potty party

It may be the mom in me, but I believe Madison is really a smart kid. I don't have anything to compare her to, of course, since she's our firstborn, but I seem to get comments from strangers a lot about how well she speaks, that she knows her letters and numbers so well, that she can sing a few songs at just 2 years, etc.

I'm sure this will have its downfall. It's got me paranoid that the next kid we have will be a little slower developmentally and I'll be worried sick about it. Miss M walked on her own at 11 months...if child #2 doesn't walk by its first birthday I'll panic. If fit doesn't use the "expected" number of words by 18 months I'll have a heart attack. I now understand why my parents always told me they didn't have gray hair until they had children. I think I understand now, and I'm not even stressed out yet!

But for such a bright little girl I'm getting a little frustrated with our potty trainng experience. It's going well for the most part...I'm putting her in underwear at home most of the time, and when she's wearing it she is really good about getting to the bathroom when she has to go.

But lately she's wanted to wear diapers, not underwear, and when she's in a diaper she doesn't make an effort at all to use the toilet. I'm contemplating playing the mean mom card and deeming diapers in the house off-limits. She could then choose to wear underwear or go nakey. I've also been tossing around the idea of getting some pull-ups for outings and naps. I don't want her to wear them all the time, as I've heard they're too much like wearing a diaper, but I'm not brave enough to chance going out in underwear. I'd love to be able to put the cloth away (although I will miss cute cloth butt) and not buy any more disposables--except overnight diapers--at all.

So...calling all experienced moms or dads who've been through this...what would you do?

Here are a couple of shots of Miss M at Grady's, a local place that has all kinds of rides plus pizza and ice cream. We went a couple of weeks ago and picked out the rides that were suited for a 2-year-old.

Taking a ride on the train:

Harley girl!

Thanks, as always, for reading & looking!

girls just wanna have fun

*UPDATED w/ PICTURES!*

This weekend we were quite the socialites! Two parties in two days used to be nothin', but when you're embarking on a series of social activities with a toddler they can become exhausting outings quickly.

Saturday we had a birthday party to attend for one of Madison's friends. It was really a party for the kids AND adults, and we had a great time. There were kids to play with and toys (someone else's toys...always much better than your own!) and food and games (a pinata and pin the tool on the toolbelt...cute) and good company. Miss M had a great time...and she didn't even seem to mind when, as I was trying to coax her into leaving for the evening, she insisted on 'one more time' climbing up the little slide in the pool (never mind we had already changed her out of her swimsuit and into her clothes) and she slipped and fell right in. I saw that one coming but you know, sometimes they have to learn for themselves. I expected tears but all she said was, "Oops!"

Sunday we went to a family sweet corn party up in Herscher. Got to explore the farm a bit, and we had great fun listening to our echoes in an empty grain bin.

Today is recovery day. We don't have any plans, except to check out Kevin's ISU faculty concert this evening, and I plan to keep it that way.

Finally, I got around to adding a few pics!

Taking a swing at the pinata:

Collecting goodies from the pinata:

Playing with the birthday boy:

The awesome cakes from the party. The theme was tool time, so these creative edible goodies fit the bill!

waterfun and all that jazz

Right now I should be working as the lil' one is snoozing, but seeing how I am researching blogs for an article, the more I read about them the more I felt the urge to update my own. So, here I am.

We took our annual trip to Iowa City this weekend. The Iowa City Jazz Festival was our motivation, as it has been the past 8 years. It's turned into quite the famiy event with both Kevin and my parents joining in on the fun. Good times were had by all!

Kevin took a lot of video of the bands but I don't think we got any pictures of the groups performing on stage. However, I have a host of images of the three of us at the pool--thanks Dad--that I think you'll enjoy. Miss M loved the water, giving me the nudge I need to make the trek to our local public pool. (It's sooo far away...like a 10 minute bike ride.) Here are some of those pictures, enjoy them! Also, if anyone is interested in reading a recap of the festival you can check out my jazzwriter blog, but please wait a few days until I have time to write & post! I'm hoping to do this Friday evening.

Riding the Daddy-fish.

Pink arm floaties!

3 of Harts.