WHY.

The toddler stage is probably the most amusing stage we've hit. We are in full toddler swing now after this week and, let me tell you, Luka now has me on my toes.

This far THIS WEEK Luka has put on my make up, pooped on the floor NEXT TO the toilet, poured half a container on sunscreen on his head, filled William's combat boots with toys...and this morning when I went to get him from his room, he had taken off his pajamas and diaper and was peeing on the floor. WHY. 

If this wasn't all so hilarious, I might be mad. Sometimes I get annoyed, but mostly, it's just so ridiculous that I can't help but laugh. I love sharing little anecdotes about him like the time he dipped his dump truck in the toilet and made it dump the water onto the couch. Or the time I had filled a brown sugar container with water to clean it and he managed to take it off the counter and take shots of sugar water with a medicine cup while I went to the bathroom.

(The toddler stage has also made me a champion at cleaning up these weird messes.)

All in all, this is my favorite age for him thus far! I may not understand WHHHHY we have to watch Toy Story four times in a row or WHHHYY Luka feels the need to try ride our tiny puppy or WHHHHHYYYY we need four snacks and two types of juice and macaroni and cheese for each meal, but HEY, no biggie. There's no mess too big or tantrum too wild or request too crazy for a two year old and that's okay. It just means every day is an adventure for us all.

-Kacy

Father's Day.

When I found out I was pregnant in 2010, I had no idea what to do. I was about to go off to college and William and I hadn't been together terribly long, though we loved each other an insane amount already. When I told William we were expecting, he already "knew." He sat with me and let me spill my emotions, he did whatever I needed. We talked and talked and knew we were meant to be together and raise a baby. 

William cared for me while I battled Hyperemesis Gravidarum and it was NOT pretty. He looked into breast feeding and birthing classes and massaged my feet while I cried over how uncomfortable I was. He went out at 1AM to find me a cherry lollipop. When we found out we were having a boy, William was so excited he almost cried right there. And when the time came to have Luka, William never left my side, even when getting my spinal block for the c-section. Once in recovery, he immediately put Luka to his skin and watched hockey with him while I rested. 

He encouraged me when I had trouble feeding Luka, he changed every single diaper until I was able to get up without pain medication, and would get up with him at  all hours of the night to let me sleep. He worked crappy jobs so that I could stay home with our son. He did everything he could to keep us happy.

Fast forward to February 2012, William came to me and said he was tired of struggling. He wanted to join the Army and provide for us. He had talked of joining the Army from the first day we met and he finally felt it was time. I supported him 100% and put my own reservations aside. After enlisting, we decided to conceive another baby. 

He told me on Mother's Day that he was ready for another and by Father's Day, I was telling him I with child. He was ecstatic. Almost immediately, I began experiencing HG again. I also went through a threatened miscarriage, and again, William made sure never to leave my side. We found out we were being blessed with a little girl and were so happy.

William left for Boot Camp in October and I was due in February. I went through the rest of my pregnancy without him which was rough, but I did it. I sent him countless photos of my growing belly. When he FINALLY graduated and we saw him again, he knelt down and kissed my belly. He picked up his son and hardly put him down. He talked to his daughter and felt her kick around whenever he could when he came home. For Christmas, we got a 3D ultrasound and he grinned from ear to ear as the tech and I pointed out all of his features on our daughter's face. He bought her an expensive dress, demanding photos of her in it when she was born and put together various baby contraptions.

It was rough to let him go to AIT two weeks later. Luka was devastated to drop off his Daddy and William was just as lost. Although we could communicate now, it was still heartbreaking. I decided I wanted him there for the birth of our daughter and scheduled an induction. He got granted leave and we were ready. Eloise, however, had other plans and decided to come the night before the induction. William met her over video chat five minutes after her birth and we gushed at how perfect she was. He came the next day and put her to his skin, just as he had with Luka.

Now here we are. Graduated from AIT, living in Kansas, with a 2 year old boy and an (almost) 4 month old girl. William puts Luka to bed every night and Eloise will immediately quit crying when handed to him. Our kids are just as in love with him as I am. No tantrum is too rough and no diaper is too stinky for this man to handle; he loves every second. He asks to take the kids on his own and wrestles Luka on the floor. He's the perfect father.

So what do you get the perfect Dad for Father's Day? Well, I let Luka pick him out a card (It had Finding Nemo on it!) and I took pictures of Eloise in that dress he bought her. Then we put together a Man Bouquet for him with mini liquor bottles, gum, protein bars, muscle milk, and five hour energy shots. He loved it! He took a long nap with his daughter on his chest and took a walk with his son. All in all, he just wanted to be with his kids.

Anyway, this turned out longer, deeper, and way different than I intended, but it should be published somewhere how wonderful the man I married is and how much we appreciate him. I love you, William. Happy Father's Day.

Adventures in Potty Training.

Lucky me, I get to potty train a puppy and a toddler at the same time! It definitely isn't easy. I see wet spots on the floor and wonder who it belongs to: dog or toddler? Or did they both squat in the same place? We've been working on having Luka use the potty for about two weeks now. We progressed from nothing to going a few times to full blown using the potty all day and happy about it back to "if Mom does not physically put me on the potty, I am going on the floor." I am exhausted of it. Luka will say "Mama! Potty!" and then run away, throw himself to the ground, and force me to pick him up and place him on the potty. That gets old pretty fast! Especially if you have to put down a napping infant to do so. BUT he is making progress. He gets so excited when he gets to put a sticker on his potty chart. Sometimes, he will dance and sing "I went potty! I went potty!" And then we have the days where he cries for a diaper and doesn't want to even look at the potty. Either way, we truck on. I'm in no hurry to get him on the potty (it was him to asked to go in the first place!). Sometimes you hear parents/doctors saying "Oh, they should be doing x, y, z by now!" or "He's too big for a, b, or c!" But in reality, Luka has been on this planet for two years and three months...he is still just a baby. Sure, he can talk, run, put his dirty dishes in the sink, load a DVD in the DVD player, and take photos, but those are all brand new! Children go to the bathroom even in utero. They just go in their diapers and that's that. During potty training, you are telling them to unlearn something they've always done and replace it with a new thing that is MUCH more work. It's hard! Sadly, I feel like too many people don't understand how difficult that may be for a child. Regardless, it may take Luka (and the dog...) a few more weeks, months, maybe even a year to really learn how to go potty and that is OK by me. Go on with your bad self, Luka! and A+ for trying :)

-Kacy

Meanwhile, In Kansas...

So far, we've really just been settling in here and haven't done too much in the area. However, we have done some stuff! We explored Milford Lake, a really nice lake area right by our house...

It was beautiful!

We also went fishing with some friends of William, which Luka LOVED! He liked to pretend to fish with a pole that had no hook on it. William even caught and killed a snake!

For Memorial Day, we went to an awesome carnival on post. Luka rode the spinning apples and a HUGE slide with William and then rode a train (twice), bounced in a moon bounce, and rode some cars! We all played some games. I won Luka a puppy dog toy and he won himself a large, inflatable bat (yeah...that's fun). Afterwards, Luka was DONE.

Today, we even explored an awesome zoo nearby! we didn't see the whole thing as Luka had skipped a nap and was getting a little crazy, but it was fun and awesome none the less!

Can't wait to explore even more!

-Kacy