Potty Training 101

I think we've hit a major milestone...Grace is potty training for real this time! She's excited and willing and we're having successes which is awesome! Yesterday I optimistically taped a paper up in the bathroom titled "Grace's Potty Successes" and told her that she could put stickers on it when she used the potty or had dry underwear when I asked her to sit on the potty. As you can see from the picture we've been having some success! We had a couple accidents today but all in all it's going really well. We've been leaving the bathroom light on and the potty all set up for her (she prefers to use the Big Potty instead of her little one which is totally fine by me!) and she knows she can go in there to sit on the potty at any time with or without us present. She seems to prefer not having me there and I think it may have to do with the "I'm a big girl and can do it myself" attitude she has about such things. She did manage to make a pretty big mess after her poop success so we've had to talk about how she needs to ask for help to clean up sometimes.

Time fo P A R T Y ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Today was the last day of Indoor Park for the semester and we celebrated the beginning of summer by having a luau party. Never mind that it's 60 degrees and overcast outside, everyone still broke out the loud Hawiian shirts and donned plastic flower necklaces in defiance of the unsummer-like weather. Grace and Ethan wore their new Hawaiian outfits courtesy of Grandpa and Grandma and their recent Hawaii trip. The big hit was the turtle that one of the family's brought, and the cupcakes of course!







But the biggest party happened about 15 minutes ago when Grace pooped in the potty for the very first time! I had her wear training pants this morning (had one accident) and switched to a diaper to go to Indoor Park. She switched back to training pants when we got home and crawled into her bed and fell asleep wearing them and I wasn't about to wake her up to change her. Well she had an accident which woke her up and I put her right back on the potty. She wanted a magazine to read and I went back to the living room with Ethan and she came out and told me she pooped in the potty. I went to check and she was right! She got two stickers to put on her potty sticker sheet I taped on the bathroom wall this morning and we called up Daddy and Grandma and then she wanted to call Grandpa too. So needless to say she's wearing training pants this afternoon and we'll hope for some more successes!

And a rare Grace sleeping picture I snapped after I found her asleep in her bed!

Meet the Parry Family: Boo

It's time to meet the non-human members of the Parry Family, and first up is Boo! Boo joined our family in October of 2002 when she meowed pitifully outside our bedroom window and David rescued her. We were living in University housing at the time and cats weren't allowed, but we ran the risk and have had her in our lives ever since.



Here's some fun facts about Boo:

• We celebrate Boo Foundling Day on October 3rd since we have no idea when her real birthday is!
• Boo is quite possibly the coolest cat I've ever met, in fact David swears she's not a cat at all because he doesn't like cats but loves Boo!
• She goes nutso over popcorn
• 
• She tolerates all kinds of abuse from the kids and has never once done more then growl her annoyance
• She has never been a shy cat, she will quite happily stretch out to be the center of attention in any gathering
• She absolutely hates getting brushed out
• 
• She is petrified of the water bottle, we don't even have to spray her anymore. All we do is set the water bottle next to whatever we want her to leave alone (Christmas tree) and it works very well.
• Speaking of Christmas, Boo has a curly ribbon fetish and will chew it to bits so I have to hide presents with curly ribbon from her!
• She's not a fan of being in the car, though she's made several long trips and has visited Oregon, Idaho, and Washington
• 
• She insists on privacy while using her litter box. If you glance in her direction when she's using it she will stop what she's doing and glare at you until you look away.
• She will never starve because she starts demanding her dinner around 4pm and doesn't let up until her food has been served, even if she already has food in her bowl left over from breakfast!
• David was the one that came up with the name Boo, which we liked because we found her in October and she has grey/orange/black coloring. It's totally suited her personality!
  
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Still Not Crawling

Ethan is still inches away from crawling, although he seems to be moving in a backwards direction rather then forwards! He scoots around the room by getting on all fours and inchworming backwards. I don't think he means to go backwards, that's just what happens and he seems surprised that he's farther from his intended prey instead of closer. Poor guy! He has a pretty big reach range now though since he can get on his belly to grab a toy and then work his way back to sitting again.



And as a side note for all those readers who were concerned about my sanity after the pie post, I'll have you know that I did indeed eat a piece of pie last night (used my flex points) and will eat another one tonight! David successfully talked me into not giving the pie away, not that it took much convincing!



Oh, and here's Grace trying to take a nap in a diaper box. She's silly like that.

Weight Watchers is Evil

David has roped me into doing Weight Watchers with him which I'm reluctantly doing. Reluctantly because I like to eat and on Weight Watchers I seem to be doing little of that! We've only been doing it since last Thursday so we haven't got the gist of things quite yet, nor have we learned to budget our points during the day very well which often leads to one large meal and two non-meals and plenty of stomach growling.



The worst of it is the dang apple pie sitting on the counter that taunts me. I swear I can hear it calling my name from the living room and my ravenous stomach is protesting my good efforts to resist it. The thing is, one piece of apple pie is 9 points which is nearly the equivalent of 1/3 of my point allotment for the day. And if I wasn't nursing it would be nearly 1/2 of my daily points which is just cruel. So unless I eat one piece of apple pie for dinner and nothing else but water and a few carrot sticks it's just not happening. And it's making me mad. So mad that I wanted to bring it to MOPS as my breakfast contribution this morning which David wouldn't let me do. Of course he's got more points then me and will probably be able to figure out a way to eat a piece. I've only had the one piece on Saturday and it's taking more will power then I knew I possessed not to eat the entire thing right now. I think I'll be bringing it to my bible study tonight after dinner and pleading with the women there to eat it (and the leftover coffee cake I made for MOPS this morning!) just to end my suffering. Have I mentioned how much I love pie and how much I loathe not eating it?

Baseball + Barbecue = Fun!

We had a great time today for the Second Annual Baseball & Barbecue! We had to change location and played at a field near the middle school instead of by the elementary school, but it worked out just fine. It was a little worrisome to see all the gray clouds this morning but the sun came out for the afternoon and it was pretty nice out all things considering. This year Grace was more interested in the game then in the dirt which was nice. Jordan seemed to really catch on to the whole idea and had a fantastic time! I'm sure next year they'll really be joining in the action and their little brothers will be the ones eating the dirt.

I had a blast trying out my new zoom lens for the camera and got some great shots! I have an entire Snapfish album I can share with anyone who is interested, just let me know. In the meantime here are some of my favorites from today!

I hope Ethan learns to crawl SOON!

I know most parents want their children to remain immobile as long as possible. I think I'm generally in that category, at least until my life would be made significantly easier by mobile children! Ethan is very close to crawling, he can lean forwards and get on all fours but then has no idea how to more forward. It makes him mad. Very, very, mad. And then he leans back and sits up again still howling and looking pathetic. That in itself makes me want him to learn how to crawl so I no longer have to hear his frustration with the process!



But then he started waking himself up at night because of it. At least I'm 98% sure that's why he's waking up so much at night. Each time he wakes up screaming he's on his belly trying to get on his hands and knees while still in his sleep sack. Last night he woke up 3 hours after nursing and certainly wasn't hungry but wasn't happy with me when I insisted he figure out how to fall asleep without nursing. He protested a good hour until he finally gave in and fell asleep on my shoulder. Of course during the struggle he gave my arm a hickey in a desperate attempt to nurse on something. Lovely.



He better be crawling soon or I'll go nuts!

Dinner and Dancing

Who says romance goes out the window after kids? I danced and dined alone tonight with the kids since David had a church meeting and we had a lovely time. We turned on some dancing tumes (Grace loves the Kid Stuff Radio selections!) and danced as we made some burrito casserole. Grace really got into it and disappeared into her room only to emerge two seconds later with her pink tutu. She begged me to wear the red one and I reluctantly tried to put it on. You know toddler sized tutus do not fit their Mommies so well, or if they do I don't want to know about it. I got it on above my knees at least and Grace went bananas.



While waiting for dinner to finish baking in the oven Grace decided she wanted to have a picnic on the kitchen floor with Ethan while wearing her Tinkerbell costume. Sounded great to me so she got it all set up and even pointed to the corner of the blanket that Ethan was supposed to sit. Then she wanted cheese and cookies, and grudgingly agreed to a graham cracker instead. All went well until Grace noticed the big wet spots where Ethan had drooled on the blanket and she decided he needed off!



I brought my camera in the bathroom for bath time to practice using it on captive subjects. Got a few good shots! All in all, we had a nice evening but I have to say I missed my sweetie!

Pictures at last!

You can all thank your lucky stars that I figured out how to get the photos off the new camera (wasn't too hard to figure out once my headache was gone!). So without further ado I present the promised rock and grass pics. Super exciting, but I promise it gets better if you keep reading.

Here is David's green grass. He's very proud of it. He's so proud of it I had to take a picture of it and share it with you all.



These are the rocks on the side of our house that supposedly help drain the swamp we have thanks to the hill we're on. Aren't they pretty? Grace has been obsessed with them off and on since we've moved here.



And speaking of Grace, here's a great pic David took of her while he was playing around with the new camera!



And now the real fun begins. This morning I went to the bathroom. By myself. I discovered what a huge mistake that was as soon as I heard Grace giggling with glee in the living room. I found her dumping the contents of the box of baby rice cereal on top of Ethan's head! I immediately put her into time out (while keeping a straight face because it was really a funny site!) and then grabbed the camera and took these pics. Notice I didn't take the pictures first, I figured if she saw how amused I was she might try the stunt again and I don't relish cleaning rice cereal from the carpet! By the way, Ethan was fine after a quick bath to get all the rice cereal out of his hair. He thought it was just as hilarious as Grace did until he was dumped into the tub!

I hate the Flu!

Yesterday afternoon I noticed my throat was getting a little sore and I figured I was getting a touch of the cold Ethan has. And then my head started hurting so I took a Tylenol. By the time David got home I was freezing cold wrapped in a blanket and sweater on the couch. Once the kids were in bed I checked my temp...101.3 which confirmed my aching suspicions. This isn't a cold it's the Flu! My head hurts so bad my hair hurts which I didn't know was possible. No wonder Ethan has been so cranky, this stinks!

Baseball & Barbecue Reminder

Just a reminder to those who haven't RSVP'd to our Baseball and Barbecue Party this Saturday....please drop us a line, give us a call, send an email, reply to this post, or in some manner let us know if you're coming or not! Otherwise you may have to eat baby rice cereal if I didn't buy enough hamburgers because you didn't let me know you were coming. And you'll have to fight Ethan for the rice cereal because that boy likes to eat!

Grace's Special Medicine

Grace was playing on her toy horse while I was putting some laundry in the washing machine when I heard a crash followed by loud wailing by both children. I rush out to the living room and found the poor horse on his side and Grace pointing that her eye hurt. It wasn't anything serious, and scared her more then anything but she insisted that she needed medicine to feel better. I told her I had some special medicine that would do the trick so I brought her into the kitchen and gave her some water in a teaspoon and it "magically" made her feel all better. A magic kiss helped a lot too!

In other news, my Mothers Day camera arrived this afternoon and I took it out for a short test spin but haven't figured out how to get the pictures off the camera and on the computer yet. You'll be in for a real treat when I figure that out...the kids were both napping so I made due with taking photos of some rocks and grass. Exciting I know, but you get what you get.

Ethan has come down with a yucky head cold and seems pretty miserable today. The poor guy has an awful stuffy nose and goopy eyes. I think he may have passed it on to me and I'm not very appreciative. I hate being sick!

Bubbles Taste Soapy

Grace and I had a lovely time at her friend's birthday party this afternoon. The party was held at Appleseeds, a local preschool arts/crafts class. The lady that ran the crafts did an excellent job keeping eight 2-4 year olds happy and busy which is no easy task! To begin the party they glued jewels and stickers on birthday crowns, and then took turns painting a large birthday message for the birthday girl and putting their hand prints on the card. Grace thought the bright yellow tempera paint was very pretty. Next up they played a game where they passed a box around the circle and when the music stopped the child holding the box got to open it and won the present inside. Of course everyone won once and Grace was very happy to win a ittle bear with a raincoat. After the game they went back to the craft table and made "aquariums" which turned out very cute, and made beaded necklaces. Grace did a really good job threading the beads on her necklace and was the only child to choose to put all of one color beads on her necklace...yellow! After the crafts they sang a few songs and the birthday girl opened her presents and we sang Happy Birthday and had some excellent chocolate cake and ice cream. It was a fast and furious two hours but it sure was fun!

When we got home we opened the goody bag Grace received to find bubbles, pink playdough, crayons, and some candy. Grace was most excited about the bubbles so we headed straight outside to play with them. She insisted that she be the one to blow them, and after a few false starts managed to get the hang of it. It was so cute watching her face light up when she finally figured it out! Afterwards we had to wash her from head to toe and change clothes because she got so sticky, but it was worth it!

Like my new hairdo?

Grace picked out a new comb and brush at the store today since she needed a new one with wider teeth to comb out her wet hair after a bath. Of course as soon as we got home with the new goodies she needed to try them out and I was the chosen victim....I mean client. She completed my new look with a pink bow which I think totally suits me.

Perfect Park Day

It's a beautiful 88 degree day today in Dallas, Oregon and I spent an hour this afternoon at the park with the kids. Before you go on and start getting jealous of my ability to spend time in such pleasurable pursuits remember that the life of a stay at home Mom is not all fun and games. No sirreee.... I paid my dues this morning by cleaning up two Zoe diarrhea messes. That's right, two. If you notice a cute chocolate cocker spaniel being sold on Ebay you'll know why.



Back to the happier park topic....

I put Ethan in the baby swing today for the first time and he rather liked it. He didn't get giddy with excitement or anything, but the gentle swinging motion seemed to make him happy. Grace on the other hand went wild and was very enthusiastic about her swinging. That girl likes to swing! She also decided she liked to go down the small slide once I removed the icky bug in her way. She went down the slide over and over but wouldn't try any of the other ones. I spent most of the time sitting on a blanket in the shade with Ethan watching Grace have fun. She found a nice older lady that she had a long conversation with about trees. Thankfully the nice lady liked children and seemed to enjoy talking about leaves.



On the way home we stopped at the Post Office to mail off a package for David and to pick up some $.01 stamps so I could use up my supply of $.41 stamps now that the rates have changed. Grace put on a song and dance routine for the entire line and was the hit of the Post Office. She told everyone about princesses, Disney movies, envelopes, flowers, and her favorite color pink. One of the ladies that watches her at MOPS was there and she said Grace was never shy there either. Yes I think I have a social butterfly on my hands. She sure loves a captive audience!

Speaking of Grace being a social butterfly, she has been invited to yet another 3 year old birthday party! This one is for this Saturday and will feature messy crafts which promises to be fun.

Meet the Parry Family: Ethan

Sorry it's taken awhile to introduce you all to the youngest member of the Parry Family, but here he is!

• 
• Ethan was born October 7, 2007 in Corvallis, Oregon
• The poor guy was born with a black eye and bruises from a rough delivery
• He figured out nursing right away and if I would let him would nurse for about 20 hours out of every 24
• He desperately wants to crawl but thus far can only manage to get on all fours and rock
• He adores his big sister and thinks she is hilarious
• He really enjoys the whole bath process and rarely cries which has been a delightful experience!
• His favorite toys are his hands, he chews on his fingers most of the day
• He's a world champion puker
• He's started solid foods and has liked everything he's tried thus far: oatmeal, rice cereal, sweet potatoes, peas, pears, and peaches
• He had his first haircut at 6 months....and yes he needed it!
• He has really long arms and always outgrows long sleeve shirts in arm length before anything else in his closet
• He loves to play peek a boo
• He can stand leaning on furniture for awhile and can pull up to standing occasionally
• He has no teeth yet
• He smiles all the time and is a super good natured baby
• He's already obsessed with balls
• 

Everybody should be so lucky

I really hope our neighbors never ever move away, unless it's to move next door to us wherever we may be living. Not only did they bail me out when I locked my keys in the car the other day but this afternoon they brought Grace presents! Pink panda presents to be exact. She was quite pleased to have a new pink panda watering can purse and backpack. She has quite the backpack obsession thanks to Daddy and Dora.

So thank you neighbors, I know the plate of cookies we brought over will never be enough to adequately express how much we appreciate you!

Pretty Pretty Princess Party

Grace, Ethan, and I attended the Princess Birthday Party yesterday afternoon and had a lot of fun! Grace was told to come with her dress up clothes if she wanted so she brought her pink tutu and looked absolutely adorable. It was a potluck so we brought a pink jello salad (substituted strawberry for lime and it turned out pretty tasty!) and enjoyed an early dinner. After eating there were games which were amusing to watch since most of the kids were between 3 and 5 years old and don't exactly follow directions so well. They played "pin the princess to the castle", Hot Potato with a "glass slipper", and last but not least the Cinderella Pinata was brought out.

Just the hint of candy to come made the little party guests hum with excitement. The pinata was the kind that has lots of ribbons hanging down and the kids were to take turns pulling one ribbon at a time until one of them pulled the one that opened it. Well everyone had their turn to pull a ribbon and Grace went for the second time and her ribbon was the one that did it. She threw her arms up in the air in victory and yelled "I did it!" and then realized that the candy was now on the ground and started finding all the pink candies to put in her princess bag.

After the mad candy dash we sang Happy Birthday to the Birthday Girl and ate some yummy chocolate cake. One of the moms had made the pink castle cake and it looked really good. After cake the Birthday Girl opened some presents but was rather distracted (as three year olds are apt to be) and took awhile to eventually open them all. Grace gave her a princess crown, wand, and handmade tutu. Every little girl needs a tutu. She also gave her the card she decorated for her which was covered in pink and purple glitter. A card is not a card without "sprinkles" you know. All in all it was a fun party and Ethan spent most of the time in the wrap napping which worked out pretty well.