Thursday, January 31, 2013

P to the T

P1220605

That would be P.otty T.rained. As in, Esme is. As in, totally, 100% good to go. As in, I now have only one child in diapers.

We used the 3-Day Potty Training method after Renee recommended it. Worked like a charm, though it did take slightly longer than three days to get #2 down pat. Of course, Esme is pushing three and-a-half, whereas Mrs. Potty Training suggests that 24 months is the ideal age, but... whatever. It worked! Esme is soooooo proud and happy, and so are we!

P1220603

Mommy and Daddy's favorite part of the process this time around? Esme never wet the bed even once. We're almost two weeks in, and I haven't changed any sheets. (And I'm sorry if that offends anyone's housekeeping sensibilities, but that's how it is around here.)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Just Clownin' Around

P1220590

P1220592

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Best Wilcox Baby Video Ever

I took this video about a month ago, using software on my laptop that I later realized does not provide good audio-to-video synchronization. Nevertheless, this is probably my favorite Wilcox home video ever, and that's saying something, since it prominently features me, in my pajamas, first thing in the morning, with no make-up.

Sounds enticing, right? Out-of-synch, stars a paleface mama... I should have been in marketing! Dontcha just want to click that play button? Hm, dontcha, dontcha?

Let me assure you: Graham's performance in this brief clip is more than enough to make up for my unpolished appearance and the technical difficulties. Get ready to believe: this is the sweetest, silliest baby boy on the planet!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Bendaroos

Aunt, Dacia, I don't know if we've ever told you this, but... those Bendaroo things that you got Matthew for his birthday back in September? He LOVED them. With Daddy's help, I think he made every single project in the pamphlet that came with the set. And when the 500 Bendaroos in that set were all gone, he wanted more. So we got him another set for Christmas. And he has been rediscovering Benda-joy ever since.

The other day, Matthew came to me and asked for "one of those thingies that the toilet paper wraps around and around." I directed him to a recently denuded toilet paper roll, and the next thing I knew, Matthew had created this little guy:

P1220588

Wholly his own invention. I love it!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Birthday Jello

P1220561
Graham at his birthday dinner before we even got to dessert

I haven't yet blogged about our food journey over the last half-year or so, but I will! Some day! In the meantime, suffice it to say that, when it came to planning Graham's first birthday cake, I found myself needing to make something that was dairy, egg and wheat free. And while I'm certain that I could have found a "cake" recipe that met all those criteria, I just really didn't feel like doing the research. So... I opted for jello!

 
Graham's First Birthday Jello from Cara Wilcox on Vimeo.

P1220574
Graham near the end of jello consumption

Thursday, January 17, 2013

No Small Miracle

I would just like to record, as a note of thanksgiving to God Almighty and for my own future joy and encouragement, that I made something new for dinner earlier this week, and all three of my big kids ate it happily, despite their prior predictions that they probably wouldn't like it.

In our house, this is absolutely a blog-worthy occasion.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Four at One

Meg at one year old:
IMG_1044

Matthew at one year old:
MIW Haircut 4

Esme at one year old:
IMG_8595

Graham at one year old:
P1220530

Compare and contrast!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

And in other news this week...

We lost our first tooth!

P1220539

At seven years, one month old, Meg finally gave up one of her baby teeth. A month or so ago, those two on the bottom center both started getting a little wiggly, and though Meg has steadfastly resisted tugging on them, the one on the left finally gave up the ghost, with just the slightest bit of encouragement from Mama's fingers.

(As you may be able to see from the picture, Meg's two bottom center adult teeth already grew in behind her baby teeth, temporarily giving her a nice sharky look. This charming mutation, I'm afraid, came straight from my genes. But at least she's avoiding having the baby teeth pulled by the dentist, like I had. It's much more fun to lose a tooth at home.)

Looks like our Meggie's smile will never be the same!

Friday, January 11, 2013

One Year Old! How Can It Be?

How can it be, asks my Mama heart?

Well, this is how. First he was tiny. But not really so very tiny, since he started at 9 lbs., 6 oz.
IMG_0347

IMG_0403

IMG_0413

IMG_0489

IMG_0534


He got bigger and more alert...
IMG_0570


and then he started smiling.
photo 2 (2)

IMG_0696

IMG_0711


Then he really started smiling.
IMG_0846

IMG_0872

IMG_0917

IMG_0990

IMG_1233

IMG_1163

Photo on 2012-09-06 at 17.14 #2

And crawling, and getting teeth...
IMG_0028

P1220135


And his eczema cleared up a LOT.
P1220230

And he didn't wanna eat.
P1220049

P1220517


And then he wanted very much to eat.
P1220535

And the whole time, he was adored by his entire family, who simply couldn't imagine what life would be if he wasn't in it.
P1220544

P1220550


Graham David, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Goodgame sing it well:

There once was a man who found him a treasure
Buried out under a tree
He sold all he had just to own it forever
The treasure was you, you see

You are a treasure of incalculable worth, little son. Every moment we have with you we cherish. Let's have a lot more moments, 'mkay?

Happy first birthday, boy.

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Something New

So, I'm trying something new... not really sure how it's going to go, but come on over and let me know what you think!

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Happy New Year!

Wilcox-1

There was no Wilcox Christmas card again this year, but here are our love and greetings to all of our blog-reading family and friends. We are so grateful for all of you, and we wish you a full, rich, joyful, God-glorifying 2013.