One less in diapers!

I knew I wanted to potty train Hannah before we went to California this summer, so after we got back from NC I geared up and mentally prepared to do the dirty deed. I loathe potty training. I’d rather cut off my leg with a plastic knife than potty train a kid. BUT, we talked it up, she picked out her own prize, and we planned to do it on a Monday.

I pumped her full of Crystal Light and pretzels and left her naked from the waist down. Since our entire house is carpeted except for our kitchen and bathroom, we spend the entire morning in the kitchen. One accident all day and she had it down. Like, seriously potty trained in like half a day. Unbelievable. We even went somewhere the next day and she was fine. She doesn’t care about checking out every bathroom in every store we ever go to. She has been a dream. Sure, she has had a few accidents here and there, but she gets it and I love it and it makes me feel like I can have more kids and live to tell about it. Because really, potty training makes me never want to have another kid! Anyway, as her reward, she got to pick where we went to dinner (Chili’s) and then we went to Build a Bear where she got to pick out her own bear, just like Summer did when she was potty trained. She had a blast and it was fun to celebrate her success with her.

I love the Build-a-Bear process. So stinking cute. Here she is rubbing the little heart that goes inside her bear.Giving her bear, now named Rainbow, a bath.We are so proud of you Hannah and your big girl undies!

Green Meadows Petting Farm

Last month we went with our tour club to a petting farm. It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time. They both rode a pony, we had a super bumpy hayride, and saw the most tiny goats I’ve ever seen. It was a fun day, and a great ending our our tour club semester. 

I love this picture. Summer’s just not sure what to do around all these tiny goats.  These goats were seriously so cute. I’ve never seen such small ones! And then onto feeding the grown up goats. Summer was done with goats by this point and was happy to stay outside the pen and eat her snack. Hannah on the other hand was hugging and kissing them. Ew?

We bought the Groupon to go back this summer so we can take dad. We didn’t even get to see half of it because we had to get back home for something. Fun, fun place!

4 months!

Figure I better post her 4 month update before she turns 5 months in 3 days!

At her appointment she weighed in at 11 lb 7 oz and 24” long. Teeny! But she seems to roly poly to me.  I have the fattest tiny baby around!

She learned how to sleep through the night all on her own, bless her little heart. It’s a good thing, too, because I don’t know if I could have made her cry it out. She goes down around 7 and usually sleeps till around 7. If she wakes up around 5 or 6 I’ll feed her then put her back down and she sleeps till 9 or 10. Is this girl great or what?! She still sleeps swaddled and takes a paci when she falls asleep.

She eats about 4 times a day. Nothing too major. We did try some rice cereal at her doctor’s suggestion but she wasn’t too interested. We’ll probably try in a couple weeks again.

She can roll from her belly to her back and that’s about it.

She’s full of smiles and her sisters can make her belly laugh, which is the cutest thing ever.

And apparently this was a slow month for picture because this is about all I got!

Tessa is 3 months!

Tessa turned a whopping 3 months old while we were in NC. She continues to be a superstar. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a good baby, but I’ll take her! She freely offers us smiles and is starting to coo and talk to us more and more. The girls can always make her smile and laugh, and I love to see them interact with her. Summer is always telling me, “Mom, she is SO adorable!” She sure is! Summer is always giving her a snuggle or a nuzzle and still wants to hold her all the time.

She goes to bed between 7-8, whenever the big girls go to bed, and will usually sleep until around 5. After I nurse her she’ll sleep until 9 or 10. But in the past week she’s slept from 7p-9a 2 or 3 times. AMAZING!! She must be going through a growth spurt! To help my boobs from exploding in the morning I’ve been pumping every night before bed, which is helping me to build up a nice little supply of milk in the freezer for a rainy day.

She’s rolled over twice in the past week, both times right after I put her down on her tummy. Nothing consistent, but I’m pretty sure she’s at least 6 months ahead of both of her sisters in doing this. She’s also really strong on her legs and likes to stand up.

She loves to play pat-a-cake and itsy bitsy spider.

She is still a great traveler and will sleep in her car seat when we’re out and about, and will sleep in the baby carrier too.

She is back to a regular pooping schedule, thank goodness. I really didn’t want her to have to get her bum violated by the doc again.

I really hate to rub it in, but she really is practically perfect in every way!

Spring Break 2013 Pt. 3

And now, the thrilling conclusion to our Spring Break!

After our “leisurely” hike up to the falls, we made our way to Raleigh, NC where Derrick’s sister lives. We got in kind of late so we all just said a quick hello then hit the sack.

The next day was cold and rainy so we all just hung out at home. My darling nieces Hayley and Lindsey had 2 little shadows the entire time we were there…they adored them. And they were so sweet to them, playing with them and even letting them sleep in their beds with them! And my two nephews were just as sweet as well. Just cute and kind boys. Since we had just capable babysitters, we left all 3 of our girls with them and Derrick and I went downtown to eat some authentic NC barbecue at The Pit. HOLY MOSES IT WAS DELICIOUS. We were a little skeptical walking in because it was pretty posh for a bbq joint, but everything was amazing. I still dream of this meal.

The next day we went to breakfast at Big Ed’s City Markey and had ourselves another delicious southern meal. Are we the only ones who plan their vacations around places to eat?? One thing I used to love when I lived in NC was the soda Cheerwine. It tastes just like I remember it!

After breakfast we went to a place called Pullen Park, a little park with a carousel, boat and train rides, and play structures. The kids had a great time, and all rides were only a buck!

Saturday was so nice and sunny so we just hung out at home and sat outside basking in the sun for a bit. It was divine. We went to one of Brandon’s basketball games and had Chick fil a for lunch. We ended with some great bbq pinwheels for dinner at home (Derrick is seriously a grill master) and some of Daneise’s famous chocolate chip cookies. We had such a great time just hanging out and chatting with everyone. The girls had a blast, so much so that we decided to stay an extra day and just drive home in one day, instead of breaking it up into two. Plus, Hannah was sick and we didn’t want to infect the household we were going to be staying with Saturday night, especially since they have a new baby. And speaking our babies, ours was the best. She slept in the closet on the floor and pretty much slept through the night. What a champ.

We drove through 8 states, 2067 miles, and spent 34.5 hours in the car. And it was SO MUCH FUN. Really, there are only good thoughts when I think back on it. The only downer was when I dropped my phone in the toilet the night before we left NC! Thankfully the rice trick pulled through and it’s been fine ever since. The whole reason for this trip was so that Derrick could cross Kentucky and West Virginia off his list, with the end destination being NC. And since they are moving to Minnesota this summer we knew we had to go now or else we’d never go! And now we are thrilled to have family only 4 hours away!!! We already told them to expect us up there a lot! I may even keep a toothbrush up there. :)

Can’t wait for our next family vacay!

Spring Break 2013 Pt. 2

We got into Gatlinburg Monday night and checked into the condo we found on vrbo.com. We were a little skeptical about the place since we had no confirmation number or email or anything, so when we called a few hours outside of Gatlinburg to confirm and set up for a key pickup since we were getting there after office hours, we weren’t really surprised to find out they had no record of us. Luckily our unit was still available, and even better was that the rate they gave us was significantly cheaper than what the owner quoted us. Bonus! The unit was awesome…nice and big and clean. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, full kitchen, balcony, whirlpool tub. And so close to the strip. We didn’t drive anywhere once we got there, which was so nice because traffic is terrrrrible.

Tuesday morning we walked up the strip, full of touristy things, and took the gondola up to Ober Gatlinburg, a ski resort with even more tourists traps. The girls and I thought it was a pretty fun ride, and Derrick just tried not to think about falling to his death. Ha. We checked out the view from the top and let the girls play around on a playset outside for a bit. It was so nice to be outside in the sun! They also rode the slowest, lamest, most expensive no-music carousel on the planet. But they didn’t care, they loved it.

We headed back down and had lunch at Bennett’s, a BBQ joint that was recommended to us by the tram operator. It was really good, and they were great with the kids—very accommodating. We’d definitely go back. By now it’s well past naptime but all the kids are doing great so we continue on our way and head for the aquarium. Apparently the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is the #1 aquarium in the country! And it was really amazing. The best part was this shark encounter, where you stand on a moving walkway through tunnels of the shark exhibit. It was like 15 minutes long! Super cool and the sharks got so close. We all loved it. They had a couple tanks with cutouts in the middle where kids can stand in them, which they girls loved. The penguins also had a space like that and they went through a couple times to stand in the middle of the penguins.

We went back to the condo for dinner and after baths went back out for some dessert. We went to Kilwin’s where the girls got Superman ice cream cones, Derrick got a pecan log, and I chowed down on some fudge. It was delicious.

In case you’re wondering where Callister girl #3 is, she’s been peacefully hanging out or sleeping in her car seat. That girl is a champ. Everyone slept great that night, which is good because the next day we would need lots of energy for the hike we went on.

We checked out Wednesday morning and had breakfast at the Pancake Pantry, which someone recommended to us. The reviews didn’t completely say it was amazing, but there was always a huge line to get into it. It was not amazing. Sure, the girls got bear shaped pancakes with M&M’s for eyes and buttons, but my crepes with canned peaches and raspberries were good but not out of this world. Fun little place to go to though.

We researched the best hikes to go on, and decided on one to Laurel Falls, which is the only paved hike in the Smoky Mountains, and supposedly very kid/stroller friendly. So we start the 1.3 miles up with the double stroller and the single umbrella stroller. And it’s tough. Really tough! We’re sweating within minutes, and I’m sure the wheels on our strollers are going to pop off at any minute. Sure it’s paved, but like 30 years ago! There are potholes and roots all over the place, and I’m positive I’m going to just straight up launch a child out over the steep drop offs at every pothole I hit. So many times I wanted to quit and turn around but then I’d see the next mile marker (which were NOT evenly spaced at all) and get a tiny boost of encouragement. Every person that passed us, either going up or down, commented on how brave we were to take 2 strollers all the way up. Most gave us pep talks, “You’re almost there! You can do it!” We were exhausted, but we made it! And all the kids cared about was having a snack.

The comforting warning signs on the way up. The caravan up!Our “paved” trail up.View from the top. Perhaps a little more pretty in the summer or fall? 4/5 of us at the top! I look like a giant pink marshmallow in that shirt. Yikes. We stopped at a little park on our way to the trail (yeah…we got lost) and Summer went exploring with Derrick and then with me. We took a little selfie down by the stream.

And then we were on our way to NC! We loved Gatlinburg. I went when I was in high school, but it was fun to go again. It’s totally touristy, and so outdated, but there’s just something so charming about it, and totally seems like the kind of place you go every year and love it just because it’s a family tradition. I can’t wait to go again actually, but next time with some other families! Who’s with us?