Potty training

Heaven help us! We are hitting the potty training over here with two toddlers! Abby got a late start on potty training due to all our travels, and Connor was starting to show signs of interest. So I thought If I'm going to be in the thick of it all I might as well do both kids and be done for a while till baby number three is due to be potty trained way, way, way down the road. Abby is doing great, and I think it is because she is older. She still struggles with going number two and waits till its coming to tell us. So when she says "uh oh, poopy" we know to grab her and run to the toilet. Makes for some pretty eventful days around here I tell ya. She is a pro at going number one, and can now go every 1-1.5 hours of holding it. Connor...what can I say, he is doing his best hahaha. He will tell us AS or AFTER he has gone in his pants. So we just set a timer for every 25 minutes to take him to the potty. Yes, we have perfected the science and timing of Connor's bathroom breaks. 20 minutes is too short, and 30 pushes it to be too long where he has accidents. So for now we can only go 25 minute stretches between bathroom breaks. He is already getting better, and I have to realize that he is still young and to cut him some slack. I mean he isn't even two yet, and is already grasping the concept. My goal is to have him telling us when he needs to go and no timers before the baby comes. I just figure it's now or never cause we are home bound for the next couple months due to baby number threes upcoming arrival. I just tell myself it will all be worth it when we only have one kid in diapers... that sounds glorious! Till then I will just put me head down and plow through this stage of parenting that I believe is the absolute WORST!

The kids are playing more and more together. Yes, often it is fighting and not playing, but for the most part I love hearing laughter and imagination coming from the two of them in the other room together. One day this week they were just cracking up in the toy room. I asked them what was so funny and told them to come in the kitchen to show me. Connor walks in half naked with boots while Abby is wearing every piece of costume jewelry she has. They told me they were putting on a show and I asked them to strike a pose for me. Oh my. Lets just say I have some characters on my hands! I don't know if I should be worried or just laugh hysterically that their "show" consisted of tons of bling and a half naked Connor. Maybe they have a future in Vegas hahaha.

I finally finished the kid's dresser I have been working on for a couple months now. I got this dresser before Kyle left on his summer TDYs and it was black and all scratched up. I knew it had good bones though and was wood not particle board (very important since we move all the time and we need good sturdy furniture that doesn't fall apart), and it had lots of drawers which I liked as well. All it needed was a facelift. I originally intended on painting the dresser white, but thought why not go with a fun color since it is after all a kids bedroom dresser. So white some how turned into blue. After several coats and a wax finish I finally finished the dresser. It is for both Abby and Connor to share since they will be sharing the bunk room once the baby comes.

I have been wanting to start some small chores for the kids to do around the house to help them learn how to work as well as pay them in small coins to help them learn about paying tithing and saving up for treats at the shoppette. Kyle and I both think they are at the age where they can help pick up around the house and earn a couple pennies a week for their help in which they will have to pay their tithing with each month. I'm more big on the work concept while Kyle, Mr. financial guy, is big on the tithing/saving part. One of the chores is to put their clothes away after I fold them. I made little labels for their drawers so they know which drawers to place which articles of clothing in. It kind of ruins the look of my newly renovated dresser, but it is more functional for our family at this time. So the ugly labels are staying. Now I need to finish making my chore chart for the kids and hopefully we can start up next week after we have a family home evening lesson on the importance of work and tithing.

It was also open house at Daiichi this week. I got to go to Abby's classroom for two hours and watch what they do on a normal day. I am so impressed with how much Japanese Abby knows!!! She sings all the words to the songs and knows the kanji flash cards they practice. She loves doing arts and crafts and eats all the Japanese food they serve during lunch. She loves Japanese food. In fact her Sensei told me that after she eats her food if other kids don't finish theirs Abby will sometimes start eating theirs. I told her I promise we feed Abby at home, she just LOVES Japanese cuisine. Luckily they don't think I am a bad parent, just that Abby is funny. There has been some influx in her class with some students moving, and she is now the only American in her class. I know I have said this before, but I am just so proud of how she has just jumped in and loves making friends with all the other Japanese kids. I think this is such a neat cultural experience for her, one I wish I got to experience when I was growing up. How many American kids can say they went to a Japanese school?!

I saw some pictures of Abby's class on the wall in the classroom and snapped a couple pictures of the pictures. They are not great, but at least it is something to remember the memories. The first picture is of their field trip to the aquarium while the second is of the class at the beginning of the year in April. Her favorite teacher is Tomoe Sensei (standing behind her in the fieldtrip picture), and her best friend is Eeoree Chan (sitting on the floor in front of Abby in the bottom picture). I'm so happy she gets at least another year of schooling at Daiichi before we move.