Potty training!!

Today has been a real breakthrough day for Lyra in terms of toilet training. After weeks of resisting the idea of even having no nappy on she agreed to have knickers on (sparkly bright pink winnie the pook ones to be precise). First wee was on the floor outside BUT second wee was in the potty with NO prompting at the time & she pulled her knigckers down herself. Another (tiny!) wee folloowed later and then the piece de resistence - a poo in the potty just before daddy arrived home (again with no prompting - I walked int he lounge to find her sat on her potty doing a poo). She's been so proud of herself & it's been wonderful to have a chance to really really praise her for this without too much stress. Zero to potty trainedin one day! ok it's just day 1 but we shall see how it goes for the rest of the week. I also managed to get her into pull up nappies (aka "special night time pants") for bedtime, which is something she has always refused so I'm hoping nappies will now be out of the picture. Not looking forward to having to carry a potty with me at all times but hey that stage will pass soon enough & I'm so incredibly proud of her.
In other news, I had my progesterone coil fitted yesterday afternoon & was very nervous but it didn't hurt a bit & I've only had a tiny bit of spotting. Could something in the downstairs department really be straightforward for me?! who'd have thought it? Logan is being gorgeous & lovely as ever, thought he heatwave we're suffering at the moment is making him a bit restless & he's not slept much today. Fingers crossed for a good night's sleep then! Our new washer dryer arrived this afternoon -after 10 days with no washing machine I can't wait to have clean clothes & some order to the house again! it's so quiet night time laundry is an option too so may even make some headway tonight.
What a good day it's been!

With playgroups & general mumminess t's been a pretty busy week so I've not had much of a chance to update on here... The washing machine finally packed in terminally last sunday, an hour or so after we had ordered a new one to be ordered this coming Tuesday so the dirty laundry is currently reaching critical mass. Fortunately there are only 2 days before our new washer-dryer (wit 5-year guarantee!) arrives & this week is meant to be a nice one weather wise so we should be able to get through the laundry on Wednesday & Thursday.
Logan is becoming more and more strong, he can now roll back-to-front and loves kicking & batting toys on his play arch, row-row-row your boat & of course his favourite kissing game! he's such a good little boy, though 6pm is now becoming his sleepy time & he has a problem making it through to bath time. Usually he has one big morning nap, a big-ish afternoon nap & a few cat naps in between. Not been in cloth nappies this week due to washing machine situation!! Really can't wait to get his nice nappies out again.
Lyra has really been in the wars. After her head injury a week last friday she now has a black eye from knocing her cheek on the guard of the bed the other day & a bruise on her forehead from falling over with Rebecca & bashing her head against a radiator... Oh & on Tuesday she had washing powder on her hands & rubbed it into her eyes. poor little thing, it makes me want to cry to look at her. People will think we beat her! On a more positive note she went swimming with David this morning in her new wetsuit & it kept her warm enough to stay int he pool for over an hour - she had a brilliant time and even swam by herself (with float jacket & armbands) without getting too worried & really loved it. Then she had a great time playing with Rebecca and Toby this afternoon (while Logan dozed on Uncle Peter).
It's my mum's 60th Birthday on Wednesday. I already gave her her present of a wii fit & wii console but am so glad I spent a bit extra as she, dad and Daniella have used it loads - mum & dad have each used it more in about 4 weeks than I've used mine in over 2 months. They are all very competitive about it and dad is getting more gentle exercise than he's been able to in years. the balance board is out on the floor most of the time!

Logan's 3 months old!!

Well I can hardly believe it but my little boy is 3 whole months old today, how quickly did that go?! He's getting so big - I had him weighed for the first time since he was 6 weeks old & he was a whopping 14lb 12oz, gaining an average of 1/2 lb a week that means he will have doubled his birth weight of 7lb 7oz now, little porker! He's tall too though, 63cm long (OK not as big as Kate's Thomas but pretty respectable all the same!!). He's starting to find some 3-6 month clothes a little tight, which I'm sure can't be right & must be the cut of the clothes. Or possibly the cloth bottom he has during the day....I'm still doing lots of baby wearing, which is essential really with such a demanding big sister around... get the feeling I'm a bit of a hippy really as I've been making my own jam, elderflower cordial etc etc & even wore a skirt I made myself today - Logan brings out the hippy self-sufficient mama side of me!!
He's such a lovely smiley & good natured baby who loves kisses and cuddles. His favourite games are people pulling faces at him, which he tries to copy (sticking his tongue out etc, so sweet) & one we've developed together where I kiss his face & he tries to bite my chin!!! He coos, smiles and laughs away & it all makes me so happy:o) Sleepwise he's pretty good, he settles himself to sleep a lot of the time at night & last night slept 7.30 to 3 & 3.30 to 7.30, which made mummy very very happy I can tell you! Usually he's a bit more difficult to settle in the middle of the night but maybe he's decided 3-month-olds sleep well - who knows?! He's quite a mummy's boy & has a particular call he makes when he wants me, then as soon as he sees me he smiles beautifully, "talks" to me and waves his arms and legs about excitedly. No one else gets that reaction & it's not just when he's hungry! He usually enjoys his baby massage (unless he's too tired), always loves his bath and loves it when people talk to him. Pretty soon I'll be getting our prince lionheart version of a bumbo down fromthe attic so he can sit & interact a it more with us.
Lyra is being a lovely big sister most of the time, though does seem to make SO much work for me! yesterday we had a bit of a fright with her when she had a cycling accident (was knocked over backwards off trike with trike & friend on top of her!) & had a nasty bump to the back of her head, with a little cut int he middle that bled profusely. Thank God, she was ok & it was just a tiny cut but now the situation is dealt with just thinking about it makes me cry, the adrenaline got me through until we were nearly home & I started shaking & nearly crying. Poor Lyra keeps saying her head hurts but is a lot better today... Obviously I feel really guilty now that I'd been having to tell her off earlier in the week for being a nightmare child, mums can't win on that one!!

not such a good night last night, though Logan wasn't too bad Lyra had me up at 6.30 & I went to bed a bit too late for that type of early morning!
Thinking of trying baby & toddler massage on them both... will give it a go & see if it helps..... Lyra hated baby massage when she was little so wonder if she'll like it now.

What a day!
Nothing in particular, but Lyra has been a bit trying - constantly making a mess faster than I can tidy, spilling everything & being a bit demanding.. well she is 2!!!
She poured cold water on Logan in the bath, poor baby boy was so shocked & upset by it he screamed! However she did apologise to him later & meant it for the first time ever so that's good at least.
Had Logan weighed and measured this morning, at 12 weeks 4 days old it's been over 6 weeks... He was 14lb 12oz & 63 1/2cm long, surprised he wasn't 15lb but not far to go! Lyra refused to be weighed & went all opink at the suggestion, bless her.
Parenting can be hard some days & guilt is a constant - I feel guilty that I feel frustrated with lyra for being 2, I feel guilty that Logan can't have all of the attention i would like to give to him, I feel guilty tha the house is a tip... on the whole I'm incredibly happy but that doesn't mean it's easy. & OMG I love my children so much, I wish I didn't have to go back to work eventually as I'd love to just focus on my children. David said to me earlier on when I said how happy Logan makes me "god, children are meant to make you happy" ... who knew? I loved Lyra immensely as a baby but I wasmn't happy, the love was the best thing but the experience was not positive. It wasn't her fault, more my own as I got myself into a very dark & lonely place. I'm so happy now I wish I'd been like that 2 years ago, it's my main regret....

Logan and mummy time

Lyra went over to spend the day with my mum, dad & sisters today (I had my smear test booked & she would have been upset by that) so for the first time since his birthI have had several hours with just me & my son.... & Oh my goodness he is so good! I gathered some more elderflowers to make more cordial (was out for 1 1/2 hours including doctors), made the cordial, made a small quantity of strawberry jam (just 1 jar!!), cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry,tidied up (a bit, lets not be silly about things like that) & still managed to spend ample time cuddling & kissing him until Lyra arrived home at 2pm. It really goes to show just how much of my time she demands as this would all have been really difficult. I did kind of miss her but I was pretty busy & loved spending time with Logan unmolested!
He's such a smiley happy boy and loves kisses so very much he's a joy to have... He's even been sleeping really well lately, from about 8pm to 3am each night for the past 4 nights - he sleeps for a shorter stretch after that but I'm tempted to try giving him a dream feed at 11pm tonight so he might *possibly* be able to make it through to 6am... with a lot of luck!

On Friday Lyra, Logan & I met with some mummy friends & their children for a walk around Hestercombe gardens, it was so lovely having a chance to catch up with the other mums & Lyra had a fantastic time playing, running around, exploring and eating wild strawberries (which I threaded onto a stalk like a necklace for her. bless, she loved that!). We were first to arrive and last to leave! They have 3 fantastic little wooden play houses in their play area & I think Lyra would Love David to make one... & Logan of course when he's bigger. I carried Logan all the way & even though Lyra walked loads she was pretty tired by the end and I ended up carrying her on my shoulders too, double-decker mummy.....

We had a lovely weekend, it was really hot and sunny both days. on saturday we went for a walk around a local nature reserve & Lyra & david paddled in the streams after Lyra had finished in the park. Yesterday we went for a walk in Piddle Wood near Corfe & had a picnic by the stream. It was quite an undertaking to get down to the stream as it was pretty steep! There were masses & masses of tiny froglets all over the path up the hill from the stream & Lyra loved them, she was also fascinated by the piles of snail shells left near certain stones by industrious thrushes. Logan would have been interested in it all if he'd been awake!! We're hoping to be motivated enough to go for walks most weekends while the weather is nice as we all love it... it's fathers day next Sunday so david's choice... incidentally I still haven't had my mothers day this year as David was not at all organised & then Logan arrived 2 days before. It's actually a pretty sore point with me & I'm going to make sure I get a mothers day or an extra specially grovelling one next year.

Yesterday we had no water all day because there was a leak from the faucet leading into the cold water tank & the overflow was leaking constantly, over the past few weeks the washing machine has been playing up & there have been a few small leaks from the pipes & now it looks like the hot water tank may be on the blink as there was no hot water this evening & we had to turn on the immersion heater for Lyra's bath. (we're on night-storage)
Being grown-up has it's rewards but sometimes it's a real hassle!!!!