This and that

I blog so little now-a-days (aka since Chloe was born) that I don't even know what to blog about when I do post! Life has been really, really good recently. Everyone always told me that 2 kids would get easier when the younger one was no longer a baby... and they were so right. Brooke is now almost 2 1/2 years old. I'm ashamed to say that she is not potty-trained... nor am I currently trying. I DID try for a few weeks and, though I believe she's physically ready, she was so opposed to it that I just gave up trying for awhile. She loves to sit on the potty with her pants ON, but if I take her pants OFF, she jumps up and yells, "NO!"  Okay, ya can't force the child! So my plan is to start up trying again next month. Her sleeping has been great. She goes to bed by herself now with no (okay, very little) complaint. She can get out of bed and play, but she knows she has to stay in her room. So she pulls the stuffed animals out of their bin and the books off the shelves and then eventually climbs into bed and goes to sleep. I have so much more time at night now that I don't lie next to her while she falls asleep. So nice!

Chloe, 13 months, has officially been tagged with a "developmental delay." Usually I'm a huge worrier, but God has given me such a peace about this whole thing. Six weeks ago, at her one year check-up, her pediatrician ordered physical therapy for her, and her first P.T.appointment is at the end of this week (it took forever to get an appointment!) Meanwhile, she has gone from being completely immobile (besides some rolling) to now crawling, pulling up, and cruising along furniture. It's so wonderful to see her finally moving around, that Matt and I can't ever tell her no about anything. She could basically tear apart the house at this point, and we would clap our hands and say, "YAY, Chloe!!!" Her other development is right on target. She is off breast milk AND baby food completely now except baby cereal in the mornings. Other than that, she eats what we eat and is quite accomplished at it! She says "mama," uh oh," "all done," and "bye bye." And she's just as happy and good-natured as ever! Oh, she also started sleeping through the night after she weaned herself from nursing about a month ago. So if there are any moms out there, frustrated, and wondering if their baby will ever stop wanting midnight feedings, take heart! Babies know when they are ready!

Matt and I joined a small group at our church finally. Between having babies and dealing with separation anxiety and such, we've been going to New Life for a year and a half, but have never really gotten involved. We are starting in a group doing the "Love and Respect" study. I wanted to do a study focused on marriage; it's easy to get so focused on kiddos that we don't focus enough on strengthening OUR relationship. Know what I mean?

I've been on a little bit of a health food kick recently. I still eat fast food and drink soda occasionally, but I've just been more conscientious of labels and such. Been trying to homemake more of our snacks and breakfasts. Using more whole wheat ingredients. That kind of stuff. It makes me feel good to provide healthy, yummy meals for the family. Plus, I love to cook and bake. I made homemade fruit-filled cereal bars yesterday that are SO good. Both kids love nutrigrain bars so I was trying to replace them with something homemade (something in which I could pronounce all the ingredients!) Unfortunately, Brooke is so picky that she won't touch the homemade bars. The other problem is that I like them a little too much... I keep going and snatching them from the fridge!  Chloe loves them, but she's not a good food critic... she loves just about everything! (At least one of my kids is a good eater!)

So, yeah, life is good. God has really blessed me... He's given me so much more than I could have ever imagined for my life. I'll try to update my blog more frequently in the future. Hope everyone is well... :)