Traveling fools!

In the few short years these two have been alive, they have had so many experiences. One of the best parts of being a parent is watching your children's faces as they encounter something new. Nothing does this quite as good as taking them someplace new. It could be to a new library, a new park, a city they haven't been to before, or an element of nature they haven't experienced (i.e. their first snow).

Recently we were in Mt. Shasta for our annual family camping trip. My family has been coming to Mt. Shasta for 65% of my life. We brought Will here when he was just 4 months old so technically he has been there before, but not really experienced it before.

Watching the boys swim in the lake, play in the dirt, pee in the woods, cuddle up in their sleeping bags, use their first fishing poles, eat camp food every night (all the food they refuse at home suddenly sounds good to them), and ride on the pontoon around the lake, was more than joyful. Each time they did something new you could watch their faces contort with emotion as they tried to take everything in.

I hope to inspire a love of travel and exploration in the boys. Right now exploration is just part of who they are, but I hope that from all of their adventures thus far, and those to come, that they grow their own desire to see the world.

So far they've done pretty good....
(though some of these state visits could be disputed...ha ha!)



create your own visited states map

----------------
Now playing: Tim Knuth - Little Red Wagon
via FoxyTunes

Intestinal Fortitude

Being a Mom has introduced me, even just in three short years, to many experiences and subjects that I'd rather have died without knowing. And this summer has involved my most hated of subjects:

Poop.

I hate poop.

I hate talking about poop.

I hate knowing that people have to go poop.

I even lied to my husband the first year of our marriage by telling him I never did. I wish that were true. I'd be first in line for the surgery if there was one.

So when you are a coprophobe or a rhypophobe (who knew there were actual poop-phobes!), potty training your child is not a easy thing to do. You have to talk about poop A LOT! And you have to deal with poop A LOT! On the floor, on their clothes, on their bodies, and sometimes, in the toilet.

'Sweetie do you need to go poo-poo?'
'Oh what a big boy! You did a poo-poo in the potty'
'Honey, we do not poop on the kitchen floor'

I know, I know. I am strange. You probably come from the Taro Gomi school of bodily functions. The land where everyone poops and gas is something we pass. In fact, I know one friend of mine, in his college days, even had a poster, something like this. He thought it was hilarious and asked my opinion once...how is one even supposed to respond? My sister-in-law will go on and on about the importance of regular bowel movements in order to have overall good health. Or you at least realize it happens, accept it, and do your thing without much thought or consternation (or is it constipation!).

This is not my world!

However, today something magical happened. It is impetus for this post and for my overall happy demeanor.

Wi, my oldest, pooped in the potty. I wasn't sitting there with him, hoping it would happen, reading stories. He walked into the bathroom, put his potty chair on, and did his thing. I went in and he was standing, looking into the potty. His face lit up with glee! We stood, the two of us, staring at the offering he had given the porcelain God.

And I haven't talked about anything else all day.