Progress

I realized I haven't updated the Jeffrey potty progress in a long while. It feels like I've been potty training him forever. He's the one who wanted to get started with it, but has days where it's a complete fight. He HATES to be interrupted from what he's doing to go potty. That doesn't mean he has accidents. It just means that if I ask him to go when he hasn't been in a while it's a huge fight. Still he's pretty much completely trained when he's awake. Wears his Cars or Little Einstein undies throughout the day. He may have a little accident on his way to rush to the potty but we deal with those in stride.

This week he seems to have also turned a big corner. He'd been in a phase of only pooping when in a pull-up. So every nap and morning he'd wake up with a huge stink. Since the fall he had gone through phases like that but this last one was the longest.....about a month. So last week I turned up the encouragement level. I'd make sure he sat long enough before nap time so that if he had to go he would. We read stories in the bathroom and I even promised him a new toy if he pooped in the potty and kept his pull-up clean through his nap. Well 2 days of promising and nothing but dirty nap times. Finally he was able to poop before nap and stay clean so he got his new toy. This seems to have made all the difference. He's been a regular on the potty before nap time since then. I'm hoping that this isn't just another phase, but the end of the dirty bums.

He even got up from his nap the other day, took his pull-up off and tossed it in the trash. Got on the "big" potty and did his business all on his own. Of course then he came downstairs naked trying to convince me he was "all done nap". He lost that battle, but got a big hug and high 5 for doing a great job with the potty.

He also pretty much got to do it all on his terms. Go when he wants, have whom he wants in the bathroom etc.... But as long as I'm not having to clean it up I'll let him keep his particularities.

So Yay!!! for Jeffrey. I've got a few more "prizes" tucked away in case we need them again, and Grandma is sending a few down as well but hopefully we've entered the newest phase of using the potty. It only took us about 9 months...sigh.

Is God Down There?

Sadly Erin's fish Marlin died sometime last Friday. When we first discovered it she was devastated. Cried so hard she made her head hurt. She just sobbed and sobbed. Tom and I tried to explain that Marlin had gotten very, very old in fish years, and that when that happens fish just sometimes die (also when they've been subjected to several attempts at "play" by a 2-year old). So Friday night Erin cried herself to sleep very upset that Marlin had died.

So all week we've been trying to decide what to do with Marlin. Erin wanted to send Marlin to God so God could take care of Marlin. Today when we were finishing cleaning out the tank (it's been a busy week) I reminded her that when daddy got home, we were going to take care of Marlin.

Will we send him to God?

That sounds like a good idea Erin.

But where is God. I can't see him?

That's a big question Erin.

I then proceeded by explaining that God is everywhere all the time. That God was giving her a hug as I did, that God was making the trees move around outside, that God was with her new baby Cousin Will when he was taking a nap or with Cousin Rylie when she was playing with Aunt Robyn. This was a long enough answer to completly confuse her and end the conversation.

Erin and I had talked about putting Marlin in the stream behind the house, since Marlin belonged in the water. But it's been really cold and no one really wanted to go stand by the stream in the cold. So after dinner tonight we decided to give Marlin a bathroom funeral.

We said goodbye to Marlin and explained again that we were going to send Marlin to God. Erin dumped him into the potty and clearly said "Goodbye Marlin." Tom then had her flush the potty and she watched Marlin swirl away. Immediately Erin looked up at me and said.....

Is God Down There?

Holding in the laughter as much as possible Tom and I said, yes honey I guess God is down there. I'm really hoping she doesn't need too much therapy when she grows up.

Sledding 101

We learned a lot about sledding toady - well Erin did. She is definitely mommy's little girl. She spent a good portion of the afternoon sliding down the hill at the side of the house. For her the faster the better. Jeffrey's not so comfortable with it. He'll slide for about 10 feet then throw all his appendages into the snow to slow himself down. Erin thinks it's great fun to bump into the trees.

Lessons learned.

1. A plastic tray works much better than a trash bag - until the tray breaks during an incident with a small tree.

2. Try to stay on the "sliding path" as much as possible.

3. For every time you slide down the hill.....you have to walk back up it.

4. To get the best ride down the hill one should lay as far back as possible and lift your feet in the air.

5. The shout "Bail Out" from mommy means you're about to hit a tree or the pricker bush.

6. Pushing Jeffrey down the hill is just about as fun as sliding down on your own.

7. Sliding on a trash bag results in a sore bum at the end of the afternoon.

8. Tandem sliding with brother doesn't always work really well.

9. Don't walk on the sliding path....it gets slick.

10. Most importantly, we need a real sled for premium sledding action.

Snow Day

Yay for another snow day - at least that's what the kids are saying. I, on the other hand, had other plans. We were set to go to the library (Erin and I need some more books to read together) then this afternoon head to the gym to try out a new class, grab some dinner, go back for Annie try-outs, and then game together with some friends. There's still a possibility we'll be able to get out this evening, but it's pretty sketchy.

Anyway the kids could care less. It wasn't snowing when Jeffrey woke up or when I got into the shower (At least not that I noticed) but when I got out of the shower there was a dusting of snow covering the ground. Forty minutes later there was at least an inch. Erin woke up begging to go out and play. I did presuade her to stop long enough to eat some breakfast.

So we bundled up. All of you moms out there know the process that means. Hit the potty, find gloves and hats, boots and snow pants. Make sure we don't have to go potty again. Then I need to make sure everything gets put on in the right order (mittens before coat, pants before boots). That whole process takes at least 20 minutes.

Once they were ready to head out, I got myself ready and followed them. They were running around giggling and laughing it up. Throwing snow on each other. Pushing each other down and laughing some more. By the time we got out there we had at least 3" on the ground. Erin wanted to make a snowman, but the snow was really light and fluffy and wouldn't even make a decent snowball.

We did decide to take a walk and went down to look at the stream. It's really pretty in the snow and you can hear the water running so much clearer because everything else is so quiet. The kids had fun throwing snow into the water since the stones were all covered up.

Back at the house Erin asked to go sledding. I went inside and found an old serving tray from the kitchen. After a few runs down the side hill we'd packed down a little path and had a pretty good sledding run. The kids thought that was the best thing ever. Not only was the sliding part fun, but each thought that the option of pushing the other down the hill was equally fun. They slid down the hill for about 30 minutes until one good push landed Erin against a tree and we cracked the sled. Erin laughed and laughed because she hit the tree. It was quite funny until she realized the sled had cracked, then she was devastated.

So we gathered up our cold fingers and runny noses and headed inside. The snow is still coming down so maybe we'll get back out later and I'll take a few pictures.

We didn't get to the library and probably won't make the gym, BUT we certainly did have some fun. Library and gym for tomorrow I guess.

Wheeee!!!

Or Wii is more like it. Erin's Uncle Jeff brought his Wii to Grandma's house at Christmas. To say Erin was obsessed would be an understatement. She was a fanatic about the Wii. She's played it once before but with some help. This time it was all her. She and her cousin Rylie would race cows - very funny. Erin's favorite games were the sports games, especially bowling. She also enjoyed the baseball game, got a few hits in too. The bowling held her passion though. She started out the week needing help from an adult for everything. By the end of the week she was bowling pretty much entirely on her own (Tom or I would need to get her set up in the right spot between balls in a frame). The last game she actually bowled a 147 all on her own and kicked the toosh of everyone else who was playing. So now we are in search of a Wii for ourselves. Wish us luck.

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas morning at Grandma and Grandpa's. The tree (and rest of the living room) was loaded with presents. Seeing that there were 4 kids 4 and under there (plus 8 adults) that was pretty much to be expected.

This was the first year that Erin really got into the preparations for Christmas. She picked out presents for Tom and I on her very own - and knew exactly what she wanted to get. She actually had request for Santa too. She was obsessed with her advent calendar and had to put up a magnet first thing every morning. She even saved a spot for Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the stable. At school they made ornaments as gifts, Reindeer food to sprinkle on the lawn Christmas Eve, and learned lots of Christmas songs. Seeing her grow so much in her excitement and anticipation was a blessing.


Jeffrey was equally excited. His passion was Christmas lights. Any time we were out he'd scream loudly "Looook Christmas Lights!!!!!". He also loved listening to Christmas songs on the radio and chose a favorite this year.......Feliz Navidad. An odd choice but it's quite repetitive and he would often just sit on the floor and sing "Feliz Navidad....Feliz Navidad...Wish you Merry Christmas...Wish You Merry Christmas" So adorable I giggled every time. He also enjoyed his calendar, but the Holy Family ended up off to the sides and Baby Jesus was flying near an angel.


Christmas morning was a blast. The kids really dug into their stockings. Their presents from Santa seemed to be the biggest hits. Santa brought Jeffrey a "Pat Pat Rocket" from Little Einsteins. Erin got her request of a new baby doll she could sleep with (a Cabbage Patch kid). Pat Pat and baby Hailie are still popular even a week out.


So prepare for the picture overload. Here are some shots of the kids opening presents and in front of the tree Christmas morning.



All 4 cousins and a mountain of presents


Anything left in here?

Woah!!! This is cool!!

Being a little more careful.

Already loving her dolly.

Worn out.