Princess Alli Day!!

We have been busy, busy, busy at the Buckler household lately! Needless to say, things have been very exciting ~ we have been potty training!!! :) Alli is doing great, and we are so proud! Our adventure began 2 weeks ago on Friday, August 17, which was "Princess Alli Day" from the moment Alli woke up. My Child Life Specialist friends will be proud ~ we have been potty training the "child life" way!
The day began with Alli getting into our bed and having a yummy breakfast of chocolate sprinkled donuts and milk ~ wearing a tiara, of course ~ and watching one of our many potty training videos. Afterwards, we began helping Alli train her new doll, Patches, to potty train (afterall, if you can teach it, it is easier to do it). All we did all day long was focus on potty training ~ with books, videos, teaching Patches, etc. ~ and we would do an occasional princess activity ("princess" being our theme for the day). After several hours of this, Alli wanted to join Patches in the potty training fun....

Both Alli and Patches had sticker charts hanging in the bathroom ~ and both received a treat for tee-teeing in the potty, and a prize from the Treasure Chest for poo-pooing in the potty!!

At the end of the day, Mommy, Daddy, and Alli celebrated Alli's fun, successful day as a potty training princess, and Alli even dressed for the occasion!

We had such fun going to Chuck E. Cheese for our celebration "party." We even ate pizza on "princess" plates!

As those of you who have potty trained your children know, we have had a lot of "naked time" these past couple of weeks. I got so tickled about 2 days into it, when Alli quit playing all of a sudden and announced that we needed to go "rescue" Daddy from work and bring him home! She told me she needed to get dressed right away!! She began digging in her dress-up basket, and below is the picture of the ensemble she came up with....

She was ready to go! Needless to say, we did not head to the hospital to rescue Daddy that very moment! :) I will say that although this process has been exhausting on all of us, it has been about as FUN as potty training can be! Alli is doing so well, and we are so, so proud of her!! We hardly have any accidents now and have many days when we don't have any at all.
Hip Hip Hooray for Alli B!!

"Oh, My Nola!"

Brad had his Pediatric Board Review in New Orleans all last week, and of course I couldn't resist joining him for a few days!! Before I got there, he would call and say, "I have 30 minutes for lunch. Where should I eat today?" I was able to direct him to some yummy places within walking distance of his hotel ~ Tujague's, Acme, and several others. I went down on Thursday, and although he was busy in his classes, I had a wonderful time ~ and he was able to join me for some of it, as well. :)
That night, we had dinner with Melissa (Wilson) and Jeff Berniard at Herbsaint, which was delicious, and went to the Columns (an old favorite of mine!) for drinks. It was such fun to get to see Melissa, one of my dearest and oldest friends, and her husband, Jeff! Friday, I walked around the Quarter, ate breakfast at Cafe du Monde, and did some shopping before Melissa picked me up after work. She drove me around Uptown before showing me their home. We picked up Brad for lunch at noon. The plan was to go to Domilise's for the world's best poboys, but they were on vacation that week (my luck, of course ~ Dot rarely takes a vacation, and when she does, I happen to be there for the first time in 3 years!), so we went to Camillia Grill instead. It just opened again, and it was wonderful to be back there, eating the wonderfully greasy food and seeing a couple of familiar faces behind the bar. After taking Brad back to class, Melissa and I shopped on Magazine Street to finish out the afternoon.

Friday night, we had a date night. I took Brad to Nola, one of my favorite restaurants, and we had a perfect meal after enjoying a drink in the courtyard at the Napoleon House.


Saturday, Brad had classes for half the day, so he finished just in time to join me for a Jazz Brunch at The Court of Two Sisters. We had enough turtle soup, etouffee, jambalaya, and bananas foster to keep us stuffed for days. I had been shopping around in the Quarter before that, and we went to the French Market and a little bit of the Satchmo Festival before heading to Imax for "Hurricane on the Bayou" ~ a definite must-see ~ but bring the tissues, because that is some of the most emotional 45 minutes I have ever sat through in a theater. We went to White Linen Night down on Julia that evening; Melissa and Jeff joined us towards the end, and we finished off the evening with a late-night snack of queso and chips at Superior.

No trip is complete without the required shopping, of course. Brad and I have several traditions when we travel; we have to get a Christmas ornament, magnet, and poster/print from each destination. Brad bought Elizabeth a Nola bib, and Melissa got her a fleur-de-lis sleepsack (thanks so much again!!). We got several surprises for Alli, as well ~ one to wear (a t-shirt), one with which to play dress-up (a mask), and one to eat (pralines ~ which she now loves and calls "plalines")....
Sadly, we had to leave on Sunday. I hated leaving a city so close to my heart, and the only bright spot was being able to return to my baby girl, who had spent time with all of her grandparents in Atlanta while we were gone. I loved being back in New Orleans for a few days; it was a bittersweet trip. The city is looking very good since the storm in some places (the Quarter, most of Uptown), and unchanged in others. I am so proud of the citizens of New Orleans for their strong spirit of revival, and I am proud to have called such a beautiful, amazing city home for nearly 5 years. I will be dragging Brad back every chance I get ~ and I encourage all of you to do the same! New Orleans is a tourist destination, and they need us to visit.

"Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans???"

I'm Back!!

Hey everyone! I have to say, I was afraid no one would really be checking the blog, but to my surprise, you are checking it quite often ~ to the point that I am getting a lot of emails, reminding me that it is time to update it because you want news and pictures. :) In my defense, we have been out of town and quite busy; but hopefully, this will catch everyone up on the latest Buckler News....

Okay, let me see if I can address the questions and requests I am getting.....

Yes, Brad is loving his Neonatology Fellowship. He is definitely in his element, and although it is a very difficult place to be, he truly enjoys working with the babies and his coworkers in the NICU.
Yes, we still have the dogs. Stanley, our pug, is 7 years old now ~ and just as much of a baby as ever! Doc, our golden, will be 6 in a few months, and he is as sweet and gentle as can be. Alli absolutely loves both of them, and they are both great with her. They are too cute and love each other, as well ~ what a pair they make!

Let's see.... What else? Yes, you can definitely "tell that I am pregnant!" I look and feel as if I am carrying a bowling ball in my tummy ~ I can't see my feet without straining my neck out over my belly to get a glimpse of my toes. I love my tummy!! It is so amazing to know what is going on inside of me and to be able to feel and see Elizabeth as she moves around. Alli has been interested in my growing tummy since Day 1. With the first sign of a pooch, she thought I had a boo-boo in my tummy, and she kept wanting to kiss it to make it feel better. Now, she "knows" that I am getting bigger because her baby sister is in there. She kisses my tummy ~ now, not to make me better, but to give her sister "Bootsie" some love ~ and she occasionally looks at my belly button and tries to figure out how to get the baby out! I have gotten several requests for preggo pictures, so here are some pictures from earlier today; I am 21 weeks along ~ over halfway there!!
Several of you have been asking if Alli is still signing ~ and the answer is a resounding YES! She was on the local news back in the spring for her signing, and there was an article in the paper, as well. At the time, she was signing over 100 words, and she continues to learn, constantly saying, "Mommy, I dont know the sign for (whatever). Can you show me please?" It has been a lot of fun and has not hindered her verbal ability at all. In fact, she doesn't ever seem to stop talking! :) I am still teaching my Baby Signs classes ~ just one morning a week, and an occasional evening for Parent Workshops ~ although I am taking a little hiatus right now during the summer and plan to start back again in the fall.

Alli has been having so much fun, and we have really been enjoying this time with her. She is nearly two-and-a-half now, which blows my mind!! I love seeing the wheels turn in her little head as she figures out something new ~ and I have to say, we don't give our little ones enough credit, because they are certainly smarter than we think! Recently, I was telling her that her friend, Peyton, is going to be a big sister, just like her. Alli mulled over this information and said, "So, if Peyton gonna be a big sister just like me...., then....Miss Ashley has a baby in her tummy, just like Mommy!" Wow.
We have been having lots of "adventures" this summer, and as you can see from the pictures below, she has been wearing herself out ~ unable to keep her head up! (The picture in the bottom right corner is Alli in her big girl bed, into which she moved at the beginning of June. It has been a super easy transition, and she calls us to come to her room before climbing down her stool to get out of the bed.)

This sweet, precious baby is our absolute JOY! We thank God every day for allowing us to be her mommy and her daddy ~ and now, we are thanking Him for the second precious gift He is giving us in just a few short months.....
"Every good and perfect gift is from above" ~ James 1:17