welcome, Carter

Yay! Here's Carter William Koproski, our newest nephew/cousin. He was born on Thursday. Carter has a big sister, Natalie, who is a bit over 3. Olivia and Natalie are finally getting to the point where they play well together (when we get to see them.) Bummer for us, they live way up north in Michigan.

We are SUPER excited to meet Carter and hope that we get to do so before too long. It will be so fun to have a boy cousin not too much younger than Turner to grow up with! (They are just about 8 months apart. O and N are 9 months apart. Crazy!)

Congrats, Scott, Amy and Natalie. May you get rest soon :)

vanity?

So, I'm not exactly sure what blog etiquette is and I hope I'm not breaking it by posting pics of my new haircut. Does it make it any better or less offensive if I let you know that this is mostly for my mom? I guess it may also benefit some of you friends whom I don't get to see very often.

Basically, it was time for a change. But if you know me, I'm not too daring and I don't really like change. So this was my compromise. I went through a super-short-potentially-gay-looking-hairdo while I lived in NYC, and let's just say.... I learned a lesson as I was stuck w/ a passport that caused me to be confused w/ the Indigo Girls from time to time (whose music I LOVE by the way!!!) for 10 years~~and for someone who travels as much as I do, it was a pretty constant reminder to not go that short again anytime soon.

With all that said, I've had a pretty similar variation of the same bob haircut for the past 6 years. I guess this is still w/in the genre, but I like the change. These aren't super great shots of the new do, but good enough on a humid, not great hair day.

So, I'm not sure that anyone but my mom really cares about my hair, but shoot, it's all I got for the blog today!

cousin nick

Because our computer is about to blow up, I'm a bit behind on entries (thus the 3 in one taptime rush today.) But i really wanted to get this pictures posted, particularly so that Aunt Debbie and Uncle Mike can see for themselves that their son really did come to our home for dinner Monday night!

Nick is a freshman at UD this fall and it is super fun to have family right down the road. Olivia LOVED having Nick here. She played shy at first and within 10 minutes warmed up. She was being extra goofy and show-offy. It was really cute. She even did several "costume"changes during his 3 hours stay. hilarious! Before he left, he even let her "help" him with his paper. I always knew she was advanced... but college papers... who knew? :) Now all we have to do is get her some help with her hair! (what the HECK is going on with that do in this pic??? sheesh.) My child is folically challenged.

the bug scream

So, when I was little, my granny coined a phrase for me and it was what she liked to call, my "spider scream". It included all bugs, spiders, bees, flying things, ones that lived in the dirt, hairy, slimy or dirty. It was a blood-crudling, someone must have lost an eye or limb kind of scream. I'm not really proud of it, but do own up to it.

So fast-forward to motherhood. Great- I get to be the adult here. Hold my composure and not go running in circles when a bee comes my way.

Yesterday we were playing in the backyard (which mind you is merely a patch of grass in the middle of Downtown Dayton, not exactly the great outdoors.) Olivia spotted this thing on the fence and called me over. It was the BIGGEST dang grasshopper I've ever seen.

O: "What's that mama?"

Brave Mommy: "It's a really big grasshopper."

O: "What's it doin?"

Brave Mommy: "Sittin' on our fence. Wanna touch it?"

O: "No. You touch it!"

Brave Mommy: "I don't wanna touch it. You touch it. It won't sting you, I promise."

O: "Nooooo.... YOU touch it."

Brave Mommy: "Fine, if you're gonna be a baby about it, I'll touch it."

(not one of my prouder moments as a parent.) FYI.... moments after the picture, the monster grasshopper hopped off and I didn't have to touch it :)

double trouble

Last night was a graduation of sorts. Steve is the bathmaster and has given Olivia and Turner almost every single one of their baths. I SO appreciate that! And he loves the time with the kids. The only problem is, Steve would have the kids in that baby bathtub that goes in the kitchen sink until they are five if it wasn't for me bugging him to get them in the regular bathtub.

Finally, last night we did it! 2 kids in the bath at the same time. It was super fun. Even routine, doesn't like change and certainly isn't into sharing right now, Olivia liked it.

I think Turner enjoyed the new found freedom in the big bath. Splashing, crawling and even trying to climb out. Unlike his big sister, we don't think he'll put up much of a fight when it comes to getting water in his eyes and jumping off the side of the pool. So funny how different these two are, already!


Turner trying to make his great escape. I've got my hands full with this one. Good thing he is soooo loveable!

yummy cupcakes

Ok, can an experienced blogger give me advice? I wanted these pictures to be in the reverse order. Does that mean I have to go in the reverse order and do my last pic first when posting? Well, you, my dear smart reader of this blog- help me by starting down and the bottom of this "yummy cupcakes" post and read in the reverse. I will remember from here on out and make the needed changes. Just not this "busy" Saturday afteroon. :)

Don't even get me started on how many points these things must have. But they are more interesting than a regular old cupcake.

Again, going somewhere where I'm suppose to bring a dish and I thought I'd try something new. This one turned out great, though. Choc. cake mix, a tube of refrigerated cookie dough, frosting and mini choc. chips.

In addition to doing laundry today, I baked. (yep, fired up the oven to 350 degrees on the hottest day of the year so far, smart!)

saturdays with a family

Once upon a time my ideal Saturday included sleeping until 7:30 or 8:00 (today the wake-up call was 6:30 from Turner who is getting his 2 front teeth.) I would get up, roll out to the coffee pot and enjoy a steamy cup 'o joe while watching the Today show (now I drink decaf and for some odd reason the Today show has been coming on at 7 rather than 8).

I would then shove off to the gym for a nice work out (I did get to my spinning class this morning, thankfully!) after that: the sky was the limit. When I lived in NYC I would go to flea markets, stroll neighborhoods, pop in and out of cool trendy stores, meet up with friends for lunch etc etc. Since being married, my Sat. mornings pretty much have looked the same but then Steve and I would split up for what ever we wanted to do and then meet back up and do something fun in the evening (about 3 years ago we started attending our Church's Saturday evening service.) But more often then not we would grab one of our friends and we would go out to dinner after the service.

Did I mention in my previous entry that I used to be fun??? Oh, those were the days. At least all that stuff was fun to me.

Since kids have entered the picture...well, look at my Saturday afternoon "fun" today. In that pile of laundry includs 7 pairs of Princess big girl panties, way too many onsies that Turner yucked up in some way shape or form that I won't go into here and some old stretched out tighty whities~'ya just can't teach an old dog new tricks if you know what I mean. I'm thinking in about a decade I'll be fun again :)

one last swim

Geez, someone get that kid in the sun!

After time on campus and after naps we loaded up the car and headed off to the Kettering Rec kiddie pool (one of Dayton's best kept secrets!) If you read the blog a few weeks back you may remember the trip to the pool that got thwarted by a certain backseat barfing incident. Well, Steve insisted on a re-do before the end of the season next week. Today's trip was a huge success. Olivia has gotten much braver when water gets in her eyes, and Turner seems fearless in the water. We love this pool because no part of the pool is deeper than 2 1/2 feet deep. We love letting O explore on her own w/o worrying too much. It will be fun next summer when they are both mobile. See ya next summer, kiddie pool.

Our two monkeys through a cargo net portion of the pool. Turner really enjoyed crawling in the rubber mat under the water.

Back to school

It was back to campus for me today. For the past several weeks I have been moaning and groaning about the start of school. Being home this summer without having to juggle a million things in my schedule has been really really nice. I average about 5 hours per week at the University of Dayton (Steve plays Mr. Mom while I'm away.) I've been ministering on college campuses for the past 13 years of my life and this was the first year I've spoken the words, "Maybe I'm ready to be done with this" outloud.

But this morning I loaded up my backpack, kissed the kids good-bye, took a deep breath and marched onto campus. To my delight-- it was GREAT to be back. I got home and Steve asked, "Well, how was it?" (bracing himself the whole time, I'm sure) My answer- "I love campus ministry." It's funny how rusty I can get. I met with several coaches, ran into some students and signed up to be a language partner with a Chinese international student. *I'm really excited about that one!* So even though I'm still dreading juggling the million things in my schedule, I'm happy to report that I'm ready and excited for whatever this school year holds.

fun times

Tonight our family had a treat. We met up with several other friends including Gabe and Rachel (pictured here) who are in the Buckeye state visiting from Florida. Gabe and I go way back and the older I get the way backer it gets! We first met in '94 a summer missions trip in NYC and have been buds ever since. Gabe is one of the most connected people I've ever met. Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you've met him. It's like six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon only with someone I know!

Our good friends, Matt and Sally, hosted us as well as another friend Tricia. Matt and Sally have a daughter and Olivia likes her alot (and her cool toys!!) Thanks to Ava for sharing well tonight with a bossy 2 1/2 year old.

About 3/4 of the way through dinner (and 2 tantrums and 4 trips to the potty later) *which is not an exaggeration by the way* I leaned back in my chair, looked over at Gabe whom I have know through many stages of my life and declared, "What has happened to me? I used to be fun." Ahh... life does have its ebbs and flows, doesn't it. I mean, my life is fun (if pooping on the potty dance parties and celebrations when Turner's barf hits the wood floor rather than my outfit can count as fun) and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

It is so fun, in fact, that we are working hard on adopting our third. Days like today I wonder if we are crazy. Especially today since we ran our buns all over the greater Dayton area to get passports copied, notarized and varified. Pictures of us living in China rounded up and any other kind of "proof" that we, in fact did once upon a time, lived in China; so that my friend Lisa can march into the PSB and request a letter stating that we are not child abusers (all from a country/government that keeps no such records.) Oye, veh! Here we go. Special thanks to Chelsey who spent a large portion of her work day trying to figure out how to make sure our Fed-Ex packages gets to where it needs to go. And extra kisses to my husband who put extra sweat of his own into this one-- thanks, bud.

Oh no you didn't...

This conversation was just had as Olivia and I were watching some Olympic coverage of diving:

Olivia: Mom- what's that guy doing?

Me: Diving

Olivia: Mom- what's that guy doing?

Me: He's still diving.

Olivia: Mom- that guy's wearing big girl panties! Why???

happy birthday, Sarah!

This is my friend, Sarah, and her daughter Mikayla. Sarah and I are entering into our 6th year of being on the same staff team. Today is her birthday and I want to celebrate her life life and friendship. Sarah is a great mom, funny, a faithful minister of the gospel and a great cook. I am thankful that my daughter has great friends in her children. I have been challenged by her throughout the years! I hope you have a great day, Sarah.

a full week- part two

After time in Michigan, the kids and I dropped Steve at the Detroit airport (he had to get to a retreat for HIS staff team down in Florida.) We said good bye to daddy and off we went to BeBe and Pa's. (BeBe and Pa are my mom and dad. How my mom came to be BeBe is a whole other post in itself.)

I love this picture because it represents major victory. Nearly 7 years ago my mom began a series of health setbacks, which include a leg amputation. When I was pregnant with Olivia my mom was depressed and worried she would not be able to be the kind of "BeBe" that she wanted to be. While there are still some things that my mom wishes she could do- it was really really fun to see her get down on the floor with O and Turner and read them a book. Time with BeBe and Pa was a bit short but really fun. We went out to eat, got ice cream and played.

I have to say, it's always sad to leave but I'm happy to be home. We have done our fare share of traveling this summer! In fact, the morning we were leaving Michigan O asked, "Where are we going NOW mom?" And yet, our family manages to be inflexible!! How, oh how, can that be??

a full week- part one

We spent 1/2 the week in Holly, Michigan with my co-workers from the University of Dayton. Colby, my boss, grew up there and his parents were kind enough to let 12 of us come up for 2 nights, 3 days to play, rest and plan for the semester. Olivia LOVES Colby and Sarah's kids. Mikayla (4) or Kayla, as O calls her, is O's idol. Every time Mikayla walked into the room (which was about every 4 minutes, O would greet her by saying, "hello Kayla." Thanks to Mikayla for putting up with a 2 year old groupie! She and Jackson (3 in about a week) are also friends but because Jackson is a boy (and O has recently declared, "I don't like boys!") they play together but O needs intermitant trips to check and see what Kayla is up to. The youngest of O's friends is Jaydon. He is about 16 m. and gets a bit lost in the shuffle. Jaydon seemed happy to have Turner around as someone was younger and had vulnerable Cheerios to attack! Two of our teammates do not have children and seemed to be happy enough to jump in the car Wed. afternoon and (assumingly) enjoy the 4 hour ride in silence. Bummer, there wasn't room for me!

So we survived, didn't kill eachother or ourselves and are one step closer to being ready for the freshmen to arrive. (Which fyi happens as we speak.) Steve's cousin Nick is moving in right now and Steve and O went to "help." Ah- good luck with that. We are so happy to have Nick here- and we've promised not to bug too much :)

Don't let 'em fool ya...

My family is on my NERVES today. Ever have one of those days?

Oh sure, they look cute but everything i've done today has been thwarted. We leave for 5 days tomorrow so that means cleaning, laundry, packing, grocery shopping etc not to mention we are hosting our house church tonight which means an added bit of tension.

It is the most beautiful summer day outside and I'm not enjoying any of it (you can almost hear the violins if you try real hard.) Well, guess what, if mamma ain't enjoying it- nobody's enjoying it. Not one of my finer moments (or shall I say afternoons.) Stomping around, slamming stuff around, mumbling under my breath. Gross! I stopped, finally, for a moment to collect myself and pray. God has given me everything I need to overcome my flesh, but I need to ask for it. As soon as I asked for it (or at least within 15 min. or so) the clouds parted and I began to have perspective. Thanks Lord.

That allowed me to look at these guys and enjoy them laying on the floor reading Olivia's catalogue (that by the way came yesterday and is full of halloween costumes- she literally can't put it down.)

adoption frustration

I knew that adopting a child from another country (particularly China) would not be easy. We've heard enough stories and seen several friends go through the process to know that it's not a walk in the park. Steve and I decided to try and put a significant dent in the process during July so that when things get rolling at UD mid-August we have a lot of the Home Study finished (happy to report, we have!) Without going into too many boring and probably unwanted details, I'll just say there has been one piece of the puzzle that has worried me from the get go.

Beginning in April there were some changes made to the process of adopting from certain countries. Of course, China being one of them. The US government wants proof from both adopting parents that you are not a child abuser-- from EVERY state and foreign country you've lived in since the age of 18. No biggie (we are not child abusers and we have not lived in THAT many places) but when I told our social worker we both lived several years in China she let out an "oh, boy."

Not encouraging. If you've ever been to China or tried to go through any kind of Chinese red tape, you can clench your teeth through the cuss word with me! Even a simple trip to the bank over there is enough to make you wanna pull your hair out. So good luck getting a paper that says you are not a child abuser from a country/government that doesn't have a child abuse registry. So, thank you, Uncle Sam for asking for the impossible. If you are inclined to pray (as we are) please pass one along.

We believe we have been called to this thing called adoption and therefore God is the one that needs to make the impossible, possible. I am so not good at putting my worries and my skepticism in His hands. So, here goes the ride, weeeeeee....

Toot Toot

So, I hate to toot my own horn BUT... honk honk beep beep. I've been doing Weight Watchers since the middle of February. (And when I say doing WW, I mean, paying, going to meetings, weighing in, hard-core doing WW.) I guess I always thought it was for old ladies. I'm here to tell you that I LOVE weight watchers. Tonight I finally made my goal. I've lost 31 & 1/2 lbs. since starting (over 60 lbs since having Turner- yep, I was eating for 2- or was it 3, maybe 4!)

(If you don't know anything about WW you get so many "points" a day. You figure out your goal weight and points via a system they have created. Once you reach your goal weight and then maintain it for 6 weeks you become a lifetime member and no longer have to pay for meetings.)

They give out little awards and incentives along the way. At first I was embarrassed to announce when I had made my mini landmarks (you get a blue ribbon for your first 10 lbs. 20lbs. ; a key chain when you loose 10 % of your starting weight etc.) But then after my first blue ribbon, I TOTALLY got into it. The people at the meetings clap and the instructors make a big deal out of the weightloss, even when it's not that much. It sounds totally ridiculous, I know... but trust me... it motivates.

So for the first time in a long time, I feel free! Free of the extra weight, free from the pull of food, free to enjoy treats here and there and free to wear a way smaller pant size. One last thing I really like about WW- it's not a diet. It's the smart way to live. I really think I can live like this for a lifetime and not feel like I'm "giving up" stuff forever. I hope that I can raise my kids this way. It's been fun to see how this has rubbed off on Steve too. He unofficially joined me (particularly in the beginning) and has been a tremendous encourager- thanks bud.

Thanks for letting me indulge here!

just some pics

This is a random one of the 4 of us taken this summer in China. It would be a really great pic if Turner was looking. Oh well. I just saw this on the camera and thought I'd add it... why not.



Did I mention we have a new neighbor? We have a rental apartment in our house and a single girl and her HUGE dog, Tanner, moved in about a week and a half ago. O LOVES Tanner; Baxter, well of course, he could care less. There goes the yard.

Isn't that kid cute??? This one is just for fun since kid #2 seems to get the shaft!

best laid plans...

So we were headed to the kiddie pool to meet Steve this afternoon. He was going to duck out of work early and Olivia, Turner and I were going to meet him there after naps. Sounds fun! With summer quickly drawing to an end we thought we'd better get there maybe one last time. We were on our way (1 blow up whale pool toy, 4 towels, 3 suits, one hat, 2 cans of sunscreen, 2 water bottles and 1 jar of baby food- sweet potatoes- later) we were out the door. We were not one block from the house when O announced that she was sick. Hmm... "What kind of sick?" "My belly hurts" I thought there may be some truth to this since there was an opened yet uneaten package of Princess gummy snacks on her lap (normally the empty wrapper is being handed to me at the exact same stop sign.) Then it was "no, I'm not sick, I want to go to the pool." By the time we got on the highway she was crying. "O, are you going to throw up?" "No, Im all better now." So I left Steve a message saying we were turning around and then I called and told him, no we are still on our way. 2 min. later O threw up there in the back seat. Called Steve back, found the next exit and made it home without another incident. Turner just sat in the backseat looking at me like I was crazy as I got him out of the car seat and hauled him back into the house. So Steve and O watched Cinderella with a nearby bucket "just in case." Oddly enough, she really was fine the rest of the night. In fact, for the rest of the evening she was running around, chasing dogs in the backyard. Oh well, maybe we'll hit the pool another day.

dinner guests

Thanks to our friends Claire and Scott for joining us for dinner. At the end of last school year (I am, in fact 36 years old and my life is still measured by semesters) I put together my new personal development plan. My biggest goal for this upcoming school year is to develop my gift of hospitality (which to be honest I never really knew I had but have become enlightened thanks to God, my husband and some friends.) So I'm trying to invite more people over but more importantly do it without getting stressed out or needing to have the perfect house and the perfect meal.

Claire is a friend from work and Scott is a friend from work as well but from out of town who will soon be moving to Ohio. I made, what I thought yesterday, seemed like a nice summer meal. I put chicken breasts in the crockpot this morning and made pulled bbq chicken sandwhiches, yummy Ohio corn and chips. (I also experimented w/ a new ice cream pie for dessert- which always leaves me wondering, why do I try something for the first time when having guests?)

The chicken turned out fine, as did the corn but then as we sat down to eat I started the internal dialogue... "chips... what was I thinking... chips? We never have chips, let alone for dinner. These friends are healthy friends, they don't eat chips... they are going to think we eat chips... blah blah blah." It truly was work for me to push those thoughts from my mind, declare that it really didn't matter WHAT we had on the table, the friendships around the table were more important; Olivia having other people in our home to talk to and play with, the 15 minutes that Scott held Turner- invaluable!

So, I'm in process, I'm growing and I'm not perfect! I'm working on it and someday I'll put food on the table and not think twice.

By the way, we also had these pretzel chips and I got this cheese dip they sold with them. The heating instructions on the packaging- faulty! So I made this gigantic mess in our microwave. No biggie, really. But the funny thing- the copy of my annual review (that was suppose to be turned in early May that I couldn't find and just recovered TODAY) was sitting out under the microwave-- covered in CHEESE-- because I was entertaining (it is upon this document that I declared I wanted to work on my gift of hospitality.) This will either work in my favor or detriment, depending on who reads these annual reviews.) Maybe I need to go back and make new goals about organization!

SALE ALERT

This is just an FYI. I wanted you to know that Bath and Body Works (NOT Bed Bath and Beyond as Steve always has to double check on which one I'm talking about) is having a great sale on their hand soaps. I am a personal lover of the Aromatherapy Eucalyptus Spearmint soap in the green bottle. They are currently 5 for $15 (a steal- that would normally set you back $30.) One of my favorite things to do in my day is wash my hands with that yummy soap, oh it makes me happy. And now I'm set for another few months. So now you have two options, you can either take advantage of the sale- or come over to my house and wash your hands!

summer fun

This late morning/early afternoon the 4 of us went to Young's Dairy, a sweet little diary that has goats to pet, a barn to walk through and see the animals, putt putt, yummy ice cream etc. It really is one of the few perks about living in Ohio. Going to a Dairy on a summer Sunday just seems "right." Olivia had fun feeding the goats and really enjoyed her "pink" ice cream which she later declared, "tastes like strawberries." Can't get anything past her! Now the kids are napping, Steve and I are enjoying some quiet (even the dog is lounging around) before the remnant of our House Church come over for dinner to discuss our plan for the fall. (By the way... Steve just went on a recovery mission under the sofa to get whatever object the dog was after. Um, Steve resurfaced with a very obviously aged cherry tomato. Oops!) How did that get there? Life with a 2 year old.

btw- im trying to figure out how to do the layout... forgive the scattered pics. this is my experimental picture post. hopefully you don't need captions, they are rather obvious. And for my big- city friends, I can almost here the mocking from here at the pic of my family on the John Deer. When in Rome!

08*08*08

Because I've spent significant time in China, I'm extra excited to see how this year's Olympic games unfold. I love China. I mean, I really LOVE China.

Really important things have happened in my life there. God grew me, changed me and I found my husband there (no, his is, in fact- Polish-American, NOT chinese!). Olivia at 2 1/2 years old has been there 3 times, Turner nearly 7 months has spent 1/7th of his life there. We are currently in the process of adopting a child from there (Olivia is insisting we call him/her Baby Gum... go figure.) So my life has been significantly affected by that country and the culture.

I am an avid Today Show watcher. My favorite morning to tune in is Sunday (our family attends the Saturday evening gathering at our Church, allowing me to indulge in this vice.) Sunday morning on Today is filled with 100% pure fluff w/ almost nothing of substance broadcast. And I. Love. It.

But this morning I found myself grumbling and complaining about the banter between Jenna (who quite frankly gets on my nerves ) and Lester- who is already in Beijing. So Jenna and Lester were talking about culture and what Jenna should expect when she gets there (Tues. fyi.) So that is all well and fine, but when Lester started to tell Jenna about all the clothes she should bring b/c of how hot it is (true!) and how most days are 3 or 4 shower days, this is when the grumbling started. That is so american. Most of my friends and most locals will be lucky to get a few showers a week. And Jenna will probably bring more clothes with her for her 2 week stay than most Chinese will own in a decade (I know this because I'm guilty of it myself.)

And then Lester started talking about jet-lag. Okay, hell for sure! But probably a lot easier from his 5 star hotel room. And then they had a dialogue about how Jenna doesn't have to worry b/c she can just call up roomservice when she is up at 3am, starving. (ok, so maybe I was just jealous, I would have LOVED to have ordered from roomservice this past June.) Oh boy.

I then went from aggrivated to sad. Sad that they will think they are seeing the "real" china and experiencing the culture... they have NO idea.
Most Americans won't experience REAL China. Shoot, real China is rough. And if I honestly look at all of my times there, I haven't even experienced REAL China. So who am I to criticize these guys??

It's just interesting. In some ways China feels like my little sister. I can criticize her, make fun of her and even complain about her, but when someone else starts in... look out- that's MY sister you're talking about!

big girl update

well, the votes are in and big girl panties were... a huge success! Yep. we made it through the day with only one accident (which was post nap... nap did include the wearing of snow white undies after which there was a wee bit of an accident - excuse the pun.) It really was my fault . She got up from the nap dry as a whistle and I asked "do you have tinkles" and the 2 1/2 year old answered "no". I failed to insist on a trip to the potty so you really can only blame the 36 year old in the house for that. 10 minutes later there was a "report" of tinkle on the rug.

No harm, no foul, really. We changed the Aeirel undies to the yellow snow whites, a new dress/ new socks (but it is August, who wears socks anyway??) and away we went. We even went out to dinner in underpants- all of us that is :) (with a fresh pair of undies and a new dress in tow - just in case!) Did we need them? NO WAY. She put her poopies and tinkles in the potty everytime, except for the aforementioned accident. Way to go, peanut!

Okay, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, but all in all- not a bad first day.

Oh, and a Turner update- we switched over to carrots for Turner's dinner (even though you're "only to introduce a new food every few days".) Verdict- better than squash but not better than cereal. Here's hoping tomorrow brings on a carrot lover!

Big girl panties

so, to be honest, im shocked to have several comments on day one... enough to make me do a second post. Oh boy! Thanks to Jenny and Gina for leaving a comment- it only fuels the fire. And of course, thanks, Steve! Im charging the new re-chargable batteries for our camera (the old ones allowed us to take exactly 2 pics and then we were outta luck. So, hopefully, pics to follow.

Today's highlight BIG GIRL PANTIES. Yep, glamourous! Olivia behaved well all morning when she found out if she obeyed mommy, princess big girls were on the way. We arrived at Target after a good workout at the Y and made a bee-line to the toddler underwear section (passed it a million times w/out a second glance.) Well, who knew you can get underwear w/ any cartoon character on them?

She told several strangers in Target (men, women, employees, other kids...) "look, I got big girl panties." Nice modesty- who is your mom??. I explained to her all the way home how these work;
"Okay, Olivia- once you have these on, all tinkles and poopies HAVE to go in the potty, got it?" (It's true, I now say tinkles and poopies). "YES!YES!" eagerly came from the backseat. We got home, she marched in & announced that she had tinkles, went to the bathroom, climbed on the pot and immediately put her tinkles and poopies in the potty;
"I'm ready for the princess panties now." What the heck? If I had known that was the magic charm we would have done that months ago.

I know, I know... accidents will happen (I learned that from Elmo!) and I'm ready for them. But I'll take it one poop at a time.

Oh, and not to be left out- Turner tried his first jar of baby food today (he's been on cereal for a few weeks) Verdict- not a squash fan. We'll let daddy see if he can do any better tonight :)