potty training adventure

"when you have to go potty, stop, & go right away."


thank you, daniel tiger!


this week we started potty training. yay & i am so tired.


i know about sticker charts & motivators. for my daughter - all she needs is a tube of mini m&m's next to the toilet. she also requires immediate praise & reward. we could add a sticker chart on top of this, but right now, she doesn't seem to care.

we started on thursday & within a few hours i wasn't sure if i wanted to keep going. she had four accidents within the first hour. after her first one she cried & asked me to put a diaper back on her. i realized the toilet every 30 minutes was too long & eventually figured the timer needed to be set for every 15 minutes. i explained that sofia the first, doc mcstuffins, & minnie mouse were really sad when she got them wet (they were on the underwear she picked out). she then insisted on watching as much of sofia, mcstuffins, & minnie mouse as much as possible the rest of the day. no accidents after that. stayed dry all night. seriously - this girl is a rock star.

she had one accident friday afternoon, but friday night we took a trip to the aquarium & she was so good about going! then we went to my aunt's house to be with family & she let me or my parents know when she needed to go. seriously. this girl!

we stayed the night with my parents friday since sydney had a baby shower next door on saturday morning. because of this, i put rooney in a diaper, but we talked about how she needs to go potty in the toilet & not her diaper. i came down with a cold, so i spent a lot of the night up, trying to breathe. at one point, this woke her up & she stayed up with me for a good hour. then after we woke up in the morning, we didn't make it to the bathroom right away. i fully expected the diaper to be wet. it was not! rooney stayed dry again! but we were both pretty grumpy due to a lack of sleep. we ( I ) couldn't wait to get home & to have the support of ashton.

sunday we weren't quite sure how to do nursery. ashton & i teach a primary class so we were thinking one of us would leave every 20 to 30 minutes to take her. i can't tell you if that worked or not because our stake cancelled all meetings due to inclement weather.

it is now 8:00 on monday morning & rooney is still sleeping - it is very rare that she sleeps in so late. here's to hoping for another dry morning & accident free day!


*** i know rooney is a rare potty training success. i am sure baby boy will give us much more of a run for our money. so exciting. ***

happy new year!

i know lots of people are ready for 2016 to be over, but, honestly, i loved 2016. here are just a few of the reasons why (and only a small handful of pictures).

•  Rooney turned ONE!!! watching rooney grow has been fulfilling, frustrating, and so much fun. she constantly keeps us laughing. she is beautiful. sassy. stubborn. & 100% perfect.

• i began working with canyons school district again. hourly & it's been the perfect, flexible job for me.
• we visited california & went to disneyland (twice!), new york, bear lake, & yellowstone!

• most of our summer was spent celebrating friends & family & their marriages!

• a new niece!

• air traffic control opened up a bid! (lots prayers that we find out soon that ashton has made it into the academy)

• i opened up my hoops&threads shop on etsy! 

• we moved & now have our own space! 

• we got pregnant (also twice) & this baby is thriving! i learned a lot about my body and was very humbled through another miscarriage. i have also learned to celebrate every single day with this baby.

• we were surrounded by family & friends.

i just went through all of my 2016 photos (there are A LOT) & i couldn't believe how blessed we have been or how absolutely perfect baby rooney was. toddler rooney is fun, but my heart misses my baby, bad. 

thank you to all of our friends & family who have supported us, loved us, & shared memories with us during the last year. i feel immensely blessed.


*here's to 2017!

& (hopefully) better documentation of our life!

"buh bye"

almost as soon as she wakes up, roo requests (demands) that we go "buh bye". it's a new thing & it is fun/exhausting. some days, it is great because we run errands. most days though, it means i have to actually get ready...

here are a few of our adventures from this week. luckily, sometimes just a walk is enough.

 those legs though!

i love this picture. rooney finally figured out what was going on at the very end & was so excited!

little girl is a ball of energy & being her mom is my greatest adventure!

rooney's anthro adventure

if you know me at all, you know that my heart belongs to anthropologie when it comes to anything fashion/style/beautiful. the smell alone is enough to make me happy.


since my birthday was last month, i got a present from anthro - 15% off! so my mom, rooney, & i took a little adventure to city creek. we walked in & within two minutes, this was rooney:

i like to imagine she loves anthro so much that she never wants to leave

while shopping, i found several things i was hoping to fall in love with. we were back in the fitting rooms, mom on the couch & roo & i trying things on. roo was singing & making all the sounds as she danced around the fitting room. mom & i were commenting on some missing buttons on a skirt i loved (super bummer) when it went silent. rooney?! mom started calling for her & ran through/out the store, imagining the worst. i couldn't figure out how she could've ran off without us hearing her - she was wearing her stompy shoes. so i start checking under the different rooms when i hear breathing - crazy, sneaky, baby girl was hiding behind the couch. she totally knew what she was doing & laughed when i found her.


cherry on top - i didn't find anything that i really loved :(


mom will not shop with us again unless rooney is in a stroller, on a leash, or i am wearing her. & i don't blame her.

how she watches finding nemo

roo & i have figured out our morning routine.

i wake up & work out. she typically wakes up during my work out & will sit in her bed until i am done (this is more dangerous than it used to be as she now knows how to take off her diaper...)

i finish & run upstairs to catch her in the act of pulling off her diaper. i change her & then sit her on the bed, put nemo on, & shower.

she loves nemo so much & i love that it gives me a 10 minute break!

this is how i leave her before getting in the shower:

sitting. sweet. excited. & engaged in the movie.

i come out of the shower to this:

these pictures were taken on two different days. still sweet & still engaged in her movie. just now she has found a way to crawl into the pillow.

she is my favorite.

rainbow babies

I just posted this video on facebook. It is about rainbow babies - a baby born after any form of pregnancy loss. Obviously, I have posted quite a bit about my experiences with miscarriages a lot lately, as it has had a huge impact on my life.

I write these posts and then quickly try to follow them up, hide them, between  happier posts. I don't want people feeling bad. I especially don't want my friends who are expecting to be afraid to say something. I am truly happy for you as I know these babies are miracles.

Posting on facebook made me realize that these aren't posts I should hide. I want to change the way we talk about loss. Not everyone is the same, but I have come to find that the healing process is easier as you grieve with people. Part of my grieving process was writing my posts.

So, here are my posts dedicated to pregnancy loss, if you are interested in reading through them. I have many others where I mention my miscarraiges, but these are the ones that I really put a lot of time and thought into.

- loss

- more on pregnancy loss

The end of the video is dedicated to parents who have experienced such heartache, but I love how he also says, "This video is dedicated to...rainbow babies who have taught us that the sun shines brightest after the rain." Rooney is definitely my sunshine.

Photos of her being sunshine:

roo + san marcos

There are few things I have to do when I am home, a few things that I just LOVE & are really a part of me.

Luckily, Rooney was able to experience all of them while we were there

- Friends that are more like family

Between Jackie's wedding, staying with the Hofer's, and visiting friends - Rooney was able to meet lots of people who have been influential in my life. 

- Killer Pizza From Mars (our very first stop once we got into town)

She used her two teeth and went to town on pizza that I love, but aways forget just how truly delicious it is!

- Mr. Taco

The bean and cheese was good, but it was the horchata that she couldn't get enough of!

- The beach!!!!

The weather wasn't all that warm, but Rooney tried so hard to get in the water. And then she rolled in the sand. I can't wait for our next trip out there so she can actually get wet! And if I am being honest, she was just as happy at the beach as she was at Disneyland.

Until next time San Diego. We miss you already!

xoxo

roo + disneyland

We had been planning on a trip to San Diego for a few months. We were going to keep it chill - maybe take Rooney to see the Wild Animal Park since I grew up going there, but after I miscarried I knew I needed Disneyland to help heal my heart and get out some of my madness (by, you know, doing all the things you shouldn't do while pregnant - like ride roller coasters!).

I was so excited to show my baby this magical place and it was just that - magical, dreamy, wonderful, and...crowded.

Luckily, we had Hannah with us which let us do Rider Switch - the greatest thing for groups with babies. Use it!

Toy Storia Mania!

Ferris Wheel

Rooney and I remained calm and cool while Hannah and Ashton...they were only a little afraid of that swinging cart.

Chew Chew Train

Ariels Undersea Adventure

CHURRO LOVE

Then we went to Disneyland for even more magic ( and way more crowds).

Rooney LOVED the jungle cruise

sweetest girl loving her cutest dad

her face after pirates <3 p="">

her reactions on the submarine were my favorite

tea cups!!!

carousel, made better only by Rooney's face

haunted mansion

leaving the park very tired

downing eggs at denny's - she was the happiest babe all day long!

*** We rode more rides than these pictures show, but I tried my best to enjoy the moment and not constantly have my phone out and I am glad I did. The whole day was wonderful. I will admit, I was discouraged by the crowd at Disneyland (and I know it really wasn't that bad) and it had me in a bad mood for a second (we didn't even get to ride Peter Pan!), but then I let it go. Next time, we will get to all the things we didn't get to this time and Rooney will love it all just as much, if not more!