Faith 2 Years 2 Months

Nanny got smart and asked Faith if she wanted to sleep in a big girl bed. She of course said yes. We put a folded twin sheet on her bed and used her crib comforter and a blanket and now she is happy to have blankets in her bed. We no longer have to double-up her pjs and she stays plenty warm. This, along with a few really rough nights of insisting she sleep in her own bed really helped. Now the rule is she can only come in our bed for cuddle time in the mornings. She still wakes up around 5 am most mornings screaming, "Mommy come get me", but I make her lay back down and she goes to sleep without much fuss.

Faith is fairly hit and miss with potty training. She rarely goes poop in her pull-ups, but pees often in them. This is partly our fault as we haven't been very diligent in taking her to the bathroom. There has even been times when she'll tell me she has to go and we'll be out or really busy and I'll tell her to just pee in her pull-up.

Faith has really been enjoying playing with her baby dolls. She continues to change, feed, burp, and soothe them when they cry. She even makes pretend crying noses then tells the baby its ok, shh.

Faith has started to become very into doing things on her own. She wants to climb into the car and buckle her own seat belt, get dressed (this includes picking out her own clothes), brush her own hair and teeth, wash her own hands, etc. While sometimes this is wonderful, letting her do these things can take a long time, and the end result is sometimes very interesting. She likes wash her hands in the "cold sink" (the water in the downstairs bathroom takes a long time to heat up) by herself. This would be just fine if she didn't use multiple squirts of soap, drip water all over the floor and counter, and throw the clean towels on the floor when she is finished. When you ask her about the mess she says, "It happens" and shrugs her shoulders like its no big deal.

Her vocabulary continues to amaze me. She has mastered concepts that many 3 and 4 year old don't have down correctly. She also is trying to write letters already. While none of the letters actually look like letters she writes in the lines and goes from left to right using both of her hands equally well.

Faith is down to just one nap a day. She had been taking a morning nap a few times a week, but with the busy holidays, I cut her down to just her afternoon nap. Sometimes she is still a little fussy, but she can make it until after lunch.

2nd Annual Holden/Clapper Family Gathering

Merilou and Jack had all of their kids and the Holden family to a house out in Stinson Beach. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and it rained most of the time we were there.

Even with the rain we all thoroughly enjoyed our visit. A few of the older kids went swimming in the pool, but Bryce and Faith just put their feet in the spa. We didn't even go down to the beach because of the rain. The adults spent most of their time sitting indoors chatting.

We had a wonderful lunch catered by Comforts, a delicious restaurant/cafe in San Anselmo.

Sally brought the kids a very cute game called Snail's Pace Race. They love it. We've played it many times already.

Christmas Tree

Faith took a late nap so we didn't leave to get our tree until close to 4 pm. By the time we got to Frosty Mountain in Sebastopol it was almost 4:30 and getting a little dark.

Faith was tired and cranky and the to make matters worse she fell in the mud as soon as we go there. She cried most of the time.

Bryce had a good time helping Nathan to cut down and carry the tree.

We didn't decorate the tree until the following evening because it was late when we got home and the tree was wet.

Bryce helped Nathan to bring in and set up the tree. Both kids got their annual ornament from Nanny. Bryce received a dragon bell and Faith a ladybug, which was perfect since this is what they each were for Halloween. After decorating the tree, Bryce and Nathan set up the train.

The Nutcracker

Nanny and I took Bryce and Faith to the MicroNut, a shortened production of the Nutcracker. It was put on by Sebastopol Ballet. The Director of Sebastopol Ballet was my first ballet teacher until I was 14 years old. It was very nostalgic to see the show, as much of the choreography from when I was Clara was the same.

Bryce and Faith sat completely still for the entire hour long show. They both loved it.

Bryce 4 Years 5 Months

Bryce is continuing to do really well at Brush Creek. He is happy to go and doesn't want to be picked-up most of the time. When I arrive to pick him up I often hear, "Why did you come so early" even if I'm there at the normal time. I'm really glad he is thriving there.

Bryce is trying to do more and more "school" work, which includes cutting, gluing, stickers, writing his letters, etc. I'm really trying to work on his fine motor skills. He is also continuing to advance in his reading/spelling skills. The other day as we were reading he sounded out 5 or 6 three-letter words all on his own. He doesn't like help with anything learning related, so the trick is to help him without him realizing he is being helped.

Bryce went for about 4 weeks without an accident at night. This is the longest stretch without an accident he has ever had. Prior to this he would make it two or three weeks without an accident. Hopefully the next stretch will be even longer than 4 weeks.

Bryce is continuing to play soccer with Lil' Kickers. He is very coordinated and seems to be having a great time with it.

Bryce starting singing with the Son Light Singers at church. It took a lot of convincing to get him to go, but once we got there he was very excited. Mary Durham (his first crush) and Sarah Cobb are the teachers. When it was over he asked me if I could sign him up so he could go every week. Yeah - success at something new on the first try. He doesn't normally do so well with new things or changes. I hope next week goes just as smoothly.

Bryce is going to be an angel in the Christmas show next week. He is very excited and keeps telling us that angles are very important. He is also very concerned about having a halo. He wants to make sure he will have once since all angels do.