The Bleess Family: 1st Week of December

Ryan was on vacation this past week. It was a much needed break for the both of us! He was a great help with the kids! Of course I also kept him busy with appointments- got new tires for my Jeep, haircuts, family pictures, etc. Since Ryan was home this week, we decided it would be the best time to potty-train Zac. We've had a potty chair for awhile, but Zac hasn't been interested- besides putting toys in it! Now he has done EXCELLENT!! Ryan has been able to work with Zac, he even tells us BEFORE he has to go! We make such a big deal when he goes, I think that's why we've had such progress in just a week! When he goes, he looks down and says "I did it!" Then we pour the bowl in the toilet and he says "Bye- bye, Pee-Pee!" as he flushes. I need to record this process! I thought the biggest challenge would be for him to tell us BEFORE he goes, but we constantly ask him if he has to go. If he doesn't, he screams "NO!NO!NO!" But if he has to go, he either grabs his behind, doesn't really answer you, or walks to the potty. He's gone #2 in the big potty once, and not in the potty chair. He tells us as he's going and we don't quite make it. But that's ok- for now :) Wow, you can tell I'm a Mom, after writing all this about going potty! Last Thursday, December 3, 3009 Miss Valerie Ryan started crawling!!! She's been pushing up and rocking on all fours. Then all of a sudden she took the next step! She's still trying to get the hang of it- sometimes as she's trying to move an arm from under her chest, she ends up rolling over. But it's sooo exciting! Afterward, we went to Brass Pro Shop in Independence and got the kids' picture taken with Santa. We figured it wouldn't be busy during the week- WRONG! The hours were from 5-8 and we were in line for an hour. The girls did fabulous. Zac on the other hand was getting restless, which is understandable. Ryan and I took turns walking him around. By the time it was our turn, Zac of course screamed! Valerie was interested in Santa and stared at him the whole time. That was actually the first time I'd been in Bass Pro and it's a cool store to walk around in. A lot of stuff to look at. It was quite the eventful week! The final for my Biology class is due this week, then I'm done for a month, yay! It will be a nice break before Anatomy & Physiology twice a week!

Vanessa helping Daddy read the newspaper.

We took Zac to the park one last time before the cold weather arrives!