Seven takes about the shorties running around my house

1. For the past two + months, Olivia has been rockin' the super-potty-trained world by staying dry all night. So, for the past three weeks or so, she's been sleeping in undies instead of training pants. On Wednesday night, she had her very first bedwetting accident. She was devastated. We are blaming the root beer she had after dinner. I'm not too concerned about it happening again. She has a pretty good handle on this potty business now.

2. I've noticed with the return of my babysitting days that I have a definite leader and follower in this house. My child is the leader, always, even if she's not trying. Her three-year-old male peer is the follower. He mimics her every move. Today, they were playing a game and he was trying to do whatever she was doing. She got bored and wandered off to her room in search of something else to do. He began to follow. I watched her walk away, pulling up her pants as the waistband slipped down a bit. And then I watched as he ALSO started tugging at his waistline. I'm not his mom, but I'm a little concerned that this could spell trouble for him as he gets older. He'd better be sure to hang out with the right crowd...

3. Everyone has a cold. Everyone is snotty. Everyone is congested. And everyone is grumpy.

4. Still, this year is easier, for so many reasons. Not the least of which is that I have gone from diapering five children to diapering just one. I love the post-potty-training world of three-year-olds.

5. Speaking of three-year-olds, mine isn't yet. Her birthday is next month, and we are having a bowling party. Olivia is super excited. Luckily, Halloween falls between now and her birthday, so I'm able to distract her from birthday talk by looking forward to Halloween. Not sure what I'm going to do for the couple of weeks following Halloween, though...

6. Olivia started gymnastics on Monday. Aside from having a couple of meltdowns (after being reprimanded for jumping in the foam pit while she was supposed to be standing in line for something else), she had a blast. The director, whose mother lives next door to us, was surprised at Olivia's strength. If we could just get her to focus her attention a bit, she could be a local gymnastics star. Or join the cheer team, which is where the director thinks she could really shine. I'm just hoping that her involvement helps her with patience, listening, paying attention, etc.

7. We are going to a wedding this weekend! It's been quite a while since we have had a wedding to attend, and I think Olivia is going to have a blast. Pictures to come next week...