Potty Training the Second

I was successful the first time, meaning Hallie was potty-trained within two days, so I've been nervous about potty-training the second time around since Syd has some big shoes to fill. Last night I put her on the potty and she peed... by accident... but nonetheless she peed in the potty! So I made a HUGE deal of it; she got to call Daddy in the middle of his class, we did the potty dance for her, and in between the shrieks of joy, she got two candy corn which was the only thing that won her over on wanting to do it again. Shortly after, it was bed time and I prayed that she would remember how exciting it was to pee in the potty and want to do it again tomorrow....

Well, it's tomorrow and she's peed in the potty all day long with no accidents!!! Am I truly this lucky to have such an easy time potty-training my kids? No.... I don't want to jinx myself, but I'll take the luck while I have it! Way to go Syd!!!

The Many Faces of Me

Mommy and Daddy love me through and through. They love my sillies, my crazies, my happies and blues.

What Happens When Mom's Not Watching...

What happens when Mom doesn't watch me while she's busy cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, dishes, and the other ten chores a day? I go snooping around in cabinets and find these...and I realize they have paper on the back so I start peeling all of them off and put them in a neat pile...

Uh-oh! I hear Mom coming, I should start cleaning these up... wait a second, they're sticky on the back which make them stick on the wall like stickers!

They're not sticking very good...

maybe if I pat each one a few times a little harder they'll stick better...

She caught me. But before you yell, look at my pretty artwork! Take my picture too, CHEEEEESE!!"

Way to go Mom for not watching, but thanks for letting me have fun and taking my picture first before yelling.... (Sigh) All in a days work. Now, what else can I get into?

Hallie's Preschool Fieldtrip and She Exists!

Yesterday I volunteered to chaperon Hallie's preschool field-trip to the pumpkin patch. I brought Syd with me and since I was chaperoning, I was able to observe Hallie's class for a few minutes before we left... a.k.a. I was able to see if her friends that she talks about constantly really exist or if they're figments of her imagination. Sure enough, Gina (pictured below) and Abby really exist. Phew... no therapy needed!

I had Hallie and Broderic in my group and he was quite the talkative kid while I drove them to the pumpkin patch. When we got there, the farm owner gave the kids a class on how pumpkins grow and the stages of their growth which was really interesting. Then we piled on a hay ride to the actual patch and they got to pick a pumpkin fresh off the vine to take home.


Hallie was taking FOREVER to pick that perfect pumpkin, even Broderic said, "Hallie you have to pick one quick or they'll leave without us!"

And here's that perfect pumpkin. I know, It looks a lot like the other ten pumpkins she picked up, but all that matters is that it looks perfect to her!

An Exciting Conference Annnouncement!

On Saturday morning's general conference session, President Monson said he was going to announce five new temples to be built. I immediately thought, "Build one in Fort Wayne so we don't have to keep driving the three and half hours to Detroit's temple" (pictured above), and then I thought, "I'll even take one in Indy!" And seconds later, President Monson announced the building of Indiana's first temple in Indianapolis!!! What an exciting announcement, and what a strong spirit I felt as the prophet announced that! I've already signed up on a couple blogs and newsroom blogs to inform us of when the groundbreaking is, and all the other exciting parts of the temple's building that we hope to see in person as it is built!

We were able to spend Conference weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Drake and Aunt Stacey which was fun but I'm not sure how much any of us got out of conference having two rascals running around. Watching eight hours of conference can get a little daunting... even for adults! (Don't mind the holes in my parents walls, they are remodeling!)

We caught my Dad sleeping a couple times and texted the picture to my brothers. Ha ha.

Grandma made fun plans for us to go to the apple orchard and to have a bonfire but it rained the whole weekend. Nonetheless, we still had so much fun visiting Grandma and Grandpa. Hallie and I even got to see Stacey swim at her practice since she is on the swim team which was a fun treat!

Saturday's session was pretty crazy but Sunday's session was a little more relaxed and the girls actually sat for a little while working on their conference coloring packs that I made them. Even Cam joined in on the coloring.

It was a very relaxing weekend! Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us come!