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Got some more pictures!

Elisabeth makes her tent with a quilt from Grandma Marva. She happily read books inside for a week.


John had a birthday on June 6th. Elisabeth was happy to celebrate with him by making a mess with a cupcake. Later in the week we had my family over to celebrate and Elisabeth was very excited about celebrating a birthday again—sure enough, after she and Timothy ate their dinners, she asked for a cupcake. Can’t sneak much by her these days!
John's birthday box from home included a marvelous gift that would keep his daughter occupied for hours--a potty for her dolls and things to go with it. John's gift will be much used: new baggy bike shorts.
John enjoys a piece of his Ding Dong cake made by his mother-in-law. It was a cake she just had to make for him. And did he love it!
A prominent feature in our home these days are potty accoutrements: downstairs we have a potty seat and various books by the toilet. Upstairs we have a potty, a doll’s potty, various books, and various stuffed animals taking turns using the potty. Any guess what we are up to? After reading various books about potty training of opposing viewpoints, and polling nearly every mom young and old who can remember training their children, I’ve decided that we’re taking the “take it slow and keep everyone happy” approach. And it is slow. Especially when Elisabeth is about to sit on the potty, but first has to get everyone set up (keep in mind that you=Bitsy): “Conroe Bear will sit on the potty and Susy will watch you” (in the doll rocking chair). No wait, there has been a change. “You’re going to sit on the toilet and Conroe Bear will sit here next to you. Right here. Susy needs to sit here to watch you.” Then we pull out the Random House Book of Poetry for Children and read, read, read. Some days are better than others, but the “keep everyone happy” approach also involves liberal use of diapers, and since I’ve finally switched to disposable (or “mustosabowl” as Bitsy calls them) during the day, I’m happier too. Plus Elisabeth can take them off herself. I’ll refrain from any further details in this venue to protect the innocent, but it has been an amusing and frustrating couple of weeks!

After we set up the sprinkler tonight, Elisabeth decided she wanted to get wet. But then again, she wasn't too sure. She stood there for a bit, then was startled when the water came down. She proceeded to work on her jumping in place, a skill she has been working on for a while. I discovered at the pool how important this skill is: Elisabeth likes to jump into the pool, but she doesn't jump out enough, so she landed on her bottom on the side of the pool. Ouch. So for now I have to sort of pull her in. She's happy with that. She's much happier in the water then she was this time last year. She told me she wants to swim in the big pool "Not with Mommy!!!" She was very vehement about that. I carefully explained that if I let go, she would go under. A little letting go was all she needed to submit to my holding her. But she can't wait til she turns 3 and can take lessons!

One last note: Elisabeth is a climber! Every time we go to the Y she looks at the climbing wall and says, "When you turn 5 you will climb here and wear a special helmet." She loves the playgrounds that have little rock walls. She is fearless at parks now, though she would rather go up then down! It has been fun to see her change from being so timid when it came to climbing, to wanting no help on all kinds of ladders, rock walls and steps. Of course, she still wants to hold our hands when we walk down the stairs. :)

Love, L

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