Evidence of Success

Because I will not remember anything about these days when E is grown and potty training her own stubborn little girl ;), I thought I might need to post some proof that today was, actually, a very good day for E. But since this is a public forum, and not simply a place for private musings, I thought I should preface this post with a very important statement.

Yes - this is as creative as it gets in my household.


I can crochet according to a pattern, I can color between the lines - I can build just about anything as long as I have directions.....but nothing in my brain tells me how to create something 'cutesy' out of nothing. So to all my kindergarten teacher friends and other friends who are able to make something beautiful out of nothing, don't hate on my attempt at bringing my two-year-old some joy, k? :)

Day 1 - Pretty good success, LOTS of prompting and prodding
Day 2 - The dip in performance is evident, I believe
Day 3 - Beginning to show signs of independence!!

My Baby Is Going to School!!!

In One Morning...

In one morning, E has successfully pottied on the rug, on a friend, on the couch, on the rocking chair, on our toys, on her little stuffed "doggie," on the real dog, in the high chair, on mommy...

...and in the potty chair 6 times!!

(It's sounds a little like a Dr. Seuss book, doesn't it?)

Let the Games Begin

Tonight we did a little "test run" for the potty training that will begin at dawn tomorrow. In 30 minutes, we had three melt-downs and changed clothes four times. We finally ended with a warm bath, a little bit of a movie, a few books, and then bedtime.

So......I'm adding a new prayer to the list for L's trip to Egypt: that I will be able to keep my sanity during the throes of potty training.

Roma Ultima

Yesterday we traveled a looooong six and a half hours in the car so that daddy could play in a frisbee tournament this weekend - his first ever!

Today was an equally long, but very fun day. E was by far the dirtiest person on the field by the end, and made quite a team mascot.

The count at the end of day one is 3 wins and 1 loss, with great hopes for being in the final championship game tomorrow!

Some of the day's best shots (from our perspective, anyway!):

On the Road Again

Every year I say the same thing: "We are not going to be as busy this year as we were last year." Every year the same thing happens: We are as busy as (if not busier) than we were last year. It's a total conundrum. I feel like I am saying "no" to more things than I ever have. I feel like I am saying "yes" to things that really matter. I am trying to be sure that I make time for myself (and have consequently started working out again at 5:30am after about a month-long break). I am trying to give my husband the opportunity to go be a guy when he needs it as well. I am trying to make sure that we somehow squeeze in some quality time to be a family in the midst of all the other things I'm trying to do.

And it hit me this past week that between September 19th and December 31st, we are going to spend exactly ONE full weekend as a family in our own home. That is totally unacceptable, but unfortunately, our fault. We are cutting things left and right to be able to carve out these precious times that we will never get back. We are apologizing to people and backing out of commitments that we had previously made. It feels (sometimes) like I am a horrible friend to the people that I love because I am unable to commit to fun things like showers and birthday parties and hanging out on the weekends.

This weekend, E and I are going to watch her daddy play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament for his first time ever. I am hoping for it to be some quality time with each other and with some great friends of ours. I am praying that God will grant us rest and rejuvenation in the midst of being on the road yet again for the fifth weekend in a row. I am also looking forward to recommitting to a year of even more intentionality in 2010, as my husband and I continue to evaluate our priorities and the "stuff" we are involved in!

Halloween 2009

Despite the drizzling rain, we all enjoyed watching E's delight grow as she realized - for the first time ever - if you say "Trick or Treat" (on Halloween), people give you candy. To my dismay, she also figured out very quickly that if you let mama hold your candy, she eats the chocolate pieces when you aren't looking.

Posing with Indiana

Trick-or-Treating: Our Very First House

Downtown Halloween Candy Extravaganza

Enjoying our Spoils

A Traumatizing Event

I'm pretty sure I scarred my child for life today.

I picked her up from her sitter's house, with intentions of running a few errands with her that I thought she might enjoy. One of them, a first for her, was washing the car. I have fond memories of going through the car wash as a kid. I always thought it was pretty relaxing. I always wondered what it would be like to be standing outside of the car and feel the giant washcloths turn over you on both sides. I loved the scent of the car wax that always wafted through the air conditioning toward the end of the cycle. I remember thinking that the roof of the car would surely have permanent dents from the massive hair dryers at the end of the line. I assumed that E would feel the same way.

I assumed incorrectly. At the first sign of the huge, spinning brushes her face melted into a frown. When the giant washcloths appeared, the frown turned to anxiety. The sound of the jet-stream of water all around finally tipped her over into terror, and she started to cry. The only redeeming factor was the dryer at the end - she knows what a hair dryer is and was able to kind of equate the two, plus I think it also helped that she could finally see sunshine again.

I think we might stay away from the car wash for a while.

Pumpkin Carvin' with Uncle R

We continued the fall festivities this evening with three other couples and their kiddos, all carving pumpkins with our little ones for the first time.

Some wanted nothing to do with the pumpkins, some tried to eat the pumpkins, and some...like my dear sweet child...instigated pumpkin-goop-throwing wars.

Luckily, we were in a pretty fun-loving crowd, so she had the opportunity to enjoy being herself.

I think it turned out pretty good.

Thanks for letting us wreck your house, Uncle R! Can we do it again next year??

Fall Festival at the Farm

Trying to stand up on the Giant Pillow

Sliding with Daddy

Riding on the "Cow Train"

Playing in the "Corn House"

(A playhouse filled with dried corn kernels)

Bouncing all the leftover corn out of my pants

Sitting on a hay bale decorated as a pig

Petting the donkey

Feeding the goats

Riding the pony

Riding the train

Playing in the pumpkin patch

Sacked out!!!

I think we've got a Bost Family tradition on our hands, folks!

PJ Party

E had her very first PJ party last night!! My husband and I are in the mecca of the South - Atlanta - for a few days, and I arranged for E to spend the night with a little friend her age. In fact, R's mom and I were in the same Bradley childbirthing class together, and it's been fun to share the experiences of raising little girls with each other for the past two years.

I snapped a few pics yesterday when I dropped her off, but I could not get the internet to work at our hotel last night, so they're a little delayed. But the bonus is that now I know that the sleepover was fun, the girls did great, and all is well!