Okay, so long story short...We started working on Potty Training with Kelli on her 3rd birthday (about 3 weeks ago) and to sum it up, it has been not so good! Only if I LOADED her with liquids and then made her sit on the potty chair every 20 minutes would I be lucky enough to get an occasional result. Otherwise, it was on the floor, in Brians favorite recliner, and the best was one time when she went outside....we were having a picinic lunch with friends and I was telling my girlfriend about the potty training experiences of the previous day (her best day up to that point) and Andrew says, "Ah, Mom..." as he points at Kelli. There she stands, with a large bowl of watermelon, eating away all the while a fountain streaming out her shorts and down her leg! I said Kelli what are you doing honey? She looked at me like she had no idea, then saw I was pointing at her legs and she chuckles and says, "Oh, going potty!" So I was convinced that her brain has not yet mastered the "hold the pee" reflex and was still automatically emptying when reaching a certain capacity (this is typically mastered shortly after their 2nd birthday). So I was contemplating stopping and trying again in a couple of weeks thinking she just totally wasn't ready. Well yesterday we spent the afternoon in the pool again and she insisted that she did not need a pool diaper on because she would tell me if she needed to go. So a little hesitantly I let her go diaperless with just her suit, but said you can't go in your swimsuit, so you HAVE to tell me! About an hour into swimming, she comes running over and proclaims, "Mommy, I HAVE to go potty!!" Now this is a huge step!! So Andrew ran inside (I am beyond able to move quick enough, so Andrew has become errand boy) and got the potty chair. Kelli immediately sat and to the surprise of all of us went potty!! Okay so now I am thinking, she does know! So with new gusto this morning we started anew! It is 2pm and she has had 5, yes I said 5, successful trips to the potty chair and each one was preceded by an announcement that she needed to go! I am so proud of her, as is Andrew...She gets a few jellybeans each time she is successful and bless her heart she always gives one to Andrew! So he has been a great encouragement to her as well!
I asked the kids if they would please let me take a couple quick pictures of them before they got to their play ~ Thought these were adorable!
Brian has been working with Andrew on his catching skills...he seems to be a natural at it! Andrew loves to teach Kelli things, so he decided to pass along some instructions to his aprehensive little sister!!
Catch one....successful!
Catch two...unsuccessful!
We got a taste today of what this summer will be like! It was 87 degrees and we spent the afternoon outside playing in the kiddie pool! The kids had a blast and I would last about 40 minutes and then have to take a dip in the pool myself! The kids said I was too big to get in, but I told them I either had to get in to cool off or we had to go inside...they quickly decided that it was just fin for me to hop in with them! We have a bigger above ground pool that hopefully will be set up for next month, one of those ones with the inflatable ring at the top...I think it is like 3-4 feet deep and big enough that I can float on a raft in it! We love the water! Makes me remember all the times we went swimming at The Ridge Resort when we were growing up in Sedona!!
Kelli turned 3 today! I can't believe it! She is such a doll! We had her birthday party with all her aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and even 2 great grandpas on Saturday! She was showered with presents, most having something to do with Disney princesses, especially Ariel, the Little Mermaid! She thouroughly enjoyed opening her presents and then politely thanked each gift giver with a great big hug! So sweet! We also restarted potty training today! I told her all last week that we were going to try again whether she wanted to or not. I kept asking her, "what are we going to start doing on Monday?" And her reply was "go potty on the potty chair, whether I want to or not!" =) We had kind of a crazy day, but she got several stickers on her potty chart! Hopefully this run will be as easy as it was with Andrew! SO thankful for my little princess! I always thought I would be a mom of boys, but I sure couldn't imagine life with out her!
This is my grandma, Edna Aileen Cronk. That is me she is holding. I was probably around 2 years old. Today is her birthday. She would be 89 years old. She died from Ovarian Cancer on April 7th, 1999, 2 days before her 81st birthday.
These are roses that my dad planted in front of her house years ago. I took this picture when I was taking care of her before she died. Grandma wanted to die at home, not in a nursing facility. When my grandpa could no longer care for her by himself, he called me to come and help him. It was one of the most difficult tasks I have ever had to do. Take care of someone you love as they end their life. After a few weeks I also could not handle the demands on my own, so my aunt and my dad flew out to Arizona to help. It was a week later, she had eaten nothing for 7 days and had no water for 4, that we could tell it would be soon that she would leave her earthly body. My dad and grandpa had been meeting with the pastor going over the final details of her memorial service (which she planned herself before she was so ill). My aunt, my sister and I were standing around her bed when they returned home.
You could see the blood leaving her veins and her breathing was getting more and more shallow. Grandpa and dad walked over to the bed. Grandpa bent down, kissed her and said, "Go Home Sweetheart, I love You." And she took her last breath. I had never watched someone die. It was SO blatently obvious that her soul left her body as that breath left her lungs. Grandma was gone. Her body was an empty shell. What a joy to know she was immediately in the presence of her Maker! Cancer free...pain free...free...
This picture was taken on my drive home from Arizona after the memorial service, going home to Illinois
So here is baby Mauch #3!! Everything looks great! I had early ultrasounds with each of the other two and didn't with this one...totally amazing to see this one so big and way past the "teddy graham" stage of development!! What a miracle!! If you click on the picture it will show you an enlargement that makes it easier to see!
