Elephants and Cucumbers!

OK, I know at least some of you Moms out there have at least heard about the "Your Baby Can Read" DVDs. I know I run across at least 2 infomercials every weekend for the things. Well, anyone who knows me well knows that this is right up my alley. Of course, I ordered the set for Caris way back at the first of the year. The premise is if your child watches the DVDs twice a day eventually he/she will be able to actually READ the many words and phrases in the movies. As you would expect, the manufacturer/inventor is quick to caution you that every child develops any skill at his/her own pace, so just because you saw the 6-month old baby on the infomercial reading Moby Dick, don't expect that from your child. (Obviously, they haven't heard about Caris!) I will admit that I was skeptical once I actually saw the videos. Don't get me wrong, they are very good quality DVDs. It's just that after Caris had been exposed to movies like Veggie Tales, Tinker Bell and Sponge Bob I didn't think that these movies would be "flashy" enough to hold her attention. Thankfully, I was wrong. I will also admit that I had been falling down on her viewing schedule of late; what with moving and all. Be that as it may, she's still into it and asks to watch the videos all the time. She can read "hi", "dog", "cats", and believe it or not "elephant". She doesn't even watch the videos twice a day, as suggested. That's my girl!

I am about to embark on the task that I have lived in fear of ever since I found out I was going to have a child. Yes, Moms, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Never ending loads of laundry (as if they really ever do end at this point); changing sheets EVERY morning; strategically planning ANY and EVERY outing with a restroom ALWAYS within eye shot; constantly asking "Do you need to go" to the point where the repeats in my head keep me up at night...you've got it - POTTY TRAINING! If I could only put into words how much I am not looking forward to this....I would not only appreciate but I am BEGGING for any advice from you Moms out there. I have bought the "3 Day Potting Training" guide and am going to attempt that the weekend of the 4th since I'll have a 3-day weekend. I would love for this to be as painless as possible, but my hopes aren't real high!

Since most of you know that Caris is her Daddy made over you must understand that I jump at any chance I get to "claim" any feature/trait/behavior of her's as coming from me. As I've said before, it's most assuredly not because I think I'm anything spectacular - quite the opposite, actually. However, any Mom out there can understand how left out I feel when I've left no visible mark on this wonderful being, yet I'm half the reason she's here. Don't get me wrong, I don't dwell on it. It's just disheartening sometimes. Anyway, I am officially claiming Caris's love of cucumbers as something I have passed on to her. Granted, Patton likes cucumbers too, but not as much as I do. If you didn't know, there's almost nothing finer that peeling a home-grown cuke, cutting the ends off and munching away. In my opinion, it ranks right up there with chocolate, bubble baths and lazy Saturdays. So, please enjoy the following picture and remember - SHE GETS THIS FROM ME!!