One 11 month-old and two big girls!!!!

Klayton is 11 months now. It is very hard for me to say that he will be one year in a couple weeks. I truly cannot believe it. He took his first step this past Monday and has maxed out at 3 steps before he falls to the ground. It is only a matter of time before he will be walking. Klayton has been working on two more teeth this past week which have been more painful than the others. He is getting his two upper first molars - #9 and #10 for him. I think he will be ready for steak for his 1st birthday!! Ha!

Take 2 is a huge consignment sale around our area. They have a sale every spring and fall and I have been lucky to find a lot of great things. I decided we needed some "boy" books so Klayton doesn't have to listen to Cindarella and Sleeping Beauty all the time. I found a Bob the Builder book with a toy screw driver that "fixes" things on each page. Klayton takes that screw driver everywhere except I put the kabosh on taking it to bed. I am afraid it will cause an injury I guess... But, it has basically become his "lovey". He is funny.
Klayton is still a pretty big mama's boy and loves to cuddle. I am taking advantage of his cuddly nature while I still can.


On to the next subject - Hailey and Brynn are big girls now! They are done with diapers. Woohoo!!! We had a couple weeks at the beginning of October without many plans so we decided that was the time. I read about a 3 day training method so that is what we tried. Overall the girls have both done great. I will say those three days were likely the hardest three days of parenting besides our time in the hospital. Wow. It is not easy to manage two kids learning the potty and having an 11 month old to keep track of as well. My patience was pushed to the absolute limit on several occasions. Okay, it was pushed to the limit for 72 hours in a row! There was even an emergency call to Jason at work the 2nd day and I told him I NEEDED him to come home and either take the girls or take the baby. He did, and life was better.
Klayton learned how to open all of our kitchen cupboards, he found the trash/recycling under the sink, and found my pitchers and thought those would be a great toy all while Hailey and Brynn were in and out of the bathroom. Yes, I was trained for the first three days...rushing to the potty every time a little girl said, "I have to go!". We are still pretty quick to get to the bathroom when nature calls. However, yesterday we went to the pumpkin ranch with some friends and then hit Chick-fil-a in the mall (they have the best fast food customer service by the way - they carry my tray and get all my napkins/straws/etc. for me. I guess they see all the children and figure I need some help!) and then hit the play place. Hailey does not like to go in any bathroom except the ones at home and church. She held it for SEVEN HOURS. Yes, seven. I understood that she did not want to use the porta potty at the pumpkin ranch since she is very particular about the cleanliness of the toilet she uses. As soon as we got to the pumpkin ranch she said she had to go but she then refused at the porta potty. I thought for sure we were going to have an accident. But, we did our normal thing (I still bring extra clothes along just in case) and no accidents. Then we headed to the mall for supper and we headed straight for the bathrooms. We tried the family restrooms as well as the women's restrooms SEVERAL times when Hailey said she had to go. Hailey still refused to go. The kids played in the play place at the mall....no accidents! We got in the van to head home and about 10 minutes out Hailey says in a bit of a desperate, I can't hold it any longer voice, "I have to go!". Luckily she held it until we got home. She ran inside and got to go in her own bathroom. I now know she has a large bladder but I also don't want to count on that. We will have to figure out how to get her comfortable in public restrooms. Any "been there done that" advice would be welcome. Brynn will go anywhere which is great!

I am also looking for advice on night training. Brynn wet the bed the first night (we are completely diaper free, no pull-ups, just panties) and then the girls did about 10 nights without accidents so I thought we had that part down. Now each girl has had a few accidents during the night the past week. We haven't changed anything with amount of liquid consumption before bed and I am not sure why they are having accidents. During the first stretch of dry nights they would wake up during the night to go to the bathroom so we know they can do it. When they wet the bed they have to change all of their own sheets and bring them downstairs to the washer to make it very inconvenient to go in the middle of the night. We are hoping for dry nights again soon since we know the control is there and the girls are making a conscious decision to stay in bed instead of get up to go. So, that is a bit frustrating too. But, like I said, we are pretty happy with their progress and they are very proud of themselves which is great. Just one more step towards independence!
Hailey and Brynn like to feed Klayton. I needed their help during potty training or poor Klayton would never have gotten to finish his yogurt!

Klayton figured out how to clap this month and he did a great job clapping for Hailey and Brynn during potty training!

Attempt at a posed picture. Two big girls!!

Brynn being silly outside.

Hailey and the pumpkin she picked.

Klayton and his cart.

Our entourage. The girls have developed an extreme fear of dogs. It all started when we were on a walk (usually Hailey and Brynn will walk and Klayton will be in the stoller) and there were three dogs behind a fence. They were barking obnoxiously and I reassured the girls that they were safe because the dogs were behind the fence. The girls were getting more and more petrified as I spoke and I didn't understand why until they pointed and I saw two stray dogs running at us. They were not on leashes and there was no owner in sight. The dogs got right up to the girls and were nipping at their ankles. Luckily no bites because my maternal instincts kicked in and I swooped up the girls and yelled at the dogs and a neighbor heard all of the commotion outside and came to help pull the dogs away from us. She had no idea who the dogs belonged to but I was thankful for her help. Anyway, now the girls will hear a bark and they freeze and start screaming and literally shaking. I feel so bad for them because I don't know how to undo this fear. They won't even walk on the sidewalk on streets they know have dogs. It is bad. My sister-in-law has a dog and she watched the kids for me while I had a dentist appt. The girls used to go here for daycare so they are very familiar with her dog (Dexter). Unfortunately they think all dogs are evil now and cried most of the time they were at her house. So...my dear friends with dogs...please always keep them on a leash so you don't give your animals an opportunity to instill fear in other people's children. Again, I would love any advice on how to help my girls over this fear. For now, they are usually back in the stroller for walks and they will still cry if they hear/see a dog but they at least feel like the stroller is a safe place so that is what we do. I can't refrain from walks on these gorgeous fall days!

It was cold enough this week (low of 29 degrees!) that we turned the heat on. We have a drawer of sweaters the girls have been begging to wear and of course, Hailey picked the snowman sweater. Life doesn't get much better than hot chocolate with marshmallows and coloring on a cold morning!

We also made homeade apple sauce in the crockpot this week. Yummy!!! (And thanks Mom, for letting us borrow your apple peeler/corer/slicer!) Brynn loved to eat the peels...silly girl. Let nothing go to waste I guess!

And Klayton is getting a longer reach each day. The edge of the table isn't even a safe place for things. I am still getting used to how far he can reach as I left a bowl of ice cream on the table. Yep- he got it. Ice cream all over the recliner and his jammies and the carpet. Awesome.

So, that is all for now. Hope all of you are enjoying fall!

Texas Roadhouse Saddle

As requested :).

Where did September go?

So here is another really long blog post. It seems like a lot happened in September and unfortunately I am sure I will leave details of life out that I would have included had I posted more consistently. However, perhaps you don't care about those details - probably won't make a difference one way or another and now I have saved some possibly useless information from your memory processing. Here continues the days in the lives of the trio of children under 3.

On September 1st, the girls got to go to the dentist for the first time. They LOVED the dentist. I was very impressed with the pediatric dentist we chose (after being referred from a friend). They had a great waiting room and the patient room was full of hand puppets with teeth, tables with crayons/paper, and books to look at. The office was full of colorful pictures. Brynn said "Hailey go first" and Hailey tentatively climbed in the chair to go for a "ride". There was a huge smile on her face as soon as the chair started moving. Hailey got her teeth brushed and the dentist took a look around to check spacing, etc. Brynn got a turn too and while each girl was in the chair, the other girl was running around the huge room playing with the puppets and the books. The girls got to touch all of the dentist's tools and feel the "spinner" toothbrush on their hands that they get to have their teeth brushed with next time they go. At the end they got to pick a prize from the wall of prize buckets. They each picked a bracelet which sealed the deal - LOVE the dentist so far. Unfortunately the fact that they were premature and on so many antibiotics as babies means they have very weak enamel. Brynn has a few spots on two teeth that are pretty bad already which means very prone to cavaties. We started on flouride toothpaste even though they can't spit yet (appropriately that is...they both spit very well, just not to get toothpaste out of their mouths!) so hopefully this will help keep our visits to the dentist to routine cleanings only!

Brynn LOVES to hold KLayton and she is strong enough to carry him around - literally pick him up under his arms and go from point A to B. Yes, very scary for me. Klayton fortunately screams when this happens to alert mama that I need to resume supervision. Brynn also loves to hug him and is very sweet as she gently squeezes him around the belly and kisses the back of his head. Hailey loves to give kisses too but she goes for the cheek and Klayton has turned just at the same time and has "gently" bitten her nose in his loving sort of way. Hailey is sure to tell him "No biting" and thrives on the opportunity to act like his mama because she knows it is something I say.

Klayton is so proud of how fast he can walk behind his walker. Yes, I know all of the parenting advice from the "experts" says that you should never give your child a walker because it delays learning. Well, it is completely worth it to see how happy this boy is to "walk" with his sisters and chase after them and get his walker in the door before they close it on him!

The next few pictures are in a park my friend told me about. She watches 6 two-year-olds during the day - twins of her own and two other sets of twins. She is amazing and I don't know how she does it. But, anyway, she knows all the great parks around the area so we love to meet for play dates! The girls love to play with her kids so it always makes for a fun time.

Playhouses at the park.

Brynn on the rope bridge in the huge tree house at the park.

Hailey on the bridge.

Hailey climbing the stairs on the lookout tower.

Brynn made it to the top. One of many climbs - even I was getting tired!

We had the annual Van Mersbergen campout over labor day weekend. It was a Christmas theme with Christmas treats, Christmas minute-to-win-it games, and stockings for the kids. We had a great time! Unfortunately I forgot my camera the first two days and I brought it Sunday with a battery that was almost dead. So, I got very few pictures. Below is one of Hailey and Brynn with Grandpa Van Mersbergen - they were sheep in a play for Sunday morning church at the campgrounds.

After Labor Day, birthday week began! On Tuesday I surprised Jason and we drove to Omaha and took the kids to the Omaha Children's Museum. He had taken the day off to watch the kids for me to go into work. However, I had already arranged with my mom to come Wednesday to watch the kids for me to work so we could have a family day on Tuesday. We had such a fun time together. Below are a few of my favorites from the 130+ pictures I took at the museum.

We hit the "wiggle room" first which is designed for babies. Klayton needed some time to play after driving for a couple hours.

Hailey and Brynn had fun too.

Yes, I think it is safe to say that Klayton is having a good time. They had a table with several seats built in. Put the baby in the seat, surround him with toys, and let him do whatever he wants. Yes, for germ leary parents like me, they have a "laundry" for toys so any toy you pull off a shelf has been sanitized since kids this age love to put things in their mouths. I will say I am much less afraid of germs with a full-term healthy baby than I was with the girls! I used to run around with sanitizing wipes for everything the girls dropped on the ground. Now I just suck the germs off of Klayton's pacifier if he drops it and away we go. Note on the pacifier. I am happy to say that Klayton is done with it - all on his own choosing but he yells more if I try to put it in his mouth now than if I don't. So, we are done! Now if only thumb sucking was so easy to end...the dentist says it doesn't cause problems until the age of 4. I guess we have some time yet...

This water table was a hit. You had to use these "hoses" to put out the fires in the windows of this house. The girls actually did pretty well!

Hailey loved to be in the driver's seat of this fire truck.

Hard to see in this picture, but this was a climbing zone with holes to climb to the next level. As much as the girls love to climb, it wasn't surprising that they were in here a long time!

There was a grocery store so Hailey and Brynn filled their carts to the brim. Interesting to see what food they choose - Hailey got lots of peanut butter and yogurt. Brynn filled up with bread and spaghetti sauce!

Luckily they both chose lots of fruits and veggies too!

And the checkout. Push a button and hear the scanning BEEP sound. Heard lots of BEEPS!

Here is the child sized replica of a home. Brynn is getting ketchup and mustard for her slice of pizza...not sure where that came from but she does love condiments.

Hailey cooking dinner in the kitchen.

Brynn sitting down to eat. Notice she chooses the couch instead of the table since no one is telling her she must eat at the table!

This is the science "exibit" at the museum. Many different stations had different things for kids to turn, push, or slide to make balls move through these tubes that you see.

We could not skip the carousel. Brynn chose the rooster....interesting choice.

This left Hailey with the pony which she was thrilled about. In order for it to work for our family, the girls have to choose to ride animals right next to each other so one adult can hold on to both of them since the other adult is with Klayton.

Klayton in the tractor.

Back to the house - the girls had to mow the grass.

Klayton thought this would substitute just fine for his push cart at home.

Peeking out of the fire truck.


We were going to eat at a pizza place in the Old Market in Omaha, but the kids were pretty tired after the day at the museum so we thought the drive back would be perfect for a nap for the kids so they would be enjoyable for supper. We went to Texas Roadhouse and Jason was a great sport and sat on the saddle to be sung to. The girls were excited to share his birthday ice cream too!

A random picture of our growing son.

We got the water table out on one of the warmer days. Now I have three little ones around the table. I cannot believe how much all three of them have grown over the course of the summer. Truly amazing how much kids learn and develop during these first few years. A great reminder to be thankful every day - even the hard days.

So, back to birthday week. On Wednesday we took Jason out for soft-serve frozen yogurt which has been one of our favorites this summer. There is a new place that opened this year which gives 10 or so different soft serve frozen yogurt flavors with a buffet of toppings. It is delicious and much healthier than ice cream...well, depending on the toppings I guess! Thursday we made a run to Hickory Park - a tradition since you get a credit towards an ice cream treat if your birthday is within 3 days and a scoop of ice cream comes with every kids meal! Friday Jason planned a date for us without kids for my birthday. Dates without kids are few these days so it was great to just relax and have dinner without telling anyone to sit on their knees or their bottoms or to stay on their chairs until the meal was over. Saturday, we had a tailgating party for the Iowa/Iowa State game. Yes, I went to Iowa State and yes, we are all in Hawkeye attire.

Some friends and thier kids all came over. During half time we had cupcakes outside. Here are a few of the kids enjoying their treat. I took pictures of everyone's chocolate faces/hands/arms afterwards- lets just say outside was a good choice to keep the chocolate out of the house!

Saturday night my parents came up to celebrate with us. It was a great week and the girls were reminded how excited they are for their birthday!

Here are a few more random pictures of life in September. Klayton is becoming more and more independent in his play and loves to explore and do things Hailey and Brynn do.

Hailey likes to stick her tongue out at me when I want to take her picture!

We had a block party last weekend and we had a fire truck and an ambulance come. Hailey and Brynn were pretty excited to climb in a real fire truck! Unfortunately this is about the only picture I took before my camera battery died. They were a bit more hesitant about the ambulance until Hailey tried to get in the driver's seat!

Klayton is excited that the NFL season started. Almost as much as his daddy!

Brynn with her bubble gun outside.

And Hailey with her bubble gun.

Bubbles never get old at our house.

This was only a brief moment while I wasn't right behind Klayton making sure he didn't fall off (come on people, I am not THAT irresponsible!) but I thought it was too cute not to take a quick shot of this snack time.

Brynn looks so grown-up to me in this picture.

Hailey on the swing.

The other first this month was a haircut for Hailey and Brynn. Once again, Brynn says right away, "Hailey go first" so Hailey climbed up in the chair and got this penguin cape on. As you can see, she is not sure how she feels about this penguin cape and will continue to formulate her thoughts on the matter as this experience unfolds.

The "after" picture. Her thoughts were positive regarding this experience after she got a sucker!

When Brynn heard "sucker" she was ready for the chair!

"After"


September was a great month. Having another birthday makes me stop and be thankful for what my life is like right now and reminds me not to wish for tomorrow but to enjoy the day.

That being said, I am going to try potty training next week. There, I said it. It is official I guess since it is on the blog. I am excited to be done with this hurdle. Wait, what did I say? Enjoy the day?? Oh, right....that. Well, maybe I can take a "pass" for the days I will be cleaning pee off the floor. Wish us luck!