Bailey Turns 2

It is hard to believe that Bailey is 2 years old. We had her party on 4th of July this year. I don't always want to incorporate her birthday with July 4th every year, but sometimes it is bound to happen when your birthday is that close. My parents and Lesli's family were able to come down for the party, and we had Scott's parents along with Ben and Heidi over for the famous Miller (or Yoder) BBQ chicken that Scott's mom is so good at cooking. Scott's mom, along with her brothers, could cook BBQ chicken on racks for the masses! It's soooo good!

Here are some highlights from the party. I used the manual setting on my camera because I am trying to learn to use it correctly. You'll notice pictures of cake time are missing because Scott didn't check the settings and left it on manual to take pictures inside after I took pictures outside. We are in the learning process. :)

 

Grady showing off his new hair cut!

 Hanging out on the corn hole boards!

Bailey, Gavin & Grady eating their "pigs in a blanket!"

Bailey's first set of wheels!

An intense game of basketball! (The adults may enjoy this present more than the kids!)

The onlookers!

One thing I will always remember about this party was how HOT it was. It was in the 90s, and we actually set a fan in our garage to blow on us. Even with the heat, it was a great time spent with our family!



Thoughts from a First Time Potty Trainer

I took the plunge a week ago yesterday to start potty training Bailey. I kept going back and forth about it because she isn't two yet, and I didn't want to make it any harder than it was already going to be. At the same time, she had shown interest in using the potty for a while and even talked a lot about it. Once she started telling me when she would go, I figured that it was time for me to be ready to just do it.

In reality, that was the biggest obstacle... I just wasn't ready to train my little girl to use the potty. Yes, it will be nice to not have the expense of diapers, but it gives your child a new form of independence. Yes, I want my children to use the potty. Yes, I want them to be independent. I just didn't think it would happen this fast! Anyhow, I think having another one on that way that will need to go through all of the same stages Bailey has gone through has helped me not to be too sad about her newfound independence!

So, what is potty training like and how is it going???? IT IS EXHAUSTING, FULL OF HIGHS AND LOWS AND EXHILARATING!!!! It is exhausting having to constantly monitor Bailey for signs that she has to go to the bathroom then make sure she gets there in time. As an example, Bailey successfully went potty at least 25 times in the first 3 days of potty training... what human being uses the bathroom that often??? (I guess the stickers were a good incentive.) It has its highs when Bailey goes a full day without accidents or makes it through a nap or the night completely dry, but the lows come when she has an accident and pees outside of a local produce market right in front of the free popcorn samples. Mostly, potty training is truly exhilarating!!! We have had numerous celebrations that consist of dance parties, stickers and suckers.

Last night was the first night that she has stayed completely dry through the night. I have had many feelings (through the lows mostly) about waiting another month or two and trying again; however, this morning when she woke up dry it solidified that Bailey really was ready to do this. Now that the first week it behind us, I definitely do not want to start over! Bailey is truly becoming a potty rockstar, and I am proud of her newfound independence!

The first band-aid...

The first band-aid is the hardest for mom, but the funnest for the child...

Bailey was in tears after shutting her finger in the screen door, but the tears quickly vanished once I showed her the princess band-aids I had bought!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I finally got around to making my own laundry detergent after my stockpile of laundry detergents from couponing ran out. My co-worker, Monica Bear, first told me about making laundry detergent many months ago and the cost savings that it had. After my sister-in-law, Heidi, started making it, she told me how easy it was to make, and I became even more intrigued.

I only needed to buy 3 ingredients: Fels-naptha soap, Borax and Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. I also purchased a 5 gallon bucket as well as a cool little mixer that connects to my drill.

I probably spent approximately $15 to get started. Everything but the Fels-naptha soap will last me for over 10 gallons of laundry detergent!!!

The hardest part for me was dissolving the Fels-naptha soap over medium-heat on the stove. I don't know if I just wasn't patient enough, but I had it on the stove for quite a while and it still had small chunks of soap in it when I mixed it. I don't think it will hurt the end product, and it's something to work on next time.

My favorite part was using my drill and mixer to stir. So easy, and worth the purchase!

Then I had to cover it and let it sit over night.

After it sat over night, it turned into a gel-like substance. I stirred it and poured it into an old laundry detergent container and milk jugs - filling each container/jug with 1/2 of the detergent and 1/2 water.

The fruits of my labor - a tad shy of 5 gallons of laundry detergent.

I used the recipe off of the the Duggar's website to make my laundry detergent. I have a front loader that needs a detergent with low suds (this is basically no suds), and this worked great in my washing machine. Here is the link if you are interested in making it:

http://duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30455/homemade_liquid_laundry_soap_front_or_top_load_machine_best_value

In the future, I will add scent to the detergent, but I wanted to make sure I could successfully make it before buying any scented oils. I definitely recommend scented oils. Although my laundry is clean, it lacks that familiar, fresh scent that I am used to.

SUCCESS!!!!

It's A Boy!!!

So, I realized that I missed blogging about a huge event in our lives. A few weeks ago we found out that we are having a B-O-Y! Before finding out this news, neither Scott nor I cared whether we had a boy or a girl. We had often thought that we would end up with a house full of girls. In fact, when we were putting the nursery together for Bailey, I often thought it was silly that we were making it neutral. In my mind, we were going to have girls.

Scott didn’t want to find out what we were having, so like a good wife, I compromised. We had the ultrasound tech write the gender on a card and stick it in a sealed envelope. The envelope sat in our house for a week and a half before we took it to a bakery. I had Scott hide the envelope from me, because I didn’t trust myself. (I was always the kid looking for my Christmas gifts!)

We got a Litty’s ho-ho cake (YUM!) and had our families over for the revealing. The inside icing would be blue if it was a boy and pink if it was a girl. Before we cut the cake, we had everyone take a pink napkin if they thought it was a girl and an orange napkin if they thought it was a boy. Needless to say, almost everyone took an orange napkin, so we have a lot of good guessers in our families.

When I cut the cake and saw the blue, I may have gone a little ballistic. I think it was because I never imagined having a boy. I know that you can’t determine these things, but I think that’s why I was so shocked and extremely excited.

blue icing

A "Kodak" moment!

I am excited to share the adventure of raising boys with my sister. I am even more excited to watch Scott with a son. Though he has a special relationship with Bailey, there is always something special about a father-son relationship too - just like I enjoy having a special mother-daughter relationship with Bailey.

We feel very blessed with how God is blessing our family, and the Miller name lives on!

Hawaii

Scott and I just got to spend 6 days in Hawaii for our 5 year anniversary, and it was amazing!!! 80 degree weather every day and hardly a cloud in the sky! Scott also scored us a sweet room upgrade where we had a view of the ocean as well as the lagoon/Honolulu. Needless to say, the word paradise was uttered frequently on our trip. We left Bailey at home for our trip, and that was very hard! When we returned, I told Scott that I probably can't do that again for a while. I am proud to say that I refrained from true tears over missing Bailey until we started having flight issues for our trip home. Luckily, it was a blessing in disguise, because we ended up getting home 5 hours earlier than originally planned since we switched flights (and the people at LAX got a great show of a pregnant lady running through the airport).

We did a lot of laying around by the beach/pools around our resort, but we did drive up to the North Shore to see the Dole Plantation, get some Motsumoto's shave ice and look at the beach where the Pipeline is held. We also went to Pearl Harbor, the Aloha Stadium flea market and a luau. It was so fun just to spend the week together and sleep as much as we wanted; however, I never slept past 7 a.m. due to the 6 hour time difference. We made daily goals of staying up at least until 9 or 10 too. Here are some pictures from our trip:

View of the beach from our hotel room!

The Dole Plantation

The Aloha Stadium

21 weeks pregnant

Touring the submarine at Pearl Harbor that was used to fight in WWII

Last night in Hawaii

We had an awesome, relaxing trip. I am already planning our next trip to Hawaii that includes Bailey and her little brother... many years down the road, of course. :)

Kiss It

Bailey's new favorite thing... kissing boo boos. She actually demands it and firmly says "kiss it" until you do! :)

I hope I never forget the funny things that she does and says!