Keeping her busy and teaching her young.

Mike's ipod broke so Jaida took the liberty of fixing it. A lot of scotch tape, and some staples strapped on with rubber bands. Good as new.

I got the iron out for the first time in several months (not a big ironing fan). I'm not sure the girls had ever seen it before. :) And Jaida insisted she needed a turn. Don't worry, the iron isn't plugged in. I'm just letting her develop the skills and pretty soon I'll pass the torch. She asked me to turn a show on for her while she "worked" and she stayed busy ironing pajamas and baby blankets for over an hour!

She also found a curling iron in one of the cupboards. Again, something she's only seen at my sister's house. So I made a token effort to curl her hair and then let her use it on her dolls. Another time consuming activity and something she'll need to develop so she can do her own hair and Mya's (and any sisters that may come. . .after a brother hopefully).
And this is what happens when she's wiped out. Tipped over in the dora chair that is on the couch for some reason.

A few things to note in this picture. She has stamp remnants all over her body. You can see the feet still on one shin. She found my stamp drawer and a pad and went to town. Everywhere skin was showing. It was super fun to scrub off.

Second, the bandaid on the knee is not covering a wound.

And third, yes, she still has a binky. She's four, she has a binky, and I absolutely don't care. And I don't need anyone else to point out to me that she still has one. I'm very aware. If it makes you feel better (because for some reason a lot of people seem concerned about this) she's not allowed to have it in public and the dentist said it's not hurting her teeth so I say whatever. She'll give it up eventually. :)

Follow-up.

Okay. The book. "Protecting the Gift". I've had a few questions on it. No, I'm not just going to tell you what it's about. You just have to read it.
The best part about it--it's not another "how to discipline your child" book. I've read some of those. So far they aren't helpful. At all. You give 'em two choices, they come up with a third and on and on.
This book is about keeping them safe. What YOU need to know and what THEY need to know to stay safe.
I knew I liked the book when he had a chapter on how you should NOT teach your kids "Don't talk to strangers." Being a mother of two girls who are more than happy to talk to strangers, take candy from strangers, pet strangers dogs, etc., etc., I appreciated this chapter a lot.
So read it. Put aside your big stack of books, or pick up a book every once in a while and read it.

And while you're at it, read De Becker's other book, "The Gift of Fear". Also a GREAT read.
Just trying to keep you all safe. Cause I'm cool like that.

A surprise in the tub.

Mike was giving the girls a bath tonight (the picture is not from tonight). He was sitting in the hall (because the toilet seat isn't comfortable), but could still see the girls heads (because I make him stay in view--yes, they can drown in inches of water--I don't know how, but they can). He noticed Jaida had something in her hand, which she put in the toilet. So he went closer to investigate.
Turns out Mya pooped in the tub. And, instead of shrieking in terror that someone had just deuced in the tub she was in, Jaida, in her motherly fashion, scooped up the poo in her bare hands and dumped it in the toilet where it belonged. (Sorry to all my English teachers for that ridiculous run on sentence).
That-a-girl Jaida! And Mya, we poo in the potty, not in the tub.

You have to read this book.

Because it's awesome. That's why.

Seriously. If you have kids, if you're planning on having kids, if you know people who have kids. . .READ THE BOOK.

For those of you with bad eyes, it's called "Protecting the Gift" by Gavin De Becker. You can get it at Amazon.com.

At least she's creative.

There's one particular phrase Jaida REALLY doesn't like--"Not right now." It's almost worse than a flat out "no".
So today, while cooking dinner, when Jaida asked if she could go swimming, my response--"not right now"--elicited her usual response.
She let out her infamous Jaida yell (if you haven't heard it, it's precious. really.) and whacked the lid off the garbage can. I gave her "the look" (which I'm discovering is pretty ineffective with her) and continued making dinner (and by dinner I mean noodles--I'm gourmet).
Continuing her rage, she knocked the trash can over (remember the lid is missing at this point) and let out another angry yell (again, precious). I could see what was coming, but I had Mya in one arm (just seconds before, Mya was hysterically crying because I wouldn't let her run around the house naked--I have no problem with her being naked, but she thinks it's hilarious to squat on the carpet and pee) and a pot of boiling water in the other hand. I tried to set Mya and the water down as fast as I could and make it to Jaida, but my cat-like reflexes have really slowed down.
And so Jaida picked up the garbage can and tipped it completely upside down spilling its contents ALL over the kitchen floor. Super awesome.
She had a friend over at the time, who I asked to go home (so there would be no witnesses) and then asked Jaida (quite calmly, considering) to go to her room (before i hurt her.) :)
She refused. Surprise. So I "helped" her get up the stairs. By the time I got back down to the kitchen (after a few threats to keep Jaida in her room), Mya was having a little picnic on the floor picking out any food she could find. Nasty.
I cleaned up the mess on the floor (yes, I know there are a bunch of you moms out there saying "I would have made HER clean it up"--in theory a great idea, but in the moment, not gonna happen) and by the time I put in the last scoop, Mya was hysterically screaming "my bread, my bread". She wanted the leftover peanut butter sandwhich she had eaten for lunch 5 hours earlier that had been mingling with everything else in the garbage. Um, yea, I don't think so. I'll scoop food off the ground after it falls in public, but I draw the line at eating food that's been in the garbage can all day.
So. Fun day for me.
I mentally gave props to Jaida for being creative in her expression of anger. I really was impressed. I don't know if I could have come up with something like that.

And just as a side note to any non-parents out there reading this (because parents already know this)--if you could NOT mention this episode in front of Jaida, I'd appreciate it. Acknowledgment and laughter over the event is definitely not helpful. :)

It's just not right.

Somehow we made it through the entire summer without a trip to the lake. Let the mission to buy a boat intensify (if that's even possible)!

Was I supposed to cry??

Jaida started 4 year old preschool last week. I imagine she's the very youngest in her class. The only tears shed were from Mya who wanted to stay with Jaida. She (Mya) is about the same size as some of the kids in the class so I may have gotten away with it. :)
When the teacher opened the door, Jaida never looked back.
This preschool thing is definitely going to work out for us. Good for all sides involved. God bless preschool teachers.

Sports Photography

I just launched (doesn't that sound so official. ha) my sports photography package for this fall. Check out the details here and pass on the info to all the sports fans you know. Oh, how I wish I knew about something like this back when I played soccer.

F.O.U.R

Jaida's birthday. Always a party.
A few presents. Cinderella. Yea for dress-ups.
Then we went to the American Fork pool for a little swimming. It was packed. And Mya didn't want to get out of the lazy pool.

We got her that swim baby a year ago. One of our best toy purchases. It's been everywhere. Including Lake Powell. I should probably wash it. :)


The day before her birthday we had a little party. Her original guest list was 25 kids. Um. . .I don't think so. So we had to narrow it down. I cut out all the boys (except her cousin Jeremy who shares the same birthday as her). She cried when i told her no boys.

We did an obstacle course. . .

All the friends.

Pizza.
Cupcakes. I'm not a good cake maker. I've tried a few times and I'm just not good with frosting. So we do cupcakes.

More presents.
A gift from Nana.
Water balloon fight.

And a big thanks to the Hughes for giving my 4 year old a Hannah Montana wig and shirt!

Labor Day.

I put some pics of our Labor Day weekend on my photo blog here so the stalkers on my photo blog could get a little taste of my personal life. Lucky them.