, "It's your POOP".  I run her to the toilet where she disposes of the feces.

24 hours into potty training and feeling a little unsuccessful.
 
Potty- 0
Floor- 3    
Mommy- :(

How much was that?

A few weeks ago, I made a poor choice in purchasing some cleaning supplies from a man selling door to door.  The sequence of events were a little funny, so I thought I would share the story.

It all started before the doorbell rang.  Miles was screaming for an unknown reason most of the morning.  Kendley had just woken up from her nap.  Kendley wanted "caca uffs", also known as Coco Puffs, for her snack.  We didn't have Coco Puffs.  This led to a major melt down.  Kendley has definitely entered her terrible twos! 

The door bell rings.  Maverick (our dog) does not like the doorbell and goes kujo at the window by the door.  I open the door and Miguel, the sales man, is standing on the second step down looking a little nervous for his safety.  Maverick darts out the door; I yell at him to come inside.  Kendley continues to cry, pulling at my shirt saying "up".  Miles continues to cry in my arms.  I ask Miguel how I can help him and he starts his cleaning solution spiel.  Before I know it, Miguel is cleaning the outside of my windows, the oil stain in our driveway and the tile grout in our entry way.  I was so ready for him to leave and in my mind, the easiest way was to buy whatever he was selling.  Finally, I spoke up and said "I'll buy it!".  I asked how much he wanted... $80.00.  I went got eighty dollars in cash, handed it to Miguel and closed the door (kids still crying and Maverick still trying sniff out the situation).  After the door shut I had a "what did I just do" moment in my head.  I totally let Miguel use my situation to his advantage. 

Fast forward a few hours later.  Jeff came home from work to find the gallon jug of cleaner on the counter with Miguel's phone number written in sharpie on it (in case I need to call him for more cleaner).  He picked up the cleaner and said, "what is this?"  I said, "It's this great cleaner I bought today.  Look how clean the grout is AND I cleaned the shower doors."  Jeff responded, "cool how much was it?"  I said, "Look it got the oil stain out of the driveway."  Jeff said, "it's a driveway who cares if there is oil in it; how much was it?"  At that point I knew I wasn't getting out of telling him.  I said, "$80 BUT, you dilute it so it will last a really long time."  Jeff stood and stared at me in disbelief.  He gave me the same "unbelievable" that he has given me since I was 15 when I did something stupid.  He made fun of me most of the night and I continued to defend my purchase.  Finally, I got sick of it and said, "OKAY, I f'ed up!"  Jeff looked at me, laughed and said, "that's all I wanted to hear.  Now, do I need to get a no soliciting sign or have you learned you lesson?" 


I will point out, in the last two weeks Jeff has spilled two glasses of red wine on our carpet AND my cleaner got it out!  Winning! :)

It's NOT Colic!

I wrote this blog a few weeks ago and just realized that it didn't post.  Since this, Miles has definitely gotten better.  He still is needy and pretty much cries if you aren't holding him . But, I can at least get him to sleep some during the day.  One thing that has helped a lot is basically forcing him to go to sleep.  It almost seems like he doesn't know that he is tired.  Colic or not, it has been frustrating.  We love the little guy though!  

Miles, in the words of his pediatrician, is a “needy baby” who doesn’t know how to “self sooth”.  What does that mean?? It means that he cries A LOT!  Jeff keeps asking me if he has colic and I keep denying that he does.  Why do I keep saying he doesn’t have colic when he cries for hours at a time without stopping when being soothed?  I don’t know.   I guess if I think that he doesn’t have colic then it will get better, or maybe it’s admitting that my new little boy isn’t a “perfect baby”.  Colic is something that other people’s babies have BUT not MY baby!

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step.  Well, yesterday was my breaking point and I am ready to admit…we have a problem!  I spent most of the morning holding, bouncing, singing, and rocking a screaming baby.  Miles finally decided to take a snooze.  I loaded him and his sister into the car and headed to the grocery store.  As soon as we go into the store, Miles woke up screaming.  Kendley was in the seat part of the cart, Miles’ car seat was in the cart and I was holding Miles while pushing the cart.  Everyone at the store looked at me with the, you poor woman look.  One lady definitely had the, what’s wrong with your child look.  Kendley insisted on a free cookie from the bakery.  We went and got one; she took a bite and responded with, “no like”.  Who doesn’t like sugar cookies?  Miles spends the entire trip at the store and ride home crying.  He continues to cry for another two hours.  The night ended with Miles on the floor screaming, me sitting Indian style on the floor next to him crying, and Kendley sitting in my lap wiping away my tears with an occasional, “it’s okay”.  Of course Miles stopped crying as soon as daddy came home.  I wave the white flag…Miles has colic!    

Just some everyday pictures

It is crazy how fast Kendley is learning and how much Miles has changed in the past 6 weeks! New things going on in the Elchert house: Miles has started to smile, Kendley is singing songs on her own and can count to 10. Check out my YouTube videos under TheAshleyE sometime to see Miss Kendley in action! Here are some current pics of our loves.












I left Kendley to eat pudding while I got dressed for the gym, this is what I came back to.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Back to the zoo

We had so much fun at the zoo a few weeks ago that we decided to take a second trip! Kendley loves to look at the animals, make their noises and talk about what they are doing. Miles slept most of the time we were there. Some of Kendley's favorites: the polar bear, kangaroos, and monkeys. Parts she didn't like: the polar bear close up and the sleeping gorilla.

Trip to the Zoo

While my sister and her husband were visiting, we took a trip to the Kansas City Zoo.  This was the first time Kendley was really interested in looking at the animals.  It was a beautiful day to walk around!  Miles wasn't so interested but he lasted pretty long for a little guy! 

Newborn Pics

Here are just a few of the great pictures our friend Cara Brooner took of our little guy.  You can see more of her work on her blog www.chasingshinyobjects.com 

                                    

A family of Four

After we returned home from the hospital with Miles, Jeff said something to me that still brings tears to my eyes.  Kendley, Miles and I were sitting next to him and he said to me, "Our family is complete".  I will be the first to admit, going from one to two kids is HARD work!  Miles cries a lot right now (maybe a little colicky?) and Kendley wants her mommy's attention more than I can give her.  There are times that all three of us are on the ground crying out of frustration and I can't wait for Jeff to walk through the door to help out.  But, man is it worth it!  Looking at our kids, seeing Kendley grow into a little girl and a big sister, and watching Jeff be an amazing dad is the best feeling in the world.  Jeff was right, our family is complete with Miles in our lives.

                                                              Bringing Miles home

                                                     Kendley holding Miles for the first time

                                                                     "Bubbles!"