- Happy Thanksgiving! This will be our first Thanksgiving in our own place, and we are thankful for that. My parents are coming here to celebrate with us and arrive tomorrow. One thing we are going to do to cultivate and express gratitude is place three corn kernels on each plate, then go around and share something that we are thankful for from this past year -- one at a time, three times around the table.
- I have been desperate for my parents to get here before Micaiah does, so that we can do my massive "prepare-for-a-new-baby list." {I think my nesting instinct has kicked in :)}
- Pregnancy: Well, technically, I am at full term (over 37 weeks) and so feelin' it. My skin is stretched further than I thought possible; I look like I swallowed a gigantic pumpkin. I'm exhausted but sleeping poorly. Peeing all night (Ricky's favorite part of pregnancy!). Back and hips hurt. His feet are crammed into my left hip, and he won't move them. No lap, Bending or leaning means no breathing. Gotta love the last month! Good news: I went to the OB doctor yesterday, and I am already 2 cm dilated -- YAY! Thus far, I have gained 28 pounds (and Aolani weighed 26 pounds). Also, I got to meet with my doula, get that "mandatory" echocardiogram, and go see a chiropractor this past week.
- Great news: Within a week's time, we found someone who wanted to tackle modifying our second crib, took the crib, and returns it tomorrow morning! He goes to the church we are going to join. We are just so elated!
- Potty-Training: Miracle story. Basically, I have been preparing for months to try this new method about potty-training in less than a day (supposedly works for most children over 20 months old, and Aolani is over 21 months). We did the training Saturday afternoon (should have started in the morning). While there are several things we will do differently for future children, the main problem was that there are pretraining experiences that we should have been doing with Aolani for two weeks prior to the big day and we just did not take them seriously enough, despite her passing the readiness tests. Anyway, Sunday and Monday were not showing much improvement, just much laundry! I was getting so discouraged, and we were contemplating giving up, quitting, and bringing out the diapers. But, she was showing some promise in that she had the sequence down -- potty, wipe, pick up pot, carry pot to toilet, empty pot, flush toilet, carry pot back, and reinsert pot. She just wasn't approaching her potty when she had to go -- because she could not pull her pants down. I don't know what happened, but suddenly, Tuesday was amazing. No accidents. She self-initiated going to her potty every time she had to pee or poo! [We're practicing pulling pants up and down but for now, she is bottomless.] We cannot believe we almost quit! Anyway, everything is not perfect, but we have a super foundation and highly recommend this method!
- Verses to memorize this week: Romans 8:31-3 ~ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
