Potty Training (aka Big Girls Part 3)

To say that I prepared for this transition would be an understatement. Yes, I get it, no baby goes off to university wearing diapers. HOWEVER, this transition was going to be a big one and since I had already maximized my stress levels on the career front, I figured the entire family would benefit from as smooth of a transition as possible for this one! 

After much research and mommy chats with trusted friends we decided on a "plan of attack" that went something like this. Put your family on lock down for at least four days in a row, kids are naked from the waist down, potties were in the living room and we watched a lot of Disney flicks. All joking aside, our March Break did end up a lot like this, let me fill you in on how it happened!

The Warm Up
First the girls received their very own potty from Auntie Monique! Complete with their own roll of toilet paper, this birthday present was just what the girls need to get the conversation going! Lots of potty books (Thanks Elmo!) and some great videos (thanks to one of my students, Eoghan!) Check out Listen to Your Body (Go in the Potty). The girls and I would sing and dance this song on many occasions. I must have watched this video at least 100 times.

The Countdown
This is where it got serious. No more fun and games, we were counting it down! With March Break fast approaching, it was time to start making the girls aware of just how quickly their world was about to get rocked! LOL 

 

We started a countdown right on their bedroom door! 17 days until the fun would begin. Each night the girls and I would take a heart off the door and count to see how many hearts/days were left until all the diapers were gone! For our own amusement and also because this was when we could commit to at least four days in a row at home with no interruptions, we scheduled to start potty training on St. Patrick's Day!

The Party
Nothing raises the stakes about a situation like a party! Celebrating the beginning of potty training with an underwear party was an idea I heard from another friend Mom! So party we did! Grandma, Nana, and Papa were all invited over for dinner and a big celebration complete with presents! The girls opened gift after gift all of underwear!! Frozen, Strawberry Shortcake, fun designs, how could you not be motivated to try to potty?

 

 The girls were excited to open their underwear, even if they didn't want to wear it! Hahaha!

Mommy and Daddy brought back an appropriate gift from Vegas!

 

Here Molly shows off her new Potty Training shirt!

Game On!
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015...Potty Training Day 1. I almost felt like this was a Parenting Boot Camp. Survive the next few days potty training twins and you can survive anything!! The girls were great, we cheered in the morning, took the sign completely down, turned up the heat in our house and removed the girls' clothing from the waste down! The potties were in the living room so the girls could easily use them and then the real fun began. Nothing could have prepared me for the "hyper-awareness" I was about to experience. Every toe curl, facial strain or shaking knees I was instantly questioning "Do you need to go pee-pee?"By 11am I was certain is was nearing supper time, LOL.  We spent time time sitting on the potty, playing near the potty and having lots and lots of accidents. The first successful potty attempt brought on many cheers and much relief as well as a well earned Frozen jelly bean for Molly. Well that certainly got their attention. Frozen jelly beans exist? They most certainly do and I'm not sure if it was their great taste or the dislike of warm urine running down their leg but wouldn't you know it, the girls started getting the hang of it. 

Day 1 Hanging on the Potty while watching Disney Movies (Snow White, Tangled, Frozen)

In fact, most of Day 1 was spent hanging out ON or NEAR the potty, to get the "feel" for it!

BUT, it was St. Patrick's Day, so a visit from Auntie Moe resulted in come awesome stickers, flashing mugs, hair clips and a few Irish Car Bombs from Mommy and Daddy. Yes, it was a long day, but a fun one, and while we did spend a lot of time cleaning up accidents during the first portion of the day, we did have a lot of time to potty like a rock star!

Most of Day 1 was spent in some form of dress resembling this outfit! (Thank you Tiff!)

Sometimes a few party favours can make all the difference!

Day 2 Shenanigans!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing a bit tired of the whole potty training thing!

 While Day 2 was a bit easier on Mommy and Daddy, the girls were growing a bit tired of keeping their butts planted on their potties. The girls spent most of their time naked from waist down and we did A LOT of crafts and watched a lot of Disney: Tangled, Frozen, Cinderella, 101 Dalmatians, and Snow White to name a few! The girls were also a big fan of Cars!

Doing crafts to pass the time!

 Even though the girls were getting a bit of cabin fever, they really started to get the hang of the whole potty business! We had a few funny incidents that will forever be ingrained in my memory from over-the-top celebrations to what we found in the potty to one of the girls claiming "they were all done" as they ran around the kitchen with a poop hanging from their little butt. I wouldn't lie, by the end of Day 2 I was slightly wondering if perhaps we had made the right decision. I was tracking potty business using the pee/poop/accident ratio thanks to my friend Beth. This at least let us realize we were making progress over the first few days. By Friday the girls were accident free and had started wearing underwear during the day. On the weekend we started adding pants, which brought on a few occurrences of the girls sitting on the potty to use it (AWESOME) only to pee right through their underwear and pants (NOT AWESOME). Thankfully the girls REALLY didn't enjoy this sensation and the they quickly mastered either telling us they had to go potty and asking for help or pulling down their own pants and underwear. By the end of March Break the girls were celebrating the season opening of the Avondale Dairy Bar with a milkshake...and they were fully dressed!

Abigail

Molly

 

 

 When Monday morning came and March Break was over, it was the first time I've ever been happy to see a return to work, LOL. It was such a relief to be able to relax and not worry about my girls bodily functions!! (Thank you Grandma and Papa for taking over!!!) 

It has just been over two weeks since the girls have said goodbye to diapers. We still use a pull-up for naps and bedtime, but we just refer to it as "big girl underwear" or "sleeping underwear". The girls are virtually accident free and have really impressed us. We passed another big milestone yesterday when after SEVEN tries at the Kilt n' Clover the girls finally used the portable princess potty (it's a folding seat that covers a big toilet). This was a HUGE milestone because previously the girls would refuse to use anything but their own potty. To the point that Molly would only use the red potty and Abigail would only use the green potty! BUT, this little gem which repeated itself today at the Merritton Arena! 

While this milestone was definitely the hardest to achieve, thus far it has been the most rewarding. Bye-bye diaper genie and change tables!! Whoo hoo parenting win!

Merry Christmas

Our friends and family keep telling us that every Christmas will keep getting better and better. Last year the girls slept for about 20 hours on Christmas days at the tender age of 2 weeks old. This year was quite the change!! For the first and last time, I was able to Christmas shop for the girls WITH them. LOL They loved the Christmas tree and had a fun time learning how to rip wrapping paper off of the presents.

Morning bottle by the Christmas Tree

Opening Birthday presents was a good trial run for Christmas Morning!! 

Oh the excitement!

Packed up, off to Church and to see Great-Nana

Opening more presents!!

Showing off our Christmas outfits and our standing!

 Abigail models her new jacket from Auntie Jen!

 Currently Abigail's favourite face to make!

(so glad we got a picture of this!)

 Although she just woke up, Molly shows off her new coat from Auntie Jen!

 Molly's Christmas outfit!!

 Sitting in our new chairs from Auntie Moe while opening presents!

 Anyone remember when the girls would just sit still and smile at me for every photo?!?!

Molly, Sophie and Abigail

Even though it was a packed day, the girls managed to stay awake, have lots of fun and really enjoyed the day! It was wonderful to be at my Grandmother's house once again for Christmas dinner, a family tradition for over 25 years. All the cousins were together, we all ate too much and we had a great time watching Sophie, Molly and Abigail play together! Looking forward to many Christmas times to come!

Happy Birthday Abigail & Molly

Our baby girls have turned one year old! We spent a lot of time talking about how we can't believe how far the girls have come in one year and how far we have come as parents. We were a bit sentimental as we talked about our "last supper" before babies, how we walked into the hospital on December 11th a year ago to admitting claiming our reason for the visit was to become parents!! Oh how little we knew! But with each passing month, we become a little bit more comfortable with our new role in life and the girls continue to amazing us with their growth and development.

The past few weeks have been exciting as the girls are pulling themselves up in the crib, on the couches and tables in the living room and Abigail seems to enjoy trying in out in the bathtub! Bath time continues to be a riot with lots of new tub toys from their birthday and Christmas. The girls are eating all regular food now which has made holiday visiting so much easier. While we are still enjoying two bottles a day (one to start the day and one to end the day) the best milestone we've reached this month is NO MORE FORMULA!!! Words cannot describe the amount of joy this brings to our lives!!! LOL The girls are now drinking homogenized milk and they drink through 4L at an alarming rate! This is HUGE for us as we no longer have the hassle or the EXPENSE of making and buying formula. Ironically, we are almost on our last box of diapers from our Diaper Party last year so while one expense is being eliminated, another one will begin!!!

The girls' birthday party was wonderful! Since the girls had no input and zero friends to invite, I figure this will be one of more easy birthday parties to plan for girls. (I can't say I'm looking forward to planning kid birthday parties, they seem so extravagant then what I was used to growing up!) Using the upstairs room at Henry of Pelham with lots of space and a large fireplace, we were able to replicate the cozy at home feeling we wanted, just with a lot more room. The girls looked beautiful in their dresses from my Mom's good friend Sandy. They showed off their crawling and happily were passed around by friends and family. I think the singing of Happy Birthday with a lit candle on a cake in front of them was the most exciting part for them as they both just stared at everyone singing!! While opening gifts the girls spent a lot of time reading their cards like books and I'm sure had no idea of the wonderful toys that would be coming home with us. 

Everyday Shawn and I are so grateful for all of the love and support we have for our little girls. Our friends and family are always so generous. As the saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child."

Here are some pictures of the girls birthday party and actual birthday.

 

 Molly, Sophie and Abigail

The Birthday Girls Molly & Abigail

Molly with the finger test!

Now the official taste test!

Abigail enjoying her birthday cupcake

Investigating their birthday presents

No Love For Santa This Year

With the Christmas Season upon us, it has become evident the girls have no love for Santa this year. We have two Christmas parties under our belt with Kris Kringle and here is some evidence of the girls' experiences with him.

 

 A Molly meltdown with Santa at the POMBA Christmas Party

Abigail shows her dislike of Santa at the NRPA Christmas Party.

What do they say, three time's a charm...Mall Santa here we come!

Celebrating Movember!

In honour of Movember, the girls show off their own mustaches.

Abigail thinks Movember makes you look ridiculous!

Molly thinks Movember is hilarious!!

Happy 1st Halloween

The girls first Halloween was a spooktacular event! The girls spent most of the day stuffed into cute, warm ladybug costumes and I carted them across the Niagara Region visiting friends and family! The girls were a huge hit everywhere we went, I swear we made half of downtown St. Catharines smile while visiting the St. Catharines Farmer's Market.

We have been building up anticipation to Halloween with awesome outfits, Mommy's Little Monsters and My 1st Halloween! Yesterday, the girls happily ripped up newspaper while Daddy and I carved pumpkins; we created a "spit up" pumpkin and another one with two bottom teeth in honour of the girls.

Here are some pictures of our adventures on Halloween!

We started the day off visiting Auntie Jen at work!

Then we visited Nana and she read us some new books!

After visiting Daddy at work we went to visit Great Nana. Here the girls are enjoying the bears she gave us!

Sitting on Grandpa's knee!

Singing and playing with Aunt Pat.

Hanging out with Great Grandmother!

Molly, Sophie and Abigail

 

Trying out Sophie's clown wig!

Much To Be Thankful For

The girls first Thanksgiving Weekend was jam packed with family dinners, parties, late nights and eating turkey dinners for the first time. Thanksgiving, that magical weekend when overeating is encouraged, orange is everywhere you look, family time is in overdrive and everyone needs to wear pants with elastic bands! This year we celebrated cousin Sophie's 1st Birthday with a great party for the birthday girl. We couldn't have asked for better weather and the girls were able to play outside on a blanket!

Molly, Sophie and Abigail

The girls had a great time inspecting all of Sophie's toys and were so happy that she liked her birthday present of the Tickle Monster book! A wonderful book that will be sure to bring many giggles! The girls wore 1st birthday party hats and even received their first ever loot bags from Sophie!

During Thanksgiving dinner the girls had dinner at the table and enjoyed some turkey, potatoes, carrot and still their favourite, sweet potatoes. They have also started eating toast strips and can easily eat these on their own in their high chair. Their taste buds have been in overdrive as they have tried many new foods in the past two weeks. New on the menu include egg/banana pancakes, turkey, mashed potatoes, toast strips and mixed grains. Their little pincer grips are improving and the girls are enjoying "attempting" to feed themselves. We've even tried offering them water in a little cup more frequently which has been entertaining as they swallow down approx 2mL at a time! After eating, using the little finger tooth brush is fun to watch as the girls often start laughing when they feel in on their gums and teeth. 

Speaking of teeth, we still only have two each, but the moaning we hear in the middle of the night tells us more is on the way!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Abigail, Daddy and Molly

Molly and Abigail surprised Daddy with two books, "I Love My Daddy" and "The Night Before Father's Day". Then the best present of all, a Budweiser Red Light!! Daddy was so shocked that we had thought of a great hockey present for Father's Day!

A Mother's Day Baptism

To add a little excitement to my first official Mother's Day, we celebrated the girls Baptism as well! Last year on Mother's Day we told our parents we were expecting, little did we know it was two at the time, so Mother's Day seemed like a good day to bring everything full circle! (and anyone who knows me, knows I like that kind of organization/symmetry! LOL)

Apology Time:
Since we planned the girls' special day on Mother's Day, we didn't want to burden our friends with the decision of choosing between the girls or their Mom, so we didn't expand the invitation beyond our family. In hindsight, since many of our friends mentioned they would have liked to have come, we should have mentioned it and let our friends decide. In short, we're sorry. If you didn't get the invite, it wasn't because we didn't want you there!!

Thank you to Father Peter for once again providing a wonderful ceremony to mark another milestone in our lives, full of his usual humour and beautiful explanation of the sacrament. The girls handled the water over the head with a few smiles from Abigail and a bit of uncertainty from Molly. We have been parishioners at Star of the Sea Church for over 25 years so it was wonderful to have the girls Baptized there.

Molly and Abigail looked beautiful in their dresses (Thank you Mom and Dad for your gift) my maternal Grandmother gave the girls silver crosses to wear on their special day. Also very special to me was the girls' Baptismal sweaters and blankets made for me by my Nana back in 1997 in case she wasn't alive to see my first child (in this wonderful case, children) Baptized. Thankfully, Nana Greene at 89 years old was alive and well at the Baptism, able to see her 7th and 8th Great-grandchildren christened!

Special thank you to Jen, Jamie, and our sisters Michelle and Monique for standing up for the girls as their Godparents. We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family in our lives. Your love and support for the girls is a wonderful thing to witness. We are so fortunate to have all of you in our lives.

Molly

Abigail

1st Christmas

Christmas Day and the Turkettes are 2 weeks old. Spoiled rotten and they don't even know it!!

Two weeks old and they already own so much stuff!!

I am a huge fan of Christmas and love having a Christmas Tree that is full of personal, meaningful ornaments. I love decorating the tree every year and finding all of the ornaments that I've collected over the years from friends, family, students and from trips we've been on. Shawn and I began a tradition of bringing home a Christmas tree ornament as a souvenier from our vacations. We were hoping this would be a great way to make our future Christmas trees a walk down memory lane! Thanks to all of our friends and family who gave the girls Christmas ornaments for their 1st Christmas. They are all so unique; one with their name, one for twins, one I can put their picture in, one that was pink, one that I put their birth date, weight and length on. It's going to be a great personal and meaningful addition to our future Christmas tree. I think it's an awesome gift for new baby at Christmas time!