Portland

I can't believe it is already Wednesday. Where does the time go? I know that folks that are trapped in the office or go to work probably don't have the same sentiment. I am sure those folks are saying, "It is only Wednesday." To rewind (since I have posted in a few days), this past Thursday, we headed to Portland to see Grandma and celebrate Father's Day with the dad of all dads, Pearson Forrest Cummings. The weather was spectacular and on top of that I got to do some much needed shopping (tax free), Pearson got to play a round of golf, we got to go out two nights, including a night out with good friends, and the kids (and Pearson and I) got to spend a lot of great time with Grandma C. Here are some photos from the weekend. (I unfortunately didn't take my camera out of my car until Saturday afternoon).

Headed to the downtown splash park. 

This girl is truly something else (and I mean that in the best way possible). 

There so happened to be a wedding taking place. Mae clapping the new couple. 

Grandma making sure Whitaker doesn't touch these ladies, which he tried to on multiple occasions.  

In his element. 

Making friends. 

Grandma making sure Mae doesn't touch the newborn baby (not pictured in the photo). 

Mae found a friend. I think that this little girl was way too nice to tell Mae to scram.

Eating dog food. 

Mae crying about something. 

Mae sporting my new hat. This was not the only hat she wore, she decided to don a bunch of Grandma C. head apparel for the whole weekend. 

Whit getting a chance to be a fashionista. 

Who needs toys when you have old yogurt containers? 

A quiet moment. 

Grandma C's beautiful peonies from the Portland Farmer's Market. 

Mae and Grandma enjoying a cuddle and a book. 

Off to brunch for Father's Day. 

Happy father! 

Thought this was a good tshirt. They also played a little diddy for Mae.  

Patiently waiting for brunch outside. 

Even though we had to wait awhile, Mae got to talk to the firefighters. 

Catching Up/Filling You In

The other day I was thinking about all the things that my kids are doing and saying and even though I tell you about what we are doing it generally reflects what we do on a day to day basis (obviously the highlights not the low). So in no particular order here are a few things that have been happening: 

Update on Potty Training - Shockingly, things have been going pretty well. Mae has had a few accidents in public, mainly at parks. I partly blame myself because the access to bathrooms are more difficult and I don't check in with her enough about going. However, in our house, she has had NO accidents. Although, she does save pooping (generally) until bedtime when she has a diaper on. But to give her credit, she has pooped a couple of times in the toilet. Including, the other night, Mae said she had to go poop and was going downstairs where her potty is located. I told her Whitaker and I would be down in a few minutes to check on her. Whitaker and I headed downstairs a couple minutes later where we passed Mae on the steps. She said to me, "There is a snake in the toilet." I went to check and in fact there was a snake in the toilet. Well actually not a real snake (but you know what I mean). I was proud of her, I almost cried. 

Whit Moving - The little guy is on the move nonstop and it is EXHAUSTING. He is a bundle of energy, strong, and active. By no means has Mae ever been or is a wall flower who just sits but next to Whitaker, Mae is down out right low energy. The kid is into everything and has seemed to develop a physical prowess much quicker than Mae. I think this is what everyone was talking about when they said there was a difference between boys and girls. I remember when we used to take a class at Seattle Central Community College when Mae was Whitaker's age and all the little girls would sit in the circle for music and all the boys would wreak havoc around the room. I thought to myself (because sadly we all judge), "can't those parents control their kids." Now, I know, NOPE. Boys are uncontrollable. 

Whit's Teeth - In the last few weeks, Whitaker has gotten three of his four top teeth in. I went through THREE bottle of Advil to try to stymie his constant cries. It definitely has been no party around here but things are better and just waiting for the next round of teeth.  

Broken Glass - On average a glass gets broken in this Cummings house once a week. You would think by now we would just switch to all plastic, all the time. Nope. It seems we enjoy the shattering, then cursing, then putting on shoes, then getting out the broom, then getting out the vacuum, then getting out the spray and paper towels. On Sunday night, we had a rare breakage. The scene was me laying on the couch, Pearson in the recliner, we were getting Mad Men cued up to watch. Pearson asked me to toss him the remote. He had a full beer in his hand in a glass. I threw (probably not a toss) him the remote. And as luck would have it, the remote hit the glass, the glass shattered in his hand. You can only imagine the litany of curse words that followed and the fight that ensued about who was to blame for it. 

Dress for Success - Mae will only wear dresses now. Period. 

Go to Sleep - Bedtime has become a l - o - n - g drawn out process around here. Not for Whitaker but for Mae. We get the kids in bed around 7 - 7:30. Whitaker calms down and goes to bed pretty quick, however, Mae keeps bouncing back time and time again. There are many excuses, many discussions, and much noise upstairs. Sometimes she asks for a "diaper change." She also sometimes asks to use the bathroom. A bluff that we need to call. Sometimes it is frustrating and you just want to yell at her to go to bed  (which we do on many occasions) but sometimes it is cute and endearing. Case in point. Tonight, Mae asked to get her diaper changed. She insisted on having the one with Mickey and Minnie on it (yes, she is addicted to all the characters now and I have succumbed to her insistence that we buy these diapers). As I was changing her diaper tonight with Mickey and Minnie on it, she said, "I will call you Mickey and you can call me Minnie. [Pause]. And daddy, we will call Goofy." I laughed out loud to that one and forgot that it was two hours passed her bed time. 

Happy 70th Birthday Dad/Papa/JoeC

Today is my father's 70th birthday. From very afar away, we are wishing him the happiest day and wish that we could be there to celebrate this milestone birthday with him.

Here are some photos from the last few years with my dad.

School is out for summer

Last September Mae started preschool at Madison Park Coop Preschool. I had no idea that when she started how much we would both benefit from this experience. The community that we have got to be a part of has been truly special and forever memorable. The children are absolute delights. The parents are kind and caring. Teacher Connie is a true professional who has been an excellent resource and "first" teacher. I think she has set the bar pretty high for future teachers in the Cummings Family.

Today, marked Mae's last day at the coop. Sadly, she will be attending another preschool next year. The positive is that I have enrolled Whitaker in the Tots class for next year at the coop, so although Mae will be saying goodbye to the school, Whit will be getting to say hello.

Last day of school. See September photos from the first day. How much she has grown in last nine months.

You would think that she thought school really boring. But she does loves it. 

At school. 

Giving Teacher Connie her gift from the class. 

The kids gave her, her own personal copy of Pete the Cat [children's book] entitled Connie the Teacher. We also gave her, her very own pair of shoes. 

The shoes decorated by all of Mae's classmates. 

Whit getting a chance to FINALLY be part of the class. He was there all day and loved it. 

Field Trip

Last Wednesday, Mae's class took a field trip to Fox Hollow Farms (I am a little delinquent in uploading the photos). If you may recall we went there about a year ago (right before Whit was born) and LOVED it. Again, Fox Hollow didn't disappoint. This place is truly a magical little farm in Issaquah (also gives me a little anxiety and seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen). All the animals are totally accessible, love human interaction, and seem to be everywhere. There is also all these awesome riding toys and a bouncy house (didn't even make it to that). We had a blast meeting all the animals and hanging out with Mae's classmates. 

Meeting the sheep. 

And the baby chicks. 

Petting the miniature ponies.  

Whit excited to meet the ponies. 

Is this an outfit appropriate for a farm? She insisted on wearing it. 

Whit still amazed at the animals. 

Mae talking to the pig. 

Whit telling me there is a mini-pony. 

Meeting the horse.

And goats! That is Cissa, a nanny in the class, and Henry one of Mae's classmates. 

Whit in the goat pen. All I could think about was "I hope he doesn't fall because if he does he is going to be covered in goat poop." 

6 kids all playing happily at one train table. Who would have thunk it? 

And the parrots. 

Whit talking to the parrots. 

More parrot talk. 

Whit crying and me trying to get him to smile. 

Mae on the train with Candace and Zoe. 

Goat petting. 

Whit pushing the goat out of the way to get to me.

Mae driving with Jackson on her John Deere.  

Mae hitching a ride with Ellie and Smaranda. 

Farm Girls - Reese and Mae 

Of course, they [Reese, Mae, and Tanner] found the ONLY puddle to play in. 

Two steps forward, one step back...

Today marks day 3 of potty training. I started writing this post this morning and didn't get around till finishing it until now. The original title of the post was "FAIL (so far). As you can see I have since updated it and had a new outlook on this whole experience. 

Why? 

To go back....Day 1 and 2 didn't go well (at least in my opinion). We really had very little success of Mae using the bathroom in the "potty." She pretty much resisted even sitting on the thing. Pearson and I both agreed that we were committed to this and would "break her like a horse." Probably not the best thing and goes against every parenting book but hey, cut us some slack, this is our first time at this rodeo. During Day 1, I overheard Pearson say to Mae in the bathroom, "You are stubborn but I am more stubborn then you. We will wait this out and you will eventually be using the toilet." Trust me, this is far gentler then what I said. For the first few days, I can emphatically say that I did not have some of my best parenting moments. In fact, I lost my temper (a bunch) and cried at one moment about it all. I could not understand why Mae was unable to go to the bathroom in the toilet. I really do believe she is smart and mature enough to make this happen. 

Fast forward to today. Mae peed TWICE in the potty, sat on it a bunch, and EVEN pooped in the toilet. She also peed on the floor at school, on our carpet upstairs, and pooped in her underwear but I am celebrating the small successes and realizing that I need to "let go" and can't control everything with Mae (even though I think I might be able to). Here is to a brighter and happier next few days. Wish us luck (all of us!)

A rare moment, on the morning of the first day, of her sitting on the toilet.  

Day 2. We added underwear to the mix. Mae choose boy underwear when selecting them because they have Mickey and Donald (her favorite) on them. 

No Turning Back

Today is our second (and final attempt) at toilet training with Mae. We tried a few months back and it was a fail. I am done changing diapers and she is way too old and smart to not be using the bathroom.

Will report later how the day is going.