Reace turns 2

Reace turned 2 on Friday so Saturday he had a kids party to celebrate. The kids dined on snake eggs (grapes), croch teeth (potato chips) and spider legs (hot dogs). It was an adorable Diego themed party complete with a pinata and stick the sticker on Deigo.

















Pin the sticker on Diego and friends. Big boys that are 2 know how to wait their turn and he does a great job!















Getting into the party mood

More pictures

Stella wants to help in the kitchen. So this little baker outfit is quite fitting. She also recieved a tea set from MumMum and PopPop which she wants us to play with all the time. Kent has reached his fill of tea time.



















She got a Radio Flyer tricycle from Grandma. She loves having us push her around the house. I caught her this morning drinking tea while attemping to ride her new bike. We will have a talk with her about her drinking and driving behaviors today.

Christmas Fun

We decided to open gifts this weekend because of our Orlando trip. Stella was certainly spoiled! She would rip the paper off and when I say that I mean all the paper down to the last piece of tape. A bit anal about the whole process. She then followed it by "open mama/dada" We had to play with each item before openign another gift. As you can guess this took a while! Here are some pictures from the event.

Uncle

I am officially an uncle for the second time. Kelly gave birth to Aidan last week. Boy is he a cutie! He was born early, but you'd never think it by looking at him. He's gonna be one tough little dude!

Potty Training -- for brave readers ONLY!

Last night Meghan was changing Stella when she ran away naked. I have asked Meghan time and time again not to trapse through the house in her birthday suit, but she insists!

No, actually, it was Stella who ran of naked. When she entered the kitchen where I was cleaning dishes, she was pointing to, pinching, slapping, and holding her behind saying "butt, butt, butt." I would say "Yes, Stella, that's your butt." After a minute or two she pointed to her privates and said "pee pee." I said "Yes, Stella, that's your pee pee." I then picked her little nakedness up to bring her into the bathroom. It was time to brush her teeth. She said "pee pee" again. I figured what the heck, and I sat her on the toilet. After 5 seconds, she peed in the toilet. She didn't pee before or after anywhere -- only in the toilet. Meghan and I cheered for her and she loved it. So we gave her an early Christmas present -- the kids potty we bought for her. She really digs it!

Tonight when Meghan was changing her she said "pee." Meghan brought her to her potty and Stella sat down and urinated appropriately -- and alot. Meghan helped her wipe herself and then dump the contents into the adult toilet. We cheered for Stella again. 20 minutes later we were putting her to bed (she was fully dressed in her diaper and PJs). Stella said "pee pee." We looked at each other and said "do you really think she has to go?" Previously she had been saying that after she wet her diaper -- which was impressive to us already. We decided to take her in to sit on her potty. Again, she urinated appropriately. This littel girl is amazing! 3 times in 2 days she has requested the toilet and demonstrated some control over her bladder. I think its that she enjoys independence and having control. Potty training is a mix of both for kids. Our new routine will be that every night when we change her we will sit her on her potty or wait for her to ask. Same thing when Meghan gets her ready in the mornings. Meghan and I are astonished.

Reintegration

I think I am officially "reintegrated." This is the process referred to when people transition back into their lives after such a long time away. It is kind of weird to say it this way, but I', getting used to my life again. LIfe was very differnet when the only person I had to take care of was me.

Stella is wonderful. SO DIFFERENT from when I left, but Meghan did such an amazing job while I was gone. As my mom well knows (and she'll tell you if you ask), being a single parent ain't easy. I am grateful for Meghan -- by the grace of God, we got through it.

Being a daddy for the second time is also exciting. When meghan was prego with Stella, I thought it was strange to imagine having a third person running around the house. Now it's just as strange to picture a fourth person. We had our first ultrasound last week and the baby was extremely active. More than I had ever seen from Stell in utero. Meghan is convinced it's a boy. I just don't know. They say every pregnancy is different. This one is certainly different for her, but it may not be due to the baby's gender. Who knows!

This weekend we fixed the house up in preparation for selling it. Thankfully we were the first owners, and we took good care of it. So there isn't much to do. I planted a handful of plants outside and we touched up the paint all around the house. That's it - ready to list. That's going to be a whole other headache. We will definitely have to sell it for less than for what we bought it. The good news is that we should recoup that in the more stable housing marlket outside of D.C.

Stella is in the Christmas spirit. She says "Christmas tree, outside, gifts, Santa, and fire. Of course they all sound the same except for the number of syllabals she mumbles through, but she's givving it her best.

That's the news for now.

Overdue Pics

I love this girl. She is just too cute! I know it's because I'm her daddy, that I say it... but I just can't get over it :-)

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