The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Today was our first major excursion since potty training began: church.

Riley learned a surefire way to avoid the *boring* hour. Whenever she yelled "Potty!" we made a mad dash to the restroom.

Out of the seven times she yelled "Potty!", seven instances were false alarms. (And I'm just not ready to call her bluff.)

New Topic

Raise your hand if you used the potty successfully SEVEN times today.

Raise your hand if you think that's cause for celebration.

Not pictured: Me, Matt

Equation for Fun

A cardboard box...


plus a sheet of stickers...

equals endless entertainment.

(I foresee a cheap Christmas ahead!)

p.s. I'll shut up about the stickers already. It's just an integral part of our lives lately.

The Sticker Monster Strikes Again

I'm not sure why we thought it'd be a good idea to send Riley to bed with a sheet of stickers.

But we learned our lesson after hearing her giggle two full hours past bedtime.

Fortunately, the only casualties this time were her pacifiers. (And, ok, her good mood after a short night's sleep.)

Developmental Explosion

In the past few weeks, Riley has:

• learned to open doors
• taught herself to somersault
• pooped in the toilet
• figured out how to open the fridge
• learned about a billion new words
• shown an avid interest in cooking and dish washing
• learned to use her bubble gun (pictured below. sort of.)
• mastered monster tantrums
• drawn a straight line, pointed to it, and said, "One!"
• figured out that daddy's cereal (Cocoa Puffs) tastes better than hers (Kashi Mighty Bites)
  
• developed a strong preference for clothing with sparkly embellishments
  
• become extremely particular about her diapers (Elmo Pampers vs. boring white slightly bulky cloth diapers...)
• gotten really fast

Part of me is sad she's growing up so fast. A bigger part of me is so relieved she won't be a toddler forever.

Glimmer of Hope

...that someday (soon?) I can delegate dinner duties and dishes.

Attack of the Sticker Monster

We've got stickers everywhere.

On the computer...
On the heat vent...
On the Elmo Stroller...
And the jogging stroller...
On the furniture...And even on the monster herself!

*Anyone got sticker-removal tips?

While we're on the subject...

...of Matt and his mobiles, here are photos from an installation he did recently for a middle school near Minneapolis.

A Good Decision

It was three years ago today that Matt left his nice, cushy, secure job as a pipeline engineer to pursue the mobile thing full time.

To commemorate Matt's three-year anniversary, here are a three little factoids about the transition:

• When Matt turned in his two-week notice, his boss offered him a promotion, a 20-percent raise, and asked, "Why doesn't your wife quit her job instead?"
• For the first nine months of self employment, Matt worked out of our 850-square-foot apartment. He spray-painted mobiles out of the living room window and hung half-done projects from the 18-foot ceilings. Paint cans, boxes, metal shards, and bubble wrap occupied every nook and cranny. It was pure squalor. And it's a small miracle that we got our entire deposit back when we moved (to a town home with a garage, hallelujah).
• Three months after Matt quit his job, we found out I was pregnant with Riley. He entered severe panic mode and worried whether it was irresponsible to think this totally random niche business could support a family and provide health insurance. Turns out, it could just fine.

So yeah, I'm very proud of Matt. And I'm especially glad his work setup has no commute, allowed us to move to such a great city, and lets us sleep in 'til 8 a.m. on a regular basis. Here's to many more years of mobile making!

Matt, a mobile, and the source of panic in the town home that saved our sanity.