Oct 31, 2007
Oct 28, 2007
Potty Training Passion
Isn't it funny that we vow to never be like other moms who talk about their babies potty training/temper tantrums/spitting up/etc, but here I am, talking about how potty training has so far proceeded...sigh. This is for you, Elaine ;p
Hope potty trained herself at 18 months, and I was partly humbled that I had nothing I could say to teach others that my child learned this all on her own. I was also partly proud that I didn't have to pay money for those disposable bum wrappers anymore.
How did she potty train on her own? Well, at 18 months, she told me that she wanted to "da bian" (poopy) on that and pointed to the toilet. I had put her former da bians into the toilet before wrapping up the diapers and throwing them out to keep the stink down, and Hope saw me put those into the toilet. She must have decided that she could help mom sidestep the process by going straight into the toilet. Well, when she was successful, she got her treat: a prune. This was HER decision, and to this day, when she goes, she still asks for a prune, and we gladly give her one. She asks for a craisin when she pees, and we gladly give her those as well.
My pride was quickly shot when at 2 years old, Hope decided that she no longer wanted to be in underwear anymore. She preferred the carpet to the toilet, and she loved to pee in her pants just to get a rise out to mom or dad. She certainly got that! She continued to da bian in the toilet, but she refused to pee on the pot. It became a fight between mom and child. I didn't want to pay for more diapers, but dad intervened and told me to give it up and put her back into diapers. After I did that, I was fine. I did this for a few weeks, letting her pee in diapers again. It was actually pretty convenient since I didn't have to race across WalMart when she wanted to pee pee and the bathroom was always on the wrong side of the store
I have to say that the one thing that helped Hope RE-potty train was going to grandma's in California. She wanted to prove to Grandma that she was a big girl, and that meant using the toilet again. Well, we had stashed about 10 diapers and 10 pullups into the suitcase just in case. Hope ended up not using ANY of those during her week trip at Grandma's. Of course, during this time, we still asked Hope every 30 minutes to 1 hour if she wanted to use the toilet. We decided that if she said "no", then we would let the no be no, and if there was an accident, then that would be her decision, and she would help clean up the pants. She never had an accident at Grandma's.
When we got home, this somehow continued, and Hope learned to tell Ma or Ba that she had to "niao niao". It's been three weeks, and she's doing pretty good. She's actually stayed dried through the night for about a week, but when she takes her one hour nap in the afternoon, she will soak the entire bed because I forgot to put her in diapers for her nap. Blame this one on mom.
Hope gets to choose her big girl underwear: pooh or dora, and she thinks that she's a big girl now that she doesn't need diapers and can wear cool looking underwear. Of course, now she has to pee at WalMart or Hobby Lobby, and I'm racing other moms to get to the bathroom stall before their kids get there. It's funny to see these cart wars. Hope thinks it's pretty funny too. Of course, I keep an extra set of pants and underwear in the car...just in case!
Hope potty trained herself at 18 months, and I was partly humbled that I had nothing I could say to teach others that my child learned this all on her own. I was also partly proud that I didn't have to pay money for those disposable bum wrappers anymore.
How did she potty train on her own? Well, at 18 months, she told me that she wanted to "da bian" (poopy) on that and pointed to the toilet. I had put her former da bians into the toilet before wrapping up the diapers and throwing them out to keep the stink down, and Hope saw me put those into the toilet. She must have decided that she could help mom sidestep the process by going straight into the toilet. Well, when she was successful, she got her treat: a prune. This was HER decision, and to this day, when she goes, she still asks for a prune, and we gladly give her one. She asks for a craisin when she pees, and we gladly give her those as well.
My pride was quickly shot when at 2 years old, Hope decided that she no longer wanted to be in underwear anymore. She preferred the carpet to the toilet, and she loved to pee in her pants just to get a rise out to mom or dad. She certainly got that! She continued to da bian in the toilet, but she refused to pee on the pot. It became a fight between mom and child. I didn't want to pay for more diapers, but dad intervened and told me to give it up and put her back into diapers. After I did that, I was fine. I did this for a few weeks, letting her pee in diapers again. It was actually pretty convenient since I didn't have to race across WalMart when she wanted to pee pee and the bathroom was always on the wrong side of the store
I have to say that the one thing that helped Hope RE-potty train was going to grandma's in California. She wanted to prove to Grandma that she was a big girl, and that meant using the toilet again. Well, we had stashed about 10 diapers and 10 pullups into the suitcase just in case. Hope ended up not using ANY of those during her week trip at Grandma's. Of course, during this time, we still asked Hope every 30 minutes to 1 hour if she wanted to use the toilet. We decided that if she said "no", then we would let the no be no, and if there was an accident, then that would be her decision, and she would help clean up the pants. She never had an accident at Grandma's.
When we got home, this somehow continued, and Hope learned to tell Ma or Ba that she had to "niao niao". It's been three weeks, and she's doing pretty good. She's actually stayed dried through the night for about a week, but when she takes her one hour nap in the afternoon, she will soak the entire bed because I forgot to put her in diapers for her nap. Blame this one on mom.
Hope gets to choose her big girl underwear: pooh or dora, and she thinks that she's a big girl now that she doesn't need diapers and can wear cool looking underwear. Of course, now she has to pee at WalMart or Hobby Lobby, and I'm racing other moms to get to the bathroom stall before their kids get there. It's funny to see these cart wars. Hope thinks it's pretty funny too. Of course, I keep an extra set of pants and underwear in the car...just in case!
Oct 19, 2007
我又要教中文了！
After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to go ahead and continue teaching Chinese next semester. This semester, I had two classes of K-2nd graders that kept me on my toes. Yesterday, I reviewed all of the things we'd been learning plus numbers, and they were right on. It made me feel like I could do this again.
So, next semester, I will be teaching Chinese part 1 again. But, I will also be adding Chinese Part 2 for those who want to keep learning. It's been so fun, as we get to pray for China and for each other at the beginning of class. At the end, we always sing "Jesus Loves Me" in Chinese. They are finally getting it. Some of the kids said they are starting to dream of meeting Chinese people and speaking to them. Another girl told me that she wants to fly to China to tell the Chinese people about Jesus. She had 2 dollars saved up for a plane ticket. Doesn't that just melt the heart?
So, next semester, I will be teaching Chinese part 1 again. But, I will also be adding Chinese Part 2 for those who want to keep learning. It's been so fun, as we get to pray for China and for each other at the beginning of class. At the end, we always sing "Jesus Loves Me" in Chinese. They are finally getting it. Some of the kids said they are starting to dream of meeting Chinese people and speaking to them. Another girl told me that she wants to fly to China to tell the Chinese people about Jesus. She had 2 dollars saved up for a plane ticket. Doesn't that just melt the heart?
Oct 17, 2007
Launching a New Satellite
Well, Paxton's been busy at work as a new satellite worth a coupla million dollars just went up into space on Wednesday. He loves being there watching this satellite somehow get into orbit so that it is perpetually falling yet never hitting the ground. This satellite is a GPS satellite and is part of the family that controls our cell phones, computers, OnStar Cars, and of course GPS systems that help us not get lost. Without the GPS satellite, we would be...well...lost! haha! I'm grateful for a husband that knows about all of that stuff, so that our military out there won't be lost in the desert and will know what the next step is. Thank you, Hun Bun!
Oct 8, 2007
Grandma's 80th Video dedication
This was presented to Grandma on her surprise 80th bday party in San Diego on October 3rd. She was so surprised when 70 of her friends showed up at her doorstep and sang her happy birthday. She was taking a nap. Hope ran up to her and gave her a big hug, so she knew that we were around somewhere. It was great to give her this, to let her know that we love her so much
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