Baptism & Potty Training

Baby John, Pat and Pop Pop outside the church

Here we all are listening to Reverend Cobb

John being baptized

Ella being baptized

Me, John, Jen and Ella. John was sweating and had already changed!

Today we had John and Ella baptized. It was a bittersweet day for the family; a day of mixed feelings for me. I felt so much joy and happiness that the kids were being baptized in the same church I was. But I couldn’t help but feel the pain of my mom'sabsence. She was there in spirit but it’s just not the same. Nothing is the same.

The babies behaved during the church service and even little Gracie (with the help of her Goldfish) was quiet. After the ceremony, we headed to brunch. Dave and I weren’t sure about this brunch because Gracie was on Day 2 of potty training. This was the first time we had been away from the house and came equip with the potty chair, M&M’s, stickers, and the Thomas the Train noise makers. But we were still nervous about her peeing in the middle of a restaurant. If any of you know Clarendon, parking is a pain. We parked several blocks from the restaurant and therefore decided to leave the potty-chair behind. Halfway through lunch, Gracie said she had to go potty. Jen and I took her back there where it was my job to hold her on top of this seemingly huge toilet. Grace is very independent lately and I am not her favorite person. Those two don’t mix and I was told, “I do it Mama, go away!” So I did and she fell in. An obvious unsuccessful potty attempt. (By the way, I didn’t just let her go. I did hold on ever so lightly but she still fell in. Oh well!)

Gracie hadn’t peed since 9 o’clock that morning and it was after 2. Now we had to make it the 45-minute drive home. As we were driving, Gracie asked for some water. Oh dear Lord, I hadn’t given the child anything to drink since we left the house that morning. No wonder she didn’t have to pee! Potty training by dehydration!!!! Poor baby. So we gave her some water and not 5 minutes later, we pulled off in Fairfax because she had to go. I’ve never loved my Explorer so much. We had a whole ladies room ready in the back. She sat and sat and nothing!!!! We raced home and no joke, she went in the potty about 5 times in the span of being home for 20 minutes. So far, so good.
Gracie showing Katie how to pee pee on the potty

Gracie and her big girl panties!!

Everyone likes to use the potty with their sneakers on, right??

Move over baby John, I'm comin' in!

Gracie peed on the potty!!!

She did it!!! I had just finished giving Gracie a bath and she was running around naked while I looked for her nightgown. As she was playing, she said that she had to go potty. I asked her if she wanted to go pee pee on the potty and she said yes!!! We only have one potty (I will fix that tomorrow!) so I called downstairs to Dave to bring up the potty, stat! As he was scrambling, Gracie said she really had to go potty and she peed on the carpet. I didn't want to scold her because it was us that wasn't ready, it wasn't her fault. Dave ran up with the potty, we put her little tush right on it, and she finished her buisness!!!! Yeah Gracie!

After she was done Dave and I applauded like idiots and I ran downstairs to get her a sticker and a cookie. (I polished off the M&M's a while ago....no wonder I now have a wieght loss blog!) She was so proud of herself!

My plan is to start hardcore potty training this Saturday because she has been showing all the signs for a while now. That is a long involved process but according to the all knowing Dr. Phil, it can be done in one day. All you need are big girl undies, a doll that pees, oh, and a lot of liquid!!! Hopefully Saturday will go well for our big girl!!!!

3 Month Update

John is now 3 months old! He is a big boy, weighing in at 13.8 pounds! He has graduated into his 3/6 months clothes and is wearing size 2/3 diapers! He has begun smiling and cooing all the time. When I sing to him he sings right back to me! His schedule is becoming a bit more predictable. He sleeps from about 10PM until 7AM. I feed him around 7:30 and he's back asleep at 8. He will usually got for a couple more hours, giving Mama time to clean up and shower! After a 10:30 feeding, we get dressed and head out for our daily errands of which he is WIDE AWAKE for. We went through about a 2 week period where he hated the car but he seems to have gotten over that, thank goodness. He is usually up all afternoon until dinner time when he snoozes! When Gracie gets home she always runs to baby John and gives him a ton of kisses.

I think we've finally adjusted to life with 2 kids. It wasn't easy but we're making it work! Enjoy the pics of my sweet little man!

Shoe shopping

Grace has had the same old pair of Crocs for about 2 years now. She hasn't been wearing them for that long but when she was only a couple of months old I bought the smallest size they made, 4/5. Here she is sportin' the crocs last summer:

And here she is just last week:

I think we've gotten our moneys worth out of them!
Wednesday I went to the mall with my dad and decided it was time for Gracie to get a new pair of shoes. I love the Crocs because she can put them on herself and they also hold up really well! I was planning on buying her the same pair just in a bigger size. Boring, I know. When we got to Nordstrom, however, I noticed the cutest little pair of Croc ballet type shoes. Loved it!
The one of the left in the pic:


My most impressive purchase of the week came yesterday when I went to Ross. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps and since we're broke (I've been going without a paycheck for about 3 months now!) I thought discount shopping was the only answer. I went into Ross not looking for anything in particular. I didn't dare try on any clothes for myself (Jenny Craig here I come) so after wandering around a bit I ended up in the kids department. Shopping for girls is so much more enjoyable than shopping for boys; or at least this is what I thought until I found these gems:

How cute are they!!!?? And a bargin at 10 bucks each!
Gracie got her new shoes on Wednesday. She doesn't have to get something everytime John does. Right? Wrong. When I showed them to her last night, she stated, "My shoes. I put them on right now!" (Latley everything has to happen RIGHT NOW!) I told her that her feet were tooo big for the shoes. I guess she thinks I'm a liar, she had to try them on for herself. When the shoe only fit on her big toe, that was proof enough. Next she looked at baby John's feet, then back at the shoes. What happened next?

Poor baby John, destined for a life of being dressed up(and wiped) by a bunch of girls!



They sure are sweet!

Finally, he's been captured on video!

Movie Time!!!

Today we all headed to the movies! There is a theater in Ashburn that shows kids movies FREE in the summertime at 10AM! Aunt Jen and Ella joined us for what was Gracies, John's and Ella's first movie!

This appealed to me becuase number 1, it's FREE. Number 2, it's obviously kid friendly. So if Grace decided she hated it or John wanted to scream and vomit all over the place, well, they wouldn't be the only ones. But, to my suprise and amazement, all of our kids were great! Gracie actually sat for the entire duration of Horton Hears a Who (thanks to her Aunt Sissy and her kids' meal). Ella and John were awake the majority of the time and both seemed to be "watching" it.

All and all, a fantastic summer day!

Just like his daddy....

One of Dave's coworkers thinks that John looks just like his Daddy...you be the judge:




(Thanks Chris, I love it!)

Changes

I've been at this blog thing for a while now...about three years so I thought it about time to change the layout. There are several blogs that I try to read each day and FortyFive Degrees had a link to a website that customizes blogs. Thanks Sarah! So, what do you all think? Oh, here's her website and it's super easy to change things up, oh, and FREE!!!
http://www.aquapoppydesigns.blogspot.com/

The blog isn't the only thing that has changed. Every time I look at Grace, she's saying something new, walking a little different, or just acting more grown. She talks CONSTANTLY; her newest saying, "Oh my gosh" (with some sort of Jersey accent!) or "You're ok baby John, Mama's coming!"

We put her in a big girl bed on June 28th and she has been sleeping soundly in it without a problem ever since. Well, there was one night when we heard and thud followed by screaming. Dave went up to check out the damage and she had indeed fallen off the bed and scraped up her elbow pretty bad. But, like most toddlers, after snuggling with her papa for a few minutes she forgot about it and actually climbed right back into her bed. The next morning I asked her what happened and she said, rather grown up like, "I fall out of my new bed!" And then proceeded to squish up her face and show me her elbow. Still, a week later when you ask her about her new bed she shows you her elbow!

We took Gracie back to the pedi last week b/c she was tugging on her ear. Sure enough her tube fell out and she still had an ear infection despite the antibiotics we had given her. I'm afraid we're going to have to put the tube back in.

For the 4th of July this year we visited the Eley/Grossmans's in Vienna and then went to the festival in the Plains for games, fun and fireworks. Seeing Lauren and her family was a real treat. As I walked up the path to her house carrying a baby in one hand followed by another child and my husband, it was surreal. Lauren and I basically grew up together and her house served as the center of things. Getting ready to go to Fridays, waiting for a boy to call, typical teenage girl stuff. Now here I was with my family!! We had a great visit with baby Dane and had some time to catch up and chat!

After Gracie’s nap we headed to the Plains for a festival. Gracie and Baby John were such troopers. Neither one were afraid of the fireworks. Gracie sat on her papa’s lap (of course) and he kept his arms tight around her. When he reached for his drink Gracie quickly put his arm back in place. She whined a little at first but was soon asking for more! John was awake for the show and I swear he was looking at ‘em! Getting out of the parking lot took about an hour and we didn’t get home and the kids to bed until around 11. Gracie has NEVER been up that late. But, as luck would have it they both slept in until almost 9 the next morning. That was my 4th of July present!

Gracie's Big Girl Bed!!!


Lauren with the three kids!


Ok so Mama forgot to pack a bib for Gracie!


Gracie(thank you so much Lauren, love this pic!)

Grossman/Tucholski Clans

Boy have times changed! Now we're holding babies instead of well....what did we used to hold?!?


Baby Dane and Baby John


Gracie and Baby Dane

A playdate for a couple of 2 month olds...

Looks a little something like this:

Frying Pan Farm Park

As a mother of two young kids, I am always trying to find something fun to do. As a mother who is currently without a paycheck, those things must also be cheap! I was over on my Facebook page and saw some pictures of some friends with their kids at Frying Pan Farm Park. Grace has been really into animals so this was worth a shot. The weather on Saturday was amazing so we packed up and drove to Herndon. The really great thing about the "farm" is that it's not big at all so it's perfect for a little 2 year old. There aren't an over abundance of animals, activites, or people. Gracie loved checking out the chickens and the horses. John sort of just hung out with me while Grace and Papa ran around. It was a really great day!

Grace and Papa

She loved the tractor

Looking at the horses


Baby John getting ready to go!!!!

2 months already!

Time sure does fly...John is two months old!!! Our doctors appointment is Wednesday so I'll be sure to come back and post those stats! John is growing like a weed. Unlike his sister, he has already outgrown most of his newborn clothes and is fitting comforably into his 0-3's. He is talking up a storm and easily recognizes our voices...even Gracies! Today we were playing on the floor and he followed one of his toys like a pro. He has been sleeping through the night steadily for about a week now. Dave gives him his last feeding around 9:30 and he sleeps until about 5 or 6AM. Can't complain about that.

I have been back at work to help close things up for the last week and John has been staying with his Aunt Jen and cousin Ella. I think they are really starting to like one another!

2 month pics!

John and Baby Ella

Bye Bye Binkie!!!!

That's right! Tonight Gracie went to bed without her binkie!

Baby John-7 Weeks

We're a beginning to fall into a pretty good routine with Baby John. During the day, he sleeps and eats and is generally a good partner in crime at Target or the mall. He waits until his Papa and Gracie get home around 6 to get fussy. Of course this a busy time with a hungry two-year-old (not to mention a hungry 30 year old!) and makes for quite the juggling act between mom and dad. Some nights, John will eat straight from about 7 until 10. I mean no stopping..."Refill please sir!" style. Who knows how many ounces this boy consumes during that time. Dave is "in charge" during this time and I usually relax and clean up from the day. Dave puts John to "bed" (his carseat...I know, I know) by 10:30 and he usually goes until either 3AM or 5AM...he rarely strays from his these times. I looked back at Gracie's section of the blog from this time and she was already sleeping through the night (until about6) by this time but I still consider us lucky. It could be a lot worse.

John is starting to smile and look at me when I talk to him. It's amazing how big is is already (10.88...a mother shouldn't by a baby scale...I weigh him everyday) I've already had to put away all of the newborn clothes. I am relieved b/c Gracie was so small for so long that I may actually a chunker on my hands!!!! Enjoy the ramdom pics!

Gracie's Second Birthday

Gracie's second birthday went by this year without much celebration due mostly to the fact that I was in the hospital giving birth to her little brother! I really did feel bad about this and I know the kids will probably HATE IT when their older and have to share the same birthday. I especially hated having to miss her birthday. Aunt Tracey and Uncle Bill along with her cousins Alex, Ryan and Zach threw her an inpromptu party. Bill just brought the pics over this week so here they are! Oh, and her two year stats:

Weight--27.6lbs
Height--33 inches

Tucholski Family VIsit

Dave's parents came to VA for a visit this past weekend. The festivites were centered around cousin Alex's high school graduation! Way to go Alex! We are all happy for him but there is one person who is especially smitten and that Gracie. She loves Alex. She wants him to hold her, feed her, anything. Alex can do no wrong.




Nana and Grandpa were thrilled to meet baby John and play with little Gracie. She warmed up to them quickly and even read Grandpa a book!