A good, Good Friday.

God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son- John 3:16 

Rejoice today and everyday, our God has made the biggest sacrifice, his son, to show his love for each one of us. Seriously, do you think you could do this? Do you think you could watch your child suffer? I know I couldn't. Our God is truly an awesome God! Today, Good Friday, really makes me feel lifted & thankful.The biggest blessings in my life: my husband & my child (so soon I'll be saying children) are the greatest amount of good I ever really need and deserve. This weekend has me so excited to be with my family. There is so much love & happiness on Easter. Yes, the eggs & the baskets, the delicious food & the happy children after they've ate to much candy, but there is even so much more good in such a single day. I just don't ever want to forget about it. Jesus was taken from us on Good Friday & rose from the dead on Easter Sunday; he offers us the gift of eternal life & forgiveness of our sins. This is why I'm so elated for today; A measly Friday, has already been so good to me!

Love,

dogs.

They are not our whole lives...

but they certainly make our lives whole.

Love,

Every child is an artist.

Avery received this easel as an early Easter present from her Grandpa & Grandma Funchion this past weekend. She absolutely loves it! I'm really excited for Avery to open her Easter basket this year, we filled it with fun artsy supplies to keep her imagination flowing! 

"My artwork does not come from the easel,  it comes from my mind"-Pollok

Love,

Friday, I'm loving you.

• I'm loving that the first day of Spring came Wednesday, March 20th! Although, it's frigid here in Michigan still, just the thought that Spring weather has to come any day now gives me ample amounts of excitement! 
• I'm loving that my feverish little girl is not so fever ridden anymore. Those dang 2 year molars are seriously the spawn of Satan. 
• I'm loving that its the end of a work week for my hubby. I've felt disconnected the past few weeks; he's been so busy & I've been so lackadaisical. 
• I'm loving that my girlfriend brought over some Jergen's moisturizer last week. Ya know, the lotion that makes you feel not so frumpy after a long white winter. Even if I'm only one shade darker it makes me feel alive again. I'm so looking forward to real sun.
• I'm loving that my beautiful 2 week old niece is growing and thriving just beautifully. She fits into our family so perfectly & I cannot wait to get my hands on that cutie.
• I'm loving that I'm 33 weeks pregnant this weekend & still feeling good. Besides the pressure and occasional soreness, I can't even complain!

Happy Friday,

Potty training | Part I

I've been avoiding this post in fear of a regression, but after seeing her progress lately (even through a weekend of being sick) i'm confident she just might have this under control. I'd say she was ready to be potty trained way before I was. It seriously seemed so daunting to train a toddler, under 2, to use the potty, but I guess it makes things a lot easier when they are pushing you not to give up.

It all started in the beginning of January, Avery started to despise the feeling of a dirty diaper. She would scream bloody murder "I hurttttt, I hurt" when she pooped or peed in her diaper. This was the first sign. If you don't like how it feels the only choice you have is to stop doing it & use the potty. With her being only 20 months I truly feared the worst, yet I started the process of potty training anyways. I would just remind her to use the potty if she had to go, that "big girls" use the potty & soon she would be teaching her baby sister to use the potty. Every time I went, I would make sure I asked if she had to go too. I would then reward her with a stamp if she went, she loved this for a good week. Then the stamp got old & we went to stickers; this was a big hit! Soon after this she started to ask to go potty at the YMCA kids zone; she would even let the childcare leaders help her use it. Then she stated to ask in public places (ie. grocery store, mall, restaurants) she then let Bryce take her into the men's room. This was all within a few weeks & that is when I knew this was the real deal. I was using diapers at the time. I think pull-ups are just glorified diapers & Avery has never been interested in them, so why pay the extra money if a diaper works. For a good 4-5 weeks she was using the potty regularly about 4-5x a day and usually going #2 in the potty at least once a day. With this all said, she was still going in her diaper about 4 more times a day. That's seriously a lot of pee, I kept asking myself how will I ever get her to solely use the potty if shes going that much...

Last week at MOPS, (moms of preschoolers) a group I attend 2x a month, I was talking to some of the moms at my table about this subject. They all had older children, but said that finally they just went cold turkey because there kids were getting to old and diapers were just not an option anymore. They assured me that it was a mess for a good week or two & too just pack extra clothes if we left the house, make sure the car seat was covered & to bare with it because eventually it would just "click."  After all Avery has been the one pushing me all along with her constant interest in the potty & that I just need to take away the diapers and get her in panties for good. So that afternoon, a week ago from today, I put her in panties and we haven't looked back. 

Surprisingly, shes doing wonderful! She had 3 accidents the very first day, 2 accidents the next few days, & for the past 5 days shes only had one or none. I still use a diaper during nap time & bedtime, but prior to her getting sick she was waking up dry for both! I've been pushing her to drink this past few days & I'm sure the Motrin is putting her into deeper sleep than shes used to. Yet, shes still waking up every morning asking to go potty & asks to go before bed each night. As soon as she wakes up from nap/bed time I tell her she has to go potty before we can go play & make sure shes in panties from that moment on. I'm so proud of my little lady & i'm certain that the theory, your child just knows when they are ready, holds true. Avery had all the cues leading me to believe she was ready to be out of the diaper. Friends & family always told me not to push it so she wouldn't regress, so I didn't. Once Avery seemed ready to use the potty the only thing I could do as a mother was remind her over & over again, asking if she had to go. So I did & the poor girl started to get annoyed with me; she even told me a few times "I know, I know" after I chirped into her ear, "remember Avery your in big girl panties now, you have to use the potty if you have to go!" 

So that's where we stand to this day. Accident free most days & I know its only been a week, but she has no interest in wearing a diaper anymore, it really just "clicked!"

Give a little love.

Saturday morning Avery woke up feeling under par, way under. The past 2 days were spent nursing our little girl back to good health; though shes far from her norm, after a visit to the doctor this morning I feel better that were just dealing with a good old fashion cold. yet, It was still a weekend of firsts in the Funchion household. The first time our little girl has had a fever in her Twenty-One months of life & this is no joke. Fevers are scary, pumping Motrin every 6 hours into a toddler seems like it should be illegal, but it has been the only thing keeping her fever from spiking. Thankfully, the doctor said she just needs good rest to fight this one & she may actually be on the upward turn. Yayy!! I'm ready for a good nights sleep, she's been sucked to my hip like a leech. Another first this weekend was the first time we let our little duckies take a swim--in the bath tub! Avery needed a little cheering up & her dad knew just what to do...

Now aren't those little buggers so stinking cute?!? There growing like weeds too; they are almost double the size of the chicks already. 

Happy Monday ya'll, 

A nursery & name reveal

For our second baby girl I was just as excited to design a nursery as I was for our first. Except this time I wanted to go down the route of peaceful, cheap, homemade & simple. Avery's nursery had a lot more going on in it & I got sick of colors quickly. This time I decided the theme would be more natural. The colors would be soft like: creams, whites, tans, & browns- with a hint of light pink. I directed the artwork around lambs & was aiming to keep the room clutter free, with a calm vibe. I think we nailed it. I get all anxious just walking in her room now, the thought of rocking a new baby girl in that very same chair I held our first daughter in makes me shed tears of joy, we are just so blessed!  I could still use a few pieces of art work here and there & the adorable lamb sheets we bought are still at a family members house, but the room is pretty much complete; it's crisp, simple, & ready for our newest daughter. 

I made this canvas (inspired from Pinterest) & absolutely love it. The background sparkles and the adorable little lambs were even made from these two hands, i'm crafty when I try to be! 

My grandma Kurek made the adorable photo-box lamb artwork above the shelf. She made an owl one for Avery's nursery that still hangs in her big girl room. I love the touch homemade artwork gives the room & it means so much to have her love & blessing for our children. 

For our newest baby girl we decided on the name

Elliana Jean Funchion

Bryce & I agreed on the name Elliana after much debate about ever finding a name we both loved. We love it's uniqueness & it elegance. I love the full name Elliana & Bryce adores the nickname "Elli"
 Jean is both of my grandmothers middle names, thankfully they both spell it exactly the same too. It was an easy choice to give this little girl a middle name after 2 amazing mothers. 

The mobile is probably my favorite part of the nursery. I made it, with the help of my mom. My mom is so crafty, after the idea came to make this from scratch, I knew I would need my moms help to finally put each piece together. It's glittery & hopefully grabs miss Elliana's attention.

The room is ready for our baby girl & it defiantly has Avery's approval. She loves spending time going through Elli's clothes and rocking her babies in the chair. She is so excited to meet her sister, it makes this process of stepping into a family of 4 a whole lot more exciting.
We love you already Elliana Jean, we can't wait to kiss & love on those precious baby toes!

A Chicken Farmer

My hubby has been driving me nuts  asking me if I want to get chickens for a good 3 months; like the whole nine yards: layers & feeders in a chicken coop in our very own backyard. He thinks with mine & Avery's obsession with eggs and his dreams of this small "family farm" for our children that this would be so much fun to dip into. I've been skeptical, constantly chirping in his ear all the reasons this sounds so messy & like it could potentially turn into an epic dirty disaster ...yet I finally agreed. If you don't already know my hubby well this means i'm agreeing to hands-on participation with these little buggers. Support is all my husband ever needs and hes gun-ho to take on any obstacle. Which is one of the very big reasons I married this man; he supports me when I decide to take on sketchy projects, so indeed I should do the same for him. Plus, in the back of my mind it's adorable how much he loves his girls and wants them to experience everything possible (within our means). So we did it, we bought chickens, 18 to be exact, some for laying eggs & others for meat. You may be asking what makes me a wee bit excited for this challenge? It was the DUCKS!! There so stinking cute, we got 2. We have a little water hole pond behind our new house & I think it would be adorable for the girls to feed the little ducks swimming around. He even said he would build them a floating raft house so our bird dog wouldn't destroy them. We will see how long they stick around out back... but for now we have a box full of chickens and ducks in our basement soaking up the warm rays under a nice heat lamp for the next 4-5 weeks until our chicken coop is built & the weather permits.
Here's my oath to try my very hardest to be the best small chicken farmer I can be... do you believe me?

I have lots of blog posts on my mind lately, yet I've been so awful about posting them so I decided to leave a list so I have some accountability: Potty Training, Nursery reveal, Bump update (long over due, i'm almost 32 weeks), Le Leche League, Hopes & dreams: A mom of 2, The arrival of my 2nd niece, Staying active, & Marriage: a year deep. I think you will be seeing me a lot more lately, I miss writing!

Love,