Getting into a new Rythm - August 2016

We are almost a month into school for the year.  Crazy how the time flies.  We have gone through a lot of changes and adjustments during that month as we try to get used to our new normal.

In anticipation of potty training and just the fact that she is now 27 months, we felt that it was time to convert Madison's bed to a toddler bed.

Daddy needs helpers.

Can't wait to go to sleep.

Nigh-Night my baby girl.

We have had good times and bad times since the conversion.  It started off going pretty well, but then she started having a couple days a week where she is up sometime between 3-4:30 for up to an hour.  Where we are just putting her back in bed.  She is frequently up for the day around 5:45 and often decides to wake up her sisters.  It has been wonderful (sensing the sarcasm?).  We will see how it goes, but there have been many days when I just want to switch her bed back to a crib.

We have 2 days a week where it is usually just Mommy & Madison, which has been fun. 

One day I watched a friends 2 month old baby for a few hours and when I wasn't paying attention, Madison decided to accidentally dump a bag of Cheetos all over the carpet.

We also get to go shopping together.  Madison is not the greatest shopper as she wants to be like her big sisters and be out of the cart on her own.  She does not like to hold my hand and will frequently squat down or sprawl out on the ground when I try to grab her hand or hold her.  All this to say, I have tried a new tactic so that her and I can shop together while I only have one kid.  She gets to play on my old phone while we are in the stores.  It has worked ok.  So far, for the couple times I have tried, she gets tired of it by the time we get out of the store, so the first half of the trips are good an the second half, not so much.

My new normal for shopping trips.

The last week of August, I attempted to potty train Madison.  We went straight to undies and spent an entire day of just her and I in the kitchen (tile flooring), with her getting pumped full of juice.  I thought it went pretty well and that she was getting it, but the next 3 days showed she had no interest and it was a constant fight to get her on the toilet.  So we have stopped trying and she is back in diapers.  I hope to try again in a couple months.

Hanging out in the kitchen.

Here are a few other bits of randomness from the end of August:

Kyle wasn't able to get home on time for dinner one night and I had grilling planned.  So I grilled the entire dinner by myself for the first time!!!  I was pretty excited.  It turned out pretty well (the meat probably could have stayed on tad longer).

One nice thing about Brooklyn being home on Fridays is she can still do things with friends.  We went to a birthday party on a Friday morning at a local farm.

Feeding the piggies.

Feeding the chickens.

Petting in the goats.

Brushing the horse.

Milking the cow.

Pile on top of Daddy!

My little climber - found her on the kitchen counter.

Back to School!

We are back in school!  And this year both Katelyn and Brooklyn are in school.  As I have mentioned previously, this year, the girls' school started early.  And I mean really early.  Traditionally, their school (where I also attended K-12), has always started the day after Labor Day.  This year, they are following the trend of other area schools and went back on the 17th of August.

The first day was just a meet and greet with the teacher.  The girls brought their school supplies, found their desks, etc.  It is a really great thing for them to knock down some of the nervous feelings.  Katelyn is now in 1st grade and Brooklyn is in Kindergarten 3 full days each week.

Brooklyn sitting at her desk with her stinker of a sister going through the next persons desk.

Sitting in the reading area.

This was the best picture we could get - she was playing the shy card and running from her teacher.

Katelyn sitting at her desk.

Out for donuts after meeting the teachers.

Brooklyn getting off her first bus trip on Thursday afternoon.

So far it is seems to be going great.  The girls love their teachers and seem to be making new friends.  Most of Katelyn's good friends last year are in other classes, but she is adjusting well. Brooklyn has 2 friends from church in her class and a couple of girls that she remembered from Vacation Bible School.  She also talks about other kids a lot.  Brooklyn has really seemed so happy since school started.  She has been talking more in general lately, but she just can't stop smiling and telling us all about her day and singing songs that she has learned.

Madison and I have also had a schedule change. For the past 5 years, since Brooklyn was born, I have had a babysitter come in for 4-5 hours a week so that I can work.  Now that I only have one kid who needs child care, I have put her into daycare for 7 hours, 1 day a week.  This allows me to get all of my work done during the school day, and then during my evenings I should be able to spend the time with the kids and doing house stuff.  So far this has been working well.  She is at an in-home daycare that currently only has 4 2 year-old girls when she is there.  She seems to love it.

On the first Friday, while Katelyn was in school, Brooklyn, Madison & I took a bike ride to the park.  I am hoping this might be the first of many of those kind of trips.

She has to take the big girl way.

This is typical Brookie.  Selfies on Mommy's phone.