Update

Well, I have an update after posting about my potty-training problems...

Taylor POOPED in the potty for the 1st time today!!!! Yay, Taylor!

All day today she had been using her little potty (instead of the big potty which she usually uses), and she had been doing really well about going pee-pee on her own without me having to remind her. After we had lunch, I was in her room putting away some clothes, and I heard her go into the bathroom. Then, she came in her room and announced that she had gone pee-pee. I told her good job, and then, she let out a little-but stinky- fart (that's a sign of something to follow!) and then ran out of the room. I went after her and said, "Taylor, go poo-poo on the potty," as I have done many times and to which her normal response is to yell "no!" and run away and hide somewhere to poop. Instead, she said, "Okay," walked into the bathroom, and pulled down her pants. I went back into her room to finish what I was doing and to give her some privacy. I was totally expecting her to just pee, but nevertheless, I wanted to give her privacy in case she decided to go. She was quiet for a while, and after a few minutes, I went to check on her. She was standing up in front of the toilet, and the lid to her little potty was closed. I lifted it up, and sure enough, there was POOP there. I was cheering and yelling, "Yay, Taylor! Good job! You poo-pooed in the potty! You're such a big girl!" and she loved every minute of it. I didn't even care that I still had to clean up her poop and wipe her butt. I've never been so excited about poop before :-)

After I got through cleaning everything up, I gave her some marshmallows (which she loves and I have tried bribing her with before without success; I guess she was just ready this time; I never even mentioned any bribes), and then we called Daddy at work to make our big announcement. She was so proud that Daddy thought she was a big girl, too, and he promised to bring her home some candy which she was so very excited about.

Later on tonight after dinner, Taylor was eating an apple, which tends to make her poop, so I told her, "Taylor, if you need to go poo-poo, make sure you go in the potty." A little while later we were watching TV, and Taylor took off for the bathroom. Jared yelled at her to ask what she was doing because often when she takes off running she's up to something. She yelled back and said, "I want to go potty." He said, "Okay," and a couple of minutes later, we heard the little potty start playing music. Jared and I both looked at each other with the same thought- that sure took a while for her to have just peed. Jared got up to go check on her, and yep, she had pooped again! That's right- not only did she poop once today for the first time, but she pooped TWICE!!! Let's just hope this continues, and if I'm lucky, maybe she will be potty trained by the beginning of the year after all!

(making her fish face)

Now for an update on Bella: We had an appointment with the urologist on Wednesday to follow up from her UTI. I knew that the plan was for them to check her urine to see if it tested normal or not, so I was totally expecting that they would have to put a catheter in her. When we got there, the doctor gave me two options. He said they could attach a bag to her and just wait until she peed on her own- which could take who knows how long- or they could put a catheter in. Of course, no one wants to have a catheter (except for crazy people... and there are crazy people), but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get it done and over with, so I told him the catheter was fine. The nurses came in and were trying to prepare me for how she might react, that she might freak out because babies don't like to be held down, etc. (I usually don't tell people I'm a nurse because I really would rather them treat me just like any other patient). I told them that I knew Bella probably wouldn't like it, but she is a very sweet and forgiving baby. So we held her down and got her ready. The doctor came in to do the catheter himself, and she didn't struggle or cry at all.... not one bit. I was so proud of my baby! She's sweet and quiet and easy-going, but MAN, she is one tough little girl! The nurses were amazed. They thought she was cute before, but after that, they were in love. They kept telling me that I better make sure that I had everything before I left, and I better keep an eye on her or they might run off with her.. haha Once we got in the car, she must have peed for the first time after the catheter because she made a little sucking in noise like when something stings (she used to do it when she was a newborn and her bottom would get irritated or would have diaper rash), and then, she let out a little whimper. After that one time though, she never acted like it bothered her at all. So, they said they should have the results of the urine culture by Monday, and assuming everything is normal, then she won't have to go back to the urologist again.

In other news, Bella is crawling now! She's been close for a while, but she really just started crawling in the last week. She's not fast by any means, but she can definitely get around. It's so cute especially if Jared or I are gone and then come home, and she will smile and crawl right to us. I think it really made Jared's day the first time he came home from work and she did that. Before, Bella would go from being happy and calm to crying and letting us know when she was done when she was hungry and/or tired; there was no real in between stage. Now, when she decides she's hungry, she will crawl towards me- or after me if I walk out of the room- with this little pitiful cry. It is so adorable that you can't help but want to immediately pick that baby up! I'm so used to putting her in the floor to play and being able to walk around the house and do what I need to do that it still surprises me when I turn around and she's following me. She's even starting to pull herself up on things to where she is just on her knees and holding onto something. If it's something short that she's holding onto, she will even stand on her feet and lean over.

Both of my girls are getting so BIG! I just don't know where the time goes! Two weeks from today, Taylor will be 3 years old! They have brought so much joy to my life, and I feel so very blessed to be their mother!