Halloween 2015

Yee haw! Halloween was a success this year!

Layla wanted to be a cowgirl, and Marcus is still young enough that he was willing to go along with anything, so he was a cowboy.

We had lots of festivities this year! Layla had a party at school where she wore her costume and I volunteered to help with the Bingo game. It was fun to see Layla in her classroom, speaking Chinese, and partying with her friends.

We went to the ward party. Mitch and I were on the committee and it was actually fun to help put that together. The decorations were awesome and the kids had a blast playing the games and the food was good too! My mom came to the party with us since Mitch was out of town. He actually flew in that night, so he made it to the tail end of the party. I even dressed up in Katie's Cleopatra costume that night since Layla had been begging me to dress up. I guess I should be more festive for my kid's sake!

We had fun at Mammey and Papa Bott's house on Sunday with a Halloween dinner. The kids wore their costumes, decorated sugar cookies and pumpkins, and made pizza. They loved it!

Today we're going to my parent's and get to see Evelyn in her costume. She's going to be a hedgehog. Soooooooooo cute! I can't wait to squeeze her! I have no doubt that our dinner will be yummy and we will have fun playing Halloween Bingo. :)


Mitch took the kids trick-or-treating. They were out for two hours and had SO much fun! Marcus rode in the stroller in between houses and carried him up and down the stairs to speed up the process. Their buckets were full when they got back and they made me laugh because the first thing they decided to eat was a bag of Cheetos! Ha! After each house, Marcus would say, "Next house!" And when he got home, he told me in his cute little voice, "Trick or treat is fun, Mom!" Layla had a great time and was able to see some of her friends. She looked cute and is great at remembering to say thank you at each house. I loved her excitement the whole afternoon leading up to trick or treating; she literally could not hold still! She made me laugh and reminded me what it was like to be a kid.

We had a great Halloween! Until next year!

Potty Training

Maybe that title is deceiving. I haven't officially started potty training Marcus yet, but we have made some minor attempts. We bought him a potty since Layla's old princess one didn't quite have the splash guard that a boy needs when sitting down. Ha! He picked out some Mickey Mouse underwear, we've watched movies and read books on the subject, and talked about it a lot. He has sat on the potty several times, but usually nothing happens.

The other day he was successful and went pee in the potty. As Layla, Mitch, and I were clapping for him and cheering, he said, "I proud you, Mom, Dad!" It was so sweet and funny! He really is a sweet, loving little guy! He was proud of himself too, of course, and clapped to celebrate his success.

Anyways, I'm determined to try an official potty training week this month and make a good effort. I think he is ready, he just needs a little push. We'll see what happens.

*UPDATE NOV 2015: We spent five full days attempting to potty train Marcus. The first day was rough, the second and third days were amazing, and the last two days were hell. Let's just say that he is physically capable of being potty trained, but he has zero interest. If your kid couldn't care less whether he pees in the toilet or in his underwear, is it really worth the effort? I say NO. So, we put him back in diapers and are much happier now. I will try again in a few months. Maybe he'll be more into then. We did get a few priceless pictures though:

 

 

On another note, we're learning more and more that Marcus is shaping up to be a smarty pants just like his sister. Now that he can talk (and he also talks incessantly!), it's easy to see that he is a bright kid. And creative! I think Layla's creativity is limited by her perfectionist, literal, everything-goes-a-certain-way personality, which can be good and bad. When she has the right creative outlet, she can be very imaginative! Marcus does not seem to have the perfectionist, literal, everything-goes-a-certain-way personality that usually dominates the Bott genes, so his creativity comes out a lot more. And he is HILARIOUS! I love listening to him when he is engaged in imaginary play. He is such a boy! He keeps me laughing, that's for sure!

Parental Right of Passage

Layla had her first parent teacher conference last month. I felt like we had passed through a parental milestone. To say that we are proud of Layla is an understatement. She is amazing.

Things are different with Chinese Immersion, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the conference, but it was very well done. We first met with her English teacher, Mrs. Byers, and discussed Layla's reading, writing, social skills, etc. Mrs. Byers said that Layla reads at a very high level, and knows everything that they are learning (like for the entire school year, and it's only October), so she recommended that we start her on some spelling words. She sends home one set at a time and Layla has to pass them off orally and through a written test. There are twelve in the set, she started on set two and is already (just three weeks later) on set six. I was thankful for the teacher's suggestion. She is a great teacher and keeps Layla challenged, which I am grateful for.

Next we met with Xeng Laoshi, the Chinese teacher. Her personality is more cold, and less fun, though overall she is nice. She just isn't the most bubbly, smiley person I've ever met. But Layla seems to like her okay. She didn't speak to us, but had papers on the desk that we read through. Then she asked Layla several questions in Chinese (which were also written on the paper so we knew what she was saying) and then Layla would answer her in Chinese. I took a video of the whole thing and it was amazing! Layla can count to 100 in Chinese and answer all sorts of questions about her name, age, her family, etc. It was definitely a proud parent moment and made me grateful that we decided to put her in the program.

I don't know why it is so amazing or surprising to me that she can pick up Chinese so fast when I took several classes on how kids learn to read and speak foreign languages when I was in college. I know that they pick it up so fast and well. I know how good it is for them and the advantages of learning when they're young. But it still blows my mind because it's my daughter and she's speaking a language that I don't know. Maybe if she spoke Russian like I do, or Cambodian like Mitch, it would be less of a shock.

Anyways, we got her report card and it is no longer an A,B,C,D, or F system. It is based on number points in over 25 different areas. Again, I don't know why I was surprised when I saw that Layla got every point possible in every single area. 100% you could say. She's a smarty pants!!!  I'm grateful, amazed, and proud of our daughter!

GG Bott

Mitch's paternal grandmother, Verda Bott, passed away last month. She was so special to our family and we miss her greatly! From the very first time I met Verda, to the last time I saw her, she made me feel special and loved. She truly emanates that Christlike love that we talk about at church and all strive to possess and share with others. Love came naturally to her and anyone who has spent time with her has been blessed by her gift of being able to love everyone without regard. I look up to her in many ways: her never-ending patience, her undying faith, her contagious optimism, but most of all for the love that she radiated to all who were blessed to be in her presence.

We visited her for the last time about a week and a half before she passed. I knew as we left that it would be the last time we saw her in this life. I don't know why, but when my grandpa passed, I also knew a few days before that he would pass away that week. With Verda I had the same feeling, though I was not able to share my thoughts with anyone. Perhaps I didn't want to worry Mitch, especially if I happened to be wrong. But looking back, I feel that the Holy Ghost was able to comfort me during both deaths by gently letting me know ahead of time.

We were kneeling around Layla's bed for family prayer when we told Layla that GG Bott had passed away. Layla immediately broke down into sobs, crawled onto her bed and laid in fetal position, and between sobs choked out the words, "I loved her! I loved visiting her!" It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I know my kids felt the unconditional, unsolicited love that Verda had for them and they had for her in return. And the loads of candy she always gave them probably played a part too. ;)

The funeral was very nice and we enjoyed spending time with the extended Bott family; we don't see them often enough anymore. Verda is buried with her husband and other relatives in a cemetery in Ogden. We did not take the kids. Marcus would have been fine, but I didn't want Layla to have that experience yet. Especially when she was so close to GG Bott. I would rather her remember the good visits we had, and not the funeral and people crying (though it was happy crying; the kind that we will miss her but are happy for her to be reunited with her husband).

I was grateful that we could explain to Layla what happens after this life. It is comforting to know that life goes on, and that we will see GG Bott again, and that she is happy and no longer in pain or disabled. It's still sad because we miss her, but it is a peaceful, happy type of sad (if that makes any sense at all). I know that we will see Verda again and I would love to do a little jig with her since the whole time I knew her she was confined to her recliner chair. It makes me smile to think of dancing with her! She will be missed, but not forgotten!