This having two kids thing is getting harder. I don't just have a second child but, broken down, I have a baby to nurse every 3 hours during the day, diapers to change, a crying baby to soothe (the hardeset part in my opinion), laundry to clean, clothes to buy and this is the "easy" stage (He's not eating table food yet.) SOOOOO... this is all to say that I haven't been blogging much. LL, how do you do it, girlfriend?! (She has 4 little 'uns, by the way.)











So, earlier this month, on a fabulously beautiful and breezy Sunday morning, Mark and I were able to meet up with a dear friend who was my Maid of Honor and a newly wed herself (blonde gal next to me). Of course her husband was with her (guy in the white shirt) and we have become friends with her friends (blonde on the end; husband was at home, sick) and family (her brother to the right of me and his wife).









Now, keep in mind that the only child in this picture is OURS. That's because we are the only couple in this group with children! (The friend on the left is pregnant.) (Sorry for all of the parenthesis today.) (I'm really feeling the parenthesis today.)









I am SOOO thankful that God was looking out for me that day because Hunter did not need to be spanked, nor did he need to be taken aside to have a discussion about obeying, nor did he need to have any consequences for disobeying. He actually was having quite the charming day- overly excited about boats and airplanes and repeatedly telling everyone when he saw one.



That reminds me- we ate lunch at a very nice restaurant (especially nice for us who don't get out much in this stage of life) a few hundred feet south of Reagan National Airport on the Potomac River.








Hunter kept somehow scooting his chair over to D's chair (see above photo). I kept pulling him back but that chair just kept scooching over! I couldn't keep him away from her.



On our way out, I showed Hunter a "helicopter", the seed that spins when you throw it up in the air which started him on a seed-throwing spree. I'm pretty sure that's what he's doing in the first picture. (Kyle, you are great with kids, by the way.)

It was a fabulous time of seeing friends and our dear friend, T.



Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the other sleeping guest.

That's what my almost 3 year old said just moments ago. I finally had inspiration to blog!



Yesterday morning started early (again) but this time it started with Hunter crying from his room. He had made a very large production in his pull-up and was very upset. I figured he was really upset and knew I would be upset with him. However, I felt bad that he was so upset. I proceeded to remove his pull-up and jammies but when I took off the top, there was gunk at the top. I was quite perplexed. When I asked Hunter how poop got up there, all he could say was poo poo came out. Poor guy.



I sat him in the floor to draw a bath because he was so dirty after his incident and that's when I realized what had happened. He vomited and that's what was on his shirt. My poor guy! Therefore, yesterday was spent cuddling and comforting while Hunter was sick and throwing up.



You can see why I was thrilled to hear my sweetness running around the kitchen saying, "I'm fast! I'm Lightning McQueen!" It was like music to my ears.



Although I it broke my heart that he was sick yesterday, I did enjoy snuggling, rubbing, hugging and just loving on my big guy. Plus, there was absolutely NO disciplining yesterday. Mark felt bad for me that I had a rough day. I had to tell him it was quite the contrary with Hunter. Colten, on the other hand, was a lot of work.



Today, it's back to work in pre-schooler training. Ugh...



PS: Here's an updated picture of Colten. I have hardly taken any pictures of him. Poor second child. Plus, right now he has a bad case of baby acne, so I haven't been taken any pictures.

I realized I forgot to post the picture of Rocket, Hunter's Potty Training Reward.

He has done very well but has had a few accidents. One day I thought I was going to lose it when he peed in his underwear 3 times! I was beside myself. Friends have encouraged me that this can happen but he will continue to progress.

I think the worst part (besides accidents) is that when I say, "Let's go sit on the potty," or "Let's go pee," he whines and doesn't want to, even if he's not playing. Any advice, friends?

(This posting is for the grandparents and any other bored fans.)

Renee and I decided to be super adventurous and planned a MOPS activity at a pottery painting studio. In the back of our minds, I think we were afraid our boys were going to run around and bash into the pottery, knocking it onto the floor. Or maybe they would get paint everywhere but the pottery.

I am happy to report that all who attended seemed to have a joyful time. All of the children were WONDERFULLY behaved and thoroughly enjoyed painting. It was a little stressful making sure Hunter didn't put the paintbrush in his mouth because he still puts everything in his mouth. Plus, being a neat "freak", I didn't want paint ALL over our clothes. He did beautifully.

My next challenge is I still need to go by and pick up our pieces!

This was Hunter's favorite part. Actually, it was mine, too. :)

Two other adventurous ones having fun. :)

We learned this week that you should not give toddlers/preschoolers Activia (or any of its competitors) even if you run out of regular Yogurt.

Hunter, for lack of a better word, pooped 4 times Monday quite siginificantly (I'm trying not to be graphic). The last time that day was in his underwear. Tuesday, he pooped twice quite explosively (lots of force). Mark and I realized Tuesday night that we BOTH had given him Activia yogurt, once over the weekend and once Monday. However, Mark did not know what it was. I thought one container wouldn't do anything to him. Boy were we shocked!

On Thursday, we had an appointment for Hunter (more on that later). In the middle of the appointment he says, "I have to go wee wee." while looking distraught. I quickly "throw" Colten in the carseat and we sprint off to the bathroom like any good, panicked parent would do. No pee comes out, but the poop sure did, again in mass quantity. (This poor kid. What DID we do to his intestines?) On the way home, Hunter says from the backseat, "I have to go wee wee" with that stressed out voice again. I start lecturing him about how he should have told me while we were at the appointment. I ask if he can hold it and he starts to cry. Now, I'm going 60+ mph on the Beltway and wondering where on earth I am going to find a potty for this kid. I think fast and decide to go back to nature and pull over on the side of the road (WAY over in the grass). I get him out, pull down his clothes and struggle with him to get him to pee 1) outside in the grass and 2) standing up. I am not winning, so I lean him up against my leg to help him squat and pee. The next thing I know there's a big pile of ... well, you know. My poor baby. He had to go AGAIN!!!

I am happy to say that he did not have to go today. I looked up information on Activia at http://www.activia.us.com/ and found out that each 4 ounce serving has BILLIONS of live probiotics. Apparently, a child's intestines do not take them lightly.

PS: Sorry. No pictures for this posting.

PPS: Sorry my blogging fingers have been broken lately. I miss my buddy's comments. :)

As I mentioned before, I decided to take a stab at potty training which I think most of us mommies dread. How long will it take? Will he pee on my carpet? poop in his underwear? go in public? When will he tell me he has to go without me having to ask?

We started by haphazardly looking through a Target ad and Hunter spotted a toy Rocket from Little Einsteins (http://atv.disney.go.com/playhouse/littleeinsteins/index.html) which he loves. (It was an almost $30 toy, so I thought we should use it as a motivator for something big!) That's when the idea hit me! Use it as a reward for potty training.

We made the trip to the local baby store to buy training pants and a sticker chart which totally worked even if the stickers are a pain in the rear. It took him several days to fill up the chart and I went out to buy the Rocket toy because he was progressing quite nicely.

I am so pleased to say that Hunter's training was a huge success! After 7 days, he only had 1 accident. He has done so well to it that he even woke me up at 2 in the morning this week so he could go pee. I was so out of it that I told him he should just pee in his pull-up. Nonetheless, in my groggy state, I took him to pee.

I am thankful to my friend, Lora Lynn, for the fabulous advice she gave me to get Hunter going! He's not even afraid of the big potty anymore! However, I do put a portable ring on them but I figure it prevents him from having to touch those nasty potties!

Well, done, Hunter!... and, thank you, God, for allowing this BIG transition to go so smoothly!

As the Little Einsteins say at the end of their program, "Mission Completion!"




This is a cute moment in Hunter's potty training (caught in half-blink) while we were out at my favorite restaurant (since becoming a mom)... Taco Bell!

I guess I don't have anything against the Easter bunny but I have decided I will not capitalize the "b" in bunny so as not to give the character much importance in my mind. What does a bunny have to do with Easter? or even eggs, chicks, argyle, plaid, etc.? Okay, back to the story... I had a dilemma Eastre weekend and the EB was going to help me solve it.



The day before Easter, the four of us were going to an Easter egg hunt with some friends. Mark informed me that he had to go in to work beforehand, so I was left with my almost 3 year old and 3 week old to fend for myself. Plus, I had to be 30 minutes away by 10:30. Can you see where I am going with this? Yup, we didn't make it.



I had a relaxing breakfast with Hunter, took a shower, then I realized that Colten can actually be fussy sometimes. I couldn't get ready without stopping to soothe him. He was needing some extra attention- wanting to fall asleep but needed some help, needing to be nursed again, etc. As 10:00 approached and I was no where near being ready to go, I had to resolve that we weren't going.



Keep in mind, Hunter was excited about the egg hunt because of me but he didn't really seem to care that we were not going to make. I, however, was quite disappointed. That's where EB comes in. I decided that since we couldn't make it to the egg hunt, we would then visit the ole EB at the mall and go for a ride on the carousel.






















A friend of mine gave me a great tip about rides: they can only go on them when Daddy is with them. Brilliant!!! Thanks, Sara. :)














Yes, we made Easter eggs for the first time at the Wright house. I have to admit. It was actually quite fun! Oh, and we ate them the rest of the week. YUM!

The outcome.