Opus 265 - She Did It!

I decided to let Lissa dictate the potty training thing. She kept telling me when she needed to go so we went to Walmart today and the kids picked out potty chairs. We came home, set them up, and naturally the kids wanted to sit on them (they're new and exciting!) - fully clothed at first. After awhile Lissa wanted to take off her diaper, so I let her try it out. Naturally, Joshua had to do it too :) After a little while we put their diapers back on. But then Lissa came up to me and said "Poop, poop." So we gave it another shot and she went potty on her big girl potty! I'm absolutely shocked! I really didn't think she would do it, I really thought it would take a long time. Now, of course, I'm skeptical and figure it'll be awhile before it happens again, but I guess we'll see. Silly little girl.

Opus 264 - No Way

So the strangest thing happened the other day. Lissa was walking funny; on a whim I asked her, "Lissa, do you need to go potty?" She immediately ran to the bathroom. So I took her diaper and pants off and held her on the potty. Joshua stood nearby screaming because he was jealous :) So after a little bit, Jason did the same thing with Joshua. Naturally, Lissa stood nearby screaming because she wanted back on. After Jason put Joshua's diaper back on, he looked in and noticed that one of the kids had gone to the bathroom! Of course we don't know which one since it was so loud.

Then today Lissa started walking funny again, so once again I asked her if she needed to go potty and she ran to the bathroom. This time Joshua didn't notice, so I'm positive nothing happened.

So I started thinking about these two instances today and started wondering if Lissa really is ready to potty train. I've come to the conclusion that she is not. She hasn't told me she needs to go - I asked her both times - and I'm not even sure if she ever has gone on the potty. Plus, she doesn't seem to ever have any long dry periods. Besides, she's not even two and I'm not ready to deal with everything that comes with potty training. We haven't even got the toddler bed thing done yet for goodness sake!

I think she thinks this is just a fun game to play. So I've decided I won't ask her again; I'll wait until she tells me she needs to go. Hopefully that doesn't happen for another 6-12 months :)

Okay you moms who have potty trained - Do you think I'm right? She's not ready yet, right???

*********************************UPDATE*******************************

Twice in the 12 hours since I wrote the above post Lissa has come up to me saying, "Poop, poop." I've checked her out and she's not poopy, then a minute later she comes back and she's got a poopy diaper!

Opus 263 - Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas day. It was wonderful to stay home and relax all day. Lissa really got into the unwrapping thing. Joshua wasn't too interested - he just wanted to play with each new toy. The kids particularly enjoyed a visit from Uncle Matt, Uncle David, Aunt Emily, and Grandma and Grandpa Smith.

Digging into their first presents - books from Grandma and Grandpa Camacho. After opening them, they didn't want to stop reading to open the next gift. Cuties.

Gotta give 'em the music toy :)

Joshua received two Lightning McQueen cars and a truck. This kid is in car heaven. He keeps running around the house with his cars/truck saying, "Speed." So cute. I really need to get it on video. He says "car" at least once every 3-5 minutes.

Lissa and her Cocoa Set

Having some yummy cocoa at their new table (the funny thing is that it was Joshua who pulled out the cocoa set today, put it on the table, and started playing - Lissa joined him after a little while).

Coloring at their table - I love this table, the crayon comes off with just a baby wipe! Ikea rocks!

Reading on their new couch

Aunt Emily opening her present from us

Joshua showing off his Cars plate that Aunt Lissa gave him - our only problem is that he doesn't like any food covering Lightning or Mater :)

Lissa and her Princess plate from Aunt Lissa

Opus 262 - Lissa Funnies

Here are a few of Lissa's recent funnies:

She loves to put on her boots (and hide from the camera)

She also loves to read the Sneetches (Yes! S-N-double E-T-C-H-E-S, Sneetches)

Lissa also loves to say a few particular words for us

Opus 261 - Temple Square

We finally made it out to Temple Square to see the lights. The kids LOVED the "train" ride* - they kept saying "Choo Choo" over and over. Joshua especially loved looking out at the cars. Both kids really enjoyed the lights as well. They kept saying "more, more, more." They don't like to keep their gloves on, so we had to wrap them in blankets just to keep their hands warm (it was a very cold night). Unfortunately, Joshua kept trying to point at things, which would cause his hands to come out of the blanket. The only way we could keep his hands in was to tell him to fold his arms. It worked like a charm. I'm sure we sounded a little funny walking around Temple Square saying, "Joshua, fold your arms" every five minutes!

Joshua pointing:

Don't they look so cute and little??
These are my attempts at taking pictures of the kids on the "train" - it wasn't easy since I was holding one kid and the ride wasn't very smooth :)

*It wasn't really a train, it was Trax.

Opus 260 - Catch

Jason has been teaching the kids to catch balls. As you can tell from these short video clips, they still need some work :) BTW, yes, they're dressed up in BYU gear because this was taken on the day of the bowl game. Oh, and yes, they're playing with a BYU football and BYU volleyball. I guess you'd say we're fans.

Joshua was laughing too much to play catch...

Opus 259 - Toddler Awards 2009

In the category Most Mischievous Toddler 2009,
the award goes to...
(drum roll)
Lissa Smith!

Seriously, this cute little stinker could easily win the award. Today, during "nap time," she emptied the two lower drawers of her dresser. I put all of the clothes in the hall and put her back in bed. When I went back a few minutes later, she was sitting in the bottom drawer of her dresser - thank goodness the dresser is secured to the wall! I would have taken pictures (because as mischievous as it was, she was dang cute in there), but I was trying to teach a piano lesson at the time. My poor student was very patient with me as I ran upstairs twice to take care of Little Miss Mischievous 2009.

Opus 258 - Christmas Goodies

The kids and I put together a gingerbread house on Wednesday. I say "put together" because it was one of those pre-made kits. Lissa and Joshua LOVED putting the candy on. It was quite an adventure and our house doesn't look very pretty, but at least the kids had fun :)

Notice the missing wall and crooked roof. I had a very difficult time holding the walls and roof in place, while simultaneously trying to keep two 1-year olds from knocking them down.






Last night and this afternoon we made some sugar cookies. Lissa and Joshua got to decorate them. Since sprinkles were the easiest thing for them to do and since we only have green sprinkles, every cookie, no matter the shape, has green sprinkles :) Once again, they aren't beautiful, but the kids had a blast.

(Yes, those are cars. Do you really think I could make cookies and
NOT make some shaped like cars??)

Opus 257 - Cars

Dear Disney/Pixar,

I am desperately trying to find a Lightning McQueen car for my almost 2 year old son for Christmas. Why do you not sell Lightning McQueen cars for 2 year old boys? Why are all of them for children 3 and older? You have got to know that there are little 2 year old boys all across the world who are in love with Lightning McQueen - why don't you make cars that are safe for them? I know, I know, you have the plush cars for those kids, but those cars can't move - they can't be pushed around like every little boy loves to do; so very uncool. Please, please, please make a Lightning McQueen car that is safe for a 2 year old... could you do that REALLY fast too??

Sincerely,

A Frustrated Mama

Opus 256 - Hold It Baby

I have found the best product ever. I first heard about it on a multiples website, but didn't pay too much attention since it's for traveling and we don't do much of it. Then we decided to go to Las Vegas for the wedding and I started looking into it again.

It's called Hold It Baby and it's amazing. It can hold up to five things at a time (I suppose you could squeeze a couple more on) and keeps your kids from throwing everything on the car floor and whining for you to pick it up. Any parent knows how annoying that is - times two is no fun! We actually don't let the kids take anything in the car with them because we just don't want to deal with it. That technique has worked quite well. However, I really wanted the kids to be able to have something to drink and a few toys to help entertain them on the drive the Vegas, so I decided to check the Hold It Baby out.

Here's what I like about it:

* It's made by a mother of twins, which of course makes it cool :)
* There's nothing on it that's unsafe for kids to chew on (oh man, are my kids chewers)
* It can hold a lot
* It's easy to use
* It works!!!

I do have to warn you that it's not cheap - especially if you have to buy more than one. When I first checked out the price after deciding it'd be good for our trip, I decided not to buy them because of the price. Fortunately, Jason got a bonus a few days later so I decided we could swing it. I'm so glad I got them because it made the trip to Vegas much easier than it would have been without. The kids loved having their sippies and toys. Lissa especially loved being able to read books (yes, it holds books!*) and Joshua loved having his truck.

Now that we have the Hold It Baby's, we can let the kids bring stuff with them in the car when we drive around too. Of course, to make things easier, we're only letting them bring sippy cups, but at least they can drink now :)


*We did have a problem with the binding on a few books ripping. We're not sure if the books were too big for the product, or if the books were too weak - two of the books are pretty cheap and have already had problems, but the other book seemed like it was in good shape... No matter what, it was still worth it; I'll just tape the binding back up - I've done that with many books already.

Opus 255 - Catching Up

I know I've been a horrible blogger lately. I'm sorry. But frankly, I'm just plain worn out. This working-outside-of-the-home-mom stuff is exhausting! On the days that I teach, I get up early, go teach high schoolers all day (and try to do a "half-time" job that's really more like a full-time job done in half the time), come home and teach lessons, feed the kids dinner, try to keep them entertained the rest of the night without falling asleep, then put them to bed. I have a hard time getting up the energy to blog after that. On the days that I don't teach, I'm so busy doing all of the cleaning/laundry/organizing, etc. that I can't do the other days (I also teach lessons those days), that I'm just as tired at the end of the day. So that's my pathetic excuse for being a horrible blogger :) Maybe I'll get better at the working outside of the home thing some day... Keep your fingers crossed.

In the meantime, continue reading for some updates.

Opus 254 - A Curse Upon Their Heads

I'm putting a curse on Storkcraft's heads. I realize that Storkcraft is a company and therefore has no heads, so I can't really put a curse on them, but I am anyway.

I have loved our cribs. I love the color, the drawer underneath, the dropside (very convenient when you're my height), and how sturdy they are. But they were just recalled for the second time in less than a year!!!! That's ludicrous if you ask me. This time it was the dropside that caused the recall. Apparently the side has broken off and several kids have fallen through, suffocated and died. Okay, good reason for the recall, but come on! My kids need to sleep somewhere!

So when I read the news on Tuesday I was faced with a dilema: Do I put the kids in pack-n-plays and wait for the new parts or do I convert their cribs to toddler beds (thus removing the offending dropside)?* After some thought I realized that the pack-n-plays would not work. My kids are VERY active - they love to shake the sides of their crib and jump like crazy (they get about a foot off the mattress). They're at the very top of the height and weight limit - Joshua is exactly at the highest limit on both weight and height - and I know that an extended amount of time in those pack-n-plays would not be safe or comfortable. My feelings on that were confirmed this weekend when we had the kids sleep in their pack-n-plays in Vegas. Joshua screamed and screamed because he hated being so cramped up in his pack-n-play (he was in the twin one - the largest available).

So toddler beds were pretty much our only choice. Actually, a friend very kindly offered to let us borrow her crib, but I just couldn't imagine taking the cribs apart, trying to find a place to store them and all of the stuff in the drawers, putting other cribs together, then doing it all again in two months. Yuck.

So I took of the dropside, put on bedrails, made sure their room was secure (anchored furniture the wall, etc.), and put the kids in their "bid kid beds." The first night went great. They went right to sleep.

The next morning Joshua was trying to lean over the bedrail to get his blanket - that he had thrown on to the floor - and he ended up flipping right out of his bed and onto the floor. I was right there, getting Lissa, when it happened so was able to give him comfort and he wasn't hurt, but we decided we should probably teach them the right way to get in and out. So I spent some time in the afternoon teaching them to get in and out of their beds. I know, I'm crazy, but I figured I'd rather have them out of their beds going crazy, then falling out and getting hurt.

When they went to bed that night, they did great. When they woke up in the morning, they got out of their beds and read some books. Correction, Lissa read books while Joshua took all of them off of the bookshelf.

So far so good, right?

Yesterday, Aunt Lissa was watching the kids while we were at the game. When she put them down for their nap, they just got out of their beds and ran around screaming. After 30 minutes, she brought them back downstairs and gave them some more time to get tired (they had slept some in the car on the drive home from Vegas). When she put them to bed later, they went right to sleep. We didn't have much of a problem last night either.

Then today came. Oh, it had to come, didn't it?? First of all, Church was a nightmare. The kids were so tired from their crazy weekend that they just screamed and cried at the top of their lungs for a good 30 minutes (we had left the Chapel and were in the Relief Society room where we could still hear the talks, but not have the kids ruining things for everyone else). We finally went home early so we could put the kids down for a much needed nap.

When we put the kids in bed do you think they slept? Of course not! They ran around playing and yelling. They found everything that they shouldn't get into (all of the stuff I missed when childproofing). It was a disaster area in there. Joshua finally fell asleep and Lissa wandered around bored and finally read some books.

We had to get them up around lunch time since we knew they were going to need more sleep (a second nap) and the only way to have that happen was to not let them sleep too long in this first nap. When we put them down the second time, we had the same result - caos. But this time I decided to use Supernanny's method. The first time we went back in, we put them in their beds, tucked them in, and said goodnight. Everytime after that, we just put them back in their beds without saying a word. It only took a total of three times. I really hope this method works fast.

A curse on Storkcraft's heads!

*At no point did I consider leaving the kids in their cribs as is. I take safety matters very seriously and do not want to risk my kids' lives because "nothing has happened yet, it'll be fine, if something were going to happen it would've happen by now" - in my mind those are famous last words. Yes, this is a hassle, but my kids' safety and lives are worth the hassle.

Opus 253 - Touchdown!

Joshua has learned a new trick:

Opus 252 - Thanksgiving

We did not have a "normal" Thanksgiving this year, but it was a good one. We (Jason, myself, Aunt Lissa, and the kids) drove down the Las Vegas on Thanksgiving day. We met my parents at the hotel and had a leftover turkey dinner (my parents had Thanksgiving dinner with my brother and his family earlier in the day in Kingman, AZ).

It was great to see my parents, even though we didn't get to see them for long. The kids enjoyed playing with Grandma and Grandpa - who wouldn't?

We were down there for my cousin's wedding. It was fun to see the Camacho cousins - it's been a long time. The wedding was beautiful, waiting for the pictures outside the temple was challenging (Joshua was exhausted; yelling and screaming until he finally fell asleep in my arms, which are still sore from holding him for so long - he's huge!), and the reception was fun and challenging. They had a kids' area at the reception - Lissa was happy to sit in there and color, but Joshua wanted to run back and forth between that room and visiting us. Once the dancing started, everything was great. The kids were able to run around, scream, and act crazy and it was okay :) They really enjoyed the dancing. The poor kids were exhausted since they really hadn't been able to nap all day. They crashed when we got back to the hotel.

We weren't in Vegas long - we got up early on Saturday morning to drive home so we wouldn't miss the BYU v. Utah game. I'm glad we made it - although there were several moments during the game where I was wondering if it had been worth it. Fortunately, the Cougars pulled off a win.

I was a horrible picture taker in Vegas. I only got one picture, but it's a cutie:

Opus 251 - Aunt Lissa

Aunt Lissa is in town visiting. We're loving having her around. The kids have especially enjoyed having her around. Aunt Lissa took this picture and video when she was playing with them:

Opus 250 - Christmas Tree

We broke my Christmas tree rule this year and put the tree up before Thanksgiving. We were out of town for Thanksgiving so I knew the Sunday before would be the time. I don't have many pictures. It was quite the adventure - the kids really got into it and made it very difficult to decorate. We don't have all of ornaments up because we chose to stop when Joshua pinched his finger. The kids love having the tree up and want us to plug it in every morning.

Opus 249 - Boots

I was looking through the pictures on the camera and found these. I couldn't figure out what was going on at first, but when I looked at the date and time I realized that Nanny Kate must have taken these pictures when the kids put on her boots:

Opus 248 - Trucks and Cars

Lissa discovered a new way to play with the fire truck. She had so much fun pulling it around:





Joshua with his very favorite toys:

Opus 247 - Sleepy Joshie

Lissa and Joshua have become huge fans of the park. They're finally big enough to play mostly unsupervised and they just love it. Joshua was so exhausted the other day that he fell asleep on the floor after coming home from the park.

Lissa decided to join him (although she never fell asleep):

Opus 246 - Halloween

The kids had a good Halloween. We took them to our Ward's Trunk-or-Treat. At first they didn't quite know what to do and were holding my hand very tight. About halfway through they got things figured out. Joshua kept trying to get more from everyone :) We also went to Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house to take pictures with the cousins.





All of the cousins:


Joshua actually sat still for an extended amount of time while Uncle Mike read a book to him: