MISSION: Potty Training

This weekend I was on a mission. The mission to potty train Anna. After months of not putting a whole lot of effort into it, I decided the time has come. So, while Kevin worked this weekend, I spent my time doing everything I could think of to get my little two year old to pee pee in the potty.

Day 1: Every 45 minutes we made a trip to the bathroom. Most of the time she just sat on the potty, but never made a masterpiece. The other times she threw a royal fit. Not wanting to scare her from using the potty, I tried to show her how fun going pee-pee was, I tried bribing her with treats and watching Dora. Nothing worked. At one point late in the day I thought we made a break through when she told me she had to go poo-poo so I rushed her to the bathroom only to find that she had already gone poo-poo. But hey, at least she let me know.

Day 2: Again, spent the day going to the bathroom every 45 minutes. Still nothing. After doing a little research and taking some advice from one of Kevin's co-workers, I decided to make a Potty Poster.

With the Potty Poster, she gets a smiley face when she just sits on the potty, she gets one sticker if she goes pee pee, and she gets two stickers if she goes poo poo. So when she woke from her nap this afternoon I took her in the bathroom to show her the Potty Poster. She was very excited. Then I explained to her how it worked. She seemed intrigued. When I asked if she wanted to earn a sticker for going potty, she said yes. So, she pulls her pants down, sits on her potty and patiently waits... still waiting...

  ...then TA-DA! PEE-PEE!!! HOORAY!!!! She pee-pee'd in the potty! I was so proud of her, and she was proud too. And she was very excited to get a sticker. 

Mission: Accomplished!

Like Mother Like Daughter

Anna likes to be just like her Mommy. She loves to wear my high heels...

...and she enjoys reading my gossip magazines.

 Like Mother Like Daughter! :)

Shake Your Booty!

One of Anna's favorite things to do while listening to music is dance. In fact, we have a dance party in our house about once a week. Recently, she started saying "Go Anna! Go Anna!" while dancing. It's very cute. Enjoy the show.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

I'm not very good at uploading videos (mainly because our computer takes FOREVER to upload them) but I thought I'd take some time and upload a few from the past few months.

This was taken back in October. We were watching Lindsey for a few hours and every time we get these girls together, they have such a good time. Here they are singing Anna's favorite song... the "ABCD's"

This video was taken at Anna's birthday party back in January.

Anna loves to play dress up and back in January, Kevin took this video of Anna showing off her sense of style. She still carries this purse everywhere.

Museum of Discovery

Kevin and I took Anna to the Museum of Discovery this weekend. We've never been and since it was a little too cold outside, we thought it would be a good idea to have a fun adventure indoors. She had a lot of fun, even though we quickly realized that she will enjoy the museum much more when she's a few years older. However, they did have a room for children 6 and under that was a saving grace. It was a lot like the Wonder Place, and we all know Anna loves the Wonder Place, so this was a big hit!

 
 There was a life size row boat and Anna insisted that we sit in it. Here we are singing Row Row Row Your Boat. :)

...with Daddy too.

Anna liked this cow better from a distance.

We had a lot of fun and they had a lot of interesting things to play with and learn about. I think Kevin and I had just as much fun learning about different things as Anna did playing with everything.

My dad used to be a fireman so when I told Anna this, she kept calling this guy "Papa".

Finally! Warm Weather!

Last weekend we had some really nice weather so we took advantage of it and spent our whole weekend at the park. Anna loves the park! She loves the swings and the slide, and she likes watching the geese in the lake. It's so nice to finally have warmer weather and get out of the house!

When we weren't at the park, we played in the backyard in the playhouse and on the swing.






As you can tell, Anna had so much fun outside and we can't wait for more weekends like this!

Another Sister Pregnant!

Looks like it's baby making time in our family! My sister Tracie is pregnant with her second child. She's about 12 weeks along and is due around the end of September. Her daughter Jacie is going around telling everyone that her mommy has a baby in her tummy. So cute! Tracie and my sister Rachel are due around the same time. Can't wait for the fall to meet my new little nieces or nephews.

My Sister is Pregnant!

My sister Rachel and her husband just found out she's having a baby! Yay! Anna will have another cousin to play with. Check out her new blog:

gnrpendleton.blogspot.com

Winter Fun With Anna

Since it's been so cold lately, we've had to get pretty creative with indoor activities to keep Little Banannas entertained. She got a tent with a tunnel for her birthday from her Grammy and Poppy and that has been a big hit! She loves the tunnel and she always wants me or Kevin to go through it with her. (easier said than done!) Houston the cat also likes the tent. It's his new hideout.

One of Kevin's favorite things to do with Anna is play dress up. Anna likes to put some kind of hair bow or headband on, carry her purse and of course, throw on her high heels. She loves to hear the sound the heels make when she walks across the hardwood floors.

We've had quite a bit of snow/ice lately, more than I've seen in a long time. Anna has been very impressed with the snow. She calls it "soooooon". "Look Mommy, sooooon!" (a little backwards but cute nonetheless.) When she walks across the ice, she says "Whoa, slippery!" We've had a lot of fun playing in the snow.

 

 Anna just went to the doctor for her two year checkup. According to the doctor, she is doing great! She's 26 pounds and 33 3/4 inches in height. She continues to be in the mid 30th percentile. They checked her eyes and everything looks good. The doctor did tell us to do a better job at brushing her teeth! I'm so bad about remembering to do that! :) But hey, she's healthy and that's all we could ask for.

Happy Birthday Anna!

Anna is officially two years old and the day of her birthday, she woke up acting like a two year old! Cranky Princess! But hey, it's her birthday and she can cry if she wants to.

Of course I had to send her too school in her Birthday Girl shirt so everyone would know it's her special day. 

Kevin and I bought Anna a playhouse for her birthday so when we got home from work, we took her outside in the 15 degree weather so she could see her gift. SHE LOVED IT!

 

 

 Look at that face. She was so excited! Seeing that face made it all worth it to Kevin, since he had to put it together in the freezing cold. Good job Daddy!

Ding Dong! Who is it?

See her peeking out her window.

I'm so glad she likes her playhouse. She got so mad when we had to take her inside but it was way to cold to stay out there too long. And because it's been so cold this week, we haven't had a chance to let her play in it. Every night she walks past the window and says "house". Hopefully we will make it above freezing soon and she can play all she wants.

Anna,

I can't believe how one minute I'm holding you for the first time in the hospital and the next I'm celebrating your 2nd birthday. Time has gone by way too fast but your Dad and I have enjoyed every single moment with you. You make us laugh everyday and you are such a sweet and loving little girl. We are truly blessed to have you. Thank you for being such a sweetheart and for making every day a great day. We love you Banannas!