Adventures in Calgary

Yesterday I went to the dreaded Walmart to purchase some 'big girl' panties for Molly. This week she's done a great job at using the potty both at home and at suzanne's house so this weekend we're going to make the move to training pants. I see lots of puddles in my future!

Today Molly went pee and poop on the potty for the first time. Each time it was completely unexpected and after waiting for these events for so long...both were so incredibly ordinary. And it was the ordinariness that was so wonderful. No one made a big deal of it. There were no treats. But it was another step in Molly's life as she moves from being a baby to being a little girl. And it was really cool that it happened on Mother's Day because I can tell her forever that she gave me pee and poop for Mother's Day! And, just in case you're wondering, we have no photos.

Auntie Rapper gave us these photos from the wedding. I can't believe how young Molly looks.

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted any stories about or photos of Molly. I can't believe it's already May! In the last month we've managed to sleep train Molly - thankfully!!! We ended up talking to a child sleep consultant named Kitty Raymond who recommended that we let her "cry it out" again but this time we needed to be 100% committed to not going to her no matter what she called out in the night. Because I am ultimately weak I ended up moving into the basement for 4 weeks while she got used to no one going to comfort her in the night. What a relief to finally be able to go to bed and know that the alarm is the only thing that's going to wake me up (and that won't be until morning). Under the new regime, Molly gets put to into her crib between 6:30pm and 7pm after brushing her teeth and reading no more than 2 stories. We're going to keep her in a crib until she's 3 and she's allowed to keep her soothers as long as she wants them. And she stays in bed until 6:15am the next day. I've been trying to make the most of the time between 6:30 and 8pm when she used to go to sleep by riding my bike or going for walks with Sherri in an attempt to get fit and lose weight.

Molly is doing really well under the new regime. She's still eating well. She's finally drinking milk regularly. Her hair is starting to grow. I can even put it in pig tails! The first time I did, Molly took one look at herself and said, "Thank-oo momma. I look beautiful!" So cute!

Sadly, she is also entering the terrible twos. This morning when I was asking her to put on her shoes to go to Suzanne's, she put her fingers in her ears so she wouldn't have to listen and said "no momma!". Oh the sweet sweet sound of NO! I guess I'll have to get used to it. The other thing she loves to say these days is MINE!!! I almost dislike hearing MINE more than NO.

Noel is doing really well at work and with his training. We're going to do the 24 hours of adrenaline mountain bike race with my work team in July. I think Molly is going to spend the weekend at Grandma Nancy's since we're going to be camping/riding overnight.

I guess I should mention the basement. We are incredibly close to completion finally. I'm actually doing the final walk through with the contractor this Thursday. I love it. I didn't think I would after all the pain and anguish we've gone through over the last 9 months but I totally do. The storage is awesome. The shower is incredible. Having the extra living space is fab. And it all looks so good.