a week of firsts

It was a week of firsts chez moi.

1. We had Mya and Kaylee to play on Tuesday morning. After seeing that Mya went inside to use the bathroom, Eva announced that she wanted to wear underwear, too -- that she couldn't wait to wear underwear! Hallelujah!

We have been talking about wearing underwear for months now, but her standard response was that she was going to wear diapers for a long time, so this announcement was pretty exciting. She did beautifully all week. She had a few accidents, but for the most part I was very pleasantly surprised. We went on errands. She even took a nap in underwear, and on Sunday, she wore the same pair all day long.

I was expecting her to be my most difficult child to potty-train, and she shocked me by making it all so easy.


2. Max had his first cello recital. He's been playing now for almost one year, and he is nearing the end of Suzuki book 2. The recital was held in a beautiful retirement home, and the audience was very appreciative. He was so nervous to perform, especially since he's been sick (as have Lucas & Eva) and was not able to practice as much as he would have liked.

{can you believe my camera ran out of batteries during the first piece?!}

He played two duets with his great teacher, and he did a great job. There was one spot where he lost his place and had to go back a measure. I knew he would feel just terrible about it, but fortunately his grandparents and teacher were hugely reassuring and he recovered nicely. Recitals are such a great opportunity -- to work on overcoming stage fright, and to realize that making a mistake is not the end of the world.

3. The first day of school! Max is starting 8th grade and has to leave the house at 7:30. He got up at 6:30 to shower and get ready -- quite a change from sleeping in all summer. I remember 8th grade so well -- we had just moved across the country and I was so worried, but it ended up being a great year.

Lucas actually let me get a picture of his face! He's starting 4th grade and doesn't have to be to school until 9:00, which suits him just fine. Here he is sporting his stylin new black & white backpack. (Mostly white. Any bets on how long it takes for it to look filthy?) I'm amazed at how much the light changed between their departures. I also remember 4th grade well -- it was the year I was afraid of my teacher and I went to school every day with a stomachache.

After school we went to Summer Sno to celebrate with some shave ice. It's no Rita's Water Ice, but it's not bad. I had a mango avalanche (vanilla ice cream inside).

Eva had blue bubble gum!

4. The girl who practically potty trained herself decided she no longer wants to use the toilet. Yesterday she woke up dry, wore underwear all morning and never went to the bathroom. She had been drinking a lot, and I knew she would need to go, but she insisted she did not. Then several times she told me she needed to go, only to get to the bathroom and refuse to cross the threshold. ?!@$! What in the world?

When it had been 20 hours of holding it in, I started to wonder if she was going to harm her kidneys or bladder or something and asked if she wanted a diaper or a Pull-Up. Yes, she did. And today she asked if she could wear underwear, but informed me she would not be using the toilet. I have no idea what happened here, there was never any traumatic incident of any kind, and I can't get her to explain the problem to me. I'm frustrated, but not all that surprised. This is more what I was expecting from her... my oh-so-strong-willed girl. Never a dull moment.