Happy 2nd Birthday

To my sweet May:
It is hard for me to believe you are two years old today. You are such an independent little girl that I sometimes forget that you are still just a baby. You are at a very active age. You spend the majority of your day getting into things, (like shampoo, band aids, pots, drawers, etc.) playing with your babies, and running outside. You don’t have any interest in T.V. although you know who all the characters are. Your favorite thing to do is eat. You have many favorite foods including: oatmeal, applesauce, cheese, cereal, muffins, and cupcakes just to name a few. When you really enjoy eating you do this little dance with your shoulders. It is so cute. We are constantly amazed at your vocabulary. You say things that are so beyond your age. You have been speaking in complete sentences since you could walk. You love your sister and the two of you play very well together. You wake up every morning singing a song. When I go into your room to get you the first thing you ask is “where is Daddy”? You have always been the best little sleeper. You go to bed between 8:00 and 8:30. Sometimes I have to go wake you up at 9:00 in the morning. You still take a 2 – 3 hour nap everyday. You have no problem going to sleep. There are so many little things you do that I wish I could capture in my mind forever. You will soon become a big sister and I am very anxious to see how you will interact with the new baby. It is hard to believe that you will not be the baby anymore. You are such a fun little girl and I love you with all my heart! I hope you have a very happy birthday.
Love, Mamma

A Wedding And A Fever

This weekend didn’t turn out exactly like I had hoped. Husband took The Belle to gym Saturday morning while I stayed home with The May (she has a pretty bad cough). It was fun being home with just her. She plays so well by herself. I packed the girls clothes so they could spend the night with Nana since we would be returning late from the wedding. When The Belle got home from gym, she too was acting as if she didn’t feel well. We went ahead to the wedding, which was beautiful. The reception was on the campus of Southern Mississippi. The reception actually overlooked the football stadium. It was such a neat atmosphere and a beautiful day. I posted a picture but, it is hard to see the stadium due to my huge belly (take notice of the cow dress). On our way home I called my Mom to check on the girls. The Belle was running a slight fever. I decided we should probably go get the girls so they could sleep in their own beds. They both were happy to see us and were eager to go home (my first clue that they were not feeling well). We spent Sunday at home nursing The Belle’s snotty nose. Tuesday is The May’s birthday and I am hoping that everyone will be better by Friday for her party.

Ranting Hefer

I bravely loaded up the girls yesterday to go find me a new dress. Husband and myself will be attending a wedding this weekend and since I am as big as a house I needed a new dress. I was desperately hoping that Target would have something so I wouldn't have to go to the mall. I have no idea what is going on with Target's maternity selection, but it is bare. There were literally 3 racks and all the clothes were lounge wear. Before leaving Target I bought the girls some TinkerBell lip gloss in the dollar spot. I thought "this will be good bribery to keep them occupied at the mall." So, off we went. After loading the girls into the stroller and hiking through the parking lot I pulled out the lip gloss. They were both very excited and were entertained for a while. Old Navy's dress selection was also bare so, off we went to Motherhood. Now begins my ranting. First of all, this is strictly a maternity store. So, there customers are pregnant mommies. What do pregnant mommies have? They have kids. So, you know they will be entering the store with a stroller. Here is my stroller:

I swear to you I have been in closets bigger than this store. I could not fit down any aisle without pulling some piece of clothing off the rack or knocking my children into something. Of course I wasn't the only pregnant mommy in the store with a stroller. So, here are me and this other lady both with strollers and fat bellies trying to finagle our way through this closet. It was horrible. I finally found some dresses to try on (in the handicap dressing room). As, I am trying on dresses I hear The May chewing on something. Yep, you guessed it she ate the lip gloss. I mean she bit off the entire end of the applicator. Then she began crying because her "TunkBell" lip gloss was broken. After drudging through the store once more I finally came out with a dress. It is not cute at all. Matter of fact it looks like cow print. Just what I need to look more like a cow. But, it was $16.00 and it is comfortable. Here is a pic:(BTW: I do not look anything like this in it)


Guess what the name of this dress is on Motherhood's website: sleveless cow Lneck dress. Now I know why it was so cheap. What pregnant woman other than myself would buy a dress labeled cow? I promise I will post a pic of the hefer in the dress.

Not much going on

There's not much going on around here these days. It's a pretty typical week. We were going to have a playday with our friends Lily and Susie but, Susie isn't feeling well. I am thinking about taking the girls to the park. The weather is beginning to feel "Fall like" so the girls can stay outside longer than 15 minutes without melting. I am also thinking about cleaning out what was our summer garden and decorating it with some fall decorations. It might take me a week or so with this huge belly that I am carrying around. BTW: this is week 26 of carrying this belly, but who's counting?

One Liner From The Belle

As I am getting out of the shower this morning my cell phone started ringing. This was quickly followed by the sound of running footsteps and The Belle yelling "Mama your cell phone is calling you." I thought to myself "great just one more thing calling me." Good thing it has an off button.

Good-Bye Gracie

We got a new van today! I have dreamed about this day for awhile now. The picture is not our van but, it looks very similar. My Nannie always named her vehicles and I carried on the tradition by naming our car Gracie Grandam. I have to say pulling out of the dealership parking lot and leaving her there was wonderful. She was very good to us but, she had 180,000 miles and could not hold all of us any longer. We actually brought The Belle and The May home from the hospital in Gracie. I guess we will have to name the new van in honor of Gracie. I never knew how much of a difference a bigger vehicle would make. The extra room is so nice. Getting the girls in and out of their car seat is a breeze now. In the car I had to bend over (with a huge belly) and lug them in and out. Now, they can just climb in on their own and I don't have to bend over. And not to mention we will have somewhere to put the baby when she arrives. This is our first "grown up" vehicle and I love it!

Baby Blog Shower

Ok, so let me explain. The cutie Mommy over at OneFabulousMom is throwing a virtual bloggy baby shower. She has so kindly paired all of her pregnant readers up with a partner who so graciously sent a gift to the expectant mother. This is so unbelievable to me! I mean these ladies have no idea who I am (other than reading my blog). Although, I feel as if they are one of my very good friends because I read their blogs daily. I was paired up with SelfConfessedLampTramp. The girls and I quickly made a trip to the post office this morning to pick up our package. When we opened our gift we found that our sweet partner not only bought my sweet baby girl # 3 a gift but she also got The Belle and The May a gift. I am so honored that a lady from Louisiana would take the time and money to buy my girls something so sweet. She got the girls matching lunch boxes (with their names monogrammed on it) and baby girl # 3 the sweetest pink baby blanket. All of which, was purchased at monogramchick.com (go visit her site NOW; it is sooo cute!) So, here are the pictures of my goodies! This was so much fun! Thank you so much to OneFabulousMom and SelfConfessedLampTramp. What a great way to start the week!

Princess Duties

Husband went to church tonight so, I had: kitchen clean up, bath duty, tooth brushing, bedtime and all the other little things that are involved with nightly activities. I put the girls in the bathtub and went back to cleaning up the kitchen, when I overheard The Belle say “ I am Cinderella, you (The May) are Sleeping Beauty, and well Jasmine (me) is washing dishes." Poor Jasmine. I thought well in that case if we are following our princess duties I should be flying around on a carpet somewhere whilst Cinderella is doing the dishes.

Very Liberating

We went to eat lunch with Nana and Papa at Cracker Barrel today. They are on vacation this week. I was worried about The May because she wore only her panties. She tried to go before we left Cracker Barrel but, no dice. We had to make a quick trip by Wal-Mart so I began to worry even more since it had been a few hours since she had been. Of course I had to go once we got into the store. As I was washing my hands The May told me that I did a good job and declared that she had to go potty. So, on she went (her 1st public potty) and lo and behold she went pee pee within 5 seconds. I have to say it is very liberating to take 2 children in a store and not have to worry about changing a diaper or lugging around a diaper bag (although I did have it with me just in case of an accident). I am sure we will still have accidents but, after 1 week I think it is safe to say The May is potty trained. YEA!! Now, if I can just get her out of her crib.

Weekend Review

We had a good weekend. Friday night we ordered pizza from our new favorite place. We stopped by the grocery store and let The Belle pick out her choice of ice cream and cookies. She definantly takes after her Mama. She chose strawberry ice cream and peanut butter fudge cookies. Saturday morning The Belle had gym. Then we came home and husband cut grass. The girls played outside which was well needed since we stayed inside all week potty training The May. Considering she was in a diaper Saturday morning and the majority of Sunday while we were at church she did well. This morning she went on her own several times. I think after another week of a solid routine, we will be well on our way. All in all, we had a nice restful weekend. The next few weekends are going to be busy with birthday parties and a wedding. Before I know it, it will be Christmas and I will have a new baby girl. Time sure is flying.

Sweet Girl

I'm not sure what all we are going to do this weekend but, I do know that there is going to be something special planned for The Belle. She has been such a sweet girl this week while I have been potty training The May. Unfortunately, we have spent almost everyday this week inside. So, she has watched ALOT of t.v. I did get out paint and playdough a few times but for the most part she has been kooked up inside watching t.v. or playing by herself. I am so proud of her for being so willing to help and keep herself entertained.

Where To Put It?

Thanks to Nana we are the proud owners of a jump-o-lene. This thing is huge! It takes up the entire living room. The girls love it! I have no idea where we are going to store it. The May refused to sit on the potty this morning and continually "dribbled" in her panties. There was no reward good enough for her. We spent the entire morning in the bathroom. We colored, read books, played with babies, sang songs, and tried lots of bribery. So, finally at 10:30 she went (after lots of tears). We all clapped, sang, and ate reeses pieces in honor of the occasion. Day 3 of potty training is really beginning to wear on me. Hopefully, she will be willing to go on her own soon. I must say The Belle has been a trooper through all of this. She is like The May's personal potty cheerleader. She needs some kind of special prize for all she has done.

Making Potty Progress

The May pooped in the potty! After her nap I tried for 3 hours to get her to go pee on the potty. Then I pulled out my best parenting tool...bribery! I told her that if she would go pee pee on the potty Daddy would get her some M&M's. Let me tell you, it was as if she pushed a button and the flood gates opened. Apparently, she understands alot more than I was giving her credit for. We will see how tomorrow goes.

IN the Potty

We are back from the beach! We had a great time. I will posts some pics soon. We spent yesterday catching up from the late nights and short naps. We also began potty training The May. She never made it to the potty yesterday. She did manage to pee on the couch, a chair, the edge of my bed, the floor, and on top of the potty. This morning she managed to pee on the floor and on top of a stool. I caught her peeing on the stool so I made her run to the potty. She quickly sat down and finished her business in the potty but, with her panties on. So, does that count as "going in the potty"? I just tried to take her again and she got mad when I tried to pull her panties down. I think she is a little confused since she went with them on. I think it is going to take her a little longer than it did The Belle (4 days). We will probably spend the rest of this week and the majority of the weekend at home potty training.