Just got off the phone with our mortgage person. And, apparently, she was under threat of horse's heads in her bed if she didn't get us to closing on time, but she pulled through. One of the benefits of getting your mortgage through a place your brother works: you get good treatment.
Closing day is tomur little ones. My korrow. Moving day is Saturday.
I woke up this
morning early, feeling all of the sadness. Change is stressful, and I
not only have to manage the logistics of things, I'm also responsible
for the emotional well-being of foids love this place. They have great friends. They are going to be sad next week when the impact of moving sinks in: no friends next door, across the street, always available. We're only moving a few miles, possibly less, but it means new new neighbors, new ward, new school. Starting over is hard when you're seven. I know: I remember.
Also, sadness for me: It's a lot harder to make friends as an adult than it is as a kid. My kids will do fine, they'll make friends, Nathan's even excited to start at a new school. But I have some lovely friends here and I won't see them as much. I don't like this part of moving.
When we moved in here, we were two relatively newlyweds, naively looking forward to the birth of our first child. We thought we'd live here for maybe five years, have a couple of kids, then move on. We've been here seven; we've brought four kids home. We learned a lot about home maintenance, how to clean up vomit, and the importance of keeping up on the dishes. So, so many dishes. So many happy hours in the back yard with our lovely shade tree that I will miss dearly. So many nights we were glad our kids couldn't tell time so we could put them to bed early (I miss those days). Watching our babies grow and turn into people.
The last seven years have been an intense ride in all aspects of our lives. A lot of professional development for Levi, a choice to step back from the professional world to focus on some screaming beings for me. Days and months when we struggled and tried to work together, growing in respect for each other's strengths and grace for each other's weaknesses. And many hours of church service that we pretty much always felt ill-prepared for but hoped that it would turn out all right. We still hope that. It's hard to leave a ward we know needs us but...our path is beckoning. And we look forward to what it could be.
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Counting Down
Too much I need to write down, and so of course I do none of it.
At the end of April our contract fell through, and then Levi had a birthday, and then we went to the zoo, and then we got two offers on the same day--again. Then we went on a marathon of house hunting (ten houses in four hours with three kids). And we found one! After a snafu of MLS # mixups and second showings and our first loved house made a reappearance online but then wasn't really available again after all and sadness, we made an offer on a house that isn't our dream house (but who has the budget for that sort of thing?) but will be a great house with enough space for our kids to grow, and we're hoping it isn't TOO MUCH, and now I'll end this really long sentence.
We're moving just a few miles, still in Roy, which wasn't my first choice, but we feel really good about it. It means new schools and new friends, but it also means more than twice as many square feet and plenty of room in the garage for all of the bikes.
And now, the sadness. There are friends and neighbors I wish I could pack up and bring with us, because even though we aren't going far and can still see them, it just won't be the same. That if my kids disappear from view, I won't know they're just at Sara's and I don't need to worry. They have a great little crew of friends going on and it's so fleeting and wonderful.
Anyway. I'm having Linda come take pictures of us in our house so we can try to hang on to some of the magic that has been growing our family in this place.
Speaking of magic, I gave the kids some sugar snap peas for lunch. Nathan disappeared in the backyard and came back to report he had planted some peas and a maple tree, and did I want to come see? He's also turned the patch of gravel on the side of the garage into a mining trove. "This one is real diamond! This one has purple diamond! This one is real coal!" He did find a small red rock that, looking online, looks most like carnelian. Magic is just outside the door when you are seven. After I forced the removal of training wheels and instituted mandatory practice, Nathan finally got the hang of it. After for months insisting riding bikes was boring and he didn't want to be able to join his friends across the street, he now pedals happily over and joins the cycling fun.
Peter is just about walking. He'll take a few steps when bribed properly (read: smartphone). And he's waving and throwing food on the floor when he's tired of it and doing all of the things a 14 month old (tomorrow!) should be doing. He's a bottomless pit and has been outeating all of the other kids lately. And he's mostly given up eating Legos (big relief there). Peter likes to open the garage door whenever possible (if it's not latched completely he can pry it open) and try to escape the house. And he'll hang on to the tricycle and walk around the driveway pushing it.
Alice is indomitable. If she doesn't want to do something, nothing will shake her. (Speaking of potty training, we're on a hiatus, probably until school starts and I have some mental energy left for it.) She roughhouses with the big kids like she belongs there, and for the most part she holds her own. Although a certain incident with a big brother and a bunk bed ladder, involving a front tooth's untimely loss, would argue otherwise. She just learned to pedal the tricycle and we're trying to teach her to stay out of the street.
As for Clara, the countdown has begun until kindergarten. This fall is going to be a great thing for everybody. For the record, Clara was the first to request training wheels on her bike, and then quickly developed the balance necessary. She's been wheeling around for months on her scooter, which has helped, while Nathan has been insisting we should get rid of his scooter because it's also boring. We also can't keep her out of the road, or get her to keep shoes on her feet. She's getting bold and adventurous which is quite a transformation.
At the end of April our contract fell through, and then Levi had a birthday, and then we went to the zoo, and then we got two offers on the same day--again. Then we went on a marathon of house hunting (ten houses in four hours with three kids). And we found one! After a snafu of MLS # mixups and second showings and our first loved house made a reappearance online but then wasn't really available again after all and sadness, we made an offer on a house that isn't our dream house (but who has the budget for that sort of thing?) but will be a great house with enough space for our kids to grow, and we're hoping it isn't TOO MUCH, and now I'll end this really long sentence.
We're moving just a few miles, still in Roy, which wasn't my first choice, but we feel really good about it. It means new schools and new friends, but it also means more than twice as many square feet and plenty of room in the garage for all of the bikes.
And now, the sadness. There are friends and neighbors I wish I could pack up and bring with us, because even though we aren't going far and can still see them, it just won't be the same. That if my kids disappear from view, I won't know they're just at Sara's and I don't need to worry. They have a great little crew of friends going on and it's so fleeting and wonderful.
Anyway. I'm having Linda come take pictures of us in our house so we can try to hang on to some of the magic that has been growing our family in this place.
Speaking of magic, I gave the kids some sugar snap peas for lunch. Nathan disappeared in the backyard and came back to report he had planted some peas and a maple tree, and did I want to come see? He's also turned the patch of gravel on the side of the garage into a mining trove. "This one is real diamond! This one has purple diamond! This one is real coal!" He did find a small red rock that, looking online, looks most like carnelian. Magic is just outside the door when you are seven. After I forced the removal of training wheels and instituted mandatory practice, Nathan finally got the hang of it. After for months insisting riding bikes was boring and he didn't want to be able to join his friends across the street, he now pedals happily over and joins the cycling fun.
Peter is just about walking. He'll take a few steps when bribed properly (read: smartphone). And he's waving and throwing food on the floor when he's tired of it and doing all of the things a 14 month old (tomorrow!) should be doing. He's a bottomless pit and has been outeating all of the other kids lately. And he's mostly given up eating Legos (big relief there). Peter likes to open the garage door whenever possible (if it's not latched completely he can pry it open) and try to escape the house. And he'll hang on to the tricycle and walk around the driveway pushing it.
Alice is indomitable. If she doesn't want to do something, nothing will shake her. (Speaking of potty training, we're on a hiatus, probably until school starts and I have some mental energy left for it.) She roughhouses with the big kids like she belongs there, and for the most part she holds her own. Although a certain incident with a big brother and a bunk bed ladder, involving a front tooth's untimely loss, would argue otherwise. She just learned to pedal the tricycle and we're trying to teach her to stay out of the street.
As for Clara, the countdown has begun until kindergarten. This fall is going to be a great thing for everybody. For the record, Clara was the first to request training wheels on her bike, and then quickly developed the balance necessary. She's been wheeling around for months on her scooter, which has helped, while Nathan has been insisting we should get rid of his scooter because it's also boring. We also can't keep her out of the road, or get her to keep shoes on her feet. She's getting bold and adventurous which is quite a transformation.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
ISOPH
(In Search of Perfect House)
Home shopping is like speed dating. Except you have to propose after the first, possibly second, date. You do get to check them out beforehand, and bring an expert adviser along on your date, but you have to know--bam!--if the chemistry is there.
Of course, it's not really an option to completely renovate your spouse. Houses do have that advantage.
I kid.
The problem with house hunting is the number of options. Where should we live? Stay in humdrum but dependable Roy? Join the snobbery of the east bench? Out beyond farthest Egypt in Syracuse or West Point? Would we be comfortable in 2600 square feet (double what we have now) or should we go for a behemoth at nearly 4000 that is somehow in our price range? One of my current favorites has a nice workshop area in the basement. Should I take up woodworking? Maybe I could them make all the new furniture I want instead of buying it.
Also, should we give up looking at existing and just decide to build? If lightning doesn't strike soon we may just decide on that.
Looking back now, I'm amazed at how nonchalant we've always chosen where we lived now. We chose apartments after looking at a few. We looked only at houses in Roy last time. Back then the stakes seemed a lot smaller, the consequences more temporary.
The last time we moved we didn't have any kids. We didn't think about schools or neighborhoods or traffic or crime stats. We didn't worry about choosing a house that would have the right friends for our kids, a situation that would help us as we try to somehow nurture these beings into adulthood. Also, making friends as an adult is trickier than it used to be--would it be too much to ask to have adult neighbors we like as well? (We do have awesome neighbors now, and I wish we could pack them up and bring them with us.)
Same goes for our ward. Our ward has its struggles, which we have seen and worked around as we've been in leadership positions for the last seven years (either one or both of us for nearly the entire time we've lived here). But we love the people in our ward. There are some people I just ache about leaving. But, we don't feel like the house that we could possibly buy in our ward is the right option for us.
So, a house that is big but not too big, with a lot that is spacious without being a beast to take care of, with a truly perfect kitchen with a pantry, a mudroom, three or more bedrooms, a master suite, and the mystical, undefinable quality that will make that place our home. And room for a piano. Is that too much to ask?
Home shopping is like speed dating. Except you have to propose after the first, possibly second, date. You do get to check them out beforehand, and bring an expert adviser along on your date, but you have to know--bam!--if the chemistry is there.
Of course, it's not really an option to completely renovate your spouse. Houses do have that advantage.
I kid.
The problem with house hunting is the number of options. Where should we live? Stay in humdrum but dependable Roy? Join the snobbery of the east bench? Out beyond farthest Egypt in Syracuse or West Point? Would we be comfortable in 2600 square feet (double what we have now) or should we go for a behemoth at nearly 4000 that is somehow in our price range? One of my current favorites has a nice workshop area in the basement. Should I take up woodworking? Maybe I could them make all the new furniture I want instead of buying it.
Also, should we give up looking at existing and just decide to build? If lightning doesn't strike soon we may just decide on that.
Looking back now, I'm amazed at how nonchalant we've always chosen where we lived now. We chose apartments after looking at a few. We looked only at houses in Roy last time. Back then the stakes seemed a lot smaller, the consequences more temporary.
The last time we moved we didn't have any kids. We didn't think about schools or neighborhoods or traffic or crime stats. We didn't worry about choosing a house that would have the right friends for our kids, a situation that would help us as we try to somehow nurture these beings into adulthood. Also, making friends as an adult is trickier than it used to be--would it be too much to ask to have adult neighbors we like as well? (We do have awesome neighbors now, and I wish we could pack them up and bring them with us.)
Same goes for our ward. Our ward has its struggles, which we have seen and worked around as we've been in leadership positions for the last seven years (either one or both of us for nearly the entire time we've lived here). But we love the people in our ward. There are some people I just ache about leaving. But, we don't feel like the house that we could possibly buy in our ward is the right option for us.
So, a house that is big but not too big, with a lot that is spacious without being a beast to take care of, with a truly perfect kitchen with a pantry, a mudroom, three or more bedrooms, a master suite, and the mystical, undefinable quality that will make that place our home. And room for a piano. Is that too much to ask?
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Alice the Rascal
Last night, sitting in her bed at bedtime, holding a pencil and paper.
I'm doing my potty homework.
Oh? How is it going?
I have to do the numbers again. They got messed up.
***
Sitting in her carseat, recently.
Once Nathan sat there (gesturing to Peter's carseat), and it was awkward.
***
Tonight at bedtime, freshly bathed and with pajamas on. She (unless it was Peter?) dumped the bottle of hand soap all over the bathroom floor, and they both crawled in it. Alice kept trying and trying to stand up but couldn't. Just slipping all over the bathroom floor and eventually crying. After being cleaned up, we had this conversation.
Did you or Peter do it?
I did it.
Why?
Because it was slippery.
Do you do it on purpose or on accident?
I did it on purpose. Because it was slippery.
Tonight was a moment I chose to laugh. And video my child's distress.
I'm doing my potty homework.
Oh? How is it going?
I have to do the numbers again. They got messed up.
***
Sitting in her carseat, recently.
Once Nathan sat there (gesturing to Peter's carseat), and it was awkward.
***
Tonight at bedtime, freshly bathed and with pajamas on. She (unless it was Peter?) dumped the bottle of hand soap all over the bathroom floor, and they both crawled in it. Alice kept trying and trying to stand up but couldn't. Just slipping all over the bathroom floor and eventually crying. After being cleaned up, we had this conversation.
Did you or Peter do it?
I did it.
Why?
Because it was slippery.
Do you do it on purpose or on accident?
I did it on purpose. Because it was slippery.
Tonight was a moment I chose to laugh. And video my child's distress.
Friday, April 10, 2015
It's not even April Fool's Day
On April Fool's Day our realtor called to assure us, "This isn't an April Fool's Prank, but someone wants to see your house in 45 minutes." We pushed it back another half hour, and I got to work, cleaning, loading kids in the car, and then final cleaning. I had it down to an art. Also, speed vacuuming is good exercise. We ended up having three showings that day.
Lots and lots of showings, but no offers. Until.
Peter got the best birthday present. He didn't really care about it, but Levi and I were happy.
It's been one month since we put our house up. We've had 29 showings, three birthdays, general conference weekend, and now...
One signed contract. Wahoo!
And none too soon. We were keeping the house pretty clean, ready to ship out at short notice. The kids were great. For a brief period they were picking up toys, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, all sorts of cleanliness. I loved it. But it also felt like we couldn't relax and just live in our house. Our house was on the market for exactly one month, and we had showings nearly every day. Sometimes as many as three in a day. It's a seller's market. And we are sellers. We spent lots of time at grandparents' houses, and then started a tour of Weber county playgrounds. Turns out most playground bathrooms are locked mid-March, so we also made a couple unscheduled visits to family members who happened to live near those parks. They were very gracious.
On Peter's birthday, we got two offers on our house. The first was all right, and we were planning our counteroffer, when we got another. Full asking price, and we pay closing costs. Done and done. More savvy negotiators might have tried to play them against each other to knock out the closing costs, but that's not us. I was just happy to sell it for more than we paid, since I've spent much of the last seven years sure that we would lose money on this house.
Closing isn't for six more weeks, which is perfect, since now the real work begins. Finding a new home.
Lots and lots of showings, but no offers. Until.
Peter got the best birthday present. He didn't really care about it, but Levi and I were happy.
It's been one month since we put our house up. We've had 29 showings, three birthdays, general conference weekend, and now...
One signed contract. Wahoo!
And none too soon. We were keeping the house pretty clean, ready to ship out at short notice. The kids were great. For a brief period they were picking up toys, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, all sorts of cleanliness. I loved it. But it also felt like we couldn't relax and just live in our house. Our house was on the market for exactly one month, and we had showings nearly every day. Sometimes as many as three in a day. It's a seller's market. And we are sellers. We spent lots of time at grandparents' houses, and then started a tour of Weber county playgrounds. Turns out most playground bathrooms are locked mid-March, so we also made a couple unscheduled visits to family members who happened to live near those parks. They were very gracious.
On Peter's birthday, we got two offers on our house. The first was all right, and we were planning our counteroffer, when we got another. Full asking price, and we pay closing costs. Done and done. More savvy negotiators might have tried to play them against each other to knock out the closing costs, but that's not us. I was just happy to sell it for more than we paid, since I've spent much of the last seven years sure that we would lose money on this house.
Closing isn't for six more weeks, which is perfect, since now the real work begins. Finding a new home.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
March is marching on
In the last 14 days we have had 14 showings.
Two of those we heard didn't actually happen, one due to a missing key snafu (what kind of realtor doesn't put the key back in the lock box?), but still. Almost an average of one person a day looking at our house. It's getting a little exhausting, being this clean. I love it, though. Every room in our house is clean. Every day. Levi and the kids are being wonderful. Especially (not really especially, maybe surprisingly?) Nathan, who doesn't even want to move. He never neglects to take his dirty clothes upstairs to Alice's laundry hamper since we're no longer keeping a laundry basket out downstairs. Yesterday morning we were running a little late to school but he remembered to make his bed. I was so pleased I didn't even yell he was making himself late to school (he wasn't). We had a showing on Sunday and so he made my bed for me as I was running around getting everyone ready. Sometimes that boy can be so sweet. Alice has been putting her shoes and toys away in her closet as she gets ready for bed. I've been really enjoying all this putting-awayness. I hope our house sells before the inevitable backslide into clutter begins. I'm hoping this will start new habits for everyone, including me. I've never been a bed-maker, but now I am. And it makes such a difference.
A few things about our family as of now:
Peter has three favorite playthings: electrical cords, bookshelves, and the contents of any cabinet he can open. He is the direct enemy of all the cleaning we've been trying to enforce lately. This morning I had the upstairs clean so I closed all the doors. When he crawled upstairs and couldn't get to any of his favorite play spaces (the bathroom cabinet and the bookshelf in his bedroom) he cried and cried. He's had a cold for quite a while and was getting grumpier and grumpier until I finally took him to the doctor. Probably shouldn't have waited so long, as Peter became the first of my kids to be prescribed oral antibiotics. Poor little guy with hurty ears. He's much better now.
Alice has recently made a large leap in dialectic capacity, both in vocabulary and sentence complexity. Today she said, "I don't like bugs because they creep me out!" The other day my mom laughed when she said, "What the heck?!" and so she kept saying it, getting louder and with more pronounced facial expressions and head movements. We're taking a break from potty training since she was getting more and more resistant. I think we're making progress towards starting up again since she's no longer insisting she's a baby, and has even gone so far as to admit she'll go potty when she's big, and that turning three will make her big. She's also said she'll be big AND go potty when she's five, though, so there's that deadline to look forward to. She has a "robot" she made with Nathan's help (an empty yogurt container with freezer tape wrapped around it) that we have tried and failed to get rid of. She fills it with little princess figurines and totes it around. It comes to preschool with her. And heaven forbid one of the toys be missing--she will notice. I'm looking at you, Prince Eric--what were you thinking, being in the van all by yourself?
Clara is pining for kindergarten. She comes up with elaborate plans every day: parties, mostly. Every day is a letdown. Where are we going today? What are we doing? Who's coming over? Why isn't mom planning elaborate celebrations all the time? Clara I think wishes she could live in a Fancy Nancy book. Every day life is just too humdrum. She's been riding her scooter a lot lately and is getting pretty fast on it, as opposed to Nathan, who can't be bothered to practice. She's back to happily doing online preschool every day, and is making a lot of progress. One day Levi found a list of the names of our family and commented on why Nathan didn't know how to spell Peter. It was spelled something like "Pedr." When I told him Clara had done it on her own, he was much more impressed.
Nathan has recently made a big jump in schoolwork. Every day he brings home a book from his classroom for reading, and he'd been working on level E or F. One day he was so excited. "Look at my bag, mom." He'd jumped from level E to level K. That burst of confidence also got him over the hump on a math test level he'd been stuck on. It's so nice to see the daily frustrating math and reading practice translate into progress, and to see the satisfaction for him. He's also become best friends with a little boy who it turns out lives just in the cul-de-sac across the street. So at every available opportunity, he's wanting to be over there. Or up the street to play with some other boys who are always outside. This is why he doesn't want to move.
Two of those we heard didn't actually happen, one due to a missing key snafu (what kind of realtor doesn't put the key back in the lock box?), but still. Almost an average of one person a day looking at our house. It's getting a little exhausting, being this clean. I love it, though. Every room in our house is clean. Every day. Levi and the kids are being wonderful. Especially (not really especially, maybe surprisingly?) Nathan, who doesn't even want to move. He never neglects to take his dirty clothes upstairs to Alice's laundry hamper since we're no longer keeping a laundry basket out downstairs. Yesterday morning we were running a little late to school but he remembered to make his bed. I was so pleased I didn't even yell he was making himself late to school (he wasn't). We had a showing on Sunday and so he made my bed for me as I was running around getting everyone ready. Sometimes that boy can be so sweet. Alice has been putting her shoes and toys away in her closet as she gets ready for bed. I've been really enjoying all this putting-awayness. I hope our house sells before the inevitable backslide into clutter begins. I'm hoping this will start new habits for everyone, including me. I've never been a bed-maker, but now I am. And it makes such a difference.
A few things about our family as of now:
Peter has three favorite playthings: electrical cords, bookshelves, and the contents of any cabinet he can open. He is the direct enemy of all the cleaning we've been trying to enforce lately. This morning I had the upstairs clean so I closed all the doors. When he crawled upstairs and couldn't get to any of his favorite play spaces (the bathroom cabinet and the bookshelf in his bedroom) he cried and cried. He's had a cold for quite a while and was getting grumpier and grumpier until I finally took him to the doctor. Probably shouldn't have waited so long, as Peter became the first of my kids to be prescribed oral antibiotics. Poor little guy with hurty ears. He's much better now.
Alice has recently made a large leap in dialectic capacity, both in vocabulary and sentence complexity. Today she said, "I don't like bugs because they creep me out!" The other day my mom laughed when she said, "What the heck?!" and so she kept saying it, getting louder and with more pronounced facial expressions and head movements. We're taking a break from potty training since she was getting more and more resistant. I think we're making progress towards starting up again since she's no longer insisting she's a baby, and has even gone so far as to admit she'll go potty when she's big, and that turning three will make her big. She's also said she'll be big AND go potty when she's five, though, so there's that deadline to look forward to. She has a "robot" she made with Nathan's help (an empty yogurt container with freezer tape wrapped around it) that we have tried and failed to get rid of. She fills it with little princess figurines and totes it around. It comes to preschool with her. And heaven forbid one of the toys be missing--she will notice. I'm looking at you, Prince Eric--what were you thinking, being in the van all by yourself?
Clara is pining for kindergarten. She comes up with elaborate plans every day: parties, mostly. Every day is a letdown. Where are we going today? What are we doing? Who's coming over? Why isn't mom planning elaborate celebrations all the time? Clara I think wishes she could live in a Fancy Nancy book. Every day life is just too humdrum. She's been riding her scooter a lot lately and is getting pretty fast on it, as opposed to Nathan, who can't be bothered to practice. She's back to happily doing online preschool every day, and is making a lot of progress. One day Levi found a list of the names of our family and commented on why Nathan didn't know how to spell Peter. It was spelled something like "Pedr." When I told him Clara had done it on her own, he was much more impressed.
Nathan has recently made a big jump in schoolwork. Every day he brings home a book from his classroom for reading, and he'd been working on level E or F. One day he was so excited. "Look at my bag, mom." He'd jumped from level E to level K. That burst of confidence also got him over the hump on a math test level he'd been stuck on. It's so nice to see the daily frustrating math and reading practice translate into progress, and to see the satisfaction for him. He's also become best friends with a little boy who it turns out lives just in the cul-de-sac across the street. So at every available opportunity, he's wanting to be over there. Or up the street to play with some other boys who are always outside. This is why he doesn't want to move.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Zombies! Also, Elsa does go potty
Sometimes, if the cupboard is open, she'll spot a small bottle on the shelf and say, "There's the special drink that makes me go potty!"
In early January Alice started being really uncomfortable with diapers. She'd lay on the floor, unable to walk, because "I'm too poopy!" Every time she had a wet diaper. So, we figured, let's start with potty training before she gets used to it again. You'd think I wouldn't make the rookie mistake of starting potty training at the same time I'm trying to do other large and sundry projects. I've been to this rodeo before, but apparently I never learn. And here is where I owe a huge shoutout of thanks to Levi and his immense patience. My attention has been so fractured lately with trying to get things fixed, decluttered, organized, and what have you, that I was not having a lot of success with remembering to get Alice to the bathroom. So he took a weekend and set the timer, sat with Alice in the bathroom reading stories and letting her play on his phone, and plying her with a water bottle of flavored water (hence the special drink from the cupboard, a bottle of sugar-free flavoring). And by the end of that weekend she had figured out how to pee on the toilet without spending a lot of wasted time in the bathroom first.
I bought some training pants made by Gerber, so they have the picture of the Gerber baby on the tag. At first she didn't want to wear them: "These are Petey's." But we told her the tag was a picture of her when she was a baby, so now she gets excited whenever she puts them on. We also bought a toilet seat that has a smaller training seat that folds down, but is held to the lid with a magnet when it's not being used. It's awesome, and it makes it her toilet. She thinks the brand name on the seat is her name, thus making the entire toilet hers.
As long as we remember to take her regularly, she's pretty good at staying dry. But, she will not tell us before she needs to go, so if we forget, it's accident city. And she doesn't like taking a shower to clean up, so she won't tell us. She'll just take off her wet underwear off and leave it for me to find. It's not a fun surprise. We're taking a break to save my sanity and lessen the battle of wills. She knows once she finishes filling up her sticker chart she'll earn her Alice book, a photo book of pictures of her. She's really excited about it. I'm hoping it will click soon for her.
And yes, we have had more than one conversation about Elsa and the toilet. Even though you never see a bathroom in Elsa's ice castle, princesses do use the potty. Alice was not the only kid who had this misconception.
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