Changes...

We've been making a lot of changes around here.  Good ones!

We are eating MUCH healthier.  We got rid off all high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.  We are eating hormone/antibiotic free meats.  Eating more veggies and beans (since the healthier meat is much more expensive).  I feel this is the way God designed our bodies to eat.  There was no chicken nugget tree in the garden of Eden.  These amazing bodies he has given us have adapted very well and we are able to eat the crap thats all around us, but it isn't part of his original design for us.  So, we're trying to be a little more natural with our eating habits.

Its been wonderful!  I love watching my girls snack on fruit, hummus and edamamme -- all of which they LOVE.    Instead of cookies or fruit snacks.

I'm back to making my own granola.  Yummy!!

I've started making my own wheat bread.  There is nothing like the smell of a fresh baked bread.

We've only been this way a little over a month and I can see a big change in the way I feel.  I have more energy and less of that rock-in-my-belly feeling.  I'm also losing weight!  Yea!

We are doing more organic.  I"m trying very hard to at least stick to the "dirty dozen" when buying produce but if I do buy something non-organic am using fruit and veggie wash -- at least that makes me feel better.

I just can't tell you how much better I feel knowing this way of eating is what I"m teaching my children.  Not to eat out or buy processed foods -- which we used to eat a lot of.  

Now, don't get me wrong, you will still see us eating "bad for you foods" from time to time.  But if we abide by this new lifestyle at least 80% of the time, thats a HUGE change, right?  Every little bit helps.

Funny Kru

Well, there is no real "story" for Kru.  But he is one funny boy.  He loves to be happy, he loves to laugh.  The other day I took Pressley to the pediatrician and one of the nurses took Kru and started bouncing him and he just laughed and laughed, she took him all around the office bouncing him in front of other people and he would just erupt in laughter.  It was hilarious!  And it brought so much joy to my heart to see so many other people enjoy my precious boy.

In other news:  Kru rolled over!  On Tuesday I put him on his belly for some tummy time, I went in the kitchen to put some dishes away and when I came back he was on his back!  I missed it!!!!

He is also sitting very, very well.  Can stay on his bottom for several minutes at a time, plays with the toys in his lap and usually falls over because he turns too far on one side (usually to see what his sisters are up to) or because he laughs and throws his body backwards.  He's getting soooo big!

And lastly, just in case you didn't know..... this boy LOVES to eat!!!  We started feeding him cereal this week.  And as you'd expect, the first time or two he wasn't sure what to do, mostly just spit it back out and didn't seem to enjoy it.  But the fourth time we tried everything changed.  He opened his mouth when I brought the spoon to him, he swallowed it right down and cried every time I had to refill the spoon.  I even made him a second bowl and he ate ALL THAT!   So right now he eats a BIG bowl (the size the girls used to split) of rice cereal twice a day and he still drinks 40 ounces of formula a day.  Unbelievable.  Its no wonder this sweet boy weighs 23 pounds.  Thats right, not quite 6 months old and already weighs 23 pounds.

Funny Lyla

We were leaving the gym the other day and as we walk to the car I always try to get the girls to tell me if they had fun, what they did, etc.  They hardly answer.  They usually just say "had fun" or "play at gym", that sort of thing.  So the other day we were walking to the car and Lyla was in front of me.  She stopped, turned around and said:

"I go to MY gym.  I have fun.  I play cars with boys."

Then she turned around and kept walking.  I loved it!  I love that she told me what she did and I love (for now anyway) that she was playing cars with boys.

Doesn't this look like a girl who would enjoy playing "cars with boys"??

Funny Pressley

I was having a conversation with Pressley about "my babies". I asked her who my babies were. I said "Is Pressley my baby?" She said yes. I asked "Is Lyla my baby?", she said yes. I asked "Is Kru my baby?", she said yes. I then asked her if we should have more babies. She again said yes. Then I asked if we should have more boy babies or girl babies.

Her answer...

"More Pressley's!"

Ha. I don't know if I could handle that. :)

6 Days of Potty Training under our belt!

We're doing really well! Lyla even stayed dry all night last night! I was shocked! That girl talks herself to sleep and often talks for an hour and a half or more. I thought getting her to stay dry all night would be impossible since during the day she pees every 45 minutes and takes so long to go to sleep. But, she did it! Pressley hadn't gone all night... yet.

They both stay dry during naps.

Pressy poops on the potty regularly and will tell me every time she needs to go. Yesterday she pooped on the potty 4 times, AT ONCE! You may want to skip these next few sentences but I'm going to "document" this story in all its glory. She came to me and told me she needed to "poopy", I put her on her potty and she filled it up, literally. She stood up so I could get rid of it, and I also cleaned her up. I was ready to let her go play and she said "more poopy", so I sat her back down and she filled it up again! She did this a total of 4 times. It was truly a sight to behold! Ha! I guess any nerves she had about going poopy on the potty are gone.

Both girls are averaging 1-2 accidents a day. Which is pretty good, I think. Pressley is doing better than Lyla so far.

Today we ran errands all morning. We put one of the potties in the car and let them go before we went in or out of stores. They did AWESOME! Not a single accident!!! And, while we were in Whole Foods Pressley told David she needed to go pee pee. So, we went to the potty, there was a line, of course, she held it but I didn't want to push her too hard in her first week so one of the workers checked to see if the boys room was empty. It was, so she guarded the door while I took Pressley in. She went. Lyla was in the stroller and before I could ask her if she had to go she crawled out of her stroller and came over to me and asked to go, too! She did. I was sooooo proud of them!

So, we're doing quite well. Not 100% yet, but we're getting close!

Potty Training..... Day 2

Well, I saw a LOT of progress today. Both girls woke up wet, but that didn't surprise me since I had pumped them full of liquids just before bed trying to get them to pee pee on the potty one last time before bed. I took them both to the bathroom anyway, Pressley peed, Lyla did not. After that Pressley had 2 more accidents pretty quickly and hasn't had another since about 10am! Woo hoo!! She even stopped playing this evening and said "Poopy!". David and I both dove for her thinking she had already started but she hadn't! We put her on the potty and she pooped. Yea!!

Lyla on the other hand.... will sit and sit and sit. I finally believe she may not have to pee, let her up, put her panties on and then she bends over and catches her pee in her hands. yes. seriously. She has done this twice today. I know the fact that she is "aware" is a good thing, but come on! After those incidents I started making her sit on the potty until she peed. She would sit and sit and sit but I kept pushing. Finally, I got frustrated, stood up, and said "I'm leaving, let me know when you pee." I closed the door and in about 5 seconds she said "Mommy, I peed". And she had. sigh.

This little girl might be tough. She is too stinking smart for her own good. She knows full well what is going on and will give in when she is good and ready. I probably just need to come up with something new and exciting to steal her attention. She'll get bored of potty training and just give in.

I suppose only time will tell....

Potty Training..... Day 1

Lorren told me a few things to have on hand (since she potty trained Savannah last week!) so I was sure to pick up some juice the girls loved, training panties, and a reward system (stickers that has turned into candy or pretty much whatever else they want). But she forgot to mention a maid, a cook, a nanny for Kru and a well stocked bar for me!

Phew! What a day! It started off ROUGH and was pretty difficult all day long but I did see a lot of progress. Our biggest problem is they really influence each other. At one point they were playing outside and I caught them both hiding behind a table peeing together right through their panties. And when they sit on the potty we will sit and wait for a L-O-N-G time before one goes and as soon as one goes, the other goes. Ugh.

What a day.

I can only hope tomorrow is better.

Easter Weekend

We spent Easter weekend in Raleigh with all the Kruithofs.  It was great!  Brent and Katie flew in on Friday night and they got to meet sweet baby Hailey for the first time.

From there is was just constant fun and excitement.  Saturday morning we got up and did Easter baskets.  We didn't think we'd have time on Sunday since we planned on going to the early service at church, plus the kids all got some outdoor toys we could play with.  After that we got dressed and went to the park.  It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun!  The park Lorren and Cole took us to didn't have a playground and I'm so glad!  We had fun just running around, picking flowers, playing with a t-ball stand Savannah got for her Birthday and just exploring.  David and Cole went to get some sandwiches from Subway so we ended our trip with a picnic.

Saturday night we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and celebrated Savi's birthday. Oh, and the girls savored some of their Easter candy.

Sunday was also a beautiful day. We went to church as a family to celebrate our risen Lord and then went back to Lorren and Cole's for a wonderful, traditional Easter ham lunch and then we hit the road. It was a wonderful Easter and made many great memories.

My new favorite picture

I love, love, love this picture!!  Those are my sweet girls and they love each other.  I praise God for that.

Painting Waffles

Last Saturday morning we woke up and the girls painted their waffles.  It was so fun!  They had a blast!!

I toasted their blueberry waffles and they painted them almond milk (what the girls drink in the morning) dyed with food coloring.  They used a plain 'ol clean paintbrush.

It really was a fun way to start the day.  And very interesting to watch.  Their methods are so different.  Pressley just goes for it and takes bites along the way.  Lyla is more focused, didn't take a single bite while she was busy painting and when she was all done still didn't want to eat it.  I love the focus they have in the pictures.  They were really into it.

Fun stories

My girls fully understand we pray before we eat.  They are constantly reminding us to pray when we forget.  Yesterday my mom and I were at McDonald's and she was trying to entertain the girls while I ordered food, by the time I got back everyone was wiggly and we just began to dig in.  In between bites Pressy started saying "Thank you" bite, bite "God" bite, bite "food...." bite, bite.  Lyla chimed in "love you, God" bite, bite "Amen".

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My last post was called "Sisterly Love" and I mentioned that the girls are also crazy about their brother.  Its true, they love him and are constantly taking care of him, but he does steal some of their attention at times, and that can be frustrating.  Yesterday when Pressley woke up from her nap she really wanted me to sit on the floor with her and play with the duplo blocks.  I told her I had to feed Kru first but would sit with her as soon as I was done.  She started whining and I told her if she whined I wouldn't sit with her at all.  So she came over and stood next to Kru and I waiting patiently.  I said "I love you, Pressy and I love Kru and I love Lyla" then I asked her if she loved Lyla and she said "yes".  I asked her if she loved Kru and she said "no".  I said "yes, you do!" and she said "no love Kru.  Mommy play blocks!"

Oh well.

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Ok, so here is a story where Lyla shows love to Kru.  She is a little mommy -- your typical big sister.  Kru was on his playmat a couple of days ago and was starting to fuss.  I asked Lyla to give him his pacie.  She went over, put his pacie in and he calmed down.  She came over to me and said "Kru sad.  Kru need bobble" (bottle).  I said "no, I don't think so".  She said "I think so.  Bobble".  And walked away, no strutted away, very confident she knew what was best.  I love it!  I love that she thinks she knows what he needs and better yet, that she cares about him enough to tell me!

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Heres another cute story.  The girls and I were coloring and they began peeling the papers off the crayons (a *fun* game my mom taught them).  Lyla had just peeled a pink crayon and I asked her what color she had.  She said "pink" (this is the one color they can both get right every time).   Then she picked up the paper she peeled off of a black crayon and asked me what color.  I wondered if I should say "grey" which is the actual color of the paper or "black" since it came off a black crayon.  I decided to go with "grey" since that accurately answers the question she asked so I said "Actually, thats grey".  She said "Actually, this Lellow" (yellow).  I loved how she used "acutally".  It was too cute.

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Thats all for now...  these stories are cute to me and one day when I look back at my blog I know I'll enjoy reading them again.  But, hopefully they are entertaining to you, too.

Sisterly love

We have had a busy week in the Turner house.  Pressley spiked a high fever Tuesday afternoon, we rushed to the doctor's office and she was given 2 shots of high-dose antibiotics because her white blood cell count was high.  We were sent for a chest x-ray the next morning.  The x-ray showed pneumonia.  We went back in to meet with the doctor on Wednesday afternoon and another round of the high-dose antibiotic shot was ordered.  Pressy knew what was coming and as soon as I started to pull her pants down (she got one shot in each thigh) she started screaming.  My mom was with me and she took Lyla and Kru to the lobby so they wouldn't have to be there for the ordeal.  Once the shots were done we had to wait around for 10 minutes so they could make sure she didn't have any reaction.  While we were waiting she kept crying and asking for Lyla.  One of the nurses went to the lobby to get Lyla, as she was coming down the hall Pressy ran out to her and they ran into each others arms.  Lyla gave Pressy a big hug and kiss and then said "Here Pressy", she went to the prize box and picked her out a little froggy toy.  It all calmed Pressy right down.  It was absolutely precious.   I'm so thankful my girls love each other!!  And, they are crazy about their brother, too.

This would be the perfect place to put a picture of the 2 of them together but its almost impossible to take a good picture of them together!  I'm going to have to work on that.

Sweet boy

Kru is such an easy going, laid back boy.  A couple of weeks ago we all sat down to eat dinner and decided to try letting Kru sit in his (the girls old) highchair so he could watch us.  We gave him a toy monkey to play with.  He pulled the monkey up to him and promptly fell asleep.  It was so sweet.  He is so sweet.  We are so incredibly blessed to share our lives with this little boy.

Christmas 2009. Finally.

Yea, this is really late.  But I was just looking back over my blog and I realized I have NEVER put Christmas photos on here!  What a shame!!!  So, here are a few from this past Christmas, which was wonderful.

First was Christmas Eve at Grandmother and Grandaddy Turner's house.  Reeree and Cuncle (Aunt Regina and Uncle Chris) bought the girls dress up clothes.  This was the... best. gift. ever!  The girls had a blast, we could hardly get Pressy to take the clothes off and they still one of the most popular toys in the house!

Great-grandmother and great-grandaddy got the girls motorized cars!  They haven't played with them much yet... its been a little too cold outside but I'm sure they will be a huge hit!

And of course, Kru was there, too!  Usually hanging out on someones lap.

Next up was Christmas morning at Gaga and Papa Kruithof's house.  Uncle Cole, Aunt Lolo, Savannah, Uncle Brenty and Aunt Kiki were all in town for Christmas.  That always makes it so much more special!  All the kids (and adults!) had a blast, of course.

David and I got the girls Radio Flyer trikes for Christmas.  Their feet don't really reach the pedals but hopefully by summer they will!  They love them anyway.  Now we just need to get some helmets.

And here is Kru, he was just hanging out all morning.  He got lots of gifts, too.  Here you can see him with a little bitty elephant he "got".  The girls wanted it to be right next to him.  I guess it was only fair since they were enjoying all their new toys. 

Some long overdue updates

Hello friends (if anyone is still around), I know I should have updated our blog a long time ago,

but guess what,

I've been

BUSY!

Hard to believe, right?

So, those updates...

• First of all, Kru is already 4 1/2 months old!  Where has the time gone?!?
• Second of all, he's HUGE!  We were at the Dr. earlier this week and he was just a couple ounces shy of 20 lbs!  Lyla was only 18 lbs when she was a YEAR old!  Keeping this boy in clothes that fir has been a chore, he outgrows things way too quickly!
• Kru's first smile was on the day he turned 5 weeks old.  Which would have been December 5th.
• I kept him in his bassinet in our room way too long.  Not age-wise, but size-wise!  The poor boy was touching both ends, but I just couldn't bring myself to move him.  I mean, come on, this might be my last baby!  So, the babysitter did it for us.  We were out celebrating my SURPRISE 30th birthday party and the babysitter put him down in his own bed.... he's been there ever since.  That was February 20th.
• Lyla and Pressley are TWO!!  When I got the call from church that they were going to be moved up to the 2 year old room on Sunday nights I sat in the parking lot of Costco and bawled!  Again, where has the time gone?!?
• Lyla and Pressley are both cutting their two-year molars.  Its.... just.... lovely.  Lots of motrin, lots of whining, lots of drooling and finger chewing.  Pressley now has all 4 showing, 2 of which are all the way through.  Lyla is still getting started and I can't see any of them yet.
• Lyla and Pressley are talking LIKE CRAZY!!  They say full sentences, carry on conversations, its amazing.  They are at such a fun age, learning new things all the time!
• Lyla and Pressley are in big girl beds.  We changed their cribs to toddler beds in January.  I had been dreading it for months, but you'd never know anything changed.  They handled it perfectly!
• We have a new niece!  Lorren's little girl, Hailey Claire was born January 21st.  I tried my hardest to make in there for her birth but arrived just a couple hours late.  When she decided she was done "cooking", she meant it!

Thats all I can think of right now, of course I can think of lots of "little" things that have been going on and I may update you on a few of those.  But, for now, I'm done.  I will post some pictures though.   Enjoy!