Monday, October 26, 2009

Mom and Sugar

Sugar and I had our own mini photo shoot yesterday. I let Shakespeare touch the holy camera, but only on a tripod. He was thrilled! He captured some decent shots. Sugar turned 6 months old yesterday!



The fall color here is unprecedented--at least for he six years we've been here. I wanted bright red or orange because it's everywhere, but we just settled for the yellow that is in our yard.



If three of us were not sick today I would pack up my troop and torture them with family pictures. Only a touch of fever and some sore throats.



Of course, I got a few of Shakespeare too.



Saturday, October 24, 2009

Fall Fun

Last night the big boys went to a church sleepover for all the boys. They played tennis and carved pumpkins and watched a movie. Here are their fall creations.





Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Sugar

Sweetness

Watch this happen.

He sees me...



He deflects...



Flashes his winning smile...


And now the sweetness...


Being a mom is fantastic!

Poo-poo Party!

Well, this post is a repeat. Yep. He did it in the potty then followed up in his pants. The only thing that isn't repeated is that we were quicker with the party. We lit a candle on the week old cake and sang a song and he blew out the candle. Yes, I actually let the kids eat the dry thing--not the candle, the cake. Don't judge me: there wasn't mold or anything. He also got to choose a prize--an Elmo stamp. He stamped all of our hands, the table, a piece of paper, the neighbor, and Lord knows what else.



We're gettin' there. At least he's telling me some of the time. He has stayed dry for three days. Maybe they have a 12 step program for toddlers.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Poo-poo Party...

This week I joined Facebook. If you visited me there in the last day you already know the punchline to this update. For the rest of you...

We've been potty training Sinatra for five months now. He has finally reached the point that he will pee in the toilet every time, but number two has been a different story. We've encouraged, rewarded, cajoled, bribed and downright begged the little booger, but nothin' doing.

I've promised him all sorts of things: a toy school bus, bubble gum, a ride on a golf cart at the campus, and even a toy gator to ride around the yard. But the thing that he really attached to was something that I did not really mean to offer. One day as he sat there trying I sarcastically commented, "We're going to have a party when you poo-poo in the potty, Bud." Yep, he wants a party.

He has been in big boy underwear for two weeks now and has made messes once a day faithfully. But yesterday we had a breakthrough. He finally did it! After running to the toilet off and on for a few hours he made a tiny deposit. We put him to bed and 10 min. later he made another tiny contribution to the world of the toilet trained. Then he fell asleep. At 12:30 AM the kid came into our room and woke me up so he could finish his business. I've never been happier to be awakened in the night. He immediately looked up at me with a beaming face and asked, "I get party now, Mom?" It was with much difficulty that I got him back to bed. He had his heart set on a candle on the top of a cake.

This morning we baked a cake and iced and decorated it. We let him pick a place to eat--McDonalds. We went there for lunch, planning to come home and celebrate. Guess what he did at McDonalds. Pooped his pants. The poo-poo party was postponed.

We went to Target this evening and raided the dollar aisle for prizes. Every time he goes he gets to pick one. I pray he does it tomorrow so we can celebrate with cake and presents!

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Indiana Jones



Tonight at dinner the kids were talking about how the monkey gets poisoned in the first Indiana Jones movie. We talked about it for awhile, along with some wonderful dinner conversation about how a butcher cuts up meat. Thankfully, the meal was almost over. During our chat, 3 year old Sinatra was prattling on about something. Eventually, I tuned in to what he was saying..."Grandpa Jones poison the monkey. Yeah, he do it."

Indiana Jones! My parents live in Indiana--ha!

All-A-Flutter

Last Thursday we went on a homeschool field trip to a butterfly farm! They did a great presentation and then turned us loose in the butterfly house. I think we fluttered around as much as the butterflies! They gave us sugar pads to attract the monarchs. We rubbed the pads next to their antenna (where they taste) and they crawled right on. It was a treat to watch them in the kids' hands.