Finally...

Leah was a dream to potty train.  She picked it up so easily... well, at least number one.  She would always wait until night time when we put her diaper on to go number two.  So, we would give her a bath, put her diaper on, and about 20 minutes later, we would go back upstairs, change her diaper, and put her back to bed again.  This happens every single night like clock work.

A few days ago I have been catching her as she is going so she finishes in the potty.  I left her potty in her room yesterday forgetting to take it out.  I was checking the monitor to make sure I catch her standing up.  I got completely distracted and forgot about checking.  Once I heard her moving around I panicked.  I checked the monitor and to my complete surprise, she was taking off her diaper and sitting on her potty.  We let her sit on it until she called for us.  We were so proud to find a surprise in her potty... she finally pooped in the potty all by herself.

Now that we know she will do it, we remembered when she was younger she used to hide every time... so I really think she just likes to be alone... who doesn't??  I am so proud of Leah, and she is working her way towards a bike... she's so excited!

I snapped a picture of her on the monitor.. I am sure she's going to hate it when she gets older... but I am so proud, I have to share!!

Faith like a child.

Oh how I am working towards having faith like a child.  I never really thought much of the phrase before.  I totally understand what it means now.  We read stories of Jesus to Leah quite often.  She is always so intrigued. She frequently tells us that she is playing with Jesus.  Apparently His favorite color is green (which makes perfect sense to me as He did create the earth, and it's pretty green!), and He loves playing with Payton and Bailey... but for some reason Delko and Penny never play with Him.  She will just randomly tell us how He's playing doll house with her, or how He wants to go play outside in the water with her (haha, she might sneak that one in to get us to take her outside).  Regardless, she believes Jesus is here; she believes He wants to play with her and He loves her.  It is amazing.

Recently every time she gets hurt instead of kissing her boo boo, we ask Jesus to heal her.  She has now started doing it all by herself.  It normally goes like this, "Dear Lord (or Jesus), healing me!!  Amen!!  All better!!"  It is beyond cute, and she now relies on Him to make her feel better.  She believes He will take care of her, and it is so wonderful to see.

She loves reading her toddler Bible and learning about Jesus' life here on earth.  Right before Christmas I want to get her this so we can act out and learn about Jesus' birthday.  Cavan and I are so excited to watch our kids grow and love the Lord.  It is an experience I will treasure forever.

Pool Party!

Over the weekend my amazing friend, Jen, turned 25.  She had a super awesome birthday bash at her pool.  I wasn't sure how Leah was going to do, but she far exceeded my expectations.  She had a blast.  Having her cousin, Aubrey there helped a lot.  Leah was a little reserved at first, but within minutes she was jumping in, splashing around, and kicking like Flipper.  Brayden also had a blast.  He loved splashing and giggling and really enjoyed his pool float.

By the end of the night, we were all exhausted.  We gave baths, and put the kids down.  They both fell fast asleep around 8pm, and to my surprise Brayden slept until 5am!  I couldn't believe it.  It was his first time sleeping through the night.  To my relief, he was starving!  I nursed him and he fell back to sleep until 8.  I guess the pool wore him out!  It was great.

Leah is still talking about how much fun she had at the pool.  We love Jen and Bill so much and were so excited to enjoy Jen's birthday with her.  Leah cannot wait to go swimming again.

 

Crib Party.

Brayden learned how to stand in his crib.  He thinks it is really cool.  He is beaming with excitement the second I walk into the room, and is so proud of himself.  I love that kid.

Looking up.

Things are finally looking up.  Brayden is starting to act like himself again, and we are fever and diarrhea free.  He was sick, so very sick.  I am so thankful he is feeling better.

I learned a few things while he wasn't feeling well.  I learned to trust the Lord more than I did.  He loves Brayden more than I do.  Wow, that one hits hard.  He really does love Brayden more than I do.  He created him, He knows him, and He loves him more than I do.  I needed to have more faith that He would take care of that precious little boy.  I am merely a tool in Brayden's life to mold him into the man God wants him to be.  I love that boy, but I now truly accept that the Lord loves him more than I do.

My kids are wonderful.  They make me a better person, a much better person.  Leah is learning so many new things every day.  She is a chatterbox and saying the funniest things all the time.  She doesn't understand how incredibly adorable she is. She loves baby dolls, dogs, singing Owl MDoowald (Old McDonald), and running around like crazy.  She is hilarious and I love her so very much.  Brayden is amazing.  He loves pulling himself up on everything, playing with his laugh and learn house, anything to do with cars, and trying to keep up with his sister.  He is so outgoing, sweet, and so loving.  It's so hard to believe he's going to be one next month!

Funny Story:
Leah was playing with Brayden's dump truck and somehow got her foot stuck.  She was freaking out, so I tried getting it out.  I honestly couldn't get it out.  I called Cavan inside and he got it out, but it was pretty funny.  She cried at first, but then I started taking pictures and she thought it was funny.  We needed a bandaid to cover her "wound".

Miles came over today.  Leah has a blast playing with him.  Whenever I have to put Brayden down for a nap I play Chuggington for the big kids to watch.  Miles sat on Leah's purple chair and Leah got a little upset.  Miles patted the seat beside him and said, "Leah, sit down, sit down here Leah".  Leah said ok, and sat next to him.  He then put his arm around her and started gently rubbing her back.  It was so sweet.  They love playing with each other.  We enjoy our Tuesday mornings with Miles.

Don't forget to enter my Hazelwood Necklace Giveaway!

 

Hazelwood Giveaway.

I have been so excited to share this post with everyone.  I have been using Hazelwood necklaces on Brayden since he was only 2 months old.  It may sound a bit dramatic, but they completely changed our lives!  Lets rewind about 9 months...

Brayden had a terrible time nursing.  He would arch his back, scream, sweat, then throw up everything I just fed him.  Needless to say, we were both exhausted.  I am not talking about every once in a while.  I am talking about every. single. time. he nursed.  I felt so bad for my little guy.  I found only one way to actually nurse him... walk, bounce, and sing.  Yep, I had to walk him around the room, while bouncing him, and singing.  He still wasn't relaxed, but he at least got a full tummy.  Sound disturbing?  It was!


My niece had terrible reflux as well, and my sister in law told me about Hazelwood necklaces.  I decided to give them a try.  I ordered them from a company in Canada and held my breath for over a week and a half for it to show up.  Within 12 hours of Brayden wearing it, I noticed I could lay next to him and nurse him... Coincidence? Maybe, but I wasn't taking it off!

That week he slowly got better and better.  Maybe he outgrew it?  One night I gave him a nice long bath, so we took off his necklace and I forgot to put it back on him, and boy did I notice.  I ended up putting it back on him that night, and within hours he was nursing well again.  I was a believer!

About 3 days later all his symptoms came back full force.  I was so disappointed.  I was reading reviews of the necklace on the website and learned when the inside of the wood turns black, it lost it's effectiveness.  I grabbed Brayden's necklace and it was completely black!  I quickly ordered 4 more, and had to wait a while before getting them.  We were miserable for that time, but within 6-12 hours of getting the necklaces in the mail he was comfortable again.

I never have less than 3 good necklaces on hand, and thanks to Leah Beah Shop, we can get them in no time since she ships from Michigan.  I never want to run into that same problem again.  Not only did it heal his reflux but his eczema cleared up as well.  Leah wears one for her eczema, and Cavan and I actually wear a necklace for the occasional acne break out.  We haven't had any issues with blemishes since getting a necklace.  It's amazing!


I am a firm believer of these necklaces.  My entire family will never be without one.


How do Hazelwood Necklaces work? 
Acidity is a major component of the pain associated with a child's teething period. Hazelwood, being an alkaline wood, has the natural property of absorbing and neutralizing the body's acidity through contact with the skin. 

Necklaces made from organic Hazelwood are as effective for adults as they are for babies and children. Hazelwood has the medicinal property of neutralizing the body's acidity naturally and are known to help relieve or prevent ailments such as: 

• Teething pain
• Skin problems like: rashes, eczema, acne, psoriasis
• Acid reflux
• Heartburn - great for pregnancy! 
• Nausea
• Arthritis
• Digestion
• Constipation
• Sleep problems
• Dental cavities and more



Want to purchase one?  Go HERE.

Want to win a Hazelwood necklace?  
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This giveaway will end July 23 at 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be chosen at random via random.org.

Bub.

My little Bubba hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days.  He started to feel warm on Sunday afternoon, and by Sunday night, I knew he was running a fever.  The only way he would sleep is if he was laying next to me and nursing.  He did the same last night.  Needless to say, I am exhausted.  I am letting his fever run it's course.  I have been asked by a few people why I am not using Motrin or Tylenol... His body is obviously trying to rid of a virus or bacteria by raising it's temperature just enough to kill the virus or bacteria.  If I were to give him something to lessen his fever, it would allow the virus or bacteria to not only survive, but thrive in his body.  I have been putting a cold compress on his forehead if he gets too warm.

He is doing quite well given the situation.  He doesn't like to be away from me, and wants me to hold him a lot.  I am ok with that.  I took out our old Sleepy Wrap and wore him almost the entire day.  He fell asleep in the 3 times today.  As of right now, he is sleeping for the first time by himself in 2 days.  I am very ready for him to feel better.

Doll House.

Leah has been sucking her left thumb since she was only 4 weeks old.  She used to suck it a lot during the day.  Anytime she was tired, insecure, crabby, or bored it was in her mouth.  I couldn't stand her putting that dirty little thumb in her mouth all the time.

We thought about making her stop using various methods... There is a nail polish you can put on her thumb that tastes nasty, but after I read the ingredients and read some reviews I decided that was not for us.  There is also a glove that slips over the thumb and leaves the other fingers free, we decided to try it to at least give her a reminder.

She hated it the first couple of days.  She almost seemed lost not being able to use her thumb.  After a couple days we were able to take the glove off, and only had to remind her a few times.  It was hard, but with the help of a little reward (aka - her new doll house) she stopped!  She has officially gone 11 days without using her thumb during the day.  We still are letting her have it at night time and will address that when she can understand a little better.  We are so proud of her.  She is such a big girl.

She received her doll house first thing this morning.  She loves it!  She was so excited she decided she didn't need breakfast this morning!  haha.  She played with it for hours today, and she doesn't stop talking about it.  It is so much fun to see her imagination run wild.

Our kittens have been using our dining room table as a play gym.  I am not a fan of cats on any counters, tables, or beds.  We have tried everything from squirt guns to duct tape to keep them off of our table, and they keep coming back.  We decided to make them their own little "perch" to climb on and play.  Cavan, being the amazing handy man that he is, made something amazing for them!  Check it out!!