my babies aren't babies

Sometimes I have moments when I realize that my babies aren't babies anymore. I have a love/hate relationship with moments like this. I've had a couple big ones over the past month:

Nolan:
Nolan got his first hair cut on July 5th from Aunt Christine. She did a great job, especially considering he wouldn't hold still and he was tired. He even kind of held a grudge against her for the next day or so! It definitely took me some getting used to, but he looks so handsome and SO MUCH OLDER.

Nolan took his first steps on July 11th. We were all at the Mead's house hanging out and he took about 3 steps from the ottoman to the coffee table. We knew he was getting close but it was crazy to see it actually happen. In a lot of ways I have been really ready for him to walk because I don't like the crawling stage and because he is really heavy to always be holding but it was still a moment that surprised me and made me realize how old he is getting. He is not walking all the time yet but continues to take steps here and there and is improving everyday. I'm so proud of him and he looks way to old and grown up walking around like that.

Caitlin:
Caitlin got potty trained while we were in Texas! This is a day that honestly I thought may never come. I haven't gone into too many details about it on the blog but if you know Caitlin very well then you will know that "her poos" and anything and everything involved with that has been an issue for a very long time, about 2.5 years to be exact. This poor little girl has had a really hard time regulating, controlling and understanding everything. It has completely controlled her whole disposition many times. She has been smart enough to potty train for awhile and I tried it a little while ago with no success so I decided to just wait until she felt comfortable. My mom talked to her a lot about it and they decided when she got to Grammy's house she would learn to go in the potty. For whatever reason, it worked. As soon as she actually went in the potty she got it, and she was into it. Most people say to potty train when you are at home and have nothing to do: I say potty train when you are at Grandma's house and have an extra set of hands to help and encourage. The mixture of support, being outside and in the pool, being in her swimsuit all the time, easy access to lots of potties was perfect for Caitlin to really get it down. She has had very few accidents and has really been amazing. I'm so grateful and proud of her. She has done so great with it. And of course she's been super excited to have cute Minnie Mouse, Tinkerbell and Princess panties. We are so proud of our happy little girl.