Testimonies and Beans

A couple of weeks ago for Family Home Evening I wanted to teach Josh about testimonies. So I let Josh pick out 5 beans, which we wrapped in damp paper towels and put in the cupboard to germinate (is that the correct terminology?). We then related to him how beans are like a testimony, in that they need to be nourished to grow...beans with soil, water and sunlight, and testimonies need other spitirual care to grow in our hearts.

The next Sunday was Fast Sunday, so during one of the testimonies Josh picked up on the the word "testimony" and said "A testimony like my beans!" At least he picked up the relationship, right?

Fun Trip to Kohl's

I was shopping at Kohl's the other day and forgot to put the double stroller in the van before we left, so I only had the single stroller. (Why don't department stores have carts with room for more than one kid, by the way?) So, I just strapped Mary in and had Josh sit on the handle/cup holder tray, like I often have him do.

As I was shopping, and coming close to nap time, Mary was starting to get kind of cranky and had grabbed an item of clothing from one of the racks during my browsing. It was keeping her relatively happy, so I let her play with it. A few minutes later Mary somehow got the metal hook of the hanger stuck in her mouth and started crying. I go to her and get the hanger out of her mouth, but it did some damage and there was blood. Alarmed, I take her out of the stroller to assess the injury, forgetting that she is weighing down the stroller that Josh is sitting on...oops. The stroller tipped over backwards and Josh fell. He wasn't hurt badly, but now I have two crying kids, one of which is bleeding. Awesome! A nice older lady asked if there was something she could do to help, but really I just needed to get to the bathroom to get Mary cleaned up a bit. I finally convinced Josh to ride in the stroller and push him while carrying Mary and trying to keep myself from getting too bloody (there wan't THAT much blood, but I still wanted to salvage my shirt, if I could).

We finally made it to the bathroom and got cleaned up. I found some smarties in my purse which got the kids to stop crying. Mary's injury never seemed to bother her after the incident, and we were able to finish our shopping with only some of our dignity lost.

Josh is a Big Boy!

We started potty training Josh during the beginning of January. I was trying to think of something good as an incentive to get him to want to do this. One day, as we were driving along we saw the light rail, as we often did, and Josh told me he wanted to ride the choo-choo train. So, I told him if he could go 5 days in a row without having an accident, we would ride the train.

It took a lot of days (and a lot of accidents), but he finally achieved his goal at the end of February, and on March 6th we took a family ride on the "Choo Choo Train" to downtown Phoenix. Before boarding the train we grabbed some sandwiches at Subway to have a picnic with, then we rode downtown and got off near the Science Center and had a picnic on the lawn near there. Josh was pretty excited, and I think he had fun.

Josh still has his accidents every once in a while, but he generally does pretty well. Hooray for being potty trained!!! Now if only I could get Mary to use the toilet!

(3/6/10)

Adventures at the Dr.'s Office

Yesterday while we were at the pediatrician's office for Mary's 15 month check-up, Josh and Mary were playing with the toys in the waiting room. Suddenly Josh looks at me and says, "Mom, I'm peeing" as pee is running down his leg and onto the floor. I run over and tell him to stop so we can run to the bathroom, but no...the stream just keeps on comin'! Luckily it was a tile floor, and I'm sure that's not the worst they've had to clean up, but still...how embarrassing!

The actual appointment went well, luckily. Here are Mary's stats for 15 Months:

Weight: 24 lbs. (50th %)
Height: 32 1/4" (90th%)
Head: 18 3/4" (?)

Mary is such the little copy-cat these days she wants to do everything Josh does.

Concert Invite

The East Valley Mormon Choral Organization, which I play in the symphony for, is holding it's third concert this Friday, May 21st at Gammage. I've had a lot of fun this past year trying to brush up my violin-playing skills and participating in this organization. It has been so fun to be a part of a really good musical organization again.

Anyway, I invite you to come to our final concert of this season. Here are the details:

I hope you can come, it's going to be great!

Once There Was a Snowman

(3/14/10)

A couple of weeks ago while we were driving to Snowflake Josh and I were admiring all the snow on the Rim, and Josh kept saying how he wanted to get out and make a snowman and a snowball. I'm a mean mom and wouldn't stop, but told him if there was any snow at Grandma's house we would play in it there. There was no snow when we got there on Saturday, but low and behold, it snowed about an inch during the night! Josh, my nephew Jake and I (in my pj's) braved the cold and went out to play. We (and by we I mean Jake and I--Josh was too busy to help) were able to put together a mini snowman that at least stayed upright through church. By the time church got out that was pretty much the only snow left on the ground.

3 Peas in a Pod

Marlee, Mary & Jaki (3/14/10)

Last summer when I found these dresses on clearance for $1 each (yes $1!), I couldn't pass up getting matching dresses for Mary and her cousins Marlee (Mindy's daughter who is 6 days younger) and Jaki (Kayla's daughter who is about 5 months older). A few weeks ago we were all in Snowflake for my nephew Shad's mission homecoming talk, so they got to all wear them together. Unfortunately we forgot/ran out of time to take a picture before church, so Mary was really tired and slobbery from church snacks, but these 3 girls are still cute! Mindy, Kayla and I often had matching dresses that my mom would make for us when we were little, so it was fun to pass on this "tradition" to the next generation.