Potty Training - Check!

Finally, I only have one set of diapers to change again. Zach is potty trained minus some pipe leakage every now and again. LOL He has done well with nights, but I still put a pull-up on him just in case. He is even pooping on the potty now. Woohoo!!! As a reward, we took him to Toys R Us tonight to pick out a big present (and I even let him wear underwear for the occasion!).

Now when Hannah got to do this, she picked a $50 item. But Zach, being the singled-minded boy that he is, honed in on the more reasonably priced Take Along Thomas trains. Never fear - Daddy was careful to steer him clear of the Christmas list items. He settled on the Breakdown Train, Max & Monty, and Hector. Plus he got some new undies with Thomas and Spider Man. He and Hannah were up until almost 10:00 playing with the new friends. My boy LOVES trains!!

A child's perspective of Sunday School

On our way home from church this morning, I asked the kids how Sunday School was. I asked the usual - what did you learn? who was the story about? etc.

Hannah responded with, "I didn't hit anyone today."

I'm always left wondering the source of comments like that. I guess I'll never know.

Kid Free Weekend

Chad and I finally got the opportunity to celebrate our 6th anniversary this weekend and it was blissfully kid-free! We attended our niece's birthday party Saturday and then parted ways with the kids. Zach got to stay at the McGrath's and enjoy two days of boy-stuff. Hannah, Rebecca, and Keely piled into Grandmommy's van and off they went to Canton.

Meanwhile, Chad and I headed to Frisco and did some shopping. We also took some time at Dave & Buster's to play a ton of games, trade in our modest 800 tickets for Christmas gifts for the kids, and eat dinner. We picked up shakes at Steak & Shake and headed home for about an hour. Then we got to go together to the prayer vigil at church and did some stargazing at the top of a hill on the way home.

On Sunday, we attended church, including the Thanksgiving meal after service where we actually got to have conversations with several people! Then home we went to watch the Cowboys, do some light housecleaning, and relax. We headed to the Majestic around 3:30 for our 5:00 performance of The Nutcracker by the Moscow Ballet company. It was Chad's first ballet and he said he really liked it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially since it was a different version from the one I saw about 15 years ago. We parked in an amazingly efficient parking building across the street. Clearance was 6 feet. I seriously got claustrophobic while we were driving in there. Chad couldn't even get on tip-toe because he would hit his head on the ceiling! After the ballet, we headed to PF Changs for dinner. We were dressed up for the ballet, of course, so we got a few looks! LOL

Monday morning dawned and we actually slept in! Heavenly!! We went for a late breakfast at IHOP, shopped at Wal-Mart, then picked up the girls in Allen and traded a niece for a son in Anna.

There is no way I could fully express my gratitude for all the family members who made this awesome weekend possible. If only y'all could have been able to observe the calm, peaceful, joyful woman I was the last two days. Alas, she has been replaced by the furrowed-brow mommy who is glad that bedtime arrived tonight! Time to plan another weekend . . .

M&M and Cousins (72 photos), by Julie Smith

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Potty Training

Potty training sure is different with boys! Hannah made the decision she was going to be toilet trained and just got down to business. Granted, it took three major attempts on my part to finally get there and she was almost 4 before it happened, but when she was ready, that was that. She was fully potty trained, even at night, within a few weeks.

And then there's Zach. First we had to get him to speak coherently. Then we had to understand him. They we had to learn two way conversations. Finally, I got him to pee on the potty sporadically, earn some stickers, and earn some trains in the process. Progress was slow at the beginning. After many weeks, he finally caught on and realized there were regular rewards involved, even if it was just a high-five. Two pages of stickers and about 12 trains later, he upgraded to big boy undies. This is the second full day of undies with only 3 or 4 accidents. He's still in pull-ups at night and at naptime, but we have been so pleased over all. He even goes potty without being prompted sometimes!

My big challenge will be feeling safe to put him in undies when we go out. I don't think I am there yet!

Rebecca is doing great!

Rebecca had her probing procedure on Wednesday morning. She did absolutely wonderful and it is apparent that the procedure was a success. I could tell a huge difference by Wednesday afternoon. Her eye is not gooping up anymore and no more random tears. Chad even commented last night that she seems even happier than usual. Thanks for all the prayers for our little sweetie!

Rebecca's Procedure

Rebecca had an appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist today. She confirmed that Rebecca does have a clogged tear duct and would benefit from a probing procedure. To my surprise, she recommended right away - like tomorrow morning. So we did pre-registration and pre-op right after her eye appointment. Her procedure will be Wednesday at 9:30. It is a very quick procedure (like 30 seconds) and she will only have a general anesthesia. She will have no pain and I'll give her eye drops for 10 days to prevent infection. Please pray that the tear duct opens and heals without any complications.

Rebecca Picture

Here is a good picture of Rebecca from last Friday. I think Pink Puppy is gonna start looking like Piglet one of these days. If you haven'ts seen Hannah's lovey lately, Piglet is missing part of an arm now. LOL And doesn't Rebecca look so adorable in those Baby Legs? Thank you McGrath clan!

New Train

Proud boy earned a new train last night. :)

Mom's Birthday Party (38 photos), by Julie Smith

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