Say Cheese

We are alive and well...just behind on my blogging duties!!

Shhhh...

Punkin' Pie crashing after her bath the other night...

Big Daddy's Golf Outing

John played in the Mary Free Bed 25th Annual Golf Outing Today and his foursome won lowest team score. Yeah!!! He also won a contest called straightest drive, where he was only an inch away from the measuring line in the fairway, but was told he couldn't take home two prizes. So, he was announced as the winner, but the second place finisher got the prize, while he and his team got the prize for lowest score. Not bad for the first time playing in the event and at the golf course where it was held.

BANGS

We are sorely lacking in photos of our recent fun and adventures! This is from last night at dinner (note that Maren is eating Raisin Bran, she is on a dinner strike and we are not fighting it).

She had a bang trim yesterday and now she can see again - yeah!

PS - PT is going very well. Very few accidents. Hurrah!

PT Update

Slowly but surely...a couple of accidents on Saturday and Sunday. But, wore underpants to school today (she briefly wanted to wear a pair of mine which she grabbed from a pile of clean laundry and then said "hula skirt, Mama," since they are so big on her). We did resort to bribery this weekend to stay on track. 2 M&Ms for peeing in the potty and 3 for poop. Although when she asked every time for "lellow, green and blue" she did get three every time. She was very happy to pull back the shower curtain on me this morning to tell me she was peeing in the potty. Fun!

P.T. Day 2.5

Thursday - five accidents
Friday - one accident
Saturday - wore diaper to gymnastics (just in case) and came home and pooped on the potty. Yeah!!!

Gymnastics

Last Saturday, Maren started her first gymnastics class. It is for two-year olds and their parents and run by Grand Rapids Parks & Rec at an elementary school near our house. It's only 30 minutes on Saturday for six weeks - perfect for the attention span of two-year olds.

She absolutely loves it. Today she did a somersault (with help) for the first time.

Here are a few pics. One is "ta da" which we say after completing every move on the "circuit" and the other is jumping off the spring board.

Potty Training 2

A couple of small accidents yesterday. Maren's teachers encouraged us to phase out the sippy cup for awhile, since it holds quite a bit of liquid. But, we soldier on today in "big girl underpants."

Potty Training - Day 1

Maren has been dancing around potty training for months, since Christmas Day when I briefly thought I was a genius because she used the potty twice. She uses the potty regularly at school and sporadically at home. This weekend the break through was that she pooped on the potty at Grammie van's - a big deal in the potty training process.

After a parent-teacher conference at the lab pre-school (her daycare) and her teacher saying "it's time" we are biting the bullet. Put her in big girl underpants last night and after two successful potty trips, we went for a walk. Well...it is a process after all. "I pooped," she said as she continued hopping like a bunny on the sidewalk. "Really?", I asked. "Yes!" Checked the pants and yep, poop. We hustled home and I tried to get her into the bathroom but she insisted on taking her pants off and sitting on the training potty in the guest room. "Huh, poop everywhere," she said as it streaked down her legs and onto the training potty. "Yep," I said, "Don't move!"

Clean-up finished, it was on with a diaper for the night. But this morning she wore underpants to school and I took six more pairs and three outfits to keep at school, in case of accidents. She was very excited to tell her teachers and friends "I'm wearing underpants!!!"