Awesome Vintage Chair

Check out this chair that I bought for $5!

Sweet.

I'm a welder. I weld.

I went to Oregon for a few weeks this summer to visit my grandparent and my grandpa taught me the basics of welding.

We made this table as my learning project. The wood is maple (I think) and it's all end grain. We cut each block and then glued them all together, you can see it a little better in the black and white pictures. I think we did a pretty good job.

A Few Things About Peanut

There are a few things that have happened this week that I can't ever forget.

1. She pooped in the toilet all by herself! Every time I change her poopy diapers she insists on seeing it. It's like she refuses to think that she actually deposited a dirty investment in her diaper unless she can see proof. Well, I tell her: "Pen, you can see your poop if you go in a toilet," on the off chance that she might actually take me up on that offer. It's a strange incentive, I know.

Pen is pretty good at warning us before she makes her dirty deposit, but I've never quite been able to get her to do it on the toilet. I'll sit her on the toilet for a couple of minutes, she'll pee, ask for her diaper then poop in the diaper about 5 minutes later. This week I was determined would be different. I kept telling her when she was on the potty that I'd go & buy her lots & lots of candy if she pooped on the toilet. SHE DID IT. Funny thing, she wanted to look at her poop more than she wanted the candy. She even insisted on smelling the poop. Go right ahead, my dear. After she smelled it, she just kept chanting, "Eww, disgusting!"

Potty training victory will soon be ours. I just know it.

2. It snowed this week. Penelope LOVES playing in the snow; she especially loves making snowmen & snowballs. The morning after, Pen & I were in my studio working on a project when Penelope noticed the maintenance guys shoveling our walks. Clearly upset by their industriousness, she started banging as hard as she could on the window & yelling at them, "DOP! DOP!! NO CLEAN! NO CLEAN SNOW!!!" She did that for a few minutes before giving up, stomping into the hallway, plopping on the floor & pouting, "Dammit, no clean snow."

First, I'm not swearing anymore & second, she hasn't said that word since Christmas, so you can imagine my shock when she used it. I was also shocked at how well she used it, too. My little girl knows how to swear.

3. Penelope is now in a "toddler bed" a.k.a. her Pteranodon nest. She loves dinosaur train, so we call her tent her Pteranodon nest to get her excited about being in there. We've been laying down the law the last couple of weeks to try & keep her in her tent when she goes down for naps & bedtime. We've had quite a bit of success, too! Penelope now knows that if she gets out, not only will we turn off her doggy light, but we'll shut the door & give her a time out if necessary. We're NOT messing around here. I don't want to be dealing with bedtime training when Felix comes to town!

The other day, she woke up from her nap, got out of her tent, knocked on the door & ran back into her tent to wait for me to get her! I thought it was super adorable. She really is a good little girl.

The Peanut and the Doggie Door

I snapped these over winter break. Nels makes me smile.

News-Bouquet

I saw some of these at a friends house and thought they were rather rad so I made a bouquet for our apartment.

I found the pog/faces on the ground at school, they're actually ads for Orca grants.

Poopsicles

Last night after we put Penelope down to bed, I kept hearing whines coming from her room. Normally I let her sort things out on her own (she's a big girl) & fall asleep by herself, but this time I heard her ask specifically for me & water. I couldn't let her down.

I wobbled up stairs & went in her room to ask if she wanted water. Not wanting to make a fuss, I had intentionally left the light off in the room & allowed the light from the hallway to filter in. I couldn't really see much, but when I walked up to the crib to ask Pen what was the matter she said, "Poop!" I couldn't see anything, but I did know she wanted to go potty.

FYI: Penelope calls both pee & poop, poop.

So, I grabbed her to take her to the potty to see if she'd be interested in going & LO & BEHOLD!!! She was naked. Aw, shoot. I turned on the bedroom light to discover what she had been up to. She had taken off all of her clothes, grabbed the toy box next to her bed, emptied the box of its contents & PEED IN THE BOX. She didn't get all of her pee in the box, though; It sprayed all over pretty much everything in her crib.

Awesome. Welcome to potty training.

Finishing . . .

Sentences.

Last Sunday night when we went on our usual walk. Penelope is pretty good at staying in her stroller without complaint, unless we stop. Not sure we stopped a whole lot, but she wanted to get out anyway.

We got her out & let her push the stroller for a bit. That never works. She wants to do it all by herself & still doesn't know how to steer. Chris grabbed her & put her on his shoulders. She liked that so much, she started rocking back and forth with a huge smile on her face.

Chris: What is she doing up there?

Me: She's pretending she's riding on um. . . a . . .

Penelope: HORSE!!

Penelope finished my sentence for me!! This was a first. I thought it was so adorable to hear such a sweet, little voice finish my sentence for me. What a doll.