She'll Never Cease To Amaze Me

Sophie is a handful of surprises.  In so many ways, she's taken more effort to parent than Claire.  And it wasn't exactly easy to potty train Claire.  Take that juicy little fact and add it to my innate loathing of potty training, and one can understand why I've waited so long to potty train her!  But when we ran out of her diapers last week, I came to a fork in the road.  Pay another $50.00 for diapers she really didn't need anymore, or bite the bullet and train her.  Funny how money can persuade even the most stubborn...

So, last Monday was our first day, and she did great!  Really, she's been asking (literally asking) to be potty trained for a while.  And she has gone in the potty plenty of times.  But now she was wearing panties all day and keeping them dry!  Mostly, anyway.  She maybe had 4 accidents the whole first week.  Go figure!  I couldn't believe how easy it was.

Then began week two of wearing big-girl panties, and Sophie decided to up the ante.  She started staying dry at night!  Even without giving up her bottle!  After a couple of days of staying dry all night and during nap time, she stopped telling me she needed to go potty all together.  She'd just march her cute little potty-trained behind into the bathroom and take care of things herself!  I am still in shock, but I think I can pretty much say without any hesitation that SOPHIE-KINS IS POTTY TRAINED!

 You are amazing, Sophie!  We're so proud of you!!  

Milestones: Standing Unassisted

Johnny has been working on standing on his own for a week or two.  But this morning, he really got the hang of it.  And once he knew he could do it, he wanted to stand all the time!

You know what's next, right John?  Biped Mobility! :)  Way to go, Little Man.  I love you!

11 Months

Can I tell you just how impossible it is to catch some decent pictures of a constantly moving 11 month old man-child?  

Johnny turned 11 months old yesterday.  Is my baby boy really going to be 1 next month?!  I remember this time last year, waking up with my huge belly, feeling Johnny move around inside of me with ever increasing strength and ever decreasing room.  I thought for sure he'd be here in just a matter of days.  I couldn't fathom the thought of another month!  But we made it.  And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...

And boy is Johnny strong!  He's strong in spirit, body, and will.  If he's awake, he's constantly moving.  If something doesn't go his way, he's yelling.  And if there is an obstacle he needs to overcome in order to get to what he wants, he'll keep at it until it's done.  Every time.  

He's still my happy little guy, though!  Every morning he wakes up with a smile, and can't wait to start playing. He loves to give kisses (wet, slobbery, open-mouth-with-his-tongue-stinking-out kisses) and hugs.  And he LOVES it when Daddy comes home!  

Here's Johnny's life in a nutshell:

*Finally graduated into size 4 diapers

*Holding steady at 12-18 month clothes, and still shoeless

*Drinks water like a camel

*Blows kisses goodnight, but only to his sisters

*Can stand unassisted, and has even attempted a half step or two

*Sings along with the family during our nightly song

*Down to nursing only before bed and upon waking in the morning

*Goes to bed without a bottle or binkie, and puts himself to sleep within five minutes

*Almost always sleeps a solid 10+ hours, with two shorter naps during the day

*Has 7 teeth

*Loves to wrestle and rough-house on the living room floor

*Still absolutely LOVES being outside

*Adores Jack Dog

*Has absolutely awesome hair

John, you make my soul smile.  I love you!

Change Is In The Hair

Bath time was becoming quite the struggle.  Claire had such long, beautiful hair...but she absolutely HATES washing her hair in the tub, and she's terrified of showers.  After a few baths that felt like torture for both of us, I decided it was time to get Claire a haircut.  She can grow her hair out again once she's old enough to wash and condition it on her own. :)

The only hurtle we had to jump was Danny.  He was afraid that Claire would look too old with a cute, short haircut.  But, after I threatened him with bath time duties, he relented. :)  Claire was excited!  She wanted to look like Rapunzel after Flynn Rider cut her hair. :)

Here is our little girl with her long, beautiful hair:

Claire did really good during her haircut, and even let the stylist wash her hair!  Here she is after:

Claire looks simply darling!  Even Danny loves it. :)  And Claire can't get enough time in front of the mirror.  While she does look a little older, I think it suits her.  My beautiful Claire Bear.

A New Love

I've always known I love to cook.  And until a week ago, I thought that was it for my culinary affection.  I would always tell people that I loved to cook, but I didn't care for baking.  Well, I was flat out wrong!

Since getting my KitchenAid, I've discovered I rather like baking!. I even get an itch sometimes to bake something...anything.  And not because I want something sweet to eat, or bread to serve with dinner.  But just because I love the process, and the smell, and the prettiness that comes out of the oven.  I love it!

Last week, I woke up on Monday morning and thought I'd give sugar cookies a try.  Claire and Sophie had been asking for days to make cookies, and what kind of Mom would I be to deny them?  Now, I have tried sugar cookies in the past.  Twice, to be precise.  And both times were monumental failures!  I swore I'd never do them again.  But...that was before I owned a KitchenAid.  And before I had built up some confidence in baking.  

I used the OBB recipe for the cookies, of course.  For the first time in my life, my dough turned out PERFECT!  I was so excited!  All credit goes to my wonderful KitchenAid, who I think I might name "Mixie".  I know...it's lame.  But what would you name it? :)  Anyway, once the dough was ready, the girls helped me cut out some cute cookies, and we baked them up.  The house smelled delicious!  The kids were SO excited!

  The cookies turned out perfectly!  I was ecstatic!  So...I decided to go for broke. :)

On the Our Best Bites blog, they have pictures of these adorably decorated sugar cookies.  They used their "glace icing", which I had all the ingredients for.  The girls and I got fancy and started our attempt at not only edible and delicious sugar cookies, but beautiful ones as well....

I had a blast decorating, and you can see that Claire and Sophie did as well.  Sophie mostly ate her icing, but that's cool, too. :)  Admittedly, my decorating skills need some practice.  And I've decided I need to get some piping equipment.  But, for a first timer, I was pleased with my fancy cookies!

So pleased, in fact, that I was almost on a high for the rest of the day!  And it was during this high that I planned my next baking adventure.  I had been dying to try the "Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Frosting" recipe off of OBB, but have never had the guts or the occasion.  Well, the sugar cookies added the guts, and the missionaries and friends coming for dinner provided the occasion!

This undertaking did not go as smoothly as the cookies did.  I have never made a cake from scratch before, so I was a little nervous.  I decided to make the cake the day before the dinner so I wouldn't get stressed, and make the frosting the day of.  Things went well with the cake right up until I needed to take the cakes out of the pans.  And...you guessed it.  They stuck.  AGH!  I was so bummed!  They broke and split, and there was a decent amount of cake left in one of the pans.  I didn't know what to do!  But I decided to go ahead the next day and make the frosting and just see if I could engineer the cake together enough to frost and serve it.  *Side Note: I know what I did wrong with the cakes.  I took them out of the oven and left them to "cool" on the stove top!  Yeah, the stove top to the oven that had been at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Duh.

Anyway, the frosting didn't quite work like I think it was supposed to, either.  I know what I did wrong there, too, so hopefully the next time I can get the nice whipped texture I was going for.  But at any rate, the frosting was rich and smooth and wonderful, so I went ahead and tried to assemble my layered cake.  It only took a little bit of effort, and I was able to get it built and frosted!  I stuck it immediately in the fridge, hoping it would harden a bit and keep intact until after dinner.  It did, and when it came time to serve it, it turned out beautifully!

Not only was it beautiful.  It was delicious!  Definitely one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had.  I will for sure make this one again!  And as for my relationship with baking?  I think we're just getting started... ;)

The 4th

Our 4th was a quieter one this year.  I started out the morning with an INSANE workout, and Danny worked on projects around the house.  I feel compelled to add that the only reason Danny hasn't been doing INSANITY with me is because he hurt his back again.  Poor guy.  A bright note, however, is that this time we actually sent him to an orthopedic surgeon and he has an MRI today.  We're going to get this problem fixed.

At any rate, after the morning stuff was done, we spent some time just lying around trying to figure out what to do with the day.  Honestly, Danny and I were both feeling out of sorts, and for some reason a little sorry for ourselves.  I don't know why.  But when mid-afternoon hit and we were still sulking about, Claire and I decided to take matters into our own hands.  We left Daddy home to finish his homework (lame!), Johnny and Sophie to their naps, and went to the store to find SOMETHING to make the day feel special and fun.

We bought some food, cause that always makes you feel better.  Especially our good friends Ben & Jerry. :)  But the best of all was some supplies to make 4th of July Magic Wands!  There's a story behind this.  Last year we were in Utah for the 4th, and our girls went to a parade with Grandma and Papa Call.  At this parade, as a part of the favors, each girl ended up with a little plastic magic wand with a patriotic star on top.  The girls played with these all day...especially Claire.  We lit fireworks in the street that night, and the light and noise was too much for Claire.  In order to make her feel better, Papa told her that she could control the fireworks with her magic wand.  Claire felt much better after that!  So when we told her, a week or so ago, that we were going to go see some big fireworks, she insisted on a magic wand. :)

I procrasinated, so when we got to Wal-mart there was literally nothing left on the shelves that was red, white, or blue.  So, we improvised and bought some glittery pipe cleaners and dowels!  Once we got home, we got everyone together and made some magic wands.

The wands turned out really cute, and the girls couldn't wait to put them to good use.  But first, we had some Crab Salad and Hot Dogs for dinner.  Good old American fare.  Then, Daddy called an audible and took us to see a movie!  In the theater, even!  The girls loved "Cars 2"...well, Claire loved the movie.  Sophie and Johnny wouldn't stop moving, which got a little tiring.  But, I think they enjoyed the experience, nonetheless.

After the movie we headed to base to watch the fireworks.  After spending the day with just us, it was kind of nice to be around a bunch of people.  There's something about the Fourth of July that just demands lots of people, food, and red, white, and blue. :)  We rolled out our blanket on the grass and waited for the big show.  Sophie was giddy with anticipation...

Once we could tell they were just about ready to start, we had the girls practice with their magic wands.  So they'd be ready to control the fireworks. ;)

BUT...it was a false alarm.  We had a few more minutes to wait...

Finally, the show started!  Johnny was a little freaked out at first, but as long as I was holding him tightly, he quite enjoyed it.  Towards the end, he actually started rocking out to the music.  But mostly, he just looked on in wide-eyed wonder.

Claire enjoyed the fireworks all cuddled up with her Daddy.  And Sophie?  Well, someone had to control the fireworks!

She literally waved her wand for every single firework.  Which is not only cute, but incredible!  Sophie doesn't focus on one task for too long. :)  The firework show was really good, and it even had a couple of "grand finales" at the end.  At one point, I was sure they were done.  But no!  It was pretty cool.  And for me, it was humbling to be watching fireworks on a military base surrounded by men and women in fatigues.  I had to wonder how many had been deployed.  How much time they had spent away from the children they were holding in their arms as the sky lite up.  We are so grateful for the sacrifice of those good men and women, and the sacrifice of their families.  This is a great nation.  A nation under God.  We recognize the privilege it is to have been born here, and to raise our children here.  We are thankful for our freedoms!

Beach Day!

We decided to kick off our long holiday weekend with a trip down below for some fun in the sun.  It took us half the morning to get the kids and gear all packed (and do my INSANITY workout!), but eventually we were off.  

We met Robbie, Kris, and Andrea at their house in San Pedro, where we changed into our suits and decided on a beach.  We tried the beach right next to their house, but apparently because it was a holiday weekend they charged $9.00 to park where it was usually free.  We opted to go find a less expensive beach. :)  Robbie and Danny decided to head toward Long Beach.  It was a neat 15 minute drive along the coast, and we got some great views of the LA Harbor.  It's amazing how big those ships are!

Finally, we were at our destination.  The beach!  It was a beautiful day, and not too crowded.  I was excited, because I had always wanted to see Long Beach.  It's the hometown of a band I loved in high school and college, so I took a minute to take it all in. :)  Then we set up camp.  Well, the adults got set up.  The kids got right to playing!

But it was lunchtime, and the fun in the sun couldn't keep their tummies from grumbling for long.  It was time for some sandwiches!

Or some sand, whichever suits your fancy...

Eventually, everyone had had their fill and found a place to play.  It was so nice!  It took me a few minutes to get adjusted to the sand and come to terms with the fact that it was going to be everywhere!  Once I accepted that fact, I was good to go.  I think I could totally live close to a beach and love every minute of it.

Funny Story #1-Danny forgot to pack Johnny his swimming suit. :)  So our little guy got to hang out in his t-shirt and a swim diaper!  Good thing he's a baby.  I don't know what we would have done if one of the girls had ended up without a swimming suit!  In all fairness, Danny isn't as accustomed to packing the family.  I usually do it, but he stepped up to the plate so that I could get my workout in.  He's awesome!

Funny Story #2-Well, this one isn't as funny as it is a story.  After we had lunch and got situated near the beach, the girls started playing in the water.  At first they were too afraid to let the waves get any closer than their ankles, so I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have.  I was building a sand castle with Johnny as the girls played, and Danny was up at our little camp.  I glanced toward the water and saw Sophie trying to stand up in water that was much too deep for her.  But the waves kept dragging her under.  I ran as fast as I could to the water and scooped her up.  I was so frightened!  Sophie was just fine, after a little coughing.  But what if I hadn't glanced over?  The thought terrified me.  Almost enough to just go home.  Instead of leaving, I said a silent prayer of gratitude that my little Sosie-kins was okay, and kept a much closer eye on each child.  

Ok, so now that we've had the confession of a distracted Mom, we can move on with our day at the beach!  It was a blast to have Robbie, Kris, and Andrea with us.  It took Andrea a bit to get used to this whole beach thing.  The poor girl just screamed for the first few minutes!  But she got used to things and eventually fell asleep, to enjoy a blissful nap under the beach umbrella.  I don't care if your 30 or 3 months, it doesn't get better than that.

This is the life...

I loved just playing with my kids.  Whenever we go anywhere, I feel like I end up working most of the time, trying to ensure that everything is going well for everyone else.  But once we were all situated and fed, there was literally nothing left for me to do but just sit and play!  Which was awesome.  My kids are way fun!

After a couple of hours of playing, Sophie got tired and wanted to go back to our little camp and eat some cookies.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of her cute feet all covered in sand...

And Johnny played like a trooper!  He loves being outside, and once we got him to quit eating the sand, he just played and played and played!  But after more than 2 hours in the sun, I decided it was time for him to get some nourishment and hydration.  Johnny kicked back and killed two birds with one stone.  The wonders of watermelon...

As parents, we decided that three hours was enough time in the sun for the little ones, so we all went back to San Pedro to have dinner at Robbie and Kris'.  They were nice enough to let us get ourselves and the kids bathed before dinner, so we didn't have to drive 2 hours with sand in our...toes. ;)  For dinner, we had Teriyaki Chicken-Bacon Skewers from OBB and they were fantastic!  We enjoyed a fruit salad from fruit that they bought that morning at a farmer's market, also amazing, and Kris even made flan for dessert.  It was my first experience with flan, and it was a delicious one. :)

After a fun-filled day, we made the drive back to our lovely home in the desert.  We were glad that we had left for the day, since we enjoyed 85 degree weather at the beach and it had been 108 at home.  Yikes!  I will, however, remember to wear sunscreen next time.  Besides wonderful memories, I left the beach with the worst sunburn I've ever had.  I just hope it turns into the best tan I've ever had!