Buds

Its good to have a buddy.

Surprise

"Mom, did you know that if you put Sponge Bob toothpaste in your eye, it burns?"

In Waiting

Potty training: the guts and the glory

Pottytraining 101: During the first successful week, never trust a child's ability to 'hold it' when away from home.
Last week, Shann worked double shifts every day. So Friday night, I figured I'd treat Caden and Alyssa to McDonald's and spend time in the restaurant's playland. We got our food and sat down in the play area. We had been there for about 10 minutes when I looked up and saw Alyssa looking down at her feet, legs apart, and whimpering. I'd like to say I raced up, but as the pygmy stairway was maybe 3 feet high, I sort of scrambled up, banging my knees, calling to Alyssa to hold it. When I reached her, I realized to my dismay that 1) I was too late, and 2) it wasn't pee.

It was no small feat to carry her (in front of me while hunched over) down the spirled wee stairs. Once I got to the bottom, I just stared at her for a minute, trying to figure out what to do. I had no diapers or wipes. And for the story's sake, I must say that this stuff resembled applesauce. It was already dripping out of her pant leg. I had Caden come down to stand with her while I raced to the car to get my first aid kit. When I reached them again, and got out my two teeny wet naps, I realized that these would come nowhere close to helping. So I told Caden we would need to leave, and while trying to stay sane through his protests, I packed up our uneaten dinner, said hello and goodbye to a nice family from church, and carried her like a Thanksgiving turkey to the car.

Again, I stared at her. There was no way I was putting her in the carseat. So I had her stand on a rubber mat in the back seat, holding onto the handles on the seat in front of her. She thought this was great! On our short drive home, Caden enviously pointed out that even 4 year-old boys sometimes have accidents. I said, that no indeed, they do not! (You have to be in desperate shape to intentionally soil yourself hoping to be allowed to stand in the car.)

The good news is that in spite of this fiasco, she has done very well. She is actually waking up dry, and I think we're well on our way. So even though I hope this won't happen again, I'll be carrying my diaper bag along for a while yet.

Man skills

Target has giant red concrete balls in front of the store that serve as barriers for the entrance. Every time we go there, Caden tries to roll one or pick one up. Today I encouraged him to push really really hard. When he couldn't budge it, he said, "I know I'm a strong man, I must just have the wrong shoes on".

Life skill: to always have the perfect excuse. :)

Park

pretending to be tigers...

but lacking the exceptional balance of felines.
Yes, it looks like Caden is in pain. I think he was trying to smile.

Walking Baby, our Shitsu friend.

Beauful Dress

Every day, Alyssa wants to wear a 'beauful dress' that she can twirl in. The other night, Alyssa wanted to wear her Minnie Mouse pajamas to bed. I explained that these would be too warm. Trying to build it up, I said, "lets put on this cute, pink onsie." She stomped her foot, and said, "Its NOT cute!" Yikes, if we're having difficulty over pajamas, I'm worried about how the teen years will be!

Handsome Nephew

This is my nephew, Seth, who had some sort of modeling gig. My sister snapped this picture during the photo session. How fun, huh? I can't imagine he had this straight face for long!

Cousins

His arms

So yesterday, Caden learned that animals die. This wasn't a sad moment, he just said, "Oh! I didn't know that." So you know me, always ready to foray with my preschooler into theology that I don't fully understand, we took it further. I told him how everything here dies. People, animals, plants and trees. After Adam and Eve made that wrong choice in the garden of Eden, the world started dying. BUT, after Jesus comes back, nothing will die ANY MORE! "No more boo boos!", he added. I asked him where we'll meet Jesus if he comes back before we've died.
"IN THE AIR!", he said, grinning. I told him that if we die before Jesus returns, we'll fall asleep here, and wake up in the arms of Jesus if we trust in Him. He giggled about how fun this will be, and added, "I trust in Him!"
I've got to tell you, I can hardly wait.

Photo session with cousins

While my sister, Lynne, was visitng with her children, we thought it would be good to get the kid's picture taken together. I always dread this...below, you'll see why. Sorry I couldn't flip these, but hang in there, and keep and eye on Caden and Alyssa in each picture. The Liptak kids keep smiling through the Davis antics.
Lest you think - they just need a spanking, you should know that Alyssa got one. Actually, I said to her, "would you like to sit and smile, or get a spanking in the bathroom?" She chose the bathroom. So after getting back from the bathroom, she did not improve much, but you can't except much of a smile after that.

So help me...

Madelyn, Gwen, and Alyssa
Nice.
This was perhaps the only one to pick from where everyone was looking!

Scratch that

Juline is now leaving tomorrow. Plan A was me flying Juline and another little 3 year old girl to Miami on Friday morning on a 6am flight to meet a team going to Haiti. Luckily, we are doing Plan B. That is me driving to Harrisburg, meeting another host mom, and then driving 2 hours south with our girls to meet the director of the organization. She will keep the girls for the week and then take them home on Friday. So today we packed all her stuff, and she is ready to go.
Am I?

Laughing Girl

Juline and I went to see Dr Warf, her surgeon, this morning for her second post-op visit. He was very happy with her head size - it has gone down a bit (the biggest issue being that it hasn't grown). He said she no longer has hydrocephalus! The fluid in her brain is draining correctly, and all thats left is her body has to grow into her head. Dr Warf has released her from his care. So our laughing girl is going home. I feel pretty bittersweet about this, as I knew I would. On one hand, I know the longer she is here, the harder it'll be to let her go (for all of us), and of course, her parents are missing her terribly. Also, I'd like to try to potty train Alyssa before the busyness of fall sets in. So we'll probably have her for another week. Please pray for a smooth transition for her as well as the rest of us. :)