Zianna Turns 3!

"Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional."

-Walt Disney

3 years ago I became a mom. It was the best day of my life. I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. 

Zianna is now old enough to pick what "theme" she wanted for her party and she chose Elsa.

She had the best birthday with lots of friends and family making her feel special!

My "big girl" had such a great birthday and she deserves it! She is the best little girl I know, and I can't believe she chose me. I believe she was sent to me for a reason!

Love you Zianna!

7 Months

We are 7 months into this year so far. 7 months is not a long time. I've seen a lot of growth in my baby girl in just 7 short months. Sitting up, cutting teeth, grinning and babbling just to name a few. 7 months ago, on January 7, I lost my Grandpa Gleed. It was 7 months from the time he got sick to the time he passed. So much decline in such a short period of time is hard to watch.

Not quite 7 months later, on July 13, I lost my Grandma Hanks. That's twice in 7 months that I have to receive such a devastating phone call. Twice in 7 months that I have to try and accept that their time here is done. Twice in 7 months I have to say a final "goodbye."

Let me first tell you about my Grandpa. There was a time things were tough between me and my family because of a decision I made that they didn't agree with. It was my Grandpa who made sure that distance was not going to be something permanent.

Now let me tell you about my Grandma. That same time, on the other side of my family, my Grandma didn't care how anyone else was reacting, she was one of the only ones that put my decision aside and still welcomed me into her home with open arms.

My dad's dad and my mom's mom. Two of the most accepting and loving people I know. I learned a lot from that experience. No matter what decisions my children, or any member of my family, were to make, I would stand by them and love them. What a great example they both were and I will carry that with me forever.

I do believe I'll see them both again someday. I do believe they are currently surrounded my loved ones gone before them. I find comfort in that during this difficult time.

A lot can happen in 7 months so tell your family you love them, hug them a little tighter, and soak up all the time with them that you can. You won't regret it.

Let's Get Real

Let's get real about potty training.

"It only takes 3 days" they said.

Correction: It takes 3 days of yours and the child's undivided attention. You can't go anywhere. You can't do anything that doesn't involve sitting in the bathroom.

We have been working on this for MONTHS. It just cannot be done in 3 days for us! So if there are any moms out there that work full time outside of the home with a weekend job as well, and you did it in three days, I wanna know your secrets!

I already know what we did wrong. She was doing ok and slowly getting better but one day we actually ran out of clean panties. So, we put her in pull-ups. Total regression. Total regret on my part as well.

This picture was taken in March. I thought we were well on our way to being trained. Wrong.

In fact, I even gave up there for a while. I decided I would let her decide when she was ready. (Because that was advice many many amazing moms had given me.) 

When summer started, with my mom's help and encouragement, we decided to start again. 

She was doing really good and even filled another sticker chart! So we rewarded her.

We went on a walk as a family and got snowcones!

After that we had good days and bad days, but yesterday was one of the worst. She went through seven, SEVEN, pairs of panties. 

I was so fed up. I couldn't contain my emotions and just bawled my eyes out to my mom trying to figure out what it was I was doing wrong.

Then today I get this...

She did so good today! One little accident in the morning but clean and dry the rest of the day! I think she saw how upset I got over the whole thing...

I'm really ready for this whole potty training thing to be over, so I hope we are on our way up!

As a reward we went to the park after work. She loved playing near the water and throwing sticks in.

I think I've gotten every bit of advice ever on potty training so please fill free to comment with words of encouragement! THAT is what I need these days! ;)

4th of July 2016

in.de.pend.ent: adjective; free from outside control; not depending on another's authority. 

We had such a great 4th of July this year! 

It fell on a Monday so Michael had it off which made it even more fun!

Independence walk, snow cones, parades, candy, park play, hamburgers, root beer, naps, fruit, sparklers, and of course a firework show.

We love 4th of July around here!

I posted lots of pictures on my FACEBOOK, on my INSTAGRAM, and you can also follow me on snapchat @anecia338!

A Belated Update

Wow, can you believe it's been so long since I have last updated this blog?! 

It's a little dusty and I apologize!

Let's just kind of start over shall we?

Hi, my name is Anecia!

(pronounced Aneesha)

This hot guy right here is my husband, Michael. We just celebrated 5 years of marriage and this September it will be 10 years since our first date! Basically 10 years that we have spent every day together!

This cute girl right here is Zianna. She will be three next month and I can't even believe it! She is so silly, smart, and stubborn just like her daddy! She is truly a daddy's girl!

This here is Ruby Kay. 

She just turned 8 months old, and I'm not just saying this, but she is the best baby ever. 

She is so sweet and mellow. She loves to smile, and jibber jabber a lot. I love the little human she is and can't wait to see how she is when she is older. 

Oh, and she's a mama's girl!

Michael and I both work full time. We work basically opposite shifts so we are able to take turns with the girls. His mom watches them for the few hours that our schedules overlaps. 

I mainly use this blog as a journal. Something I can look back on someday and refresh my memory on the amazing times we have as a family. 

And by look back, I mean next week I'll look at it and go, "Oh yeah! I remember doing that! That was fun!"

My memory is horrible.

Anyways, I also want to use this blog as an outlet. I work full time outside of the home and when I get off, Michael is at work so I hate to describe it this way, but I almost feel like a single parent at times as well. I hope to write things I'm going through that I feel are tough, so that someday I can look back and think, "Yeah that was tough, but we survived!"

Hopefully!

I don't think I have many readers, if any, but if I have just one that can relate and benefits from reading then that's amazing!

Pictures taken recently by the amazingly talented Jessica Wolf with Wolf Photography

Not only is she a great photographer, she is a great friend!