2 turns at joy

in the past few weeks, despite the chaos, i can look back and remember specifically 2 things that are so joyous in my world...

the first is a major milestone, one that has been a LONG TIME COMING...

oldest daughter has struggled so hard with the potty training issue. when it comes right down to it, the girl is stubborn and the only answer to the potty training issue is that she would be 'trained' when she was darn good and ready. there wasn't ANY getting around that. i worried that we may be backsliding when 3 days in a row her teacher sent home clothes needing laundered from accidents. after those 3 days, i sat with her as she got dressed in the morning, showed her the 'pretty panties' that mommy had just purchased (some may call this wasteful, i call it grasping for sanity, but i am so over trying to scrub out stains from underwear. in our house they typically get thrown out) and how mommy really wanted her to try to not have an accident, to go poop and pee in the potty, and keep her panties pretty. now, i am nowhere near arrogant enough to think that it was those words that made a difference. i was pleading with her more than anything, and as i tried to hide the desperation in my voice, i know that above anything else, SHE made a choice that day. and boy did i get to hear about it. her wonderful teacher used her cell phone to let her call and tell me "Momma! I pooped on the potty- at SCHOOL!!!!!" I rejoiced with her, congratulated her, told her daddy would take her for a special treat, and encouraged her to keep up the hard work. I thanked her teacher for helping us on this journey and for sharing our joy and making that moment special for all of us. This all took place last week on Wednesday and we have been 100% accident free since then. In fact, she isn't even wetting her pull-up at night. This morning I asked if she thought she wanted to try to wear panties at night but she said no. I definitely will not push on that. I'm just SO PROUD of her.

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My other joyous story can actually be told in pictures. I don't want to sound snobby or arrogant, but I believe that I have 2 really beautiful daughters (and I'm growing a 3rd... watch out world!)... their similar looks really strike me at times, and this time was no different. I happened to catch a shot of younger daughter smelling some mums at a local garden center and the picture I caught looked (un)surprisingly similar to another one I had caught 2 years before (of her sister)... what do you think?

younger daughter almost 2, October 2009

oldest daughter almost 2, October 2007