What A Strong Willed Little Girl

Belle has really been showing herself to be a very strong willed little girl, if she doesn't want to have her face cleaned or her diaper changed she'll grab your hand and toss it away. I don't remember Jack ever doing that though he did show his displeasure when we messed with him. She also tries to remove her bib when she is done eating, sometimes she is successful and other times she screams as she tries to pull her bib over her head. Belle has also reached that delightful stage where she systematically throws everything of her tray. Fun. She's still a great eater but we are cleaning more things off of the floor now. Belle really doesn't have any interest in walking yet, she pulls up on everything and cruises the furniture but she gets around so fast by crawling why would she want to waste time learning to walk?

More Tales of Jack

I find Jack to be terribly funny, sometimes it's hard to repress laughter when he repeats something we shouldn't have said in the first place. On Friday, Bruce came home from rehearsal and we were trying to catch up on the day while I finished up dinner and he played with play dough with Jack. Jack looks up at Bruce and says "don't talk." Bruce was confused and said " you don't want me to talk" and Jack said "don't talk to mommy." He has no problem telling us when he wants our undivided attention.

We've been seriously potty training for a full week and I'm happy to report that it is going very well. He has to be trained by August as he is starting pre-school and he must to trained in order to attend class. He has been diaper free during the day for two days and we've had a couple of accidents but that's all part of the learning process. He's beginning to understand the connection between feeling the need to go and going. We think that he'll be in great shape within the next few weeks. We were prepared to do a lot of cleaning up but it hasn't been as bad as I was imagining it might be. Bruce and I are very proud of our little boy, I still can't believe that he's going to be three in three months. Where has the time gone?

It's Been a Busy Few Weeks

We've almost recovered from our vacation. We had a great time in Disney World and at the beach but it was a lot of work! Jack loved Disney World but Belle was just along for the ride (though she did love the characters). I'll post more details at a later date along with pictures from our trip. I finally got the April photos uploaded so feel free to browse them on our Picasa album.

Jack continues to amuse and frustrate us. Recent comic gems from Jack are included in the following stories: I was about to start packing for our trip and I asked Jack if he wanted to help. He thought about it for a second and said "no thank you, I'm busy." One night he did something naughty and I gave him a light swat on the bottom, he looked up at me horrified and said "you attacked me." On our road trip we had stopped for coffee and we got him a cookie. A couple of hours later he had lost interest in it so I started munching on it. He asked me what I was eating and I told him that I was eating his cookie. He glared at me and said "that's naughty."

We are doing very well on potty training this week and he's increased his successes on the toilet by one each day. Tomorrow he is ceremonially giving all of his diapers to Belle. It's likely to be a messy week or two but I am confident that he will be trained before Belle's birthday.

I Got the Assistantship!

Today I was offered one of the Graduate Assistantships, I'm flattered, excited and still a little shocked. I was preparing myself to get declined as I don't have a major or minor in History but I was pleasantly surprised by an email this afternoon. This is the best way to start a vacation. Disney world and the beach... Here we come!