Halves

Today marks two special "half" celebrations.....

First is Abigail's HALF birthday. I tried to sing a happy half birthday song to her (the regular song just skipping every other word) but she did not get it. Madelyn thought it was funny. I need to check on half birthday customs with my friend Ann who has been known to celebrate not only half birthdays but quarter and eighth and maybe more. Hey, Abby should just be happy she has a half birthday. I get closer than ever to having one this year but alas my half birthday does not and will never really exist.

Second, for those who celebrate Lent I learned today in my daily prayer book that today is the half way mark between Ash Wednesday and Easter. So if you have given something up (like my brother and his wife who gave up all sweets!) you are half way there.

Appeal to St. Anthony

Well I try not to use St. Anthony too much but lately I seem to be losing things and that is a huge frustration. It is certainly a sign that I need to declutter and organize better. It's on my list. Well today our library movies are due. I pile the cases in to the bag, checking each box and lo and behold The Fox and the Hound DVD is not in its box. Grrrr. There is really no telling where it might be.



The girls helped in the search but you can see how much "help" that really was!

So here I go again, St. Anthony, St. Anthony turn your head around, there is something that has been lost and it needs to be found (The Fox and the Hound DVD).

A quandry

Well now I am not sure what to do. Kevin is in Chicago tonight and while I was feeling really relaxed and calm with the new alarm system I just had a scare that makes me doubt. Everything is in good shape around here as far as things being cleaned up, etc. The girls had been in bed for over an hour. The dishwasher is running, the dryer is going and I am in the office on the phone when I hear these footsteps running toward the office. My heart literally skipped a beat. My surprise caught her off too because when Madelyn ran through the doorway of the office I yelped. (Much to my phone callers dismay also I suppose.)

She said, "I was calling you Mommy!" She is not really annoyed, just stating a fact. I guess with the dishwasher and dryer I could not hear her. Ok. I am still trying to get my heart beating again. I hang tell Jen I will call her right back and I go upstairs to see what this pressing matter is, over an hour after I have put her to bed.

I figure she has figured out how to bust down the new gate which is up for this very purpose---so she does not scare us half to death or wander around/fall down the steps/who knows what in the middle of the night. But, no, she has somehow scaled said gate. Great. So the question is do I put the alarm on with the motion detector to make myself feel better or will I now wonder if she is going to get out and set off the alarm? We have already had 3 false alarms, one when the place actually came!, so I do not want to have a false alarm in the middle of the night. My guess is she would not wander in the middle of the night, she would come to our room. Let's hope!

Why do I always freak myself out when Kevin is away? It's really a curse. I am going to bed. Maybe I will sleep.

Words

Abby continues to add words to her vocabulary. Perhaps the words she uses are not always the words I would choose for her but, hey, words are words. For example, she is not much for saying "mama" and "dada" but her recent fav. word is Dora (ie. Wowa). Mind you she will not sit for a second to even watch said animated friend but she knows exactly who she is. If you are really lucky she might even sing her version of the theme song for you.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

The girls got their "band" together once again to wish Grandpa a Happy Birthday (yesterday) from across the miles.

Weekends are for....

...catching up on sleep, hanging out with family, relaxing, going out, working out, spending time on hobbies, just taking it easy. Well if all that is true then we had a perfect weekend.

We felt the ND spirit this morning when we attended the Notre Dame Communion Breakfast for the Maryland Chapter of the ND Club. Hats off to the Omelet Man. I did not go to ND but I sure feel the enthusiasm that exudes from its alumni. We have ND cheerleader outfits in all the sizes the girls have reached so far. Well it is no wonder whether alumni including Daddy, Grandpa Ben, Uncle Jason, Aunt Kelly. And just in case you are wondering (if I had a penny for the times I have heard this we sure would have enough money!) but, yes, perhaps the girls will some day be Notre Dame students. If they are I will have all these photos of them in Notre Dame wear since Day 1 for them to attach to their application. We are already saving for whatever their heart's desire is though it is hard to imagine what college tuition will be in 2023.

But here it is Sunday night already. Ever since the days when Sunday nights meant homework nights I have never liked Sunday nights. But we have had this tradition of having Sunday night dinner with my family and that is something I always look forward to. It's just nice to regroup and visit before the start of a new week. So I try to focus on that.

I am not really watching the Oscars though I did watch a bit of the red carpet with Madelyn before she went to bed. It was amusing to hear her opinions about the dresses. Actually since we don't get out much I have not even heard of some of the movies much less seen them. Except for Ratatouille and Enchanted...so what does that tell you?

Discovering some fun

Today we had a little family fun time at Port Discovery. There is a new water room that we totally enjoyed, as you can see. The little raincoats and Crocs the kids could wear were also tres adorable.

This was my personal favorite. I mean a little girl practically had to rip the thing out my hands so she could have a turn. Geesh! Like this is place if for kids or something. But it reminded me of the carnival game where you shoot the water and the little race horse speeds to the finish line except with this you could play music with the water gun. Very fun. Very wet but very fun.
I think Abigail might take after her Grandpa Ben, an architect, because she was really interested in this fountain building project and she had the soaked shoes and overalls to prove it.
Never to early to learn how to do windows....
Ahh, the young artist. Her first masterpiece shall be called Water on Rock. What you cannot see is that over to the side there is a nice group of children patiently listening to the story time. This girl cannot be bothered to sit for any such thing.
Another favorite part was the diner area where all the parents were delighting in the young servers. Seriously it was so cute. You could tell that these children have experience dining out because they sure knew how to act out this role play.

Rare prime rib anyone? And a side glop of rice for you, sir? (It was pretend food but it looked pretty realistic.)
Unfortunately Abby seems to have inherited her waitressing skills from her mother:

But she applies the 5-second rule.....

...and we are back in business.
Good times!

In the 'hood

Today's snow (ice) day made it a day off for our school-attending friends. Since we have spent the past few days inside the girls were ready for some playmates. Thank heavens for a neighborhood full of children. I called around and within a few hours the basement was filled with moms and kids. Really it was only 3 moms and a cumulative 10 children but it felt like more. Everyone played well mostly. I do admit Madelyn had an outburst that resembled Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest." Abigail just wandered around in awe. When snacks were served it was like a pack of vultures landed. There was Abby sitting at the table the whole time, hand to bowl, hand, to mouth, hand to bowl, hand to mouth.... Oh what crazy fun on a wintry day. We heart our neighborhood.

TV Conflict

I like the show Cashmere Mafia and I did almost from the first episode (rare for me...I usually take a long time to get into a show.) But I was into it instantly whether it was due to the lack of things on during the strike or not. Then along came Lipstick Jungle. I would like that show also but it is so similar to Cashmere Mafia. Today I was watching my TiVo'd Cashmere Mafia when I started thinking but wait, why is she with this guy what about that other guy? Then I got it, duh, that was Lipstick Jungle. It is really so difficult in today's world. If you watch both shows, tell me, am I alone in thinking how really similar they are? Weird.

Bravo!

Who needs broadway when we have such good "community" theatre? We have all been enjoying quite a few puppet shows lately...

As well as "dramatic" readings...
All complete with a very dramatic bow...

Maxed out Madelyn

I think she had just had enough today. Tuesdays are our busy days with activities in the morning (MOPS) and afternoon (ballet). But she was just a total spitfire all day. Just wild and crazy. I know it is just kids but it made me so sad when I picked her up from MOPPETS and she got a bad report. I guess she was "scaring" her friend Clara. Jeezy-peezy. We wrote poor sweet Clara a little note (complete with Princess stamps) so hopefully she will forgive and forget this little incident and the play can continue as normal next time. You never want to have that kid but I guess sometimes it is inevitable, especially with the "spicy" ones. That is my new description for Madelyn.

I told her (and the ballet teacher) if there was even a moment of trouble we were going home immediately. She must have taken my threat seriously because she was the line leader coming out of the studio which I think is an indication that she excelled in some small way. Hmmm.

The calmest part of her day was this evening when she set up this lovely indoor picnic on my new wrap (which apparently doubles as a picnic blanket).




As you can see there is plenty for everyone. I mean she really has everything set out in just the right place. Abigail tried to thwart her efforts and she was scolded vehemently.

She did think to celebrate my birthday today (though today is not my day.) She brought me a play food onion on a plate and an empty play sundae cup and she sang "Happy Birthday" while Abby danced and sang along as best she could. How thoughtful. Maybe that will be a new trend....out with the birthday cake and in with the birthday onion. Mmm, yummy.

Techno-not-so-savvy

While I risk sounding 100 years old I will say it...what the heck is Facebook? And how is it that when I registered it knows I know all these other people? It was funny as soon as I signed up it gave me all these names of people I do know but some of whom I have not talked to in a while and connected me with them. I am so duh with much of this fancy technology. I don't IM or text. I barely know how to blog. It's not that I am not interested. I just don't make the time to figure out all this new fangled stuff. So anyway if you are on Facebook let me know and we can "friend" each other. I don't know what we will do from there but maybe some of you young folks can school me on it.

Thank you Mr. Presidents

Though we really did nothing to pay homage to the Presidents and their would-have-been birthdays we were quite grateful for the day off. We enjoyed a leisurely morning at the gym where Kevin was bold enough to take the total conditioning class with me. I think I will be fine as far as moving normally tomorrow (unlike last week) but we will see about the newbie. He did great though and really hung in there.

One of the best parts of the day was the weather when we left the gym. I actually had the windows open (finally got the bacon smell out of the house.) What a taste of spring. I mean it was sunny and warm almost. But short lived. Unfortunately the visions for an afternoon playing outside was squelched by the rain and cooler temps. Oh well it was good while it lasted and there is more to come one day in the not so distant future.....we hope.

Happy President's Day!

Young (very young) woman of God

Madelyn lately has been discovering her spiritual side. I guess it is the MOPS influence of the new Sunday school class or maybe she is just now grasping some of the faith we are trying to share with her. But it is darn cute how it comes out.

She often leads us in prayer before dinner which includes....a mumbled, jumbled "bless us our Lord, for these our gifts...." then more clearly, "thank you for cake, thank you for toys, thank you for everything, Amen!"

It is very interesting how when we tell her things how they come back out. For example, after we finished lunch on Saturday I asked her a number of times if she needed to visit the restroom before we left. She said no repeatedly. Fine. I know how she likes to check out public restrooms and this one at the Papermoon Diner was sure to be interesting. But no. So as we leave she notices the toilet (and tub and sink) that is outside and being used as a planter. Then she is talking about the potty. We get everyone in the car and buckled in when she says she has to go to the bathroom. I am pretty sure she is lying but only she knows when she has to go right? So we unbuckle and go back in.

Sure enough the restroom is every bit as eclectic as the rest of the restaurant and she is obsessed with the large pan that is the basin of the sink. She did not notice the green fake grass carpet that lined the ceiling I guess. Anyway long story short she does not have to go. Of course. So I start talking to her about lying and for some reason it pops out that Jesus does not like it when she lies. (I have no idea why I pulled that card but I did.) So on and on I go. She is silent. We get back to the car and Daddy, Glamma and Grandpa ask if she went and she says, emphatically, "Jesus said no!"

They came, they saw....

...(we hope) they conquered some fun!


Glamma and Grandpa escaped the blustery Chicago winter for a visit over the weekend. It was a busy and fun-filled weekend.

One of the highlights was our outing on Saturday. We had a few choices for a special outing with the little ones. The winning option was a trip downtown to attend the "Mother Goose on the Loose" storytime at the Enoch Pratt Library downtown Baltimore, a visit to the newly renovated the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A very big name for a very big (and beautiful!) place. We thought we had time to spare before storytime so we explored the Basilica first. Amazing! We ran into the new pastor who happens to be a family friend. As we talked with him Madelyn was in awe of the ceiling. Father Jeff asked her about the image and she said "that's Mary!" and when further questioned she got out that Mary is the baby Jesus' mother. A proud moment indeed. Way to make us look like we are teaching you right in front of the priest! See we are doing some things right.

Then on to the storytime. The Enoch Pratt library is a very old library and has that classic, old fashioned feel. The children's area is in the basement and just being down there reminded me of my own library visits as a child. We went into Children's garden area when the storytime was in full force...apparently it started at 10:15, not 10:30! Whoops! It was quite a crowd. 72 people I would later learn. The program was amazing. It brought in classic rhymes with music and movement and "audience" participation. We will definitely return. Ad is usually the case Madelyn sat all the way through and and Abigail could sit still for about 5 minutes. I guess she was taking the "on the loose" part seriously.

After the library adventures we grabbed some lunch at the fun and funky Papermoon Diner. There was so much to see in that place from the action figures flying around on the ceiling fans to the Barbie clothes on the wall to the enormous selection of Pez dispensers (which were a big hit). What a complete buffet for the senses.

Another highlight of the weekend was that Kevin and I had two nights out (what a treat!) Friday we went to dinner with our neighbors for dinner and Saturday night we went to a concert with Kevin's parents, my parents and Jason and Kelly. Wow. It has been a loooong time since we have gone out two nights in week much less two nights in a row.

It was such a busy weekend I actually took a nap when the kids did yesterday before we concluded the weekend with dinner at my parents' house. I am sure Glamma and Grandpa were a little tuckered out too.

Happy Valentine's Day...

....from two cool dudettes:

Signed, sealed, delivered

Abby is getting her valentines out just in the nick of time....

Same family, very different kids

While I was thinking of doing a "Wordless Wednesday" for me that is a very hard thing to do and I think this photo bears some explaining.

I am finding as a mother of two children that even though I think I will have two of the same children they are very different. This photo is what I like to call my evidence. You will notice Child A is entertaining herself basically with dancing in front of the TV while Child B has not only climbed up on the couch for the millionth time but is now running across it at full speed! This was just after I replaced all the cushions that she had thrown on the floor and removed the romotes from her hand and stopped the ceiling fan she turned on...... (You may not be able to see but Child B is also only wearing one sock.) Oh so typical of a scene at my house.


I am not a big drinker but I actually had a glass of wine with dinner tonight....it was that kind of day! :) Enough said.

We went boating

How excited are we Marylanders to know that our vote is really important. I sure hope the ice storm did not deter people in this state and the surrounding ones from being part of the "Potomac Primary." Up until now, sadly, I have been a little distanced from the election hoopla. Not for lack of interest certainly. But I am so into it now and I am eager to see what will happen.

This morning, before our MOPS book study, we did our civic duty and went to vote. I was trying to use it as a "teaching" moment for Madelyn. So I told her were were going to vote, etc. I was trying to explain it on 3-year-old terms and she was mostly with me. I told her this was a big decision and an historic vote for the Democrats. People around me were chuckling as I tried to explain the candidates in terms a 3-year-old would understand.....like most of the candidates are "daddies" ("My Daddy?" she says. Um, well, no, but maybe we can write him in...) But then I tell here there is one "mommy" who wants to be president which is something quite new for our country. ("What kind of Mommy?" she asks. I have no idea how to answer that one so I pretend I do not hear her. Luckily she drops it.) Seriously people are really chuckling. I do not blame them.

Then we get inside, all which she finds fascinating, then:
Her: "Where is the water, Mommy?"
Me: Pardon me? (we are really pushing saying this in our house to get away from the huh? that has become very common 3-year-old speak.)
Her: "The WATER, where is it?"
Me: (Very confused and more than a bit distracted) "No water, honey, we are......."

I then realize she thought we were going boating, not voting.

I know people are really chuckling at me at this point. I would be too.

Total Conditioning

Today I am walking like an old lady and it is not because of the ice......I took this killer class at the gym yesterday (total conditioning). Man it felt great. At the time. I mean that instructor is a drill sergeant. I have always been a little intimidated by this class. It is always completely packed so I knew I needed to go on a day that Kevin could be the on-call person for the children. But I had heard good things and thought, I will be intimidated no more! Luckily I found a friend to help me with all the supplies: a step, a mat, barbells of varying weights, a weighted bar (body bar I think?), two sets of tubing thingys for legs and arms. I knew after the 300th lunge I'd he hurting today. Even still, I can't wait until next week (surely I do not have it in me to attend a second session this week.)

Weekend wrap up

Well now it seems so funny that just a few days ago it was so nice that we had a picnic at the playground with Nana and Pop. Today it is cold and icy and just a plain old winter day in Maryland.

Honestly, this was us on Saturday!






We had a really fun weekend despite Daddy being busy with a work conference. Our weekend included a pizza party and sleepover at Nana and Pop's. It was especially funny when Madelyn had herself and Nana and Pop in the firetruck tent...apparently they were going to Jason and Kelly's house. Was there a fire there or was that just the most efficient way to get them all there?

On Saturday Kevin had another day of the conference so the girls and I got up early and went out to the gym (did I mention I loooove that place?). I think that was the day that I tried to take a step class. I was floundering anyway so when they called me out--by name--45 minutes into it (embarassing!) I was secretly relieved. Of course then I was quite annoyed to find out it was completely a false alarm. We all know how hard it is to go back to the workout....oh the tears, the drama. I am talking about Abigail by the way. Madelyn, when she seems me, begs me to go back and leave her to her fun.

We were back early enough so I thought, oh early naps and then we will do something fun in the afternoon. Good in theory. The naps were short, but longer than I expected so there were less options. We met up with Nana and Pop and set out to find some fun. It was too late to go downtown to the Baby Loves Disco party (hopefully next month we will make it!) or to the children's museum. Bowling maybe? Nope, they were booked. (My Mom called one to find out there were birthday parties all afternoon and one bowling alley.....when Madelyn heard this she, said " oooohhh!" like she was invited.) How about Chuck E. Cheese (we have never been)...fun, games and maybe a little pizza? There a huge line out the door and it just didn't seem like our scene. There is always old reliable Chick-Fil-a that has a play area. That place has never been so loud. We were all screaming out for relief. So on to Plan E at this point...why not hit the playground? It was a nice day and relatively warm. We should have started there because it was truly a blast. It was a little taste of Spring and we cherished it.

Another bonus: we still got our weekend because Kevin was off Sunday and Monday. It just does not get any better than that.

Technical Difficulties

For all you faithful followers, our Comcast service has been down since Friday. We are sorry that there has been no updates since then. They are supposed to fix it today so Jessica should have a new post tonight. Stay tuned!

Jessica's note: Grrrrr, I am so annoyed with Comcast! But it seems at least some things are back after almost 5 days now without Internet. I feel so out of touch. Thanks, Kev, for posting!

Playdates are good in theory

Even to this day when I think of a playdate I think of this happy outing where the children all play nicely together and the moms sit around a table with coffee and chat about everything from parenting tips to schools to beauty products. Maybe that happens in some fantasy land but that sure is not reality. Not my reality at least.

If you've been keeping up with us you may recall many a playdates I had with Madelyn when my pint-sized brute (aka. tiny but tough) bowled over her playmates (quite literally.) It is really an agonizing feeling and surely there is no time in all that chaos to swap recipes and a good laugh. Well today I found myself on the other end. It was a perfect match-up: two fun mommies, two 3-year-olds and two 1-year-olds. Well poor Abby, the smallest---in size and age--in the bunch, she just could not catch a break. There was a point when she would have a toy and if someone (usually the other 1-year-old but sometimes her own sister) was coming for it she would just throw it up in the air and run as fast as she could in the other direction. Oh and our poor little friend spent much of the time in time-out. Oh this age is quite difficult.

The 3-year-olds, "friends" from Madelyn's old preschool class, were both so excited to get together. Madelyn was bouncing off the walls in anticipation this morning and her little friend was reportedly making her all kinds of food in his play kitchen in anticipation of our arrival. However, once they were actually in the same locale it was the shy game. I do not think they even uttered one word to each other. How funny! But I suppose totally typical.

As for the other mommy and me....while we started several interesting conversations I do not think we finished one. I guess that is what MNO (Mom's Night Out) is for...actually finishing a conversation.

For the love of "no"

No is a word that is heard quite a bit in this house. But last night it took on a new meaning. A new record for shortest job ever.....my moonlighting job is over as of last night. The ending wasn't pretty (but it wasn't horribly ugly either) but what was never going to work for me is now officially never going to work. As is the case for many ladies I am eager to please others and anxious about hurting others. Sometimes this causes me to do things that are not truly best for me and my family. But I am going to pat myself on the back right now for standing up tall and when asked again to continue I just paused and said (politely), "no."

Fat Tuesday

Oh so fat Tuesday today as we enjoyed both a fun lunch (Chick-fil-a of course!) and dinner (CiCi's pizza!) today. I will have to remember that tomorrow when I try to keep up with the fasting.

We had MOPS today in which we had a speaker on physical and spiritual fitness. She was an amazing motivator. I loved it! The girls seemed to enjoy themselves also. Madelyn's class made these cute little ladybug valentine jars. Abigail was funny because when I got to her room to pick her up she was all ready with her coat zipped up and her backpack on her back. Apparently about 10 minutes before the end of the session she walked over to her coat and backpack and "demanded" she get ready. Those ladies sure get a kick out of her---of course we do too! It sure was adorable seeing her sitting there on the bright colored rug, waiting patiently with her tiny backpack. Perhaps she is done with the Lambs room and would prefer t0 hang with the likes of the older, wiser folks in the Bunnies room. Ha!

Today presented plenty of 'corralling' challenges.....as you can imagine with all that time out of the house there was plenty of stops in public restrooms and transitions from the exciting times to get home mode. Oh well. It was all done with a smile which I find is much easier on my psyche and my mental state than getting all worked up. Oh we still made ourselves known wherever we were today. Good thing the girls looked cute.

You know you're a housewife when.....

....you get really excited about ordering new cleaning products. I have been waiting for my cleaning supplies to run out so I can order these. I am really excited. A little sad but true. :)

Super weekend

We had a busy one running here and there but all in all I think we did quite a bit this weekend. I actually feel like I saw very little of the little ones so I do not have as many funny stories. Maybe Kevin and my parents should have been guest writers.

Where was I you wonder? Well I am trying out a new part-time (very part-time...like one day a week!) job at Dream Dinners
and Saturday was my first day. It was kind of hard to be working while I knew everyone else was having fun. Madelyn went with my parents to the train museum and Kevin and Abigail went to the gym. But a little extra "walking around" money is always good so we will see how it goes.

Saturday afternoon, after no naps for the kiddos, we packed up at went to the super-cool indoor pool at the gym. That was fun! There is nothing like swimming in February. Madelyn had a blast splashing around. Hopefully we can get her some swimming lessons this Spring so she can feel more confident in the water....then maybe she'll be ready to paddle around Nana and Pop's pool this summer.

The upside of the lean nap is early bedtimes!

After church and Madelyn's Sunday school, during their naptime (one slept, one did not!) I went to the gym. I seriously need to get working! I went swimming today and wow, what a difference wearing goggles makes. I was a bit tired at first but once I got in my breathing pattern, I was feeling great. I even managed to do some kickturns. Ah, the good old days of swim team are coming back. The "tiny tri" on April 13th is only 10 minutes of swimming...it'll just be putting it all together. But there is time.

Since I was at the gym without the kids (and therefore any fear of getting paged) I was free to be a bit more leisurely. So after my swim I went into the steam room. Whoa! At first I felt like I was suffocating. Maybe that is normal? But like anything, once I relaxed a bit it was kind of soothing.....but still a little suffocating. All I could think of was the Seinfeld episode with the steam room...or maybe it was Friends. Anyway! It was a new experience.

For the Superbowl (or really pre-Superbowl really) we had a mexican fiesta at my parents house. Yum, yum. I might have been more excited if the Packers were in it but for me usually the Superbowl is all about the snacks (I am trying to be good) and the commercials (I have not heard much about them this year) so here I am on the computer instead.

Either way I am psyched for another big week.....Fat Tuesday (party, party!) and then the start of Lent (what to give up this year?).

Spaghetti Abby

The girl loves her spaghetti. We have learned that we can only serve spaghetti with red sauce on bath nights and we usually try to strip her down to avoid the inevitable stains on her clothes. It sure makes a huge mess (you should see the floor!) but it is great for photos...the embarrassing ones I can share with her prom date.






She also has very little regard for boundaries....um, hello? That is the coffee table, little girl! (I know I am not helping the situation by stopping to take a photo but while it is a bit naughty it is also a bit funny.)


P.S. She has actually used the potty 3 times now! This is kind of freaking me out....I am sure it is a phase but we will see. CRAZY!

2 for 1 Potty Training

The header is kind of a joke because I really do not believe I will get a 2 for 1 deal....but this evening after we got Abigail (17 months) in her pj's and we were reading books, she grabbed her diaper and gave me this funny look (same look Madelyn gives when she has to go potty.) "Oh you have to go potty?" I said. Off she toddles to the bathroom and tries to figure out how to get on the big potty. My dutiful and very inquisitive assistant, with much experience I might add, helps me get her undressed and situated. Well sure enough she goes! What the heck? I mean I have heard the second child can be easier. And I have heard the (crazy!) stories of infant potty training. But this totally caught me off guard. This gives me hope though that the end of diapers is really some day in our future. I am sure it is not today. But I have hope of that beautiful day.