My Little Fish

Gone Fishin'

Saturday was not the sunniest of days at the Lake of the Ozarks. Not so fit for a lot of swimming...so the kids found something else to do!

Bathing Beauties

The Girls spent Saturday morning catching some rays after a frollick in the sprinkler. Mommy got her lawn watered!

Day with Daddy

For Father's Day, the girls made Brad breakfast in bed and showered him with hugs, kisses and gifts. We all went to mass and headed to the "Super Pool" (Ballwin Aquatic Center). It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast! Then everyone settled down for a long afternoon nap -- we were whooped! Happy Father's Day, Brad.

Presents & Cake...Now She Believes She's 3!

Ever since Peyton's actual Birthday on Monday, she has been asking when she really turns 3. Since she hadn't had a party yet, no people, no cake, no presents (except for her measly American Girl Doll from Mommy and Daddy)...it wasn't sinking in. Now she believes!

After one of the girls' birthday parties, usually with an attendance of about 40 (due to Brad's huge family), we have to go upstairs and fill a Good Will bag with old toys to make room for the monstrous amount of new ones. This year, when people asked what Peyton wanted for her birthday I told them clothes (and underwear to encourage her new skill). So this year she got a few little things to play with , some money for her savings account and a summer wardrobe to die for. That's more like it!

Age three has really been a big event here at our house. Peyton now talks about how's she's now ready to start school in the Fall (when before she didn't really want to talk about it.) She goes potty like a big girl. And last night she slept her first night in her BIG GIRL BED! Woohoo!!! My little baby is growing up so fast.

Big City Birthday...

Brad had a work conference scheduled in Chicago -- and because the conference days fell on Peyton's birthday -- we decided to tag along.

We had a great trip with great Chicago weather. (Everytime we've ever gone to Chicago before it has been winter and bitter cold -- so we were psyched to finally be there when the weather was nice and we could finally see the place.) We got to spend some time with some local Chicago friends and we visited the Shedd Aquarium which was pricey but worth it. We spent some time walking around Navy Pier and finally rode the huge carousel, where we could see the whole city from up in the sky.

And, of course, we made our expected trip to The American Girl Store for Peyton's birthday present. Peyton has been talking about getting 'Amantha (Samantha) for months now. When we entered the store, the staff let us know that a new American Girl Doll was being introduced that day. Her name was Ruthie and she looked a lot like Samantha. That really threw Peyton for a loop. Peyton didn't realize such a big decision was in the making. She spent, what seemed like an hour doing this...

But she finally made her decision, bid Ruthie farewell with a big hug and we were finally on our way. Fortunately, she loves her new doll and and is very happy with her decision. Peyton and 'Amantha are very happy together. Happy Birthday, Peyt!

Potty Power!

After our trip to Disney, plans were in the making for Peyton's potty training. I knew I had to somehow get it done within the 3 months of summer to be ready for preschool -- but I wasn't looking forward to it. Peyton can be stubborn, resistant and doesn't exactly like to what others want her to do.

As soon as we got back from vacation, I scheduled a day to begin. Right before that day a friend-of-a-friend told me about a charter-on-demand program called "Potty Power." Her son had watched the video once and woke up the next day with the desire to potty training. I was skeptical, but was willing to try anything.

So...on the scheduled day, I went into Peyton's room cheerfully singing a little song about how today was the day to become a big girl. I put underwear on her and turned on the "Potty Power" video. It is a show made up of sing-a-longs, demonstrations and stories about being a big kid, doing things on your own and being proud to wear underwear. She loved it! She used the potty all day and was thrilled to be doing it. We've watched "Potty Power" a couple of times a day since then and we seem to sing the catchy tunes all day long. "No more diapers for me!"

Besides a few accidents because we just couldn't get there quite fast enough and a small struggle with #2. Peyton is potty trained. I'm so proud...and so is she!