Trade Offs

We've had to deal with some trade offs lately. Heck, I guess it is true you can't get something for nothing these days. The most significant and worthwhile of theses trade offs has been Reina giving up her daily nap...in exchange for wearing underpants.

She's a little on the old side, but still within normal range I guess for potty training, especially for one so inderpendently minded. We just had to wait for her to be ready. Her "aha" moment? Halloween candy as reward. Brilliant. She's down to 1 pair of pull ups a day, for overnight only. I think she's only had 3 accidents in over two weeks, and two were in one day. I had nothing to do with this. She trained herself. A sign of things to come I'm sure.

The lack of photos on this blog has been tragic and I do feel guilty. However, you asked for it, so now you're getting about 385. The trade off will be lack of much commentary since my nap time blogging time has disappeared. Also, last week we all had colds, Bill was out of town and then I had a rather dramatic reaction to my first wasp sting which prevented me from wanting to use my arm for a few days.

Ok. Time's a wasting. Picture time...out of order, no captions. But lots. A glut.

Bummed

I am sorry for the delay...I actually have 3 blog posts written and waiting for photos. However, since I have a fabulous new camera, my computer doesn't recognize the hardware and I have just discovered I cannot yet download the photos.

Have no fear, Bill has already downloaded 600, yes 600, of our nearly 1000 pictures from vacation, Halloween, kids, etc. It is only a matter of time to get my non-Mac wonder up to speed as well.

Until then...do you actually WANT to just read posts without pictures?!? Happy to oblige.

Halloween

Upon our return from Cali, we had one week to get our Halloween together. This year was the first time Reina was really aware and excited, I imagine Thanksgiving, birthday and Christmas will be much the same. Costumes had already been decided. Pumpkins were acquired thanks to Gina-mom's spontaneously growing ones and Nana and PGa's trip to the pumpkin patch in our absence. Due to the busy road we live on, this was the first year I haven't bought candy. We made plans to trick or treat in a friends' neighborhood and were good to go.

The evenings leading up to Halloween included a portion of "The Great Pumpkin" and another cartoon with some very gremlin-like alien pumpkins. Reina didn't seemed phased by any scariness, just liked to say Halloween is pretend a lot. Cool. Not interested in nightmares here.

We got out our pumpkins to carve, Daddy with his sharp knife, Reina with hers. Liam with his little pumpkin gourd in his mouth.

We got dressed in our costumes, me in my old standby Snow White (don't tell me I'm too old to dress up). Reina was a ballerina butterfly, her own concoction. Liam was a hand-me-down pumpkin, but a cute one. All the squash he's been eating lately has made him a little orange anyway. Bill was a game-time decision. A mohawk and old football jersey transformed him into: Bill with a mohawk and old football jersey. At least he was festive.

We joined friends Libby and Logan along with little Jonah and hit up some pretty nice homes with some pretty big candy bars. Reina alternated between ecstatic and worn out but stuck it out with the other kids...there was some carrying involved.


The best part about her haul is not that Mommy and Daddy now can steal her candy. The best part is that she thinks she can ONLY get candy if she uses the toilet instead of a diaper. I have now seen the true meaning of motivation. She can muster up even a few drops if it means two more M&Ms.

I admit I don't relish the idea of bribing with candy, however I was also starting to get a little anxious we'd be changing diapers well past her 3rd birthday. Keep fingers crossed, she's doing great over the past 4-5 days. Mental note to self, start Liam's potty training around Halloween.

Mr. Beets

Bill had a very busy week in the ICU after our return and wasn't always able to get home before the kids went to bed. The nights he was home for dinner, however, proved to be entertaining.

After a summer of delicious local vegetables procured by our farm subscription, Reina has become "The World's Only Beet Eating Kid." We call them "princess pink" beets just for extra motivation. Never having grown up eating them, I had no preconceived dislike. Bill and I both get a little proud when we tell people what Reina is willing to eat. Having gone from a poorly feeding newborn to a picky baby, this open mindedness to food makes us burst with pride. Some highlights: sushi, pot stickers, sausage of any kind, shrimp and noodles, and spinach salad. Please no applesauce. Liam on the other hand, has not met a food he won't eat, leading me to merely mash up our dinners for him to have his own share.

Liam is actually pretty much the best baby ever. Smiles all the time, still stays where I left him (but now can spin in circles). He has no teeth yet but can sit for a long time. His newest tricks are clapping and clicking his tongue to get attention. He has the greatest giggle. But I digress.

The past few weeks have actually been rather beet-free, since the farm is now closed for the season. A new friend has appeared in the guise of Mr. Beets. Described by Reina as tall with big purple hair? Daddy isn't Mr. Beets (or Mista Beeties said with an English accent??). He's Dr. Beets, if you please. I am now Mrs. Beets. When asked who exactly Mr. Beets is, she gets quiet and then says, "Logan." Logan is the son of our friends and Reina's age. I'm pretty sure he isn't aware of being Mr. Beets.

One night at dinner we were discussing the various Beets' and we got on the subject of geography, as in, where IS Mr. Beets now? Reina has a fairly good grasp of our address and town and so Bill started quizzing her on where other family members live.


Bill: Nana and PGa?


Reina, with prompting from me: Columbus


Bill: Uncle Ryan?


Reina: Texas


Bill: Uncle Andrew?



Reina: ?

She looks at me for help so I give a clue: The same place President Obama lives...



Reina: Oh, the White House.


?!? How does she know that?

So, how was California?

***Update: hooray! Bill got my pictures on this dang computer so soon they will be posted. But not tonight. After dealing with a fluey Reina all day and trying not to cross contaminate Liam, I'm packing it in. Words only for now.***

Reina regularly chats me up this way..."So, how was California?" to which I answer, "it was great!". Then, in turn I have to ask her about her and Liam's week with Nana and PGa. "It was great."

To start, Bill got me a brand new camera. A Super Duper interchangeable lens, point and shoot, or not, type camera which I am still learning to use. Much like the human brain, I may only get about 10% mastered. Downloading the photos is the skill I am working on next. We have taken nearly 1000 photos with this monster and they are really so different from my purse sized point and shoot. Bill has become quite the nature photographer, perhaps inheriting some skill from his dad? His subjects are mostly birds to date, and I'll leave them to him. Birds and I are not friends, more on that later.

So, how was California? We took a child-free trip down the California coastline starting way up at Napa Valley. Napa was beautiful, the wine was delicious, we ate way too much but enjoyed ourselves. We drove (in a convertible, which I found out REAL Californians wouldn't do in October) down through San Fransisco to Monterey, then on to tour the Hearst Castle and meet up with a friend in Santa Barbara. We ended our week visiting with Bill's 90+ year old grandmother and uncle and aunt for dinner outside of San Diego. Many apologies to all the folks we didn't get the chance to meet up with while there. We just plumb ran out of time. We're more than happy to come back, however!

Missing the kids, but no too badly yet, we came home and back to life. Oh, and a Bengals game. Since airline regulations are not very wine-souvenir friendly, not much came back with us. I'll see if the 1000 photos we've taken can make up for it...if each one is worth 1000 words does that mean I've got about 1 million words to sort through?

Quotes of the Day

One from each...

Liam: "mamamamama!"

Reina: "I just want to cuddle you then eat my scone."

???: "I'm borderline a bonafide genius!"

Which is the most endearing? The world may never know...

Piggies and a New Poop Chute

Bill got home safe and sound, and we are all the happier for it. Despite his constantly busy schedule, he still has some flexibility to say, go with us to Reina's ballet class, or to spend a morning blowing a bajillion leaves out of the yard. (I don't know if I should tell him to look up...there's a quadrillion more waiting to fall still). We've been enjoying the brisk autumn weather and rediscovering our warm clothes. I've been making soup and Reina has been making progress with her behavior.

Today was a great day for us as far as the epic Mommy vs. Reina battle goes. Yesterday we round-tripped it to my parents for dinner while Bill worked and perhaps the extra attention helped her get her back on track. Today she was all cuddles, hugs and kisses, even at bedtime! Not counting on this to be a trend...just hoping.

Liam is working very hard at growing. That's still his biggest accomplishment. No rolling. No crawling. Barely sitting before his tremendous head topples him over. That's cool. We'll be climbing over baby gates soon enough.

The yard is a disaster. Trenches of pipe and mud and gravel and mud everywhere. The following photos are before the rest of the damage was done...in five years none of this will matter...right? There still seems to be about a week's worth of work left to do, including ripping out some shingles and part of the roof to get our basement plumbing up to code. Sigh. I hope we'll be able to get some grass seed down this fall before it gets too cold. Otherwise the yard will look scarred until spring.

They only hit the water main once. After I told them where it was.

The Twins, over 5000 gallon capacity. Mind boggling.

Aunt Lisa M. and Liam at the Kentucky Wool Fest.

Bill and Liam, checking out the livestock. I cannot tell you what a close call is was we didn't end up bringing a live chicken home.

Reina liked the little pot belly piggies. She even "God Blessed" them at nap time.

Big Giant Tusky Hog got a "God Bless" too, but just so it didn't feel left out.