Poop Party!

Warning - if you don't have kids, this post may seem just downright silly and possibly gross. Proceed with caution...

I think you can tell the level of desperation the parent of a toddler has reached by what they are willing to offer in exchange for potty training progress. Claire was told that if she pooped in the toilet (she is fine at going pee, potty, #1, whatever you say at your house), she would get a party at Chuck E. Cheese. If you haven't been there, avoid it at all costs until your child begs you to go. It is not on any adults top places to visit list. She was also told that she could pick out ANY toy she wanted at WalMart. Yeah, we were desperate.

We drove by Chuck E. Cheese the other day while running errands and it must have finally kicked in that Claire could go there if she finally just went poop, and sure enough the next morning she went and did it all on her own without anyone begging, pleading or crying (I have done all three). I was out running errands and Claire called me with the good news - I yelled and cheered so loudly! We were so excited! So, that very afternoon we gathered the troops and put together a party with the Hillers. Everyone came - they were such good sports!

The other promised item was the WalMart toy - I worried that I would be talking Claire out of a $50 toy, but after looking down all four isles of toys including dolls, zhu zhu pets, Leap Frog stuff, dress up clothes, etc. she settled on a $12.99 bug collecting set, complete with vest, magnifying glass, compass, net and tools. I love when she makes the non-obvious choice.


Now the real kicker is the very next day, she went poop in her diaper during her nap, something she normally doesn't do. I said Claire! You go poop in the toilet now! She did her signature shoulder shrug and said - I already went! So, I guess she just did what she had to do to get that trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Now what? We are NOT taking her every time she goes. I think those months and months of promising the world in exchange for toilet time is going to backfire on us. My next thought is a sticker chart for poop only that she has to fill up for her next bribe. Any ideas?

Christmas Quotes

I just never get tired of hearing what Claire comes up with - she is quite the chatterbox, and she likes to tell random stories. Here are a few Christmas-related quotes that stood out to me this year that I managed to remember or write down.

"Mom, how is Santa going to get in to our house? We don't have a chimney. What if he skips us!!" She was very concerned about our lack of a fireplace and mentioned it probably every other day during the last few weeks before Christmas.

We have a hand-made advent calendar that Matt's sister Jonelle gave us, and each day there is an ornament for a felt Christmas tree. It was Matt and Claire's special morning routine to "pick a pocket." One of the last ornaments picked this year was a gingerbread house. She said, "Do you think there is a witch in there?" I think I told her the story of Hansel and Gretel only once!


I had to mention again the "Santa is old and weird" comment since it held true when she managed to avoid him twice.

Before going to bed tonight (post-Christmas), she called me back into her room to tell me, "Mom, shepherds went to the Baby Jesus and saved him! And then if Baby Jesus cries, Santa will come to him. And...that's all!"

Miles was looking at the Christmas tree and was saying, "Ho, ho, ho" over and over again, so Matt asked him "Where is Santa? (on the tree)" and Claire pipes in with, "He is in his workshop (duh!)" She didn't say "duh" but that was her tone.

Christmas: Part II

We are so lucky, we get two days of Christmas! Sunday morning was Christmas at the Hillers for the traditional gift exchange and lunch. We were all thoroughly spoiled with gifts (I got a Kindle!!!) and food (I am ready for my New Year's resolutions to kick in so I can stop the splurge-fest).



Next year I am just going to wrap up boxes and let the kids play with them.




And to end the day, eating all the candy "glued" to the gingerbread houses.

Christmas!!!

When I look back on my Christmas memories, the ones that I remember best are when we got new bikes, or a really special homemade/sentimental gift. I can remember three separate Christmases with bikes under the tree and we always went and tried them out immediately. My mom also crocheted each of us a blanket (4 kids) one year, and made us all photo albums from birth to high school. This was back before digital so it was a lot more work. I still have the album and love looking at the baby photos especially since we are always wanting to compare how our kids look at the same age.



Though our kids are still really young, I hope at least these photos will help them remember Christmas this year because we had all the makings for a fabulous day!




We definitely earned our stripes as parents this year- staying up late to finish sewing a tent for Claire's room and assembling bikes and a train table. We had Christmas morning at home this year, and it was nice to have the kids in their own rooms. We invited Matt's family over for breakfast and had a nice time just hanging out and playing. We made it a pajama party and we went out and bought holiday PJs. Matt made a few impulse buys at Old Navy while waiting in line - the shirt he is wearing "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe" was only $2! And, it was a women's XL. :)


Here is the tent for Claire's room - it looks a little crooked in this photo because the base wasn't centered. This took me FOREVER to sew - I finally finished it at 2 am on Christmas - though I still need to add Velcro to the base and sides. It would have been faster if I sewed more often; I made a few dumb mistakes and had to redo things. It turned out cute and Claire has already slept in it twice, which I knew she would try since I find her asleep on the floor with her Pillow Pet at least once a week.

Second Attempt with Santa...

...Went about the same as the first.My Aunt Cindy had Santa come to her house after a family dinner, story time with props (The Writer Mouse) and gift exchange. The mouse writes stories using his tail dipped ink, and I think the kids' favorite part was getting to unroll toilet paper that the mouse uses to write his notes on.



Neither Claire or Miles would sit with Santa. Though Claire was the first to say hello and the last to say goodbye to him, she didn't want to sit on his lap because "Santa is weird and old." So, there you go. Thanks for trying Cindy! It was a very fun night!


Miles would give Santa a high five but that was about it. If Santa tried anything like trying to get Miles on his lap or to stand by him, this is how it went:

More Claire Quotes

"Mom, what is Dad learning today at school?" I don't know why, but I thought this was a very mature question from a three year old.

We were talking about Matt being in school and taking tests. What grade did you get on your test Claire? "Pink." What grade did dad get? "Blue." What did mom get? "Red." So you can see her order of the best colors - pink is #1!

Claire was supposed to be asleep for at least an hour and a half when she came down from her room while we were watching TV. I said - Claire, why are you down here, you should be asleep. And she said, "Well, cause I'm growing up Mom."

Miles has reached the hitting stage - and Claire is just the right height to be within his reach more often than not. She said the other day, "Mom, I really wish Miles would stop hitting me. He's a hitter-guy." I hope so too Claire.

Claire had just taken a bath and I hadn't had a shower yet, but was getting her ready first. My hair was down - long and scraggly, and she said, "Mom, I actually like your hair!"

Ethel M Chocolates - Cactus Garden

We went to the Cactus Gardens on Monday night, a very Vegas holiday spot to enjoy some Christmas cheer. Miles and Claire loved it - they yelled when we pulled up, and all the way to the entrance. Miles kept pointing and squealing at the lights.


However, shortly after arriving amidst all that joy, I turned into the Grinch. A family was taking a photo along the walkway leading up to the chocolate factory tour that we were headed to take, and Claire was looking at all the lights and snowmen near them when I heard the mom say in a very snarky voice - "That girl is in our picture! Eh!"

That girl was Claire, and Mama Bear emerged to save Claire - I said, "You could have just asked us to move." Mean Mom proceeded to give me a dirty look, so I said in my best sarcastic voice, "Merry Christmas!" and walked away (her husband even said - don't be so mean!). Then, of course, we saw them all over the Cactus Gardens and exchanged angry glances - it's not that big of a place. It totally ruined my evening - I should have just said politely, oh sorry, let me get my adorable daughter out of your photo so you don't have to do any unnecessary cropping on your photos. But no, I had to say the first thing that came to my mind. Anyway, the moral of the story is take a moment to think before you act or speak, because while not everyone has the Christmas spirit, you still can no matter what others do.

At least the kids had fun! We will have to go back next week - good thing it is free. I'll get two chances to enjoy my chocolate and lights.

Holiday Traditions

We made gingerbread houses with the Hillers tonight - this time with some really cute mini houses for the kids. Miles had fun eating and destroying the decorations on the same gingerbread man over and over again, while the boys worked on a really cool full-size house.


Another tradition is to buy new Christmas movies and music to add to our collection - this year we added Olive the Other Reindeer. It is pretty cute, but we already have our favorite movies (Elf, Rudolph, Fred Clause, etc) so we are branching out with this one. I think we will go old school next time with White Christmas and Holiday Inn.


My new favorite Christmas CD is Andrea Bocelli Christmas - it is sooo good! The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Muppets, and Mary J. Blige make an appearance too.


And I have already mentioned my Candy Cane Joe Joes, but a new Christmas treat addition/addiction are Mint M&Ms. I completely blame my sister in law Megan for introducing them to me in the first place. They are so good!

Airplanes

Claire loves airplanes, ever since she could point them out in the sky as a little baby. And we just happen to live near the airport so we get to see planes flying overhead all the time. I flew somewhere on Southwest when she was about two and I bought her a mini Southwest plane, so she likes seeing those planes especially.

There is a place right along the runway at McCarran airport where you can park and watch the planes land and take off, and we finally stopped this weekend to watch. Claire would have stayed there all morning I think.

Cowboy Christmas

Vegas turns into cowboy country about this time of year, with hundreds if not thousands of pick-up trucks taking over the city for NFR and other rodeo events. My friend Sophie has come to visit for the past five years at least, and it is always a treat to see her. She is a real cowgirl, not a rodeo queen cowgirl. She works on her parent's ranch and can be up in the mountains for weeks at a time with their cows.


It was nice to give my kids a chance to do something new, like watching the roping competition, riding a mechanical horse used for training purposes (we didn't turn it on though), and feeding and petting a horse. We got to see Diamond ride in a steer roping competition - Claire was a bit nervous at first around Diamond, but Miles went right in and touched his face and petted his neck. On Day 2, Claire got brave and touched the horse, and helped feed him his nightly hay. Aside from a huge allergy attack (I know this happens every time I am around horses and dust but I always forget allergy medicine since it's only once a year), we had a great time. Sophie told Claire to try to count all the cowboy hats we saw at the SouthPointe, and after awhile she just yelled out, "Look at all these cowboy hats!!" and got a few funny looks from the aforementioned cowboy hat wearers.


Claire said today, "Who is your friend again?" I said, do you mean Sophie? She said, "Oh yeah, Sophie. That's right." I said do you remember her horse's name? Without missing a beat, she said, "Diamond!" So, sorry Sophie, the horse was the most popular this time. Thanks for showing us around and letting us be part of the cowboy scene for a few days.

Air Time With Uncle Aaron

My kids love being thrown up in the air - and they will ask you to do it again, and again, and again. So it's nice to have uncles who are willing to play the game and give my arms a break now and then.

Why do we do this to our kids?

For photos like this!

Gingerbread House - Construction and Destruction

Claire had fun building a gingerbread house (and eating the candy) while Miles was taking a nap. I highly recommend these ready-made kits. Getting all the sides to stay together was so much easier with the grooves cut into the base already. We decorated "Gingy" the gingerbread man, a snowman and a Christmas tree.


Then... Miles woke up from his nap and promptly started to destroy the gingerbread house. He looked like he was having so much fun though - so I said what the heck, it's the holidays.

Happy December!

'Tis the Season for the joy that is the Candy Cane Joe-Joe.

Maria Songs

Every now and then Claire will humor me and sing one of her favorite songs on camera - she sang Do-Re-Me for my mom, only she insisted on standing very close to me so the angle is a bit funny. Lately she calls this one of her Maria songs.

Hold On to Your Heart

These two are so precious to us. It makes my heart melt a little to see these photos and think that they already look a little different from when these were taken 3 weeks ago. It was so hard to get Claire and Miles together in one picture but I like the action shots - it is more true to life, since they hardly ever stay still and are always running.