The question . . .

How do you teach your children not to jump on the furniture when they can do this?

Even Superheroes Cry

We missed a birthday party for some friends the other week because the party was on Sunday, so we decided to throw the birthday boy an impromptu party at our house. I threw together some superhero capes for all the siblings (total 6), made cupcakes, and decided to have a ball. Superhero M (birthday boy, aged 4) wore blue and orange, Superhero W (older brother, aged 5) wore yellow and red, Superhero I (birthday girl, aged 2) wore pink and green,

Superhero F wore orange and green (he wanted to be like his friend),

Superhero S wore purple and yellow (he had insisted on me changing his cape around so that the purple would be on the outside, and then wore yellow on the outside the whole party so he could be like W),

and Superhero A wore green and red (because that is what F originally picked). Superhero A thought the cape was wonderful, even though he missed most of the party due to his afternoon nap.

I didn't take many pictures, and I didn't get the dream picture of all the children's backs in order (W, S, M, F, I, A), but I did get some.

The one thing I learned from this afternoon with superheroes, is that even superheroes cry.

Snow

F. with his dump truck

S. and F. climbing the mound in front of the house.

A. first sledding experience

F., Mr. Snowie, and S.

boys sledding around the yard (I know it is sideways, sorry)

We've had some snow. We've played in it. We've had fun. We like snow.

Meet Rockstar

or maybe it is Rock Star; I'm not sure. But I know you would like to meet her. The only problem is that I am way behind on pictures, so I'll write this post with all the places for the pictures to be, and maybe, just maybe, I'll come back later and insert them. If not, it will still be a post worth reading. F. is potty training again. (Do you remember my fiasco with training last year?) He has been asking me to wear underwear since before Christmas and I kept putting it off. But in the past few weeks he has started waking up at 4:00 ish to have his diaper changed. (Since I'm still not sleeping through the night--I know, my own fault--it left me cranky and very tired.) So I decided to do the prep-work for a second try. I read Potty Training in One Day, Toilet Training with No Tears, and skimmed a few others. I decided to compile what I liked (modeling with the doll, lots of treats, total focus for one day, try to be stress free) and what I didn't ("Grandma would be sad that you peed your pants", potty training to the clock) and try it out. Since I liked the doll idea, I looked online for something cheap and water proof. Nothing. I headed to Target and picked up a $13 bath doll. But since she only had a diaper, I needed to make some underwear for her so that F. could help her change her underwear and such. I designed a pattern and whipped up three. The boys were concerned that she didn't have pants, or pajamas, or anything else, so I promised them we would outfit her later. Saturday went well. We played downstairs on a fleece blanket all day. The fleece caught the pee and held it so we could go back and clean it up after we had changed underwear, etc. By Saturday night, he was figuring out how to hold it while he ran to the potty. We've had some ups (at a friend's for a birthday on Monday and no accidents) and downs (peeing twice during a movie). I think this time will work. The funniest thing is that A. thinks that Rockstar is his doll. He hugs her and screams for her whenever he sees her. F. also thinks that she is his. Me? I'm working on clothing the poor naked thing.

Family Picture

The latest family picture--taken by R--'s brother in Arizona. It was cold. That is all I will say.

He's 1!

(I can almost reach it.)

(Mmm, tasty.)

"Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear A--

Happy birthday to you!"

We had a leisurely birthday party for little A-- this past week. I can hardly believe he is one. It still seems like he should be waking up multiple times a night to eat--wait, he still does. (But then all my boys did at this point, and I'm okay with it, really.) This year has flown by.

A-- really is part baby and part big kid. He loves nursing (though he really only nurses in snatches). He wants to control his own movement and feed himself. He loves his chupete (pacifier). He wants to play with his older brothers, and sometimes they let him. He has started cruising around on the furniture and has taken up to seven steps in a row (this is at least two months earlier than both his older brothers). But he is still "Baby A--" to his older brother F--.

He tried the cake and ice cream, but didn't devour his whole piece like his older brothers did when they were his age. Maybe this means he won't have my sweet-tooth. We love him and are so glad he is part of the family.

Finished

So after long hours quilting around clouds (remind me never to do that again!), A-- has his quilt. He likes it, even if he doesn't look like it here. A few days after I finished it, we took it to Arizona over Thanksgiving. On the ride home, S--got sick from all the snacks he ate on the plane and threw up in the car, right on top of this quilt. So it was promptly washed and put back into circulation.