"Ahhhh crap!"

So...
Let me just say that I was thrilled when Jack said he wanted to go on the potty 4 months ago. We did the whole naked thing. Set the timer thing. Get some M&Ms thing. But each time we tried, he was not successful on the potty, but instead 3 minutes after on the floor, his bed, my bed, the couch, or my personal favorite, our computer hard drive. Needless to say, we stopped potty training after the final incident.

Then last week, he was saying "I want to go on the big boy potty! Mom! Right now!" And he did great. He has done great. However, while watching the Master's, playing a little golf himself, he had a minor incident.

Afton called to me while I was cooking dinner, "Mom, you are going to want to see this!"
Knowing exactly what had happened before I even looked, my response was "Ahhhh crap!"
Afton followed up with, "Yep! That is what IT is!"

 no "hole in one!"

 

 He missed the "potty hole" entirely!

 

In his defense, it is my fault. I have not been able to set aside 3 days to just stay home and totally devote all of our lives to potty training. So Jack, I am sorry. You are doing great. Honestly, I am sad that you are getting so big.

Keep trying to get that hole in one!

"I like to look for rainbows, whenever there is rain..."

When I am Baptized

 

This is one of my favorite children's hymns we sing in primary. I remember loving it as a child; I love singing it with Afton and Jack before they go to sleep each night. Today at my nephew's baptism, of course we sang it as the opening song. It was such a special day. Glad we could be there to support him and his big decision.

Bummer there were no rainbows or rain, but still a memorable, joyous day.

 

"I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain

And ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.

 

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.

I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

 

 

I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away,

And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

 

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.

I want to be the best I can and live with God again."

 

Words: Nita Dale Milner, 1952-2004; adapted. (c) 1989 IRI

Music: Nita Dale Milner, 1952-2004. (c) 1989 IRI

You are never too old to dance!

Picked up a flyer at Rec Center where my girl does ballet.
Flyer says: "Free dance recital! UNLV Campus  - Solaris Dance Company"
I asked the young girl who taught Afton's Hip Hop class, "Is this something my girl would enjoy?"
She replies with a smile, "Of course. She will love it!"
Excitedly, I put it on the calendar.

The day of the recital I told my girl and boy that we would be going somewhere special after Gymnastics class. I told them it was a dance recital at UNLV. My girl began with the 20 questions. "Will there be ballerinas? Will they be beautiful like princesses as they glide across the floor? Will I be able to dance on stage too? Are there boy dancers too?"

We get there. We sit. All we see is a "Sea of Silver." The cutest little ladies and gentlemen. All dressed up for the performance of their dear friends. All of the people in the crowd, besides us, were over the age of 65, no question. I begin to think that my girl may have a different vision as to what this recital may be.

I began talking with my girl and boy about the performers. I explained what the flyer said, "You are never TOO old to dance." We discussed how the performers will be a little older than the dancers we have seen perform before. We discussed how if you love to dance, you will always love to dance, no matter your age. I told them that today's performers were going to be cute little grandmas and grandpa. With Jack replied, "Ahh yes! Grandpa is here!" Funny boy.

The show began with this little number. Dancin' Derbies.

Afton had the biggest smile on her face as she stood on her chair to make sure she could see every move, twist, and tap of the foot. She loved it.

 Next was Arabian Fantasy. My favorite.

 

This lady could shake it.

 

Butterflies and Singin' in the Rain were Afton's 2 favorites.

 

Jack didn't really enjoy any of the show. Not even the 2 dudes who played the guitar, who were really pretty impressive. He was very well behaved as he played learning games on my phone, followed by Fish Farts, Soccer, and Cut the Rope. But the most fun he had was taking 57 different self pics. Some of them were pretty cute, but most were blurry.

 

The finale of the show was "You Make Me Feel So Young!" Afton was so excited

when she heard this. She leaned over in my ear, and trying to whisper, but accidentally yelled because she was so excited... "This is from ELF!" So many smiling, little ladies turned around excited that my little 4 year old knew the song and was singing it!

Afton and Jack were excited to take a picture with the dancers.

 

It's true. You are never too old to dance. They did such a great job! Glad we could be there. Woo hoo for finding a free flyer at the Rec Center.

 

You can do it. We can help.

 

On the first Saturday of the month, Home Depot has fun projects for little kids. A few weeks ago while picking up some stuff for our garden, the sweet little worker, Nora, who loves Jack and his eyelashes, insisted we come. I asked dear Nora if the project would be something I would be able to do with both my babies by myself. (Considering I would be the one putting them together and if you know me, you know how handy I am!) She assured me I could handle it. Jack didn't want to let her down. So, we went.

The project this month was a birdfeeder.

 

Afton helped me open the package and somehow... tore the instructions. Panic Attack #1 - I began to hyperventilate a little. "Ahhhhhhh. They are going to want to help and look, and look - the directions are torn." Next, I began feeling inadequate in my "handy man" skills. Plus, I knew I would be anxious about them. "What if they get hurt or do it wrong or something TERRIBLE, something CATASTOPHIC happens?"... but then a break through occurred.

I stopped freaking out. I realized I am being STUPID!!!! (A naughty word in our house.) My babies were here to have fun and they were going to be fine. Plus I can read. I can follow these simple, torn (who cares) instructions. So we began.

Jack loved using the hammer. He was pretty good. His hand eye coordination is quite impressive.

 

Afton, however, got her finger, on her first try. But she was determined to "be a builder." And she did great. She even was looking at the directions to see what the next steps were.

"Mommy, I can't read the words, but the pictures really help."

 

They did it! They did it without any major injury. Without me totally freaking out. Without anyone crying. They did it! But... now it was time for paint.
Panic Attack #2 - Instantly I'm thinking... "Don't get in on your clothes. Don't ruin your fun cute new fancy Home Depot apron. Don't get it in your hair. Don't... Don't... Don't"

So, I took a deep breath and said, "What colors do you want to paint your birdfeeders?"

 They got a little dirty, but nothing too bad. I was quite impressed as to how easy it washed off.

 

Jack decided he would rather take a picture with his hammer instead of his finished birdfeeder.

He painted his blue, red, orange, and pink.

 Afton chose pretty blue and pink, with some touches of red.

 

We ran into Nora later on in the store, as we were paying for our bird seed. Jack was quick to show her his finished birdfeeder and tell her about his hammer. He explained that he was pretty upset about having to leave it there for others to use. She told him, "With those eyelashes, you can have any hammer you want in the store!" He didn't quite understand the compliment, as he took it literally, then was upset again about not having HIS hammer.

 

All in all, it was a fun day. I survived. They survived. We all survived.

 

 

You CAN do it. We CAN help.

 

It's true.

 

We DID do it! They DID help!

 

 

New Memories Made while Discovering a New DOWNTOWN!

 

 

Being a native to Las Vegas I have been to many exciting places. I remember going on multiple field trips to the original Lied Children's Museum. Playing in the "bubble maker," learning about simple machines, and the human body. I remember the empty dirt lots behind downtown and it's antiquated, gross hotels. The Fitzgerald, Golden Nugget, and the California. (There have been so many others exciting places, but they don't fit into this blog post's theme.)

In the last 15 years, downtown has changed. Greatly. Those antiquated, gross hotels have been remodeled or demolished. Many new loft-style building have been built with new shops, new restaurants, but still,  new Downtown maintains the Vegas charm. That empty lot has been occupied with this new gem. It is right next door to the new Smith Center (Vegas' Broadway connection). Today, it provided us with some very special new memories with some very special friends!



Patiently waiting to get in

 

There were so many new exhibits to see and man did my boy and girl LOVE all of it!

 

 

Waterworld

Jack's favorite part of the museum.

He kept collecting all of the balls and then shooting them into this whirling pool. I couldn't take tons of pictures because I was worried my phone would get ruined. It was CRAZY in here. By the way, wearing the protective poncho, he was still DRENCHED!!!!!

 

Fantasy Festival

Climb aboard a pirate ship or a stomp around a medieval castle, dressed in only the best attire.

 

Toddler Town

 Jack found another train to conduct.

 And, a new way to slide.

Jack making "toot toots!"

Afton practiced her animal sounds and guessing skills.

 

The Stairs

 

 

Learning about inclines.

 Learning about the ear.

Just plain loving to learn!

 This was Afton's favorite part.

 

Exploring your Artsy Side

 

 

Determined to get a specific piece for his creation.

 

Miscellaneous

 Brain building,

 Calorie Burning,

& Bank Telling!

 

The Bathroom

Who knew this would be such a hit?

 

We discovered so much at this fun new museum. We can't wait to go back!

 

From Discovery Museum, we walked down the street to the new Symphony Park

and had a nice little picnic.

Avery, Quinn and Bobi - perfect picnic pals

 

Then walked down to the new stage. I just adore the performers.

 

 Planning which song to perform. They decided Taylor Swift.

 

Singing some Taylor Swift and a Princess song... even though it sounds like mumbling.

Beautiful mumbling, none the least.

 Just love this picture, but more importantly, our new memories of downtown.

 

Thanks Avery, Quinn, and Bobi for a fun day.

(Super excited to use our Season Pass!)