It's Official!!!

L is potty trained. Aside from wearing a diaper at night (just in case), she's been in big girl underpants for 5 days. She's really good about letting me know when she needs to go to the potty, especially when we're in public places. She has a tendency to go a lot more often when we're out than when we're at home. She really likes going in public restrooms when she finds out there is music playing. I guess you can say she does the "potty dance" when we find one that has music. I do have to say though, I never realized how convenient diapers were until I had a 21 month old that needed to go "potty" every 10 minutes when we go somewhere. It's worth it though. At least I don't have to worry about having 2 kids in diapers.

They're Smart!

Kids are smarter than they are given credit for. I remember when my son was about a year old, almost every time I tried to put him down for a nap he would sign and say "eat". I did not want to put my crying child to bed hungry. I mean what kind of mom does that???? So, the first few times he did it I turned around, took him back to his chair, and fed him or at least offered him food. Needless to say, he wasn't hungry and more times than not nap time was almost always after lunchtime. Eventually I caught on to his ways and realized I wasn't being a bad mom for putting him to bed hungry because he wasn't hungry! Now, 3 years later, he still tries it, but now I don't mind putting him to bed hungry because he knows he should have eaten more at dinner and I know he thinks he's smarter than his momma. :-)

Now that L is potty trained, she does the same thing, but instead of saying she wants to eat, she says she needs to go potty. This one is a little harder as we're at the beginning stages of being potty trained and I really don't want to put her in a diaper to take a nap, but if she says she needs to go potty, I don't want to refuse her and make her potty in her bed. I definitely don't want to have to change the sheets everyday either. Just today, shortly after she went to the potty, I put her down for a nap. As I was putting her down she told me she had to potty. So, I took her to potty. After about 10 minutes, she didn't do anything, so I took her back to her bed, but this time in a diaper just in case. After about 15 minutes of her being in her bed, she started letting me know that she needed to go potty. I went in her room and she kept telling me that she needed to go potty so I took her. Her diaper was dry and she did go potty, but it was barely enough to fill the bottom of the potty chair. The girl made herself go potty thinking she wouldn't have to take a nap if she did. She was right because at the point it was too late for me to make her take a nap because we were going to have to leave before her nap would have been over.

She's not even 2 yet! They're smart! At least they think they are! :)

Just Pictures

I think it's really important that kids learn how to play by themselves as well as play nicely with others. Since the dawn of computers, video games, and technology, it can be competitive to teach kids how to use their imagination to play and not just sit and "watch".L and her doll sitting by the window looking outside while K talks to his Granny Nee on the phone.

K & L rolling the ball back and forth. L wearing K's spiderman mask. She chased K around trying to scare him. It was too cute!

K's "rock" that he made that consisted of every couch pillow and his bedroom pillows.

Dancing L

You can tell by the look on her face at the end of the clip that she was a little disappointed that the movie and the music was over, but she had a good time while it lasted. She really enjoys dancing and music. The other night when we went to Kyoto's Restaurant with some friends she "needed" to go potty several times; it wasn't until the final time that I realized it was because she liked the music and she actually started dancing while she was sitting on the potty. It was so cute!

Mr. Fix It & His Assistant

K & L

Buzz Lightyear

After my grandfather's birthday party, we went to my brothers to stay the night and exchange Christmas presents with them. I had already given their kids their present at the birthday party, but K and L got theirs. They LOVED them! L got a Tinkerbell teacup set that is adorable (you can see it on the floor next to K). It's a great potty time toy because she learns to pour water from the little pitcher into the bowls and she has a little tea party to occupy her. I had to convince K to not sleep in his gift and the only time he took them off on our 6 hour drive home was when he had to use the restroom or eat. They even have sound! Now he just need the wing pack.

Grandfather's 92nd B-Day

We went to Austin this past weekend to celebrate my grandfather's 92nd birthday. Everyone had a great time and I really enjoyed meeting relatives I never knew I had and some I had not seen in over 20 years.

my dad and most of his siblings

3rd cousins playing together

FAMILYMy brother & his familyL and her new best friend, her Pappy (my dad), feeding her cakeK found the mud and the water... notice he's wearing his boots... I was prepared!

He was SO tired when we got hom that he didn't even make it to his bed. He ended up sleeping an hour or two on the couch.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

We didn't get snow, ice, or hail, but it did get cold. It got so cold that schools, and most or all daycares, closed for the day. I can't help but wonder how everyone up north (where it actually snows more than an inch a year) feels about it. hmmm???

To prepare for the cold so our pipes wouldn't freeze, M decided to leave our water house running. Not only did he leave it running over 12 hours, but he hooked up K's water sprinkler and tied it to our basketball goal to make an ice sculpture. We ended up with several "ice sculptures" and some of the trees got so heavy they actually fell over.

About 8 or 9 in the morning.

Some time after noon.

He came back in pretty quickly to get his jacket. You know, the one I asked him if he needed before he went outside.

Our Big Helpers

M and I have truly been blessed to have such wonderfully serving children. Both of our kids enjoy helping whenever they can. In addition to the pictures below, K cleaned the baseboards and the mirror in his bathroom, helped load the wash machine, and cleaned up his sister's accident in the kitchen the other day without me having to ask. I did suggest he do the baseboards, but as soon as he saw me get the Windex out for the mirrors and the Lysol out to clean L's "accident", he quickly asked if he could do it. I don't like to discourage helping in any way, so I cleaned up the pee and he sprayed the area that needing cleaning for me.

He's also a big help with L's potty training. The other day, he brought her some toys to play with while she was sitting on the potty and he even showed her how he gets to flush when he's done going on the potty. He's such a big boy. I caught him washing L's hair a couple of times too. I had stepped out of the bathroom for a minute while they were bathing and when I came back I saw L letting K wash her hair. I quickly ran to get the camera, but naturally I was too late. I think one of the cutest thing he does to help his sister is when she's trying to get on one of the beds and he tries to help her by pushing her from behind. The funny thing is that she almost weighs as much as he does. Here's a picture of K helping paint the garage.

L putting lids and sippy cups in the bottom drawer.L helping me put dishes away. I always put the cutting knives away before she starts helping so I don't have to worry about her grabbing one.

*Notice K in the back trying to get her hair in the plane. Fortunately for everyone, he was unsuccessful.

Math & Geography

Today was a great school day! Although our "curriculum" only took about 20 minutes and he learned to read a few more words and got better at writing some numbers and his name, it was the learning outside of the "box" that was the best and taught him the most.

K cutting out a dinosaur he drew. The final product, a Seismosaurus (Size-mo-saw-rus)
L learning about coins.

K taking a break from rolling coins. By the time we were finished rolling coins (we ran out of sleeves), K was able to read the name of the coins on the sleeves to know which coin went into which sleeve. Although I did recount the rolls he did, his counts were pretty close to being accurate. One of them was exact and the others never had more than 3 or 4 extra coins in them. He did a great job and was a big help.
A little U.S. Geography before bedtime.

K enjoys playing this game and it's helped him learn his states. We keep it pretty simple and just spin and move our car the appropriate spaces, but every time we land on a state, we have to say the state out loud. He can recognize about 10-15 states on any map. I hope he continues to enjoy learning as he gets older.

Potty Training Follow-Up

After my initial post on potty training, L ended up wearing a diaper for a day or two and didn't mind at all. Of course when we were at church, she asked to use the potty twice, but didn't go either time. I think she just wanted to put toilet paper in the toilet and flush it.

With M being out of town for a few days for his hunt, I decided this was going to be a diaper free week. L went diaper free for a few hours on Sunday and was diaper free all day today. Although I cleaned up several messes, she told me every time she went and a few times before she went, but she didn't always sit on the potty long enough to actually make it in the potty. Two of the misses were in the bathroom so she was at least able to finish her business on her potty.

We were able to do the "dance" two times and when I told her it was time for bed, she headed straight for the bathroom and sat on the potty. Although she didn't go because she had just gone 20 minutes prior, she now associates going potty before bed as part of her bed time routine.

The last time she went to the bathroom, she took a doll with her and let the doll sit on the big potty while she sat on her little one. It was too cute!

Hunting

M left Saturday night to go axis hunting near San Antonio (about 6 hours from here). He's supposed to be back late Tues. night and will hopefully have killed something and will have some meat. While he's gone, I've decided to make the most of it and get a lot of odd jobs done around the house. Since I can't figure out how to do strike-thru, I'll just highlight the things I have done.

* Hook up wireless connection

* send in vacation vouchers (from October)

* return Christmas gift to Toys R' Us

* buy infant carrier

* clean school bookshelf

* pack up History books from bookshelf and put in attic

* put Christmas decorations in attic

* organize and clean L's closet

* print meeting information for MOPS

* send e-vite for MOPS

* update homeschool directory

* send updated homeschool directory to members

* sweep kitchen & living room

* mop kitchen & living room

* continue potty training/learning

* adjust K & L's car seat as they've seem to have grown

* finish growth chart/board for the kids that I started this summer

* school work with K - every day

* fill in sink holes in driveway

Of course, you can't forget usual play time with the kids as well as update blog.

Random Pictures

Just Digging

We have an unwanted hill in our yard that was created from a poor sewer line installation. M told K he could get rid of the hill and make some money while he was at it.

When I asked him what he was doing, he told me he was "digging to China." He knows that China is on the other side of the world and asked me if people would be walking upside down. That led to a short, but interesting conversation.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was a quiet night at home this year and it was nice. We popped some fireworks with the kids and then after putting them to bed, M and I watched a movie together. K enjoyed the fireworks, but as you can see from the pictures, L wasn't too interested.

K playing in the smoke.

L wasn't too interested in the fireworks.

A Few More Gifts

I had to post pics of these gifts that Ms. Alex and her family gave us. I absolutely love personalized gifts and wanted to share these.

Is that not Awesome? I told K it was NOT to be used it for building forts, but it was mine.

This is L's apron that matches mine. The lady who made mine made this one for her as a gift. Isn't it adorable? As soon as I get her to wear it, I'll take another picture and post it.

Thanks Ms. Pat, Ms. Alex, and Bethany! I'm blessed to have friends like you in our lives (and not just because you give great gifts.)