Playroom!

Our playroom transformation is complete!  We have painted, decorated, had the shelves installed and painted, and reorganized.  We love it, and the girls are really enjoying everything!  We now have room for our new (to us) train table/play table, and Mommy tapped into her creative genius and painted the little table and chairs this weekend.  I'm no artist, but I think they came out pretty well!

Our Summer So Far

Well, I have sure been slacking on this blog...let me give a quick update on events around here over the past month or so. Let's see - Erin was in school for the month of June, so we stuck around here most of the time. Bob had a fun Father's Day at home,



and we spent the following weekend in Concord, where we got to check out the awesome splash pad and train ride in Kannapolis!



Erin "tracked out" the week of July 4th and goes back to school next Thursday, so we've really enjoyed the time together this month.

We had lots of fun at Oliver's pirate-themed 5th birthday party! Erin and Anna tried a 1-day dance class through the Holly Springs Parks and Rec, to which Anna asks EVERY SINGLE DAY to go back.



I'm trying to remember to sign her up for the 4-week toddler class in the fall when registration comes out. We were here for July 4th and had a great time at our neighbors' house for Erin's favorite kind of summer meal - tacos! Sadly for Mommy, it was a no-nap day, so the girls were in no shape to stay up for fireworks. We made our first-ever trip to the NC Zoo on the 9th and had a great time, except for Erin, who had a cold that turned into an ear infection (that thankfully cleared up without battling with her to try to give her antibiotics). We only made it through half of the zoo, so we'll have to go back when it's cooler!



We have checked out the Lake Johnson pool/splash pad twice and have enjoyed it a lot. It's been too hot to do our usual frequency of going to parks, but we did check out Kids Together park one morning, which was awesome - except for the big black snake that I spotted.



Erin did a preschool day camp at church last week and enjoyed that a lot too. Mommy went to Chicago last weekend for her cousin Beth's wedding while Daddy held down the fort here. That was a LOT of fun for everybody (I think)!

Those have been the main highlights. We've also spent a lot of time beating the heat at the "Y/pool-Y" and the neighborhood pool.



(After seeing these pictures again, I think I really should invest in some type of photography class. I apologize for them!)

Other items of note are the purchase of our new king-sized (Bella-appropriate) bed and bed frame, and Mommy's church book club gathering here last week. We are also enjoying some time with Bellamy and Dalton's dog Peyton this week while they're at the beach. Bella really seems to enjoy the company! They must be bonding in sleep, because that's all they do.

Oh! How could I forget the most miraculous event of the summer?!? About 6 weeks ago or so, we noticed that Erin had stopped sucking her thumb. I figured that maybe she had a canker sore or something and just didn't want to suck it. Well, 6 weeks later, she still isn't doing it! I saw her try to suck her thumb once when she was sick and she didn't seem that into it. We are in shock!

We are looking forward to our trip to the beach with Grandma F. in a few weeks, as well as another trip or two to Concord, and also seeing Cousin Jimmy when he's in Monroe. We are also super excited about Uncle Dale, Aunt Maria, and Cole moving up here next week. We can't wait to have them close by! It's been a fun and HOT summer!

Potty Help, Please!

Ok, here is my plea for any help/ideas/suggestions that you all might have. We have been trying to potty train Erin on and off for 11 months...her teachers at school have also been trying, albeit less aggressively, and to no avail. She knows what the potty is for and will sit on it as long as we ask her to, but will not consistently go...or she will sit on the potty, get up, and have an accident right away. It is incredibly frustrating. I've heard everything from "just forget about it" totally to "boot camp" it in the bathroom, literally sitting on the toilet for 12 hours a day (that doesn't seem healthy for anyone). I am at a loss! Here is my (non-inclusive) list of what all we have tried, most of them many times...but not all at once! Does anyone have any other ideas, or what has worked for your kids?

Stickers, charts, bribes, treats
Books (4 different ones for her, 2 for parents), videos, songs - both potty-related and her favorites for distraction purposes, Elmo and dolls "pottying" with a syringe for demo
Little plastic potty, big potty with padded seat and stool
Threats (I'm not going to lie), attempts at reasoning, talking about being a "big girl"
Wetting herself, diapers, pull-ups, cloth training pants, underwear, naked time
Timer, scheduled sitting
Picture chart of potty process and also in her daily schedule at home
Mommy even went to a conference that covered this, went to the Project Enlightenment resource center, and have consulted/whined with teachers, etc. countess times

I am really discouraged because I think she is capable of this mentally, but either doesn't have it quite together physically or just plain doesn't care. There's also the communication aspect in that she doesn't want to tell us that she has to go or that she has had an accident. Maybe there's something else that we could do to help her along. Thoughts? Suggestions?