Potty Training and insomnia

So it is 3:13 am MDT and what am I doing up?! Just updating my blog while things are quiet around here ;-)... typos are excused in this blog. I don't usually suffer from insomnia so this is a rare thing for me!

Last week I had a couple of days off and thought it would be a good time to get started with the joy of potty training! I have to report that I am pleasantly SHOCKED at how well it is going. She has not had wet pants in about 4 days with the exception of 1 overnight diaper...and I thought Big J was easy. That brings me to why I'm up - she woke up about 2:00 am crying "potty", I thought it was just a bad dream and she'd go back to sleep but after a few minutes I went in and she was wide awake and needed to get up. She did and went right back to sleep... does this mean it's time for a big girl bed so Mommy can sleep through the night? Seems like I had just enough sleep (a nap) that now I can't get back to sleep...and now the odor of fresh skunk is permeating the house - too late to close it up (YUCK). Maybe I'll try folding some laundry then another quick nap before Jazzercise at 5:30.

Sweet dreams!

A Tender Story

As I approach the 1 year anniversary of Ken's death I think that I'm doing quite well emotionally... until Jenelle pulls something like this.

We were helping with cousin Chris' Eagle Project up on Y mountain the other day. I had paused to look up at the mountain and just above the mountain the sky was a beautiful, incredible blue so I commented about the beautiful sky. Jenelle the looked up also and after taking a moment to also enjoy it she said: "Daddy paint sky"... yes, Daddy probably did paint that sky special for us to have that tender moment.

I have been so blessed to have her to bring me a little bit of her Daddy every day.

Happy Pioneer Day

I know this isn't celebrated much outside of Utah but it is our version of "statehood day" and a pretty big deal. Last year our neighborhood started doing a Patriotic Parade the night before the 4th and this year we switched to the night before July 24th. It was a lot of fun, I had a hand-me-down from Aunt Camie that Baby J wore- what would a parade be without cheerleaders. Big J and his buddies we the lawn mower brigade. We all had a great time, and got to be at the park for hours...the first time (since she's cared) that she didn't pitch a fit when it was time to go home - success!!

Her first plane ride
On the Concord bridge where the first shots were fired
Below deck of the USS Constitution
coming up for air (I would NEVER make it in the Navy)
Showing the very stylish bowling shoes

Family Reunion in Boston

Baby J and Big J visiting the t0-scale replica of the Mayflower
Resting on the "water boat" (whale watching boat) after Jenelle (and others) experienced some seasickness. She is not a good aim. Thankfully the restrooms had hand blow-dryers...Yes, I actually rinsed my clothes in the sink (you didn't really think I'd sit in that all day)!? Sorry, but no whale pictures - they weren't out that day.
Big J trying to fly - Real men wear pink...especially when you forget your jacket, luckily Mom had bought herself a souvenier!
Firing the canon at Plimoth Plantation
Candlestick bowling - quite the entertainment in the East and we LOVED it. Waiting for someone to splurge and build one in Utah - we'll be first in line (you must also note the fashionable shoes)

VACATION!!

Catching up stinks - I'll try not to make this terribly boring! We spent a week back east (Boston) for a family reunion and had the BEST TIME!! This was Baby J's first plan trip - she mostly did ok. She was required to sit in the coveted window seat since we brought her car seat, but we had to close the blinds...as we took off she looked out for a minute then stared a panic "fall, fall, scardey me...". Other than that she fared quite well.

We saw everything from the pilgrims coming to America to the NEW State House. I especially enjoyed the historical and war sites because I knew how much Ken always wanted to visit them, he was such a history buff and would have been in his element as we learned the inside stories about some of our country's history. I think the pictures that I've included will tell the story best. I had hoped to mail out a slide show but it was requiring a login for everyone who wanted to view the pictures - so this is our very abbreviated version.

God Bless America!

Oops - more than a month!!

So much for my plans to keep up on this and be sure we're updated...I was better at sending out family-wide emails~I'll try to be better!

Jenelle took 2 spills in a row - must be a toddler thing! First she got tripped up on a treadmill then she tripped or misjudged a step on the sidewalk. This is the result - scabby nose - and this was several days after! Didn't bother her at all except that one of her friends must've touched it, anytime I asked if her nose was ok she got mad and said her friend's name. If someone asked me what happened to her nose she would crinkle it up and make a funny face, she knew they were talking about her. What a ham, though!

Everything is going well for the J-Team... Big J is in the last few weeks of school and busy with orchestra concerts, final projects, and even a dance coming up. He earned his Star rank in Scouts last month - getting closer to Eagle! Baby J is cute as ever, but I think I say that all the time. She jabbers a LOT (I knew she'd catch up...to her mom) and has the cutest expressions! I sometimes get sad watching her, realizing that she is my last baby and won't be like this forever, wouldn't be a bad idea to video tape her 100% of the time...but when she sees the camera she stops and says "Cheese!" so the cute thing she was doing/saying is forgotten - we need hidden cameras. Someday I'll figure out how to add video to my blogs, I'm sure it's simple. She practices her tantrums about once a week but I think having a "mature" mom helps... for some reason it's easier to just slide through, change the subject/distract her, or ignore the tantrum completely - even in public (although I do try to finish up and get out to avoid bothering others).

Not much else going on - getting ready for summer, so much that needs to be done. Keeping in mind that I haven't had a summer 'break' for several years - pregnant, newborn, sick husband - so I should feel like I've got all kinds of time and energy to get everything done...we'll see...ask me in September what I've accomplished.

That's it for now...I'll try to remember to do this more often for my posterity!