What's New

We have had lots of new developments in the past few weeks. Let's just hope I can remember them all.

We tried potty training again, and Bethany finally got it. She has been doing really well the past few weeks. At first she still didn't want to go on the potty, but when I took away her diapers and pull-ups during the day, she didn't have too much of a choice. I'm very glad that she just doesn't go on the floor when she has nothing on. Shane finally got her to go on the potty when he asked her if she could show one of her toys how to use the potty. From there, there's been no stopping her. She gets M&M's and a balloon everytime she uses the potty. We have lots of balloons around the house, so lately I only give her one if she asks for it. We're down to diapers at night, and other than that she wears her training pants. And she's pretty good at telling me when she has to go. She's even gone potty when we're out and about running errands. Shane and I are very proud of her.

The other day Bethany told me that Daddy had Tinkerbell eyes. I have no idea where that came from, but I think it might be because I told her his eyes were hazel. It still made me laugh.

Bethany was reading a book to imaginary cousin baby Leah. Her cousin is real, she just wasn't here at the time. When I came back into the room, she put the book to the side and said dejectedly, "I no know the words." She's really been impressing my with her literary knowledge. If you read one of her Dr. Suess books without reading the title page, she'll always flip back and say, "By Dr. Suess."

My back has been pretty sore lately, and now Bethany has taken to laying down on the floor and saying, "My back hurts." She even fights me to use our back massager. But she was pretty good yesterday, and told me she was waiting in line to use it.

As far as pregnancy news goes, I'm getting really tired of being pregnant. But, we're no where near ready for the baby to come. I bought a pack of onsies today at Target, so now he has at least five onsies he can wear. I'm thinking he'll need a little more than that. We're getting Bethany's big girl bed this weekend, so watch for pictures of that soon.

The 4th

So we had a pretty soggy 4th of July. We still had our cookout, but we just all had to cram indoors. While I appreciated the fact that it was not 90 degrees outside, I hope next year it isn't raining. We didn't even get to show off beautifully painted deck. I didn't take any pictures of the cookout because I was busy getting food ready and such. Next year I'll have to assign someone as the official photographer.

The rain cleared up in time for the fireworks. So we took Bethany downtown for them.

How do you know you've successfully brainwashed your daughter? I pointed out the direction where the fireworks would be going off, and she said, "Yeah, with the castle." As in the castle at Disney World. So I sadly had to inform her there wasn't a castle here. I think I've done a good job at the brainwashing, I mean, teaching.

Bethany loved the fireworks. She didn't like that they were loud, but she still loved watching them.
She sat like this the whole time. When they were over, she told Shane, "I wanna watch 'em again."

I tried my best to take some pictures of the fireworks. They were great again this year.

Here's some video I got of the last part of the grand finale.

Thanks to everyone who came to cookout and helped in some way. I really appreciated the help with the dishes. My belly really gets in way these days.

A Haircut and The Zoo

We had a very productive week last week. Bethany and I both got our hair cut and we went to the zoo. The cooler weather made it a lot easier to get out of the house. I think Bethany appreciated it.

Bethany has been excited about getting her hair cut for awhile. I don't think she really remembers the last one, I just think because it was something new.She did a great job and sat very still.The haircut looks great. Thanks Kristen! Bethany's hair is pretty close to even now. She cut off about 2 inches, but it looks really cute now.
On Wednesday, we went to the zoo. So did everybody else in Peoria.Bethany loved the meerkats again. They are just so fun.The new Africa exhibit looked awesome. It was nice to see some more animals at the zoo. (Check out how cute that haircut looks.)Bethany spying the giraffes.It's pretty cool that you can get that close to the lions.Some Takin were having a little fun.I always have to get one of these pictures every year.As we were leaving the meerkats had worn themselves out and were taking a nap.Bethany did great at the zoo. She did a lot of walking and took a really good nap that day. We should go back more often.