Yesterday we put Rory in some big girl underwear so she could start associating what going potty means. Rory has pretty much been wanting to go potty since she could walk and talk, always sitting down on Max's potty chair and signing and saying "potty" to us. Of course, she had never actually gone in the potty so she wasn't getting that part of the equation. (The biggest part.)

I finally gave in and put her in the big girl pants and she loved them! She loved that Max and I were making a big deal about her going to the potty chair and trying to go potty, and she loved pulling her pants down to go. Naturally she had a couple accidents but seemed to know exactly when they happened because she'd give me this surprised look and I'd know we needed a change. It was really quite a successful evening by my standards, she was getting it, if not yet using the potty. (Get ready for some TMI.) So when I asked her if she had to go and she sat down and suddenly started pooping, well lets just say I was blown away. Her first successful use of the potty chair was a poop! That's my big girl!!

Naturally she woke up with a 103 degree fever at midnight tonight. I'm almost positive Max became ill the first time we tried to potty train him too, it must be a curse of mine. So today we'll forgo trying but at least we're ready for the next time!

As for the illness, she seems fine, just warm, more then likely just a summer bug. Hopefully she feels better soon because Daddy will be in charge of her this weekend as I am heading up to the lake with my college girl friends for a relaxing stay in the sun. I've earned it!

And check out my beautiful Lilacs! They're almost gone now so I might as well show off just how lovely they looked in my purple vase!

Why yes, they are purple with a white outline, thanks for noticing. Oh yes, I agree, that vase was made to hold those lilacs with its white stripes. Man you are just so clever!

Max met with a speech therapist today. Yes, I know, that kid has had nothing but appointments lately, but this should be the last one for some time now. Max's speech is just fine, but we were concerned because he sometimes stutters. It isn't consistent and it almost always appears that he is using it more as a filler (as opposed to saying "um") but he had gotten frustrated and appeared to be stuck in his stutter a couple times so the pediatrician suggested a speech consult.

Naturally he never once had a real stutter while we were there but there were little amounts which were good enough to confirm that there wasn't an issue. She did give me some great information on what we can do to support him as he continues his speech development; namely ignoring the stutter. That means not pointing it out, not rushing him, not finishing his sentence. The less obvious the stutter is to him the better. Thankfully that is what we have been doing all along so at least we know we're handling it right!

Hopefully it will just go away on it's own as his speech develops more. Of course, the more his speech develops the more "why" questions I'm going to get. Sounds like a double edged sword to me!

Today was another busy day. It started out with Max going to the dentist for the very first time. He did amazing! We started out with him telling the receptionist that his teeth were dirty which got everybody laughing. He was a little tentative about the chair and the bib that he had to wear.But once that movie popped in over his head he was content watching that.

He did need some reassurances from Mom while we were there, but he let them clean all of his teeth, count them (although not with the pointy thing, they had to use their fingers and mirror only) and he even let them "paint" (fluoride) his teeth when it was all over. He was so proud and flashed his clean teeth to anybody that asked!

After our dental appointment we met up with Auntie and Rory and assisted her with moving to her new house. Of course I have a couple funny pictures to share! The van was perfect for the move as I can lay down all the seats in the back which made for a lot of covered room. Unfortunately I forgot to push my seat back, so I was stuck driving so close to the front of my car that my knee was jammed in and my foot started cramping from the upright position it had to be in to accelerate and break. Yup, it was that close.

Auntie's last trip proved to be the silliest though. She almost wasn't able to get everything that was left into her car but sure enough she and Taylor figured it out. I had no idea she was even in her car when Taylor pulled in to grab a few tools and suddenly she started talking to me from the seat!

Probably not two of the safest situations but she got everything moved and there was one less trip needed!

Today we set up the pool. It was humid, low 70's, and extremely windy. Naturally that didn't stop my two kids from jumping in the pool, but it did lead to some seriously funny faces!

I love those two!

And in exciting news, baby Nora has finally made it home from the hospital. We're very happy their family is all under one roof as it should be!

Friday I had an extremely hard time leaving home to head up to the lake; between Nora being in the NICU, my girlfriend miscarrying her child, and Dusty not joining us so as to catch up on our garage timeline, well lets just say there were many tears on that drive.

Thankfully, while it will never be my favorite Memorial Day weekend, it was still fun for many reasons. We got to spend time with my cousins Nikii and Lucas and my Aunt Joy, whom we never get to see enough of. (And meet Joy's boyfriend Tim too!) We sneaked in a few boat rides and finally broke in the new pontoon. 

There were bonfires both evenings with smores roasted, and a very silly game of charades. And on Sunday Dusty showed up unexpectedly which made the kids' and my day! Naturally that meant we needed another boat ride.

And of course some fishing, where many crappies and sunnies were caught!

It was great to get to see Joy, Nikii and Lucas. The kids had a lot of fun, Dusty got to get a little fishing in before returning home to continue working on the garage, and I attempted to relax. So I'd say it was a successful weekend even if it was a hard one for me.

Last night we brought Lyla home and met Katie and Andrew for dinner. I cannot explain what a relief it was to just see them and get to hear everything directly from them. They are planning to start a Caring Bridge website to keep everyone updated on Nora so I'll be sure to share that address when I get it. Nora is scheduled for surgery today and will probably remain in the hospital until next week sometime. The biggest and most important news though is that she is doing exceptionally well! The nurses love having her on their watch because she's just not nearly as sick as most of the babies in the NICU. This is fabulous news and by far something to be thankful for!

Andrew decided to help the kids, who were sent outside to keep out of trouble, get into lots of trouble by bringing out water toys!

Oh, and this picture was taken before we left, but Rory would not stop crying when she woke up from her nap and when I offered to cuddle her she said "No, I want Yla" (Which is how she says Lyla.) So Lyla climbed up in the chair and cuddled with her cousin. How stinkin' cute!

And last, but not least, don't forget to call child services on me. Dusty and Chris have been hard at work getting the garage prepared for concrete and apparently Max has been recruited for working!

Of course there was an adult directly behind him in this picture, but it looks so much cooler when you cut Chris out and make it look like Max was just busy at work all by his big boy self! Now if the weather would just cooperate and it would stop raining so much we'd really like to get this part done.

We're still praying and thinking about you Nora and family!

Today we got the privileged to watch Lyla and Bella as Katie and Andrew are with Nora. (Sorry, no updates here, I doubt I'll hear much until later this afternoon but keep them in your thoughts and prayers.) I decided that the kids and I would have a picnic in the yard for lunch since it is beautiful outside. I turned around after I picked our spot just in time to catch the kids all preparing to hold hands.

Yup, everything was dropped to catch this. I mean, how cute can they be?!

Lunch was perfectly messy. We laughed, spilled yogurts, and yelled at Bella to stay in our yard.

What a perfect lunch with my children and goddaughter!