The Experience of Potty Training

Well we are officially potty trained. I have to say we are very proud parents to have our 21 month old tell us every time she has to potty. This morning at 3am she even woke me up and requested the potty. It has been a little easier than i expected. I prayed for patience and the Lord gave it to me. We did the 3 day method of no diapers just panties and a sticker chart. On the 3rd day she got an Elmo doll as a surprise for no accidents. We have now transitioned from the little potty to sitting on the big potty....YES!!!!!! Eric and I hope once Adelyn is old enough and ready she will be as easy to train as Macie was.

WOW what a Suprise!!!

Well the Manus household got a bit of a shock yesterday. I had a ultrasound scheduled through my dr for my 18 week apt. I thought we already knew it was a boy since we had went t to a 3D/4D place for a gender check, so when she asked if i wanted to know the sex i said sure but i know already its a boy. The tech looked at me stunned...NOPE ITS A GIRL! I sat in shock for 2 minutes but felt like forever. All in my mind i could think was ..REALLY, DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!?! After the appt i called my husband and cried, not for the fact it was a girl but for the fact that my husband, dad, and father in-law were looking forward to having a boy. My husband reassured me everything was going to be ok and we went from there. So now we need to return everything we bought blue and start from scratch including names. Thank the Lord we painted the room a neutral green! Now my family will consist of 3 beautiful girls! The Lord has a plan for everything :)

Finally back up to present day.

Ok so now we are now to the present time. I know i have mixed some of 2010 photos in with 2011/2012 but they are some of my favorite pictures. We are currently working on our babys room. i know its early but if anyone knows me, they know i am a person who gets things done months before hand. I'm am not a procrastinator at all!!!! Once we get everything in order i will post pictures.

1st Day of Gymnastics

Macie started gymnastics this past Monday. She is in the Diaper Daredevil class. I originally signed her up thinking this would get rid of some of her energy but she loved it so much we are considering putting her in the class twice a week. Even though this was her first class she acted like she knew what she was doing, apparently shes a pro! She had a great time and loved all the tumbling and jumping!

Macie's first haircut

Last Saturday we took Macie to get her first haircut. I was so nervous she would freak out  but she was awesome. She loved the salon. Oh how Eric has his work cut out for him when she gets older!

Christmas at the Manus house

So this year Eric and I decided to start a tradition of Christmas at our house, since every year we go to Arkansas. Macie is getting older and with another baby on the way its a lot for us to travel, so we stayed home. Santa was good to Macie and Layne even got here Christmas night, i think that was the best present for Macie was to see her sister, they have a very special bond even though they only get to see each other every so often. Eric and i made our feast and we all ate. I even attempted my Mammauls Potato Salad recipe, she was looking down upon me because it turned out just the way she used to make it :)

Hanukkah

Since Eric has Jewish heritage i believe that it is important to keep some traditions alive for the Manus children. Every year when Hanukkah starts we get out the Menorah and each night light a candle. We also like to go downtown to Ken and Ziggy's deli for some Matzah ball soup....Yummy!

A Tradition of making Christmas Cookies with Mammaul

We headed to Arkansas for Thanksgiving this year. I am always excited when we get to spend time with our families and especially my daughter Layne. Since she lives with her dad in Arkansas, when i get to spend time with her i always value it. You never know if there will be a tomorrow so make sure you spend your time with your loved ones. Every year we try to make my Mammauls famous Christmas cookies. I have made these with her since i was little so i wanted to pass on the tradition to my kids. Even though i know half the dough will get ate and most cookies get the frosting licked off before they are even cooled down, it is still one of my favorite things to do with my Mammaul. She tells me every year that next time its my turn to make the cookies, but ill just let her keep doing it!

Halloween 2011 Part 2

So every other year it seems like, we try to have our traditional Adult Halloween party. We all have a good time catching up with friends and Eric always makes his "SPECIAL" punch! Past years we have done Goonies, Wizard of Oz, and Saw. This year i suggested to Eric we be something a little different so we decided on Slash and Axl Rose (from the good days of appetite for destruction). I thought we rocked our costumes, but wow were we surprised when we seen our neighbors Aimee and Justin, they put everyone to shame ! The party was a success and as usual there was not any punch or food left! Great times with Great people!