Well well! Have I got a lot of December updatin' to do! Checky checky out:
We hit the awesome Austin Gingerbread Village at the Four Seasons
Yes, I do!
Then, we enjoyed milk and cookies at storytime...
with our homie Squinty Sebz, in anticipation of...
the one and only Santa Claus! Read on to find out what Niva whispered in St. Nick's ear
Niva concluded preschool in 2012 with the long awaited performance of Bang the Drum... starring the Monkeys Class! (btw, I have never seen Niva less enthusiastic but I was still proud as ever!)
We enjoyed a mystical trip to the museum with Seb and Carla
These hip chicks strolling down trendy 2nd Street...here, Niva points out the fashionable mannequins to her sweet friend.
Then, we were off to Gammy and Poppa's house in Katy!
And the real fun begins!
Niva's favorite part of decorating cookies
Every night was party night on Pebble Chase Drive...as you can see from Fufu's and Unkee's Friendly Faces!
Now, what was it that Niva whispered into Santa's ear? Well, it appears that he heard her loud and clear. Here she is unwrapping the only gift she requested this year:
Now, for the best of news of all: as of Christmas Eve, Niva Josephine is officially potty trained! All of a sudden, it clicked! Daddy and I are all worn out from the cartwheels and handstands we have had to perform this week (she keeps requesting them!). Much to my mysophobic dismay, she even goes potty in public restrooms too (so far, we have done Monkey Joe's, Target, and Central Market). For now, Niva still wears a diaper during sleepy time which is causing major wars for her parents. One drop of pee in her diaper puts Niva over the edge and we have had to change her diaper 4 times (in a span of 10 minutes) before she actually falls asleep. And I can tell this is affecting her mentally as we are seeing a wave of unexplained tantrums. But for now, all we can do is rejoice in this accomplished milestone and all the money we will be saving with the absence of diapers...woohoo! Oh and with the potty training, we have converted her to a toddler bed at home too. The changes just keep coming!
I have always wanted to make a gingerbread house since I was a kid. When I would see this delectable treat from afar and knew I couldn't have a taste of it, it made it all the more intriguing (on this note, ask Fufu about the time I mistakenly tasted soap at Ulta...yes, I'm kind of a monster). SO, what better excuse to make a gingerbread house now that I have a kid? Hence, the First Annual Gingerbread House Party at the Bonzek House was born! Check out the scene with Carla Ann, Sophia, Sebastian, Leo, Charlie, and Niva:
Ready to dig into some SUGAR!!!
Yes, I constructed that architectural beauty before the kids got there. Sebastian shows his opinion of it...
All those bowls of candy were irresistible to the kids
I tried to give Niva instruction on how to decorate her house...
...but she was more interested in the taste testing
I tried to sneak a bite of fruit into Niva's mouth
Leo, my teeth hurt!
After decorating, it was time to PLAY!
What a fun time with this crew! I heard they all took wonderful naps afterwards...however, my kid decided to continue to party all throughout the afternoon!
Every once in awhile, I get tired of hearing Niva's Flavor of the Month Song over and over and OVER again (currently it is Khalgee Stomp, one of my favs by Thievery Corporation but even I tire of it after hearing it 5 times per car ride!). When I am up to my eyes in repetition, sometimes I turn off the music and say, "Niva, let's chat". We mainly retell a play-by-play of anything that recently happened to us. This evening, while we were driving somewhere, Niva turned the tables on me as she declared, "Let's chat, Mommy! Put music quiet!" We decided to talk about upcoming Christmas events such as our Gingerbread House Party and our trip to the Trail of Lights. I love how we can now engage in full conversations! I hope Niva will always be open to chatting with me!
So, yesterday was our first day to try some Potty Training Boot Camp. At 7:30am, we took off her diaper. A few hours passed and the child absolutely refused to go although she was dancing around nervously. She was holding her unopened canister of Mini M&M's, and we had the box of popsicles sitting right next to her ready for celebration. At 12:30, she was screaming and crying for a diaper...and then finally as she was standing by the potty, it happened! And I had to practically push her onto the pot because she would not sit! I think it was not the nicest thing for me to do. BUT since she technically went in the potty, she got to reap the rewards: some M&M's, a popsicle, and as promised, a special show from her acrobatic parents-- I did cartwheels all over the living room and Daddy did a handstand. But for future reference, I don't think that potty training method is the way to go...wonk wonk. Time for us to do our homework!
This potty training caca is making me cuckoo!
See, I'm quite happy in my diaper!
I'm just a kid dancing to Jingle Bells in a tank top in December...I'm perfectly normal!
It's been a whirlwind week starting with a trip to the Houston Zoo last weekend...
As you can see by my fascinated bug eyes, feeding the giraffe was my favorite part...
...but Niva couldn't get enough of the carousel!
Forget all the awesome animals, she is still talking about the carousel and the song that was played during our ride (Feelin' Hot Hot Hot)! I have never seen her laugh harder than when she saw Poppa dancing to the music as he rode on the other side of her!
Then, we had a wonderful trip to the dog park where Niva surprisingly followed the one rule I gave her: no touching any other dogs besides Momo. Every time the cuteness of the playing puppies got to be too much for Niva, she would declare, "I can touch Momo!" and would run back to pet her own puppy.
Then, we met up with ChaCha for story time at the Bob Bullock Museum...
...and a picnic on UT campus. Ahhhh, great memories for me...back when being a mom was the furthest thing from my mind!
Then, a play date at Zilker park with the boys
"Hey kids, I got Big Bird and cupcakes....psyche!!" (yes, this is how I got them all to turn around simultaneously...no fooling the Sebster though!)
Theeeeeen, Thanksgiving!!!! Here, Neevz and Fu kick it while watching the parade.
Every Thanksgiving gets better and better!
Aunt Amanda's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were Niva's favorite
See this nifty device that Niva J is showing off? It is a kitchen timer and it is my latest discipline tactic... I LOVE it!!! Time outs are no longer a time to party when the timer is ticking! Don't let that tentative smile fool you, Niva hates that thing. If she knows she is about to be in some trouble, she reminds herself, "Gonna get the timer, no timer" and then checks herself. I catch her mumbling about the timer all the time! All I have to do is say, "I'm about to start counting"...the highest I get to is 2 before she does the right thing. So, instead of telling her to do things 34 times, it's more like 17 times now before it gets done!
In other news, we discovered a gem of a new place today...the New Braunfels Children's Museum. It's about an hour away from our house but so much cooler than the Austin Children's Museum!
Niva loved this rocket launch science demonstration!
