Celebrating the Fourth

Like most of you, we celebrated our nation's Birthday today. We started the day nice and slow and looking good:

 Then we started in and did a lot of American past times:

 Here is what Camille did the entire time (notice her outfit):

 Then we went downtown where they had bouncy houses:

 And a hayride:

 Here is what Camille did (notice her new outfit- I'm sure you can guess why she got a new outfit- and it has nothing to do with wanting to put her in a patriotic outfit):

 The horses were all decked out for the celebrations:

 We ate an All-American dinner at Jack In the Box:

Then it was time for some barrel rides:

 Ahh....now Camille woke up. And notice her outfit one last time:

 And pony rides:

 Claire was in HEAVEN for the pony rides. Seriously, we may have to sign her up for horseback riding.

 And, it wouldn't be American if we didn't end our day with ice-cream (well, it was actually frozen yogurt):

 And, one last shot of looking good:

I really do LOVE this country. What a blessing to be an American! I think of our founding fathers and the courage they must have had to create and sign the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I am so incredibly grateful to them for what they did. I LOVE the fourth where we can celebrate and reflect on what they did for us and how lucky we are to enjoy the freedoms that we do. Yeah for the Fourth!

Independence Day

You think I will be writing about the Fourth of July- but, no.

I will be talking about this little one:

Before my mom came into town, I told her that one of our tasks while she was here was to potty train Claire.

Neither of us were looking forward to it. My mom was not too excited that I added that to the "to do" list along with a newborn baby. But, Claire was wanting to be trained, and I was not about to do it by myself with the new baby as well. So, I needed my mom.

After two days of sitting in the bathroom with Claire almost non-stop with a few accidents as well, Claire finally went on the potty.

The next day, after sitting on the potty all day, she went again.

After that, it was easy sailing. She was so incredibly proud of herself- the look on her face was priceless. Chocolates also proved to be a major motivator.

It took her a week to go #2 on the potty. But once she did (and she did it all by herself- I didn't even know she was in the bathroom until she came out and told me she had already gone), she has never looked back. After just a week, she was completely potty trained. She has only had 1 accident in 3 weeks, and that was because I put her in time out and she was mad at me and I think she wanted to get back at me. Yes, she's like that.

Now for the reason I titled this post "Independence Day." Most of you know that Claire is quite the strong-willed child. It has been difficult as her mother to figure out how to best help her, and more than once I have ended up in my room in tears as I try to figure out how to handle this child.

Potty training seems to have  helped IMMENSELY. She LOVES the independence and freedom of panties (and of Princess Panties- or her Pull-Ups. You better not ever even suggest she put a diaper on!). Being potty trained has calmed her down. Something psychological happened when she learned to go potty. It all had to be on her own- she was ready, and just the freedom of being able to do that on her own has changed her personality.

Is she a perfect angel child now? No. But, she doesn't have massive tantrums for no apparent reason. She doesn't throw her plate on the floor because she doesn't like what's on it.

We have other issues to work out. Like her spitting- she just picked that up. And she still doesn't listen as well as I would like.

But, we're getting there. One "Independence Day" at a time.

Some Pictures of the Week

 For those of you wondering, here is what a herniated belly button looks like. Claire had one also, and now it is a little bit of an outie, and is oh so cute:

 Just chillin':

This was really sweet- Audra loves Camille so much:

Hundred Degree Weather

 It has been so HOT around here! Every day we need to do something with water. So today here is what we did:

Camille and I hung out inside (thank goodness for air conditioning!)

Look at her double chin- she is really getting big, and I LOVE it! She's got some thunder thighs that are so cute!

 This is a really cool water thingy I bought at last year's clearance sale at Target. It has water dripping down where Audra is standing and there is a pool to splash in. Our kids are way too spoiled.

 They also got out the water guns. Claire went up to Ben and said, "I KILL you!" So I had to explain that we don't kill or shoot people, we SPRAY people. That will fix it, right?

 Ben gets some kisses from Audra...

 But watch out for Claire!

My Teenage Husband

Camille's Baby Blessing

Yesterday was a very special day for our family. Ben blessed Camille.

When Claire was blessed I explained on this blog that in our church instead of baptizing babies, we give them a name and a blessing. This blessing is to act as a protection against Satan throughout their lives. When children turn 8, then they are baptized, as we believe that is when they have reached the age of accountability. We believe babies and children are incapable of sin and therefore they are not baptized until age 8.

Anyway, yesterday was a big day.

As usual, we did it "our" way instead of the conventional way. After church, we met with extended family members in the RS room (that's Mormonspeak for the room the ladies meet in) and blessed her there with a nice, small crowd. It was perfect.

Then afterwards we came home and had a BBQ. A perfect way to end a perfect day!

This is Camille's pre-blessing dress- pictures were taken before we left for church. Since the blessing was not until after church, she needed another dress to wear until then. This one was perfect! My friend MADE this dress- can you believe it? It is so beautiful, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it- and because it was made with so much love, it really felt like it made the day that much more special! Thank you SOOOOO much Danielle- it's GORGEOUS! (and, as you can tell, Camille looks gorgeous in it as well! This is definitely an heirloom dress- thank you!!!)

 This is probably the best shot I have ever gotten of her face- isn't she adorable?

Here she is in her blessing gown- the same one both Audra and Claire wore for theirs. She cried pretty much the whole time she was wearing the dress- including all through the blessing. I forgot one minor detail: She would be hungry after church. But, I am in primary the hour before church gets out so I couldn't feed her until after the blessing. Oops!

Ben gave the blessing, and these were the men in the circle. A member of our Bishopric, my dad, Ben, and my cousin Clint. Small, but perfect.

 And, this is the best we could do for a family picture. What a photogenic group we are! HA!

 

This was taken at the BBQ. My cousin Shellie was holding her and it made a perfect pose to show off Camille's mohawk- I LOVE it!

The Stubborns

I am pretty sure this story will go down in family folklore. It is SOOOO typical Claire!

The other day we were eating hamburgers for dinner. Claire said,

"I want a pickle."

Now, Claire does NOT like pickles. I am her mother. I know this to be true after many previous experiences. I said,

Me: "Claire, you don't like pickles."

C: "Yes I do! I DO like pickles!"

Me: "No you don't."

C: "Yes I do! I WANT a pickle!"

Me: "OK, here is a pickle."

Claire takes a bite and makes the most disgusted look you have ever seen. It is obvious she is hating every single chew.

Me: "Do you like it?"

C: "Yes, it's yummy" (while still making the face of torture for having this horrid pickle in her mouth)

Me: "OK, there's the rest of the pickle to eat" (pointing to her plate)

C: (picks up the last of the pickle, pops it in her mouth and eats it, while everyone at the table is laughing hysterically at her stubbornness.)