Firsts!

This week held several firsts for the kids. Annelise went to her first real (not school or church) play on Tuesday: If You Take a Mouse to the Movies (based on my FAVE children's books!) done by the Children's Theatre of Charlotte.

(Will came, too, but he's a theatre vet.) It was a big deal, b/c not only was the actual story special to us, but theatre was my whole life for so many years, and I actually performed in a company with Children's Theatre of Charlotte one year in high school. This was almost up there with Annelise's first dance class.

Will also had a milestone this week: his first sleepover Wednesday night! With an older woman, no less! (It was with my parents' neighbors & their elementary-aged daughter, a true BFF. :-)) I had blogged earlier in the week about them being a luxury to me, and wow! I am all about the idea of this sleepover business! Now, if we could just coordinate Will & Sis to have them on the same night, so we could go out... ;-)

Honestly, Will did fine and didn't even come home until after lunch Thursday! I had a hard time with sleepovers first starting out. Even though I have always been an extroverted social butterfly, I was forever homesick, and I vividly remember trying not to cry & then having a mom call my parents to come get me, b/c I "had a stomach ache" my first couple times when I was 6 or 7. Not Will! He loves being with me desperately, but he really is full of strong confidence & trust when I tell him something is OK...which *ooo! personal revelation!* actually makes me feel like I've been doing a good job with him! :-D

Another first: Annelise has gone a whole week without an accident at night! This is huge. She potty-trained herself during the day the week after she turned two: she said, "I want Ariel underwear," and that was it; she was trained. Will had to be taught; he showed no signs of readiness, so at 2 years 9 months, (to be ready for preschool,) I took away the dipes one day for underwear, and that was it. He got it in four days, and then a month later, his dipes started to be dry overnight. I'm sure it's b/c of the active teaching we were working on during the day; but b/c Sis did it "a self", there was no teaching from me. And she never had dry overnight dipes. I waited and waited and waited, figuring at SOME point, she'd do it. Nope. My miracle all-on-her-own early daytime girl was getting ready to be surpassed on the nighttime milestone by Will.

We talked a lot about it, (she has amazing rationale!) and she finally told me she was ready to try back around Thanksgiving. Even with me waking her up to potty when I went to bed b/t 11 & 12, she still had accidents every single night. And she didn't care. I thought she would care at least that it was cold! Nope. I'm actually glad the holiday hoopla was around to distract me from getting irritated over the pee pee jammas and Groundhog Day-feeling of it all. (Y'all have heard that I don't usually do well with extra laundry & bodily function messes over & over. :-P)

Well, wonder of wonders, our first night here at LaLa's house last week: dry. And every night since! LaLa (my mom) is magic. Apparently just being in her presence makes miracles happen! ;-) So I'm posting this in faith that she'll keep this up when we go back north Sunday, and it's not just a holiday fluke.

Cuteness that I want to remember: this morning, Will & Sis were walking around in their robes, pretending my socks were "golden scepters" and acting out scenes with the Mouse King from The Nutcracker. I want to burst when they play so creatively together. Priceless...

Edited this evening to add:
I just had my first real phone conversation with Will. We are always together, and the only times I've ever left him, I've just talked to JB or whatever adult he was with. This afternoon, he & Sis have been at my parents' sweet neighbors. (Yes,  it feels like they have been virtually living there! They have so much fun, so as long as we aren't doing anything special, why not? Am I too go-with-the-flow?) Will called to ask if they could eat dinner over there. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things...but it just hit me in the gut. He's old enough to call, carry on a complete conversation, ask permission to do something, and be gone - like a BIG KID. He's really growing up, and it doesn't make me depressed at all...just more...amazed!