October 30, 2008

The Power of Elmo Panties!

Noelle started showing interest in using the potty this summer, just a few months after her second birthday. We encouraged her, but she was just not completely ready so we took a break for a few months. Lately, Noelle has been really into big girl panties and has wanted to wear her training panties or her big sister's panties.

My mother-in-law wanted to encourage Noelle to use the potty and offered her a treat if she would go for her. Noelle did use the potty and I suggested that her treat be Elmo panties (she likes Elmo). Noelle was so excited about the prospect of Elmo panties just for her. She sat down on the front steps that afternoon and told me that she was going to wait there for EB (what the kids call their grandmother) to bring her her Elmo panties. I told her it might be a while before EB got back with her new panties and suggested we go play. All afternoon Noelle kept asking me when EB was coming with her Elmo panties. Well that evening Noelle got her panties. She was so excited! She tried on just about every pair in the package. Sometimes she had on two or three pairs at the same time!

Now that Noelle had Elmo panties she did not want to wear her old boring diapers, so she began to use the potty and has been for the past three or four days. Elmo has stayed dry!! The Elmo panties that she is wearing changes every so often throughout the day still because she gets so excited about another pair of Elmo panties that she has to change and give the new pair a turn. :)

So, with the help of Elmo, Noelle is now potty trained!

The Pumpkin Patch

October 18, 2008

It was a cool, crisp autumn day (our first here in South Carolina) and the perfect day to head to the pumpkin patch. Elyse, our four year old, had been asking if we could go and pick pumpkins. The kids loved picking out the "perfect" pumpkins. It was interesting to note that the older the child picking out the pumpkin, the larger the pumpkin. I named this picture, "Me and My Four Little Pumpkins." :)

The Little Mommy

October 19, 2008

We jokingly call our two year old daughter Noelle, "The Little Mommy." She mothers and cares for her dolls, her siblings, and animals. The other day she was even carrying an earthworm around and talking to it and even giving it kisses--Yuck!



This afternoon I slipped off to use the bathroom off the kitchen, and I could hear Noelle asking her babydoll Annabelle what she wanted it to eat. I heard the pantry door open but apparently Annabelle did not see anything in the pantry that she wanted to eat. When I got into the kitchen I found the refrigerator door open and Noelle munching on a hotdog (already cooked). I found Annabelle seated at the kitchen table with a hotdog in front of her. I had a good laugh. It seems that Annabelle and Noelle share a favorite food. :)