A New Poop Story

For those of you who have read my first posts on this blog and are well aware of the trials of potty training Nils and Annika, I must enlighten you with new information. Annika has been potty trained for months now, but Nils is still working on it. This summer has been busy for him in the potty training arena. His school has really been focused on it, and therefore so have we. There have been many, many accidents- here, there, and everywhere (including the hot tub, which is probably the worst).


He has made quite a bit of progress, though, and last night I had a special surprise. I was with Nils and Marta in the sunroom, just playing with toys. While I was talking to Marta, Nils disappeared, so I went to look for him. Walking through the dining room, I spied his shorts and underwear on the floor. Was this a potty moment or simply an "I want to be naked" moment? You never know with Nils! I picked up the clothes and then saw the poop in the underwear. Thankfully it was just a little bit, but I was all set to lecture him about going in the potty and not in his pants, when I saw him - in the bathroom, on the potty. And he was pooping on the potty! This was a breakthrough moment! He realized on his own that he had to go, and went in the bathroom by himself, and got on the potty, without saying a word to anybody! I was so amazed, I didn't care about the little poop in the underwear. I was very proud of him, and I let him know it!

Garden Girls











I visited Anderson Gardens this week with Annika and Marta. It was such a beautiful day, I had to do something outside, so I grabbed my camera and off we went.

Anderson Gardens is a wonderful place to take pictures, but when you are trying to photograph a very busy one year old and a curious three year old, it is not a simple task. Marta was walking around, scooting up and down steps and trying to climb into every little body of water that we saw. Annika spent most of the time drawing in the dirt and pebbles on the path. She was fascinated with all the rocks and threw them into the pond to make circles. We did enjoy seeing the waterfall and the fish in the pond, and I was able to get a few decent pictures, although getting a good one of the two of them together was just not happening. Every time I said, "Annika, come and sit by Marta so I can take your picture, " Annika would sweetly reply, "No thanks, Melody. I'm drawing a picture of a girl."

I think my favorite part of the day was when we were looking at the tall statue right when you are heading into the gardens. I have a picture of Annika looking up at it.

"Annika, " I said, "look at the big statue."

Annika looked up and with a very serious look on her face replied in awe, "That's God."

Back to Childhood

I threw a birthday party for my brothers this past weekend. They turned 25 and 24 this summer. I decided to make the party reminiscent of times past. So I put up pictures of them when they were little and did a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme. I remember when we were growing up that was a big thing in our house. Being the only girl, I did have to watch cartoons like that. Well, I have to say, the turtles were a hit. We had turtle masks, sewer slime and foam ninja stars, which flew around my apartment all night. We ate tacos and birthday cake and even played a game.

Who says you have to be a kid to have a birthday party? COWABUNGA!

Annika's Imagination

No one will deny that Annika is a talker. This girl loves to talk- about anything. The other day when her mom came home from work, Annika said,

"Mom, I told Melody a story."

A story. It was definitely some kind of story. When she started talking, I grabbed some paper and a pen. This "story" had to be documented. Here are excerpts from Annika's imaginative narration:

"When I was a little boy, there were ants on my toes, and I said, 'Get off ants,', but they didn't get off, and I said, 'Help,' but mommy didn't help me. When I was a little boy, I was in Africa, and I couldn't find my little Barbie toy, and I was sad. And I went to Arizona."
"I had a birthday cake. I was 10 years old. And it was so yummy. Mommy gave me a cake. My brothers were so nice. I got a new blanket. I dreamed about lots and lots of little pets."
"I saw my beautiful daddy, and he had a purple crown on his head and a beautiful dress."
"I was really, really impressed and I ate too much food, and mom and dad were at Africa. I missed my family, but I ate some yummy cake. I didn't like the chicken; it had peanuts in it."
"I tried to look for my pet, my doggy was lost. His name was Rito, but I couldn't find him anywhere."


I don't think I can add anything to that story. Annika was extremely proud of herself for sharing all of that information with me. Maybe someday she will be a famous author. And she'll probably live in Africa or Arizona with her dog, Rito!

On Vacation
I spent a week in North Carolina visiting family and friends. It was busy, but lots of fun! Even though I was on vacation, I was with kids the whole time!



The Patriotic Bunch












Morgan Rose
















Hanging out with Madison and Macalah





Kissing Cousins- Morgan and Bryson