Fallyn :: Simple Sewing :: Potty Training

Hard to believe our little Fallyn will be 3 in August! My plan for her to stay 2 forever is not working so well :(

Fallyn lately. . .

. . . wishes she could have Daddy sit on her lap.

. . . was busy folding a piece of paper when Rick told her it was time to go to the Y to which she responded so matter-of-factly, "I have work to do."

. . . has an elaborate bedtime routine with Rick.

. . . continues to be a total Grandma's girl.

. . . drew her first picture! a kitty! (first picture besides "slides" which are long lines, and "round-and-rounds" which are spirals)

. . . says, "Hey! GUY!" when she's annoyed with Calvin.

. . . still gets slap-happy when she's so tired. So fun to tickle her or chase her and get hysterical laughter from her!

. . . is sooooo sweet when I sneak in her room to check on her before I go to bed. As soon as she feels me adjusting her blanket, she starts smiling the BIGGEST smiles, even though she's not awake. I can say things to her and she will giggle and keep smiling so big... I can barely touch her neck with one finger and she'll laugh even more. Sometimes the smiles start as soon as I quietly open the door. It's so funny to see a giddy little girl with her eyes closed! Sometimes when I think she didn't notice me at all (i.e., out COLD), she'll startle me by all of a sudden reaching up to honk my nose, or sitting straight up all of a sudden and laughing. Then I'll say something to her or give her a kiss and tell her good-night again, and she flops herself back down on her pillow and she's OUT again. Sometimes it's all I can do to keep from bursting out in loud laughter. I usually have tears in my eyes because I've been laughing (silently) so much.

. . . is fully potty-trained! She did it herself--can't take much credit, other than our philosophy being to postpone it until they're VERY ready in order to avoid much stress and (often fruitless) WORK! In a matter of days, she was potty-trained, poopie-trained, nap-trained, night-trained, and outside-trained (she can squat like a pro!). We didn't have to buy any pull-ups because she went straight to panties (even at night!) and we have a few pull-ups leftover from Calvin. I never even had to go through the phase of asking her regularly if she needed to go--she'd just do it all herself!

Calvin took this:

She got a special trip to Target with Grandma to buy kitty "Ay-yer-wear". She'd been wearing Calvin's old briefs for 2 weeks :) She got about 12 pairs, which all got stuffed into that little purse, and that's where they stayed for a week. A girl's got to be prepared, you know! She carried it everywhere, and whenever she needed a new pair she'd go retrieve one from her purse.

The above picture also shows a simple sewing project I did. I had a size 6-9 month onesie that a friend made--hand-stenciled with her name and cute flowers--that she had outgrown. I cut off the bottom to make it into a shirt, which lasted awhile but was getting too short. I kept an eye out for coordinating fabric for a couple months so that I could turn it into a dress. I randomly found this print when I was on my trip with the kids. I wasn't even looking, but it was PERFECT! I cut the top a little shorter and sewed the gathered material on. The shoulders are still plenty wide on the onesie, and there is extra material at the bottom, so maybe it'll still fit next year! I should look through her baby clothes again and see if there are any more onesies I should convert into summer dresses. Those petite, narrow shoulders of hers are pretty convenient sometimes! :)

Super Duper Guy

Questions by me (Kendra), answers by Fallyn and Calvin.

Fallyn's Interview

I didn't think Fallyn would understand this question, but she did:

Me: What do you like about Daddy?

Fallyn:(in the sweetest voice) Daddy so nice to me.

What does Daddy look like? Daddy look-ih-dih-liiiike. . . shoe!

What do you like to do with Daddy? I play-uh-Daddy ah-dih piano!

[Rick doesn't play piano, and I don't remember her playing piano with Daddy, but she's insistent on her answer! :)]

What else do you do with Daddy? I see Daddy green shirt!

What does Daddy do for you? Daddy makes-uh-my mohk (milk)!

What else? He clean-uh-my hair!

Calvin's Interview

What does Daddy look like? Old man. He looks like a old, old, man.

What is Daddy good at? He's good at playing puzzles with me. He's good at working at work.

What does Daddy like to do? He likes to wrestle with me. Roast marshmallows in the chimenea. He likes to eat dinner with you, Mommy.

How strong is Daddy? One hundred, no, TWO hundred! He could pick up really heavy things that kids can't pick up.

Is he stronger than Mommy? Yep!

What's your favorite thing to do with Daddy? I LOVE to wrestle and play on the playground!

Why is Daddy the best daddy in the world? Because he's the BEST! YES! (singing) "He's the best, he's best, YES!" Because he does the NICEST things!

How do you know Daddy loves Mommy? Because he buys treats you like. And he takes you on a date.

What silly things does Daddy do? Make funny faces with me.

What does Mommy think about Daddy? HANDSOME! You think he's super handsome. I'm super handsome.

[singing] Handsome, super guuuy...handsome super, guy! He's a super guy, super-duper guuuuy...

4 Year Old's Fundraising Venture

Calvin has been working hard on more cards! Here's the first post, if you missed it (along with more sample cards). And he has decided to name his "business"....drumroll please.... PABLO CANDY-FINGER CARDS! A fine name, don't you think? ;)

Top row: Girl aliens, girl "uh-oh" aliens, eyelashes, bows...too cute! Bottom row: Boy/gender-neutral "uh-oh" aliens.

I have a show on Saturday, and he's going to set up shop for a bit (however long he can last!). Here's a sampling of some of his latest notecards. He has decided that this round, he wants to help "our orphan". He said he wants to buy his new brother or sister's airplane ticket to come home from Kyrgyzstan. *Awwwww*!

If you want to purchase a card from Calvin, email me at kendraneill (at) gmail (dot) com. Email me with the following info: Your name and address, and which card design you'd like. It'd be helpful to list your 2nd or 3rd choice, in the event that he's out of a particular design. We are suggesting a minimum donation of $2 per card, but really....whatever you think is a good price for a card with an original drawing and helping Calvin fly his brother or sister home!

All of you who have purchased cards so far have been so sweet to pay him VERY well for his cards! :) Tonight Calvin and I were on our way to the hospital to visit T&M and sell Tyler some cards. Calvin said, "Yeah, everyone likes my cards. . . they love to give me orphan-money!" :)

Bees (wouldn't that make a cute baby shower card?!), flowers, door, robots...and "Pablo Candy-Finger":

Robots, rockets, pencils... I bought the top left. After he drew the robot's eyes, he said, "Hey! He's looking at something!" then proceeded to draw the bee. I like his perception.

I guess I didn't get all his newest designs photographed.... He also has coffee mugs that say "Dad's Coffee" on them, neckties with stripes... He might even take special requests!

Pablo Candy-Finger

Calvin: Mom, I want to change my name.
Me: To what?
Calvin: Um, Pablo Candy-Finger.

He later told me my name could be "Window-bag Chicken-finger".

Calvin: Mom! Fallyn is wiping snot on my head with her hands!!!
Me: YOUR snot or HERS?
Calvin: MINE!
(lovely.)

Calvin came out of my bathroom holding my (ahem) undergarment up to his own chest. Rick asked him, "What is THAT?" Calvin replied, "Um...Mommy's aprils." Rick: "Do you mean bra?" Calvin: "Yeah, bra."

I've been singing this as one of Calvin's bedtime songs (he gets 2) for the past few months, complete with the "oooo!"s. He loooooves it. (Did I really sign up for this? haha!)



Calvin also loves this video we found (since we watch the above one so much) on YouTube--he giggles through the whole thing. He repeats the dialogue by himself, too, and it's pretty funny. He loves it when I add my best trumpet at the end :) I think Pablo Candy-Finger has a pretty quirky sense of humor, what do you think?

Let's Be Frank

We went to Let's Be Frank for Rick's bday supper. It's a new hot dog restaurant--40 flavors! Some friends and family joined us--my dad, Justin & Jordan, Tyler, Rich, Shawn & Marybeth, Rick's aunt and uncle who were in town from Iowa, and two of their friends.

Here are lots of fun pics! Check out Calvin's hot dog of choice! Also in this album are some pictures that Calvin and Fallyn took themselves. Fun seeing the world through their eyes!

Anniversary Pics from Saigon

Sunday, May 31, was our 6th anniversary. And they said it would never last, haha. My parents took us to our new favorite restaurant for lunch after church--thank you again!!! We've rarely been anywhere else for Sunday lunch in awhile! It's sooooooo good....and they are FAST! It's on the table almost as quick as fast food--a bonus with 2 young kids!



Fallyn gave her baby a ride home through downtown and a good time was had by all. The end.

My Road Trip with the Kids (from April!)

In mid-April, I headed on my first trip with the kids by myself! I thought it'd either be insane, or great! Turns out, it was great! Yahoo! Before the trip I was feeling like something had changed around here--whether it was me just adjusting to crazy life with 2 young kids, or the kids getting a bit older and a *bit* easier...I don't know. But whatever caused that feeling made me excited to take them somewhere. It was my nephews' birthday party on the 15th, so we drove up to St. Joe, MO on the 14th (Tuesday). Stayed 2 nights there, then headed to my other brother's on Thursday and stayed till Saturday! There was only one hard incident with the kids! Not bad for 5 days away I'd say!

The 3 of us slept in the same room and everyone did great! That's part of this new phase--2 kids capable of sleeping virtually anywhere, no lugging the pack-n-play with us, no little sis waking up big brother and him crying uncontrollably because he's so out of sorts...

Highlights:

*Happy kids for several hours on the way up, despite it being nap time! Calvin didn't even have anything to keep him occupied except a coloring book the last 20 min!

*Listening to Dan Zanes all the way (this album--great driving music!).

*Antique shop on the way there (bought some vintage children's books, pillowcases, a 25c thing for each of the kids, a pink tea pot...).

*Birthday party for Vail and Hudson.

*Taking all 5 kids to the park with Becky, and the kids having a jolly time together the whole time!

*Fritz's Railroad Restaurant (the original, not the new commercialized one).

*Austin's house! Calvin loves the Wii and playing with Austin and Kyle (our cousin who lives nearby now), they both loved his bowl of chocolates, I loved having a crafty project (helping with prom corsage flowers), watched The Office...

*The Corner Pharmacy diner in Leavenworth.

*Kids sleeping practically all the way home. Calvin slept over 2 hours! Fallyn slept even more!

Lowlights:

*Fallyn's--taking a big bite of a bar of soap shaped like a cute bunny.

*Ashley wasn't home till late Friday night :(

*Moon Marble Company meltdown! It wasn't TERRIBLE, but we got out quickly.

*In Wal-Mart waiting on a prescription. UGH. I've put that behind me now.

*Rick wasn't there! Every day Calvin would say, "Let's call Daddy! Tell him he's missing all the fun!"

Here are some pics from the trip, out of order and no descriptions. Click here for the trip album with captions!

Pray for Little Lincoln!

And his mommy and daddy. Read here.

Rick is 29!

(A friend did this on her husband's bday, so I'm stealing her idea.)

29 Things I Like About Rick:

(1) He's very willing to take Calvin out of the house when he needs to get out and expel excess energy.... a trip to the park after dark and letting Calvin run laps around the pond with a headlamp on is one of my favorite examples! :)

(2) He can do a single math problem that consist of pages and pages of LETTERS. ??? And then the "answer" is this crazy complex graph-thing???

(3) He gives me plenty of time out of the house so that I can recharge--fellowship with other ladies, grocery trips without kids in tow, etc.

(4) He's very helpful around the house and with the kids. He'll rise much earlier than us on the weekends to meet with his mentor, do homework, start laundry, pick up the family room, etc.

(5) He always is willing to defer to my preferences, and he's learned a lot about how to know when I need him to just decide things.

(6) He really does understand what it's like for me being a stay at home mom. Part of that is because he's had plenty of times where he had the kids by himself all day, or even for a weekend (see #3).

(7) His heart for the poor, orphaned, and widowed.

(8) He's started cooking a few things.

(9) He's not vain at all. Or maybe he is :) There was one time he had something on (a stylish, preppy look) and I told him "You look so good! You should wear that sort of thing to work!" to which he responded, "I can't wear THIS, I'll get made fun of!" Haha, I heart my engineer!

(10) He doesn't expect too much from me, especially at this stage in life. He doesn't expect dinner, the house to be clean, or laundry to be done when he gets home. THANK YOU HONEY! Someday I'll cook again! :)

(11) That Fallyn looks so much like him.

(12) He uses the word "cute" now to describe some things (Fallyn's outfit or hair, a little kid we just passed in a store, a dress in a store, etc.)! This is a word I rarely heard him say before having kids, and now it has a "cuter" intonation to it now that he has a daughter.

(13) His ornery side, which I get to see occasionally.

(14) When he laughs out loud at a funny show or something I told him. It takes a lot sometimes. :)

(15) That I get to see his FEELINGS sometimes, which he HAS more of now (like telling me he teared up not once, but a COUPLE times during the movie Fire Proof). He's never hid his feelings, he just doesn't have them. It's true. He's such an even-keeled guy. Mostly I think more feelings come with the more kids we have.

(16) He's very even-keeled. I can't even think of a time when he raised his voice and kinda snapped back at me. And we've lived together for over 2,000 days. I wrote about that in our anniversary post.

(17) He'll drive the whole trip even if he's tired and I've had a nap, and he always drives everywhere else--a capital gentleman!

(18) There was one time HE was the one trying to get ME to leave after church. I was so excited that day. I still am excited that actually happened.

(19) He's very wise and knowledgeable about all things financial. He counsels others on these matters. He's constantly tweaking our budget, getting everything down to the penny, he can project our finances long-term with his elaborate equations...figuring in all the factors like adoption, future PhD school with little or no income, 401k, etc.

(20) Since starting his first full-time job, right when we were first married, he has purposed to always live below our means so that we have more to give, rather than living AT our means (or above!) like many people do.

(21) He's very frugal (see above). He owned 1 pair of jeans for 8 years. I finally talked him into getting a new pair. He was willing to spend $40 knowing they'd have to last him 10 more years.

(22) I like it that he's a farm boy from Iowa who grew up with very little "extra". He's been shaped so much by his upbringing. I like it that he likes this farm girl from Kansas. I don't think I ever could've married a "city boy"...there are just so many things only people with rural upbringings experience and "get". It's deep in your core, and I can't imagine something huge like that not be a shared experience. I'm glad God brought us together. I didn't realize what a gift that is, and how it would affect me if I didn't have that. God knew best, for sure!

(23) His muscles. And that he'll be embarrassed that I mentioned this one :) I begged him to flex for me and got a half-hearted flex. We'll see if I can do better this year at the lake :)

(24) He doesn't mind when I talk-talk-talk when we go to bed and he's trying to fall asleep.

(25) I love seeing his tender, compassionate side...an "awww" when I show him a picture of an orphan, an article, or an episode of An Adoption Story.

(26) He likes The Office and documentaries, too. Yay, something in common!

(27) When he recounts to me some cute things the kids said or did.

(28) The one time we were driving back from my great-grandpa's funeral...I was holding a tea pot I picked out after Grandma told me to find something I wanted from the house. I said, "It's nothing fancy, I just like it." He said, "I like you. You're fancy."

(29) He doesn't think my daydreams are silly. Or at least he hides it well :)

Aw, shucks, I'm already at #29! Well, here's a couple more--with pics--because I'm not done yet.

(30) He's the best Dad! Proof below. Didn't mind a bit that Fallyn used him as a perch (for quite awhile) while he had a serious conversation with Austin (we visited them for Mem. Weekend). Let's them crawl on him while he's napping on the couch, etc.

(31) I like it when Rick and Calvin want to match each other, which they do as often as possible. Or here, they're at least coordinating--their shirts had the same colors except different patterns.


Those are all in addition to the obvious #1--that he is a man who values the things of God first and foremost!

Rick is getting for his birthday: a strawberry-rhubarb pie and a bottle of A&W cream soda, a trip to a new restaurant called Let's Be Frank (smore's hot dog anyone? pb&j hot dog? mac & cheese?), and coloring pages from the kids.

HAPPY 29TH, IOWA! WE LOVE YOU!

And Calvin wants to say, "Little boy! How old are you? Little boy! How old are you? I'm only twenty-nine years old!"

(Readers: if you don't know what that's about, click here and listen to the song on the slideshow at the bottom of the post.)

So Long Shawn's Car! :: Helpful Brother

Here's a picture of our flooded street one night in April with a stranded mini-van. The street turns into a rushing river! And it flows FAST. It's hard to see, but it's the best one I had. This was one hour after the first round of firemen showed up. You wouldn't think from this pic that this whole ordeal lasted more than an hour. The biggest danger isn't the depth of the water but the speed of the rushing water. You can kind of get an idea of the force of the water if you look closely at the left-most fireman, the water is up to his bum (see the shiny clip-thing?) and below his knee.

3 different fire truck crews came, multiple attempts were made to get the guy safely to shore, but the water was just too strong. . . finally some water-rescue specialists (whatever they're called!) came with some more equipment. It was quite an ordeal. 3 guys inched out with 2 ropes (attached to the steering wheel I think?) with about 7 firemen holding the other ends of the ropes, then they got the man in the middle of their triangle and got him to safety. This is definitely the worst the Bleckley River has been since we've been here. The water was faster and deeper. I know, it's probably boring to the reader, but not if you live on our street and got to see all the excitement. :) Right, Tyler and Marie?

The red car is Shawn's car, which was parked on the street in front of our house. Got washed down the street partway with the first wave of rain during the day, then all the way with the second one that night. Everyone here moves their vehicles when a rain is coming, but Shawn's car was already not working. I'm glad it didn't go down in the drain area! That would've been a bummer of an expense to pull out (tow truck?). Rick and Shawn pushed it home.

The last pic is the morning after--there's the stranded mini-van (all that, and it was only a couple feet from the curb!), 2 other cars that got stranded, and there were 1 or 2 more that didn't make it in the shot. All the people who were having their cars towed said they were probably total losses. Bummer. It doesn't really look like that low of a low spot or treacherous flooding area, so drivers just don't expect it to be so bad.

Calvin got Fallyn completely dressed one afternoon. They often only have clothes if we're going to run errands after naps. He was so thoughtful in picking out all the pink items he could find: bow, pj top, different pj bottoms, and 2 different shoes. He even tucked in her shirt for her. And yes, we went to the grocery store like that. If they can do things for themselves, then I'm all for it! And how could I have made her change, anyway, when he put so much thought into helping her, and she was soooooo happy about it, too!