Mader's

2/9/12

Oh me, Oh my!

We've been experiencing a new phase 'round here..."Babes being boss". Karis & Kelsie have been far too demanding lately. They expect me to get them what they want when they want it, and their manners are lacking. They do not understand why they can't always have what they want. Well, it is now affecting our sleep.

2/7 - fed the girls an early dinner and wanted them to be full when I put them to bed, so I fed them oatmeal 30 min. before. Ian was off work, and a half hour after we laid them down, all heck broke loose. Our girls have never done this before, so it really took us by surprise. They screamed at the top of their lungs, so we kept going in to see what they needed & tried to help anyway we could. Every time we left, they screamed! Usually they're really good at communicating what they need/want. Y'all, it was so bad I thought maybe a scorpion had crawled in their jammies or somethin'. Checked for all the usual signs of illness. No fever, no diaper rash, no incoming teeth, no bugs in bed, no dirty or wet diapers, NO REASON TO BE CRYING! Since they'd never done this before, we figured that the oatmeal probably gave them an upset stomach. Kels cried/screamed until 2am before I decided to let Dada & Karis get some uninterrupted sleep. Took Kels on the couch with me and through her soft sobs, she was finally able to fall asleep. She looked like an angel in my arms. I put her back in her crib at 4am, went back to the couch to get some much needed sleep and that's when I hear Karis start up. Phew! Here we go again. I rushed in there to get her before she woke anyone up and she fell asleep on the couch with me. They always look so angelic & perfect when sleeping. I put her back to bed at 6 and they didn't get up til 10am. We were betting on this being a one time thing, but...

2/8 - ...nap time was no different. Major temper tantrum!! Cried for 30 min. When bedtime came along, it was a repeat performance. But Ian and I decided that this is an "I'm mad because I can't get my way!" attitude. Since we tried disciplining them with no affect, we decided that it was best to just leave them alone to work it out. Tonight Ian had to work, so with his authority behind me, I was determined not to tend to them til morning, even if they screamed all night. Kare stopped crying a half hour later, but Kels scream/cried from 7:15-10pm. Sounded like her leg was being cut off. She was so mad!! I turned the monitor down to the lowest setting and just let them cry/scream. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure!! I just kept reminding myself that sometimes the best thing I can do for my kids is nothing at all.

2/9 - put them in bed, sang, prayed with them, kissed 'em, and told them I wouldn't see them til morning. They cried for 15 min. and are now silent. I know we're probably at the beginning of temper tantrum stage, but I'm hoping we nipped this one in the bud and this "crying at bedtime" phase will pass quickly. I will not let my kids rule the roost. They don't have to like it, but they need to learn to obey. As a parent, you never know how much you can endure until you're forced to go through it. This has been a good, hard lesson for us all to learn. Any cries hurt a Mama's heart. Your prayers are appreciated.

2/2/12

More Potty Talk

Ok y'all, I'm sorry to keep posting about the potty training, but it's kind of a big deal around here right now. The girls have really impressed me the past few days. They are really starting to catch on and they're developing a stronger desire to go potty. They've made it fun! I am continuing to take an encouraging roll, rather than drilling. I ask, but don't force.

If you read yesterdays blog entry, we had successful #2's from both girls! I thought it would still be a once-in-a-few-days kind of occurrence, but this evening, they surprised me. Kelsie has been saying "ickypoo" 30 min. after I put her to bed for the past 4 days. It has become a routine and it's been difficult to determine whether or not it's a real need or just an excuse to get out of bed. Well, this evening she was in tears and would not stop crying. I went in to talk to her and she said she needed to go to the bathroom. I sighed and was pretty skeptical, but took her anyway. She sat there sucking her thumb and 3 min. later she went #2, just like she had communicated! I was SO excited for her! She stood up and said, "Yay! I did it!" There's not a lot of things that are cute about potty training, but it was SO adorable to hear say those words in her sweet, excited little voice!! She got 4 mini M&M's & a sticker on her chart! She was happy after that, curled up & went to bed!

While I was helping Kelsie, Karis was in her crib saying "potty" repeatedly. She tends to be my jealous babe. She had already gone #2 a couple hours earlier so I knew she didn't need to go. I thought is was just an excuse to get up, but she wouldn't let it go, so I took her potty too. She sat on the musical potty seat and pushed. Sure enough, it sang!! She jumped up and clapped for herself! Rewards & praise followed. I tucked them back in and 2 hours later(10:15pm) I heard from Karis again. She started fussing, so I went to tend to her cuz I knew Kels had fallen asleep and didn't want her to wake up. Kare said she had to go potty again. Phew! I thought about forgoing this one, but took a deep breath & hauled her to the bathroom. She sat there, made going sounds & then passed gas a few times. "Yay Poopy!" she cried. She stood up and I showed her there wasn't anything in there. Told her that she would need to do more than just toot if she wanted a treat, and she sat there until a half dollar size amount of liquid made that potty chair sing!!! Ha! She was thrilled and received hugs, praises and treats! Oh how they make me laugh! That's 2 days of success in the potty department. It happens irregularly, but it happens and I'm getting the results I was hoping for...their attitudes toward the concept are staying positive! Here's hoping it continues! Normally, I wouldn't post pictures like this cuz I know that when the girls get older, they'll be bothered by it, but this one is too cute not to share.

Not a lot; just life

Oh where to begin?! We are all finally healthy and I'm so thankful! The girls are growing so fast.

Potty training progress: We are almost through our last box of #4 diapers and once we're done, we will be in pull-ups until completely trained. The girls don't go to the bathroom in their potty seats every day. I make it a point to encourage & ask them frequently, but at this point, I still wait for them to want to. They do like sitting on their seats & reading. They often pretend by sitting on their seats and making "going" sounds. Tonight while sitting in their highchairs, Kare said "ickypoo" & started pushing, so I rushed her to the potty & she went #2. She enjoyed the praise, treat & sticker that followed. When I got done with helping her, Kelsie said "ickypoo", so I took her and she did the exact same thing! They are getting to a point where being wet & dirty really bothers them and they've even begun tugging at a dry diaper as if it's uncomfortable. I'm also so thankful that they're able to communicate better and let me know when they need to go. I hope it continues.

Things that the girls have been doing lately:
name all our colors
preferred movies: "Lady & the Tramp" and "Backyardigans"
reading
helping Mama around the house
counting to 11
call the cat & dog by name
wiping up any mess
howl at any siren
coloring
love being outside, sliding & swinging
singing along with familiar songs
dancing
brush teeth
running
looking at the moon & stars
Saying, "Again", "Alright", "Wow-wee", "Hello", "Oh No", "Mess" and many other words.
really enjoy eating oatmeal

It is amazing to watch them grow! They are learning so fast. Ian and I are fascinated by them and feel very blessed.

Ian's always hard at work but he's enjoying his job. He also got the cool opportunity to meet Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in American history! He was at Hastings for his book signing. Ian was thrilled!