Caramel Anyone?

Me: Hey Addy, do you want some yogurt?

Addy: Mom, you want some caramel?

Me: (laughing) I don't think we have any caramel.

Addy: You need to go get some caramel at the store.

(By the way, found my old nineties waver and went to town on Addy's hair...I think it's quite cute and especially fun when it gets statick-y)

Success!

***WARNING***Potty Training Stories To Follow

I'm going to go ahead and say that potty training hasn't necessarily been my favorite part of parenting thus far...I don't know, I think it has something to do with having our hands all over public potties all over town.


I didn't do the 3-day method or any of those made for genius children, mostly because I just can't stay home for 3 days in a row (selfish!). So, we did the 3 week plan that I'm happy to say has been a great success. It started out with parking the little potty in front of the TV and having her sit on it with juice boxes (which I never buy) while watching all of her favorite shows. When she went, she got treats...this girl will do pretty much anything for candy.


After about a week of doing panties at home and then pull-ups if she went to the gym or church, etc...she started to get the hang of it. We moved the little potty into the bathroom and the candy novelty had worn off, so we made a sticker chart for the wall and I made her all her favorite character stickers, and that's pretty much what's carried us through.


She loves going in the "little potty" at the gym and in our nursery at church...seriously, so cute and little. I was getting ready in the locker room at the gym and the child care lady came and found me and said, "Addy is in the bathroom and is naked from the waist down and won't let anyone help her." The good news was, she had gone to the bathroom, the bad news was she had no clue how to pull up her own clothes after she was done, and the non-surprising news was that she wouldn't let anyone help her. (How do you spell Addy? I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-A-N-T or sometimes S-T-U-B-B-O-R-N)


Anyway, the little potty is now just a step stool to sit on the big potty and she is a regular going rock star. Just a little tip: I made bran muffins that Addy loves and that really helped her figure out the poo-poo thing...if you catch my drift.

Break Is Over

I have been on an inadvertant blog break since the new year, not because we haven't had anything going on (our lives are always SO exciting), but just because I haven't.

So, in an effort to catch up, here we go...

Jan. 1st: Started the potty training quest. Overall, Addy does really well when she's home, but we are still working out the kinks for trips to the gym, the store, and other homes. Her potty trips are often accompanied by annoucements of, "It's a big one." or "It's a little one," which all refer to her pee.

Jan. 2nd: Addy learned to crawl out of her crib and our lives have been hell ever since. After many days of sleep deprivation by all parties involved, I think we may have a solution. We put her crib mattress on the floor and lock her in... to be continued.

Jan. 5th: Fun morning at Cabelas and the Dinosaur Museum with Dani, Jenni, Tara, and all the kiddos. Addy's not a big fan of large models of dinosaurs (that's weird) and wanted me to "hold you" through those scary guys.

For once, Addy is not the child running away!

Playing in the dirt at the dinosaur museum

Notice Addy carrying a large, heavy bag of swedish fish that she wouldn't let go of, no matter what. Thank you Cabelas for the ginormous displays of bagged candy.

Jan. 6th: New season of The Biggest Loser. Really enjoying this new group of nice, kind-hearted people (so far) and actually feeling inspired and motivated when I watch it rather than bitter and mean (thanks Vicki and Heba). Laughed and laughed at Bob freaking out...anyone else catch that one? Great TV!

Jan. 7th: Happy Birthday to Jonny. I thought he was turning 33 and had that on the cake...turns out he's just turning 32. Oops. We had a nice lunch out at Tucanos (read: NO ADDY) and then had a fun family birthday party for him at home. Jonathan is the best, in every aspect, you name it, he's the best, and I'm the lucky one that snatched him up.

Jan. 10th: Grandma's Day at my mom's house. Went to see a movie (don't know the last time that happened) with my good friend Sarah and sister Dani, crazy teenage girls sat in front of us.





Jan. 11th: Owen, Tara, & cute little Graham went back to Hong Kong. Sad.




Jan. 12th: It's official: Addy is obsessed with her cousin Calvin who is 6 months older. From the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed, she is always asking to play with Calvin. Her favorite place to play? The gym. I guess it's nice to have a two-year-old keep your workout schedule in check because every morning she says, "Go to gym with Calvin?"



Jan. 15th: Miracle on the Hudson River. God lives and He is a God of Miracles.





Jan. 16th: Happy Birthday Audrey. Always of think of her on this day (been friends since we were babies, if babies can be friends) but usually get around to calling or sending an email a week or two later. Consider this the phone call...Happy 30th!





Jan. 16th-17th: My in-laws started a new fabulous tradition that I hope will never end until Addy gets married...3rd Friday, they sleep over. The kids sleep over at their house, that is, not that I would mind if John and Sandi slept over here. Either way gives a night out with my hubby and no babysitter bill at the end of a nice night.

Jonathan and I enjoyed a lovely dinner out with friends Jeff & Mandy and then went to the Draper Temple Open House. Beautiful!

Thank you Pops & Sans!!

Jan. 17th: Happy Birthday Tyler! You are 33!

Jan. 18th: Getting a little sad as football season seems to be drawing to a close. Maybe I'll have to start reading my scriptures on Sunday. :-)

Jan. 19th: WE'RE DEBT FREE! And on our way to our 6 month emergency fund. Feels SO good. Just keep waiting for Jonathan to tell me about that hidden bank account somewhere with tens of thousands of dollars.

Jan. 19th: 22 weeks pregnant, just plugging along. Starting to really enjoy wearing the same 2 pair of pants over and over and over.

Jan. 20th: Barack Obama's Inaguration. Our prayers are with him.

And so, there you have it. We are officially caught up. Now, if we could just get a storm to come through Salt Lake so we can all breathe again, that would be lovely.