Best friends

When I see these pictures and think of all the things that these kids will be doing together, I really do hope that they will be the best of friends.

So big

Friday morning, Gracie came to me and asked if she could wear panties. I decided to go for it and was glad I did. In the whole morning, a period of several hours, she only kind of had one accident and "went" in the potty 3 times. By the end of the day the # was up to 5. She has continued to potty train each day since and has had very few accidents (I still haven't dared to take her anywhere without a diaper and she is still wearing a diaper during naps and bed time, but I am thrilled). It's funny to me because she started to act disinterested in potty training so I backed off. I think as soon as she realized that I wasn't going to force her, her desire to do it was strengthened. Needless to say,we are very proud of our big girl, Gracie.

Cloth Diapers

So... I'm looking for opinions on cloth diapers. I have some friends that totally swear by cloth diapers and love them. I'm not totally sold on them yet, but am doing some research and think that for a tiny baby they might not be so bad (I don't think I would have the strength or stomach to clean a toddler's messy cloth diapers). The approach that appeals to me the most is wearing cloth at home and then disposable when we are out and about. Anyway, I've seen some patterns online for sewing fitted diapers. I guess that until now I always thought of pins and folding and it just overwhelmed me, but cloth diapers have really come a long way.

My biggest concerns are:

-doing it wrong and having big messes to clean up, Having too much bulk (clothes not fitting), washing the diapers/ having a stinky house (I'm just worried because I feel like I get behind on my laundry anyway), and of course- all of the effort it would take.

I'm tempted because:

-I care about the environment and feel badly throwing away so many diapers, I hate buying diapers all the time, I think it is a more self-sufficient way (In case of emergencies, I don't have a 2 year supply of diapers :)), It's cheaper in the long-run, I'm home a lot anyway.

So, bring it on. I want the good, bad, and the ugly. I can handle it. I just have more and more friends going this direction and feel like it deserves some consideration.

Month of Love

Can you believe that Gunner is almost 6 weeks old? Time flies. He is changing right before our eyes and I'm thrilled to report that we got our first smile out of him this week. I have also been very pleased that Gunner started sleeping in 4 hour stretches at night, which is really helpful. Gunner has grown out of a lot of his "newborn" size clothes and is enjoying making a fashion statement with his cute little wardrobe (or maybe his mom loves dressing him up and he doesn't care...can't remember). Most of the pictures speak for themselves, but I love the bottom middle picture when I caught him yawning :)

Gracie is doing well. I had a stroke of genius about a week and a half ago and decided that I should just potty train Gracie to make my life a little easier. How hard can it be, right? Well, she isn't potty trained and I might have to go back to her regular diapers, but I did try some cheap pull-ups this weeks. We're making some progress (she can now change her own wet diapers, even though she isn't going in the toilet- How is that for being a self-sufficient 2 year old?). I'd love any potty training advice or better yet, any potty training volunteers :)

Justin is busy with school and had several tests, assignments and projects due this last week. I have also been busy, trying to pick up a few projects that I've put to the side. It is nice to feel like things are getting a little bit back to "normal" and some days it feels like we're coming out of survial mode (Don't be too fooled,we're still there quite a bit). That's about it right now for us.

The best of times, the worst of times

This week has been wonderful and also trying. I think Gracie has done well with the transition of becoming a big sister. That said, it HAS been a transition. She likes to give Gunner kisses and hugs but also like to poke eyes, yell in his face, and do other things to get our attention. I guess I can only hope it will continue getting better. The other day Justin got home and we were talking about his day and spending some time together. Gracie disappeared upstairs and we decided after awhile to go up and check on her. This is what I found.

My mom got Gracie some special kid's handsoap while she was here. It's purple so it showed up really well in Gracie's white-blonde hair. No damage done, but it made us laugh. Today I looked behind me in the car while driving and Gracie (AKA houdini) was completely out of her carseat. She had worked her way out of the arm straps and then slid out of the bottom strap. Arrrrgh. It was so frustrating. I had visions of being pulled over and my social work license being revoked for child abuse. Gracie only laughed to see her mother so upset. She finally got back in her seat when I threatened not to let her watch her barbie princess movie today.
This was a happy moment the same day as the soap incident when Gracie got to go to the park for a special time with mom.


This is a more recent picture of Gunner. I think his cheeks are starting to fill out a little more.

This is Gunner telling everyone how many weeks old he is. LOVE IT!
Lastly, I wanted to post this picture because I've been thinking a lot about the hope of spring. I was so happy that I could take this picture at 5pm and it wasn't already dark!!! Speaking of hope, I was given new hope when I survived a trip to the grocery store with 2 children and a trip to a toddler gym today with both kids as well. See, I won't have to stay in my house for the rest of my life :) What gives you hope?