Just one year ago...

I was just thinking that one year ago we were in the hospital in Pittsburg with a traumatically burned little girl. The LORD has healed Kaiyah in such amazing ways. We are so grateful and thankful to you, O God.

Potty Training

Since Kaiyah is fully in a big girl bed (for nearly a month now), we/I decided it was time to begin potty training. She's been using a potty on a regular basis since her first birthday and has been telling us when she needs her diaper changed, so it was time to take the next step. So, the last few days we've spent lots of time outside while Kaiyah initiated her big girl undies. She's doing well with it all, but doesn't tell us if she has to go (she's done that before though). We just set a timer and reward her for dry undies and going potty (with stickers and marshmallows respectively). I think that it will be a process, but we're starting off well. She stayed dry with no accidents until after nap yesterday (I forgot to make her sit) and so far today. We still put diapers on for naps and bedtime, but we'll get there too. I can't believe our little girl is getting so big!!! But I guess she will be 2 in a few weeks... YIKES!

The damage done from our first day's attempts. Luckily she got the hang of things pretty quickly and the next day only had one accident.

Enjoying a popsicle while wearing undies and sitting in the pool (no water).

A close up of our very special LEGO popsicles from the mold Chris got from Kaiyah last year on his 30th birthday. I believe these are pineapple.

Sitting on her potty in the kitchen and pretending to pull a ball out of her ear, just like the magic trick that Daddy had just done.

Update on Amelia's hip

For those of you who don't facebook and haven't talked to us, we took Amelia back to the orthopedic doctor last week for another ultrasound. Dr. Klingle said that her hip is healing, though not as quickly as he expected. So she is still wearing the harness for at least another 2.5 weeks. I'm not sure if she'll have to wear it any longer than that. We'll see after the next ultrasound. The good news was that she could start taking the harness off for baths (we were giving her sponge baths to this point)! This has been a fun addition to our routines. Amelia enjoys the water, but loves being free from her harness for a while. I think that she's liking it less and less as she becomes more aware of her body (and lack of freedom of movement). The other good news is that we've learned that there is a state agency that will cover the costs of Amelia's treatment after insurance! Even co-pays! Hooray!! I'm so glad that the time is passing so quickly for Amelia's sake and that the weather has been cooler recently. She gets so hot in that thing!

Such a cutie!!!! I love her sweet face and smile. She's cooing alot and even giggled once.
Her eyes are still so blue. I'm hoping for a dark curly haired, blue-eyed girl. I think that we may get it too! At least the hair part.

Sorry, I'll have to figure out how to turn this.

In other news, we weighed and measured Amelia today. She weighs in at a whopping 12 lbs and is 22 1/4 in long.

Strawberry Picking

Every year I pick strawberries and make jam to last us the next year. This year was no exception. Kaiyah is getting old enough to join in the fun, so we took her (and Amelia) on her very first berry picking adventure! And what a memorable one it was. Kaiyah actually did OK. She picked 2 or 3 berries and then played with rocks and complained of stuff getting in her shoes the rest of the time. That's about what I expected. We just wanted her to start getting familiar with the process and to experience working for our food. : ) The downside was that Chris and I were totally sweaty and we had about a billion (literally probably 100) fruit flies swarming our kitchen by the time the day was over. YUCK! So we vaccuumed them up with the hose attachment, which Chris accidently dropped in the sink full of soapy water. What a day! But now we have strawberry jam, so I guess it was all worth it! : ) Next fruit up: Blueberries. Maybe we'll pick those this week or next.

Eating some of the yummy goodness we were picking.
Complaining of stuff getting into her crocks. Note the large rock in her hand.

Amelia slept thru the whole thing. We were grateful. Like the good mother I am, I dressed both girls in strawberry themed clothes for the occasion.

On the way back to the barn after picking.

The fruits of our labor, still in fruit form.