The Power and Laughter of Bodily Functions!

We are now 2 weeks into the Potty Training process with Marin and she's doing very well. We still have about 1 accident a day in her Pull-up, and pooping is still a major challenge, but we are making very good progress. Marin is getting better at telling us when she needs to go, and she wakes up from her night sleep and naps dry everytime.

This is Daddy reading the book and Marin sucking the lollipop that she got for pooping on the toilet (Finally)!

These are the potty charts that Marin uses to track her progress. The top one was a sticker just for going on the potty, and resulted in the acquisition of some Polly Pockets. The bottom one is for tougher skills like pooping, no accidents from wake-up to nap or night sleep, and telling mom and dad when we need to go. The pictures are for rewards along the way.

Things we've learned while potty training Marin... 1. Our method makes us poor. 2. Our method rots Marin's teeth. 3. Sometimes we feel worse about accidents than she does. 4. We think an end might be in sight! Wish us luck. 5. With all the talk about bodily functions around our house...funny stories are bound to pop up...

Each night we have a bedtime routine that includes a show, books, and songs. One of the songs that we sing to Marin is the MILK cheer. For those of you who don't know... it goes like this.

Give me an M....(Marin yells "M!") Give me an I...(Marin yells "I!"...you get the picture) Give me an L....L! Give me a K....K! What's that spell?....MILK! Don't give me no Pop, no Pop! Don't give me no tea, no tea! Just give me that Milk... Moo Moo Moo Moo... Wisconsin Milk... Moo Moo Moo Moo.

During the Moo Moo Moo Moo part, we put up our thumbs like udder teats and Marin milks them. There are more verses, but I'll spare you.

Anyway, last night we finish the cheer and Marin decides she's going to be silly and starts calling out her own cheer and we play along....

Give me and F...(We yell "F!") Give me an A...(We yell "A!" and start to think about the pronunciation of the made up word she is spelling.) Give me an R...(We yell "R!" and think well, this should be easy to pronounce...but what if she picks...hmm) Give me a T...(We yell "T!" and begin cracking up....She's deadpan, so we're pretty sure that she had no idea what she had just spelled) What's that spell? (We yell "FART!" and the whole family laughs A LOT for about 5 minutes and answers a bunch of questions about how to spell it.)

So, Marin now knows how to spell "fart". She already spelled it again this morning.

Happy Farting, Pooping, and Tinkling!

SISTERS!

People have been asking a lot lately if Marin and Piper look alike. Well, here are two sets of pictures both taken at about 2 months for your to judge for yourself.

Piper

Marin



Piper

Marin

In other ways, the sisters are not alike.

Marin never slept more than 4 hours at a crack at night until 4 months. Piper sleeps 5-8 hour stretches nearly every night.

Marin would scream the moment her back hit her crib...leading to some "interesting" ways to put her to sleep. Piper has no problem with her crib and naps there at least once a day.

Marin never cracked the 10th percentile in weight until she was 18 months. Piper was in the 50th percentile at her 2 month appt. and a whopping 83rd percentile in height. Too bad her parents genetics will reverse that trend later in life.

Both of them loved to smile and look at cool colorful drawings, though. 2 (nearly) perfect girls!

4th of July

For the past 3 years, we spend the 4th of July with our friends the Stoddens in Cannon Falls. We go to the parade, collect lots of candy, and then spend the afternoon with Steve, Stephanie, Saundra, Ellie, and Gavin. Stephanie makes a great lunch which I always eat too much of, and then the kids play. This gives us a very late nap, which is perfect because it helped Marin stay up for the Fireworks which we watch from a neighbors deck here in Apple Valley. Marin did not like the noisy fireworks this year and took a lot of convincing to stay...with the help of some earplugs!

Lounging at the Parade!
Gavin and Marin getting ready for some candy grabbing action!
Piper slept most of the parade.

Summer Fun... by Marin

Hi, Marin Here. As you may know, Mom and Dad have been off of work since Piper was born. That has made for one FUN summer! Here's a sampler of what we've been doing:

On Wednesday's I go to gymnastics. My favorite is jumping on the trampoline, and I am getting good at my "high-low-over you go" somersault!

When it's going to be hot for a few days, we get out the backyard pool and fill 'er up. Daddy also puts the hose down my swingset slide and makes it a water slide!

I'm starting to like dressing up more and more.

While I don't like the sound of the electric beaters, I do love helping mom bake cookies and brownies, especially the clean-up part.

When we're not playing, sometimes Mom and dad take Piper and I for walks in our Burley. It's usually a little loud for the first few minutes until Piper stops SCREAMING!

We've also gone on trips to see friends like Julia and Katie, Zach and Luke, Sam and Emily, and my Wisconsin cousins.

Sometimes friends come to visit us, too. Ellie, Saundra, and Gavin came to play, so did Isabelle, and my new friends down the street, Zach and Katie!

I also spend a lot of time playing with my good friend, Ella. Yesterday, she and I went to Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater. It was so much fun, we even got sand in our diapers. I've been to many parks this summer...Mermaid Park, Big Blue Park, Sand Park, Big Slide Park, and Teddy Bear Park....not to mention the WATER PARK!

It's been fun. We quite a bit of summer left to go, though. I'll give you another update later!

2 Months Old

Here are my mommy's friends from high school and college and all of their girls.
Here I am with my great grandma Marion. We call her the great one.
Cousin Margaux graduated and all the cousins, got together for a picture. Margaux is going to Madison for college and my mom and dad tell Marin and I that is where we are going to go.
Here is a four generation picture. Marin, Pa, The Great One, Mom, and Me.
Here is my first boyfriend Luke. We already like to stare in each others eyes!

Well I have meet a lot of friends and family over the last two months. I also had to go to the doctor and I am growing like a weed. I now smile and babble and my sister Marin likes to sing and talk to me. She also bit my foot once. Mom was very upset and Marin had a long time out.

Here are the stats from my June 28th appointment:

Weight: 10lb 10oz (50th percentile)

Length: 23 1/4 inches (83th percentile)