miss halle has had to do quite a bit of growing up these past couple of months.
we are so incredibly proud of her and how she has handled all the big changes in her life.
big sister:
i seem to expect so much more of her now that she is a big sister. i constantly have to remind myself that she is only two even though she acts, looks, and talks like she is so much older. i was a little nervous to see how she handled sharing the spotlight with lily, but she has done great. she is so loving to her sister and a big help to me doing things for herself when i am nursing, bringing me things that lily might need, and trying to help lily feel better when she is sad. the biggest adjustment for her was planning our activities around feeding times. halle is so patient when we have to come inside or wait to go somewhere because i am nursing.
potty training:
Halle has been trying to use the potty off and on since about february. She really started to get it when grandma nimer would give her a little car every time she went. But, when the cars ran out she started going back to her old ways of hiding and peeing in her pull up when no one was around to stop her. I finally decided to just stick her in underwear and see if having accidents in her undies would bother enough to motivate her. Lily was only a few weeks old at this point. I think it was the second day she had been in her undies and she hadn't had an accident. Halle had been exceptionally disobedient all morning and we were in the middle of Wes's second
week out of town. So keep in mind i had been doing everything myself, tired with a newborn, braving being alone at night, housework, doctor's appointments, battling mastitis, etc. After her incredibly rough morning I asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom. She said no and slowly made her way to her room where she hid and pooped and peed in her undies. Something inside me snapped. Everything that I had been dealing with for the past few weeks and that morning exploded on sweet halle and I yelled at her for pooping in her underwear. One of my very worst mommy moments. I have never yelled at her before. And I know the last thing you ever want to do is scare your children when they are potty training. Don't worry, I cried about it and apologized to Halle and Heavenly Father many times for losing my temper with such a sweet spirit. Halle knew something was up because the yelling made her cry and she timidly asked "are we still best friends?" Talk about guilt trip. Anyway, my point in telling that story is that from that moment on she has not messed her undies on purpose once since then. She has had one accident over the past month and a half which was partly my fault for thinking she could hold it all the way home when I should have just pulled over and let her go. So I can't tell if it was the yelling or the feeling of messy undies that made her step it up and use the potty all the time. Either way she is excited to tell people she is potty trained and also that she can go to dance class like a big girl. Please don't report me.
big girl bed:
Since Wes was out of town for most of the first month and a half of lily's life, halle's bed set and mattress have been sitting at the furniture store waiting to be picked up. She has been sleeping in our bed for the past 6 months because she hates her crib. I was sure she was going to do the same thing with her new bed down in the basement. Because, seriously, I was terrified when I had to sleep in the basement alone as a 6 year old. Finally two weekends ago Wes set up her bed with the help of my family and miss Halle has slept through the night and taken all her naps alone ever since then. I don't know what happened in her head, but it is truly a miracle. And I am pretty proud of myself for finding her a blue bed set like she requested that we were both happy with.
This little love has stepped it up in so many ways since we brought her little sister home and we are so proud of her we are thinking of ways to spoil her for her upcoming birthday.
