Just a day in the life of our little tornado.

She likes to sing. (Sometimes she even embellishes the songs to fit the circumstances.)

She hardly ever stops talking.

And she has many friends, especially at nighttime. (Trust me, she knows if one of her friends is not in the bed. Her goodnight stall technique is to make me run all over the house if someone is missing. She piles most of them on her chest and around her head, so they are all right there with her, no matter which way she rolls)

Potty Training

It is official. We are starting the process of potty-training.

She is now fully transitioned into the new classroom at school, so she will be encouraged to use the potty there. I figure I better get more consistent at home too. So, last night, we went to Target to buy some "undie-pants." She told me that she needed them because that is what the big kids in her class were wearing instead of diapers. Oh, she picked out some with Dora and then insisted that she needed the Mickey Mouse diapers, even though they were boy briefs.

This week during school she went pee on the toilet almost every time there was a potty break, but that does not necessarily mean that her diapers were dry. Today was her first day in underwear. She did fantastic, until about 4pm when she had her first accident. She had walked upstairs to get something and I heard her start crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "I peed in my dora pants." She was so upset. We put on a fresh pair of undies and went back to our business. About an hour later, she had another accident. Then it was time to poop. For that, she pulled down her pants and took a crap on the grass. At least, she took down her pants and announced that she was pooping (I take that as a positive sign). After those three accidents all in the span of an hour she came up to me with a diaper and said, "Mama, I need a diaper. I ruin my undie pants." So I gave her a break from the "undie pants" for a while and put a diaper on her. However, when we were getting ready for bed, her diaper was completely dry and she peed a lot in the potty. She often wakes up dry in the morning.

Ah, I have a feeling that it wont be, but let's hope the process is smooth and quick. I can dream, right?

Cool Nights, Bright Stars, Good Music

One of our favorite summer activities is to go to concerts at Red Butte Garden. This year, we saw three shows: Kenny Wayne Shephard, Chris Isaak, and a New Orleans show (Allen Toussant, Trombone Shorty, Dirty Dozen Brass Band). The crowds are good; the picnics are nice. And, the cool air that comes streaming down the canyon when the sun sets is such a welcome relief from the hot summer temperatures.

Here are some pictures from our summer at Red Butte:

And two last photos from the Chris Isaak show -- on the left he is wearing a full suit of mirrors. On the right, he donned a bright yellow suit for his jaunt out to the crowd.

Happy to have our "family" friends

I know I have mentioned it before, but I joined a local mom's group when Carolyn was born. It is called "Mothers and More." I am so thankful for this group. The group has events for mom's only, like book club and a monthly dinner club. We have a couple of family events and parties throughout the year. There are also events for couples only. And, of course, there are plenty of events for the kids too, like playdates and monthly field trips. It has introduced us to some great families and friends. I think that my favorite part of the group is that other parents offer support to one another when kids are unruly and patience is thin. We also help one another out by watching each other's kids. The babysitting co-op is probably the biggest benefit for us. I like watching other kids (because I see how much Carolyn likes playing with other kids), and I definitely enjoy the *free* babysitting every once in a while.

On Saturday, we had a Couples Night Out -- a cocktail party which was thankfully right in our neighborhood. Being able to walk to a cocktail party is both a blessing and a curse. There is no need to worry about who is the designated driver, but it sure does make for a pretty lousy Sunday.

She's a Fish

Carolyn LOVES the water. She will jump in, she will go down the slide, she puts her head under and blows bubbles. She think she can swim -- she kind of doggy-paddles her arms and kicks her feet -- but she cannot be trusted for more than a second around water.

I think that she will be ready for some swim lessons next summer. She needs to start learning some skills to keep her safe.

Camp Houses

Recently Carolyn watched Mickey Mouse on TV; Mickey was going camping. Afterwards she started talking a lot about "camp houses" (i.e., tents). So Steve decided it was time to take her camping. They did not go far, just to the backyard. Our friend, Rudy, and his son Oliver also joined in on the fun. I enjoyed a night to myself and made a big breakfast for everyone in the morning.

In her words

Getting a toddler up, dressed, fed, and out the door is not exactly a smooth process. It seems to take 3 times longer than I anticipate.

This morning as we were finally walking out the door, an hour after I had intended to leave, Carolyn decided that she wanted to play with her lawnmower (or "line-mower" as she calls it). I told her that I was not waiting any more and that the car was leaving. So, she quickly put the mower away and come over to the car.

As I was buckling her into her carseat, she said "Mama, do you need more patience?"

I chuckled, kissed her on the forehead, and said, "Yes. Thank you for the reminder."

In her words

The other day while in the car, some driver pulled out right in front of me, slammed on his brakes, and then did a u-turn in the middle of the road. Needless to say, as I was slamming on my brakes to avoid an accident, some choice swear-laden words came out of my mouth. It was something to the effect of "What the F*** are you doing, dumb-A**?"

Carolyn then said, "Mama, You mad at the driver?"

Oh yes. I was mad. But then she told all of her friends at gymboree that "Mama mad at the driver." And now everytime we get in the car, she asks if I am mad at the other drivers.

MORE LOVE

Here are some photos of my two loves playing at the garden the other night.

On Monday night, we packed up the bikes, took a ride to Red Butte Gardens, ate a picnic, danced to some german choral music, fed the fish, and rode home. A perfect summer night. And, it was a decent workout, too. There are some pretty significant hills on the way to the gardens. Thankfully, steve towed the trailer with Carolyn in it. And, I was just responsible for getting myself up the hill, plus a few extra pounds of picnic gear. Ugh, how easy it is to become out of shape!

bike ride and picnic 007
Originally uploaded by boo4172002

Her dancing is really more like running, but she sure has fun doing it!

Don't you wish you had that much energy and lack of inhibition?

Update on the sleeping

It has been nearly two months since we took off the side of Carolyn's crib. Generally, she sleeps well through the night and stays in bed "until the sun wakes up." But it is still not perfect.



Now, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she has learned to be stealth. She quietly gathers her blankie and favorite stuffed animal and then slithers down the stairs and into our bed. I think that she has learned if she makes noise, we intercept her quickly and make her go back to her bed. When we do find her at the top of the stairs, she lets out a little cry and an "ah, man!" because she knows she got caught. Or, if we see her coming out into the hallway from her room, she will run back to her bed as fast as she can hoping that we did not really see her. And, on those successful nights when she makes it all the way downstairs and wakes up in the morning in our bed, she is proud of her accomplishment and says, "I happy. I sleep in Mama's bed!" During the last round of ear infections, she showed up a few times, but other than that, it is very occassional. Probably only once every two weeks.