Some Big Milestones

I meant to write this post Sunday night, but you know, life happens!

We had a few big milestones occur this past Sunday, September 15.  Let's start with Reagan.  A little while after he woke from his nap, he said he wanted to go potty.  I looked at him with surprise and lead him toward the bathroom.  He sat on the toilet for about 5-7 minutes, but never managed to actually go. Then, a few hours later, he said again he wanted to go potty.  I took him back to the bathroom and left him alone for some "privacy."  I came back into the bathroom a few minutes later and he had pooped!  I couldn't believe it!  He actually pooped on the potty!  Only a mom of a toddler who is at the beginning stages of potty training gets excited about poop :-)

Now, moving onto Kyleigh.  After much internal debate, I am officially recording 9/15/13 as Kyleigh's first word.  Well, actually, three words!  She's been on the brink of saying words, but I'm finally convinced she can say three words: "Mama," "Bye-bye," and "Amen."  She doesn't pronounce the word fully, but it's definitely clear what she's saying.

Two big steps in our house this weekend.

The Last Two Weeks

Wow!  How can two weeks go by so fast?  For months, we've been planning and preparing for Ronnie and Jerry to come renovate our basement.  And in the blink of an eye, they are gone.

Ronnie, Darcy, Jerry, and Carol arrived exactly two weeks ago today.  We were on the go constantly and I am still in shock that I'm sitting in the breezeway, alone, writing the post.  It seems like forever ago and yet, just yesterday.

While the ladies were here, we went to Wrigley for a heart-wrenching Cubs game.  They were up the whole game and lost it in the top of the ninth.  Ah, the Cubs!  We also went downtown the next day.  Boy, was that a day.  It started off on the absolute wrong foot, literally.  It was raining when we arrived and Carol almost slipped three times.  So the first place we stopped was Macy's on State to buy new shoes.  We kept thinking the storm would pass, but TWO painful hours later, we finally had the opportunity to enjoy downtown Chicago. The last full day the ladies were here, we went shopping!  I found a dress for Jeffrey's wedding and a super cute pair of capri jeans.  All in all, it was a successful shopping trip.  Taking them back to the airport on Tuesday was really (really) hard.  I think for the first time, Reagan understood that Mimi was leaving and going back to CA.  It was difficult for me to explain what was happening, but we got through.

Meanwhile, the guys were making great progress on the basement.  Everyday, I felt like they were accomplishing so much.  They worked at least 8-10 hours everyday.  I don't know how they managed to keep their energy up!  One thing I do know is they like their treats!  We (including me and the kids) took a coffee and treat break everyday at 10a.  Reagan now thinks that his first snack of the day should be a donut!  It's going to be difficult transitioning him out of the sugar based treats back to his normal health-ified snacks.

Back to the basement.  The guys worked for 6 days straight before taking a break.  Their fishing trip was cancelled and I felt so bad for them.  They seemed truly okay with it, but I wanted them to be able to go.  Instead, on Saturday, all the guys - including Reagan - went to Cabela's for a few hours.  They seemed to really enjoy their time, and thankfully, they took the rest of the day off.  Unfortunately, Ryan had to leave early Monday morning for Santa Barbara.  So, he said goodbye to his dad and Jerry Sunday night.

As far as the kids go, it was a long two weeks.  They were off their normal schedules and routines and definitely didn't sleep very well.  There were even some days when neither kid took a nap.  The first week wasn't so bad because I had Darcy and Carol here to help.  However, the second week was a little harder, but we managed.

As far as the basement progress goes, they finished the bathroom (except installing the vanity, but that's because we haven't picked one out).  It looks so much better and I'm not creeped out by walking into it anymore!  Jerry finished all of the electrical work and it's so much brighter than before.  Once again, I'm not nearly as afraid to walk downstairs because I can actually see!  The guys were able to frame all the walls and then hung the sheetrock.  Jerry was able to get through almost all the taping + one coat of mud.  They also finished hanging all the doors and completed the little alcove going into the laundry room.  Finally, on the last day they were here, Ronnie installed the cat door into the garage.

Wow!  Like I said, they accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.  We just need to have someone come in and finish the mudding/sanding of the sheetrock and then we'll paint and put trim up.  And viola!  We'll have a finished basement!  We are so grateful for all the hard work and sacrifice the guys did on our behalf.  And, of course, the ladies too, since they let us have their husbands for 2 weeks!

Reagan and Kyleigh - August 2013

My notes from August 2013:

Reagan:

• Getting into the "one more" phase when it is time to leave a fun place - "one more time on the slide, mom"
• Says "no way nosee" instead of Jose!
• Favorite song is "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line
• A little tattle-tale!  Tells me everything Kyleigh does
• Very polite! Says "Thanks, Mom" all the time, but only says "please" when we remind him to
• When he needs help he says, "Mommy, help you" instead of "me"
• Very bossy!  "Kai-ee no!" "Darby, come here"
• Holds my cheeks and gives me kisses on the lips
• "Mommy! That's my airplane right there, look," as he points out the window to an airplane flying over
• Very (very) disobedient while Ryan was gone on a work trip
• Says "another time" or "another day" when I tell him we can't do something that day
• When I told him he needed to put sunscreen on before going outside, he told me to put "ice cream on his face, his arms, and his legs"
• He picked up a MGD from a box and brought it to the table and said "Here, dad" and gave it to Ryan!

Kyleigh:

• Hitting a lot
• When I tell her it's time to eat (meal or snack), she walks over to the front door and stands or sits on the stone
• Grunts at everything
• Getting better at eating and drinking her milk
• Completely gave up morning nap by mid-August
• Backs down stairs or off the couch really well
• When you ask her to show love, she opens wide and gives kisses
• Starting to run (so cute!)
• Finally waving hello and goodbye
• Entered the door closing phase
• Likes to turn around and around and around in circles
• Close to saying her first word (hi and amen)
• Told her to throw her diaper away and she did it!
• Suddenly covers her ears with a funny expression for no reason multiple times a day
• Perfectly content laying on the floor (anywhere) and sucking her fingers