It's about time

First off, we had a fun 4th. We got together with my family and had dinner while the kids ran around with a frisbee and played with Papa. We played some games, did some smoke bombs, and sparklers, and then planned on going to see some big fireworks at the park. Emma didn't really enjoy the sparklers that much. She was very timid around them. Last year she loved the fireworks we saw, so I don't really know what happened. Maybe it was just the close proximity. I don't know what it was, but something really upset her and she started to cry. We took her inside, she calmed down, and said she didn't want to go see the fireworks. So, we stayed with her while everyone else went. She had fun with us, but was getting really tired and said she wanted to go to sleep. So, we put her to bed, and then enjoyed fireworks with my family after they got back from the park. It was surprising to me about Emma, because if you know Eric or me, you know that we are both Pyros who love fire and fireworks and explosions etc. I'm sure she'll come around. =) The next day we went shopping with my sister and then went swimming at her place. Emma loved it!!!



Now, back to the main point of this post...Emma is finally potty trained. I know I know, some of you are probably thinking "it's about time!" Some of you (Kathy) know what's been going on and some of what I went through already with Emma. I don't remember if I've mentioned on the blog why it's taken so long, so sorry if this is all a repeat. We started potty training last fall, mostly because Emma was showing signs of being ready for it. Well, things started happening that were going to make it hard (mostly on me) to continue right then. I went to Phoenix for a while, and then the Christmas holidays came, and I wasn't going to be home very long with all the shopping and family dinners and get togethers, so I decided to wait until after New Year's. Then we needed to start packing and getting ready for our move, we were out of town for a week here and there, and then actually moving and then getting settled in our new place. Breathe. Okay, then I went to California, and actually started training her there. There were hardwood floors, so I was going to do the method where Emma would wear panties and have accidents, but I would sit her on the potty every 20 minutes. The plan was that after a few days she would start recognizing when she needed to go and we would see fewer messes. Well, after about 2 days of that, during which she never once "went" in the potty, and with everything else that was going on I decided to just wait until I got home. I thought it would be easier for her in a more familiar environment. After we got home I was just plain lazy for a few weeks before we actually started with her. And here I didn't expect it to go very quickly because I was having her wear pull up diapers rather than panties because I didn't want her peeing all over Peggy's carpets! After about one week, she seemed to just get it all of a sudden. Ever since last Wednesday, she has made it in the potty everytime, telling us when she needs to go. It happened overnight. I'm so happy I could cry. For those of you who have experienced this you'll understand my joy. Yeahhhhh!!! So you may congratulate Emma if you see her...she has entered the world of panties and potty's.

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope everyone has some fun stuff planned for tomorrow. In the meantime, and to help get you in the mood, here is some fireworks trivia for your enjoyment (courtesy of Real Simple magazine).

• Fireworks first appeared around 1000 A.D. in Chinese religious ceremonies
• Various metal salts are used to create the colored explosions. Barium makes green, copper makes blue, and aluminum is responsible for the sparkle.
• To make different shapes, a chemical mixture is glued to wax paper in the form that it will take when it explodes. Next, the paper is put inside a spherical shell made of cardboard or some other paper. Several are fired off at a time to give the apperance of three dimensions.
• The United States imported around $217 million worth of fireworks in 2007, with $207 million of that coming from China.

Here is a quiz about the holiday. Answers follow.

THE DATE
1. Which three presidents died on July 4?
2. Which president laid the cornerstone for the Washington Monument on July 4, 1850?
3. What was the title of the 1969 Broadway musical, written by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, that told the story of the founding of the United States?
4. What city in the American South fell to Ulysses S. Grant and Union forces on July 4, 1863, after a short siege?
5. What twin advice columnists were born on July 4, 1918?
6. In one of the wildest baseball games of all time, the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 16-13, in how many innings on July 4 (and 5), 1985?

THE FLAG
7. When was the Stars and Stripes authorized by Congress as the national flag?
8. The flag has 13 stripes. How many of them are red?
9. Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the Star-Spangled Banner after witnessing what?
10. Where and when was the first 50-star flag flown?
11. On the first U.S. flag, why were the stars displayed in a circle?
12. True or false: When the Pledge of Allegiance was published in 1892, the words "Under God" were not included.

THE PRESIDENTS
13. Which president served the shortest term?
14. Which president, to show his disdain for ceremony, would greet ambassadors in his pajamas? 15. Which president was the first to throw out the season-opening pitch for professional baseball?
16. To whom was the first telephone call made from the White House in 1878?
17. At 5 feet 4, who was the shortest president?
18. Which president's pet parrot had to be ejected from his funeral for screaming obscenities at mourners?
19. Which president had the most children?
20. Eleanor Roosevelt made news in 1939 when she served what dish to visiting King George VI and Queen Elizabeth?
21. Which president, when short of funds, offered White House china as the ante in poker games?
22. Which president's election was marred by charges of electoral vote corruption in Florida and other states after he lost the popular vote to his opponent?
23. Which well-dressed president was rumored to own 80 pairs of pants?
24. Who was the first chief executive to appear on television?
25. Which two presidents were signers of the Declaration of Independence?

Answers
1. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams (1826) and James Monroe (1831)
2. Zachary Taylor. He became ill with cholera that night and died five days later.
3. 1776
4. Vicksburg, Miss. It came a day after the Union victory at Gettysburg, marking a turning point in the Civil War
5. Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren (real names: Esther "Eppie" Lederer and Pauline Phillips) 6. 19 innings. The game ended at 3:55 a.m., and the Braves then fired off their Independence Day fireworks, leading many local residents to believe the city was under attack.
7. June 14, 1777. This date is observed as Flag Day.
8. Seven.
9. The bombardment of Fort McHenry
10. Philadelphia, 1960
11. So no one state would be above another.
12. True. The phrase was added in 1954.
13. William Henry Harrison, who died of pneumonia shortly after his inauguration. He served only 32 days, from March 4 to April 4, 1841.
14. Thomas Jefferson
15. William Howard Taft, on April 14, 1910, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.
16. Alexander Graham Bell (called by President Rutherford Hayes)
17. James Madison
18. Andrew Jackson
19. John Tyler (15)
20. Hot dogs
21. Warren G. Harding
22. Rutherford Hayes, in 1876
23. Chester Arthur (also the first to employ a full-time valet)
24. Franklin Roosevelt (April 30, 1939)
25. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

Time for Bed?

Yesterday at about 6:30, Emma took Eric into her room, told him to get into her bed, pulled the covers on him, gave him a couple toys to sleep with, turned the music on, and told him to go to sleep. She told him not to get out of bed, and to keep his eyes closed. Then she came and got me and told me to sleep on the floor (nice huh? why do I get the floor?), put a pretend blanket on me, gave me a toy, and told me to go to sleep too. She left and closed the door. A moment later she opened the door to check on us and again told us to stay in bed and go to sleep. Then she came in and joined me on the floor with another pillow and another toy. We asked if she wanted to go get some icecream ($1.00 scoop night at Baskin Robins baby), and she said "no, sleep first." I don't think she was tired either, she just really wanted us all to pretend we were sleeping. The only problem with this game as far as I can tell, is that I might actually fall asleep and shirk my parental duty. Otherwise I'm all for a good nap anytime. =)

Tennis anyone?

Eric and I recently went to play tennis. Of course Emma came along. She was excited to use her racket. She turned out to be the best ball girl ever!! She loved running and grabbing the balls and returning them to us. Seriously, you can use her if you want, but her prices are kind of steep. She was so cute running around with her racket and the balls. I can't believe I forgot to take my camera! Here's a picture of her I took at home so you can see what I mean.