PT Day.

At the beginning of the year - 

I blogged about things I wanted to see happen in 2013

for each member of my family.

We are on target to getting some of them done.

The biggie on Kensingtons list is 

potty training. 

So I looked at our calendar and Tyler and I decided

March 20th is going to be 

PT Day.

Well-PT Day 1 at least.

We use the Lora Jensen 3 Day Potty Training method.

We had unbelievable success with Anslee using this philosophy -

I am not at all expecting the same results with Kensington.

Kensington is a different kiddo.

Also - most things that require "training"

do not come quite as easily to our sweet Kens.

The general idea behind the 3 Day is this:

Do NOTHING but train your child for 3 days.

Literally. Nothing.

No cooking. No caring for other kids. No TV.

No Blogging. No *gasp* FB.

No playdates. No cleaning (except for the accidents, of course)

NOTHING.

You basically attach your potty trainee to yourself like 

an extra appendage. You watch their every.single.solitary. move.

When they start to "go" you physically pick them up and move them 

to the toliet. Thus - every single time they go they succeed because they 

will at least "finish" in the toliet.

Something happens in the brain, I swear, when this is repeated.

They immediately associate the urge to need to go (beforehand)

with it being released in the toliet. 

So - when they used to not think about going to the bathroom -

they now can "sense".

Genius.

What I love: If you truly are not taking your eyes off your child -

you will quickly pick up on their "non verbal" cues that they are about to go.

Once you as the parent figure that out - 

you can get them to the potty before they start going and

and they can get all of it in the potty.

Genius.

In this method: you never ask this question:

"Do you need to go potty?"

You let them tell you.

They get to be in charge of their bodily functions.

Oh wait - they already are.

You find yourself repeating.

"tell mommy when you need to go potty"

and 

"are you clean and dry?"

 Genius.

This method implies that kiddos around 22 months of age 

are "ready"

I do not necessarily agree with that. 

Some kiddos could be successful a little beforehand

and on the same note,

some may not be ready until a little after.

No matter what - parent and child both need to be ready. 

It takes a lot of prep for a parent. Physically and emotionally.

Today is March 1 and I am not prepared to potty train Kensington - 

but I am doing what I need to do to be ready by March 20th. 

We chose this day, because its the beginning of Tyler's long weekend.

With his help - I hope we can be twice as successful. 

We can both be here to tag team and give breaks to each other as needed.

He was a HUGE help with Anslee. HUGE.

So - we will try then, but if it does not work, and she is in fact

not ready-

We will stop and take a 30 day break and re-try. 

I hope this doesnt happen, but if it does, I will be just fine with it.

I think Kensington is showing the signs I like to see 

in order to detect her readiness.

She can sometimes tell me before she goes that she is going.

She has a full understanding of what the potty is for.

She is interested in the process.

She can communicate with us well enough.

I am trying to figure out her bladder/bowel control readiness though.

She typically does not wake up in the morning or from her nap dry.

Even when I monitor her liquid intake.

So wish us luck friends, 

I hope that 1 month from today I will have

2/3rds out of diapers!

Sleep and Me.

Over the past 4 years, I have learned so much about sleep. I have learned how sleep impacts everything in regard to health. I could go on and on and on about how it is JUST as important as the food we eat to fuel our body. JUST as important. Anyway, that could be a post all on its own.

On a grand scale, I have never mentioned anything about my own relationship with restful sleep and how it has had a direct impact on why I push for healthy sleep habits for my girls. Stay with me - this is kind of difficult for me to put out there and though it may seem like something quite "normal" its something I have struggled through. I know its time I share.

Sleeping well is difficult for me. I can't shut down. This is the reason I make it a top priority to teach my girls where and when to sleep and how to do this on their own.

I want my kids to have better than what I have. I have a LOT of trouble sleeping. I think it has to do with some poor sleep habits/conditions that only I have/have had control of. I also think that some of it has to do with having small kiddos in the house. When you first become a mama, you keep your baby close to you during sleep time. They sleep in your room, right next to your bed - and they wake up in the night to feed. They need you, and they are not born knowing how and when to sleep. Its a discipline that has to be intentionally taught. This takes training, which takes you as a parent being up with them in those early days when they need you. You basically train yourself to sleep lightly - as to never really rest in fear that you could sleep through meeting your baby's needs if you allowed yourself to fall into that deep, restful, blissful, reviving sleep. You "sleep" with a baby monitor right next to your ear.

I am a 3rd time mom now - we have no monitor. All 3 of girls know how to sleep and they know when to sleep. None of them are sleeping in our room. So why can't I sleep? It seems that in working so diligently to train them to have good sleep habits - I abandoned my own. 

After having Kensington, and dealing with post partum depression - it didnt matter if she slept or not, I knew it wasn't happening for me. It was a vicious cycle. I wanted to battle the depression issue, and one of the first ways to do that is get sleep. Ha. get sleep? with a colic newborn? with a colic newborn and a 2 year old? Not an option, right? So the battle with PPD continued on, as I was unable to settle my mind and soothe my (then) 27 year old self to sleep.

I reached out to my OBGYN - and was quickly given a prescription for the generic form of ambien.(sleeping mediciation)  Kensington was about 18 weeks old, and FINALLY slept through the night and her colic was subsiding. I was given medication to sleep, and things seemed to be looking up for me. I was so ready to feel like a normal person again.

The ambien worked well for me. I slept. I didnt wake up in zombie like state. I felt rested. 

This is totally fine, right? Clearly not illegal. Clearly, given to me by a doctor. 

Here I am 18 months later, still depending on ambien to get me to sleep each night. I realized how dependent I had become on medication. Man made medication.  I can't help but think, at what point will I know that I can get off these pills and sleep like a normal person at night without aide?

Last week, this became a huge conviction on my heart. Tyler and I have made some very positive changes in our lives recently that we hope will lead us to some very positive places in the near future. In light of making these changes the Lord has really laid it on my heart get rid of some of the toxins in my life, starting with the ambien. I knew Tyler and I could not move forward unless I gave this up. This was sin in my life. Constant sin - and it needed to be dealt with. Thank you, Lord, for bringing me into the light of where the real struggle lied.

So 7 days ago, I began my journey of trying to train myself to sleep. Sleep sans any sleep aides. What a discipline it is! I am so proud of my girls for taking to this training so easily...I know now how hard it really is! The first 4 nights were rough. My sleep was light, and I woke constantly through the night. If Tyler shifted his weight at all - I was wide awake and struggled to get myself to go back to sleep.

I am happy to say that the past two nights have been much better! I came to find that my sleep has been deeper and more restful the last two nights than anytime in the last 18 months. God is so good, and he heard my prayers. He let me let go of this burden. God used Tyler to help me realize this was an evil in my world. He saw my struggle and did not disappoint in his responsibility as the head of this home to lead me away from my sin and to the Lord. 

Jeremiah 31:25 "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." 

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Psalm 3:5 "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me."

Psalm 4:8 "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord make me dwell in safety."

Proverbs 4:16 "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet."

Psalm 127:2 "...he grants sleep to the ones he loves."

Its safe to say, the Lord wants us to rest. He wants ME to rest, just like I want my girls to rest. It may be less about sleep, and more about refreshing rest in our Lord.

I am posting this because the Lord says, "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy." - Proverbs 28:13

Warning: this post contains a picture of Kensington's 2 year molars coming in. Just thought I would warn!

Worry not- it's a not a picture of bathroom/diaper situations. I won't subject any of you to that. Ever- and please don't subject me to any of your kids bodily function situations either. Deal?!

I just thought this made all teething pain babies deal with make sense. Bless my sweet girls heart- 2 year molars are no joke. Anslee never bled when cutting teeth, but Kens does every time.

Today she was screaming because she dropped one my hand weights on her foot while I took my turn with Anslee jumping on the trampoline. It was when she was screaming that I saw the inside of her mouth and noticed the bleeding gums. Today was not a good day for Kensington- I also caught her in the dryer when I was feeding Laynee. If her sisters weren't always needing me, I may have been able to deter the climbing into the dryer and weight dropping on her foot from happening.

Doesn't this look super painful?


This is her in the dryer. She knows now that is never allowed. She totally understood I just needed a picture first.




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6 months.

Babyhood is in full swing here at the Moses'!

Our Laynee is 6 months old and as sweet as she can be.

We never knew what we were missing.

So glad she is ours.

Laynee is in the sweet spot of babyhood.

Alert. Full of laughs. Not mobile.

Sleeps great. Plays happily by herself.

Takes in everything around her.

Eats. Eats. Eats.

Grins big at her silly sisters.

Super talkative.

At 6 months old Laynee:

Takes 2 long naps, 1 catnap 

and sleeps 12.5-13 hours at night.

Takes 4 bottles, 7 oz each.

Eats 4 oz of solids at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Cannot figure out a sippy cup to save her life.

Has no teeth, but, mom is guessing a couple are on their way.

Wears some 3-6 month clothes, some 6-9 months.

Size 3 diapers.

Weights 15 lbs

Sits up, with support.

Loves toys, especially her little rattle and busy table.

Almost always sleeps on her belly.

 Thinks she is big time in the full on push up position.

Is just pure joy. 

We could not be more proud to have this girl in tow.

She lights up our life. 

Still the sweetest surprise of a lifetime.

Can't believe we have gone from this:

 

To this.

 

Just for fun,

Here is Anslee at 6 months

 

 Here is Kensington at 6 months

Now, we are 90 to nothin' to 1 year.

I am certain that nothing makes time go faster

than being a mom.

Anslee is 4!

Why does 4 seem so much older than 3?

Doesn't it, though? 

Toddlerhood officially reached its end with our Anslee.

She is a kid. In childhood.

In full Pre-School mode.

I feel like I just became a mom,

holding my first baby, Anslee.

All 4 lbs and 11 oz of her.

I remember my first look at her. 

I was in recovery after being knocked totally out

for her delivery.

She was in the recovery room with me. 

I woke up, turned my head to the right,

and opened my eyes to this.

 

Only God could create something so precious.

She was his.

She was cleaned up, warming up, and all legs. 

very, very skinny legs.

She had on those pink socks.

The sweet little hand sewn beanie.

She was sleeping.

I thanked the Lord for her health.

I remember my very first thought was that I had 

never laid my eyes on anything so incredibly beautiful.

I was beside myself, and I remember this all - 

though I dont remember much else of the hospital stay with her.

General anesthesia is a bear to get off of.

We won't go there.

I had never nursed a baby before, but that was all I wanted to do.

Instinct had apparently kicked in.

The sweet nurses could not get her to me quick enough.

She was tiny, and so perfect.

We brought her home, to our little apartment in Hillsboro.

I hope she will forgive us one day. We didn't have a clue

what to do with her. 

We are still first timers with her.

She will probably need counseling someday,

bless her soul.

We have watched her grow in amazement. I see a little

piece of heaven in her,

as I do all my girls.

She is so compassionate. Very sensitive to feelings.

She is quiet, and a timid if you are meeting her for the first time.

She is quick, and witty with her words.

She soaks up EVERYTHING around her. She doesn't miss a beat.

She understands much more than I give her credit for.

She is a teacher.

Lives to instruct Kensington on the ways of life.

She is a helper, and a giver. 

She can be sneaky.

Holidays are her favorite - we listened to Michael Buble

Christmas from March until December last year.

Her imagination is wild. Playing pretend is what she does best.

Dressing up with jewels and high heels almost every day.

She loves Jesus. Wants to pray all the time.

She loves to sleep. 

I know I will have to pry her out of bed during the school years.

This little girl has had my heart since June 2008 when we found 

out she was well on her way.

and, now, she is 4. Constantly reminding me

that babies will always be good at one thing:

Growing.

  

Kensington is 2!

January 19, 2011 we welcomed

our Kensington Kay Moses into what was

our little family of 3.

She made us a family of 4.

A day I will never forget.

 

That wednesday morning, I dropped Anslee off at

Wee kids. I sent her off with cupcakes,

to celebrate her 2nd birthday with her classmates.

 

I dropped her off and went straight to the store.

I had a feeling I would be having Kensington that very day,

and I had the advantge of not being a first time mom.

There were some {very necessary} items I would need

if I was going to be having surgery that afternoon.

I just had a feeling.

Tyler had an assingment to work in Abilene on a task force that day.

I had a doctors appointment. 38 weeks.

 

When the doctor measured my belly, he noticed

it was decreasing in size from the week before.

I was measuring 36 cm at 38 weeks, when at

37 weeks, I had measured 37 cm.

 

I was scheduled for a repeat section on the 25th.

He did a quick sonogram to measure fluid levels, and not

to anyones surprise, they were low.

She was officially on her way.

 

6:03 pm came and she entered this world.

6 lbs and 8 ounces never cried so loud.

Precious girl, made a statement upon her arrival.

a LOUD one.

 

Kensington has changed our world in so many ways.

She took her family in a whole new direction.

She humbled us.

She smiled big. She did everything big.

 

She still does.

At 2 - she is silly.

funny. loves dolls. knows the disney princesses

better than she knows her shapes.

barely funtions without her big sister. counts to 10 (skips 4 and 6 everytime)

loves to eat. is surprisingly quiet at school. speaks in 4 word sentences.

is a middle child in every.single.way.

Her favorite thing to say is easily,

I love you.

will steal your heart. gives 100%

could change this world one day.

 

We love this sweet girl. Its hard to believe she is as old as Anslee was when

she was born. Even harder to believe that she is now a big sister herself.

 

We love our sweet Kens. She makes everyday interesting and new.

Her spunk adds so much beauty to this family of ours.

 

I can't wait to see God's plan unfold for her.

I know he has something big for her.

 

Our life would be sorely lacking without her.

 

 

stay tuned for a post on her big sisters 4th birthday.

then soon to follow, her little sisters 6 month post.

They grow so fast!

 

 



Wonder week 19

Bless little Laynee's heart you guys. She has been so busy developing that she can't catch a break. Or a good nap, for that matter.

Sweet girl is 22 weeks old this week. And is usually spot on with wonder weeks in term of age. (This one can start at early as 14.5 weeks and end as late as 21.5 weeks.)

Usually, she shows all the classic signs, and it takes her about 3 days of weirdness and she is back to her normal, laid back, happy self.

People. Almost 2 full weeks of developmental leaps mixed in with holiday fun. Toxic combo- I warn you.

We tried everything to help her. I mean everything. Don't think she hasn't had a bedtime of 5:30 pm this week to combat the overtiredness that was happening from short naps. I go to extreme lengths for a baby's rest and I am not scared to admit it.

Last night with the early bedtime, she slept 14 hours. She woke up to then take an almost 2 hour nap. This is a normal nap length- but it had not happened in almost 2 full weeks! Now, she has had some more awake time and is going on another 2 hour nap. I feel like we are making progress here. At least I hope.

All of this to say- this was such a leap for my girl, it was blog worthy.

Over the last week, she really started doing new skills consistently and more intentionally. She responds to her name every single time now. She also grabs at toys and purposefully plays with them (makes them "sing", makes them spin, etc)

She also has stated making new sounds with her voice. It's beginning to sound more like language than her regular babbles. Let me tell you- girl has a lot to say. She went from being quiet as a mouse, to cooing and babbling, to now making more pronounced sounds- which seem to be so.much.louder.

















Bye Bye wonder week 19, we will not miss you around these parts!!



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