Big Girl Bed for my Younger One

This past Saturday, I finally got around getting Jessica's twin bed set up in her room. Both she and Charlotte were sooooo excited about the new big girl bed. They sat on top of Jess' bed, read books and rolled around. It's nice to see them grow up, but made me sad looking at the crib. My girls are growing up.

I also got around to gathering my maternity clothes, organizing them with Charlotte, and posting them on craigslist. As I picked up each piece, it made me somewhat emotional thinking about how I used to wear them during my pregnancies. I will definitely hold onto a couple favorite pieces as mementos =).

My 2 year-old and her alarm clock

About 2 or 3 months ago, I put a digital clock in my older daughter's room and covered up the minutes part. I told her that she should wake up when the hours number displays 7....not 6, but 7. So that was working pretty well and she would just fall back asleep if she woke up and saw 6 there as opposed to 7. Well, as of recent, I could hear her in the monitor saying, "Go away 6. I want 7. Go away 6...go away 6....I want 7. Oh my gosh, I had to put my face in my pillow because I was laughing so hard. She is such a riot!!!! Anywho, I just wanted to share that story.

Lockdown with Hand Foot Mouth Disease...

Both my girls just recently experienced the wrath of Hand Foot Mouth Disease (HFMD). My little one caught it from my older daughter's preschool ironically enough. She then passed it on to my older daughter. Luckily, my older daughter's symptoms were pretty mild. The whole thing lasted about 13 days with my little one. My older one recovered pretty quickly. They both had to take a Maalox/Benadryl mixture for the sores in their mouth and ibuprofen/tylenol for the fever/pain. It was not fun. So yes, we were in lockdown for 13 glorious days ;). I am an expert on indoor activites for girls like painting nails and toes different colors each day, art projects, dvds, reading, dancing, eating lots of popsicles, playing in the bathtub, but BEST OF ALL, potty training... Hey, if you have to stay home for that long, might as well make the best of it ;).

Potty Training Before the Age of 2 Using Baby Signs

We used the Baby Signs Potty Kit with my first daughter when she was 18 1/2 months. She was already doing a number of baby signs so she picked up on the additional signs like potty, good job, and wash hands really well. We used and are still using the baby bjorn potty chair. Initially, we tried putting her on the baby bjorn toilet attachment, but it was a bit overwhelming for her to be that high up. She definitely felt more grounded and comfortable sitting on a potty chair more her size with her feet on the floor. The kit comes with great reward stickers that were great for her age. We ended up using stickers for going pee and then stamps for going poo. Within a week of potty training using the baby signs, she was potty trained with the pee. The poo took another 2-3 weeks. We used cotton training pants with plastic pants over the cotton training pants. We still would put a diaper on her during her naps and bedtime for a while. She is now 21 months old now and is fully out of diapers. Woohooo... We knew we would be All Aboard the Potty Train with our second daughter. We are definite fans of baby signs and the baby signs potty training concept of potty training before the age of 2.

We are currently potty training my second daughter who is 16 months old. She has been doing GREAT!!! She is in cotton panties during the day and diapers during her nap and nighttime sleeping. We did not have issues with the poo. She is comfortable going pee and poo in her baby bjorn potty chair. I wonder if that is because we started a little earlier with her than my older one. Anyways, I'm glad about that. We used the same rewards as we did for my first one except that for pee you get one sticker..for poo you get 2 stickers. Having an older sibling that is potty trained also helps speed along the process I think. My older daughter has been very helpful with her little sister's potty training. I remember the morning of the first day that I decided to start potty training my little one. I took off her diaper, brought down the cotton training pants, and put one on her. My older daugher was ELATED!!! She was so excited. Anywho, I will continue to blog the progression of the potty training.

Love and Logic Parenting

My sister introduced me to Love and Logic Parenting by giving me Love and Logic CDs as a baby gift. Once I got past the initial baby months, I started listing to the CDs in the car. The examples that are given on the CDs are very real which makes them all the more interesting to listen to. I have used the techniques on my little ones and have been very pleased with the results. I have found that I am less frustrated and truly enjoying the parenting experience. I enjoy watching my children make choices and think logically with reason. I've used many of the love and logic techniques when it comes to cleaning up, sharing, eating things that are good for us, teaching manners, etc. It has been a true life saver as early as 6 months of age. I am a huge fan of Love & Logic and will continue to use them for guidance. http://www.loveandlogic.com/

Cool Geography Map Puzzles for Toddlers

I just purchased this USA Map Puzzle for my 2 year-old. She has been learning about the states in preschool and has shown a lot of intesest in geography. I found this very affordable and good sized USA Map Puzzle so I thought I'd share the link in case anyone has a little one who is also interested in geography. Two key things that I was looking for in a USA Map Puzzle is that each State had its own piece since I'd seen puzzles where one piece contained 2 States. Secondly, I wanted a puzzle that did not make sounds. http://www.hungates.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=100728353 Use coupon code 15OFF to receive 15% off your order.

Going out of town with kids? Sleeping Arrangments? What to do....

When traveling with my two little ones who are now 1 (almost 2) and 2 (almost 3) years-old, sleeping arrangments is always one of the things that I'm trying to figure out. In my recent trip to visit my parents, I came across an "Aerobed for Kids", which received rave reviews so I purchased two of them and had them shipped to my parents' house. They are very reasonably priced especially if it means you don't have to worry about where to put your kids for nap time or sleep time. They worked out great!!! I bought mine from Amazon with free shipping. Here is the link http://www.amazon.com/Aero-40010-AeroBed-for-Kids/dp/B00006IV33/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1247766785&sr=8-1 . A really cute and comfortable sheet comes with it, which is nice. Everything is in the box ready for you and your little ones =). Anywho, thought I'd pass that worthwhile buy along.