Growing Up

Every day Jordyn seems so much older, more mature, more independent and so much more like me! Since many of you miss out on her day to day stuff I thought I would post a blog all about her. Here it is:

~She is almost completely potty trained. She is dry pretty much every nap and starting to be the majority of the mornings too.

~Her morning routine consists of her waking up, taking off her pull-ups, going to the bathroom, putting on her panties, pants and socks, and playing puzzles in her room or traipsing down to the playroom to play, all on her own.

~She has decided she's a fan of anything girly. I had to put 5 hair ties in her hair today (I know that sounds like me mom!), she is always changing her socks, asking to wear dresses and trying on different pairs of shoes (she has about 5 and can be known to wear them all in one day)

~She loves to be neat and clean and is always picking up

~She doesn't like to wear coats because they cover her pretty clothes, making her no longer pretty

~She is a great help with Landyn and loves to sing to her when she's crying and bring Landyn surprises hidden in Easter eggs when she just can't find a smile.

~She loves Cheez-its and has eaten them for snack two weeks in a row

~Einsteins is her favorite TV show although Mickey Mouse is slowly taking over.

~She can spell her name and write Jor...we haven't worked on the rest

~She loves stickers and at any given point in time you can find them all over the house and all of our clothes and bodies since she loves to stick them on other people

~She is a sweet girl who never wants to stay home and is always asking where can we go and what can we do (again, I know that sounds like me!)

~She loves to kiss and read books to her sister

~She is the best big girl anyone could ever ask for!

OCD

OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - an anxiety disorder in which a person suffers from obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions, such as cleaning, checking, counting or hoarding. The person becomes trapped in behaviors that are senseless but hard to stop....

I like to think that everyone has a little OCD in their systems, that there is some small but ridiculous action that each person has to do throughout their day, every day. Maybe I think that to make me feel a little better, but I think it anyway. Sadly, I think I have a little more OCD in my system than most and to make it worse, I'm giving it to my girls!

For me it's cleaning and having things in just the right spot. I can go to bed with one dish soaking in the sink, that's it. If there's more than one dish I won't wash them all, I'll wash all but one. I also can't leave the house if it's messy. Before the store, church or any other errand I have to have the house cleaned. I also can't sleep if everything is not cleaned up and put in order. Sometimes when Wayne picks up the playroom I have to reorganize the toys to their rightful place that he just can't seem to remember. If he loads the dishwasher, that's wonderful, but I'm going to reload it correctly. Those are just a few of my OCD tendency's.

Here are my girls': for Jordyn it's all about cleaning and order. Her toys in her room, her shoes on her changing table and her books on the shelf, they all have a specific order. If moved even a tiny bit she can't rest until they're fixed. One night she couldn't come down to dinner until she had cleaned her room. Another night, tucking her in bed I heard her back out of it less than 30 secs later. I walked in ready to punish but found her cleaning her room, telling me she couldn't go to bed with anything messy. My child, at only 2, cannot handle mess or disorder....I wonder what she'll be like at 5, or 25?

For Landyn, who's still young to be showing too many signs, it's all about being clean and order as well. She loves to pick things up and put things away. Too many toys on the floor means it's time to pick up, even when Mommy doesn't say so. And of course, being clean while eating. She can't have any mess on her tray or hands or she's refusing to eat. Now that she feeds herself it's a nightmare. While eating cereal this morning she dripped every bite of course, and so after every bite she refused to take another until she had wiped up her tray...my not even 1.5 year old.

Sometimes I think maybe it's just a healthy sense of cleanliness, that's always good. Other times I see how it holds me up, or them up, causing us not to participate and other activities because our house isn't clean enough, always making us late and I think..."What in the world have I done?"

Since I'm sure when they're older and they realize their compulsion they're going to blame me for it, I might as well do the same. My mom gave me my OCD....it's not my fault! :)

Life

Life has been busy, complicated, tiring, crazy, changing and full. And for all those reasons I haven't blogged, even though my sister keeps bugging me to! So, I've decided even though I don't have any video to put up I will still post some updates. Here goes.

LIFE HAS BEEN -

Busy: We (the girls and I) have been trying to stay active and do a lot of things now that it's getting colder and it's not fun to stay inside all the time. We have story time at the library on Tuesdays, we pack a lunch and go to the indoor playground on Wednesdays and Bible study on Thursdays. Also, I've been tutoring almost every night from 8-12 keeping us all very busy with little time to just rest. It has been fun though and the girls have much better attitudes when our days are filled with activities.

Complicated: Life has been getting somewhat complicated now that Landyn is getting older and the girls are beginning to fight. It's a struggle every parent has I'm sure, wondering how to punish, what to punish, what to ignore, how to encourage sharing, how to stay patient as a parent...etc. It's left for a lot of discussions between Wayne and I, trying to figure things out. One minute the girls are at each others throats and the next minute they're best friends! We're figuring it out the best we can but we have our frustrating and complicated moments.

Tiring: Wayne and I have been doing a lot of work with school. Our first 8-week term just finished meaning we have one class down, one to go. It has kept our schedule full, spending much of what would be free time on class. This past week Wayne had a paper due which kept him up until at least 4 am every night!

Crazy: As stated in the busy category, we've been going non-stop recently. Not only at home but traveling. That has made life not only busy but crazy. In the last month we (again, just the girls and I) went home to NY twice, once for the passing of a dear friend and once for fall break as well as a short weekend trip to Richmond about a month ago with Wayne too. What makes it crazy is that I've been doing all the driving and one of the trips to NY was all by myself. I was packed with tons of candy and caffeinated drinks to keep me awake. The girls were great and the trip was really smooth but I couldn't believe I did it all by myself.

Changing: The changing has been mostly with Landyn although some with Jordyn as well. Landyn has been walking for a few weeks now, about 3-4 steps at a time although we couldn't really get her to do it for show. Then this past week she just decided she really liked walking. She's now running, doing up to 10 steps at a time and just loving it. It's so fun to see how much she enjoys walking and how much Jordyn loves to watch and cheer for her. She also loves to blow kisses, clap when we say good girl and she is always waving at people. I will have to put up some video of her dancing, which she does on request and it is very adorable. Jordyn is also changing and growing incredibly. She is learning her abc's and can identify many of the letters as well as sing the abc song. She knows how to spell her entire first name and is really quite good at it! She's also beginning to branch out. Since finding a new church and spending time at Bible study and story time she's growing more accustomed to children her own age and learning how to interact and not always be so shy. It's very encouraging for me to see her personality not so afraid to come out and play!

Full: My heart has just been full and excited about all that has been going on. Our girls are growing up, beautifully if I might add, and I am just so proud of them as they learn manners and how to obey. I have been making some new friendships and really been able to grow them. God has led us to a new church that we really enjoy and being a part of the Bible study has really allowed me to get to know some women as well as my girls to make some friends. God has really provided for us and we are both so thankful!

Horrible Mom and a Puppy

So, some weeks I feel like a horrible mom. Last week consisted of one of those days...the day I dislocated Jordyn's elbow. We were having a rough day because it was the hottest week in Lynchburg this summer and our ac decided to break. So, after getting it fixed (hopefully for a long time) we decided to meet daddy for lunch while our house cooled down. On the way up the stairs Jordyn started to fall and I grabbed her arm. She was throwing a fit before we started up the stairs because she didn't want to go so after I grabbed her she was still throwing a fit. Being hot and frustrated I grabbed her up and put her in the car, listening to her scream about her arm the whole time. The thing about Jordyn is that it's always something when she doesn't want to do what she's supposed to. She had to go potty when it's bed time, she has to drink more juice when it's time to eat, she has to sleep when it's time to get dressed etc...so I just assumed it was another one of her fits. It was more screaming than usual so I let her have an ice pack in the car. When we got to Wayne's her arm was swelling and she was complaining her hand hurt. I figured, lets have Wayne check it out. So I pulled her out of her seat, in the car seat, fed her lunch since she couldn't move her arm, put her back in the car, and took her to the doctors (upon Wayne's suggestion and the fact that every time she moved she screamed in pain.) Immediately they called us in and the doctor had her arm popped in about 10 seconds after I told him what had happened. In minutes she felt great and was running through the office. I of course, felt like the worst mom ever because I've dislocated my knee many times and say it's the worst pain ever, second only to labor. Sometimes you just breath and it hurts. So...horrible mom?

Now, we have another baby girl at home who we call our little puppy. Is that being horrible? Let me explain to you why. She pants when she's excited. When we want her to come to us we say "Come here Landyn" and we pat the floor. We put her snacks on a plate on the floor next to the table and she crawls around and eats them. One of her favorite "treats" is a biscuit that looks exactly like one a dog would eat. Jordyn rubs her head when she's a good girl. She's not allowed on our bed in the mornings (because she would fall off and we can't pay attention to her) so she has her own special pillow at the foot of the bed that she lays on and watches tv.

So, am I a horrible mom for suggesting she's our little puppy and treating her like one? Or for not being more sensitive to my baby girl when she was hurt? Probably not, but some days just feel like that. Thankfully, today isn't one of those days!

Changes

Changes are things that most of the time I like. I adjust well and am excited and happy about new things to come. Other times changes are a little bit sad or nostalgic, knowing that soon what I know will be gone. Today I'm feeling both feelings about change.

The exciting change is my brother Aaron is engaged, as I'm sure most if not all of you already know. How crazy is that. My 21 year old brother, going to be married next June, man does that feel weird. It doesn't make me feel old, probably because I'm not! but it does feel weird to know I won't be the only one in my family married. It adds change because Jordyn and Landyn now have a new Aunt. Since getting engaged we've been calling Molly, "Aunt Molly" and I think both Aaron and Molly love this change! I like it too because both of my girls love Molly and we're excited to have her be a part of our lives. She's definitely a little shy (at least in my opinion), there's still a lot I need to know about her but there's a lot we already know. When you need to grocery shop and you don't have enough room in the cart, call Molly. When you're looking for a good dessert, call Molly. If you're dishes are in the sink, dirty because you're just too tired to take care of them that day, invite Molly over. If your kids need a playmate, call Molly, but make sure I don't need her first! She's really a wonderful person and we're excited to get to know her better.

To add to that, my little girl is going to be the flower girl. Who knows how that's going to work...I'm hoping well but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Uncle Aaron and Aunt Molly brought Jordyn over a bouquet of beautiful orange flowers and asked her to be their flower girl. Of course she said yes, because she has no idea what that means, but it meant she got to hold the flowers and break the stem of almost every single one. I can't believe my daughter is going to be a flower girl!

Jordyn is also becoming a lot more vocal and that change is exciting but a little sad. I'm going to miss all the cute words she says wrong, along with her really high pitched voice. Sadly, along with that vocalness comes a lot more attitude and opinions...something else that I'm not to thrilled about. But at the same time, I'm loving it. This was her conversation with Landyn this morning. "You can come into my room Landyn, come on. I have lots of toys you can play with. I have puzzles or shoes. You can play with them." How cute is that. And of course Landyn followed her right into her room and they sat together playing to nicely!

I'm thrilled with the changes Jordyn is going through but going to miss her being my baby so I figured I better get some of her cuteness on film. Below is a video of some of Jordyn's thoughts and opinions. Hopefully you can understand!

Termites, Potty Training and Stairs

Life has been busy as you can see from the title and I feel I should update a little bit. I'm determined to keep this blog more current...

So first of all, we found out recently we had termites. The way we found out was to find a mud tube coming out of the ceiling followed by two more holes in the ceiling the next day. We ended up informing our neighbors and between the inspectors we called and the ones from neighbors we ended up having 5 inspectors into our home, most of which said the same thing. Becuase of that, we were able to end up getting a great deal and get it taken care of on Monday. Four of our neighbors also had termites found and so it was not nice for them but a nice way to meet some of our neighbors and know we weren't in the situation by ourselves.

The next big thing on the list is potty training. We've been making leaps and bounds as well as regressing all at the same time, if that's possible. Jordyn just finished a 17 day streak of no accidents which was so amazing...my goal was at least 2 weeks which she did no problem. While she was doing great at telling me she had to go, she was not wanting to do any of it herself. For a while she was all about doing it herself but recently it's been about mommy doing it all, including carrying her to the bathroom. So, the reason for the streak ending and the accident happening was that Mommy said no, I wouldn't carry her to the bathroom, she had to do it herself and she didn't! So, now that our big streak is over we're focusing more on Jordyn doing it herself, to get her back to where she used to be, and at the same time keep her dry!

Finally, Landyn is increasing her mobileness in leaps and bounds. She climbed 4 stairs the other day and I just couldn't believe it. Almost every time we get her out of bed now she's standing up and yelling, waiting for us to come. She climbs on and over everything: me, the table, Jordyn's stool, her crib and everything else she can get her hands on. I can't believe how fast she is growing. She also loves to hold my fingers and walk across the room, something she does really well. I think she'll be walking before Jordyn was at 10 mos but I guess we'll wait and see.

So those are the new things going on. Stay posted for more things going on!

Updates

I know it's been absolutely forever since the last post but thankfully in this last month and a half we've been able to see a lot of you in person! We're now done with vacations for a while so I guess I need to get back on the ball of keeping this updated. So be prepared, this is going to be a long one.

First of all, me. I finally graduate on August 14, my last day of undergrad classes. I've already been accepted for graduation even though my last two classes aren't complete so as long as I don't fail them I'm good! I'm so excited to finally be done with this after taking it so slowly since Jordyn's been born. Of course, crazy me, I'm not really stopping but rather moving on to my masters which starts August 24. I've decided to get my masters in education since I ended up dropping it from my undergrad due to the courseload and having Jordyn. I figured since we don't have a baby on the way and I can go for free I might as well take advantage of the time and opportunity and get started. There's a lot of unknowns with this such as what I will do when the student teaching semester comes around (15 weeks of teaching, who would watch the girls?) but I'm excited to get it started and hopefully finished a lot faster than my undergrad.

There's not much to tell about Wayne at the moment. He will be continuing school again in the fall and we recently found out my brother Aaron got accepted to work at Liberty and will be working right alongside Wayne! I'm sure that'll be enjoyable for both of them.

Jordyn is growing into her own and driving us both crazy. There are so many great and horrible things about her growing up and I'm not enjoying learning them all. She is completely potty trained and rarely has accidents anymore. I can let her wander on the playground and when she has to go she jumps off and comes running to me! Not to say sometimes it's a fight when she really doesn't want to stop what she's doing but most of the time, even during tv, she's great at letting me know and doing it herself! She has become very independent and very bossy. My mom used to tell me she hoped I had a child like myself so I could understand and sadly, I think we did! She loves to give step-by-step directions as to what to do, when and how. She thinks she rules the house! You're not allowed to go down the stairs until she's completely at the bottom. You're not allowed to help her into her high chair or onto the potty seat or she throws a fit and has to start all over again. Every toy is hers and she doesn't need to share it. We are having a lot of battles that hopefully will payoff soon. Not to paint a bad picture though, she can also be so wonderful. She has recently started calling herself "mommy's cudldlebug" and constantly wants to hug me and sit in my lap. I often find Landyn surrounded by tons of toys that Jordyn has brought to her. She is always wanting to kiss and say "I love you." Her new favorite thing is to call Daddy on the phone, say what she has to say, and then hang up, without even a warning. I know most of the time wayne can't understand without translation but it doens't matter becuase she doesn't give him a chance to respond! She loves to comfort Landyn when she cries, to hug her and kiss her, to share her toys (sometimes) and help her with getting what she needs. She is growing up wonderfully and her vocabulary is getting bigger every day. She loves to play the piano loudly and yell "fortisimo" and then play softly and say "pianissimo" I'm trying to just be patient and enjoy every minute I have with her at this stage but if anyone wants to give me a break and come babysit you're more than welcome!

Landyn is growing in leaps and bounds and she looks more and more like Jordyn every day. She is now crawling on her knees about 50% of the time. Army crawl is still faster so she often resorts to that when she can't get where she's going fast enough. She is pulling herself up on all kinds of things mostly just up to her knees but a few times on to her feet so we will be lowering the crib soon! She is eating a lot of different foods now and pretty much hates all vegetables. I know they say try things 10 times so I keep feeding them to her but she hates just as much the next time. With Jordyn, she always loved eating everything so I'm a little flabbergasted as to what to do with her! Landyn loves to explore and cannot be still even for a minute. She doesn't like to cuddle or sit in laps because she always needs to be going and going. She's going through some seperation anxiety, something else I didn't experience with Jordyn, and thats been difficult during church and things but I'm sure we'll get over this hurdle soon. She loves to follow Jordyn around the room which is just too cute to watch and drives Jordyn crazy. Landyn is beginning to develop her own personality as well and is starting to yell when she doesn't get her way. If I don't hold her when she's at my feet she screams, or if I'm not feeding her fast enough she screams! She is also starting to defend herself with Jordyn, not releasing toys that Jordyn tries to take away and yelling at Jordyn when things are taken away from her. It's made life interesting, the two of them but I'm loving almost every minute of it and still wouldn't change even the worst days for anything else!