A New Adventure

It's the start of something exciting in the Stopher household. Caleb has reached an age where he seems to be ready to potty train, and he just might do it all by himself! We had just finished cleaning up from dinner this evening when Jason and I realized Caleb was no longer riding around the house on his trike. We recently purchased a stool from Ikea for Caleb to use in the bathroom to wash his hands. He has been so excited about being able to reach, however, that he will go into the bathroom and turn on the water any chance he gets. Most often I will find him playing with his bath toys in the sink. When I looked down the hallway, I found the bathroom door ajar and the light on, telltale signs Caleb was in the bathroom. From down the hall, I asked him to please come out and not play in the sink. He exclaimed back to me "poop!" I went into the bathroom to find that he had taken off his diaper, placed it in the trash next to the toilet, and was sitting on his training potty in the middle of going pee! I was so excited I started clapping and cheering and Jason came running in. What fun it is to be a parent...we get excited over things that most rational, childless people would find really silly! Caleb proudly picked the bowl out of his training potty and dumped its contents into the big potty. He LOVES to flush! I feel that just as I am settling in to a stage of parenthood, a new challenge comes along. I am not sure what the next step in this potty training thing is, but I know that as with all of the stages before, I will learn.

Rainy Day

Today is really yucky outside. This is the living room window looking into my backyard.

Growing Up

My baby girl is growing up faster than I had ever imagined! Today she sat up with very little assistance from the Boppy...for several minutes. She is such a wonderfully happy little peanut. She loves to smile, especially when she catches eye contact. Her brother is a source of endless fascination. As long as he is playing nearby, her attention is captured. I love her expressions and she watched him. Her eyebrows will perk and furrow, smiles will flit across her face. Caleb loves her just as much, and enjoys showing her the ins and outs of many toys. It is amazing watching their relationship blossom. Caleb is definately aware that he is the big brother. He will bring her a blanket or toys if she cries, and will tell me when he thinks her diaper needs changing. He is such a good helper. His helping goes much beyond sister. I can not get out the vacuum without his help pushing it, or unload the dishwasher without his help on the bottom drawer. He loves to get out the broom if he spills and asks for napkins when his hands are dirty. What kind of 2 year old is he? I am such a blessed mommy.

"Thank Me!"

To all of those who I happened to talk to the past day or so, thanks for your prayers! The Lord has been so very faithful to our family! For the rest of you, I will fill in the gaps. We had a little bit of a scare with Natalie, or at least, mommy was quite scared. We had her 4 month check-up with the doctor on Friday, and I asked about a white spot Natalie has in the middle of her pupil (the black part of her eye). The doctor said he definately saw something in her eye and referred us to an opthomologist. I, being of the proactive type, decided to do a little online "research" on eye problems in infancy. The only information I could find was the worst possible scenario of a cancerous tumor. (Lesson learned: A mommy should never "research" medical symptoms on the internet!! It will only create fear and anxiety.) Anyway, the doctor set up our appointment for today. I was terrified that my little baby girl could possibly have cancer! Well, we waited for what seemed an eternity in the lobby (such an evil place for the anxious parent). When we finally saw the eye doctor, he looked with his microscope and almost immediately was able to diagnose the her completely benign condition. (Big sigh of relief from mom!) She has what he called a "persistant pupillary membrane". In other words, when her eye formed, it didn't completely form her pupil correctly and she has a little piece of the iris (colored part) in the middle of her pupil. It will always be there and will not affect her vision. I guess it's kinda like a birth mark on her eye. Praise the Lord for he is good!
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalms 139:13 NIV "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalms 139:14 NIV


And for another story... We had Jason's parents, grandma, sister and her husband over for dinner tonight. We were all sitting at the table eating and Caleb asked for some water. Jason handed him a sippy and he signed "thank you" while drinking. We asked him to say thank you with his mouth. He again signed it. So I tried to help him out. I said "say Thank..." He repeated it. I said "You..." He said "me! Thank Me!" Because of all of the laughter at the table, Caleb knew he had made a funny and just kept saying "Thank Me!" Well, I guess it's a start.

A Day at Home with the Camera

As you can see, Caleb wasn't so happy to have his picture taken. But Natalie is always a good sport!

Park Play Day

The weather has been so beautiful! I decided to take advantage of the sun today and get the kids out of the house. I loaded up the stroller, Caleb's trike and some snacks and off we went! Caleb loved riding aroung the trails at the park, and then had tons of fun climbing on the play structures. He begged me to keep playing even after an hour. Natalie was all smiles until she fell asleep five minutes after arriving! She slept through the rest of the trip.






Today we put Natalie's "big girl" crib together, and she is sleeping in her own room for the first time tonight. So far, so good! We took down the cradle from our room, so there's no going back now. I am amazed at how quickly the time has passed, and can not believe my little girl turned 4 months yesterday. Natalie amazed me with her strength yesterday. She flipped onto her tummy and was able to spin herself around on the carpet nearly 180 degrees! It took her a while, but I just sat back with my camera and watched. Below are a couple of pictures I took right before she spun. I am going to try and put together a collage of the whole thing, but haven't had the time to get it done yet!