My two big girls...

Two of my girls hit milestones today. First Bill took Kaycie to the bank to open up her first checking/savings account. She was giddy! She is planning a trip to France next summer and is busy fundraising and job hunting, oh my baby is growing up!

I have been working on potty training with Isabelle and stressing so much over it. The older Isabelle gets the more we are shown in different ways how being institutionalized for the first 18 months really does affect so many things that we normally take for granted. I have potty trained four other kids, so I thought I knew what I was doing. But my precious Isabelle has been through so much in her short life and her rocky start manifests itself in so many ways and potty training, I'm begining to learn is one of those ways. In China they use what they call split pants, and they are just that pants with a split in them. They don't diaper their babies, they put them in split pants with no diaper underneath.

In the orphanages they tie them to wooden potty chairs all day from the time they are very small. This has understandably added fear to this whole potty training experience for Isabelle and left me in unchartered territory as far as this phase in her develpoment goes. We are supposed to reinforce trust and safety for Isabelle so she can overcome the many emotional scars being institutionalized has left on our girl and we are dedicated to this. This is where prayer comes in and lots of loves and patience.

So the other day Dr. Phil was on and gave me a few ideas on a new approach to this potty training thing. This involved buying a doll that pees, hooping and hollering and doing a potty parade around the house and did I mention a whole bunch of patience???

So here is the new doll, and Isabelle trying out her new baby "Malia" on her new baby potty chair

Here is Malia, graduating to the big potty

Here we are making good use of all the waiting time painting everyones toes...

Here is Isabelle "waiting" on the pot, holding her baby. We even put Isabelle's panties on her baby.
Both girls on their potties, waiting...drinking...waiting...drinking...waiting...drinking, waiting...

all the while the baby Malia has peed, peed, and peed non stop. Isabelle, still waiting...

Till finally! SUCCESS!!! And her reward a sucker to prove it!

Now we get to start all over again tomorrow...Ugh!

As you can see the tears in the above photo, when the moment finally comes she gets scared and always cries, but we loved her through it. She was proud!
Nice Job Isabelle!!!!