Bribing

I took a parenting class at church and it addressed bribes and how we should't bribe our children. It addressed the many verses on bribing and what the Bible said. I thought of all the times I bribed Kai into going on errands with me using a lollipop. I just didn't want to deal with all the tantrums and such. So I cut out the bribes and resorted to discipline and I'm amazed to say that the tantrums don't happen too much anymore.
Which brings me to potty training. How do you potty train and not bribe? Certainly you can't use discipline to get them to use the potty. (believe me I've tried and it went like this "get on the potty or you're sitting in time out! Kai spit at me or something like that) For Kai it's a big control issue and every one of his friends are potty trained now but him. I tried potty training him 2 months ago and he was screaming and kicking when I mentioned him using the potty. Which brings us to last week when my church said he can not move up to the 3 year old room with his friends until he is potty trained and turns 3. Well his birthday is in 2 weeks and he gets really sad about not being with his friends. So I went against everything I was taught in the class and used M&M's as a bribe. I'm happy to say that he has done amazingly in 1 weeks time and went poop all by himself today while I was cleaning.

So maybe potty training bribes are okay but I do tend to wonder if he'll be 5 years old and I'll still have to give him a piece of candy for peeing and a toy car if he poops. Please tell me he will forget about those rewards at some point and what does that transition look like?

Feeding Nash

When I go to feed Nash it's always an overwhelming experience. He is a very fussy baby and in general just wants to make things more difficult. :) He likes to eat finger foods and doesn't like jar foods unless he gets to put his fingers in it and feed himself. Here's what it looks like afterwards:

Seriously, what would I do WITHOUT a straight iron??

Before


After

For those of you who haven't purchased this amazing invention I highly recommend it. HAI is the brand I have and while very pricey, it is the best! Don't go around with an unneeded afro.

Our backyard

I hate our backyard! I mean hate it! I want a backyard that I can sit outside comfortably with Kai and watch him play. I imagine a nicely groomed deck, patio chairs, little garden with blooming flowers, landscaped bushes etc. Instead I have a concrete slab, sticks everywhere from our 14 trees, poison ivy, HUGE bugs of every kind, mosquitoes, frogs, roaches, big holes in the ground to sprain your ankle on, big hills you wonder how they got there, more sticks, weeds, and patchy grass! It's so overwhelming I wonder where even to start.

Now for the record my thumb is not any shade of green. I don't like touching dirt and I HATE bugs! So digging up areas to plant flowers would not be enjoyable for me. I'm going to start with one thing at a time and get rid of that poison ivy for good. That is almost done so now I'm going to find a chainsaw and ladder and convince Devin to saw off the lower limbs of the trees so I don't hit my head when I mow under them. After that I'm going to work on the grass. Any suggestions? Does anyone even read this? Well, it feels good to vent. It's hard being away from my family whom I know would help me with all this stuff and make it look so easy. I hope to report back in a few months of my progress and newly found love for gardening.

Check up

Nash had his 9 month check up today. It went well. Nash weighs 20 lbs 2 oz. and is 29 1/4 inches. At this time Kai was 24 lbs and 31 inches long. Nash has a very small waist and crawls off all his pants. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when it gets really cold! She said he doesn't need to be waking up 2-5 times a night, tell that to him, and that he should be getting his two top teeth pretty soon. Everything is on track. They put him in this little baby gown and he looked so cute! I couldn't resist taking some pictures. Kai needed a picture too he said.



(honorable mention)

Midwest Manners

The first couple of months living here was complete culture shock. I would say that it felt like a different country. I would be walking outside pushing the kids in the stroller when I would have multiple people wave at me. They were walking, driving, on a motorcycle etc. Should I wave back? I don't know them and I don't want them to think I know them when I dont. I kept thinking that they must go to the church and know who I am but I don't know them! Then I realized they were just being nice and didn't know me. So now I return their waves.

While we were in California our lawn got mowed. No one has claimed it but we have a few suspitions. No one ever wants anything in return. Our neighbor told us to use his pool anytime, so Kai and I went over today and used it. I felt like I was sneeking around or something because he's not home but he's just being the norm here. I heard someone say that in California someone knocks on your door so you'll move your car that's blocking their way. Here they knock for you to move your car so they can mow your lawn. I think 'loving thy neighbor' is taking on a new meaning.

California trip

Here are some pictures of our trip back home:
Nash on my parents lake
Nash and Gigi
At the Irvine Lagoon

Kai at Disneyland
Buzz Lightyear!
On the lake with a dog mask on