Bumbo

Ahhh. The Bumbo. We tried this chair a couple of times with Rémy, with faces like this....



we didn't use it very often! This was when she was around 3 1/2 months old.

Here's Ben today, a little over 2 months.

He currently weighs and measures exactly the same that Rémy did when she was 4 months old. (12 lb 6 oz, 23 1/2 in) And such a strong little guy. He seems to like the Bumbo....and I'm guessing someone changed her mind about it.

Potty Training Early

This is the reason we decided to start potty training early. Diapers. This picture is roughly a day and a half of diapers 'round here. Ben goes through 15-20 a day and Rémy goes through 5-6. Rémy has always been perceptive and smart and it has been fairly easy for her to catch on to the general idea. I've encountered much disagreement and lack of faith in being able to potty train early...and for this reason I hardly mention it in conversation anymore. Actually there's really only a handful of people that give me any hope in this succeeding. My mom said that all five of us were potty trained by 18 months and certainly by two years. I figure if she can do it with five then I can do it with one, especially since either Walker or myself is home with her every day.

We started setting her on the potty once a day a few weeks before her first birthday. She knows the routine now. Sit down, wipe, flush, wash hands. There have been two times in the past couple of weeks that she told me she wanted/ needed to go. Saying 'diaper' or 'tee-tee' and pointing to the bathroom. I haven't really been able to encourage this behavior yet because of being so strapped for time...but now we're going full steam ahead.

I've read a few books on the topic including Early Start Potty Training, The Diaper-free Baby and Potty Training Your Baby. I found this last one to be most informative and structured. It is by Katie van Pelt and provides encouragement and support to help you as a parent find the best possible ways to promote this natural behavior.

Somewhere along the way Americans have gone coockoo over the whole process. Other cultures don't seem to have the struggle that we do with establishing these habits early and making progress. The main thing she encourages is to find a good potty that works best for you, stick with that model...don't go back and forth between several, if she does do something in it, go overboard with praise and excitement. The author actually suggested to become so excited that the child thinks that mom must have gone crazy...this will make them laugh and realize how proud you are. It's not necessary to promote the behavior with rewards--it's the praise and enthusiasm that is the reward. (I liked this because I don't want to have to carry candy or stickers with me all the time if we are out and about.) Although, I've seen many families use sticker charts and candy rewards successfully.

It is also equally important, if not more important to never criticize or get upset if she has an accident or does not go on command, as this seems to only further the problem and foster shame.

I realize this method is more time intensive. We started at 11 months old and will probably not be finished until 18-20 months. So there's a good 6-8 months of daily training involved. If you start training at 2 years it may only take a month or two of intense training. But this method will definitely start saving diapers sooner and we may have a good 6 months worth of diapers that this method will save being sent to a landfill.

Of course there is the strong possibility that this isn't going to work. In which case, I will not consider it wasted time because Rémy is definitely learning about the process. Do you remember potty training? Are you potty training now, or about to start? What was the process when you trained your kids? What did you find helped most? Any funny stories or experiences you'd like to share?

Fridays with Nana

Cuddling with Nana

Nana, Rémy & Ben have lunch with Uncle George

Uncle George & Ben
(Uncle George is getting in all the practice he can...
he and Katie are due with their first child on October 21!)

Aunt Annie making Ben smile before she goes to work

Mom has graciously agreed to watch the kids on Fridays so that Walker and I can complete many hours of observation at Kaufman Christian School. These observation hours help to complete our certification so that we can teach in the fall. This turns out to be an interesting day for us. We leave the house at 6 am and we're home by 6 pm. We've been doing this a little more than a month. Rémy is starting to get the hang of it all. She loves Nana and Suzie (doggie) and Bob (kitty-kitty) we think she's even starting to like Uncle Tony! Here are a few pictures of the kids with Nana the past few weeks. They have adventures like dropping Uncle Tony off at school, having lunch with Uncle George, visiting the farmers market and Texas Discovery gardens. Poor Nana had a terrible experience with the stroller and called six people trying to figure out how to collapse it...and no one called her back. What a trooper! Thanks Nana!

Fourth Birthday Party

Rémy and Ben were able to attend their cousin Jeffrey's fourth birthday party. Daddy and the Grandplagge's took them to Wylie to Maya & Jeff's house. I think they all had a ball. Rémy's really starting to come out of her shell and is a little more comfortable around new people. Looks like Jeffrey had a great day!

Grampy with Rémy and Uncle Daniel

Rémy playing some sort of ball

Daddy hanging out with Ben & Grammy

Here's Ben jumping right into the middle of everything,
he's so uncontrollable...we just can't take him anywhere.

Maya helping Jeffrey open gifts

Coming Soon...

Now I have more time to seriously focus on:

Sleep Training
Potty Training
Getting rid of a pacifier
Job Hunting & Resume Skills
Interviewing Skills
Childcare options

All of these topics I will be posting here for questions, help, direction and just sharing my experiences so far and wanting to hear about your experiences as well.

And of course, I'm not going to forget to post pictures of the kiddos. Sometimes I think they're the only reason this blog still exists. I just love all the calls and emails wanting more updates (and reminding me to post Red Chair series)...so your requests have been granted!

In Red Chair Series 2 Months

First of all, I'd like to announce that I PASSED my certification exam!! I just found out a few minutes ago. This is a huge relief!

Now onto the real important matter....Ben is two months!! He is focusing more when he is awake and can hold his head up for a few minutes before he becomes a bobble-head again. He doesn't mind being licked (by Truffle) kissed or squished or poked (by Rémy). He really seems to enjoy bath time and likes to listen to voices. He has had many adventures including going to a birthday party for their cousin Jeffrey. (both Rémy and Ben's first birthday party to attend)

Now that I've passed my exam and will be graduating in a few weeks I'll be posting more often...and plan to put up some pictures of the birthday party soon.

Sister Brother photos of the week...

"Let me tell you a few things, brother."

"A few things about fashion." "Ok, sister, I'm listening."

"These shoes, come on." "Uh-huh."

"I'm outta here." "But wait, what about my shoes?"

16 Months In Red Chair

Miss Rémy is 16 months old today! She was up and down and up and down in the red chair...so technically she's not 'in' the red chair. She is adjusting to her role as big sister. She rushes to the rescue to put in a pacifier or help give Ben a bottle if he is fussy.

Vocabulary seems to involve many 'b' words including bee, baby, bo bo, belly, button, bye bye, bath, berries, shoe, sock, fish, bird, ice, cheese, car, outside, bunny, tee tee, diaper, and mama and has started saying my dada, bye dada and hi dada.

She usually lets us know when she needs a diaper and has told me on two occasions she wanted to go potty. She brings such light and laughter to our days!

Our Little Einstein

Well it does seem she inherited something from Einstein...his hair.

Sleep

When the baby sleeps, everybody sleeps.

Happy Birthday My Love!

Today is Walker's birthday! The two of us celebrated by ourselves last night, I surprised him by taking us to The Melting Pot in Addison. We had a blast together...the grandPlagge's took care of the kids and we made a stop at our favorite book store to browse around and ended up taking few items home with us.

This morning Rémy and I are making breakfast for dada and this afternoon Walker's brother and nephew are in town along with his sister and her family....so he'll have his whole family to celebrate with!

Fishing

I just love having a sister. Especially a single sister that I can hear all about her dating life or perspective dating life...the following conversation was told to me twice...once by a phone call from mom and then five minutes later in a separate phone call from my sister. Also, I've been hearing for a couple of months about how Annie wishes this guy would get up the nerve and ask her out. From what I hear he is a shy, 6'6" engineer for the building she works in. Regardless of whether or not they actually go on a date I thought this story was hilarious....and Annie, I figured you would tell this story yourself if you had your own blog. :-)


Setting: Elevator

Tall Engineer: Do you fish?

Annie: No.

Tall Engineer: Do you like to fish?

Annie: No.

Tall Engineer: Why don't you like to fish?

Annie: It's boring.

Moment of awkward silence passes

Tall Engineer: So when are we going?

Annie: Well, I'm busy this weekend, but maybe next weekend.


Oh, and Annie--I hope you do go on a fishing date, maybe you'll decide you like it after all.

In Red Chair- One Month

This month I have been welcomed into the world! I have learned to cope by sleeping all the time. I can do things such as sleep, dirty diapers, sleep, eat, sleep. My favorite past time is to sleep. I can sleep in the car, sleep in the stroller, sleep on the couch, sleep in my crib or bassinet, sleep in anyone's arms. I consider myself a world class sleeper. It would seem that I only opened my eyes long enough for my mama to take this picture.

I make lots of little noises when I sleep, and when I cry I sound like a little lamb bleating.

Ahhh....

Life with Two Babes

Is soooo fun! The three of us went in for Ben's two week check-up today. He's 8 lb 4 oz and gained a half inch in height already.

Rémy loves her new job of big sister and loves on him every chance she gets.

Here He Is!

Ben Walker Plagge
born February 24, 2009
7 lb 8 oz, 20 1/2 inches
4:29 pm

Practice with Baby

Rémy just loves this doll that she drags around. The past month or so we've been doing all kinds of things with the baby. We take the baby on walks in the doll stroller, we change the baby's diaper, we give the baby a pacifier or bottle. Sometimes we change the baby's clothes and put on socks and shoes. We give the baby hugs and mama and daddy give the baby kisses. When it's nap time we take the baby and put him in Ben's crib and put a blanket on him. Rémy's never been a very affectionate baby...not much for cuddling or kisses, so we're having to train her, in a sense, to be more affectionate. Anyway, after working with her for about a month of all of us taking turns trying to kiss the baby she is finally starting to warm up to the idea. She even gave me a kiss on the cheek today! Here's a video that we caught the first night she started giving kisses....


And a picture of the three of us...before we turn into four...

The End is Near(ing)

When I went in to the Dr. today we scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, February 24 if he's not here before then. YAY! There's some relief in sight! We can't wait to hold this Baby boy, kiss him and bring him home!

Boy's Room on a Budget

Decoupagéd crib, Orange curtain

Lamp from Ikea, Photo frame from Hobby Lobby

Decoupagéd drawers, 2 metal signs, metal mail box

2 shelves from Ikea, Pop-up book, action figures, USPS stamps, sprayed letters

Decoupagéd changing table, boxes from Ikea, cloth diapers made by Debbe

This little boy's room has been so much fun to create and to watch come together. We knew we wanted a room, for both of our children, that is not a nursery but a room that they can grow into and grow with.

$40 Crib & Changing Table purchased on craigslist
$15 Comics from Half Price Books
$16 Metal signs from Half Price Books
$22 Orange fabric from Ikea for crib bumper, changing table pad, window panel
$10 Green crib sheet from BabiesRus
$4 Marvel superhero pop-up book from Half Price Books
$2 Silver lamp from Ikea
$16 2 Green storage boxes, 2 brushed metal storage boxes
$3.50 2 spools of green grosgrain ribbon for crib bumper, curtain
$4.00 Green and orange picture frame from Hobby Lobby
_______Bottom Line
$132.50

The acrylic paints were passed on to us by Walker's mom, this probably would have added another $20 to the cost. I gave the shelves to Walker for Valentine's day last year, but we never got around to hanging them. The letters B E & N were given to us by my mom and I just sprayed them with silver paint leftover from Rémy's tricycyle. The chest of drawers was Walker's when he lived at home, then Rémy's for extra storage, now Ben's.

I've also been eye-ing a large area rug for the room, but haven't decided yet if it would match....What do you think? Princeton Multi Rug or the Tinkilicious ABC Rug

I'd also like to paint a text bubble somewhere in the room that says, "Time to wake up and save the world, SuperBen."

The only thing we lack is to paint some storage boxes with silver paint that will go under his bed.

Peek

a

Boo!

I see you!

Psalm 40

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods. ^[a]

5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced ^[b] , ^[c] ;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.

7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll. ^[d]

8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."

9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.

10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.

12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.

14 May all who seek to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.

15 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"
be appalled at their own shame.

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

17 Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

Walker handed me this to read last night, along with a cup of ice. I thought it was a timely reminder for me.

Waiting Game

Well, there have been three false alarms this week. We're all wearing down around here. Here are a couple of videos taken yesterday. Walker took the one of Rémy making her way out the doggie door...in addition to the "ruff, ruff" noises she always makes this is even more proof that our daughter thinks she is a dog.

Debbe came over to help watch Rémy so Walker could finish Ben's room. I ended up coming home from work early with 5 min. contractions...so this was taken while I was timing contractions before we decided to go to the hospital.

Bubbles, Grammy and a dog...hours of entertainment.

Ben's list

I made a list a few weeks before Rémy was born....so here's Ben's list. And a picture taken about a week ago @ 37 weeks...

15 days until baby boy is due
8 assignments due by that date
5 weeks until Walker gets any vacation time
2 birthday parties
1 anniversary party
4 days left of work
5 shots for Truffle
1 grooming for Truffle
900 cups of ice I will consume by that time
60 trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night
37 times that I will cry for no apparent reason
2 tubes of icy hot
0 moments of peaceful solitude

Being 8.5 months pregnant with a 13 month old daughter: priceless

Almost Finished

Now we just have to finish the orange and green stripe around the room! And I use the term "we" very loosely. I'm going to work today and maybe it'll be finished by the time I get home.

Walker says this is the room he always wanted but I would never let him have. I don't remember him asking. But then he went on to say that he would be happy to sleep in Ben's room if Ben ever wants to sleep in our room with me!

All in a Night's Work

Tonight he'll start adding the white (teeth, eyes, star, stripe) and black outlines.

Wall Mural

Here's the rough sketch on the wall so far. Walker hopes to have all of the painting finished by this weekend. There will be a brown and burnt orange stripe around the room. It's hard to grasp the size without any furniture in to compare it to, but this easily takes up 3/4 of the wall. From top left going clockwise are Captain America, Wolverine, Iron Man, Daredevil. The Hulk and Spiderman will also be represented in the room. Can you tell that my hubbie much prefers Marvel over DC?? Walker is so talented when it comes to this kind of thing, I just love to sit back and watch him create.

Walter E. Plagge

Walker's grandfather passed away on the seventh of this month. We made a trip to Colorado for the funeral. Here is the obituary that was in the local paper, written by Lisa.

Walter E. Plagge was born February 17, 1930 in Belle Plaine,Kansas to Walter H. and Olga (Wooldridge) Plagge. He passed away peacefully watching the birds on his front porch January 7, 2009.

Walter enlisted in the U.S. Navy November 12, 1948 and married his beloved Charlotte on December 23rd. To this union were born Danny Lee, Russell Scott, Walter Kenneth and Lisa Kimberlasue.

Walter was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1955. In addition to the Navy, Walter worked for Boeing Industry, Gano Grain, Bartlett Elevator and retired twice from Co-op/Temple Grain. He was active in the family farm and ranching until the day he died.

He was active in the Masonic Lodge, Eastern Star, Rainbow and Shriners. He served on the Pritchett School board and renovated the Pritchett Cemetery. He enjoyed hunting (without a gun), carving arrowheads and peace pipes, hunting for Indian artifacts, riding motorcycles, flying and being with his family.

Walter was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Kenny Ray; sister, Irene Milligan and his beloved Charlotte(2001).

Walter is survived by his sons Dan of Pueblo West, CO; Russ and wife Sonja of Pritchett, CO; Ken and wife Debbe of Celina, TX; and Lisa and husband Elmer Lippoldt of Sachse, TX.

Walter was Grandpa, Granddad, Oupa, and Poopa to Stacy (Darrin), Ryan (Kelly), Cody (Kirstin), Troy, Clint, Brandon (April), Kendra (Jerad), Walker (Dollye) Plagge and Logan and Breckin Lippoldt.

Walter was Great Grandfather to Kylie, Jamie, Lynzie, Quinten, Scott, Kyle, Whitman, Breanna, Braedon, and Rémy.

Guesses

It's that time again! I started getting some guesses/requests for dates that baby Ben will arrive...
So far the guesses include:

Kelly-February 4th
Walker & Mom-February 7th
Tony-February 13th
Dollye-February 12th
Annie- February 21st (her birthday)
George- February 16th

Last time the closest guess was Aunt Elizabeth who guessed the 21st!

Baby Ben Progress

I forgot about posting these from the beginning of December...so here they are! Most of what you can see is his profile, he's already pretty filled out so it's hard to get a good shot. The third down is an arm and his face.

This pregnancy is progressing a whole lot faster than Rémy did. Rémy was a few days late and I really didn't have many contractions until the week before I delivered her. This time around I've been having Braxton Hicks for about 2 months and last week started having real contractions about every 20 minutes. I went in for a visit on Friday and the Dr. moved the due date up by two weeks to February 20. SIX WEEKS AWAY. Whoa. We also got to have a sonogram and she measured and said he is big for his age...about 4 pounds already and that he has a honkin' noggin.

We made quite a bit of progress this weekend clearing out boxes, clothes, keyboard, office supplies, guest bed, board games, etc. from what is this little big guy's room. Walker did a concept sketch for me yesterday of what he'd like the mural to look like and he plans to start on that this week. Debbe has helped me quite a bit with the decopaging of the furniture and it looks like exactly what I pictured in my head. The changing table is finished, the dresser is complete, the bed is half way finished. I plan to finish packing our bags today, just in case we get caught somewhere and have to go to the hospital. We're definitely feeling a little more pressure to accomplish things before he's born, but a little fire under my belly always helps me get more motivated.

Rémy's waking from a nap...more to come later.

Fun with New Toys

Early Lesson in Saving

We decided a year ago to put any spare change/ bills into Rémy's piggy bank and to take it out once a year and buy a savings bond with it. Today Daddy helped Rémy unplug the piggy and count the money to take in to the bank. Thankfully there were no swallowed coins, but there was a great interest in putting the coins back in the piggy. We think more than just the two of us have been sneaking money into the piggy, as there was enough for three savings bonds!

12 Months of Red Chair

12 months old-In Red Chair

ONE YEAR OLD!!! What's happened this month, you may ask...lots. Rémy has mastered walking and is now trying to run. She has started learning to stack objects and wants to do more things independently. We have successfully made the switch from formula to whole milk, saving us money and filling out Rémy a little more. Rémy has lots of battle wounds from making her way through life and seems to have a new bruise or scratch every day. If you look close enough in this picture you can see the remnants of a black eye that's almost disappeared. She is becoming familiar with the potty and how to flush, but has yet to do anything on the toilet besides look at Elmo on the seat. She started pointing at objects and babbling as if telling us about them. She has a baby doll that is about half her size that she drags around the house, giving it a pacifier, or bottle or trying to change it's diaper. When she's being sweet she pats it and gives it hugs. We're working on blowing kisses and giving kisses on the cheek, but she doesn' t have it down quite yet.

A short story about her new found independence; the three of us were grocery shopping the other night, but Rémy would not sit in the cart. She wanted to walk around the entire grocery store, following behind the cart. She also didn't want anything to do with holding hands and walking. For this reason, for her birthday one of the things we got 'her' (but really us) is a little monkey backpack friend that has a long tail for us to hold on to. I've seen other parents have these on their kids and thought...oh I'd never do that. But when it comes down to it, as independent as she seems to be, I would much rather subject her to a monkey backpack than have her missing from my sight.

As parents we feel like her lifespan has been a few long months instead of the whole year that it really has been. We are grateful for every little hug, squeeze, kiss and smile she gives!