Welcome Baby Elsie/Happy 2nd Birthday Freddie!!

Guess these two will have to get used to sharing so might as well start with a joint blog post! Elsie Grace Kearns was born at 5:40pm on Friday, April 25th. After three days in labor, we were very glad she decided to eventually come out!! She weighed 8 lbs, 13 ounces (4 kg) and was 51 cm long.

First bath! Loved it obviously.

William and I were sure it was going to be a boy so were shocked when we saw otherwise. She's been a great eater and sleeper (two very important qualities at 11 days old) so far and an overall joy to be around.

Big brother Freddie was instantly taken with his little sis, and even bypassed her gift (a sticker book of diggers and various construction equipment), just wanting to hold her. We are all so excited to be a family of four!

Double stroller!

Yesterday we celebrated another big day - Freddie's second birthday!! He found his birthday shirt at the end of a string attached to his bed in the morning, tried out his balance bike and helmet in the afternoon and expertly blew out the candles on his 'F'-shaped carrot cake after dinner. What a fun day!

It's been an amazing two years with Freddie (the best!) and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to do an imovie of some of our adventures (call it the Rich Kay in me). Consider yourself warned - it's 15 minutes long - but if you have the time, it's a great look back on the first two years of this little guy's life. We love you Freddie!

Watch the video on youtube (I couldn't embed it in the post for some reason.)

Photo of the Week- 39 weeks pregnant!

The due date is 2 days away and we are getting VERY excited to meet the new member of our family.

Freddie definitely knows the time is getting closer and every time we leave the doctor's office or hospital after a check-up he holds his hands up and says "baby?" like - where is it?

He has been giving my belly a lot of kisses and putting his ear up to it to see if he can hear it. When I asked him when the baby is going to come out, he said Tuesday so we'll see if he's right! He's also been extra snuggly with me and wants me to do a lot of the bedtime routine lately. It's fun to spend the extra time with him (usually William does most of bedtime) but I hope he's not too distraught when there's another little human here taking up my time!

A few nights ago I had some contractions and thought, this is it! But, sadly, it was probably just the result of too much spicy Thai food. I might get the same dish next week but my strategy has also changed to just trying to get as much rest as possible for the big day.

The sun is out in Edinburgh and we're heading to the beach this afternoon (stopping at the store to get sunscreen on the way!). So fun to spend some quality time as a family of three before the new guy or gal arrives! Anyone have any birthday predictions?

When to Bribe Your Kids

I've thought a lot about this and have decided there are two situations in which I am TOTALLY fine with bribing my children with treats. Yes, I did read that French book that was all the rage awhile ago that talked about not using food as a tool to get your kid to do what you want, amongst other things, and, for the most part, we do agree with that.

I've made a point of not giving in to Freddie's whining and, instead, have taught him to wait patiently as much as possible. It can be tough for him, especially when he's hungry right before meals or if he had a short nap and is just tired, but let's face it- as much as we'd all love to get whatever we want, whenever we want it, this sadly isn't real life.

But, that being said, there are still two areas where I am ready and willing to bribe Freddie with a little treat.

1. On an Airplane

Traveling with little kids, in a car, plane, train, boat, or whatever, can be the pits. They don't understand the concept of time and because of that feeling of endlessness, and the fact that it takes FOREVER to get to Seattle from Edinburgh, can make it a rough ride for everyone.

So, when we are on an airplane, Freddie can have pretty much whatever he wants. Snacks, juice, the in-flight magazine, headphones, the barf bag, whatever. And please- watch as much TV as you want! Glue your head to the screen, I don't care!

















It's a time to do whatever it takes to get everyone to the final destination in one piece, with as few meltdowns as possible.


 2. Potty Training

The second situation where I am A-OK with bribing is potty training. About 6 weeks ago, I finally decided it was getting a little weird that Freddie was trying on William and my underwear whenever we would hang up laundry. He also went for our shirts, his own socks, dish rags, etc. but it was the undies he was particularly interested in.

So, I bought him some his own size. He was so excited - especially with the blue ones. We weren't planning on trying to potty train him until this summer, after the excitement of the new baby dies down, but he was just so into them that I decided to test the waters.

After a week or so of Fred just wearing the undies around the house at random times (and sometimes peeing in them), I ordered a little toilet ladder/seat contraption from Amazon (pretty much the only place I shop now) and the three of us set it up together one night. He was immediately taken by it, as climbing up on anything is quite a thrill, and after a couple tries, he had his first success!

We played it cool, gave him one cheerio (ha!) as a treat and decided to play each day by ear. For another week or so, he'd go once or twice a day until one day when he went seven times! It was then that I decided we can't turn back now, we have to go for it! So, we upped the treat to half a fruit snack ("root nack") for pee and two halves for poop.

It worked like a charm! 3 weeks later and he's pretty much completely got it. He only wears a diaper during naps (but I think we could cut this soon) and at night and is totally fine going on toilets when we are out and about. I am still in shock with how well it went, and so proud of Freddie for catching on so quick.

I am an honest enough person to admit that I even teared up a little when he first pooped on the toilet! Pregnancy hormones can get the blame for that one. :)

It's true! Everyone does.

Mom! Stop taking pics of me!

I can't wait for him to see this when he's older!