Summer Fun!!!

Hello again!! It has been awhile since I have had a chance to update the blog. Life has been busy around here. Andy is super busy building his parents home and with numerous side jobs. He will be leaving on a business trip with my brother-in-law, Paul next Thursday. He will be in Beijing, China for ten days!!!! Yes, I will be alone with my babies by myself for ten days!!! I am a little nervous for a number of reasons.
1. My hubby is traveling around the world to someplace he has never been.
2. I will be by myself for ten days with a 4 month old and two year old.
3. I have never really been by myself here alone since we moved in 4 years ago.
4. Laney is going through a nightmare stage right now!
Actually, I am not that nervous. I mean, my sister has done it many times and she has more than double the amount of kids than me. Anyway, I am sure I will have a few stories about Andy's travels and my adventures here.

Well, on to some exciting news for me. Starting July 5th, I will only be working 3 days a week. I am dancing a little jig as I type. I will be working M-W-F and off on Tu & Thurs. I am not going to lie. I will miss my Mondays off, but another extra day with my girlies is going to fabulous.

This morning I got online to check my bank account so I could balance the checkbook and pay bills. I was ecstatic to see that my direct deposit from work was 4 1/2 times my regular pay!!! I thought to myself "Do I just pretend I did not notice or do I call my boss?" Well, my boss called me. I was on-call this weekend and you have to carry a cell phone that rings 24/7. Well, we get an extra 200$ for carrying it. Instead of 200$, they accidentally paid me for 200 extra hours. Ooops!! So needless to say, I won't be keeping that dough. I already had a trip to Maui planned. Oh, well!!!

Laney and Leah got to enjoy Nana's and Papa's pool the last two weekends. They both love the water. Laney is trying to be independent. She wants everyone to watch her jump in off the ladder. She is so proud of herself. She will say "Laney did a big jump". But in all actuality, she takes a nice leisurely step off the ladder. In other Laney news, she is officially potty trained. I was so lucky! She has only had a few accidents and we are down to only a hand full of pull-ups. Once those are gone, we will be sleeping through the night in big girl panties. My guess is that will occur while Andy is in China, and I will have sheets to change every night.

Leah is 4 months old now and so vocal. She is such a good sleeper. She should give her big sister some tips. When Laney was a baby, you would have to cuddle her to sleep, not Leah. I can lay her in her crib and she will zonk out for the whole night. And to top it off, if she wakes up at 0600, she will talk herself right back to sleep. She loves to eat her cereal at night. She is like a little baby bird with a wide open mouth. Saturday night as soon as I walked out of the room, the little booger rolled from her back to her tummy for the first time!!! Time goes by way too quickly these days. Well, Leah just woke up from her nap so I must be going!!!

Did you say "Chechans"?

So we have been very busy the last few weekends. Myself and both girls made the drive over to Indianapolis on April 23rd to visit my friends Sara and Adam and Jodi. I will admit that I was a tad bit apprehensive traveling with both girls by myself, but they were absolute gems! Laney talked my ear off for the first hour of the trip. She asked what this was and who that was. The second hour we sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the ABC's over and over and over again. About 20 minutes outside of Indy, she finally crashed! It was about 9:30 pm eastern time. Amazingly, she bounced right out of her slumber and was wound for sound until about 11:00 pm.

We had such a good time with Sara on Saturday. We went to The Children's Museum. Laney loved the dinosaur exhibit until the light and sound effects started. Thunder rolled and boomed and the lights flashed and Laney just about jumped out of Sara's arms. I would have to say her favorite exhibit was Bob the Builder which she does not watch. However, she loved playing on the machinery especially the yellow one which is a lot like her daddy's skid steer. Andy is so proud! Leah was a complete doll at the museum and she bonded with Auntie Sara. Sara got a little confused and told someone that Leah was 10 months instead of 10 weeks. The lady responded saying "Wow, she is so small!" Sara was great with the girls. I was a little nervous that 2 little kids for 2 days straight would drive her nuts, but she seemed to enjoy them just as much as they did her. I am sure Angus, Sara's bulldog, was glad to see us go.

Saturday night, we all went to Adam and Jodi's house for a delicious dinner. After dinner, Sara, Jodi and myself were sitting around the table having girl talk. So, Adam retreated to the family room with Laney. At first, Laney was a little shy towards Adam, but after about three episodes of Dora, they were buddies. She even cuddled up onto his lap. We really had such a great time in Indy. We are definitely going to try to plan another visit back, but this time hopefully Andy can come too! We don't get to see Adam and Jodi and Sara often enough, but when we do, it is just like old times. Thanks a bunch to all three of you!!

This past Saturday the whole family traveled down to Champaign-Urbana for Hannhah's first communion and Hope's birthday party. Again, I was a little nervous about taking Laney to church. I will admit we don't go often. Okay, Laney has not been for awhile. She actually sat fairly still and quiet for the 1 1/2 hour service. Both Andy and I were shocked. So, Laney and I are going to attempt to go to Saturday evening mass. I will keep you posted on how long that lasts!!!

After church, we went back to Cindy and Paul's for lunch and cake. Laney loves to go and play and Cinny and Paul's, especially outside. We were all outside so my Aunt Joy took Laney in with the chickens which makes me cringe a bit. For those of you that don't know, I have a very strong irrational fear of birds. So the thought of my little girl in with chickens does not excite me. However, Laney loves the damn chickens!! Anyway, my aunt helped her gather two eggs and you would have thought she had a million dollars. She carried those two eggs around for quite some time. When you asked Laney who laid the eggs, first she said Cinny. When we asked what animal, she replied "The Chechans". She sounds like she is talking about the war torn area of Russia instead of the feathered barnyard bird.


Leah continues to be an excellent baby. Andy and I have been truly blessed with her. She laughs and coos all the time now. Leah loves her big sister. Her little blue eyes follow Laney's voice everywhere. She does not seem to mind when Laney rolls all over her or tries to reposition her pacifier into her mouth. I think they are going to be great friends.

A Week of Firsts!!

Well, this post comes to you after a week of many firsts for the Mohler Family! To begin, Laney has made two major steps into the big girl world this week. On Sunday, I decided I would try to test out the whole "no plug (pacifier)" scenario. It was nearing nap time and Laney was getting tired. I took her up to her bed and kissed her good night. In her most pathetic voice she said, "Mommy, need my plug".

I took a deep breath and said, "No more plugs. Mommy put them in the garbage." Keep in mind, the plugs were really in one of the kitchen cabinets, just in case. I was prepared for the worst. I fully expected to see a waterfall of tears streaming down her face. However, my sweet little girl said, "Okay, night-night". That was it. It was that friggin' easy. I had literally been sweating this moment for the last few months. I thought I was going to be one of those moms who would have to rip the "plug" from her mouth on the first day of preschool. She has only asked for it a few times since. However, she must have been having withdraw cravings on Tuesday night because I found her with Leah's plug. She had it in her hand and it was creeping closer to her mouth. She pushed passed her craving and calmly gave to her little sister.

The second "big" first for Laney this week was pooping in the potty!!! Oh what a glorious day!! The look of pure accomplishment on her face was priceless. We had to call Daddy up at his side job to tell him the news. Then we got in the car and went to Walmart to make good on the Dora toy we promised her. She picked out Dora's backpack, which by the way is extremely annoying, but she loves it!! Now, she has only repeated this a couple times, but we are making progress. This morning, she spent the whole morning in dry big girl panties!!!!

Leah is getting so big way too fast. She is starting to grab for toys and really would like to roll over. She almost had it a few nights back. She is a big fan of my singing and dancing, especially Lady Gaga!! She gets so tickled when I sing "Bad Romance". Who knows if she is purely delighted by performance or just laughing at me? I tend to lean towards the later. She also has been sleeping like a champ. Thursday night she slept from 11p-7a, and Andy had to go upstairs and wake her up.

So Tuesday was my first day back to work. I really was not looking forward to it, but it was inevitable. I work about an hour away from our house so I was really nervous about getting the girls ready and out the door by either 6 or 7 am. Luckily, on Tuesday I was able to go in to work at ten so we had a nice morning together. Daddy took some pictures and I did not get teary until half way to work. I glanced in the rear view mirror into the backseat and it was empty. It was the first time in eight weeks that I did not have two little faces looking back at me. I had a little cry and then was just fine. Leah has done great at the sitters and Laney loves it. She has no problem saying goodbye. Usually, she is pushing me out the door.

Well, I must be going. Laney and Leah are both napping and then we are going to meet McKenna and Nicholas at the park. This weather has been amazing. Next weekend, I am taking the girls to visit some of my friends in Indianapolis. We are hopefully going to hit the zoo and then Sunday we are participating in the Mutt Strut with Sara and Angus (Sara's bulldog). I am sure we will have a few good stories for the blog. Have a great week!!!

Spring Fun and Smiles

Hello Everyone!! I thought I would start off by saying Happy Spring!! We had a very busy week here last week. It started on Tuesday afternoon when Laney took a trip to the beauty salon to get her hair trimmed. This was her first official hair cut. A year ago we trimmed up her bangs, but there was not even enough hair to save. Laney loved the salon and kept admiring herself in the mirror for days. I think Andy and I are in for it with this one.

Laney has become a bit of a drama queen. Her newest thing is when you tell her it is time for bed or to pick up toys, she says in the whiniest, most pathetic voice, "My tummy hurts". She even pouts out her lip and uses her puppy dog eyes. This tactic does not work, but it is pretty cute. We have been moving along with potty training. She seems to have number 1 down, but number 2 is going to be a struggle. She has now started hiding in a corner when the urge comes along. Then she comes running to me with the biggest grin and says "Mommy, me pooped!!". This is usually about 5-10 minutes after she has gone pee-pee in the potty. Oh well, she will get it someday.
Little Leah is getting bigger and bigger by the minute. I was finally able to capture her beautiful grin on camera. We have been dealing with a bit of a reflux problem with Leah. She has a tendency to regurgitate some of her feedings. The poor baby goes through 9-10 bibs a day. Now being a nurse, I know that it does not really bother her, but it bothers me. Her clothes are usually wet with spit up and not to mention the smell. Laney calls it "Leah's uckies". I have tried burping her every ounce, keeping her upright for 30 minutes or more after feedings and other tricks. Nothing really seemed to help so today I am trying out the acid reflux formula. So far so good, we have fewer uckies today, but who knows if it is a fluke.

We celebrated Easter with Andy's family Saturday night at our house and then traveled down to St. Joseph on Sunday for Easter with my family. Laney was very excited to see that the Easter Bunny had visited our house on Sunday morning. Leah was not so impressed. She just wanted her morning bottle and did not appreciate the photo shoot with her bunny ears on. Being the stellar mom that I am, I did not even get one picture of both our girls in their Easter outfits together. Oh well, there is always next year.

Well, next Tuesday I go back to work. I am not thrilled about this, but the time has come. It is going to be interesting trying to get myself and the two girls out the door by 6:00 and 7:00 am. This is going to be especially difficult since Laney is not a morning person. Wish me luck!!!!

Adventures in Potty Training

Okay, so I thought I would give you an update on how Laney is doing with her potty training. So I decided to pull out the Pull Ups on Sunday. Now for those of you who know Laney, you know she loves anything Dora. So of course I bought the pretty pink Dora Pull Ups. I got them out and she was very excited to put on Dora. I explained to her that she is a big girl now and about using the potty. I decided to take the strategy the first few days to just take her potty every hour or so to get her acclimated. The first few hours went fabulous. She was dry everytime and was able to go tinkle each time as well. I would give her 3 M&M's after a success and 1 if she only tried. I thought to myself, "This is going to be easy". I should have never even processed those words.

At about the fourth trip, Laney was not so happy about going potty. The novelty of the M&M's had already worn off. I tried stickers, episodes of Dora and other things. Finally, I said to Laney, "You have to go potty in the big girl potty because otherwise Dora will get wet. If Dora gets wet or stinky, then that will make her very sad. We don't want to make Dora sad, do we?" She responded with "No, Dora Happy". Needless to say the rest of Sunday and all of Monday, Dora was dry. Who knew that was all it took. God bless you, Dora!!!! There were even a few times where she came to me and told me that she had to go. It is a still a work in progress. She is coming to me know and saying "pee-pee", but she has already done it. Therefore, we are continuing the routine trip to the bathroom every 1-2 hours.

We had some other firsts here at the Mohler house last week. Leah gave us her first smile, and boy was it sweet. She really responds to Laney's voice and will give her the most smiles out of all of us. I have yet to capture her sweet dimpled grin on camera yet, but I have been trying.

The other first was Laney got to play with Play-Doh. Yes, I know Cindy, you gave it to her for Christmas. I was just waiting for the right moment. I had to do some soul searching before we sat down and opened up the Play-Doh. When I was little, it was a red letter day when you were able to play with Play-Doh at my house. My mom was a bit of a neat freak. We would have to set up the old card table in the garage, and that old card table would have to have a table cloth. Seriously, I think we were able to play with it maybe once every few months. Okay, I will admit it. I inherited that "neat freak" gene from my mom. Andy sometimes calls me the "clutter nazi". I can't help it that I like things orderly and neat. So before I broke the seal on the Play-Doh, I set some ground rules for myself.
1. I will not hyperventilate if Laney mushes all the colors together.
2. I will not fret if some Play-Doh gets in the carpet.
3. I won't disrupt her playtime to swifter up the Play-Doh on the floor.
4. Finally, I will let her use the Play-Doh whenever she wants (within reason).

We had such a fabulous time. She played for over an hour with the Play-Doh and really wasn't that messy. I did have to chuckle, though. She got quite upset when the purple and green Play-Doh got mushed together. I guess the "neat freak" gene lives on. My mother would be so happy. ( :

Here are a few shots of the girls over the last couple of weeks. Like I said before, I am trying my hardest to get Leah to smile while the camera is on.

How Time Flies!

Well, I have decided to join the blogging phenomenon. I figured I could keep everyone up to date on our very exciting lives here in Kankakee. Now, I am not going to promise a post every week, but I do hope to get pictures of the girls on here on a fairly regular basis. I am going to steal a few ideas from friends who blog on a regular basis.

For those of you who don't know, we welcomed our second darling daughter to the family on February 15th. Leah Carol made her first appearance very early that Monday (0110 am). She came out crying and was healthy and happy at 8lbs 8oz which was just slightly smaller than her big sis, Laney. Since she was a routine repeat C-section, we stayed at St. Mary's for 3 days. It was hard being away from Laney that long, but we had a lot of help from Tom and Carol and Dad and Cinda. Laney was able to come up and visit the second day and immediately fell in love with her sister. They are just 3 days shy of being exactly 2 years apart. We made it home Wednesday afternoon and celebrated Laney's 2nd b-day on Thursday. It was a busy week and I was tired, but we have great memories to look back on and cherish. The other day we received our DVD from the hospital. It is so precious. I watched it 2-3 times the first afternoon and sobbed. At Saint Mary's, they give you a digital camera to use during your stay. You take pictures and then they have the pictures set to music and send you the DVD. It is really a nice keepsake. The song for Leah's was "Baby Mine" by Alison Krause. She has the voice of an angel. I will try to put it on here so everyone can see it.

Now, Leah is 4 weeks old and already changing. She is still sleeping quite a bit during the day, but she is very inquisitive about her surroundings when she is awake. Laney is like a little mother hen. She tends to Leah when she fusses and helps me burp her during her feedings. We are all three enjoying our time home together and we only have 3 1/2 weeks before I have to go back to work. Yesterday, Laney says "Mommy no go back to work". I told her she would have to take that up with her Daddy.

As I mentioned Laney just turned two, so we have a few goals to accomplish. One is potty training and the other is breaking the "plug" (pacifier) habit. It is seriously like crack to her. She does not get it at the sitters, but as soon as she walks in the door...."Mommy, pink plug, please". I do admit she gets it more often than she should. My goal was to throw it out March 1st, but I just could not bear to disrupt her world anymore after bringing home a new baby. Ok, I will admit, I did not want to disrupt my world either. So now my new goal is May 1st. I go back to work April 13th and that will get me a few weeks to get her back into a early morning routine.

As for the potty training, I know she is ready because when she poops her pants she goes into the bathroom, gets a diaper and wipes and proceeds to say "Change my diaper,please. Me pooped". I will say she always says please. At least she is polite. So we started sitting on the potty about every hour or so, before meals/bedtime and before we leave the house for an outing. I will keep everyone posted on our progress.

Speaking of outings, having a two year old and newborn makes outings pretty difficult. I swear for our first trip out to Walmart it took me longer to get everyone ready and out the door than our actual outing lasted. It was just me and the girls. All I needed were a few things, shampoo being one of them. So I am strolling down the aisle and put a bottle of kids shampoo in the cart next to Laney. I turn my head for maybe 30 seconds to grab a bottle for me, and Laney has proceeded to open the shampoo and pour it all over herself and the cart.Luckily, Leah was spared. I bit my tongue so the words did not fly and reached into my diaper bag for the wipes. Needless to say, I had no wipes in the bag. I can feel my face deepen to a shade of red that can't be described as all the people in the aisle look at me with pity. Laney says to me with shampoo dripping from her, "Look Momma, me clean the cart and my jeans for you". How could I be mad? She was just trying to help. So I push the cart over a couple of aisles and open a container of wipes and clean up the mess. It was my first adventure with the girls.

This week we have just been enjoying the weather. Friday I am taking the girls to Orland Park to have their pictures taken and visit the girls at work.