The BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!!!!

So, Wednesday after his nap & diaper change, I felt impressed to put a pair of undies on Clayton. We'd tried this before, and after discussing with my cousin (mother of 4 boys) and being encouraged to wait until he was at least 3, I hadn't thought much about it. So when the thought struck this week, I tried to talk myself out of the idea. But I couldn't shake it. So I forged ahead. Clayton went potty, recieved a Lifesaver & Spiderman sticker and was hooked. For the next 2 hours or so, he told me he needed to go every 3 minutes or so and was in control enough to squeeze out of few drops so he could get a treat. He never had an accident. Thursday was the same. And Friday was also a success with the exception of a little accident due to my holding a crying baby and not making it to help him in time. He remains dry at night and I've discovered that if he cries out or moans in his sleep, it's because he needs to "go", so we get him up, no matter the hour, take care of business and then he goes right back to sleep. Today at church was AWESOME! He even told Grandma he needed to go while I was at choir practice.

I can't even describe how thrilled I am to not have to change big boy diapers anymore. And I am so thankful for the little prompting and have to say that I totally believe my mom now - she always told me the Spirit would guide me in raising kids - even in things as seemingly insignificant as knowing when they would be ready to potty train. I always sort of laughed when she'd add that part. But I'm a believer, now!

Not Quite...

...as big as his brother. Good thing I looked in my planner. Connor's well-baby check was today. NOT tomorrow. He's 26 inches long (just and inch shorter than Clayton was at this age) and just shy of 16 lbs. So our bathroom scale is a little off. 16 pounds is still large for a 3 1/2 month old - 90% percentile for weight. and Clayton DID have a bit of a head start - 9 lbs 9 oz at birth! Anyhoo - just an update for those who are curious.

Just for the Cuteness of It!

I should be finishing up the preparation of my Relief Society lesson right now. And cleaning up the rest of the house. And completing the craft room makeover/last minute-find-homes-for-everything-so-it's-tidy-for-Sunday blitz. But nah, I'd rather be looking at this:

And this:

(Tonight was haircut night for the Butler Boys. Connor doesn't get a haircut, yet. But that doesn't stop me from playing with it! Clayton had no hair in front at this age. Both he & Caroline were born with darker hair that all fell out and came back in blonde. Connor's doesn't seem to be doing that. Yet. Hopefully it won't. I'm loving what he's got.)

And then, remember this???


That is now this:

(Have I mentioned lately how much I love those chubby thighs???)

Again, skinny little 22 inch newborn:

Even longer chubby 3 1/2 month old:

Incidentally, I was reading through our Christmas letter from two years ago today (amazing what you find when you go through the piles of junk in your craft room to make room for everything in a smaller space.) In it, it mentioned Clayton's length & weight at this time 2 years ago. Since their birthdays are only 2 days apart, it makes it easy & fun to see where each one is/was at the same time. Apparently, Clayton was 27 inches long (sheesh!) and 17 lbs.! I'm not sure on Connor's length right now, but Jake was holding him the other day and stepped on the bathroom scale. Then he handed me the baby and it went down 17 lbs. Craziness. I'll be interested to see what the measurements are on Tuesday when we head in for our well baby check.

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do or Do Without - $7 Room Makeover (Or, what I've been doing the last month besides taking care of three munchkins!)

The nightly ritual: Put on jammies, brush teeth & wash face & hands, read scriptures, say prayers, sing two songs, have kisses & hugs, turn on the nightlight and lullabies. Say goodnight, close door. Settle onto couch for some down time with Jake. Hear door open and...

Caroline: "Mom, Clayton keeps bothering me."

Mom: "Ignore him. Listen to your music and go to sleep."

Caroline: "Okay."

10 minutes later:

Caroline: "Mom, Clayton won't let me sleep. I'm really tired and he keeps poking me."

No amount of threats or punishments could keep this kid from pestering his sleepy sister. So we did it. We moved all of my craft & sewing stuff from the back room and proceeded to turn it into a quiet haven for a sleepy little girl. And man, it is beautiful to not have her complaining every 10 minutes that her brother is bothering her. Clayton, on the other hand, is not adjusting well to the change in roommates. But, he knows he'll be in BIG trouble if he wakes up the new roomie, who amazingly sleeps through even the loudest cries of a lonely 2 year old.

So, on to the room makeover! This took FOREVER because it was a naptime project. I rarely worked on it at night because I did so much while the kids were napping that I was pooped by the time bedtime rolled around. The only money I spent on this project was $7 on two cans of paint (purple & green) from the mis-tint shelf at WalMart. Everything else we already had! I love giving tired old things new life, and this whole room was just the creative outlet I needed. The yellow paint is the same shade as in my kitchen because 1) I was too cheap to buy a different shade and 2) it matched Caroline's bedding perfectly. The pink was my attempt at mixing paint out of the red & white I already had. It didn't look the way I envisioned it in my mind, but I like it better now. I think the pink I pictured would have been a little too bright. This is just toned down enough that it's not overwhelming but still looks feminine and goes with the decor okay.

Sorry, there are no "before" pictures. My craft room was too scary to ever take pictures of, so you just get the glorious "after's".

General view of the room. We put the loft bed in there (which I someday want to stain a dark espresso color - along with the toybox.) but Caroline still sleeps in the toddler bed underneath. She's not feeling very confident about sleeping way up there yet. But that's okay. She can stay little. I'm not ready for her to get too big yet.

Caroline's bed & nightstand with a view of the gigantic flowers painted on one wall. She calls it her "magic garden" and says her favorite blooms are the big, wonky, red ones, because they look funny. It made me feel better about them.

Caroline's book/toy shelf. It used to be a putrid, peeling aqua color. I had originally planned to paint it the same green as the leaves on the wall. Caroline insisted upon red. I like it, though I think I'm going to paint the back green for some contrast.

This turned out awful because of the light pouring through the window - but the valance is made from the old bedskirt that goes with Caroline's comforter set. No need for a bedskirt on a loft bed! Reuse and repurpose! The curtain is actually an old eyelet shower curtain from our home in Tucumcari. I made a sash to hold the curtain back out of the bedskirt fabric, as well as piping for the cushion on the toy box. Caroline loves her little "window seat" to read in.

A view of the wall with handpainted border. I love the sunny yellow! The hooks are from the old room, just repainted to match the flowers all over the new room.

I'm still putting a few finishing touches in, and working on the boys' room as well (it's been painted since we moved in 3 years ago - just finishing touches there too.) Next big project: Clear the piles of piles of craft & sewing junk and make a new, organized, inspiring home for it and for me to work! I'll let ya know how that one goes!