November 2012

November! Nothing much happened, but here are some shots of the nothingness. Cute Win pushed a chair up to the sink to help with the dishes. I leave the room for a minute and come back to this.

  

 You really do get a better clean if you use your knees.

 Trying on his summer gear, just in time for snow.

 And demanding to see the camera before the picture is taken. I love that you can see the color of his eyes in this shot. He has the most adorable olive green eyes.

 After a Sunday dinner, Rapunzel is asking Kirsten's Jessie about his tattoos. "How did you DO that?!" She kept asking him, fascinated. He does have an impressive sleeve.

 He and Kirsten's little Rozzie watching Baby Einsteins on a tablet with Jenni, Winston and Tom. Kids are so fun.

I love his little smile, and I love how he looks like a giant next to her tiny nugget of a self.

 Rapunzel decided to be Snow White on another day. These are her "creepy eyes". If you ask her for creepy eyes you will get a different eye trick every time. Not sure she knows what creepy means.

 Eleanor, baby Rozzie and Win in their mess of a room. Can you spot them all?

 Winston, helping Grandpa Tom with the gutters. We learned that Winston LOVES ladders! Yay for us!

 And climbing in general.

 Taking selfies. (Oh man, I really hate that word)

 Winston at "his desk". He sits at the window on top of the couch with his legs tucked in between the couch and the wall. He used to do it all of the time, now only occasionally.

 

Seriously, he used to do this all of the time. 

 We went up north for Grandma Ethel Mae Firth's birthday party. Here are some of the great-grandchildren who were able to attend. I love the Firth cousins, they are always so much fun.

 And the grandchildren who were there. Between Lex and Wes joking, they couldn't keep it together long enough for a decent shot.

Much better.

 Ethel Mae with her kids. From left, Carol* and Jess, Kathy and Rex*, Ethel Mae, Wayne* and Deb and Wayne*, Rebecca and Max* and Wendi* and John. 

(*Denotes which ones are her kids and not the spouse.)

Eleanor enjoying her cousins and second cousins. (Is that what they are? First cousins once removed? Who decides this stuff? Where is the website?)

 

Well, I am off to google genealogy terminology, and hopefully get this blog into the year 2013, since it's almost June. 

Potty Training!

So long ago Eleanor was an itty bitty baby of barely 2 years old when she started showing a serious interest in using the toilet. I was pregnant with Winston and got tired of taking her to the bathroom only to have to awkwardly balance her on the toilet in my ever enlarging state. She would ask several times a day and not once did she get what was supposed to happen in there. I bought her the little practice potty, but as you can see from the next two pictures, she didn't quite get that either.

 

 Moo.

 

 And then wise mothers told me not to bother right before we had the baby, then people said not to do it during the summer (swimsuits and outdoor play aren't conducive to staying dry) and then people said not to do it before a big trip etc... etc... And honestly, I was getting the hang of two kids and wasn't too concerned. So we bided our time and pretty much let Eleanor potty train herself. Which she did. Then, early this summer (2012) she started using her little potty, so we made a sticker chart and set a prize and voila! Within a week she was dry all day and even all night. 

So she earned this. Well, a different one almost like it that comes with a better horse. I couldn't find the picture. 

However, she didn't quite understand act two, so to speak. She was staying completely dry, but having the ick accident once a day. Well, we made another sticker chart, got another prize (I wanted to buy it anyways) and within the week she earned that too.

 And she was so so happy! Look! It's Flynn Rider and Rapunzel in the boat with little plastic lanterns! How do you not want this toy? It's only the best part of the movie/year!

 I'm telling you, folks. I could write a book on potty training. Titled- "Just Wait A Freaking Long Time And They Will Do It Themselves". Ok, so maybe that's the whole book. Of course, now I'm enjoying the good life of a potty trained child and now want the baby done too. Oh well. I can wait two more years. Ha ha.

Misc Summer 2012

So- how about a few odds and ends from the summer? I'm only six months behind on my blog. Yikes. Let's start where we left off. Unpacking the moving truck. My brothers and a dear neighbor helped us move all of our crap into my parents shed. Thanks heavens for that. I would hate to be paying money to have to get a storage unit and essentially rent our stuff until we move again. Mainly because nothing we own is worth the amount it would cost. Heck, nothing we own is worth more than $20. Ha. Anyhow, here is our sweet, bald, baby Winston playing with the bleach and wiper-fluid. 

We kept a keen eye on him while we worked, obviously.

 Eleanor reacquainted herself with our immediate neighbor, Charlotte. Hooray for friends!

One of the best parts of moving back to Utah is getting to see our cousins more! Allie is such a sweet helper with Winston.

  

And it's fun to see the older cousins as well! Like Ryan and Kirsten and her sweet baby Rosaline.

Whom my children adore. Winston gets all spazzy around her and it cracks me up.

 

 See?

Rozzie Jean!

 

More Allie-time.

Poor Winston! We put him down for a nap he DID NOT want to take. After his fussing calmed down, I go in to check on him and find this. Ohhhhhhhh! My poor little man!

And here he is showing his sterner side at Target.

And then his happier side 2 seconds later. Kids are so funny.  

The kids, my mom and I went to the cemetery on Memorial Day to visit Seth's grave. It was the first time for Winston, and boy did the kids love the "park." Flowers, pinwheels and flags everywhere!

Eleanor looked so sweet looking at his headstone.

 

And Winston... oh yeah, Winston. We had to stop him from eating every one's flowers. As seen here.

 

Back at home Eleanor and Abby worked on their splits. Eleanor also likes to do somersaults and call them everything from "dimnastix" to "tartwheeeeels" (gymnastics, cartwheels) or whatever else the Olympic team is doing. Funny story, when watching the Olympics, Eleanor was fascinated by the girl's teams. One time while watching a gal do her floor routine she tells me "Oh! Mom! I tan do a flippy-roll like dat!" (I can do a flippy-roll like that!) Then the same gymnast does some insane run across the mat and Eleanor says in just as enthusiastically, "Oh! I bet I tannott do dat!" (Oh, I bet I can not do that!) Another time while watching the gymnasts she says, "Oh! She's dust lite Woner Woman!" (She's just like Wonder Woman.)

Win and Grandpa Tom.

At Tom and Jenni's house, there was a stray dog they had hanging around for a few days. The kids freaking looooooved him.  

 

More fun with Abby. Abby takes care of Grandma Marguerite during the summer so we got a lot of wonderful time with her. Here they are doing nails again. I love this picture especially as Eleanor looks so much like Allie here!

More to come! Win's first birthday! Firth Reunion! Park City and more!! Stay tuned!!! Or not, I really can't promise anything these days.

Where Are The Children?

Eleanor is starting to include Winston a bit more in her play, which thrills me to no end. I really hope they always like each other. Here are a few bits of them playing and a few other odds and ends that I want to remember.

Hmm, it's a bit quiet... That's never good... I wonder where Eleanor and Winston are?
Little feet. I love her feet.

I guess it was a walk in closet. P.S. They are both in this shot.

Winston?

Yes, mom?

Another time, while playing in our closet, little girl found my thigh-high red boots and actually got them on herself. Only they aren't actually thigh highs, they only come to below the knee on me.

Here she is in action.

So this doesn't fit in anywhere, but it's one of Eleanor's sculpture/creatures. This is a empty formula can, two chopsticks jammed in the top, robed in a washcloth and topped off with a nursing pad. Classy.

I just had to include this one of her wearing her headphones. Some days mom doesn't want to hear DJ Lance Rock ask her if "she's ready" one more time.

And come on! Look how cute she is in them!In our attempt to save boxes for packing, the kids are having a hay-day with them all around.

Where's Eleanor?

Oh. Right there.

My cute men.

And of course our cute girl. I'll never get tired of dressing her up.

This was right before she turned three.

Oh! Her birthday! I can't wait to blog that and her Easter and about a dozen other things, of course. When am a I ever caught up on the blog?