Day 3: Perfection!

Something about 3 being a charm or perhaps it's the fact that he went commando all day? Either way, I don't care. Today, he got it! Cooper David went 6 for 6 today! He told us when he had to go and even went 2 times on his own. ALLELUIA!! Maybe we will even venture out of the house tomorrow...yes, I'll give him his pants and underwear back!

Day 2: No Pants Allowed

Second full day of potty training and still no success. I am no longer allowing Cooper to wear pants, which just kills him. He has never been one to run around in just a diaper, the boy likes to be covered up. But, after 3 times of peeing in his jeans today and 3 times yesterday, this mama is done washing pants. Maybe this will be a little added incentive for him. I got so desperate today, that I told him he could drive Dave's truck when he gets his pee pee in the potty. Dave overheard me and said, "drive it? I'll buy you one!"

I will now spare you all and not post anymore tormented posts about the angst of potty training until we have success! We've done it before, we'll do it again!

A concussion, a head cold and wet big boy pants...

Oh my, so Cooper is having a rough 24 hours. We started potty training yesterday, well after church and a nap, so today was our first full day. The poor boy's world has been rocked. The good news is, he's quite good at holding his pee...he knows he doesn't want to pee in his underwear. And, he's pretty good about going to the bathroom and "trying". However, he has not had any success putting the pee pee in the potty. Dave and I considered it a great success tonight when he ran to the bathroom because he knew he had to go....even though he didn't make it.

To add injury to insult, he gave himself quite a head injury playing basketball today. He was trying to make a lay up jumping from a foot stool. He went head first into the wall. I don't worry too much about his injuries since they are so frequent, but today did have me a bit concerned.

And, as if that weren't enough, he's never been this sick. He has a nasty head cold, cough and a little fever. I realized today, how blessed with health he's been.

So here's the little man with ice on his head, taking a nap (yes, I know, he shouldn't sleep after a head injury, but I was at the gorcery store and I don't think Daddy knew this). Don't call DHS!

There's a reason for that......

I've had a few followers of this blog tell me they are unable to comment on my posts. Well, there's a reason for that and if you have a blog you should consider the following...

When I started this blog I had open security and anyone could comment. For some reason, my blog showed up as "interesting" for spammers. I was getting spam comments from all over the world and in several different languages(lucky me). There are several reasons they do this and none of them are good. So, I've locked down that part of my blog. If you want to comment, you still can. However, I have to approve it before it will post. And, of course, you can always comment on my facebook page...or when you see me... or send me an email...or call me :)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Today was our Christmas Day and it was great and exhausting! I've said it before and I'll say it again...moms and grandmas make Christmas look so easy! The gifts this year were a big hit with the kids. No surprise, the drum set was the most popular. And, Dave and I lasted until 4pm before we moved them to the basement! We got Cooper a Playmobil Mega Farm Set. Little did I know it includes 771 pieces that all needed to be assembled. We had to put the petals on the flowers, the handles on every bucket and even had to put the light bulbs in the light fixtures. It took Dave and me 3 hours. Good grief!!

All of that aside, we started the our day praising God for the birth of Christ and ended the day with a great service at church, lovely dinner and a birthday cake for Jesus. All-in-all, a great day. Now, off to the Handsakers to do it all again tomorrow!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

"Twas the night before OUR Christmas..."

Yes, tonight is our Christmas Eve. We started this traidition 3 years ago when we desired to have our own little Christmas, but still be with extended family on Christmas Day. So tonight was the night that Dave and I diligently got the kids to bed, wrapped their gifts and filled their little stockings. I'm fearful that this might be the year that Layla starts getting up at 5am, you remember those days!

We will wake up tomorrow, open our gifts, eat egg casserole for breakfast and stay in jammies all day and play with toys. We will then go to Christmas Eve service at our church and home for a big Christmas dinner. This year it will be pork loin crown roast, mushroom stuffing, roasted asparagus, spinach and strawberry salad and Jesus' Happy Birthday cake!

Gingerbread

When Layla was 2 she made her first gingerbread house with Mama Faye and we have now made one every year since. This year was Cooper's first chance to participate. I chalk it up as a success as we were able to get more candy on the house than in their stomachs!

Lolly and Super Coop

I'm not sure what has gotten into Cooper lately, but he's been full of love. Seriously, it's cracking me up. When I sit next to him, he wants to put his little arm around my back. If I've been gone he greets me with his usual hug and kiss and says, "Mommy, I miss you. I sad."

More than once in the last week he has asked Layla if she loves him. The other day her response was, "I love you and I like you." She had obviously gotten over the fact that Cooper dropped (threw) a 5 pound hand weight on her head.

Yesterday, while Layla was at school, he kept saying, "Lolly so sad. She cry at school. She miss me. Poor, poor Lolly." (I'm pretty sure she didn't give us a thought while at school)! When we picked her up Cooper said, "Lolly, you miss me. You sad at school?" She looked at him and said, "Uhm, sure buddy. Whatever you say."

Well, he's showing more sweet than spice these days and I'm going to enjoy it!!!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Grandma and Grandpa with 5 of their 8 grandkids


Cousin Cheyenne, Layla, Cousin Paige

When Layla was around 2 years old, her favorite game to play in the car with Daddy was the word game. Dave would say the longest words he could think of and she would copy him. Like most first children (especially girls), Layla spoke full sentences, perfectly enunciated before she was 2 years old. So this was a fun game to all of us. At 2 1/2 Layla saw the movie, Mary Poppins, and fell in love. And, we were finally able to stump her with the word, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Mary Poppins has remained one of her favorites (we've watched it monthly for the past 3 years). On Saturday afternoon, we were able to see the Broadway production in Des Moines. What a treat! It was wonderful! Grandma and Grandpa Handsaker treated us all to tickets as our Christmas gift. Grandma is a person of great organization and detail. She went to the Civic Center to scout our seats when she bought our tickets. As a result, we were so close that we could have touched Mary Poppins as she flew over us and out of the theater.

Layla knows the movie by heart, so it was fun to hear her tell me everything that was different and to sing along to the songs. And, of course, it is priceless to see her face and reaction to all of the special affects.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for giving more than a Christmas gift; you made memories!

Road Trip

Dave's annual South Dakota hunting trip means one thing for the kids and me....road trip to Mama Faye's! This was the easiest road trip I've had with the kids. We've just hit that great age where snacks and DVD's make for 4 hours of silent bliss for Mommy!

We went to a movie (Tangled), shopped, ate out, ate Mama Faye's great cooking, baked and decorated Christmas cookies, did crafts, played games...you get the idea! It was relaxing and refreshing! Northwest Iowa felt like a frozen tundra and the kids were thrilled to see all the snow. The lake froze over while were were there and were thousands of Canadian Geese to watch and keep track of.

We treasure this sweet time with Grandma! The kids love that their blankets still smell like her house and Layla says it well when she says "Mama Faye is so missable!" Even Cooper, the man of few words, said to me last night, "I miss Granpa Faye(not a typo, that's what he calls her!). When Cooper go back?"