No Picture Weekend

I know, I know….I didn’t take one picture all weekend.  All the cute stuff happened when the camera was no where to be found!  I am still in shock honestly!  However, we really didn’t do a whole lot this weekend.  On Saturday, Matt took us girls out for a nice dinner to Texas Roadhouse.  It has been awhile since we all went out as a family just the three of us.  It was a nice dinner and Gracie did a fantastic job.  Now that she is getting into that “Terrible Two” stage, you never know what kind of mood she is going to be in.  It’s also easier now that she likes to color and play with stickers too, I take secret weapons to keep her occupied.  Matt and I were actually able to hold a conversation.  Which reminds me, I have a few updates in my “Things I Didn’t Know When Raising a Toddler”:

• Conversations in person, on the phone, on the computer, or any other form of conversation will only happen without interruptions if the toddler is sleeping.
• Potty training is a learning experience for both parent and toddler.  Just when you think you have made it through the whole potty training ordeal, you get peed on and have to sit smelling like pee for a long time before you are able to go home and change.  It might be a good idea to keep clothes for yourself in your car.  Just a thought, speaking from experience here.
• Don’t try to watch a movie, a television show, or read a book if you expect to get through it without hearing a giggle, Wonder Pets theme song, or screams telling the dog “no, get in the kennel.”
• Toddler’s will change their sleeping schedule’s unannounced and will refuse to adhere to the old schedule under no circumstance, even bribery. (I of course did not try to bribe my child with fruit snacks). :)
• The world stops for a toddler at LEAST 1o times a day.  If you don’t reach that total, it has been a fantastic day and you, as the parent, deserve a nice large cold Sonic drink for the good job. 

I think I am going to make a weekly post about those things you learn about raising a toddler.  You just never know that is going to pop up when it comes to a 2 year old.

Well, it is time for the nightly battle of nighty night time.  Trust me, Gracie is wound for sound. She is currently running around screaming at the top of her lungs while playing with her daddy.  It is going to be a long bedtime tonight I fear.  Well, it’s Monday, hopefully this week will go by faster!

Things I Didn’t Realize…

Things I didn’t realize when raising a toddler! 

• You never really get rid of a diaper bag forever.  As soon as you start potty training, your purse becomes a makeshift diaper bag with an extra pair of panties and pants.
• Fruit Snacks become a food staple.  If you run out, you better be prepared to run to the store of a break down will ensue.
• You miss the times when they were quiet or couldn’t talk, but laugh so hard when they come up with something that is out of blue.
• Quiet time only exists in your house when your toddler is sleeping, unless they are doing something they have been told countless times not to do.
• How your heart melts when you hear them singing in the next room or in their car seat.
• How incredibly proud you are when you hear them count 1 to 10 correctly without help.
• Your husband will probably laugh the so hard when your toddler comes to you to tell you poop stinks and then points to the poop on the floor.  He continues to laugh while you are cleaning it up.
• How much you will celebrate when your toddler actually poops in the potty.  It is a cake-worthy celebration!
• Toddler’s speak their own language, they expect you to understand, if you don’t, they will throw a fit.
• No matter how bad your day has been, just a giggle from your toddler will make you fill instantly better.

Oh how I love my toddler, she is my world, my shining star, and one of the two people that make me laugh everyday!

 

Wind, Wind Go Away…Come Again Another Day

Well, it was a weekend in at the Cunningham Household.  It was so windy out all weekend.  I think the wind gusts were up to about 50 MPH.  Poor Matt had to be out in it to do Color Guard for some incoming soldiers returning from overseas.  See needless to say we stayed in to help with allergies and all the good fun stuff (actually icky stuff) in the air.  We just played and watched movies.  I also re-arranged the play room.  It was in desperate need of organizing.  Now Gracie has a little more play area, the dogs have a bit more kennel room, and it looks better. I love seeing an idea pan out!

We did have a big milestone this weekend.  GRACIE POOPED IN THE POTTY!  I was so proud of her.  She has been doing great with potty training.  We only wear a diaper when we go to bed and we are only have one or two accidents a day.  Quite honestly, you can’t call them accidents…she gets so excited when pees in the potty that she doesn’t finish which leads to “Mommy, I’m wet!”  Either way she has pretty much potty trained quickly and we can’t complain.  Although there was a great deal on diapers today at Target, but I couldn’t bring myself to get them considering I think our days of big boxes of diapers are over.  I am excited we are going to get to take a completely potty trained little girl to Jamaica.

Speaking of Jamaica, it is official.  We are all three going to Jamaica in May.  Matt’s cousin is getting married there and he is the best man.  Considering it is not a cheap vacation we were debating if it was feasible for all of us to go.  Especially considering plane tickets are not cheap no matter where or when you are flying.  Well, we got a great deal on the tickets!  The only catch was we couldn’t find out what airline we were flying or when our flight times would be until we booked the ticket.  Well, I took a huge leap of faith to save $200 and lucked out!  We are getting into Jamaica when I wanted to.  The only catch is we are flying an airline that has a 50% history with us loosing our bags and we fly west to Phoenix before flying east to Montego Bay.  Which means a 5 hour flight with a 2 1/2 year old.  (Please start saying your prayers for us now…I am betting on me loosing my sanity about 3 hours in).  Either way we are excited.  We are getting our passports this week and that will be the last thing that needs to be taken care of as far as the planning goes!  How exciting…this is the first time we have flown somewhere or taken a vacation just the three of us.  Granted we will have family there, we are looking forward to spending some well deserved time on the beach!

Well, I have rambled on long enough for tonight and I have to hit the sack.  I love Sundays because they are usually quiet in our house, but Monday is always looming behind…man how I hate Mondays.  Well, hopefully this week goes by fast so we can have another weekend!

Daddy and Gracie playing Wonder Pets

 

This was before all the wind came in…it got warm enough to break out a spring outfit!

 

Gracie loves to play dress up!  This is my favorite of all of her stuff!  It has a matching tutu too!

Jama Jama’s and Poot Nacks

Seriously, I am loving having a toddler that is learning how to say things correctly.  I am constantly laughing at her.  You just never know what is going to come out of her mouth.  Of course, she has the sweetest little voice ever which makes each phrase even cuter.  Her newest phrases are:   Jama Jama for Pj’s and Poot Nacks for Fruit Snacks.  Oh how I love this little girl.

So far our week has been uneventful.  The weather has been just gorgeous here.  I am so sorry for all of you that are getting snow and I do have to say I am jealous (I would love to get some cute pictures of Gracie playing in the snow) but we are having sunny skies and 60-70 degree weather here.  With the good weather we have been playing outside and going to the park.  Although, taking a 2 year old to a park when she is declaring her independence on the slides, climbing, etc. is a difficult task.  She spent a lot of time on Monday telling another little boy “no” because everything is “mine.”  Followed by a full blown, body thrashing, tears, screaming, wailing followed by a very loud “NO MOMMY!” when I carried her to the car to go home.  Did I mention the cute little finger pointing at me when she told me no?  Where did my sweet little perfect Gracie go?  She has turned into a demanding, independent, cute as a bug toddler.  Everyone kept telling me wait until she was a toddler when I would brag about how great of a baby she was…does any realize how much I hate to admit they were right or hear I told you so!?!  Oh well, you take the good with the bad when you have a cute little one like Gracie.  For the little bad there is, there is a whole lot more good to go along with it.

We had a quick parent/teacher conference at her school yesterday.  Yes, it still cracks me up that we have a parent/teacher conference at the age of 2 but we do.  In short, Gracie is doing fabulous.  She is participating more in group, she is talking a lot more, and already has 3 little girls that she hangs out with.  She is mostly good but is a follower which means that if someone else is already doing something wrong, she will follow suit just to get a smile or a giggle. 

She is also testing her limits which usually ends with me laughing at her while she keeps doing what I tell her not to.  I can’t help it.  I try to be firm (and I do succeed…sometimes) but more often then not she gives me her smile or a giggle and I find myself doing it right back at her.  For example, I gave her some chips for a snack the other day.  When I gave her the bowl I told her not to feed the dogs.  She immediately turned to them and told them “No Harldy, No Daidy” so I thought we were good.  A few minutes later I walk in the play room where she was sitting at her table to see her dump them on the floor and demand the dogs not to eat them.  She is screaming at them “NO NO NO” and I am sitting her thinking “well you shouldn’t have dumped them on the floor.”  As soon as I finish this thought, she picks up a chip and hands it to Daisy ands says “Here Daidy, eat chip.”  Then does the same thing with Harley who takes it as an invite to eat all of the chips on the floor.  I just giggled.  What can you do?  The chips were already on the floor why not share!  She  looks at me with the most innocent face that said “But Mommy, they just fell out of the bowl.  I didn’t NOT dump them on the floor.  You told me not to feed the dogs, but you also tell me to share so I shared.  I didn’t technically do anything wrong…”  What is a mom to do but sit there and smile back?

Anyway, it looks like we are going to have a calm weekend.  I have to work again on Saturday so it is going to be another Daddy Daughter Day.  I am sure breakfast out somewhere and some time at the park is in store for them.  I am hoping to be off at a decent time so we can do something together as a family but we will see.  Enjoy the rest of the week, the weekend is just around the corner!

You can’t see, but she is sitting on the potty.  She has been doing great with the potty training.  She went all day at school with panties…but didn’t make it in time at the store today!  Nothing like saying we are potty training like a wet bottom.

 

It was such a nice sunny day!

She looks like such a big girl in this picture!  Yes, her pants are unzipped..again, nothing like a unzipped zipper saying we are potty training.

My favorite picture of the day!

This was while we were waiting for our Sonic treat!  Gracie loves her slushies!

 

Happy Valentine’s Day

My Big Valentine

For 12 years and going Matt has been my Valentine.  We have never really made a big deal out of Valentine’s Day but regardless he is my Valentine.  He is my rock, my best friend, the one I laugh with, the one I cry with, the one that can frustrate me one second and then make me laugh the next.  He is the father of our beautiful child, he is a passionate, caring, and loving person.  I loved him in the beginning and I love him more now…Happy Valentine’s Day Matthew!  I love you with all of my heart!

Our Lil’ Valentine

The little pitter patter of feet is all I hear in our house lately, and I love it!  Sometimes it still takes my breath away how blessed we are to have Gracie.  She is such a sweet child (even though these terrible two’s are rearing their ugly head) who is full of joy, laughter, and sunshine.  Her smile will bring light into the darkest day, he kisses will make your heart skip a beat, and a hug from her will make any bad day good.  She is the apple of her Daddy’s eye and the joy in her Mommy’s heart!  Happy Valentine’s Day Grace Anna!  You are loved more then you’ll ever know!

P.S.  Yes, we still have our mink…she keeps finding them!  I swear she has a stock pile somewhere!

A Little Girl Covered in Sugar

At work we are doing a cake decorating contest for Valentine’s Day.  Working with the military you get to do fun “morale boosting” activities and this one was a great excuse for me to get into making cakes.  Gracie is getting into the cooking thing.  Every night when I am making dinner she makes sure she has some part in it.  Well, it is no different that she wanted to help me with this.  The problem with that is, I can be a bit of a perfectionist.  It doesn’t rear it’s ugly head very often, but when it does watch out.  Well, the head appeared tonight but we just improvised.  I gave Gracie her own little piece of fondant to play with and she was good.  It also didn’t take her long to find the powdered sugar on the counter either.  It was so much fun working side by side.  I hope that she continues to want to help as she gets older.  I love it!  Enjoy the pictures…you can tell how much fun she had (not to mention how dirty)!

Working the fondant…she is already becoming a pro!

And then we found the icing…

 

How sweet is this face!

This is what happens when doesn’t get what she wants…in this picture it was an “M-N-Mimo” or what we would call an M & M and she only gets those when she goes potty on the potty…which she did twice tonight after I took this picture!

Work in progress…..

The finished product…I love the cookie on top…Gracie helped me with the “cookie”…it gives the cake just the right touch!

 

Another Weekend Come & Gone and it’s Tuesday Already!

Wow, it’s already here, Monday…oh wait, it’s Tuesday!  Well, at least the week is going fast! :)  I have to admit time has been flying by, but that is what it does when you are having fun.  I have to admit, as frustrating as the terrible two’s are, two is a fun age.  You never know what is going to come out of their little mouths. 

We really didn’t do much all weekend considering we wanted to keep Gracie pretty much quarantined due to her pink eye mess.  By Saturday afternoon, I decided that we could go and get some fresh air, so we headed to the park.  We started out at one park that has more climbing area.  She had so much fun.  At the time we were there, I thought there was a lot of people so we decided to head to another park.  That one was worse.  Gracie really wanted to swing, badly.  So badly, we had a fit…the first time.  Then when we was supposed to be our turn, another mother raced me to the swing and stole it!  I was appalled.  I mean they are toddlers.  How long do they really want to swing?  Not to mention, you need to start teaching  them about time limits etc.  I could go on and on since I felt it was SO rude!  However, Gracie did get a chance to swing, so all was good.  The only part about going to the park is leaving it.  Gracie did not handle that part too well.  She is getting to be quite the fit thrower!  She was all smiles while we were at the park!

Well, let me tell you about little miss Gracie.  This girl comes up with something new everyday.  I could seriously type a little midget blog at least twice a day with her little sayings, stories, or just plain cuteness, but I will spare you…maybe!  Either way here is a taste of what we have been experiencing lately!

• Potty training is looking up.  As long as we have her potty out she will go and use it, usually without us having to remind her.  We haven’t had to do the whole naked thing to encourage her either, she will take off her clothes and diaper when she wants to go.  Well, on Saturday she told us twice that she had to potty.  We encouraged her to go use her potty.  Apparently this isn’t what she wanted because she went and poo-ed in the corner when she got tired of sitting on the potty!  Then she went to Matt and said “Daddy, I pooped.”  She had to show it off of course!  It was so funny.  Another potty training tidbit, not only does she clap hands and yell “yeah” when someone else potties, but she calls pee peep.  We here a lot of “I peeped!”
• She is all about her babies still.  This is not a trend I think is going to fade.  Although she has learned how to “wrap them” and rock them to nighty night.  She pats them until she things they are asleep then throws them on the floor (literally) and covers them up with a blanket.
• She has started to sing.  Just tonight we ran to Target and I got serenaded all the way through with “Twinkle Twinkle Lil’ Tar” and “ABC.”
• When she blows kisses she uses both hands now and is very exaggerated about it.  It is so sweet!!!! 

• Her new favorite game is either “Tickle” or “Ring around the Rosie”
• She loves to help in the kitchen.
• We love to purple (most would call this coloring).  Usually, Matt and Gracie purple while I am cooking dinner.

Ok, so I think I have caught you up, but I am sure I will remember something and have to blog tomorrow!  :)  We are spending most of the weekend in this weekend.  Matt and I agreed that we wanted to spend Valentine’s Day with Gracie.  We love date nights, but we love special family nights with our girl more!  Not to mention, we don’t want to fight the crowds at the usual hot spots! :) 

Enjoy the rest of the week and remember tomorrow is hump day!!!

Simple Things I Love

Being at home the last few days with Miss Gracie who came down with pink eye on Tuesday made me realize there are things that I love that get me through the day.  Gracie is such a lovable child that it doesn’t take much for me to get that happy go lucky feeling.  Having the husband I do isn’t too shabby either!  Either way here are some simple things about life I love:

Folding laundry and finding little socks for the little feet that pitter patter throughout the house.

Hearing “love you Mommy” in Gracie’s sweet little voice.

A chocolate fix that does wonders for stress.

A fire on a cold day.

Hugs from Matt when he comes home from work.

A phone call from my friends that are far away.

Girls day shoe shopping.

Gracie’s giggles while playing with Daisy and Harley.

Singing songs with Gracie.

Hearing a favorite song on the radio…especially one you haven’t heard in awhile.

The smell of a crisp fall morning.

The love I have for my family!

 

I feel that it is very important to focus on the simple things in life.  In today’s society, it is too easy to get caught up in all the complex things that go in our world.  There is always going to be stress, drama, or negativity. If you focus more on the positive, the better you will feel.  People often ask how I stay so positive all the time, that is my trick, I take the negative and turn it into the positive!  Enjoy those simple things in life, you might be amazed on the impact it makes on your life!