We have been AWOL. Here are a few of the happenings here:
Lexi loves being close to Max. She is learning to be quiet when he is sleeping.
Two best friends as Lexi likes to say when she runs and jumps on the couch next to Max.
Lexi had a great time petting the animals at the NC State farm
We were outside using the sprinkler when Lexi grabbed this. I got a little scared because I had just seen the Hunger Games the night before. Yikes.
We did a newborn photo shoot for Max, and boy was he naughty. We couldn’t get him to pose or stay asleep. Somehow Ashley, the photographer, managed to get some good pictures anyway. Here is her site http://www.artbyashleyphotography.com/
Here are a few of Max’s pictures:
Surprise. I had my baby 3 weeks early. What the what? After my water broke late Monday night I had Maximus Leon McBride November 29 at 9:54 am. He weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and came so fast I still can’t believe he’s here with us. Since he was one day shy of 37 weeks he was technically considered a preemie (or should I say late-pre-term), and they sent him off to the NICU. After a long 4 day stay thanks to a little jaundice, we finally came home Friday afternoon. Thank goodness all my Christmas shopping was done by the 28th. Phew. Now we get to look forward to time with in-laws and the fast approaching holidays.
My dad came to visit for Thanksgiving and while he was here we got a Christmas tree. And then we went shopping for our ward’s celebration of service activity. It was so much fun to shop and wrap presents for the kids we chose. We love Christmas and can’t wait to have our first family Christmas in North Carolina.
Lexi has been telling us when she goes potty in her diaper, so we decided to see if she is ready to potty train. We also thought it would be nice to get her out of diapers before baby number 2 comes along. The potty training method we found is on http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-in-three-days-or-less_10310078.bc.
We decided this General Conference weekend would be a good start since we would be home most of the day and listening to the talks would help us with our patience. So we bought her a little potty to put in the main room so she could do it all by herself.
Day 1: Frustrating and dirty. She started off pretty good, but as the day went on she decided she didn’t want to listen to us anymore. The result was the use of a lot of carpet cleaner. We got 50/50 results.
Day 2: More carpet cleaner and paper towels. Again, the day started off well. She began to tell us when she needed to use the potty, but the more tired she got the more stubborn she got as well. We ended on 50/50 again.
Day 3: So close to perfection. This was the best feeling. Lexi only had 1 accident all day. She went and used the potty all by herself and also started listening to us when we told her to go sit on the potty. We were able to get out of the house for a couple of hours because she would use the potty before we left.
After she uses the potty we sing, “Pee pee in the potty,” as she dances around the room and gives high-fives. It has only been 3 days, but we hope she keeps this up. How nice it is to not have to change a diaper! It will be even better when we don’t have to use carpet cleaner. I hear that is another year though…
We still have three months of reinforcement and no pants at home. Fingers crossed that she keeps up the good work as normal life resumes.
We are having a boy. Due in December.
This was the BEST semester I’ve had at Hollins yet. Here is a fun exercise from my memoir writing class. We wrote the ABCs of our life from our childhood point of view. This is a simple and easy writing prompt if you want to try your hand at it. Here is mine (ps this is the first time EVER that I’ve posted my creative writing):
A is for absent minded
toes digging in white sand.
B is for basketball talking,
playing,
watching—
my boyfriend’s mistress.
C is for “So, you’re a Clark,” said
by every school teacher.
D is for dandelions dancing down
my arm in a yellow streak.
E is for earth beneath
my back cool and soft, glowing
with bug’s ephemeral light.
F is for full-figured
raspberries picked
fresh from Uncle’s farm.
G is for grass flying
off cleats scoring
a GOAL!
H is for high on that rock. “Help!
I’m stuck” at the top
for fear
of the drop.
I is for my summer island. I dream
of bike rides
for bagels.
I want to go
back.
J is for jump, tuck and roll
from the roof at night.
K is for kayaking on the ocean with butterflies
fluttering towards
the shore.
L is “I like
like you.
I
love
you.”
M is for milk,
gagging you with
its ‘lk’ in your
throat.
N is for ‘nasty’ a fun
word to say.
O is for ‘ostracize’ my first
big word.
P is for “Pretty, what an unusual name.”
“No, I said Brittany.”
Q is for quizzical looks. Practice
like so: lift one eyebrow
or squeeze both together.
R is for rollered-hair. The worst
kind of sleep.
S is for the sacred word:
sisters.
T is for tunneling through
snow high
as my head.
U is for all those days
I called out ugly
from school.
V is for hand-sewn deep
red velvet doll made
from mother’s
wedding dress.
W is for wishies whisked up
and away on the wind.
X is for xeric Utah
I can’t
breathe out here.
Y is for “OOPS, AM I TALKING
TOO LOUD?”
Z is for the Zipper trapping
me inside
with my friend
who peed
and cried.
Before we went to VA this summer we drove up to NJ for a wonderful stay with family and a great trip to LBI. This island is heaven on Earth. It was Lexi’s first trip to the beach and she loved it. She wasn’t afraid of the water one bit and she loved the sand. She didn’t even eat too much.
While we were in VA for my schooling this summer, we visited one of the Natural Wonders of the World, the Natural Bridge.
