Updates on Abbie

So for about a week now, maybe 10 days, Abigail has been using the potty. It started out as a novelty - she'd stand up while in the bathtub, then point and grunt at the toilet, so I put her on there and she went! I thought it was just her imitating Madeline, as she had just used the potty herself. Then it happened the next day and the next...she will point towards the bathroom and start walking there, making sure we're following her. She'll then push the door open and go over to the toilet! It's still a hit and miss thing and I'm sure she'll need diapers for a while longer, but we're definitely on our way! It's cute to see her on the potty because she's still so tiny and her little legs can't bend over it.

If you haven't noticed, Abigail's hair has been hanging in her eyes for quite some time now (see photo above and the video on a previous post). I put a hairband in it off to the side, but once she realizes it's in there, she'll pull it out. It's not long enough to go behind her ears and it's very straight so I can't even train it to be combed off to the side.

Well, this weekend, she was in our bedroom walking around and ran right into the wall - hard. She only cried for a bit, but Jeremy had had enough of Abbie being blinded by her long bangs. Someone from church suggested that we take a piece of scotch tape and stick it across her forehead and cut right above it - it will make a nice straight line and then you just pull the tape off and all the hair is stuck to it and not in the baby's eyes. Sounded like a good plan to me, so that's what I proceeded to do. As soon as I made the first snip, she shook her head back and forth and all around. I had Jeremy hold her head and hands still, but it still didn't come out straight. I think if anyone asks, I'll just say that Madeline got a hold of the scissors when I wasn't looking! Abigail was a little sad afterwards, but today she's her old hammy self again - with a very crooked trim job!

My week's accomplishment

It's a bummer that I didn't make it out to the TJEd discussion last night, and I just placed my order online for The Lonesome Gods book (cheaper than in the store) for next month's discussion!

So the thing I've accomplished this week is sorting through toys. Since we've got to pack up the house in April and since I'll be recovering from sinus surgery, I thought I'd get a head start. It was tough - I brought all the toys into the dining room (they were packed up in the garage and crawl space - tons and tons!) and just let the girls play with all of them. They were so excited to see all this "new" stuff. I even forgot about a lot of those toys! So I did that on Thursday and seriously, the house NEVER EVER looked that bad, ever. Side note, but there's a point: last night I was watching a house flipping show and this house was bought as a foreclosure. It looked terrible - the previous owners trashed the place, they left broken furniture, food was everywhere, lighting fixtures were hanging by their wires, and crayon was all over the walls (I guess that's the thing to do if the bank's gonna take it back anyway, right? Not.). And I thought, "man, that's what my house looks like!" So, worse than a tornado-type mess.

I couldn't stand to see the MESS today, so I just went through all the toys and picked out the ones I saw the girls playing with the most. Those went into a pile and all the rest got their photo taken and put into a box for my sister-in-law to pick through before I sell them at our garage sale in May. It was kinda sad for me to let some of the toys go. I had to sort through our "keep" pile a few times just because I put things in there for myself. Dawn Matteson said that I should take pictures of the toys that I was getting rid of that had sentimental value. Good idea! So, now I've got a bunch of pictures instead of the bulky toys. The house is so much more peaceful and I feel a big burden has been lifted.

It's funny that all this material stuff can weigh me down. It felt so good to take that huge box out to the garage, bittersweet I suppose, but very liberating. It's spring cleaning time, so get out there and clean a room, clean a cupboard or even the junk drawer. Trust me, you'll feel like you've accomplished so much.

Hi to Grandma Edna!

Here's a quick hello from the girls! Enjoy the video :)

Photos for Grandma

Here are some recent, random photos. Maddie & cousins at swim class, Abbie coloring (I need to do something with those bangs!), playing outside, and the girls playing with a HUGE box of toys...it's now all over the house...
Miss you and love you mom!