Wordless Wednesdays: Teacher Appreciation Gift

The Shoes Are In...(Bowed Leg Problems)

On Friday I finally got the call saying that Baby O’s special shoes were in from my Bowed Leg Problem (update) post . Truth be told just getting this call caused me anxiety. 

Yes, we had already gone through what seemed to be the hard part by visiting the two orthopedic specialists and getting a diagnosis for her condition“internal tibial torsion”.

Yes, it’s true that since the visit with the last specialist I had a few comforting conversations with my in laws and, gained a lot more insight on what was going on...

Turns out this little condition is genetic and, the hubs totally had a very severe case of it as a child. Thank goodness for my mother in law memory because she was totally able to school me on it and let me know what to expect. So, I truly felt better about the situation prior to receiving the phone call.   

However, the mom in me wasn’t ready for what these special shoes meant for my baby. I wasn’t ready to see how she’d handle this so called noninvasive nightly cure. I wasn’t ready to see how she’d react to being confined to the shoes at night or, see how her sleeping habits would be affected over the next few months as a result of wearing them. Boy was I nervous about it but, had to put my fears aside. I reluctantly scheduled her appointment for the first available which was yesterday morning. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the appointment (Mother’s Guilt moment) so Dom had to take her. He gave me a call immediately after the visit to inform me that all went well and, let me know the doctor was pleasantly surprised by how she did...I was relieved.

Here's what they look like...

Last night was day one of our 4 month treatment and much to my surprise it very well. Our routine went as follow;

• I placed her “sleepy time shoes” (my little nickname for them) on her feet
• Explained to her what they were
• Allowed her to play with them for a bit

• Read her a bedtime story
• And, Put her down for the night

She spent some time in her crib playing around with them a bit more then fell out until this morning. Dom and I were extremely worried that she’s wake up having a fit because she wouldn’t be able to stand in them. But to our surprise she actually did an AWESOME job this morning and we were super PROUD of her :).

This Morning...

Potty Training: Regression

Hey luvs!

This week I’m playing catch up. I feel like I’ve been saying I’ll update you all soon and just never do so this is the week to catch up and I’m starting with Potty Training. Since, my original potty training post I’ve gotten a ton of inquiries about how things are going so as promised here’s the skinny on Baby O’s potty time progress.

Things were going excellent, we were spending our evenings and weekends having potty time. To be clear she wasn’t drag me too the potty or anything thing but, we had a little routine going where I’d sit her on the potty soon as we got home, after dinner, and again before bed (one the weekends we did every two hours) and she was accident free. We were getting somewhere and I even discovered that she was grasping the concept...

To be clear, by no means do her understanding equal actually using the potty on her own.  NOT AT ALL. It actually turned out that while she did indeed where she should go potty it didn’t prevent her from experiencing regression... She had begun to go potty in her diaper and then walk over to the potty and take a seat or, use go in her  diaper immediately after getting up from the potty. And for the life of me I couldn’t figure out where in the world this little set back was coming from.  Originally I thought maybe I was too ambitious with my potty introduction and she wasn’t ready. Until I did my research and discovered my poor baby was probably just confused.

Since, I hadn’t engaged the school in our potty time adventures we were totally sending my lovebug mixed signals.  I was at home telling her it isn’t ok to go potty in her diaper while, they were telling her the complete opposite for 8 hours of the day...YIKES. I had to get school involved because the only way this would work was if everyone was on the same page. Being that she was in a toddler room which had a restroom in it I didn’t foresee a problem.  I set up meeting with her teacher and director to discuss Baby O getting potty time throughout the day which seemed to go well.  We set a date to start and I spent the entire weekend before hand trying to get Baby O back on track.  I was serious like looked up YouTube videos, read books, brought supplies, and picked my baby up early so we could get started SERIOUS.

The Musical timer we set for every 30 minutes

Since Baby O is into baby dolls I got her a Baby Alive to demonstrate how potty time works

The rewards board

The Packet I put together for the teacher to reward her during potty time

Cute little seat

Big Girl Panties

Only to find out that the school wasn’t hence my comment “So you won’t potty train her until she’s 2?” in the THAT MOM post. Y’all they played me, turns out they were against my plan to potty train early and had given Baby O’s teacher very specific instructions that made the effort a true waste of time and when I finally discovered what was going on I was pissed. Yet, I decided to have a follow on conversation with the director which enlightened me on the schools true opinion...

The school doesn’t begin potty training until children enter the 2 year old classroom. They didn’t want to force a 13 month old to sit on the potty so, they were only willing to get her used to the idea by sitting her on the potty every two hours if the teacher wasn’t the only adult in the classroom at the time.

In my follow up conversations with the teacher Baby O was enjoying her potty breaks but most times had already gone potty in the diaper prior to getting sat on the potty. This meant we were right back where we started and the only responsible thing for me to do was call operation potty time quits. I can’t risk any further confusion on this situation for Baby O it’s just not fair to her. And, although I know she’s ready even more so now then she was three months ago I have to hold off until she’s in environment that fosters growth and development on an individual level instead of a place that focuses on a GROUP THINK philosophy.

The Spirit Of Giving

Yesterday I shared the photos of my beautiful niece preparing to attend her junior prom (Bell Of The Junior Ball).  When her chosen look was revealed via text to me all I could do was smile and respond that she looked absolutely stunning.  I have several nieces (there are three others in addition to the two I informed you about in Letter To My Nieces), and this one is the very shy introvert of the group so, to see her come out of her shell and transform into this dashing beauty was just amazing. However, I didn’t share the photos with you guys to brag on how gorgeous my niece is (maybe a little part of me did) my overall purpose in sharing them was to tell you about her noble plans for the dress. The day after prom my niece and her mother decided that in lieu of just hanging the dress in the closet and, saving it for years to come they’d like to donate it to another young girl in need.

How AWESOME are they?

I can’t believe that her beautiful gown is up for grabs (free) with the only stipulation being they’d prefer that it goes to a family in need. The younger version of me would have never thought outside myself enough to do something like that for someone else (even though as an adult it became something I was passionate about). I’m super PROUD of the young ladies all my nieces are growing into and grateful for the realization that my journey has not been traveled in vain.

With that being said, I the dress is still up for grabs so please contact if you know a deserving young lady :)

Wordless Wednesdays:Bell Of The Junior Ball

Letter To My Nieces

Dear.Shai & Jannah,

Before I had a child of my own I had the two of you. At the tender age of 14 years old having my first two beautiful nieces born what felt like back to back (November and April) changed my world.  Seeing you ladies for the first time I knew I’d have to become a better me to be an aunt to you ladies. So, I got determined and worked my butt off to show you ladies that there was more to life than the city you were being raised in. At times I can recall feeling like a failure and asking God was all my hard work truly in vain (y’all stressed me and your parents out lol).  Being the first in our family to attend college (and one that was out of state at that) during the hard times I often regretted my decision to leave you ladies to attend school and pursue my dreams in another city. Not because it wasn’t important but, leaving you meant I wasn’t physically going to be there to watch you grow. To be the hands on aunt I wanted to be, to help you get through all your adolescent and teenage drama. I knew I’d miss your milestones yet, I had to hope my actions were serving a greater purpose.  Yes, I was only a phone call or plane ride away but still I felt like there was nothing like being there for you especially, with the absence of your father (at the time). So, I did my best to love, support, encourage, and teach you from a distance. 

I say all that to say, as I sit here typing this letter I can honestly say that my efforts didn’t go unnoticed. The two of you are 17 years young in the last month of your senior year of high school, you’re working part time jobs, and preparing to head to four year universities in the fall...I’m the HAPPIEST aunt on the planet.  Getting an acceptance letter to college may happen every day in some families but in ours it doesn’t. So, there are honestly no words to describe the way I felt when each of you shared the news of your appetence into your respective colleges with me.  The tears of joys I shed were, and the smile of hope that beamed across my face was unreal. I just couldn’t stop thinking about how...YOU LADIES MADE IT:).  And, through all of life’s trials and tribulations you were able to see that “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” ― Maya Angelou and you pushed forward. Your journeys to get where you are today haven’t always been the most direct route but, I sat back watched, and gave guidance (when you requested) because it was your journeys to take.

This fall as you prepare to head to your respective colleges know that this is where life truly begins. The decisions you make from this moment on will follow you, build your character, show others your values, and most importantly shape you into the beautiful women I know you’ll become.  I urge you not take this journey lightly yet, embrace all that it has to offer while remaining true to you, and OWN it.  I couldn’t be more PROUD of how far the two of you have come and truly look forward to seeing what your futures hold.

Love you ladies to the moon and back.  

Adrienne & Kevin's Battle Against Infertility

Hey luvs!

I’m not sure about you all but this National Infertility Awareness Week mini-serious has been very informative and emotional for me. These journeys are real, the courage is remarkable, and the strength the couples have shown is just...Unbelievable. I’m beyond grateful that Life With An External HeartBEAT was able to share their stories with you all. After all, they too are living life with heartbeats theirs are just the kind we like to call angels:).

With that being said, I thought it would be best to end this mini-serious on a high note by sharing this powerful video I received from a former co-peep and his wife who were triumphant in their battle against infertility. I remember their struggle like it was yesterday, so this video truly made my heart smile and brought tears to my eyes. Knowing their hearts I found the message to be very motivational as I know things worked out exactly how they were meant to be for them. 

Enjoy...

Follow Up from Kevin...

The “ironic” thing about this is that right after we did this we got a call the very next week from Jacob’s birth-mother and were blessed with two wonderful birth-parents that we’ve had a great relationship with in an open adoption. we finalized on 12/17 on the day we both sold our townhouse and bought the home we moved into in Jan (talk about blessings).

Fellow HeartBEATS

If nothing else I hope that this series has been enlightening for you all by,making you more aware of what the families struggling with infertility is going through. For those of you that are already parents I hope these testimonies have brought you closer to your children.