Gingerbread Update

If you haven't read the original Gingerbread House post (scroll down two posts), definitely go read that one first.

Now for a buzz-kill update...


After an exciting first time pooping on the potty last night, Luke proudly brought his gingerbread house to show & tell at school (he had been telling his teacher about it for weeks), and told everyone that he got it as a reward for pooping on the potty. He got cheers and applause from the adults in the room, while the kids (all but one + Luke are potty-trained) were probably thinking "what the heck, I don't get a gingerbread house when I go on the potty!?" 

He happily admired and snacked on the house all day, but then he back pedaled on the potty progress--pooping in his pants twice and once IN THE TUB! He hasn't done that since he was about 10 months old! 
So much for turning the potty-training corner. On goes the battle. Sigh. 

Thanksgiving

Sorry for the lack of posts... I ran out of photo storage on this blog and it took a few days to resolve. Basically, I now have to pay a small monthly fee for the blog now. That's fine with me, I actually can't believe it has been free all this time!

So, here are a few pics from our Thanksgiving. We had a really nice day hosting four families for a pot luck feast. Luke proudly wore the pilgrim hat that he made at school...

 There were 12 kids, ages 16 months - 9 years and they were (unbelievably) really, really well behaved. They trashed Luke & Anna's rooms upstairs, but we fully expected that!

Keith and I were busy hosting and didn't capture any photos of the adults or the beautiful table, but we had quite a spread. Everyone went home with a full dinner's worth of leftovers!

And we enjoyed the rest of the weekend with skiing, visiting with friends, eating out, and relaxing.
If you can't be with family, being with great friends is a great way to spend the holiday.

Gingerbread House!

We have (unsuccessfully) been trying to potty-train Luke for months now. We have tried everything but he has been very disinterested and even defiant about it. The kid has a lot of will power. Therefore, we haven't made much progress. 
Several weeks ago Keith bought a gingerbread house kit, which Luke spotted in the store and really, really wanted. We told him he could make it as soon as he pooped on the potty, and placed it on the top of our fridge. It sat there (and was hidden in the garage for a while as we threatened to return it to the store :) for weeks and though Luke has been very excited to talk about the house--he would go on and on about how he'd get the gingerbread house when he poops on the potty...he and Daddy would sit at the dining room table and make it...he would put the gumdrops on the roof...lots of detail--yet he still wouldn't go on the potty. He knows when he has to go, by the way, because he often sneaks away to poop in his diaper or underwear, which apparently is fairly common behavior. 

But today I forced him to sit on the potty, where he stayed (watching a show on the iPad) for an hour. When he got up to eat dinner he didn't say anything but Keith noticed that he had pooped in the toilet!

We were all so excited that a party broke out in the house - Christmas music playing, gingerbread house making, revelry all around. Of course, we had to remind him that this was just the first time pooping on the potty and he has to continue to do it (and to pee on the potty) every day. My expectation is pretty low, but you never know, maybe this will be the breaking point where he finally gets it. I told Luke that all I wanted for Christmas was for him to get out of diapers and on the potty. So he has a few more weeks to master the art.

Here are some shots of the little guy enjoying his reward...

Swim Girl

Today was Anna's seventh swim lesson in the fast track program (8 lessons in 2 weeks) and she loved it. She made a big breakthrough yesterday: for the first time she didn't cry and seemed to enjoy being in the water. Here's a peek:

Snow Kids

The flakes finally stopped falling this afternoon, after two days of non-stop snowfall.

Thankfully the kids loved playing outside; otherwise it would have been a long two days indoors!

No More Crib for Anna...boohoo!

Anna's crib days are over. On Saturday she climbed out of the crib (twice) during nap time, prompting us to convert it to a toddler bed. I have a few friends whose kids can climb out of their cribs but don't do it. Well, when my kids realize they can, they do!
Iwas really hoping she'd last a bit longer in the crib, but she went 2.5 months longer than Luke did, so I should be happy with that. She still can't work a door knob, so last night we closed put her in bed, closed the door, and were prepared to deal with crying and banging on the door. But Anna stayed in bed until the next morning! She has always been so good about going to bed, so hopefully that will continue now that she can get out. But we'll see...

Snow!

The weather was in the 70s all week until yesterday, when we received our first snow storm. Now our patio looks like this:

It has been snowing for 24 hours and looked like a winter wonderland when we woke up this morning. So, we took a winter walk to Harmon's to buy pancake ingredients, then the kids made a snowman with Keith...

Luke showed Anna the true joy of eating fresh snow...

 I think Luke's hat is a bit too big, but at least he was wearing one...

Alta is slated to open next Friday, but since Keith just can't wait that long, he's planning to hike and ski tomorrow. Let the winter season begin!

Swimming

This little lady started swimming lessons yesterday. As expected, she cried. But she's doing a "fast track" program, so she'll have 8 lessons over this week and next and will hopefully get comfortable quickly. And she looked darn cute in her suit (she didn't wear the goggles in the water, but likes wearing them while Luke swims :)

And speaking of Luke swimming, after a year of lessons, he is doing really well. He can now jump off the diving board and turn right into a back float when he comes up. He can also swim short distances on his own. I took a video on my phone but for some reason I can't get it to upload here. I'll keep trying so you can see the action.

#3

Most of you probably know by now, but we are excited to be expecting our third child.

On Monday I'll be 5 months pregnant so this little one is due in March...the day after Anna's 2nd birthday to be exact. We're not going to find out whether it's a boy or girl.

This week I had an ultrasound and everything looks good; here's a peek:

Anna loves babies, though doesn't understand that she'll be a big sister come March. Luke, on the other hand, seems to really understand that there's a baby in my belly. He talks about it often (he wanted to save some Halloween candy for the baby), and consistently says that he wants another baby sister. Tonight he asked when he'll be able to feel the baby moving. 
Now when I have a frustrating or exhausting day with the kids, I try to remind myself that this is nothing--things will be a lot more chaotic in a few months!