Good-bye, August!

What a great end to August this has been.  Kids have gone back to school, and that means that many of our favorite places and parks have suddenly become way less crowded and busy.  Top that with the gorgeous fall-like weather we've been having, and we couldn't be happier about getting out and enjoying our days. 

We started off our August cheering Zach on at the St. Jude Run.

Daddy's little cheerleaders

 

 

We swam in our pools in the yard.

 



 

We enjoyed play dates with friends.

 





Adelie and her friend, Joey

 

We ran in the Kids Run for Fun with cousins.

 



All the cousins are ready to run

All the kids ran their entire races.  Adelie ran 200 meters with the rest of the 2 year olds, Liam and Staley (above) ran an entire 1/4 mile with the 4 year olds, and Elliott used his boundless energy to join the 6 year olds in a 1/4 mile run.

 

We've enjoyed some fun time with cousins at the zoo and the Farm Park.

 



Staley and Adelie posing with Lila at the zoo

 

Farm Park fun with Lila and Liam

And yes, Briggs and Caroline were there too.

 

But a huge August highlight?  The Community Bash at Aunt Jill's church.  It was amazing.  There were bouncy houses and food and music and games and face painting and pony rides.  A helicopter flew in and landed.  There were fire trucks and huge propane fires that the firemen would put out.  There were hayrack rides and laser tag and fireworks.  We are totally going back next year!!

 

Olivia with Liam, Staley, and Lila

(Since Liam was staying with my parents for the week-end, he got to join us in our fun.)

Staley was in heaven.  The Community Bash had all her favorite things.  Pony rides.  Face paint.  Bouncy houses.  And...

Anna and Elsa.

Winner, winner, winner!!

 

And yes, Briggs has joined us for all these fun adventures.  He just hangs out in his carrier and takes it all in.

 



Briggs just chillin' in his K'tan

 

Hooray for August!!!

 





 





 

 

What Was So Hard About That?

I was dreading it.  I was putting it off.  I was building it up to be an awful experience.  I was preparing myself for the worst.  And then Adelie just rocked it.

We are not even two weeks into potty training, and Adelie is a potty-using machine.  She had 3 or 4 peeing accidents her first day, 1 her second day, and 1/2 an accident her fourth day.  She has otherwise stayed dry, tells us when she needs to use the restroom, holds it until she gets there, and can go quickly when she needs to go.  She has still been doing some pooping in her nap time diaper and has had 2 or 3 pooping accidents, but has also been successful on a number of occasions by telling us when she needs to poop and then going on the potty.  We are already done with the little potty seat, letting Adelie just sit on the big potty when she needs to go.  (Hooray for that, as I hate cleaning out that little potty seat.)  We have ventured to the zoo, the Farm Park, church, the library, the park, and the grocery store all without incident.  Adelie loves picking out her big girl underpants every day, and also loves to tell people about what underpants she is wearing (and, unfortunately, also likes to try to show them to people).  Yes, the nice lady taking our money at the Farm Park was very gracious when Adelie told her about her Tinkerbell big girl underpants and then tried to pull down her shorts to show them to her.  (Potty training?  Yes.  Modesty?  Not so much.)

I am so glad that Adelie's potty training journey was quick and painless.  Sure, we still have some tears and resistance when I ask her to try to use the potty before leaving the house or taking a nap...but then again, she's two, so we have tears and resistance about a lot of things.  And yes, her new "game" of telling us she needs to go potty multiple times after we've put her in bed at night is less than fun.  I don't doubt that there are a few more accidents in our future.  But all things considered, I think Adelie is potty trained.  It really wasn't so bad.  Now if only it were that easy to get Briggs to sleep through the night again...

My potty time super-star!!

Spelling Tests

At school this week, Staley's class is going to be learning about the letter 'A'.  So today Staley and I were talking about the letter 'A', the sounds it makes, and different words that start with 'A'.  We talked about Adelie and Ariel and apple and airplane and alligator.  Then Staley said, "And iguana."  I replied, "Iguana actually starts with an I" (and then proceeded to make the short 'i' sound to illustrate my point.)  Staley responded, "No.  Sometimes I just call them guanas, so I meant it's A guana, and that starts with A."

Have I mentioned that this girl doesn't like to be wrong, is always thinking, and always has an angle? 

Lord help us when she's a teenager.

Potty Training

I've said it before.  I'll say it again.  I just really hate potty training.  I hate the interruption to our days when we have to stay close to the potty and stop fun activities for potty breaks.  I hate the watching the clock, monitoring the fluid intake, and trying to time potty breaks correctly.  I hate cleaning up messes, worrying about going on outings, and having to pack the potty training survival kit each and every time we leave the house.  I just find it all very exhausting.  But because I don't want my kids heading to Kindergarten in diapers, it's a necessary step in this parenting process.

I really wasn't feeling ready or all that motivated to potty train Adelie.  But we are planning a trip to Disney in January (SHHHH... it's a surprise for the kids) and I wanted her to be trained well before the trip.  She has been showing a recent excitement about the prospect of big girl underpants.  And last week, she successfully used the potty once.  So even though I was kind of dreading it and looking for reasons to put it off, it seemed like the time was now.  So now it is.

We are currently 5 days into potty training, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how well Adelie has been doing.  Sure, we've had some accidents (but not nearly as many as I anticipated), and many more successes than accidents.  She's actually successfully taken herself to the bathroom on 2 or 3 occasions when I was otherwise occupied, so she obviously knows when she needs to go.  She can often go when I have her sit and we've even had a successful #2 on the potty.  (The other days, she's just saved it for her nap time diaper, much like Staley used to do.)  And today Adelie had her first attempt at a diaper free outing when we went to the zoo with Aunt Jill and Lila...and it was a success!!!  Driving to and from Peoria, successfully using the potty 3 times at the zoo, and keeping her big girl underpants dry and clean the whole time was more than I had hoped for.

I still hate potty training, but the end result will be so nice.  I'm not saying we are there yet, but we're heading in the right direction.  And if that direction is adding another independent toilet-user to our household, I'm all for it.

Staley "reading" potty-time books to Adelie

Some Days

There are many days that I love being home with my kids.  Days when my children are delightful and sweet and funny.  Days when we have lots of fun together, my girls play nicely together, and my infant's schedule meshes perfectly with our day.

Today was not one of those days.

Today was one those days when I am 3 days into potty training my active 2 year old, my 4 year old cried for 40 minutes straight about a lost privilege, my infant woke up from his naps at the most inopportune times, my older two antagonized and argued and tattled and screamed, and there were at least several moments when 2 kids were crying and the third was yelling above the crying about something they needed me to do.  Yup.  It was one of those days.

I'll be honest.  I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow.

First Day of School

 

Yesterday was Staley's first day of 4 year old pre-school, and she couldn't have been more excited.  Attending a new school with a new teacher and new kids didn't seem to phase her one bit.  She couldn't wait to get to school, and ran right into her classroom without even saying good-bye.  I was a bit underwhelmed by her school's lack of organization for the first day, like when her teacher told me items that Staley needed for her first day of school as I was dropping her off for her first day of school or how they had it incorrectly noted that I'd be picking Staley up at 3:30 (after talking in person, on the phone, and in e-mail to the director about Staley's schedule), yet didn't seem at all phased that I wasn't there until 4:45.  Regardless, Staley had a great day!!

 

So what was so great about Staley's day?  Well, in the running commentary she gave me on the drive home, her new school is so great because...

 

1.  They sing TWO days of the week songs during circle time.

2.  There is a stage in her classroom AND a horse center in her classroom, which she shared were both her favorites.

3.  There was a gym where they did two recesses (because it was too wet to go on the playground) and the gym had tricycles (small, medium, and large ones, apparently) and also a see-saw that she did with Lila (her cousin and pre-school buddy) and her new friend Chloe.

4.  They got to have waffles for lunch. 

5.  They had 2 snacks with apple juice at BOTH snacks.  We don't have juice at home, so this was a big treat.

6.  Staley got to borrow a Rapunzel blanket and a squirrel stuffed animal for rest time (since I wasn't aware that I needed to bring rest time items for her), and she seemed very pleased with her borrowed items. 

7. She made a new friend, Magnolia, who is almost 5 AND there is an Owen in her class just like at her old school, although it is a different Owen AND there is a girl named Charlie.  All of these were very exciting facts that Staley couldn't wait to share with me.

8.  They got to do 2 crafts.  One where they painted with water (although from the description, I think it was watercolors) and one where they put paint on their hands.

9.  Her new teacher, Mrs. Lytle, was nice and her other teacher (that she couldn't remember her name) was also nice.

10.  She still gets to go to pre-school with Lila, and spending two days a week with Lila is one of her most favorite aspects of pre-school.

 

Lila and Staley at their back-to-school night.

And yes, this was the best picture I got of them.

 

Staley had a great day and is already excited about going to school again on Thursday.  So although they may not be organized or be able to figure out a student schedule or send a supply list prior to school starting, at least my daughter is happy.  And, in the grand scheme of 4 year old pre-school, that's really all that matters.

Lofty Goals

The other day at lunch, the girls were talking with Zach and Uma about firemen and policemen.   Zach pointed out that girls can be fire fighters and police officers too.  They then had this conversation:

Staley:  "When I grow up, I am going to be a police girl.  Actually, no.  I am going to be an author and an illustrator."
Zach (to Adelie):  "Adelie, what are you going to do when you grow up?"
Adelie:  "Wear big girl underpants!!"

Here's hoping.