7QT: Princess bunnies and potty woes

~1~
Cupcake's Cuteness:

"Here comes The Cuteness!"

Whenever we get Cupcake dressed in an especially cute outfit, we yell out of her bedroom door, "Here comes The Cuteness!" as she prances down the hallway to show off her snazzy self. Now, she says it herself. Gee, I can't guess why she thinks she's the Queen of the Castle.

~2~

Cupcake Quips:

Waking up early, running out of her bedroom into her Daddy's arms, "I was so sad. I had a bad dream. Mommy stole and broke my Postitos!"

(Those would actually be her Doritos and yes I did crush them because she tends to choke on them if I don't. I had no idea it was so traumatic for her. Sometimes I think she's so big and then she proves that she's still my little girl.

~3~

 Cupcake's Potty Training

Chocolate Princess Bunny from Grammie

I took this picture of Cupcake admiring her lovely Easter gift from her Grammie and then realized that I'd made her the promise that she could take a bite of it if she finally did #2 in the potty. She hadn't yet done it and we were going on day 2.5 of toilet training! That might sound cruel and even look cruel considering the way she is holding it so lovingly in this picture but I considered it an incentive or a reward. Should I start saving for her therapy bills now?

~4~

She earned her reward that day!

But she's still having some trouble with this particular issue, so I'm looking for advice. I've only ever had one other child who was so reluctant to do #2 in the potty (potty chair or insert seat didn't matter). Thankfully, she's not capable of withholding for as long as that child was (8 days!!!). I thought that after a few successes she'd get the hang of it, you know? Normally, I am not one to push potty training believing that waiting is the best remedy to difficulties, but she is doing such an amazing job with every other area that I just can't see stopping right now. She regularly wakes up dry after her nap and even nighttime. She flushes with success and is flushed with success! Hahah... just a little potty humor for you. I don't know that she would go back to the diapers now.

Also, she's developed a little rash/itchy patch on the top part of her little bum. I read online that it's probably just some irritation due to slightly sensitive skin being more exposed. Have any of you ever had this happen to a little one? I know it itches her, because I see her scratching it and see the little finger nail marks. I'm wondering if it's the Pull-ups that we put on at nap time and nighttime? Or maybe chafing from the band of her new underwear? Thoughts? It only showed up after we started potty training, I'm sure of that. Thanks!

~5~

So, something weird happened a couple of weeks ago. I was talking about "selflies" with my girls. About their benefits and their drawbacks. About how this younger generation seems obsessed with them in a way that the older generations can't seem to understand. (I have always hated to have my picture taken. It's not just a vain I'm-getting-older-kind of thing. I've always shied away from cameras. I'm sure a therapist could spend lots of time talking about that…) So, I was trying to be a good mom and demonstrate that I can get over my hangups and challenge myself. I took some selfies with my phone and then edited some. I had a few left over so I let the kids pick one to edit for me. I was so pleased with their artistic editing jobs that I decided to post one on IG saying...

That's it. I'm letting my children edit every picture of me from here 'til eternity. They make me look better than I ever could.

It's true! Those clever filters have a way of smoothing out the wrinkles and washing out all the grey! Amiright?  The funny thing was that immediately after posting it, IG went down for like... the whole world!!! Argh… I killed IG! That, people, is why I don't post selfies!  ;)

~6~

So, I couldn't really tease you with that and then not post the pictures, right? From left to right, starting with the top left… The Professor's picture, Sunshine's, Shortcake's and Bigboy's. I guess I could have just said "birth order". Cupcake didn't get to do one because knowing her, she would have LEGOed me!

~7~

And last, but certainly not least, the woman of the hour is… Miss Jennifer Fulwiler! Check out my Kindle lineup from the other day. It's changed a little bit since then. I've finished Jen's book and I have to say that I am completely impressed. If I hadn't read her blog all this time and seen the posts about her rewrites all these years, I wouldn't have believed that this book had that many incarnations. It flows so seemingly effortlessly, so smoothly. I highly recommend Something Other Than God. It was quite literally a couldn't-put-it-down read. Congratulations, Jen, on a job truly well done!

The Many Faces (and boots) of Cupcake

Would you mind offering a quick prayer for my brother, Brian? Today is his birthday and the first one without his sweet bride. Thank you!

I had to include the boots! They are very special to her, or so she tells me. Literally. She actually came up to me and asked the other day, "Can I have my rain boots? They are very special to me."

It's Potty Time for Miss Cupcake meaning that we've begun potty training. (Did you know that there is an app for that!?! Calling Rachel is her favorite thing to do.) Things are going very well. She hasn't been my easiest to train… that would be Miss Shortcake who pretty much taught herself just by watching her older siblings. But she certainly hasn't been the hardest (we won't reveal who that was because I'd like for him not to hate me forever).

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

The other day, Cupcake saw her very first rainbow in the sky! She's always loved rainbows thanks to Rachel Coleman and the colors of the rainbow song. In fact, for a while, I thought her first birthday was going to be a rainbow themed birthday.

I know that rainbows don't really have anything to do with St. Patrick, but since the rainbow is linked to leprechauns and Irish folklore, I decided that we would have a Rainbow Day. (Next year, we'll cover the theological symbolism of the shamrock, I promise!)

I found this tutorial about making a cute little cloud and rainbow softie and whipped one up yesterday.
Not your typical Roy G. Biv rainbow… we go with Rachel's version for the littles because it fits with the song: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Purple and Blue. If you've ever heard Rachel talk about why her song is out of order, you know that she says, "If you can think of a rhyme for 'purple', you can have my job!"

Miss Cupcake has also reached that age where she needs some "busy work". Since our weather is so unpredictable, I can't always rely on her getting outside to play everyday. I've seen ideas for toddler busy bags and similar things and if you have any suggestions, please send them my way. The first one that seemed super easy to do was the idea of a fabric scrap box. Many ideas said just cut scraps of fabric and put them in a old wet wipe box. I decided to make it a rainbow box.

Simple scraps of fabric cut with pinking shears.

I'm thinking we might paint some rainbows later and make some sticker rainbows. We are also planning on Potato Soup for dinner with Irish Soda Bread and a Rainbow Fruit salad. The big kids are going to watch this documentary, St. Patrick: Apostle of Ireland,  on Amazon. (I've previewed it and while it could be better, it's not that bad, once you get past the weird St. Patrick's Day Parade featured in the first few minutes.)

{phfr} The almost TWO edition!

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

This doesn't look pretty to you? Well, that's because it's only begun in this picture. I've already finished it and I love it! What is it? It's a very special birthday surprise for my sweet little Cupcake who turns TWO this coming Monday! Yep. It's her Golden Birthday and we are giving her the moon and the stars!

{happy}

This little girl is most happy when she's outside (even if it's just outside of the dentist's office) and when she's busy. Playing hide and seek, coloring pictures, reading her books. She loves stacking things... blocks, books, pretty ribbons, whatever!

{funny}

Uh oh, Mama! He's upside down!

I wearing Mama's shoes!

Oh, she's such a funny girl! She talks CONSTANTLY and is always cracking us up with her silliness. Her teeth don't seem to be bothering her as much which is good and so far, she's handled the naptime weaning just fine. We are still nursing at bedtime but I've even noticed that she's not falling completely asleep while nursing anymore.

{real}

 So, I wanted to make her some little kitchen mitts and potholders. The potholders turned out fine but the kitchen mitt was too small. Well, it fits her right now but won't for long. I'm going to revamp my design and try again. I didn't use a pattern or a tutorial, just kind of did my own thing. That probably accounts for the 50% success/failure rate.

 Have a great rest of the week and an especially lovely long weekend (if you get to have one). We will be celebrating our sweet Cupcake on Monday so I'm sure I'll be back later with tons of pictures. Bye now!

A Happy Firsts Party!

On Sunday, we celebrated Cupcake's first birthday and Bigboy's First Holy Communion. He received this wonderful sacrament from the hands of the priest who baptized him and for whom he is named. It was a very exciting (and emotional) day (for Mommy). 

Here they are, 8 years ago, at Bigboy's Baptism and then after Mass on Sunday. 

Why do kids grow so fast?

Our two celebrants!

Those eyes... they melt me!

Green or brown? We still aren't sure which way her eyes are going to go.

 Cake inspired by Jessica's daughters' cake. He wanted blue roses in honor of Our Lady.

 We had our in town family over to the house for a luncheon of BBQ pork sandwiches, PB&Js for the littles, potato salad, fruit slaw and cake.

 I made a backdrop for the cake table using a piece of muslin I had in my stash and some pretty scrapbook paper.

 The party was primarily celebrating Bigboy's First Holy Communion but I did set out Cupcake's little cake so that her special day wasn't forgotten.

We also made cupcake pops for the cousins to take home as a little treat.

 She changed out her the lovely dress that Baby Matthew's mommy made for her and ...

into the party dress her dear Godparents sent.

 And then later on, after a much needed nap when the party was over, she changed out of everything but a diaper and a bib and enjoyed her teeny tiny birthday cake with a teeny tiny cupcake on top. Jessica found this idea and pinned it on Pinterest. It's an upside down mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup frosted to look like a cupcake. A sweet tribute to our teeny tiny little Cupcake girl!

Mmmmmm...cake!

 

Eleven months old

"Hi there, we are here with Cupcake this morning talking about what it's like to be 11 months. Cupcake, can you share with us some of the highs and lows of being just shy of one year old?"

 Are you talkin' to me? I don't remember agreeing to this interview. 

"Can you tell us how you've been sleeping these days? We understand that sometimes that can be a rough time for everyone involved."

 On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based on my Fifth Amendment constitutional privilege...

 "What about your eating habits, would you care to share those with our readers?"

 Well, I'm not sure what to say other than sometimes I really like to eat and sometimes I get a little distra... hey, is that a bird outside?

 I'm sorry, what was the question?

Are we done here yet? No? Well, do you mind if I do something else while you ask these questions?

You see, these books need tending to. If I don't take them off the shelf atleast three times a day, they just sit there getting dusty. It's my job to keep them rotated and fresh for the big kids around here. They depend on me, you know, to keep things running.

"You don't think they would say that they keep things running smoothly? I mean they help your Mom and Dad with the cooking and the cleaning and the laundry and they even take care of you sometimes when you've had a terrible night with little to no sleep and you just want to fuss and yell all day long."

HEY? Do you think it's easy growing these white things in my mouth? They hurt and they make me cranky and there really isn't anything that makes me feel better except nursing...

...and I said I wasn't going to talk about the sleep thing, OK?

 
This interview is over!!!

Mommy, can I have a nursey?